Thanks for the memories, EK

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@JimmyinSD said:

@supafreak84 said:

@greediron said:
EK was a stud in Zimmer's 4-3, and was a big part of the Double A Gap pressure.  But he was miscast in the 3-4.  Good luck to him, he was always fun to watch.

Yeah everybody keeps thinking he "fell off" when the reality was he was never a good fit for a 3-4 defense. Like I said, I saw numerous times last season where lineman got a free release off the ball where we were playing two down lineman, got to the second level on the LB's and they were essentially taken out of a play. Everything, and I mean everything from the scheme to the pass coverages was beyond awful last season under Donatell. I expect Kendricks to bounce back next year on a new team running a scheme that better fits him. 

but yet he won the Butkus award in college playing in a 34 IIRC.

I don't recall how much 3-4 he played while at UCLA but things you can get away with and be effective at in college doesn't always transfer to the pro game and we all knew going in last year that transitioning to a 3-4 was not going to play to the strengths of Kendricks. IMO the scheme change and general confusion relating to pass coverage played much more into his decline than anything physically. 

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@medaille said:
I’m not sure I can tell if he was miscast in a 3-4 vs nobody
having an instinctual understanding of what they were supposed to do because
Donatelle wasn’t great as a DC at implementing his defense. 

Agree that it wasn't the 3-4 as much as it was general confusion with Donatell's concepts. Half playing man, half playing zone, eleven defenders running in eleven different directions. 

I think if Kendricks were brought back he'd do much better under Flores, but I think they know that Brian Asamoah is the future of this defense, and I have a hunch they want to pair him with a bigger linebacker they can use off the edge occasionally. A Tremaine Edmunds or Drew Sanders type. 

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@MaroonBells said:

@medaille said:
I’m not sure I can tell if he was miscast in a 3-4 vs nobody
having an instinctual understanding of what they were supposed to do because
Donatelle wasn’t great as a DC at implementing his defense. 

Agree that it wasn't the 3-4 as much as it was general confusion with Donatell's concepts. Half playing man, half playing zone, eleven defenders running in eleven different directions. 

I think if Kendricks were brought back he'd do much better under Flores, but I think they know that Brian Asamoah is the future of this defense, and I have a hunch they want to pair him with a bigger linebacker they can use off the edge occasionally. A Tremaine Edmunds or Drew Sanders type. 

Asamoah looks to be the same size as EK in that photo above.  Hopefully he has EK's football intelligence and instincts, he certainly is younger and cheaper.

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@greediron said:

@MaroonBells said:

@medaille said:
I’m not sure I can tell if he was miscast in a 3-4 vs nobody
having an instinctual understanding of what they were supposed to do because
Donatelle wasn’t great as a DC at implementing his defense. 

Agree that it wasn't the 3-4 as much as it was general confusion with Donatell's concepts. Half playing man, half playing zone, eleven defenders running in eleven different directions. 

I think if Kendricks were brought back he'd do much better under Flores, but I think they know that Brian Asamoah is the future of this defense, and I have a hunch they want to pair him with a bigger linebacker they can use off the edge occasionally. A Tremaine Edmunds or Drew Sanders type. 

Asamoah looks to be the same size as EK in that photo above.  Hopefully he has EK's football intelligence and instincts, he certainly is younger and cheaper.

Yeah, nearly identical in size, but Asamoah's a iittle bit faster. And IMO, plays with a little more intensity and twitch. I don't think we can expect peak Kendricks from Asamoah in his 2nd season (EK was 1st team All Pro in '19), but if he can come close we'll be fine. 

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