Ogletree is a ...

[VegasRam]

Twin. Did y'all know that? Brother's name is Alexander. Goes by Zander.

Also, I think he's gonna' kill it at MLB. No knock on JL, (one of my favorite Rams), but I really don't get the nervousness over AO calling the D.

He knows it. He plays it. And he's three years in, one of which he spent watching on the sideline, talking to GW. JL started as a Rookie. We didn't have a problem with that, IIRC

A MLB's MAIN job is to tackle, period. Ogletree's way better at that than JL.

 

[CGI_Ram]

I agree; I don't worry about AO calling the D. If these coaches think he can do it, he can.

I'm interested in watching him shed blocks at this role. If he can improve there (himself and above that of JL) his speed will rack up the tackles.

 

[NateDawg122]

His brother played for Georgia too, at fullback. And I think Ogletree is a big improvement over JL at MLB. James was worthless against the run last year and doesn't have nearly the athleticism that Tree has.

 

[Merlin]

I only have one concern with AO in the middle: can he handle the wear and tear. Aside from that he's gonna be fine.

Also, re: the calls people forget that it doesn't need to be the MLB making them. It's ideal to have that of course, but there are other players who will not leave the field in the front seven, like Barron for example. Also, Williams can compartmentalize and have one of the safeties like TJ helping out on that front for the secondary. But of course it's not gonna be a big deal because everyone on defense knows wtf they're doing and they are extremely well coached.

He's just gotta stay healthy. Given that, all will be well in the front seven. Better than well, actually. You can bank this: everyone will be lauding the Rams' defense as the fastest in the league by midseason.

 

[RAMSinLA]

When he was healthy and on the field it seemed as if I heard his name on every other play. The Tree will do fine. May take a few quarters to adjust but the guy seems to be very football wise.

 

[fearsomefour]

I agree; I don't worry about AO calling the D. If these coaches think he can do it, he can.

I'm interested in watching him shed blocks at this role. If he can improve there (himself and above that of JL) his speed will rack up the tackles.

I agree....part of the reason I like the new beef added at DT.

 

[Roman Snow]

....a star in the making.

 

[OnceARam]

... a beast!

 

[TexasRam]

I don't like AO inside. He will be great on Blitz's and coverage but will struggle vs the run IMO.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Twin. Did y'all know that? Brother's name is Alexander. Goes by Zander.

Also, I think he's gonna' kill it at MLB. No knock on JL, (one of my favorite Rams), but I really don't get the nervousness over AO calling the D.

He knows it. He plays it. And he's three years in, one of which he spent watching on the sideline, talking to GW. JL started as a Rookie. We didn't have a problem with that, IIRC

A MLB's MAIN job is to tackle, period. Ogletree's way better at that than JL.

Ogletree has never been good at shedding blocks. It was a negative back when he was drafted. Laurinitis had the same trouble, so there shouldn't be much drop off.

 

[DaveFan'51]

A MLB's MAIN job is to tackle, period. Ogletree's way better at that than JL.

On this^ one point I'm going to have to disagree with you, VegasRam, The stat don't bare you out!
JL : ( in 7 Seasons)
10 Int's / 1 FF / 8 FR's / 16.5 sacks / 653 Tackles w/ 200 Assists / 1 Safety

OgleTree: ( In 3 Seasons)
3 Int's / for 143 yards & 1 TD/ 10 FF's / "0" FR's / 3.5 sacks / 206 Tackles w/ 65 assists .
you would have to Triple Ogletree's stats for him to come close to JL!

Don't get me wrong. I Love Ogletree, I wish him well, and I think he'll be Great. But he's not their yet! It remains to be seen.

 

[Riverumbbq]

On this^ one point I'm going to have to disagree with you, VegasRam, The stat don't bare you out!
JL : ( in 7 Seasons)
10 Int's / 1 FF / 8 FR's / 16.5 sacks / 653 Tackles w/ 200 Assists / 1 Safety

OgleTree: ( In 3 Seasons)
3 Int's / for 143 yards & 1 TD/ 10 FF's / "0" FR's / 3.5 sacks / 206 Tackles w/ 65 assists .
you would have to Triple Ogletree's stats for him to come close to JL!

