An Unsung Hero on Defense

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mr.stlouis

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Main Hook
I think we take it for granted sometimes on how good Laurinitis is on our defense. This guy is quietly having an excellent season for us. Greg Williams has added an extra dimension to his game we didn't see a whole lot back in the day. Laurenitis is very good at disguising and rushing the passer. He's been applying the heat up the middle in recent weeks and Quinn was running stunts in behind him last week.

Seeing James play cat and mouse with the QB's every Sunday is so familiar that we overlook it at the play's conclusion.

And how many huge passing plays does this guy give up? His pass coverage is probably one of his biggest strengths. This is huge going into this week because he'll play a big role in keeping Gates under control.

The man is earning his money
 

Robocop

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Amen. quarterback of the defense. he's out there countering every move Peyton makes. did you see what JL did before that stunt before the snap? he lined up to the right of the center and when the center dropped his head to snap JL quietly switched sides leaving the center slow on his block when he looked up. not the biggest or most athletic MLB in the game but the smartest
 

TexasRam

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This is arguably the best scheme JL could hope for.

And somehow he went from zero to hero rushing the passer. Putting a whole lot of pressure up the middle.

New life for JL in this scheme. He was never meant to be the thumper in the middle to stop the run.

Speaking of stopping the run. Teams just cant run up the Middle on us anymore. I believe Donald is a big reason for that.
 

Memento

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This is arguably the best scheme JL could hope for.

And somehow he went from zero to hero rushing the passer. Putting a whole lot of pressure up the middle.

New life for JL in this scheme. He was never meant to be the thumper in the middle to stop the run.

Speaking of stopping the run. Teams just cant run up the Middle on us anymore. I believe Donald is a big reason for that.

Don't forget Brockers taking up two blockers at a time. He could arguably be an unsung hero himself.
 

Merlin

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Great point OP.

You know one thing that is overlooked as well is the impact of scheme adjustment for JLau. I think it took him some time to get his mind around things to the point where he could not be thinking while he's getting guys lined up, running checks and/or calls with low error rate.

The way he's playing now is pretty impressive. Williams has done a great job getting these guys to the next level of playing defense, and JL is definitely one of the guys responding to the coaching.
 

junkman

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Don't forget Brockers taking up two blockers at a time. He could arguably be an unsung hero himself.

Brockers had one particular play against Denver that really stood out for me. I'll have to look to find it, but there was this play where Denver ran a quick screen to Sanders, and got a bunch of Denver players out in front and blocking effectively. Brockers hustled out to catch Sanders from behind, where if not for Brockers, Sanders might still be running. Impressive hustle for a 325+ lb DT, making a tackle on a WR 13 yards downfield.

(taking some stills from the video)
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yrba1

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Good to know that Laurinaitis finally understands the verbiage of Williams's scheme. The players we plug in the near future won't have that steep of a learning curve coming in when he makes the adjustments.
 

Robocop

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Good to know that Laurinaitis finally understands the verbiage of Williams's scheme. The players we plug in the near future won't have that steep of a learning curve coming in when he makes the adjustments.
speaking of verbiage. i vote JL to be mic'd up next week!
 

-X-

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Jun 20, 2010
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The Dude
I think we take it for granted sometimes on how good Laurinitis is on our defense. This guy is quietly having an excellent season for us. Greg Williams has added an extra dimension to his game we didn't see a whole lot back in the day. Laurenitis is very good at disguising and rushing the passer. He's been applying the heat up the middle in recent weeks and Quinn was running stunts in behind him last week.

Seeing James play cat and mouse with the QB's every Sunday is so familiar that we overlook it at the play's conclusion.

And how many huge passing plays does this guy give up? His pass coverage is probably one of his biggest strengths. This is huge going into this week because he'll play a big role in keeping Gates under control.

The man is earning his money
I was thinking the same thing earlier today. He was pretty active against the Broncos, and I heard his name more in that game than any other the past few years. I hope Williams has decided to use him as an enforcer of sorts now. That would be awesome.