[skins89moss]

Originally Posted by itvnetop

I won't back down from what I said before the draft- I still believe Rey was the weakest pick out of the three Trojan linebackers from what I watched at SC the last few seasons. I still think Cush is going to wreck havoc in Houston and it will take Clay a few seasons to really show his worth, as he's a late bloomer. I'm happy Rey's making plays so far- but guess what... Cincy's coaching staff is letting him freelance a bit more because he's surrounded by two better, more disciplined linebackers in Dhani Jones and Keith Rivers (and Rivers is a far superior player than Rey at this level... yes, he has a season on him- but Keith is the real deal). Coincidence?

Sorta like at SC- the Bengals' coaches are playing to Rey's strength (aggressive headhunting/playmaking) and you can only achieve that in a system that allows for such a player. Most NFL teams bypassed him because most d-coordinators don't want the headache of such a high risk-high reward player that may not fit into a structured scheme that relies on every player to remain in their zones.

I bet if you were on this board before the 2000 draft, you would have been pretty amped on LaVar Arrington as well- the dude had pretty much the same MO as Rey coming out of school. Highlight hits, incredible speed and power, etc. His shortcomings were the same exact ones Rey had- inconsistency, tendency to overpursue, looking for the big hit instead of the solid tackle, slow to fill cut back lanes, etc. Do you honestly think Rey would be making a difference in DC? What makes him that much better than LaVar coming out of college? I was the biggest LA fan for most of his career , btw...

Remember, 31 teams may not have drafted Rey not because he isn't a playmaker and won't make SportsCenter highlights once in a while... but maybe because their systems don't allow (or don't have the surrounding personnel) the luxury of a freelancing headhunter that makes crowds go "Ahhhh."

It's been two games and I'm not yet ready to write off Orakpo for an Oher swap w/ a Rey miracle throw-in somehow (even though Oher is definitely the real deal for B-Mo). Did I just really defend a Longhorn over my own Trojan-in-arms? Somebody slap me...

What does this have to do with O-Line Depth?