AFC West Watch - Linebacker

[dragondawg]

AFC West Watch, my personal favorite segment, continues on BroncoTalk! The Broncos, historically, have had one of the best linebacker corps. in the league, but this year we enter with significant questions in every spot but one. Meanwhile, one team in the division boasts the league’s sack-leader, and another’s linebacker corps. was part of the NFL’s 3rd-ranked defense. The Broncos aren’t on top anymore, and it was very difficult to rank between them and Oakland as the #2. On to the rankings!

1) San Diego Chargers

The Chargers linebacker unit is likely the best 3-4 unit in the league. Led by “The Victim” Shawne Merriman, these linebackers are fast and have a penchant for making big plays. Simply consider that Steve Foley was nearly killed by an off-duty police officer (ending his career), and that his backup, Shaun Phillips, stepped in and dominated, and you see why this linebacking unit is the best in the west. Their only loss was Donnie Edwards, who I always felt was underrated - but if Shaun Phillips, a backup for years, can step in and make an impact, I wouldn’t doubt that Edwards’ backup will be just fine. No one can be certain how they’ll adapt to a new defensive coordinator, or their new linebacker coach Ron Rivera. But when it comes to talent and big plays at linebacker, unfortunately for Broncos fans, we’re no longer top dog.

2) Oakland Raiders

The Raiders defense was the one bright spot on the team last year - the entire defense excelled at stopping opposing offenses, leading them to a 3rd-rank in yardage. At weak side, they have Thomas Howard, who amassed 110 tackles in his rookie year last season. He had no sacks, picks, or fumble recoveries, but he was solid on his side and could improve this year. At mike, they have Kirk Morrison, who has over 240 tackles in his first two years in the league. Their strong side linebacker didn’t impress much, but Sam Williams will have every opportunity to make more plays.

This year will be interesting for the Raiders defense - they won’t get run on as much as they did the year before, mostly because I expect the team to be just a little bit better. Teams won’t be milking huge leads - so the pass defense and rush defense will balance themselves out (they had the #1 ranked pass defense last year, but again, this could be due to the big leads and opposing offenses playing conservatively).

3) Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos linebacker corps. could be the weakest it’s been in years. The departure of Al Wilson was the toughest loss Broncos fans have felt in a long time… it pisses me off to this day, and I just don’t know if our guys can step up. That’s the whole point - while I believe the Broncos linebackers CAN be better than the Raiders’, I don’t know if it is. No one does. Our strong side spot could be filled by incumbent special-teamer Louis Green. I feel stronger about recent acquisition D.D. Lewis, myself. Lewis is a little shorter than Green, but about 15 lbs. heavier, giving us a solid run-stopper we need on the strong side. Green is a bit speedier and taller, but I’d like to see us keep him on special teams as well. Either way, we don’t know if our strong side will be a source of, well, strength this season.

Of course these questions at strong side all branch from the Wilson cut. Filling in the void at middle linebacker will be D.J. Williams, who was EXCELLENT as a rookie at weak side, but fell off a bit when Ian Gold returned in 2005, and Williams was asked to move to Sam. One of the biggest questions in the 2007 campaign has to be, “Can D.J. cut it?” In his first season, he flew all over the field and made huge plays. He went from 114 tackles in 2004 to 55 tackles in 2005… and although he bounced back a bit last year in gaining 76 tackles, can the Broncos afford to wait a year for D.J. to adjust like he had to in 2005? D.J. will have more opportunities this year - he’ll stay in nickel packages, and his size and speed make him an ideal fit for pass coverage as a linebacker. Mike Shanahan said he’d be “surprised” if D.J. didn’t make the adjustment - for our 2007 season’s sake, I hope he’s right.

Finally, at weak side, we have Ian Gold, the only linebacker returning to his position of the year before. Gold is a solid linebacker, and he can make big plays. I always seem to notice that when Gold has a good game, he’s on fire - he’ll usually get many of his “flashy” plays in bunches during the same game. Then there’ll be a few games where he is just “there” - less tackles, less big plays, almost as if he’s taking a game off (which I don’t think he is), but he isn’t getting beaten either. He’ll be quiet for a few games, for whatever reason, then BAM. He has two sacks in two plays before you can blink. The leader of our linebackers now, Gold will be asked to do more than he might be used to. Our defense will depend on him being able to dominate his side of the field so our other two spots can make adjustments to succeed.

