The benching of NT Tanzel Smart last Sunday

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BonifayRam

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I was unaware :oops: that Wade "D" had made a change to the starting NT post. Rookie Tanzel Smart earned the starting post in pre season with veteran UFA Tyrunn Walker as his back up .....things changed up last Sunday against the Texans.

After Smart had little overall impact in the Giants game with zero tackles zero sacks & zero assists Wade went with 4th yr pro Ethan Westbrook as the starting NT. EW turned in a 2 tackles & 2 assist game playing NT with Tyrunn Walker once again backing EW up.

I will need to re watch the game to see just how well this former 43 DE did in this new assignment. Does any other member have any ideal just how well Ethan did. Will Smart continue to ride the bench from this point on? Or will Tyrunn Walker & his massive frame end up as the late season starter?
 

SteezyEndo

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I was unaware :oops: that Wade "D" had made a change to the starting NT post. Rookie Tanzel Smart earned the starting post in pre season with veteran UFA Tyrunn Walker as his back up .....things changed up last Sunday against the Texans.

After Smart had little overall impact in the Giants game with zero tackles zero sacks & zero assists Wade went with 4th yr pro Ethan Westbrook as the starting NT. EW turned in a 2 tackles & 2 assist game playing NT with Tyrunn Walker once again backing EW up.

I will need to re watch the game to see just how well this former 43 DE did in this new assignment. Does any other member have any ideal just how well Ethan did. Will Smart continue to ride the bench from this point on? Or will Tyrunn Walker & his massive frame end up as the late season starter?

Either Smart is going to have to bulk up or he can ride the bench and Tyrunn Walker can start from here on out. I saw EW a few times causing disruption to the QB so he did fairly well when he played.
 

OldSchool

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I saw better run defense with Walker in there? Westbrooks had issues early on but seemed to get better as the game went on. I wouldn't be surprised if NT is addressed in the off season.
 

yrba1

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Teams probably figured out Smart's tendencies. He has to adjust his game whether it's bulking up or learning new techniques if he wants to stay relevant in the roster. I'm sure WP has something in mind for adjustments
 

SteezyEndo

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I saw better run defense with Walker in there? Westbrooks had issues early on but seemed to get better as the game went on. I wouldn't be surprised if NT is addressed in the off season.
That play EW made when he was already past the OL before the ball reached the QB on the hike was amazing.
 

PhillyRam

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Walker could be huge with these games against Vikes, Saints, and Eagles where run defense will be important.
 

Ramrasta

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Smart is a rookie picked in the 6th round. It was incredible what he was able to do early on but I think we might be expecting a little too much too fast from him. He is still adjusting to the NFL while these other guys like Walker and Westbrooks have played for years and had the benefit of learning from multiple top tier DL coaches.
 

PhillyRam

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Smart is probably hitting that rookie wall... We also saw him warming up in the Giant end zone before the game.. He looked real small. Did not think it was him at first until my son convinced me and then recognized him. (did not have jersey on yet).

So likely dropped some weight as well as some of these guys do during the season.
 

Riverumbbq

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I wouldn't call it a benching for Smart, but he's definitely being passed over now. Snaps against Houston went like this :

Westbrooks - 31 at 44%
Fox - 25 at 36%
Smart - 16 at 23%
Walker - 13 at 19%

Both Smart & Walker are seeing reduced snaps as their run blocking at NT is dismal. Problem is, other than Donald & Brockers, all our D Linemen are better defending the pass than as run defenders.

Here are PFF's pass & run D scores and rankings for our guys :

1 Aaron Donald 97.2 overall - 88.0 run def - 97.0 pass rush
17 Michael Brockers 86.8 overall - 90 run def - 74 pass rush
61 Ethan Westbrooks 75.6 overall - 67.9 run def - 74.3 pass rush
77 Tyrunn Walker 71.7 overall - 46.2 run def - 75.7 pass rush
82 Morgan Fox 70.3 overall - 49.8 run def - 71.9 pass rush
110 Tanzel Smart 43.0 overall - 41.4 run def - 51.9 pass rush

Consider that out of the 112 graded DT's. Smart is this close to bottom of the pack.

