Bryan Hall switching to inside LB

**Tolucaraven** · 04-06-2013, 03:21 PM

Originally Posted by Shas

Name the player the Ravens drafted as a 290 lb defensive tackle from a school in the southeast, who, like Hall, was a reserve and got one start at DT in his first two years before he dropped down to 260 lb and moved to linebacker, where he saw considerably more action for the remainder of his career with the Ravens?

Hint: As a DT he wore #76.

If you are talking about JJ, he lost 20lbs over a course of two years and has a much bigger frame and is taller. He was closer to 285 than 290, but his real playing weight was truthfully about 265-270lbs. That is not as big a drop as losing 40lbs! Like to see what Hall can do at 270-265, thats might be his "true" comfortable athletic weight.

**wickedsolo** · 04-06-2013, 05:59 PM

Originally Posted by Paintballguy

40 lbs is not a daunting task especially weighing 280/90 starting out. I dropped from 215 to 165 in about 6-7 months. Just requires you to be good on your diet and work out. No reason why a pro athlete can't do it.

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Being only 6' tall he probably worked really hard to stay around 285-290lbs.

It will probably be easier for him to maintain 260-265lbs.

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**Carey** · 04-06-2013, 06:55 PM

My biggest hope is he brings the type of aggression and motor we saw in preseason to the regular season as a core special teamer. I think he has a chance to make a real impact in that regard and im sure that's what Harbs has in mind.

**The Excellector** · 04-06-2013, 08:06 PM

From what I read, the one guy that is excited about this is Hall himself.

**lobachevsky** · 04-06-2013, 09:12 PM

Originally Posted by The Excellector

From what I read, the one guy that is excited about this is Hall himself.

And he has every reason to be. At DT or OLB he'd at best be caught in a numbers game; instead he'll return to a position & a weight that seem much more natural for him with an opportunity to elevate himself from the back (ST/depth) end of the roster.

**Iscull** · 04-07-2013, 09:11 PM

Glad to see this happen. He has been known to be extremely athletic for his size, so it should be interesting to see what he does in the 250-260 weight range.

**The Excellector** · 04-07-2013, 09:24 PM

With his athleticism, 265 should be fine.

**Cj34** · 04-09-2013, 09:28 AM

Originally Posted by JAB1985

This is all he really has to worry about. 2 down LBs are going to the way side. Stopping the run is still essential, but being able to keep up with TEs and RBs and even the occasional WR is more important these days, especailly at ILB. You cant trot out guys built to only handle the run without leaving your team susceptible to audibles and taking advantage of that very weakness. Situational at best and its still going to be exploited, imo.

While I agree for the most part with what you're saying JAB, what ILB in the NFL isn't going to be exploited in this day and age? The way the game is today all ILB's are going to be exploited unless you get a once in a lifetime freak LB like Ray in his prime. Willis and Bowman get exploited by TE's with a good offensive coordinator and they're the best ILB in the NFL. A lot of the tight ends today are as athletic, fast and difficult to match up with as WR's were 10-15 yrs ago. Having a great cover LB is obviously a great luxury but with the athleticism of TE's & RB's and the offenses of today it's like trying to find a needle in the haystack. If you're a GM, unless you're lucky enough to find that rare LB that can do it, all you can do is get LB's that can stop the run for sure and are a little better then usual when it comes to coverage.

**JAB1985** · 04-09-2013, 10:27 AM

Originally Posted by Cj34

While I agree for the most part with what you're saying JAB, what ILB in the NFL isn't going to be exploited in this day and age? The way the game is today all ILB's are going to be exploited unless you get a once in a lifetime freak LB like Ray in his prime. Willis and Bowman get exploited by TE's with a good offensive coordinator and they're the best ILB in the NFL. A lot of the tight ends today are as athletic, fast and difficult to match up with as WR's were 10-15 yrs ago. Having a great cover LB is obviously a great luxury but with the athleticism of TE's & RB's and the offenses of today it's like trying to find a needle in the haystack. If you're a GM, unless you're lucky enough to find that rare LB that can do it, all you can do is get LB's that can stop the run for sure and are a little better then usual when it comes to coverage.

Thats a valid point, but i think thats speaks to my thoughts on it. 260lb+ converted DT is more likely not going to be even average in that department. especially considering he hasnt played it for 7 years or so now and basically needs to relearn the position as a pro. I dont care how atheltic he is at 290, that usually doesn't translate to 250. If youre familiar with MMA, theres guys that are fast at 205 and then appear slow at 185 its not necessarily that they slowed down, but whats fast for 205 isnt fast at 185. same goes for athleticism. We can all hope for that rare case but i think its to rare of a scenario to hope for realistically.

**TheSpiderWebb** · 04-09-2013, 03:10 PM

I really doubt barring injury he will see much time in coverage anyway. There's almost no chance of him starting, or even being the top backup. If he gets in for certain sub-packages it'll be to defend the run, or rush the passer(which he was very good at in limited opportunities at DT)