AncientCityIndian
08-25-2017, 10:55 AM
My opinion is that disorganization, inexperience and injuries combined to make no one O lineman look very good at the beginning of last year. By year`s end, I felt Herbig had pretty much established himself as our best OL. Every game he seemed to improve. He is remarkably quick for a guy of his girth and will be a real force for us as long as he stays. When he hits you, you go down or backwards. He has been selected as an All Pac 12 pick as high as the 2nd team preseason as a sophomore. With a Pac 12 championship, he could be selected 1st team. Interestingly, our two starting tackles are our smallest O linemen starters.
Among the linebackers, I am really not qualified to break down Barton`s game except to say he has incredible athleticism with great instincts. He could play running back or safety. Very fast for an interior linebacker. Section DD over on the Bootleg has been high on this guy for a long time now and predicted he would start this year.
Kalambayi and Alfieri have been good performers for us with similar stats last year. The difference in the way they are perceived by scouts and draft analysts is probably due to the expectations game. Kalambayi progressed in 2015 to the point where his tackles for loss, sacks and overall aggressiveness were expected to be even greater in 2016, but they were not. He did not appreciably improve in any facet of his game. Alfieri did improve and appeared to work harder at improvement which is why he is projected above Kalambayi by the NFL draft guys to this point. That Alfieri was moved to ILB must have been predicated on the fact that the staff felt Kalambayi was ready to reach his potential along with improvement from Tyler, Robinson and Toohill. ILB was arguably a weak point of the D last year but looks to be very strong now with the addition of Alfieri. That Alfieri has not been designated a starter must be testament to the fact Okereke and Barton are playing at high levels and that Alfieri may still need a bit more practice time to adapt completely to his new position. I`ve always liked Okereke`s potential.
Meeks is just a genetically predestined pro cornerback from attitude to physical ability to knowledge of the game. He might be our team`s best player at any position. He makes the entire D play better just by being out there. Holder is not as physical but obviously is highly regarded as his preseason 2nd team all Pac 12 prediction indicates. Akina has been a gift from above; we are lucky to have him and he attracts talent. Shaw must have heard that disembodied voice speaking "if you hire him, they will come".
