Will Tranquill supplant K-9 as starter?

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  • Bolt Dude
    Draftnik
    • Oct 2020
    • 2738
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    Will Tranquill supplant K-9 as starter?

    Welcome to the Tranq vs. K-9 discussion thread.

    K-9 will be back after the bye, but the question is, will Staley hand him back the starting role, or will Murray have to earn it?

    The answer, obviously, has everything to do with how Tranq performs over the next 2 games.

    It wouldn’t surprise me if Tranq takes this opportunity to lock down the starting role for the remainder of the season

    What say you?
    Our quarterback is a golden god.
  • Steve
    Administrator
    • Jun 2013
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    • South Carolina
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    #2
    Tranquill has a chance to really shine. Mayfeild has been struggling since he hurt his shoulder, so they will probably try to lean on their RB some. Tranquill is a pretty good downhill player, so this is the kind of game where he can be the classic ILB where he just can step up and plug the run gaps. It's a little ironic, because Tranquill has been playing better than K9, mostly because he is better in pass coverage, and that is where K9 was getting exposed, while Tranquill was holding his own. But games where the LB can make a lot of tackles do tend to showcase the ILB, because they are just around the ball so much.

    The funny thing is K9 is a pretty good downhill thumper in his own right, so this is the kind of game he would have shined too, had he been healthy.

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    • kgbpasha
      #болтап
      • May 2017
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      #3
      Coach Staley is unpacking that rotation as you read this.
      It's a good "problem" to have. Both are starters.

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      • Velo
        Ride!
        • Aug 2019
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        #4
        The depth at LB is a bit thin after Tranquill, Murray and White, so it is good to have three starting quality players there. I think Murray will get snaps, but may not necessarily supplant Tranquill as the starter. A rotation will keep those players fresh, and since Murray has had trouble absorbing Staley's defense he can be worked in more slowly. With Murray and Tranquill playing the same position, why did TT target Murray in 2020, giving up a 3rd and a 2nd, after Tranquill had a pretty promising rookie season?

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        • Steve
          Administrator
          • Jun 2013
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          • South Carolina
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          #5
          we only need to have 2 ILB healthy. The fact that we don't have a lot of depth at ILB is probably not all that important. First, we can probably get a lot of LB off the street. But if we can score enough points, we can play extra dime personnel (only 1 ILB, 2DT and 2 edge, and 6 db) and play nickle with 3 DL, and both edge rushers, but only 1 ILB (and 5 DB).

          2019 Tranquill was easily our best LB, but he wasn't that great. And, as good as he played at times, White was pretty bad in the early season, and not all that great the rest of the year. Plus, both White and Tranquill were 4th round players, which is not exactly a guarantee round to find starters in. We still needed to add another ILB type to our D in 2020, even if we didn't add him early and were satisfied that White and Tranquill were the future. We needed some quality depth, so when K9 was available it made sense.

          If you are looking to bitch about the K9 pick, it would be
          1)., He was very raw, and trading up to take a really raw player is pretty risky at the bottom of the 1st round. It has paid off big for teams, but has also backfired badly. I can live with it, but I get why some people didn't like it. To me, it is more about getting the right guy, although any time you give up 2 picks for 1 guy ....

          2). I didn't think K9 was the best fit for our D. K9 did his best work attacking downhill in the run and pass game. We played a much more read and react scheme, and rarely blitzed. So, while he definitely had the skills, to develop into a great LB, it is going to take more time to learn to be that guy. I think he is a much better fit for Staley's D, but that wasn't in the picture back when we took K9 at the bottom of the 1st.

          3). There were several other ILB types who had similar sort of grades as K9 still on the board, who might have fit Gus D at the time. I did like K9 better than a lot of guys, but not so much more that I would have traded the extra pick (traded our 2nd and 3rd round picks for an extra 1st). it's one thing if you can package lower round picks, since they rarely make that much of an impact, but 2nd and 3rd are quality picks, so losing one of them really hurts.

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          • Bolt Dude
            Draftnik
            • Oct 2020
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            #6
            Originally posted by Steve View Post
            Tranquill has a chance to really shine. Mayfeild has been struggling since he hurt his shoulder, so they will probably try to lean on their RB some. Tranquill is a pretty good downhill player, so this is the kind of game where he can be the classic ILB where he just can step up and plug the run gaps. It's a little ironic, because Tranquill has been playing better than K9, mostly because he is better in pass coverage, and that is where K9 was getting exposed, while Tranquill was holding his own. But games where the LB can make a lot of tackles do tend to showcase the ILB, because they are just around the ball so much.

            The funny thing is K9 is a pretty good downhill thumper in his own right, so this is the kind of game he would have shined too, had he been healthy.
            Great point. The Browns game will determine if Tranq locks up the starting role more than any other matchup. If he shows up as a dominant force against that RB duo, why even consider starting K-9??
            Our quarterback is a golden god.