Being a fan and a natural optimist, I’m hopeful that both Williams and whomever fills in at strong side will be able to succeed. I think they will - but until they play the game, I couldn’t rank them ahead of the underrated Raiders defense.

4) Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs suck. It’s just plain and simple. They’ve found themselves at the bottom of all but one of these segments, and it’s no different for their linebacking unit. While I humbled myself enough to rank Oakland ahead of Denver, I won’t do it against the Chiefs, whose unit has always been bottom-of-the-barrel for several years now. They picked up Donnie Edwards, who, according to NFL.com’s Chiefs Depth Chart, will move to right outside linebacker in replacing Kendrell Bell. It was a nice pickup, and as I said before, Edwards is underrated. But I don’t know how the move from 3-4 right inside linebacker to 4-3 right outside linebacker will go for Edwards. Meanwhile, they still have one of the worst starting mikebackers in Napoleon Harris, and he’s complemented by the almost-as-bad Derrick Johnson on the left side. Just thinking of the way Tiki Barber ran all over them two years back, and how the Colts blew over them in the playoffs, brings a vengeful smile to my face. If Edwards can make the adjustment, the unit will be improved, but I wouldn’t bet my season on it if I was a Chiefs fan.

http://broncotalk.net/2007/07/afc-we...ch-linebacker/

[kmartin575]

That was the crappiest piece of writing I have ever seen. Donnie Edwards won't make the transition fro 3-4 ILB to 4-3 OLB? Well guess what? DONNIE EDWARDS PLAYED 4-3 OLB FOR 6 YEARS IN KC. He is a perfect fit at the WILL linebacker position in the tampa 2. Derrick Johnson is almost as bad as Napoleon Harris? Hilarious. He had 75 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, and 3 pass deflections despite the fact he only started 12 games last year due to injury. He played the same strongside linebacker position that D.J. Williams did yet he still produced unlike Williams. And Napoleon Harris is one of the worst MIKE linebackers? Say whatever you want but he is a perfect fit in the tampa 2, hence why tampa bay was also pursuing him in the offseason. He had 59 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and 3 interceptions last year despite missing 2 games. Those 3 interceptions are more than your entire linebacker corps combined.

I'll tell you who's linebackers are the worst in the AFC West. It's the team with guys like Eddie Moore and Warrick Holdman competing for a starting job.

[broncs2bowl]

first of all you obviously have no idea wat u r tlking about because the SAM position will not even be close to being between Breen and DD Lewis

It will wither be between Eddie Moore and Holdman, both of whom have starting experience...one with good potential and one who is solid but not spectacular

[Inkana7]

Originally Posted by kmartin575

WAAAA!! Teh chi3fs are teh goodz! I knowz it! teh br0nc0z are teh suck! I kn0w it cuz imma big f00tball analyst even though I forgot that t3h chiefs run a c0ver-2 and teh bronkoz dont! Listen to me! Listen to me! Listen to me!

You need a hobby my friend.

[KCStud]

I agree that is a horrible article that blatantly shows the homerism for this guy.

IMO KC has the most complete LB core int the AFC West.
Denver has DJ Williams and Ian Gold, but the other spot will be filled by decent talent.
SD is gonna miss Donnie. He had 3 straight seasons of about 150 tackles and was their best LB in coverage. He was a great player to add for KC. They are putting their faith in Matt Wilelm. Matt Wilhelm for crying out loud.
All SD has is Shawn Merriman and nothing more. Shaun Phillips is better on the line. You will see that the Chargers are gonna have problems with their LB's covering TE's. Merriman + Phillips=pass rush but no coverage
I think OAK is better, but still has a ways to go. Morrison is a very good LB for that team though.

1.KC
2.DEN
3.SD
4.OAK
4.

[kmartin575]

Originally Posted by KCStud

I agree that is a horrible article that blatantly shows the homerism for this guy.

