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| Grant will have to step it up this year for the Rams defense to be successful. |
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I keep hoping in Wistrom, and I do think he will be adequate. But he
seems to lack that special ability to create penetration into the body of the OT. He
is rather easily pushed to the outside by the tackle. People keep saying he needs to learn
technique. Well, some things in the game are learnable. I am not sure this is. I don't
know that a guy LEARNS to penetrate through blocks any more than a RB learns to run for
power.
The elite DEs don't just run to the outside. They get physical pressure upfield AS they
drive around the tackle. This way, they can get to the QB in time to have an effect on the
play. It is a combination of speed, quickness, and strength. It is similar to what the
great power backs have.
And it is not measurable on a scale! Power comes from a combination of weight,
athleticism, and strength that permits the RB or DE or whatever to put the other guy at a
disadvantage in terms of leverage and so forth. I am not sure you can develop it, either
with technique or in the weight room.
I feel Wistrom does have some real strengths. He is a big-play guy--he has that knack for
taking advantage of an opportunity. He tries hard and has good pursuit speed. I think he
will hand fight drive blocks pretty well. But I see a distinct ceiling over him. He is an
NFL player, and we will gain some value from him, but he will not CREATE pressure on the
Qb by himself. I don't see the evidence of real penetration.
He strikes me as a "cripple-shooter," a term used in baseball for hitters
who will just NAIL hanging curveballs or fat fastballs on a 3-0 count. That is, when they
get the opportunity with a weak pitch, they seldom miss. But they seldom turn nasty,
pitchers' pitches into base hits the way a Tony Gwinne can. I think GW is that way.
So he gets that INT last game--makes the play that is there for him. But he does not
strike me as the kind of truly penetrating player who can CREATE that opportunity. He will
often be blocked, especially in the pass rush. He has speed, but he needs some sort of
confusion in the O, due to scheming, stunts, blitzes, blown OL reads, whatever, to take
advantage of that speed.
So Wistrom definitely has value. He will be a presence for us this year. But I keep
hungring for a pair of true monster DEs that no one can handle. Carter is almost there.
Wistrom has a good distance to go. As a guy who remembers the Deacon and Jack Youngblood,
I hope we ultimately find someone who is innately special. And I rather doubt that Wistrom
is. I think the chances that he will be special keep receding.