Matt Elam has lost weight!
- Thread starter TuckyFB
- Start date
According to this video http://www.courier-journal.com/videos/sports/college/kentucky/2016/07/21/87386694/ ELAM HAS LOST 30 POUNDS!!!!
So long as he kept the 24 inch pythons.
Well, if he would penetrate into the backfield, and/or make a tackle every now and then, we wouldn't worry so much.
That is not what has been asked him nor is what will be asked of him.
Sorry but as large as he is, he could lose 30 pounds by eating White Castle and the resulting bathroom room after.
This right here is 100% proof that you are critical of players and their responsibilities as a player despite the fact that you don't actually know their responsibilities yourself. That is not what his role is.
So defensive linemen are not supposed to penetrate, blow up blocking schemes or make tackles. Got it. Thanks.
Melvin Lewis made a lot of plays before he got hurt, who Matt was backing up. Especially one huge TFL against ULL late in the game when we were tied and they had the ball. He must not have got the memo.
Yes they can make plays! that is not there main job. Matt is a true junior he was not ready the first two years to be as good as Melvins Lewis a guy who had 2 years of juco and a year of starting under his belt. As Elam plays the better he will be. He will never make a ton of tfl though. Lewis had like 4 in his career.
I wish our fans wouldn't judge the players so harshly before they have had time to develop. Players are not created equal we all new Elam was a project. Unfortunately stoops did not have anything in the cupboard and has had to play guys before they where ready to be good players. It will start to pay off this year with alot of talent in there 3rd and 4th years.
Great!!!!!! Now he's too dam small to do anything!!!!!!
You're ignorant. His responsibility as a nose tackle in this scheme is to occupy as many blockers as possible and open things up for the rest of our defense to make plays. If he's able to make a play on the ball carrier, then obviously do so, but not by sacrificing gap integrity. Melvin Lewis started 5 games and had 12 tackles for the season (1 sack). It's not their role to rush the passer. Elam statistically had a better year than Lewis (nearly twice as many tackles) so Elam was the one that "made more plays" than Lewis per se, so why was the defense so much better with Lewis than Elam? Because Lewis was in his 2nd year in that role. He understood his role, and the entire defense as a whole was better for it.
A perfect example of this was against Auburn. In the 3rd quarter, Kentucky completely shut down Auburn's offense, and then the injury came. To that point, Melvin had 3 tackles, but because he was able to occupy multiple blockers and open up gaps for the linebackers to attack and close quickly, the defense stifled Auburn's offense. Then an inexperienced Matt Elam came in, and the defense wasn't able to stop the run anymore. The holes closed up, Auburn was getting blocks on our linebackers from offensive linemen because Elam wasn't drawing enough attention to himself, and then it turned into a shootout again. Elam ended the game with 6 tackles (twice as many as Lewis), but the defense was noticeably worse following Melvin's injury.
A'Shawn Robinson, the best nose tackle in the country, and a consensus All-American at Alabama, ended the season with 46 tackles, 7.5 for a loss, and 3.5 sacks after 15 games. Mind you, one of Robinson's best traits was his versatility, literally having the size, strength, and athleticism to play any position along the defensive line (defensive ends including) in both the 3-4, as well as the 4-3. He actually has more of a pass rushing skill-set than Elam or Lewis, and he ended the season with 3.5 sacks because of his role when he was moved to nose tackle. You see him frequently being double-teamed, even against Clemson, and when that happens, Alabama usually shuts down the run because the linebackers are able to attack those gaps quickly and make plays.
Take a read, this talks about the objective of a 0 technique (which Elam is). A little education wouldn't kill ya.
https://www.profootballfocus.com/defensive-prototypes-0-technique/
Here's a quote from the article:
"The 0-technique’s job is to control the center, often draw a double team from a guard, and still be able to prevent the run from going right up the gut. That’s why traditional 3-4 nose tackles are monsters. While most defensive tackles are north of 300 pounds, two-gapping nose tackles are usually north of 330. They make other behemoth linemen look small by comparison, and it is their sheer size and strength that allows them to anchor inside and control multiple, smaller, blockers at the point of attack."
It's incredibly noticeable that he's lost a lot of weight. Look at a picture of when he came in, his gut was twice that size.