IMO KC has the most complete LB core int the AFC West.
Denver has DJ Williams and Ian Gold, but the other spot will be filled by decent talent.
SD is gonna miss Donnie. He had 3 straight seasons of about 150 tackles and was their best LB in coverage. He was a great player to add for KC. They are putting their faith in Matt Wilelm. Matt Wilhelm for crying out loud.
All SD has is Shawn Merriman and nothing more. Shaun Phillips is better on the line. You will see that the Chargers are gonna have problems with their LB's covering TE's. Merriman + Phillips=pass rush but no coverage
I think OAK is better, but still has a ways to go. Morrison is a very good LB for that team though.

1.KC
2.DEN
3.SD
4.OAK
4.

I think that is going a little far.

1. SD
2. KC
3a. DEN
3b. OAK

Even if Willhelm or Cooper fail they still have plenty of depth with Tim Dobbins, Anthony Waters, and Brandon Siler. Shaun Phillips is also pretty damn good.

Also, one good thing about KC's linebacker is that we should have great depth. Keyaron Fox has proven that he can be a solid starter in case of injury. Kendrell Bell was a bad fit in this defense as a starter but he still has a spot as a 3rd down pass rush specialist and his contributions against the run have gone unnoticed. I believe rookie MLB Nate Harris from Louisville will be the primary backup at MLB. He was probably one of the more talented linebackers in the draft, he is just very raw and went undrafted because of that as well as past off the field issues.

[kmartin575]

Originally Posted by Inkana7

You need a hobby my friend.

What do you think I'm on here for? Football is my hobby.

That and the occasional consumption of alcohol.

[Kaylore]

Originally Posted by Inkana7

You need a hobby my friend.

You really summed up Kmartin in one sentence. You should have put a line in about our safeties. "ur safetys r teh sUX! i no cuz 0ey r teh sl0wx0r!!!"

[kmartin575]

Originally Posted by Kaylore

You really summed up Kmartin in one sentence. You should have put a line in about our safeties. "ur safetys r teh sUX! i no cuz 0ey r teh sl0wx0r!!!"

yep, that thur collage edumacashun has shur taut me sum guud anglish.

[400HZ]

Originally Posted by KCStud

I agree that is a horrible article that blatantly shows the homerism for this guy.

IMO KC has the most complete LB core int the AFC West.
Denver has DJ Williams and Ian Gold, but the other spot will be filled by decent talent.
SD is gonna miss Donnie. He had 3 straight seasons of about 150 tackles and was their best LB in coverage. He was a great player to add for KC. They are putting their faith in Matt Wilelm. Matt Wilhelm for crying out loud.
All SD has is Shawn Merriman and nothing more. Shaun Phillips is better on the line. You will see that the Chargers are gonna have problems with their LB's covering TE's. Merriman + Phillips=pass rush but no coverage
I think OAK is better, but still has a ways to go. Morrison is a very good LB for that team though.

1.KC
2.DEN
3.SD
4.OAK
4.

What a joke. I could see putting KC ahead of Denver, but SD and Oak are both VASTLY superior.

It will be interesting to see how well Donnie Edwards performs now that he's 35 years old and doesn't have Jamal Williams in front of him eating up blockers. Most likely he'll get a few picks, and will have a huge bullseye on his chest when teams want to run the ball. Donnie got 150 tackles because he was free to run around and make plays in SD. Next year, Matt Wilhelm is going to be free to run around and make plays. And it's not like Wilhelm is some waiver wire scrub we're throwing in for lack of anything better, his takeover has been anticipated for years now. Why do you think Donnie was on the trade block last year? The Chargers have deep talent at linebacker, and it was clearly demonstrated last year when Shaun Phillips had to step up as a starter. Hell, even our 3rd stringers did a good job last year when everyone else was hurt/suspended.

And it's hilarious how you write off Shaun Phillips, even though he racked up more sacks than anyone on your team WHILE MISSING SUBSTANTIAL TIME.

[maher_tyler]

Who cares...all i care about is getting to and winning the SB!!

[XXXshogunXXX]

Originally Posted by KCStud

I agree that is a horrible article that blatantly shows the homerism for this guy.

IMO KC has the most complete LB core int the AFC West.
Denver has DJ Williams and Ian Gold, but the other spot will be filled by decent talent.
SD is gonna miss Donnie. He had 3 straight seasons of about 150 tackles and was their best LB in coverage. He was a great player to add for KC. They are putting their faith in Matt Wilelm. Matt Wilhelm for crying out loud.
All SD has is Shawn Merriman and nothing more. Shaun Phillips is better on the line. You will see that the Chargers are gonna have problems with their LB's covering TE's. Merriman + Phillips=pass rush but no coverage
I think OAK is better, but still has a ways to go. Morrison is a very good LB for that team though.

