Preseason DL

First off I want to point out that without Justin Smith, Ray MacDonald & Ian Williams, the DL doesn't look anything like it will come the regular season, this is not a rant about lack of performance by any means. Understanding that both Tank Carradine and Quinton Dial have led the DL in snap count in both preseason games, there's still something I don't quite understand. It seems pretty obvious to me that the 3 veterans (JS, RM, IW) will be the starting DL this year with Tank and Dial clearly showing they are the 2 most talented backups who should get the most snaps off the bench.

With all that said, my question is, why are we starting a DL made up of Purcell, TJE and Dobbs? Personally, I'd like to see Tank and Dial go up against the other teams starters and show what they got. I understand they got in the game some against the 1st units. Starting them would, at least IMO, give us a better DL, take more pressure off those competing for the other ILB spot next to Willis to show what they got, provide some more pressure on the opposing QB and allow the DB to shine a bit more.

What do you guys think the reasoning is behind the lineups we've thrown out there these first 2 preseason games?

fangio gonna fangio IMO. he makes guys like dial and tank earn their way up the depth chart. dobbs been around a few yrs and TJE 2 or 3. i'm agree with you they should be playing ahead of those guys if for no other reason then to get them snaps vs 1's.

Yeah not sure why we are pushing Purcell so hard at NT. He clearly shouldn't be the backup wish we would be giving the reps to Dial or TJE or anyone else. With Dobbs if he makes the team he will have to earn it because we can save 1.431 mil (all his salary) on the cap if he gets cut. So if he gets cut we have 0 dead money and save 1.431 so my guess is we are really pushing him against the 1's to see if he has improved and if he is worthy of that money. My answer would be no. He's a nice find for an UDFA but just not good enough for a top notch team like us. TJE played well last year but so far he's not standing out but I don't see him getting cut only making 495k. If we would cut him though we would have 0 in dead money. Wish Ramsey was healthy or Okoye would step up and with that 6th spot. Right now just not seeing anyone worry of spot 7. McDonald, Williams, Smith, Carradine, Dial, TJE

It's not like Tank and Dial are doing that great vs the 2's and 3's to begin with. So maybe they are just trying to ease them into action and not destroy their confidence having them go up against the 1's. I think Purcell is starting b/c they are trying to evaluate him. It's clear he's not ready. If the starters aren't playing next week either I would like to see Tank-Dial-Dobbs/TJE start the game. Let's see what they can do vs the 1's. I agree with you let these guys compete.

Originally posted by Gore_21:
Yeah not sure why we are pushing Purcell so hard at NT. He clearly shouldn't be the backup wish we would be giving the reps to Dial or TJE or anyone else. With Dobbs if he makes the team he will have to earn it because we can save 1.431 mil (all his salary) on the cap if he gets cut. So if he gets cut we have 0 dead money and save 1.431 so my guess is we are really pushing him against the 1's to see if he has improved and if he is worthy of that money. My answer would be no. He's a nice find for an UDFA but just not good enough for a top notch team like us. TJE played well last year but so far he's not standing out but I don't see him getting cut only making 495k. If we would cut him though we would have 0 in dead money. Wish Ramsey was healthy or Okoye would step up and with that 6th spot. Right now just not seeing anyone worry of spot 7. McDonald, Williams, Smith, Carradine, Dial, TJE

Great point. I hadn't thought of that and that money could be used for new deals for guys like Boone, VD, Crabs, Iupati, Culliver or whoever else we choose to extend. I do think Dobbs will make the team though, especially w/Ramsey hurt, remember, Dobbs can play TE and when we had some injuries at NT and OLB last year he was the guy we were talking about as an emergency guy at those positions. What's the deal w/Ramsey? Hopefully he can play in these last 2 preseason games and show what he's got. As for Okoye, he's so raw, I see him on the PS this year.

Originally posted by matt49er:
First off I want to point out that without Justin Smith, Ray MacDonald & Ian Williams, the DL doesn't look anything like it will come the regular season, this is not a rant about lack of performance by any means. Understanding that both Tank Carradine and Quinton Dial have led the DL in snap count in both preseason games, there's still something I don't quite understand. It seems pretty obvious to me that the 3 veterans (JS, RM, IW) will be the starting DL this year with Tank and Dial clearly showing they are the 2 most talented backups who should get the most snaps off the bench.

With all that said, my question is, why are we starting a DL made up of Purcell, TJE and Dobbs? Personally, I'd like to see Tank and Dial go up against the other teams starters and show what they got. I understand they got in the game some against the 1st units. Starting them would, at least IMO, give us a better DL, take more pressure off those competing for the other ILB spot next to Willis to show what they got, provide some more pressure on the opposing QB and allow the DB to shine a bit more.

What do you guys think the reasoning is behind the lineups we've thrown out there these first 2 preseason games?

The primary goal of preseason is to put all of your players in situations to see how they function. The coaches want to see how their players are progressing and developing. The primary goal of preseason is not to win the game but to give players time to develop in real time playing situations. If you can check out your players, see their development, decide who will make your team, and if you happen to win on top of that, then it is a good game. Winning or losing in preseason has nothing to do with the success of your team but playing all of the players and see what situations they play better in is the primary focus of the preseason, plus it makes the owner a lot of money.

give Tank his sack

Originally posted by Ninefan56:

Originally posted by matt49er:
First off I want to point out that without Justin Smith, Ray MacDonald & Ian Williams, the DL doesn't look anything like it will come the regular season, this is not a rant about lack of performance by any means. Understanding that both Tank Carradine and Quinton Dial have led the DL in snap count in both preseason games, there's still something I don't quite understand. It seems pretty obvious to me that the 3 veterans (JS, RM, IW) will be the starting DL this year with Tank and Dial clearly showing they are the 2 most talented backups who should get the most snaps off the bench.

