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Thread: Upshaw might not be starter
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08-21-2012, 04:28 PM #1iggyman555 Guest
Upshaw might not be starter
McClellan looked good
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...urtney-upshaw/
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08-21-2012, 04:37 PM #2
Re: Upshaw might not be starter
Upshaw hasn't proven that he should be a starter.
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08-21-2012, 04:43 PM #3Regular 1st Stringer
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Re: Upshaw might not be starter
Just because he was our #1 pick does not make him a starter right away even with the Suggs injury. He has to earn it. There are many defensive players who are taken in the first round who dont start right away and have to wait their turn.
He has been slowed by his shoulder after looking like a beast in OTAs. Give him time to heal. Also the Ravens want him around 270ish to play OLB in our 3-4. if he is pratcing that means he is getting better because they wont let him practice if his shoulder was still bad. Its just healing has he is playing.
Suggs did not start right away his rookie year... and he was a top 10 pick
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Re: Upshaw might not be starter
Upshaw has a ways to go. I'm not even sure he's in the shape they want him to be in coming in heavy and then getting injured. He'll start eventually but that doesn't mean it should be game 1.
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Re: Upshaw might not be starter
Not starting could be the best thing for him right now, as well as the team. He can rotate in like Suggs did his first year, providing a fresh body on third downs that they are going to need with guys like Kruger and McPhee transitioning into starting roles.
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Re: Upshaw might not be starter
I said he wasnt going to start the day he got drafted... But suggs wasnt hurt then so this is somewhat surprising. He could have easily filled in the JJ role but youre not handed anything in this world and hes not done anything to earn it.
Kind of sad isnt it? Thats the one thing you always heard about him. Nobody questioned his work ethic or his heart (playing through injuries), yet both are somewhat in question since we drafted him.-JAB
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Re: Upshaw might not be starter
He is likely to rotate with Albert McClellin this year. McClellin has packed on a ton of muscle, he looks jacked up right now. I do think that Upshaw will become a starter eventually, but it's extremely rare for rookies (even from programmes like Alabama) to come into this complex defensive scheme and start right away. The last time that happened was when Haloti Ngata was drafted which was like six years ago, and even before then, and other than Ngata and Ray lewis, I can't think of any rookie who's started right away on this defense. Suggs didn't even start right away, and he was a top 10 pick.
I think McClellin actually has a future as the next jack/will LB once Ray Lewis retires, which will mean McClain moves to the Mike LB position.
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Re: Upshaw might not be starter
I don't think his work ethic is the question. It is his lack of knowledge, of how to manage his body at the NFL level. The guy is naturally strong and naturally big. You don't just show up to a professional league with that type of knowledge. Suggs didn't and neither did Haloti Ngata. it takes time to figure that out. The issue is not that he is out of shape. It is that he is around his college playing weight and the coaching staff wants him at a different one. He is still in shape though.
"Please take with you this final sword, The Excellector. I am praying that your journey will be guided by the light", Leon Shore
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08-21-2012, 06:46 PM #9Legendary RSR Poster
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Re: Upshaw might not be starter
OK, so say that Kruger and McClellan start (with Upshaw and Kindle as back-ups).
Then later in the season, Suggs and Upshaw step-up. Seems like that would be a very strong set of OLBs going into the playoffs. Agree? ... Bc
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Might be best to play him situationally for a few games for a lot of reasons
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