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Emergence of a man named Ealy


Jmac

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Some times you have to poke the bear to get it angry and looks like R.R did exactly that. I have a feeling that Ealy will have a break out year. It is rare that a DE comes into his own in hIs 2nd year, but considering his back story it seems possible.  Taking  care of his disabled sister has made him grow up fast and motivated him to succeed. Heres to him showing out in 2015.

And by the way, the head case he replaced just had a child with his new girlfriend.  I will leave that alone.

 

Double thread.....sorry 

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Pulling for the guy, but the most accurate thing you said was that the second year is early for a 4-3 DE to break out.  He has done very little to prove anything yet, so I will watch and cross my fingers and hope your comments and optimism are justified. I know RR sang his praises, but RR tends to use the media to send messages to his players--more motivation than fact, at times.   He has shown positive signs, but the common fan often puts too much stock in a sack and tends to blame the DTs and LBs when we are gashed in the run game.  A DE must rush the passer with a "run-first" mentality in most situations; you cannot neglect your lanes, even when pressuring the passer.

Ealy was erratic in run support this pre-season.  I hope he gets that fixed.  Hardy was good vs. the run and had high sack totals of late--of course, he benefited from strong DT play.

If Ealy plays lights out, this defense will be top 3 in the NFL.  If not, he is something the opponent will exploit in the run game. 

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Ealy was erratic on run-support? I'm guessing you missed the final two preseason games. Again, Kony is way ahead of projections for a second year DE.

You have to take the whole body of work into account.  It would be nice to know how Ealy graded out in the preseason by PFF. I would like to think that he is making definitive progress,  but I am not going to look at things through homer glasses. Not saying that he isn't doing fine,  but the hype should be taken with a grain if salt (much like that last sack he got when he came in unguarded). His run support was a little shaky in August,  but hopefully he has the kinks out. 

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Pulling for the guy, but the most accurate thing you said was that the second year is early for a 4-3 DE to break out.  He has done very little to prove anything yet, so I will watch and cross my fingers and hope your comments and optimism are justified. I know RR sang his praises, but RR tends to use the media to send messages to his players--more motivation than fact, at times.   He has shown positive signs, but the common fan often puts too much stock in a sack and tends to blame the DTs and LBs when we are gashed in the run game.  A DE must rush the passer with a "run-first" mentality in most situations; you cannot neglect your lanes, even when pressuring the passer.

Ealy was erratic in run support this pre-season.  I hope he gets that fixed.  Hardy was good vs. the run and had high sack totals of late--of course, he benefited from strong DT play.

If Ealy plays lights out, this defense will be top 3 in the NFL.  If not, he is something the opponent will exploit in the run game. 

This pretty much sums it up.

DE and WR are our two weakest points.  Having someone like Ealy step up would be a nice surprise as would Charles Johnson having a good year.  CJ gets lost a month at a time on occasion.  If the DE's come through, I agree we will have a great D and take pressure off the offense

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Ealy was erratic on run-support? I'm guessing you missed the final two preseason games. Again, Kony is way ahead of projections for a second year DE.

There were 4 preseason games--are we going to pick the ones we want to prove that he was not erratic?. Regardless, 2 preseason games does not establish any player.

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All of our DEs sucked at the beginning of August. Let's not kid ourselves. Ron didn't chew asses out for kicks and giggles. Kony was the only one that stood out as the whole package. He closed the gap immediately and got constant pressure against The Pats and Steelers. There are no homer glasses here. We've got a second year DE who has steadily improved. Most of you guys are still stuck envisioning Oher and Turner abusing Ealy at training camp.

I don;t think we are in disagreement, but I think some of us are more skeptical of how he will do when the real bullets fly than you are.  Yes, he has improved, but there will be more on his shoulders this season. 

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