Add in that Mark Barron & Alec Ogletree score at only 50 & 40.5 respectively in run defense, you can see why we are vulnerable in the middle.
 

wmc540

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I was going to say it's pretty much been NT by committee the entire season. I don't know if I would say he was "benched."
 

DaveFan'51

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I was unaware :oops: that Wade "D" had made a change to the starting NT post. Rookie Tanzel Smart earned the starting post in pre season with veteran UFA Tyrunn Walker as his back up .....things changed up last Sunday against the Texans.

After Smart had little overall impact in the Giants game with zero tackles zero sacks & zero assists Wade went with 4th yr pro Ethan Westbrook as the starting NT. EW turned in a 2 tackles & 2 assist game playing NT with Tyrunn Walker once again backing EW up.

I will need to re watch the game to see just how well this former 43 DE did in this new assignment. Does any other member have any ideal just how well Ethan did. Will Smart continue to ride the bench from this point on? Or will Tyrunn Walker & his massive frame end up as the late season starter?
I'm leaning toward Walker as the starting NT! We'll see what happens! I see Westbrooks more as a rotational DE.
 

Ram65

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I wouldn't call it a benching for Smart, but he's definitely being passed over now. Snaps against Houston went like this :

Westbrooks - 31 at 44%
Fox - 25 at 36%
Smart - 16 at 23%
Walker - 13 at 19%

Both Smart & Walker are seeing reduced snaps as their run blocking at NT is dismal. Problem is, other than Donald & Brockers, all our D Linemen are better defending the pass than as run defenders.

Here are PFF's pass & run D scores and rankings for our guys :

1 Aaron Donald 97.2 overall - 88.0 run def - 97.0 pass rush
17 Michael Brockers 86.8 overall - 90 run def - 74 pass rush
61 Ethan Westbrooks 75.6 overall - 67.9 run def - 74.3 pass rush
77 Tyrunn Walker 71.7 overall - 46.2 run def - 75.7 pass rush
82 Morgan Fox 70.3 overall - 49.8 run def - 71.9 pass rush
110 Tanzel Smart 43.0 overall - 41.4 run def - 51.9 pass rush



Consider that out of the 112 graded DT's. Smart is this close to bottom of the pack.

Add in that Mark Barron & Alec Ogletree score at only 50 & 40.5 respectively in run defense, you can see why we are vulnerable in the middle.

Poor run numbers except for Brockers and Donald. It would be nice if they can find some one like now to be a run stuffer.
 

RamDino

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We need a big, fat, run-stuffing nose tackle. Someone call Vince Wolfork up and see if he wants another super bowl ring!
 

Rams43

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Wade is still tinkering.

And he probably ain’t done yet.

I’ve read that Wade typically does this throughout his first season after taking over a new team.

And after filling in his determined blanks in his second offseason, his D’s play even better in his 2nd and 3rd seasons.

Pretty damned exciting to think about, isn’t it? Lol.
 

Riverumbbq

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If Tanzel Smart were to accidentally stub his toe and get himself IR'd, I'd like to see Omarius Bryant brought up from the practice squad, I thought he looked pretty good in the pre-season. Even Trinca-Pasat should be an improvement.
 

FrantikRam

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This was always the concern. It cost us a game against the Redskins.

The other NFC contenders all like to run the football, so we will need to get this figured out. It seems like one issue might just be that we don't have the horses, in which case the issue will have to be addressed in the offseason.
 

Riverumbbq

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Let's just hope Westbrooks can nail it down inside, he's moved inside and out under Fisher and kept up, although alone at NT in a 3-4 is a bit more demanding. He didn't cut it at LDE, that's why Brockers was moved outside, ... now that Smart hasn't equaled the task, our options are fewer, although with the heavy rotation, they came together pretty much and kept Houston off the scoreboard. If Westbrooks is our guy, then “We will rally around Ethan Westbrooks, and we will play good football.” (y)