The-Hogs.net - Washington Football Discussion, Redskins to Commanders Era

This is Brian Allen's scouting report:

Name: Brian Allen
Position: Linebacker
Grade: 64 | Key
Alert: None

Comment:
Allen is a little more physical than you might think, he plays with leverage, he uses his hands well, and he is not afraid to mix it up inside. He has a pretty good knack for shedding blocks, and slipping blocks, and he has pretty good athleticism and can adjust on the move. He has good change of direction skills, he has good overall quickness, and he shows the ability to beat blockers to the spot. His pass defense instincts appear to be adequate, while he is not a power player vs. the run, he appears to be very comfortable in space, and he makes more than his share of plays on the move. Allen is intriguing on film and we've been waiting for him to take his game to the next level, but he has not progressed like his athleticism and skills would indicate.

Now clearly he will be a very good special teams player, but they seem to think he is close to the "next level" could Allen be bulking up another 15+ pounds or so to play MLB?

He's 6-0 232 now... Just as a size comparison Ray Lewis is 6-1 245.

Anyway, do you guys think Allen will compete for the starting job? I think Lewis might be able to max his potential.

Maybe...but why? We have a guy who knows this defense better and who has already started in Lemar Marshall....I think that the coaches see the same things you do in him, but i don't think you take the Carolina Panther's reserve OLB, and make him essentially the Quarterback of our Defense

Lemar Marshall is okay, but he's even smaller than Allen.

Why not have a competition?

Hopefully we find someone after the June 1 cuts or perhaps in the draft, but I am not totally comfortable with Lemar Marshall as the starter in the middle. I am comfortable with Gregg Williams making that decision though.

he's only 4 pounds lighter, but in the 4 6, the middle linebacker is not the point of attack as often as in the 4'3...so size does not matter as much as leverage, intelligence, and awareness...but competition is always a good way to get the best out of a guy...but i would assume that the competition would be more between Barrow, Marshall, and Barnes, players aware of the system, rather than between Marshall and Allen.

competition is a good thing though

In a perfect world Mike Barrow would return to the lineup, but that may never happen.

BA actually has 1 NFL start at MIKE linebacker, though he has mostly played WILL.

He could start.............on special teams. I'd love to have a defensive player be a star on our special teams unit. Rock Cartright had some tackles but this guy can easily outshine him.

I think this is a very good pick up for this team, Brian will fit in real nice in DC. He is a real good special teams player and a reliable back up when called upon.

ENOUGH SAID
LEMAR MARSHALL BABY!!!

Brain Allen certainly has a chance to start I think with the coaching staff that we have anyone has a chance to start given the opportunity to start. Someone said on this thread that he's smaller than Lemar NOT, He is less than a inch shorter but has natural body bulk 232lbs. We'll just have to see what happens folks as always we wont really know untill kickoff.

Skinsfan55 wrote:Lemar Marshall is okay, but he's even smaller than Allen.

Why not have a competition?

Every position is in a competition every year. This is the way of the NFL.

Mike Barrow, let's hope he gets better because then we would have good depth.

i'm not sure why everyone is so concerned about the middle linebacker position. sure, it would be nice to have a real good player in there. but with lavar arrington and marcus washington back there, i wouldn't be too worried if we had mickey mouse starting along side them.

everyone needs to remember that our LBs were GREAT last year, and that was with washington, marshall, and pierce. is anyone actually going to try to argue that we will be worse off with washington, marshall, and arrington??? in fact, won't we be much BETTER with those three out there? i know there are some differences between middle and outside LB... but think about who we have running the defense. gregg williams will find a way to make it work.

vife wrote:Mike Barrow, let's hope he gets better because then we would have good depth.

When MB returns our LB corp is going to terrorize QBs next year

I find it funny that everyone is worried about the D when it was our offense that sucked last year. So we lost two players off of our #2 D. Whoopdedoo. We'll still be top five next year. Why: GW. He took an underacheiving squad and turned them into monsters last year. Why will this year be different? Pierce was a linebacker with brains but average starting talent. Smoot was all heart baby. (and I miss him) Replacements will be found. That's what great coaches do.

Things have changed on the defense, we lost a PRO BOWL quality CB and MLB.

Pierce is very, very smart and he was the leader of our defense, and now he's gone.

Smoot was a huge part of the defense because he shut down his side of the field and allowed Williams to blitz.

We got Daniels, Arrington, Bowen, and Barrow back but 2 out of 3 are very old for football players and have serious durability concerns, not only that but who knows what level they will be able to play at, if any?

