Weaver.. Out for Year

[4upmc]

Sucks for the kid. A breakout season would have paid him well next April.

Yes sucks for him as by all accounts he is supposed to be a leader on the D and a great kid.

Was expecting a big year out of him. Someone talked about how he “only” had 6.5 sacks in another thread... well if you just judge a DE by sacks then you don’t really know the game. He had the highest pass rush win rate of all returning ACC edge rushers. He had 14 tackles for a loss and had a bunch of QB pressures. And his biggest strength was probably how good he was as a run stopper.

We have depth at DT at CB etc but very little proven depth at DE. Hopefully Alexander and some of the young guys like Morgan surprise us.

 

[4upmc]

Plug-ins will bite on plays that Weaver saw a million times. This is what hurts. Young and talented will not replace experience. Add to the linebacking on that side and, well, yikes.

Yes his FB IQ that allowed him to identify plays will be missed.

Very true. People like to examine things they can quantify, like sacks and tackles for a loss. But there is a lot more to this than finding someone who can pin his ears back and run full speed ahead. Very unfortunate.

True I said in my post above how someone talked about him having “only” 6.5 sacks but clearly they did not see all of the QB pressures. Or how well he played the run etc. Would be nice if a young DE can step up and surprise us with a big year.

 

[Burgh15]

Real tough to lose your best player. Hope Weaver has a smooth recovery.

 

[Pitt-Chains]

Real tough to lose your best player. Hope Weaver has a smooth recovery.

When Wrigginis went out last year most thought it was the end of the world...

 

[Burgh15]

When Wrigginis went out last year most thought it was the end of the world...

There's always a player to step up, but he wasn't going to be the best player on the team either.

By this point, the defense should have enough depth that the scheme should still be effective with the talent they put on the field, but what you may lack is some of those stops behind the line of scrimmage.

 

[RingDinger]

When Wrigginis went out last year most thought it was the end of the world...

In fairness, we didn't exactly go out and set the world on fire without him. We were 4-4 in his absence. I get what you're saying, though: We were a .500 team both with and without him.

I think Weaver might hurt a little more, though, just because continually pressuring the quarterback makes every unit on the team better. But I take a little solace in the fact that Narduzzi was talking Alexandre up before Weaver went down (i.e. he wasn't just blowing hot air to alleviate concerns after the fact).

 

[Cmart2004]

Tough loss for the team, heartbreaking for the kid. Wishing him the best.

 

[pittdan77]

We have depth at DT at CB etc but very little proven depth at DE.

With all of the DE's they've brought in the last few years, someone ought to be ready to play.

 

[9nationalchampionships]

I would not be surprised if Alexandre played on most downs with Pine or Morgan on passing downs. Bit of a challenge as opposing teams will try to match our person here with play-calling! Weaver is a dynamic DE and will be missed.

With all of the DE's they've brought in the last few years, someone ought to be ready to play.

 

[pittdan77]

I would not be surprised if Alexandre played on most downs with Pine or Morgan on passing downs. Bit of a challenge as opposing teams will try to match our person here with play-calling! Weaver is a dynamic DE and will be missed.

I'm not diminishing Weaver. Just would hope that one of these guys can play some football. From what I've been told for years, there should be a half dozen diamonds in the rough waiting to shine.