Road to Victory Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 https://theeagleswire.usatoday.com/2021/02/19/eagles-genard-avery-linebacker-position-switch/Eagles moving Genard Avery to linebacker for 2021 NFL season Glenn Erby February 19, 2021 5:08 pm Lost in the news of the Eagles pending Carson Wentz trade, is the word that Genard Avery is set to switch to the linebacker position for the 2021 NFL season. The Eagles traded their 2021 fourth-round pick to acquire Avery ahead of the 2019 NFL trade deadline from the Browns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Philly Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 Interesting move, well at least the new DC is looking to improve the LB position which is nice to see. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UK_EaglesFan89 Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 Makes sense. He's fast, he's athletic, I think he's a little undersized for DE? So why not try him at LB and see how he does. The LB position is an issue on this team anyway and he can't be worse than Gerry. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsb235 Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 This article did a good job of identifying his weaknesses coming out of college. Browns Film Room: LB Genard Avery’s weaknesses | Waiting For Next Year I think the team will be able to figure out pretty quickly if he has addressed them or not. He has the tools to be a really good LB, but if he isn't better in his play recognition and zone coverage, he will struggle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UK_EaglesFan89 Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 2 minutes ago, jsb235 said: I think the team will be able to figure out pretty quickly if he has addressed them or not. He has the tools to be a really good LB, but if he isn't better in his play recognition and zone coverage, he will struggle Unless they make him a situational LB... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsb235 Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 24 minutes ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said: Unless they make him a situational LB... I am not sure he offers enough as a pass rusher to keep around as a specialist, especially since he doesn't play special teams. My feeling is that he either really shines as a LB (especially given the competition) or he ends up cut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UK_EaglesFan89 Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 1 hour ago, jsb235 said: I am not sure he offers enough as a pass rusher to keep around as a specialist, especially since he doesn't play special teams. My feeling is that he either really shines as a LB (especially given the competition) or he ends up cut. But how are the Eagles under Gannon going to utilise their LBs? I mean let's face it he doesn't have a lot of competition. I think he can play as an OLB? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeathByEagle Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 26 minutes ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said: But how are the Eagles under Gannon going to utilise their LBs? I mean let's face it he doesn't have a lot of competition. I think he can play as an OLB? He would be a OLB in a 4-3 under type of set. Hes a pass rusher, just better in a 3-4 style defense that the outside tackle needs to determine who he needs to pick up, the outside lb rusher or the edge DE. Im sure he will get a few reps in coverage to keep teams honest but I see him mainly used in the under front to maximize his value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsb235 Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 18 minutes ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said: But how are the Eagles under Gannon going to utilise their LBs? I mean let's face it he doesn't have a lot of competition. I think he can play as an OLB? One thing in Avery's favor is that the team will likely use their LBs to blitz a lot more, which helps him. But he also has to show that he can cover/play zone at a reasonable level, or else it pretty much telegraphs what is going to happen when he is on the field. I think it all comes down to whether or not he has gotten more "football aware" since he entered the league. He has the athleticism to play the position, but if he doesn't recognize what's happening in front of him, he's going to be a liability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20dawk4life Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 So switching to a 3-4 or a 4-3 under? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsb235 Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 3 minutes ago, 20dawk4life said: So switching to a 3-4 or a 4-3 under? Not if our defense is going to look anything like Indy's last year, which I am guessing is the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UK_EaglesFan89 Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 2 hours ago, 20dawk4life said: So switching to a 3-4 or a 4-3 under? I can't imagine they will no. I think Indy played 4-3. Mind you I see no reason why if Gannon wanted to go that way he couldn't? There's no real reason to stick 4-3 based on this team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20dawk4life Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 50 minutes ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said: I can't imagine they will no. I think Indy played 4-3. Mind you I see no reason why if Gannon wanted to go that way he couldn't? There's no real reason to stick 4-3 based on this team. We have no LBs so switching to a 3-4 would be damn near impossible this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eggs Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 Great - a guy with poor coverage skills playing LB in a league increasingly relying on LBs to cover TEs and RBs. Everyone knew this was stupid trade that Howie did, except for Howie. One more reason he should be fired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UK_EaglesFan89 Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 54 minutes ago, 20dawk4life said: We have no LBs so switching to a 3-4 would be damn near impossible this year. That's true! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsb235 Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 In looking at some advanced stats, Avery was targeted 21 times in 2018 and gave up 14 completions, which is actually not a terrible percentage. The problem is, he gave up 12 yards per completion, which meant when he got beat, it usually led to a big play. One positive stat is that, on 77 blitzes, he generated a positive result (pressure, knockdown, sack) on 25 plays, which is a great percentage. He also had a really low missed tackle rate. As a comparison, Anthony Walker in his career at Indy has given up a higher percentage of completions, but has been able to limit the big plays. But he offers a lot less as a pass rusher. My gut feeling without grinding a lot of 2018 Browns tape and 2020 Colts tape is that it wouldn't take a miracle for Avery to really fit on this team as a complement to Singleton. If his zone coverage and recognition on play action passes gets better, he could be really good. You aren't going to block him with a RB or TE, so he will be really effective as a rusher, and our two deep safety scheme should protect him from giving up big plays. It will be interesting to see how he progresses. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UK_EaglesFan89 Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 13 hours ago, jsb235 said: One positive stat is that, on 77 blitzes, he generated a positive result (pressure, knockdown, sack) on 25 plays, which is a great percentage. He also had a really low missed tackle rate. And that's why I think if they can work on him in coverage they may be able to get something out of Avery. He's disruptive at getting after the QB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Portyansky Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 Finally!!!! I have been saying this since he got here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoconoDon Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 I really hope it works out. After all, it's not like they'll draft one early if it doesn't. In fact, this move means they don't have to draft one this April. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weko Posted March 6, 2021 Share Posted March 6, 2021 No worries...after he shows he can't play LB either, they can just call him a developmental LB. Problem solved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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