1.KC
2.DEN
3.SD
4.OAK
4.

kc most complete? edwards was let go, now he's arguably the best LBr on your team. Willhelm could start on many teams. and shawn phillips better on the line? in igor's spot, as a 3-4 end? that doesnt work.

and wtf is that...2 number 4 spots.

[KCStud]

Originally Posted by 400HZ

What a joke. I could see putting KC ahead of Denver, but SD and Oak are both VASTLY superior.

It will be interesting to see how well Donnie Edwards performs now that he's 35 years old and doesn't have Jamal Williams in front of him eating up blockers. Most likely he'll get a few picks, and will have a huge bullseye on his chest when teams want to run the ball. Donnie got 150 tackles because he was free to run around and make plays in SD. Next year, Matt Wilhelm is going to be free to run around and make plays. And it's not like Wilhelm is some waiver wire scrub we're throwing in for lack of anything better, his takeover has been anticipated for years now. Why do you think Donnie was on the trade block last year? The Chargers have deep talent at linebacker, and it was clearly demonstrated last year when Shaun Phillips had to step up as a starter. Hell, even our 3rd stringers did a good job last year when everyone else was hurt/suspended.

And it's hilarious how you write off Shaun Phillips, even though he racked up more sacks than anyone on your team WHILE MISSING SUBSTANTIAL TIME.

KC runs a different system than SD. We play the cover 2 which means that we don't need dominant pass rushers at LB, but guys who can cover their area well. I'm sure our coach knows all about DT's getting penetration to help the LB's. Don't you think that's why he drafted a quick penetrating DT in round 2 and big space stuffing DT in round 3 to take up blockers in the draft?

The fact is that Donnie had about 150 tackles 3 years in a row, plus he had a few sacks and INT's to tack on to it. If your system is supposed to have the LB's run around free to make plays and get the stats that Donnie had, than why is that Donnie was the only player on your entire defense that had 100 tackles? You would figure if the system had LB's run free and get stats like Donnie, than at least one of your LB's would get 100 tackles like him...

[kmartin575]

Originally Posted by 400HZ

What a joke. I could see putting KC ahead of Denver, but SD and Oak are both VASTLY superior.

It will be interesting to see how well Donnie Edwards performs now that he's 35 years old and doesn't have Jamal Williams in front of him eating up blockers. Most likely he'll get a few picks, and will have a huge bullseye on his chest when teams want to run the ball. Donnie got 150 tackles because he was free to run around and make plays in SD. Next year, Matt Wilhelm is going to be free to run around and make plays. And it's not like Wilhelm is some waiver wire scrub we're throwing in for lack of anything better, his takeover has been anticipated for years now. Why do you think Donnie was on the trade block last year? The Chargers have deep talent at linebacker, and it was clearly demonstrated last year when Shaun Phillips had to step up as a starter. Hell, even our 3rd stringers did a good job last year when everyone else was hurt/suspended.

And it's hilarious how you write off Shaun Phillips, even though he racked up more sacks than anyone on your team WHILE MISSING SUBSTANTIAL TIME.

Oakland is far superior? Bull****. The only position they have us beat at is ILB with Morrison. DJ and Donnie Edwards are both easily better than both Thomas Howard and Sam Williams. We also have far better depth.

[kmartin575]

Originally Posted by XXXshogunXXX

kc most complete? edwards was let go, now he's arguably the best LBr on your team. Willhelm could start on many teams. and shawn phillips better on the line? in igor's spot, as a 3-4 end? that doesnt work.

and wtf is that...2 number 4 spots.

LMAO, Willhelm could start for most teams.

He hasn't done so yet so until he proves himself he is simply average at best.

It doesn't mean anything if San Diego intended for him to take over for Donnie. Indianapolis intended for Gilbert Gardner to take over for David Thornton. That didn't turn out too well.

[JJJ]

Originally Posted by KCStud

I agree that is a horrible article that blatantly shows the homerism for this guy.