Oh, that is Elam??
Sorry, didn't recognize him, should have noticed he didn't have the typical ballerina's skirts on.
Just kidding, I am much encouraged by him losing weight, it shows not just progress physically but in his dedication. We need the big man in there in better shape, and there is no doubt he could make our line AND LBs look a lot better.
No, he's not. Here is the most significant point in the article:
The reality is true two-gapping systems are dying out in the NFL, replaced by schemes and systems that prefer the attacking, one-gap fronts whether they are three or four-man lines.
And that is in the NFL where the spread running game is not anywhere as popular as it is in college ranks. Big 2 gap NTs have already pretty well died out in the college game. Spread formation blocking feature a lot of zone blocking or combo blocks. Zone blocking schemes, in particular, eschew "power blocking" and try to create "lateral seams" in the D-line vice a "knock 'em off the line" approach. And this means you can simply "seal" some guys from the play rather than "move him out". And the play side OG can easily seal a much bigger NT unless he is big enough, strong enough and quick enough to literally play through the block into the play side A gap. Very few can do that.
Sure, back in the 70s when the Pro I set was the most common formation the basic isolation play was a OG and C D/T on the NG and a FB lead block on the LB. Today's spread running games seldom D/T anybody; they don't want to "waste" a guy by having a true 2 on 1 block. You will see zone or combo blocks where an OG the C and a OG initially hit the NT but then one will peel off on a LB. The equivalent of the aforementioned isolation play into the 1 or 2 hole is a down block by the play side OG on the NT, a block on the play side ILB by the play side OT and a trap block by the backside OG on the play side DT. The C tries to seal the back side ILB. By and large, the classic prototypical 2 gap NT has gone the way of the Wide Tackle 6 defense.
Peace
He was 360 if he lost 30 that puts him at 330 - on a 6'7" frame I would say he is close to his ideal playing weight. You have to believe this will help all aspects of his technique.
Elam wasn't near ready to play his freshman year, he had terrible technique and his conditioning was worse than bad. Now there could have been a couple of reasons he didn't redshirt or a combination of the 2. One is UK had no one else on the roster who could fill the position and the other was a promise of no redshirt from Stoops during the recruiting process. Elam was just so big and strong he didn't need any technique in HS to overpower high kids who he outweight between 150-200 lb. He looked better as a soph both fundamentally and physically, that much improvement in his 3rd year he will become a solid contributor and as a sr be in line for some post season honors. It wasn't his fault he was on the field long before he was ready to play against grown men of 21-22 years old.
This is true. However, Elam does not fit the attacking one-gap style.....and thus the staff is not asking him to be something that he isn't.
But if the o isn't going to help out the center then eventually a 360 pound man beating on a 300 pound man will collapse the interior of the line. No pocket to throw from and you lose that whole dimension of your offense.... if Elam is in better shape he will have to be doubled or he will push the center into backfield every play.
True on all counts. They have to play him as they do or not play him at all.
Well, we have not seen that yet. And it is very unlikely to happen unless Elam really loses weight, gets stronger, shows more effort, plays lower and improves his technique. If he does so this year it will be a totally new Elam but as of the B/W game he was the same player he was last year. White team pretty much neutralized him throughout the game.
Peace
If your judging him by that game then idk what to tell you. He actually did a very good job changing the Los in that scrimmage. IL wait until the season to make any real judgements. The dlineman did not go half speed that game.
Same issue happens in a lot of sports that potentially happened in the BW game. You never appear to play as well when you're going against the same people in practice constantly. You learn each others' tendencies, techniques, deficiencies, strengths, etc. I found it kind of ends in an equilibrium of sorts- makes the playing field more even.
I'm not saying this is what happened to Elam and the rest of the line, but if the playing field levels like I mentioned, five guys outnumber three.
There's definitely more the dline can do to improve. But I think it's unfair to base any effectiveness outside of individual technique and focus from an in-team scrimmage. Jmo.
I'm not saying this is what happened to Elam and the rest of the line, but if the playing field levels like I mentioned, five guys outnumber three.
There's definitely more the dline can do to improve. But I think it's unfair to base any effectiveness outside of individual technique and focus from an in-team scrimmage. Jmo.