Just found this pretty interesting. Spillane hasn’t lived up to the hype yet. Granted it’s only been 2 weeks. Mapu surprisingly according to PFF was elite Sunday. Maybe that draft pick will pan out

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  2. yea hes been getting noticeably cooked.

    still very early, but it is disappointing a guy known for his run D and tackling is doing so poorly at it.

    feels like achane gave each of them 2-3 missed tackles alone

  3. I think all our LBs are kind of one dimensional. That might be the issue.

    Spillane and Gibbens are more run stuffer types and aren’t going to be great tackling fast and shifty players in open field. 

    Mapu is more of a coverage guy and struggles to bring down RBs. Ellis just might not be good enough.

    We don’t have that 3 down all situation LB that I believe every team needs. We haven’t had one since Hightower.

    One of my wishes next offseason is to draft one in that 2nd-4th Round range. Spend the draft capital and invest in someone that can play in all situations.

  5. NFL players with terrible tackling technique. Name a better combo. Dude needs to learn how to wrap.

  6. If they didn’t show Spillane all the time as captain of the defense I wouldn’t even know he’s out there. Eliss whiffs so hard on some tackles that he’s easy to spot

  11. against the Steelers i think that they will play noticeably better, lots of plodding, big guys on that team.

  12. Spillane’s tackling form seems to be launching with his shoulder and praying for the best. Arms behind him Naruto style

  16. I do think our identity on defense was heavily shaped by having a strong secondary. But with Gonzo out, our ability to play “man” diminishes incredibly.

    Either way, our LBers have no lateral speed.

  17. I wasn’t in favor of signing Spillane to begin with, felt like they missed out on Sherwood and decided they needed a guy anyway. Dudes never had any coverage skills and only plays fast in a straight line

  18. Really don’t know what the game plan is with those guys so far. There is a ton of responsibility to cover in the second level and while Spillane can move, you are asking a lot for Ellis and Spillane to be covering running backs like Achane let alone Waddle, Hill, Meyers, Bowers etc… I think they need far more dynamic safety play to help out. Think Kevin Byard in his prime days with Vrabel.

    I feel like this is a scheme issue and I don’t even know what LBs you could plug in there that can make those plays. Missed tackling is one thing, but there is a straight up weakness in the second level that is being exploited and they don’t have the horses to play the way they want to.

  19. Spillane looks like he’s trying too hard. Kinda like when you used to play ball (football or basketball) and you think you are about to light someone up and you over excited and things don’t pan out like you envisioned 2 seconds before.

  21. Yeah Spillane was rough yesterday at times, took
    A really bad angle on Achanes TD, but tbf he is electric in space but RS did not cover himself in glory on that play and he knew it as he threw his hands on his helmet after as well.

    Then later he went for the big hit and missed an easy tackle, just off to a rough start overall but those two just struck out.

  25. It always looks like Spillane is going for the Sports Center highlight knockout by driving full force with his shoulder instead of wrapping.

  26. Yeah, I mean, Ellis was never the answer and I wouldn’t be surprised if Tavai just takes over his snaps when he’s back.

  27. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt this week, simply because it was SCORCHING in Miami, and they were going against a dynamic playmaker in Achane.

    I don’t think the coaching gave either guy a chance to really thrive. 

  28. Zak Kuhr is in WAY over his head.

    It’s his first year as an Inside Linebackers coach and he’s being asked to also step up into the DC role.

    Guy is completely not ready for this.

  30. This is not a surprise. Going in everyone knew the LBs would be far and away the worst position group. It’s been like that for a while with Tavai a starter and Elliss a starter.

  33. Spillane had a pretty brutal one where he tried to lay the hammer on the guy and the guy just bounced off him for a first down in the 4th quarter. I thought he was the opposite of that.

  39. They played against Bowers, Jeanty and Achane sure you don’t want them missing tackles but the other guys are playing for a reason

  41. Everyone wants edge rushers, but I think ILB is their biggest weakness on their defense. I’m glad they picked up Spilane, but he’s a low level starter / rotation guy, and Elliss and Mapu are just not good enough. I think the other positions, on the field sometimes look worse than they are trying to cover up for ILB. The safeties have to cover more ground in the running game and in coverage for this unit, than they should have to.

  44. I think just like the offense, we had years of poor drafting and we simply lack talent at multiple positions. I think a 500 season would be a success this year, with a focus on developing young players and a need to hit in the draft to fill out the many, many needs this team still has.

  45. Its a product of playing against the fastest guy in the NFL and a guy known for breaking tackles. These numbers will settle down.

  48. I don’t think anyone was arguing that the Patriots LBs were gonna be a strength this year lol

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