Bryan Hall switching to inside LB

[Carey]

Love what i've seen from him in the preseason, like his effort, just felt he was a bit of a tweener, im intrigued now to see how he moves around in space. Would be nice to see him become a valuable ST player.

[The Excellector]

If this is any indication of how the Ravens will address the ILB position (In other words, how they've down for years now), they won't be drafting Kevin Minter, Manti T'eo or anybody in the early rounds, no matter what any of us think.

[Jeremiah W]

I like the idea since he played it in hs. The 3-4 needs an ilb with the mentality and block defeating ability of a dt. The sprint option has brought the big play back to the run game. The ravens were exposed last year in coverage despite having a top notch secondary in large part because they could not stop the run with just the front 7.

[BcRaven]

This is the "Reverse Kruger" experiment... Bc

[TDL1000]

This is the "Reverse Kruger" experiment... Bc

Sounds like a wrestling maneuver.

[TheSpiderWebb]

Not a bad move for Hall. He had zero chance of making the team at DL. At linebacker he has nothing but UDFA's like himself ahead of him. He apparently wanted to play ILB in college but they had him put on weight to play at DT

[leachisabeast]

This is the "Reverse Kruger" experiment... Bc

Kruger was a second round pick and had a significant amount of investment put into him, at least a lot more than Bryan Hall. Bryan Hall is only an undrafted player and has next to no cap value on the team and no picks are invested into him. This is a move that could possibly work out really well, and we don't even have to pay him yet.

[Tolucaraven]

If he is so athletic and the move to MiLB doesnt work out, why can't he move to OLB for depth and ST's as well. No lose situation.

[leachisabeast]

I heard Ryan Mink suggest this in a video on BR a few days ago. Maybe my memory is just fuzzy but i dont think Hall is a better athlete than Upshaw and I dont think Upshaws primed for that position switch either. Pees has me questioning this mindset of everybody play everywhere with a simple saying "jack of all trades, master of none". I like the idea of the best players playing, but i dont like the idea of our best players playing out of position simply because we didnt fill a hole. Having a guy have a defined role allows him to play to strengths and minimize weaknesses.

Its not always a bad thing to have your best pass rusher beside you when its an obvious run play and your best run stuffer is in the game instead. or vice versa. Ill wait to see the end product but this all seems like putting square pegs in round holes just because we have nothing better to fill them with currently.

Article says he lost 25lbs so hes 6'-0" 270 +/- right now. id assume 250 is the goal for ILB.

Can't disagree more. He's very athletic for his weight, and you have to think that he'll be even more athletic once he sheds the weight. At the end of the day, the coaches are seeing these guys on the practice field every day, and there is obviously a reason why they're doing this.

[LukeDaniel]

Not a bad move for Hall. He had zero chance of making the team at DL.

Hyperbole much?

We hear comments like this every year....player A won't make the team and, come late August, he's not even one of the last 3-4 guys fighting for a roster spot. Hall is well above a 50% favorite to make the Ravens, whether as a D-lineman or a MLB.

There is just no precedent in the Ravens' post-Harbaugh history to suggest he would even be considered to be cut, particularly with being under team control through 2015. This wasn't a guy who was added off a practice squad who was signed with 3 weeks left in the year. This was a guy who made the team out of camp last year and was on the active roster all 16 games. Raven history suggests that that type of player is never released. The only two guys I can think of who come to mind who defy this exception were Marcus Smith and Antwan Barnes. Smith was cut before 2011 and Barnes was traded to Philly because he was likely to be cut. However, the big difference was that both of those guys were entering their 4th NFL season, so IRing them for another year wasn't an option, since they would have been UFAs.

60% chance Hall makes the Ravens. 40% chance he is IRed and saved for 2014 and 2015. 0% chance he is cut.

[JAB1985]

Can't disagree more. He's very athletic for his weight, and you have to think that he'll be even more athletic once he sheds the weight. At the end of the day, the coaches are seeing these guys on the practice field every day, and there is obviously a reason why they're doing this.

Well see. I think there is a certain heirarchy for positions and athlectism. An athletic DT doesnt equate to an athletic ILb. Cutting weight isnt always the cure all people seem to think it is. Honestly i dont remember halls play enough to justly say he cant but knowing the positions i do find it highly unlikely. Like i said, well see. Obviously i wish him well for our sake but this staff isnt without fault with players switching and playing out of position, see paul kruger, michael oher, etc.

I think they like him, but id say their depth at DL is driving this more than his ability at ILB which is yet to be seen by any of us, including them.

[Ravenous1]

I seriously doubt the coaching staff handed out color coded badges then spun the Twister spinner to see who was switching to ILB.

Obviously they see the athletic ability and work ethic in Hall that they feel he can potentially fill the role. Nothing to lose here trying it out.

I also do not see a move like this precluding them from taking an ILB in the draft if a guy they like is there in the first 3 rounds. This seems to be a move where if it works out then he could potentially take a guy like McClains spot when the cap ramifications of cutting him are more friendly. This to me is about the Ravens trying to find use for a guy who they like, respect and would not have a spot on the team otherwise likely.