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RockRam
The first thing to decide is the value of the position and not the player...
...So now here we are with Donald. In a 3-4 is a DT really the heart of the defense? Is that where you want its highest paid player? According to everyone who seems to know something, Wade's D depends on great rush OLBs and a bevy of physical, press coverage CBs. So that's where the money ought to go to my way of thinking.
So no one is questioning Donald's greatness or even what the market is for a great DT. I'm questioning whether great DT is the right place for the Rams to spend their cap allowance. And my answer is absolutely not.
I believe that in general you make a good point about the value of positions and the need for that to be decided first.
However, where you miss the mark on AD is in your insistence in calling him a DT.
I’ve stated many times that he’s not just a DT; he’s an elite pass rusher.
There is evidence out there – PFF and I’m sure NFL teams have their own – that demonstrates that Donald is generating the same amount of pressure - QB hurries, sacks, and QB hits – as elite edge defenders.
Wade is a very flexible DC. His D doesn’t depend on great rush OLBs and press CBs. It depends on lots of QB pressure and press CBs.
Wade’s words have only emphasized generating lots of pressure; he’s never said it has to come from a certain position. Moreover, there are no studies or evidence to suggest that pressure from the DT position is inferior to pressure from the DE or OLB position.
If Wade thought the same as you, and his D needed pressure from rush OLBs rather than the DT position, the Rams obviously wouldn’t have made a Suh type offer to AD. But as it is, Wade has told McVay and Snead that he absolutely needs Donald.
Why form opinions on his D that fails to take into account what the man himself has said? That’s baffling!
Donald can rush the passer and he is an elite DT.
So the first thing is you don't split hairs with elite players and overthink it. You keep elite players.
The other is that yes an elite DT who can rush the passer has clear and obvious value.
Offenses have to automatically pay special attention to him. That is, a guy like Donald has an effect on gameplans starting every MONDAY.
So that helps.
But at the same time it's much harder to find an elite DT than a good (or better) outside rusher.
Why? There are always more outside rushers available.
Which means that if you have an elite DT who can pass rush, you can then find and add an outside rusher. The odds are far less of doing it the other way around.
Which finally means this--you have a defensive cornerstone. Your elite DT plus outside pass rusher can obviously be the cornerstone of a good defense.
So the argument amounts to this. 1. You keep elite players when you stumble into one and you don't get lost in split hairs overthinking it. 2. Elite DTs who can pass rush are especially rare animals and so if you have one, you;ve lucked out. No need to look that particular horse in the mouth. 3. Elite DTs do have value to a defense since at a minimum offenses have to double them....and you have an especially rare gift horse if your guy can make plays on top of that anyway. 4. Once you have an elite DT it's not nearly as hard to find a good outside pass rusher, and the combination of those 2 things in your front 7 is a very strong basis for a top defense.
All of them are good points but number 3 resonates with me the most in this particular thread.
It relates most to performance on the field and speaks to Rockram's mention of importance to a Wade defense.
And it also relates to my statement that there is nothing to suggest that pressure from the DT position is inferior to pressure from the DE or OLB position.
You are in fact suggesting that pressure from the DT position is possibly
superior to pressure from edge defenders.