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            • Steve
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              • Jun 2013
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              #7
              Originally posted by Bolt Dude View Post

              Great point. The Browns game will determine if Tranq locks up the starting role more than any other matchup. If he shows up as a dominant force against that RB duo, why even consider starting K-9??
              Like I said, he is a great player when you let him attack downhill, and play going forward. I would really like to see him get turned loose as a situational rusher type of player, or blitzer. That was what he was good at in college, and you can never have enough pass rushers. Even if he isn't necessarily winning outright, if he can be the 5th rusher, then Bosa and the rest of our more traditional rushers can get after the QB. And if he can ...

              The other person who could be out eventually would be White. He is playing reasonably well, and more importantly, improving steadily. But when Murray comes back, let all 3 of them get some playing time, and if K9 can step up and beat either Tranq or White, then let the best players start, and the other get playing time based on how well they play. But the best players should get the most time. If they can all play, LB is a position that you can rotate them.

              To some degree, every player at every position needs to be getting some chances, when you can squeeze them in. Player development HAS to be the #1 priority for ANY NFL team. Every year, the team is adding new players. If you can add new players via FA, then you HAVE to have cheaper players in the draft to offset them salary wise. If you can be successful just in the draft and with rookie FA, (without UFA) then you still need to keep reloading year after year as players move on. If they can play, get them on the field.

              Wade Phillips summed it up when he was hired by Marty. You are basically re-teaching the D (or O) to the team every year. Staley is a master teacher. He came in to LA last year, took a team and played good D for the 1st 3 or 4 weeks, then the Rams were the best D in football. Now, he takes our D, we played good D for the first few weeks, and we are still getting better and better every week. Rams were kinda in a rebuilding mode last year when he came in, and a lot of the guys he had were either cheaper Fa or guys who had not really produced, but he got the best out of them. Now, we have guys like Davis, Tillery, White and Covington all playing the best ball of their careers so far, and it isn't even close.

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              • Bolt Dude
                Draftnik
                • Oct 2020
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                #8
                Originally posted by Steve View Post

                Like I said, he is a great player when you let him attack downhill, and play going forward. I would really like to see him get turned loose as a situational rusher type of player, or blitzer. That was what he was good at in college, and you can never have enough pass rushers. Even if he isn't necessarily winning outright, if he can be the 5th rusher, then Bosa and the rest of our more traditional rushers can get after the QB. And if he can ...

                The other person who could be out eventually would be White. He is playing reasonably well, and more importantly, improving steadily. But when Murray comes back, let all 3 of them get some playing time, and if K9 can step up and beat either Tranq or White, then let the best players start, and the other get playing time based on how well they play. But the best players should get the most time. If they can all play, LB is a position that you can rotate them.

                To some degree, every player at every position needs to be getting some chances, when you can squeeze them in. Player development HAS to be the #1 priority for ANY NFL team. Every year, the team is adding new players. If you can add new players via FA, then you HAVE to have cheaper players in the draft to offset them salary wise. If you can be successful just in the draft and with rookie FA, (without UFA) then you still need to keep reloading year after year as players move on. If they can play, get them on the field.

                Wade Phillips summed it up when he was hired by Marty. You are basically re-teaching the D (or O) to the team every year. Staley is a master teacher. He came in to LA last year, took a team and played good D for the 1st 3 or 4 weeks, then the Rams were the best D in football. Now, he takes our D, we played good D for the first few weeks, and we are still getting better and better every week. Rams were kinda in a rebuilding mode last year when he came in, and a lot of the guys he had were either cheaper Fa or guys who had not really produced, but he got the best out of them. Now, we have guys like Davis, Tillery, White and Covington all playing the best ball of their careers so far, and it isn't even close.
                Add Adderley to that list. We all knew his potential as a rangy ball hawk, but his physicality has been a pleasant surprise this year.
                Our quarterback is a golden god.

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                • equivocation
                  Registered Charger Fan
                  • Apr 2021
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                  #9
                  I think there are ways to get Tranquill and Murray on the field together. Keeping players fresh isn't bad either.

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                  • like54ninjas
                    Registered Charger Fan
                    • Oct 2017
                    • 8211
                    • Great White North
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                    #10
                    Amen O. is an aggressive downhill run player.
                    I think he’ll get some snaps with K9 out.
                    My 2021 Adopt-A-Bolt List

                    MikeDub
                    K9
                    Nasir
                    Tillery
                    Parham
                    Reed

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                    • The Intellectual Assassin
                      Serenity now!
                      • Sep 2021
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                      #11
                      They each have their strong points and I trust Staley to make the best decision for the team. The best scenario is somehow get them on the field together as equivocation noted. Deffo a good problem to have and once again just shows the great depth this Bolts team has.

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                      • Heatmiser
                        HarbaughHarrisonHeatMiser
                        • Jun 2013
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                        #12
                        I am pretty confident that Murray has the potential to be a really good player. And I am even more confident that Staley and his staff will make the right moves and push the right buttons to unlock him so that his talent can express itself on the field. He is a premium player in other words.

                        Sorry, is this too much to unpack?

                        TG
                        Like, how am I a traitor? Your team are traitors.

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