Thread: Bears would be wise to consider moving mcclellin to sam 'backer

I see this as a smart move. Finally playing to a players strengths as opposed to playing him out of position in some instances. A breath of fresh air to me and I'm all for it. Move him around to be effective depending on the situation.

Here's hoping to Roosevelt Colvin 2.0

Damn, I don't know how the rest of you feel, but I feel pretty dumb. This makes perfect sense, and I didn't even think of it. All this time, we have occsionally speculated about a move of Shea to MLB to replace Lacher, all the while knowing that would be a stretch, but moving Roach inside (as a temp replacement) and kicking Shea to the Sam spot is almost a no brainer. Hell, I think he would shine in that spot, especially with an aggressive blitzing scheme. I'm so flippin stupid!

Originally Posted by Henry Burris

I don't care what they do to win, as long as that is the end result. Emery hinted before, that he envisioned multiple uses for McClellan, so this comes as little surprise.

Yeah exactly. I don't know why the idea of moving him around would come as any kind of surprise. And of course this is just the kind of a statement you get from a "blogger" who was no idea what he's talking about as it relates to McClellin.

This means there is less pressure on the SAM to make plays, which would be ideal for McClellin. Addidtionally the Bears could also take advantage of his pass rushing skills to disguise different blitz packages between McClellin and the DE.

McClellin is a playmaker and was drafted to be a playmaker. The SAM role in the Bears defense is not that of a playmaker. It a "discipline" position where the idea is to control a gap and to force plays back into the playmakers to make the stop. So why take a guy with his skill set and play making abilities and put him where he can use them the least?

We also don't blitz much if at all from that SAM position so unless Tucker changes that it's an even bigger waste to play him there as opposed to using him at RDE to give Pep breathers and moving him around to spots where he can rush, blitz or drop into coverage. You reduce his play making ability if you play him at SAM unless you re-design how that position is played.

This is all part of the authors thoughts about playing Roach and MLB in place of Urlacher. If that happens this year (and I doubt it will) then I'd mover JT Thomas to SAM and not waste one of my best player makers in a position where he himself is not expected to make plays. Roach is actually very good at doing what he does there well but it a low profile spot in this defense and it doesn't get the glory other positions do.

If Tucker changes how that position is played then maybe it's something to consider but unless he does that putting McClellin there would be a huge waste of his raw talent.

Originally Posted by soulman

Yeah exactly. I don't know why the idea of moving him around would come as any kind of surprise. And of course this is just the kind of a statement you get from a "blogger" who was no idea what he's talking about as it relates to McClellin.

This means there is less pressure on the SAM to make plays, which would be ideal for McClellin. Addidtionally the Bears could also take advantage of his pass rushing skills to disguise different blitz packages between McClellin and the DE.

McClellin is a playmaker and was drafted to be a playmaker. The SAM role in the Bears defense is not that of a playmaker. It a "discipline" position where the idea is to control a gap and to force plays back into the playmakers to make the stop. So why take a guy with his skill set and play making abilities and put him where he can use them the least?

We also don't blitz much if at all from that SAM position so unless Tucker changes that it's an even bigger waste to play him there as opposed to using him at RDE to give Pep breathers and moving him around to spots where he can rush, blitz or drop into coverage. You reduce his play making ability if you play him at SAM unless you re-design how that position is played.

This is all part of the authors thoughts about playing Roach and MLB in place of Urlacher. If that happens this year (and I doubt it will) then I'd mover JT Thomas to SAM and not waste one of my best player makers in a position where he himself is not expected to make plays. Roach is actually very good at doing what he does there well but it a low profile spot in this defense and it doesn't get the glory other positions do.

If Tucker changes how that position is played then maybe it's something to consider but unless he does that putting McClellin there would be a huge waste of his raw talent.

Well, my thinking is that's the whole point. I agree that it's a waste if we play the SAM like Lovie played it, but I'm assuming if they play the SAM in a more aggressive position (which I have wanted for some time) that he will get MANY opportunities to make plays. Tucker may run the same base as Lovie, but I can see many different ways to use him from the SAM position within the same 4-3 base. You don't have to run a 3-4 to get creative with your OLB's.