That's why I still say that they might list him as an OLB, and they might say they are going to play him at OLB, but ultimately I think they will minimize the types of things they do with him in terms of OLB. I suspect he'll be asked to drop back very little and cover very little. They'll use him to set the edge and stop the run. They'll use him to rush the passer from both the inside and outside.
Not unlike Nick Perry who they really didn't use in that capacity very much either that I can remember. In the end, Perry wouldn't have been such a bad player had he stayed healthy and played every year like he did in his contract year. Those deficiencies would have been acceptable.
Pettine would clearly seem to be OK with this as neither Preston or ZaDarius Smith are really true OLBs either. (Unless Gute is getting these guys without input from his DC, which would be a whole mistake unto itself.) With so little base defense being played it probably doesn't matter as much as it used to. There is an extra DB on the field most of the time these days and the OLBs end up with responsibilities that look more like 4-3 DEs than they did in the past.
Not unlike Nick Perry who they really didn't use in that capacity very much either that I can remember. In the end, Perry wouldn't have been such a bad player had he stayed healthy and played every year like he did in his contract year. Those deficiencies would have been acceptable.
Pettine would clearly seem to be OK with this as neither Preston or ZaDarius Smith are really true OLBs either. (Unless Gute is getting these guys without input from his DC, which would be a whole mistake unto itself.) With so little base defense being played it probably doesn't matter as much as it used to. There is an extra DB on the field most of the time these days and the OLBs end up with responsibilities that look more like 4-3 DEs than they did in the past.