With all that said, my question is, why are we starting a DL made up of Purcell, TJE and Dobbs? Personally, I'd like to see Tank and Dial go up against the other teams starters and show what they got. I understand they got in the game some against the 1st units. Starting them would, at least IMO, give us a better DL, take more pressure off those competing for the other ILB spot next to Willis to show what they got, provide some more pressure on the opposing QB and allow the DB to shine a bit more.

What do you guys think the reasoning is behind the lineups we've thrown out there these first 2 preseason games?

The primary goal of preseason is to put all of your players in situations to see how they function. The coaches want to see how their players are progressing and developing. The primary goal of preseason is not to win the game but to give players time to develop in real time playing situations. If you can check out your players, see their development, decide who will make your team, and if you happen to win on top of that, then it is a good game. Winning or losing in preseason has nothing to do with the success of your team but playing all of the players and see what situations they play better in is the primary focus of the preseason, plus it makes the owner a lot of money.

I never said anything about winning preseason games and certainly didn't intend on giving the impression that I care about PS game results. I get that putting players in different situations and evaluating performance is the key, that's obvious. I still think my question has merit, Tank and Dial are simply way better than TJE/Dobbs/Purcell, so why not give them some run with the 1's by starting them? Everything starts upfront for us and to your point, I think running those 2 out with the starters would help the ILBs battling to start next to Willis, do a better job overall in the front 7 which would help us evaluate our DB better.

Originally posted by matt49er:
I never said anything about winning preseason games and certainly didn't intend on giving the impression that I care about PS game results. I get that putting players in different situations and evaluating performance is the key, that's obvious. I still think my question has merit, Tank and Dial are simply way better than TJE/Dobbs/Purcell, so why not give them some run with the 1's by starting them? Everything starts upfront for us and to your point, I think running those 2 out with the starters would help the ILBs battling to start next to Willis, do a better job overall in the front 7 which would help us evaluate our DB better.

Tank and Dial have more potential, but they make mistakes. Fangio is huge on assignment football. He'd rather you run backwards 10 yards to fill your gap, than abandon it and try to make a play behind the line of scrimmage.

They are essentially rookies. Although Dial looks more like a vet, he is not consistent with some things.

My only concern is RayMac and JSmith ready to go week 1. They've missed most if not all of the offseason work right? Obviously they're vets and Smith is one of the hardest workers in the league, but I fear a slow start overall and we'll need the defense to be stout from the jump to keep us in games. I think it's great Dial and Tank are getting so many reps. They'll be that much more ready as backups when RayMac and Smith come back. We should be able to keep our DLine real fresh. Fangio will use the young guys. They're too good not to play over purcell and even TJE.

I'm not worried. They aren't game planning this Dline in the preseason. They are letting them play to play just to gain experience. It looks bad because these guys are still learning how to do their jobs. Wait until the regular season and you will see a dramatic change.

Originally posted by BrianGO:

Originally posted by matt49er:
I never said anything about winning preseason games and certainly didn't intend on giving the impression that I care about PS game results. I get that putting players in different situations and evaluating performance is the key, that's obvious. I still think my question has merit, Tank and Dial are simply way better than TJE/Dobbs/Purcell, so why not give them some run with the 1's by starting them? Everything starts upfront for us and to your point, I think running those 2 out with the starters would help the ILBs battling to start next to Willis, do a better job overall in the front 7 which would help us evaluate our DB better.

Tank and Dial have more potential, but they make mistakes. Fangio is huge on assignment football. He'd rather you run backwards 10 yards to fill your gap, than abandon it and try to make a play behind the line of scrimmage.

They are essentially rookies. Although Dial looks more like a vet, he is not consistent with some things.

Are you saying that Dial and Tank make more mistakes than Purcell/TJE/Dobbs?

Originally posted by matt49er:
Are you saying that Dial and Tank make more mistakes than Purcell/TJE/Dobbs?

TJE and Dobbs make fewer mistakes, because they are veterans in our defense. Purcell, Dial and Tank are newer and make more mistakes.

Originally posted by ChazBoner:
give Tank his sack

Cant tell if this is Madden or a real pic

Originally posted by crabman82:
fangio gonna fangio IMO. he makes guys like dial and tank earn their way up the depth chart. dobbs been around a few yrs and TJE 2 or 3. i'm agree with you they should be playing ahead of those guys if for no other reason then to get them snaps vs 1's.

Originally posted by BrianGO:
Tank and Dial have more potential, but they make mistakes. Fangio is huge on assignment football. He'd rather you run backwards 10 yards to fill your gap, than abandon it and try to make a play behind the line of scrimmage.

They are essentially rookies. Although Dial looks more like a vet, he is not consistent with some things.

Basically these. Dobbs & TJE have been here a few years, so its reasonable to assume they're doing better with the assignments. Dial & Tank have to earn Fangio's trust before moving up the depth chart.

That being said, I very much want to see them get a start since they clearly look better physically. Tank would have had two sacks in two games had Osweiler not dumped that ball off a split second before his knee hit.