IMO KC has the most complete LB core int the AFC West.
Denver has DJ Williams and Ian Gold, but the other spot will be filled by decent talent.
SD is gonna miss Donnie. He had 3 straight seasons of about 150 tackles and was their best LB in coverage. He was a great player to add for KC. They are putting their faith in Matt Wilelm. Matt Wilhelm for crying out loud.
All SD has is Shawn Merriman and nothing more. Shaun Phillips is better on the line. You will see that the Chargers are gonna have problems with their LB's covering TE's. Merriman + Phillips=pass rush but no coverage
I think OAK is better, but still has a ways to go. Morrison is a very good LB for that team though.

1.KC
2.DEN
3.SD
4.OAK
4.

You are kidding right? Bolts will not miss Donnie at all. He was called the ankle-biter in SD because he was always tackling people 4 yards downfield and getting dragged for another 3 yards. Way undersized even for a 4-3. Well past his prime now. May be able to squeeze one more decent year out of him but I suspect you will see him being dragged sideline to sideline by the good strong running backs in this division. The guy should have been made a safety 10 years ago.

Just no way you can put the KC linebacker corp at #1 unless you are a homer of epic proportions.

[theAPAOps5]

Originally Posted by JJJ

You are kidding right? Bolts will not miss Donnie at all. He was called the ankle-biter in SD because he was always tackling people 4 yards downfield and getting dragged for another 3 yards. Way undersized for a 4-3. Well past his prime now. May be able to squeeze one more decent year out of him but I suspect you will see him being dragged sideline to sideline by the good strong running backs in this division. The guy should have been made a safety 10 years ago.

Just no way you can put the KC linebacker corp at #1 unless you are a homer of epic proportions.

Oh KCDud is probably a bigger homer than Boob. I would say you are very accurate in your description.

[kmartin575]

Originally Posted by JJJ

You are kidding right? Bolts will not miss Donnie at all. He was called the ankle-biter in SD because he was always tackling people 4 yards downfield and getting dragged for another 3 yards. Way undersized for a 4-3. Well past his prime now. May be able to squeeze one more decent year out of him but I suspect you will see him being dragged sideline to sideline by the good strong running backs in this division. The guy should have been made a safety 10 years ago.

Just no way you can put the KC linebacker corp at #1 unless you are a homer of epic proportions.

Way undersized for the 4-3? You obviously don't know crap about the tampa 2 defense because you would know he is a perfect fit for the weakside linebacker spot. He isn't any smaller than guys like Cato June, Derrick Brooks, and Ian Gold.

If he is well past his prime and still making 140+ tackles a season then I will take that anyday.

[SoCalBronco]

Originally Posted by XXXshogunXXX

kc most complete? edwards was let go, now he's arguably the best LBr on your team. Willhelm could start on many teams. and shawn phillips better on the line? in igor's spot, as a 3-4 end? that doesnt work.

and wtf is that...2 number 4 spots.

Wilhelm is largely unproven. He's a career backup who had a nice game in the season finale a few years ago against KC...he hasnt really proven anything as an NFL starter. He's smart, but not really gifted.

To say he could start on many teams is absurd.

Shawn Phillips is a good pass rusher and the Chargers were wise to lock him up. I think there are real questions about your ILBs. You drafted some guys who could eventually get in there...Waters was projected to be much higher before he got hurt and has good measurables but an ACL is a serious injury. Siler is instinctive although kind of stiff and not very agile, he will not be good in space.....he fell pretty far....maybe teams thought he was more interested in campus politics and acting then football. I also heard he turned teams off with his arrogance. I still like Siler though, even with some of his weaknesses, that was a steal in the 7th. He could be a 2 down ILB with more seasoning although he should have stayed with the Gators for another season.

[KCStud]

Originally Posted by ApaOps5

Oh KCDud is probably a bigger homer than Boob. I would say you are very accurate in your description.

If anybody here is a homer it is you with your mancrush on Cutler...

[JJJ]

Originally Posted by SoCalBronco

Wilhelm is largely unproven. He's a career backup who had a nice game in the season finale a few years ago against KC...he hasnt really proven anything as an NFL starter. He's smart, but not really gifted.

To say he could start on many teams is absurd.

