Gerald Hayes

[Poorknight1]

Ok so what's the deal...

Kiper, along with every other scout in the land, is all over this guy his junior and senior year. The guy was a tackling machine. He's making a lot of plays along, and behind, the line of scrimmage. Granted he's only average in coverage but with the type of defense we've been running the Mike isn't required to do a whole lot in coverage so anything he brings to the table there is just gravy. At one point he was rated higher than EJ Henderson who was last years "next coming of Ray Lewis" blah blah blah. Then, all of a sudden, he's "exposed" as a "scrawny" 6' 240lb instead of his listed 6'3" 245. I'm not sure what that has to do with anything unless the guy is hurt all of the time (which he wasn't) or couldn't get off his blocks (which was a strength). Before he measured he was a sure fire first round pick. After measuring out he falls to us in the third round. I thought we had the steal of the draft (which, in hindsight, turned out to be The Quon). Then all of a sudden we start dinking around with him at the Sam and such never giving the guy more than a whiff of playing time...

Don't get me wrong because I think Ronnie Mac kicks ass but he's getting old and it shows. With as fast as we now appear to be at the OLB spots I want someone nasty in the middle. I think Gerald could be that guy...

Thoughts?


-Poorknight1

 

[kerouac9]

There's a huge groundswell of support on this board for Hayes to see a lot of playing time in the middle. He doesn't have ideal size for the position, but plug him in. He couldn't be much worse than Ronnie Mac. I am afraid of him getting engulfed by offensive linemen in the new attacking defense, but otherwise, it's not like we have a real middle linebacker on the squad right now.

 

[Ryanwb]

Where' Dansby going to fit into the mix???

 

[Poorknight1]

Ideally our starting LB crew would be Ray at the Whip, Hayes at the Mike, and Dansby at the Sam.

Well...ideally in my opinion. Levar will be a back up forever unless he can stay healthy (which we knew might be a concern when we drafted him). Denny made that comment awhile ago about only having so much cartilage in a knee that can be cut away so I think his days as a pro ball player are numbered.

-Poorknight1

 

[CardLogic]

Well said PK!

I believe that we will see more of Hayes this year. Next year he could very likely be starting MLB. jmho

 

[kerouac9]

Where' Dansby going to fit into the mix???

Dansby's a prototypical strong-side backer, but look for him to appear on both sides in blitzing situations this season while he adjusts to the game.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

There's a huge groundswell of support on this board for Hayes to see a lot of playing time in the middle. He doesn't have ideal size for the position, but plug him in. He couldn't be much worse than Ronnie Mac. I am afraid of him getting engulfed by offensive linemen in the new attacking defense, but otherwise, it's not like we have a real middle linebacker on the squad right now.

Campo had Dat Nguyen playing MLB for him in Dallas and Pendergast is a Campo disciple so you never know. There are plenty of productive MLBs in the NFL who are smaller or the same size as Hayes (Zach Thomas, Rocky Calmus, Nick Barnett, etc.). It mostly depends on the system and Pendergasts appears to be compatible with small LBs. From all indications, McKinnon isn't losing his job yet so Hayes will probably play SLB and get switched out on passing downs for Dansby (who can cover and rush the passer). Sorry, but things aren't looking so good for your boy Fisher.

 

[kerouac9]

Campo had Dat Nguyen playing MLB for him in Dallas and Pendergast is a Campo disciple so you never know. There are plenty of productive MLBs in the NFL who are smaller or the same size as Hayes (Zach Thomas, Rocky Calmus, Nick Barnett, etc.). It mostly depends on the system and Pendergasts appears to be compatible with small LBs.

I hadn't really thought about that. You may be right. Did Dallas really have the best D in the NFL last season? Good lord. That being said, though, the LBs that you mention besides Nguyen have two massive DTs in front of them. It's easier to be a small "mike" when you're almost totally protected from linemen.

From all indications, McKinnon isn't losing his job yet so Hayes will probably play SLB and get switched out on passing downs for Dansby (who can cover and rush the passer). Sorry, but things aren't looking so good for your boy Fisher.

I agree, things don't look good for him. I wish nothing but the best for the kid, but if it's better for Fisher to play Special Teams and the Cards win 10 games, so be it. I just don't like hearing people say that Fisher is injury-prone when he started 16 games this season and only had preventative surgery this off-season (as L.J. Shelton did this season and, I believe, last season). I think that if Fisher is healthy, he'll win the job. I do think it's possible that Hayes might take Raynoch's job on the opposite side this season (if Fisher is healthy).

