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All year it was clear to me that McClain must be resigned and was going to be a huge asset for our defense going forward. But, he was literally hurt all year and different injuries too. Even when he played he was hurt. If we sign him it means we move Lee because Lee can play anywhere, but McClain really is only at his best as the Mike. I still want to resign McClain and still think him combing with Lee makes us very, very strong at LB, but I don't think it is as clear cut as it was 2 months ago.

Durant versus Carter. It's one or the other unless the one we don't pick gets very little interest elsewhere and comes cheap. All year I was thinking Durant. He was clearly better in the offseason as he was our top LB coming into Week 1. He was clearly better during the season until he got hurt. He also is a better choice if you want someone to play all 3 spots if needed since Carter struggled to figure out the weak side and I don't think he could play the Mike in this D (it's not the same D he exceled for half a season in). Carter had an up and down offseason and an up and down season in general. But, something seemed to click for Carter late in the year. He was very, very good for a string of games and clearly has the higher ceiling than Durant and is younger. I think going forward that over the next couple of years he will likely be the better player of the two, but Durant is a little less risky. I probably sign the cheaper of the two because with Lee and Hitchens, if we sign McClain neither of these guys is starting IMO but if it were up to me I changed my opinion from Durant to Carter (still happy with either)

Next year I'd be looking at Lee/McClain/Hitchens with one of the other two backing up all 3 spots. I don't think there are many 4-3 LB groups that are better.

Lee, McClain, Hitchens and Carter...along with the oline, a strength going forward

I agree, but that is assuming Lee will play more than 6 games.

18 months later the Lb position has never been so unstable since the late 80's.

Cowboy reports are now saying that we are looking to bring back Justin Durant for LB help. Not sure how I feel about it yet. But anything is better than McClain at his point.

bluejerseyjinx wrote:Cowboy reports are now saying that we are looking to bring back Justin Durant for LB help. Not sure how I feel about it yet. But anything is better than McClain at his point.

If he could stay healthy I might be a little enthusiastic. But he can't.

I say roll with Hitchens and let the chips fall wherever they fall.

This year's LB's are going to be horrible. Hopefully Lee can stay healthy the whole year because if not it will get epically bad. I still think that this year's starting MLB isn't even on the team yet.

As for Next Year's LB's... There's hope. I think with the offense being borderline dominant they will end up picking right in the middle of the first round. Unless a top QB falls to them they need to draft the best LB on the board. I would prefer it to be a MLB and play Jaylon on the strong side. Next year's defense should actually be light years better than this year's barring injury or suspension.

So you guys completely happy we took Elliot instead of the 2 DT's and 2 LB's I wanted to draft instead?

I'm still completely happy. He's going to be an absolute beast running behind this OL. The Cowboys has a history of great HOF running backs and he's set up to the next one in that history.

The mistake pick was the 2nd rounder. How great would it be to have Ragland right now. Or one of the Bama DT's? All were still on the board when Smith was taken. Hell they could have drafted Witten's replacement too. Those are the guys I'm going to be watching over the next couple years in comparison to Smith.

I think I completely agree with you here. However, even after taking Elliott, we could have still gone all out on defense like I was hoping. I wouldn't feel so hugely uncomfortable with our defense going into this upcoming season.

bluejerseyjinx wrote:I think I completely agree with you here. However, even after taking Elliott, we could have still gone all out on defense like I was hoping. I wouldn't feel so hugely uncomfortable with our defense going into this upcoming season.

This team would be SO MUCH better right now if they had taken the Bama MLB (instead of Smith) and Billings instead of Dak.

1. Zeke
2. Ragland
3. Collins
4. Tapper
4. Billings
5. Brown
6. Frazier
6. Jackson

That looks a lot better than drafting Smith and Dak.

Edit: just realized Billings was gone before the Dak pick. I would have gone with DE Ronald Blair instead.

Ragland would have been a nice, much needed addition to our team. Open arms for me.

Cleveland Browns just released LB, Paul Kruger. I'd like to look into this but was wondering what you guys thought.

Sean Lee has MRI on knee. Anyone know what this is all about? Jesus Christ, we just can't get a break in the injury department the past 7 years.

Jaylon Smith taken off the IR yesterday. Huummmm.

bluejerseyjinx wrote:Sean Lee has MRI on knee. Anyone know what this is all about? Jesus Christ, we just can't get a break in the injury department the past 7 years.

I want to say I heard it wasn't anything serious however with Sean Lee it's always serious. My hopes are not high for him playing a whole 16 games again.

bluejerseyjinx wrote:Jaylon Smith taken off the IR yesterday. Huummmm.

No way he plays this year. I read the other day that his nerve still isn't firing yet.

He was not put in IR or PUP list to start the season. Looks like Jerry is hoping for something else if he has any say in the matter.

You guys heard anything regarding Sean Lee's MRI?