Don't get me wrong. I Love Ogletree, I wish him well, and I think he'll be Great. But he's not their yet! It remains to be seen.

While I don't necessarily believe it's completely fair to compare the MLB & WlB positions in this manner due to different responsibilities, I'll play along. Using your methods, perhaps it be best the 2015 comparison should really be between Barron & Laurinaitis. Mark Barron only started 12 games at WLB last year, and it was his maiden voyage being he previously had primarily been considered a SS/hybrid.
While tackles are important, where the tackles occur has been a point of contention throughout JL's career.

Barron (12 starts) : 116 Tackles, 3 FF's, 1 Sack
Ogletree (4 starts) : 42 Tackles, 2 Sacks

Laurinaitis (16 starts) : 109 Tackles, 1 FF, 1 Sack, 1 Int.


To get a little deeper into the stat sheet for both Barron and Laurinaitis, the following 2015 PFF grades for these guys are as follows :

Barron graded as the # 20 overall LB last season, out of 97. Barron's Rush Defense score was 82.1, his Coverage score was 68, and his Pass Rush score was 59.

Laurinaitis graded as the 83'rd overall LB last season, out of 97. JL's Rush Defense score was 20.6, among the worst in the NFL. JL's Coverage score came in at 51.1 and his Pass Rush score at 45.4.

For further comparison of MLB's, here are some stats for Kuechly, widely regarded as the best in the business, and Bobby Wagner, the only other 4 - 3 MLB in our Conference.

Kuechly (13 starts) : 110 Tackles, 1 Sack, 2 FF's, 4 Int's.

Wagner (15 starts) : 114 Tackles, 0.5 Sack, 2 FF's

PFF grades Kuechly as the # 1 overall LB in the NFL, out of 97. His Rush Defense score is 96.0, his Coverage score is 99.5, and his Pass Rush score is 49.6.

Wagner grades as the 30'th overall LB, his Rush Defense score is 81.3, Coverage is 55.0, and his Pass Rush score was 74.8.

I'm not going to attempt to predict Ogletree's stats & PFF grades for next season, but based on past performance at WLB, I believe we can expect far better than Laurinaitis' numbers at MLB. jmo.

 

[VegasRam]

Ogletree has never been good at shedding blocks. It was a negative back when he was drafted. Laurinitis had the same trouble, so there shouldn't be much drop off.

This is true. I just wonder if speed and/or position/pursuit angle, (olb vs mlb), plus additional experience will help AO get better at it.

But like you said , worst case it's not worse.

 

[Fatbot]

To get a little deeper into the stat sheet for both Barron and Laurinaitis, the following 2015 PFF grades for these guys are as follows

The flaw in this analysis is thinking PFF is going "deeper", when it's actually going nowhere. Might as well be saying "Ogletree's Madden grades prove that he's great" since video game rankings are as equally realistic and accurate as the PFF rankings. Your cite of Bobby Wagner's low grade is a great example of PFF's failings. Wagner is a huge reason why Seattle is the #1 ranked defense, his worth is why Jeff Fisher uses the phrase "Bobby Wagner mad" with every draft now. The flawed PFF methodology misses everything important Wagner brings to that defense, which leads to the only question anyone has with Ogletree at MLB -- can he bring those intangibles to the defense like leadership and split-second play adjustments? AO is an amazing athlete, every Rams fan knows he has the physical ability to produce, the only issue is how will he fit in the team scheme, because team is always the important thing in football not fictional PFF individual grades.

 

[StealYoGurley]

I've mentioned this in other posts before the Rams play a 4-3 under defense, meaning the will and mike backer are both off the ball and have similar gap and coverage responsibilities. Ogletree really came into his own in that off the ball role last and I think he can keep that going.

He has added the play calling aspect, but by all accounts he has put alot of work in to excel in that role by attaching himself to the hip of Greg Williams and watching 4-6 hours of tape a day.

The one negative I see in his move to to middle is he will play less man against TEs. IMO he was out best matchup against TEs last year and man to man coverage has never been a strong point in Barrons game.It will be interesting to see how we change some of coverage schemes to deal with those issues.

 

[LACHAMP46]

... a beast!

my thoughts exactly....
BEAST!!!!!