Linebackers, L. Walker Getting Media Attention

by Brian Galliford on Jun 13, 2007 9:08 AM EDT in Buffalo Bills News

Crowell is the elder LB in Buffalo

Angelo Crowell, John DiGiorgio and Langston Walker are all subjects in some interesting stories this morning...

Angelo Crowell, for better or worse, is now the elder statesman in Buffalo's linebacking corps:

Crowell's abilities and experience aside, the Bills are making sure not to put too much of a burden on his shoulders. That was evident during minicamp practices this past month. Crowell has stood to the side in the huddle while the middle linebacker calls the plays, as Fletcher did last year.

"I think the important thing for Angelo is for him to play ball and not try to do something that is out of character for him," Fewell said. "Yeah, he is the older guy now. But he leads better by example. ... He is one of the guys that is a proven playmaker for us, and we just want to use the most that he can offer."

I like the fact that the middle 'backer is still calling the defensive plays, but Crowell in my mind does need to be a bit more vocal this season. We have players that lead by example (Aaron Schobel, Chris Kelsay, Terrence McGee); what we need is a vocal guy to fire his teammates up a bit. That was Spikes' job last season. Crowell needs to be that guy this year.

John DiGiorgio isn't conceding anything to Paul Posluszny at middle linebacker:

"I think my chances are pretty good as long as I'm doing the right things, I'm making the right calls, getting everybody lined up and just going out there and making plays," Di- Giorgio said Tuesday after practice at the Bills' training facility. "Competition is what this game is all about. Poz is a great player, but I want that spot as well as he does, and we're going to compete for it."

I'm going to go on record as saying I would be a bit irritated if DiGiorgio is able to hold off Poz during training camp. I'm still betting that that won't happen, but if it does, an interesting question to bring up is this: does Posluszny get a shot at the WLB spot over Keith Ellison?

Jim McNally is defending Langston Walker's honor already:

Buffalo Bills offensive line coach Jim McNally, a Kenmore West High School graduate, doesn't believe the Raiders' struggles can be pinned on Walker.

"He was not part of the problem, period," McNally said.

Don't get too snippy there, coach. Perhaps McNally realizes that if this Walker experiment doesn't work out, he may find himself out of a job in Buffalo. The chances of that happening (a failed Walker experiment) are slim in my mind - I believe McNally when he says that Walker wasn't an issue in Oakland last year. I said as much in a post on Walker and Derrick Dockery from last week.

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Comments

The linebacker corp...

I think there is a 15% chance that DiGiorgio could seize the MLB starting slot. In that case, Poz (I believe) would start at WLB (or strong??).

However, whether that occurs or not, there will be a lot of rotation and situational roles. For example, say JD does play his tail off and is our starting Mike, with Crowell and Pos on the sides. I would see our (frequently utilized) nickel set LBs to be Ellison and Wire.

It's suddenly a possibility that our LB corp is set for a while, and could be rather dynamic.

It's very early, so let's see how all this plays out.

by Dock Ellis on Jun 13, 2007 11:44 AM EDT reply actions

I'd say 17%

Nah, I think Poz starts, but DiGiorgio gets the majority of snaps during passing situations. He's showing a great ability to be around the ball and make plays in the passing game during workouts, so if he can show that during the preseason I can see him getting 3rd down snaps.

I will also be sort of ticked if DiGiorgio starts. If Poz can't beat out an undrafted rookie, what does that say about him? I still can't picture that happening though...

by Kurupt on Jun 13, 2007 11:55 AM EDT reply actions

LB flexibility

I don't really see JD "beating out" Poz - I see that, if he is consistently good bordering on great enough to have a starting role, that Poz would go back to his slightly more "natural" role outside - on the strong side? With AC at weak? Whichever way, I see there being 5-6 LBs constantly rotating in.

Good point on JD's pass defense acumen, Kurupt. Nickel LBs are him and Wire?

There's a lot of options here. I don't see Poz getting beat out under almost any circumstances as a starter - and I see Ellison (not unlike Preston, Wilson and Whittle) as the staff's plug-anywhere type guy, who can take on multiple roles.

by Dock Ellis on Jun 13, 2007 1:56 PM EDT reply actions

good point

on the rotation. Crowell should be an every down player and get the most snaps, but I can see Poz, Ellison, JD, and Wire rotating in and out. Haggan has also been a short yardage/goal line LB for us in the past.

I expect JD to get more passing situation snaps than Poz, but I think Crowell and Ellison are both solid in the pass game as well. I'm not sure which 1, 2 or 3 (with Wire included) would be out there first. I'd imagine Crowell would be out there by himself if we went 1 LB, but I could see any of the other LB's out there too. Hopefully, someone in the bunch can blitz too because we haven't had a good blitzing LB in some time.

I think Marv and Jauron are too high on Poz for him to sit. He's a polished, intelligent and has good instincts. I don't see why he shouldn't be started unless he gets hurt or DiGiorgio completely dominates during the preseason.

by Kurupt on Jun 13, 2007 3:12 PM EDT up reply actions

You're right, Dock

The team does like to rotate its personnel, and I think that works at more than one position than LB.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the following lineup on nickel downs:

Kelsay - Tripplett - Hargrove - Schobel
Wire - Ellison
Webster - Simpson - Whitner - K. Thomas - McGee

That'd be taking out starters Kyle Williams, Posluszny, and Crowell. I think overall we'll see a lot of different looks with a TON of different personnel. Our coaching staff is smart, so they'll try to read situations and put specialized personnel out there, rather than going with one "set" unit all the time.

Great discussion, Dock and K.

Buffalo Rumblings: we are awesome.

by Brian Galliford on Jun 13, 2007 3:39 PM EDT up reply actions