Marshall was decent for us last year but for a MLB in the NFL he is TINY! 6-2 227 might seem big to the average person, but a MLB in the NFL has to be much bigger. Marshall needs to gain AT LEAST 20 pounds (without too many of those pounds in fat) and even then he'd be small for a middle linebacker! He's already said he's uncomfortable playing at a bigger size (though he did say that he'd like to try gaining weight the right way, not just with fast food, lol) Anyway, it's for these reasons that I guestion the defense... IMO the offense will be MUCH better than he defense in 2005 unless something is done. With Ramsey improving, the line getting back together, Moss coming over, Clinton Portis playing strong again etc. etc. This will be a solid offense, and the defense could struggle without the right personell.

I believe Greg Williams can do his job better than any other coach too. He will get it done whoever we draft. He took Pierce! A NOBODY into a star, he can do it with anyone.

Things have changed on the defense, we lost a PRO BOWL quality CB and MLB.
Pierce is very, very smart and he was the leader of our defense, and now he's gone.

Pierce turned into a "Pro Bowler" because of GW. He was a smart football player with standard NFL ability. You can't tell me that GW can't find another player to take his place. As for the Defensive leader...welcome back Lavar!

Smoot was a huge part of the defense because he shut down his side of the field and allowed Williams to blitz.

Smoot did NOT shut down his side of the field. He was a very good corner but he was in no way shape or form a Shutdown CB. He had great heart but like any other #2 corner is replaceable. (As I said before I will miss him, though)

Marshall was decent for us last year but for a MLB in the NFL he is TINY!

Tell that to Zach Thomas at 5'11 230. Marshall won't need another 20 lbs in Williams D.

Look bottom line: the D will make do. They may not be #2 next year but should still make it into the top five. The team worked last year even with having to provide replacements with the broken parts. The O on the other hand had major problems. Yes the line will be better with Jansen back , yes Ramsey is improving but you can't say with ANY certainty that the O will be better than the D. The D proved itself last year the O did not. Just because they lost two players does not mean that they will suddenly suck. Two players does not the D make. There are a bunch of other guys who contributed too. I'm not sold on Moss yet either. But I will say I am more worried about our Offense right now than the D.

I will say this though: how bout we agree that the D can be not as good and the offense be much better so the Skins go to the playoffs next year! Sound good?

Pierce turned into a "Pro Bowler" because of GW. He was a smart football player with standard NFL ability. You can't tell me that GW can't find another player to take his place. As for the Defensive leader...welcome back Lavar!

Gregg Williams is not a miracle worker. He can't turn water into wine. He got lucky with Pierce and found a diamond in the rough. Will he be able to make Marshall a great MLB at 227 pounds? That's very unlikely.

Smoot did NOT shut down his side of the field. He was a very good corner but he was in no way shape or form a Shutdown CB. He had great heart but like any other #2 corner is replaceable. (As I said before I will miss him, though)

You're simply incorrect, Smoot's excellent coverage led to us being able to blitz effectively, lose him and the entire dynamic of the offense is altered. Can we get Rolle or Jones to shut down their side of the field? I doubt it... both would need time and reports say Pac-Man is dumb... he scored a 13 on the Wonderlic test... which hints that he may be mentally retarded.

Tell that to Zach Thomas at 5'11 230. Marshall won't need another 20 lbs in Williams D.

Look bottom line: the D will make do. They may not be #2 next year but should still make it into the top five. The team worked last year even with having to provide replacements with the broken parts. The O on the other hand had major problems. Yes the line will be better with Jansen back , yes Ramsey is improving but you can't say with ANY certainty that the O will be better than the D. The D proved itself last year the O did not. Just because they lost two players does not mean that they will suddenly suck. Two players does not the D make. There are a bunch of other guys who contributed too. I'm not sold on Moss yet either. But I will say I am more worried about our Offense right now than the D.

Zach Thomas is 5'1''... Lemar Marshall is 6'2''

Thomas is a low man who can win the battle, Marshal isn't. Yours is a flawed analogy. Marshall needs more weight, Pierce is only 240 but an inch shorter, Marshall WILL need some bulk in order to even be considered a serious candidate for the job.

This defense is in some serious trouble without some work, and I think we should heavily concentrate on D, we need some youth, the offense has it... but the D is almost wholly without it.

Gregg Williams is not a miracle worker. He can't turn water into wine. He got lucky with Pierce and found a diamond in the rough. Will he be able to make Marshall a great MLB at 227 pounds? That's very unlikely.

So you are effectively saying that him turning the D from What #28 29 in 2003 to #2 in 04 was simply because of Pierce's brilliant play and GW was in no way shape or form responsible for that. GW has done nothing but coach top five Defenses practically his whole career regardless of his personnel.

You're simply incorrect, Smoot's excellent coverage led to us being able to blitz effectively, lose him and the entire dynamic of the offense is altered. Can we get Rolle or Jones to shut down their side of the field? I doubt it... both would need time and reports say Pac-Man is dumb... he scored a 13 on the Wonderlic test... which hints that he may be mentally retarded.