Shawn Phillips is a good pass rusher and the Chargers were wise to lock him up. I think there are real questions about your ILBs. You drafted some guys who could eventually get in there...Waters was projected to be much higher before he got hurt and has good measurables but an ACL is a serious injury. Siler is instinctive although kind of stiff and not very agile, he will not be good in space.....he fell pretty far....maybe teams thought he was more interested in campus politics and acting then football. I also heard he turned teams off with his arrogance. I still like Siler though, even with some of his weaknesses, that was a steal in the 7th. He could be a 2 down ILB with more seasoning although he should have stayed with the Gators for another season.

Don't forget about a guy named Tim Dobbins. Remember the name. He will be a beast one day soon. Actually Bolts don't have enough room on the roster at ILB. Too many good young players with big upside potential. It is going to be fun to see which ones rise to the opportunity.

[JJJ]

Originally Posted by kmartin575

Way undersized for the 4-3? You obviously don't know crap about the tampa 2 defense because you would know he is a perfect fit for the weakside linebacker spot. He isn't any smaller than guys like Cato June, Derrick Brooks, and Ian Gold.

His listed weight of 225lbs is in no way accurate. I doubt he is 210lbs dripping wet. Old and small and once fast doesn't cut it in this league.

I was actually one of the few Donnie defenders in SD. Everyone else wanted to run him out of town. I would say he was disliked or disrespected by 80% of the fans in SD. I thought he played a vital role in D by not allowing big plays in the interior downfield. But I had no idea why they left him on the field in short down situations. Can't count how many time he got dragged over the goal line.

One of his biggest strengths is he was never injured. He always laced them up. I did respect the hell out of him for that. But that gets harder to do when you are 35 or whatever he is.

[BroncoBuff]

Originally Posted by dragondawg

I always seem to notice that when Gold has a good game, he’s on fire. He’ll be quiet for a few games, for whatever reason, then BAM. He has two sacks in two plays before you can blink.

Uh, yeah ... that definitely happened before I could blink: Gold had ZERO sacks in '06, and just three in '05.

[Bob's your Information Minister]

Originally Posted by dragondawg

4) Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs suck. It’s just plain and simple. They’ve found themselves at the bottom of all but one of these segments, and it’s no different for their linebacking unit. While I humbled myself enough to rank Oakland ahead of Denver, I won’t do it against the Chiefs, whose unit has always been bottom-of-the-barrel for several years now. They picked up Donnie Edwards, who, according to NFL.com’s Chiefs Depth Chart, will move to right outside linebacker in replacing Kendrell Bell. It was a nice pickup, and as I said before, Edwards is underrated. But I don’t know how the move from 3-4 right inside linebacker to 4-3 right outside linebacker will go for Edwards. Meanwhile, they still have one of the worst starting mikebackers in Napoleon Harris, and he’s complemented by the almost-as-bad Derrick Johnson on the left side. Just thinking of the way Tiki Barber ran all over them two years back, and how the Colts blew over them in the playoffs, brings a vengeful smile to my face. If Edwards can make the adjustment, the unit will be improved, but I wouldn’t bet my season on it if I was a Chiefs fan.

http://broncotalk.net/2007/07/afc-we...ch-linebacker/

Yeah, THIS isn't biased. God. I ****in' hate blogs.

[Xenos]

Originally Posted by KCStud

KC runs a different system than SD. We play the cover 2 which means that we don't need dominant pass rushers at LB, but guys who can cover their area well. I'm sure our coach knows all about DT's getting penetration to help the LB's. Don't you think that's why he drafted a quick penetrating DT in round 2 and big space stuffing DT in round 3 to take up blockers in the draft?

The fact is that Donnie had about 150 tackles 3 years in a row, plus he had a few sacks and INT's to tack on to it. If your system is supposed to have the LB's run around free to make plays and get the stats that Donnie had, than why is that Donnie was the only player on your entire defense that had 100 tackles? You would figure if the system had LB's run free and get stats like Donnie, than at least one of your LB's would get 100 tackles like him...

He didn't say all our linebackers. Just Donnie. It has to do with his position because he plays the WILB. The way Wade used the system, it would specificially funnel a lot of plays toward the WILB.
Donnie's greatest strength is his coverage abilities which is why he will probably do fine in a cover 2 system, especially since he will assume his normal position of OLB. Being an WILB isn't suited for someone like Donnie simply because he doesn't have what it take to shed blocks and take on the runner, which is what an ILB in a 3-4 has to do a lot of times.