Titans 2nd rounder Kevin Dodd has foot surgery

[tiger7_88]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000665319/article/roundup-titans-lb-kevin-dodd-undergoes-foot-surgery

 

Quote

 

Tennessee Titans second-round draft pick Kevin Dodd underwentpreventative foot surgery Thursday morning, the team announced.

The 6-foot-5, 277-pound outside linebacker learned he had a stress fracture in rookie camp, per NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport. Thursday's procedure was to insert a screw in the foot.

 

 

[Saca312]

What surprised me the most was how I missed the fact he was converted from DE to an Outside Linebacker. 

 

[LinvilleGorge]

50 minutes ago, Saca312 said:

What surprised me the most was how I missed the fact he was converted from DE to an Outside Linebacker. 

 

Shocked me when the Redskins did that with Preston Smith last year too. Seems like two prototype 4-3 DEs playing out of position but what do I know. 

[jdpanther5]

4 hours ago, Saca312 said:

What surprised me the most was how I missed the fact he was converted from DE to an Outside Linebacker. 

 

 

3 hours ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Shocked me when the Redskins did that with Preston Smith last year too. Seems like two prototype 4-3 DEs playing out of position but what do I know. 

I won't claim to know what style of defense these teams run, but if they're base 3-4s then OLB is a natural conversion from a 4-3 DE. 

[tiger7_88]

8 minutes ago, jdpanther5 said:

I won't claim to know what style of defense these teams run, but if they're base 3-4s then OLB is a natural conversion from a 4-3 DE. 

Sometimes it is, sometimes its not.

There are some 4-3 DE's that have speed and agility enough to play OLB in a 3-4.

There are many who definitely do NOT.  Charles Johnson would NEVER have been able to play OLB in a 3-4 defense.

[Mr. Scot]

I like Dodd as a 4-3 DE. I'm iffy on him as a 3-4 OLB.

[LinvilleGorge]

16 minutes ago, tiger7_88 said:

Sometimes it is, sometimes its not.

There are some 4-3 DE's that have speed and agility enough to play OLB in a 3-4.

There are many who definitely do NOT.  Charles Johnson would NEVER have been able to play OLB in a 3-4 defense.

This.  Not every 4-3 DE can make the conversion just like not ever 3-4 OLB could.  Von Miller is a beast of a 3-4 OLB but he'd get the ball ran down his throat as a 4-3 DE.

Dodd and Smith seem to me like guys who are tailor made 4-3 DEs.  Both of those dudes are 6'4"+ 270+.  That's HUGE for a 3-4 OLB.

[Clicheking]

2 hours ago, LinvilleGorge said:

This.  Not every 4-3 DE can make the conversion just like not ever 3-4 OLB could.  Von Miller is a beast of a 3-4 OLB but he'd get the ball ran down his throat as a 4-3 DE.

Dodd and Smith seem to me like guys who are tailor made 4-3 DEs.  Both of those dudes are 6'4"+ 270+.  That's HUGE for a 3-4 OLB.

Fug Von Miller

 

 

 

It's still real to me damnit!!!!

[Swaggasaurus]

5 hours ago, jdpanther5 said:

 

I won't claim to know what style of defense these teams run, but if they're base 3-4s then OLB is a natural conversion from a 4-3 DE. 

Well no, not really. As aomeone who played 3-4 and 4-4 OLB successfully and 4-3 DE miserably, not so natural. The key responsibility in both is to set the edge, rush the passer, and crash down to support in that order. It's so much different playing on the line vs. off. At OLB the game is about angles, period. If your outside shoulder turns inside out you are toast. Doesn't matter how strong or fast you are. If you keep the ball carrier inside your outside shoulder you win. Playing off the line you have the benefit of seeing depth to avoid or take on blockers. Whether stopping the run or rushing. DE requires so much more strength and explosion.You have offensive  lineman 5 yards closer to you and less time to react because you have limited visibility. It's also so much easier to get caught upfield with A bad angle because your depth perception isn't as clear and you are fighting off a strong, athletic, OT who could weigh over 300 pounds without spacing. Totally different positions and not as interchangeable as media folks make it. 

 

[jdpanther5]

11 hours ago, Swaggasaurus said:

Well no, not really. As aomeone who played 3-4 and 4-4 OLB successfully and 4-3 DE miserably, not so natural. The key responsibility in both is to set the edge, rush the passer, and crash down to support in that order. It's so much different playing on the line vs. off. At OLB the game is about angles, period. If your outside shoulder turns inside out you are toast. Doesn't matter how strong or fast you are. If you keep the ball carrier inside your outside shoulder you win. Playing off the line you have the benefit of seeing depth to avoid or take on blockers. Whether stopping the run or rushing. DE requires so much more strength and explosion.You have offensive  lineman 5 yards closer to you and less time to react because you have limited visibility. It's also so much easier to get caught upfield with A bad angle because your depth perception isn't as clear and you are fighting off a strong, athletic, OT who could weigh over 300 pounds without spacing. Totally different positions and not as interchangeable as media folks make it. 

 

I don't really disagree with any of that, and maybe "naturally" wasn't the best word, but the DE to OLB move is a pretty common transition when a player moves from a 4-3 to 3-4. My point was that, assuming these guys were drafted into 3-4 schemes, they're gonna have to adjust to a new position. Chances are teams aren't gonna change their whole defensive scheme so they can better accommodate their second round rookie.

Plus the question posed wasn't "can they transition?" which of course will have some growing pains, instead it was "WHY would they move prototypical 4-3 DEs?" When the simple answer is that the position doesn't exist in the same way in that system. It's like asking why we don't start Klein as a 4th linebacker when it's mainly because that position doesn't exist in our scheme.

Some have misconstrued my point about the positional fit. I have no idea if Dodd will be successful as an OLB, but given that position is a major source of pass rush in a 3-4 it's a logical fit for one of the better pass-rushers from the draft.

[caatfan]

21 hours ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Shocked me when the Redskins did that with Preston Smith last year too. Seems like two prototype 4-3 DEs playing out of position but what do I know. 

I don't get a 270 lb+ MLB, let alone two on the outside. All our LB'rs are 225-240, aside from Cash. The Skins have some other heavyweight backers too, and currently list 18 total on their roster.

[LinvilleGorge]

1 hour ago, caatfan said:

I don't get a 270 lb+ MLB, let alone two on the outside. All our LB'rs are 225-240, aside from Cash. The Skins have some other heavyweight backers too, and currently list 18 total on their roster.

The 3-4 OLB position is a little different animal.  It's really a OLB/DE hybrid position that doesn't have a direct comparison in the 4-3.  But, 270+ is still a really big 3-4 OLB.  They're usually in the 250-260 range.  Basically big for a LB but a little light for a DE.

[caatfan]

You're right. All the 3-4 teams seem to be using bigger guys on the outside. Dodd's 277 lbs. puts him 15 above the average, and Orakpo and Morgan are a little below.  

[MadHatter]

I just don't see Dodd having a lot of success as an OLB in a 3-4 defense.  Guy is bigger than the avg 3-4 OLB and also tested in the bottom 20% of DE's in athleticism at the combine.  Throw in his questionable shoulder and now foot surgery and things do not seem good.