I am not arguing that Smoot wasn't a good corner...but you said shutdown. Nope. Sorry. Did a very commendable job but he was burned a few times and had people catch balls on his side of the field. Plus we have a certain CB named Springs...and we are getting Bowen back...oh and there is that guy named Sean Taylor who has one year of experience under his belt. Wow...have you got something against Pac-Man? You know some people just don't test well...

Zach Thomas is 5'1''... Lemar Marshall is 6'2''

Thomas is a low man who can win the battle, Marshal isn't. Yours is a flawed analogy. Marshall needs more weight, Pierce is only 240 but an inch shorter, Marshall WILL need some bulk in order to even be considered a serious candidate for the job.

See that's why we have a waist and a felxible torso. Low man wins the battle does not refer to who is shorter. It refers to who can get down and get under a person's pads. That only becomes difficult if you are 6'7 or so. Zach Thomas is effective because he knows how to play not because he is 5'11. Ofcourse all of this conjecture assumes that Marshall will actually play MLB instead of Barrow.

This defense is in some serious trouble without some work, and I think we should heavily concentrate on D, we need some youth, the offense has it... but the D is almost wholly without it.

Do you seriously think that the D is going to suck because two players left? Please. As for age, yes, we have a couple of older players in the D but so what. You act like youth is the end all, be all answer even after arguing that we're screwed even if we do draft a CB. The D will still be good. There are several Pro-Bowl caliber players on the D. Only Portis can seriously claim that distinction on the O. (Although I think Jansen and Samuels often get snubbed)

I guess we will just have to disagree. I think that since the D and Gregg Williams proved themselves last year that they get the nod over the tragedy that was our offense. In my eyes the O has alot more to prove and really needs to kick it in gear.

1.) Turning the D from 28 to 3 was the work of signing Shawn Springs, Cornelius Griffin, Joe Salave'a, Marcus Washington, Sean Taylor... and the improved play of Antonio Pierce.

GW is a big help but not a miracle worker. We've done nothing to maintain the defense this offseason and we've seen it wither away.

2.) I said shut down his side of the field, he's an elite corner, it fits. You get beat sometimes, but he still allowed the D to blitz, and even blitzed some himself. As far as the people don't test well theory for Pac-Man... have you taken some of those sample questions? It's incredibly easy, check out www.wonderlic.com. Anyone with a college education should get higher than a 13. It shows a severe mental difficiency and I doubt he could learn the system.

3.) So you're saying the weight ratio doesn't matter? Wow. Anyway, I doubt Barrow can play at a high level again and I think everyone on the Skins knows we need a replacement. Marshall needs to gain some weight, about 20 pounds, if you don't agree then you're simply incorrect, it's not a point of debate, he can't be a starting calibur MLB at 6-2 227.

4.) We have slow DE's that are not good at pass rushing so we had to have Smoot cover the field and Pierce make the reads and lead the defense. We didn't just lose two players, but the two most important players. Not the two best, but the most important.

My point is that Gregg Williams probably can't wave his magic wand and make Lemar Marshall a pro bowler or take Wilds or a rookie corner and make them rookie of the year.

I know Gregg Williams cant make a good defense with anyone, but he plays the defense to each players strengths. Lamar Marshall could be a diamond in the rough like AP, be normal at MLB like he was at OLB or will be a failure.

1. Pierce was a solid contributor. I think that someone will step up and fill the middle.

2. I believe that Smoot was a good corner but he also had the benefit of working across from Champ and Springs. Those are elite corners. Smoot is a great #2. It will be interesting to see how Pac-Man does in the NFL then.

3. I'm assuming you mean height weight ratio? It does matter but only if the guy is exceptionally tall. 6'2 can still get their pads down quickly enough to get leverage. It is more about technique. Marshall does not have to put on 20 pounds to be an effective MLB. As a matter of fact 20 would be too much. This isn't the eagles system where the MLB is expected to blow up the middle. How bout we say 10 and call it even.

4. Well, we get Arrington back. He is quicker and can do more than most. He will help compensate. I believe you are overvaluing Smoot as the Skins best corner last year. I do not think he was better than Springs. Pierce was a smart player, yes. Someone else will step up and fill the void. The rest of the D isn't stupid.

I am not saying they will be as good. All I am saying is that I believe the D will still be top 5 next year because that is what GW builds. Your argument seems to be that the Skins D is going to suck because we lost two. I just can't agree with you on that. We don't need Pro bowlers to replace Smoot and Pierce. We just need solid players who will step up and do their jobs. I see your point...but I don't think the D is sunk.