 

[BuckeyeCardinal]

I also think that once McKinnon is done playing, Hayes will move to MLB. It is a similar path that McKinnon took when he came into the NFL. McKinnon, although a MLB in college, began his NFL career as a OLB. McKinnon replaced Eric Hill at MLB.

At the end of last year, LB's coach Jeff Fitzgerald said that Hayes has the most potential of any LB on the team.

He doesn't seem to have ideal size for MLB.....yet I agree with Jim....he has mucho potential and COULD be the MLB of the future for us.

 

[vikesfan]

Dansby can play Sam or Will. He can cover and blitz. He is a huge upgrade.

 

[artp]

Hayes was a great pick for us last year. He is still a year away IMO as a starter, but in reality he's just an injury away. I look or him to up his game and be a good contributor this season.

 

[azdad1978]

I say whoever comes in and step up in mini camp wins the starting position.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Where' Dansby going to fit into the mix???

Hayes will end up taking over for Levar once his knee give out. Sorry Levar I really think your a good LB but your body is not cooperating.

Darby has the size to play MLB, and should be Mac's Hier.

Peace

 

[Skkorpion]

Hayes is the starting strong side OLB, just as Jimmy O told you. Listen to Jimmy O and Irk27. They don't claim to have inside info but they do.

Right now, Hayes is our best LB. Period.

 

[arthurracoon]

Hayes is the starting strong side OLB, just as Jimmy O told you. Listen to Jimmy O and Irk27. They don't claim to have inside info but they do.

Right now, Hayes is our best LB. Period.

Who is Irk27?

 

[Skkorpion]

Who is Irk27?

lrk27. Doesn't matter. He rarely posts. Only 99 times so far. When he does, pay attention.

 

[arthurracoon]

lrk27. Doesn't matter. He rarely posts. Only 99 times so far. When he does, pay attention.

 

[BACH]

Hayes will end up taking over for Levar once his knee give out. Sorry Levar I really think your a good LB but your body is not cooperating.

Darby has the size to play MLB, and should be Mac's Hier.

Peace

I'm pretty sure it's the other way around...

Hayes could play OLB, but willeventually take over for Mac at MLB and Dansby will start at OLB before mid-season.

 

[Twist18]

I agree with most of what everyone is saying but are we forgetting one LB? I thought Levar Woods played pretty well after Thompson went down. Where does he fit into the mix?

 

[Tangodnzr]

You beat me to the punch Twist.

I, too, thought Woods played decently last year. And Also...what about Darling?

Where DO these two seem to fit in right now? ...if at all

 

[Harry]

The biggest obstacle McKinnon faces is third and long. He has simply lost so much quickness that he can't drop back deep enough to effectively seal the middle on a zone. For the last two seasons when McKinnon has been trapped in the game on a passing down teams have just tossed the ball over him and watched him bat at the air. This is particularly apparent in the last minutes of a game. What made Nguyen so attractive in the middle was that he could play all situations.

It's also where the concern comes in on a shorter MLB. This simply leaves passing lanes open, especially in this era of taller receivers.

Dansby could be moved into the middle, but it would be a waste of his talent. His strength is as an edge rusher. If he doesn't start immediately, he should quickly displace Fisher.

Hayes may prove better than McKinnon, but I doubt either offers a long term solution, since Hayes didn't displace McKinnon last season. It's fair to say that the defensive line has not kept blockers off the MLBs so that they could be highly effective. However, I think it's also fair to say that MLBs haven't been very good at shedding blockers on their own. Whoever is playing the middle (normally McKinnon), too few stops are made at the line and none behind the line.

 

[Wildman©]

The biggest obstacle that the entire Cards team faced last year was 3rd and long... On DEFENSE , IMO, we never had the right personnel on the field to stop our opponents on third down. Personally, I never understood why we didn't stay with DEFENSIVE people who stopped our opponents on 1st and 2nd down a few times just to check their effectiveness...

BTW, I hope that Dansby turns out to be a great player, but is anyone else here concerned that his BP is listed as 285 lbs?

 

[schel]

BTW, I hope that Dansby turns out to be a great player, but is anyone else here concerned that his BP is listed as 285 lbs?

That has to be a misprint. He's around 250. I'm sure if he let himself go, it would have been a story.

 

[Poorknight1]

Schel- BP is bench press...meaning his bench is around 285. His weight is right around 250.


-Poorknight1

 

[schel]

Wildman is talking about Bench Press (BP) if I am not mistaken.

I suck at reading