DeMeco Ryans

[TonyR]

I live in the Philadelphia market so I listen to Philly sports radio and of course hear about the Eagles all the time. They are very happy with the improvement DeMeco Ryans has provided them at the MLB position thus far this season. The Eagles got him from Houston for a 4th round pick this past offseason. Considering the Broncos need at the position, and the connection with Kubiak, do you think it's something the Broncos could/should have done? Along with not finding a better backup RB, giving Joe Mays that contract instead of upgrading the position is one of my biggest complaints with the offseason moves.

[TheReverend]

Obviously, yes. Wouldve been a HUGE boon

[fontaine]

This is cool, I was just thinking we need more hindsight threads.

[TonyR]

I'm perplexed what Fox/Del Rio/Elway were thinking here. I suppose the Texans preferred to move Ryans out of the conference, but even so there were other players available.

[TonyR]

Originally Posted by fontaine

This is cool, I was just thinking we need more hindsight threads.

^ Seriously? Is this not a football discussion forum? There are plenty of other great threads for you to read and post in.

[Ray Finkle]

the guy was/is coming off two major injuries.....

Philly has had crap MLB's the last few years so of course he is an upgrade. However, it is not like the Eagles defenses has played amazing.

[ColoradoDarin]

Originally Posted by TonyR

^ Seriously? Is this not a football discussion forum? There are plenty of other great threads for you to read and post in.

pretty sure there was a thread about it when the trade went down

[TonyR]

Originally Posted by Ray Finkle

the guy was/is coming off two major injuries.....

Philly has had crap MLB's the last few years so of course he is an upgrade. However, it is not like the Eagles defenses has played amazing.

Agree on the injury part. But worth a shot for a 4th round pick?

Eagles defense looks really good. They're currently ranked 4th in yards and 7th in points allowed.

[TonyR]

Originally Posted by ColoradoDarin

pretty sure there was a thread about it when the trade went down

Thanks. Feel free to bump it.

[55CrushEm]

Originally Posted by TonyR

Agree on the injury part. But worth a shot for a 4th round pick?

Eagles defense looks really good. They're currently ranked 4th in yards and 7th in points allowed.

One of their 2 games was also against the lowly Cleveland Browns.

Just too early to tell.

[ColoradoDarin]

Originally Posted by TonyR

Thanks. Feel free to bump it.

Herp.

[BroncoInferno]

The primary issue with our LBs is that none of them can cover. Ryans would have been of little help in that regard.

[TheReverend]

Originally Posted by TonyR

I'm perplexed what Fox/Del Rio/Elway were thinking here. I suppose the Texans preferred to move Ryans out of the conference, but even so there were other players available.

You're looking at player and compensation without looking at the third factor: $

Just sucks that they cheaped out and still pay Joe Mays that kinda money :/

[cmhargrove]

Originally Posted by BroncoInferno

The primary issue with our LBs is that none of them can cover. Ryans would have been of little help in that regard.

It was the same knock on Curtis Lofton as well. Statistically, Mays performed well against the run last year, so it was worth a shot. We look even better against the run this year (although that will be tested this week). We still need an MLB with coverage skills. That is the weakness of Ryans, Lofton, and the other "good choices" available this year.

I still don't know that our worst issue on defense is the LB's. Once again, the run defense is pretty good right now. I think Safety, and the inability to cover passing lanes in the middle of the field may be our undoing. It seems that the most dangerous mismatches these days are against pass catching TE's (across the league). Part of that falls on the LB's, but the real "winning plays" seem to come at the expense of poor Safety play.

We need to fix both in the long term, but if we had "smart" safeties that could actually diagnose plays and react properly, I think our passing D would be pretty stellar right now.

[TheReverend]

^ those are more often LB coverage areas than safety

[Drunken.Broncoholic]

Originally Posted by Ray Finkle

the guy was/is coming off two major injuries.....

Philly has had crap MLB's the last few years so of course he is an upgrade. However, it is not like the Eagles defenses has played amazing.

Wasn't Mays an eagle during those crap years?

[TonyR]

Originally Posted by TheReverend

You're looking at player and compensation without looking at the third factor: $

Just sucks that they cheaped out and still pay Joe Mays that kinda money :/

Yeah, I kind of ignored $ since they overpaid Mays anyway. But clearly Ryans is more of a financial commitment although the Eagles didn't have to pay the signing bonus. Here are the contract details:

Ryans:
3/30/2010: Signed a six-year, $48 million contract. The deal contains $21.75 million guaranteed, including a $7.5 million signing bonus. Another $600,000 is available through incentives based on Pro Bowl appearances in the first three years. 2012: $4.45 million (+ $1.45 million signing bonus + $100,000 workout bonus), 2013: $6.6 million (+ $100,000 workout bonus), 2014-2015: $6.8 million (+ $100,000 workout bonus), 2016: Free Agent
http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/3657/demeco-ryans

Mays:
3/18/2012: Signed a three-year, $12 million contract. The deal contains $4.5 million guaranteed, including a $500,000 signing bonus, all of Mays' first-year salary, and $500,000 of his second-year salary. 2012: $3.5 million, 2013: $4 million, 2014: $3.5 million (+ $500,000 roster bonus), 2015: Free Agent
http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/4943/joe-mays

[Chris]

Much as I hate to say it I don't think the Browns are as "lowly" as we'd expect this season.

[eddie mac]

When the **** are people going to realise that whether you agree with it or not the Broncos really rate Joe Mays. So much so they offered him enough money to get off a plane and fly home to sign on the dotted line.

[Tombstone RJ]

Joe Mays is what he is. The Broncos know his strengths and weaknesses as to the Texans. Pretty sure Kubiak is going to do a lot of crossing patterns over the middle to exploit this weekness. The question is, how will the Broncos adjust? If I was JDR I'd move away from the 5-2 to a more traditional 4-3. If the Texans want to run up the middle then that is right up May's alley. If the Texans play action and throw outs to the WRs, it's on Porter and Bailey to cover. If Kubiak tries to exploit the quick slant, crossing routs over the middle, the safeties should be able to help, along with Doom. If they run outside, the LBers should flow.

[broncocalijohn]

Originally Posted by TonyR

Thanks. Feel free to bump it.

SHould we bump every offseason free agent thread that involves middle linebackers?

[DENVERDUI55]

Originally Posted by 55CrushEm

One of their 2 games was also against the lowly Cleveland Browns.

Just too early to tell.

When your O has given it away 9 times in 2 games and you win your D is doing something right.

[Rock Chalk]

Originally Posted by Ray Finkle

the guy was/is coming off two major injuries.....

Philly has had crap MLB's the last few years so of course he is an upgrade. However, it is not like the Eagles defenses has played amazing.

??

The Eagles defense has kept them in two games where he Eagles offense has given up on average 4.5 turnovers per game and one of those games was against Baltimore, not exactly a pushover.

Their defense has been downright spectacular this season.

[55CrushEm]

Originally Posted by DENVERDUI55

When your O has given it away 9 times in 2 games and you win your D is doing something right.

Touche.

[Punisher]

Lol the irony is the eagles cutt joe mays