All Along the Hightower - #54 Discussion

[BigSoxFan]

“There must be some kind of way outta here...”

Ok, I think it’s time to discuss the elephant LB in the room. It’s September 2018 and Dont’a Hightower, our 2 time SB hero, sucks at playing linebacker. Like, he REALLY sucks.

I think we’ve all seen the same guy. He is constantly slow to react and then when he does, he’s moving like a glacier. This defense is getting destroyed over the middle in part because he can’t stay with anyone, like literally ANYONE. When it becomes a race to the sidelines, he is always 2 or 10 steps behind.

I’m going to cut to the chase. I think he’s done. Cooked. Toast. Whatever adjective you want to use here works. He reminds me of post-stroke Bruschi or Bird in 1992. The brain knows where it needs to be but the body can’t get there.

Thus, what do we do here? He’s the QB of the defense. Can those skills be transferred easily? Probably not. But even so, would we be better off having a guy like Bentley in there full time and getting him some experience and dealing with the growing pains?

What value does a physically cooked Hightower offer the team? Can he be moved or re-purposed? I don’t know but figure the discussion has to be begin because the end is nigh with poor High.

 

[Marciano490]

Can they throw him on the line? ESPN has him at 260, but my man’s got to be at least 280 at this point. He’s just too slow for anything else.

 

[BaseballJones]

My argument after last week was that they need to put him at DE. It would improve two positions likely by doing that. He’s still faster than defensive ends and moving him out of LB literally cannot be anything but an improvement.

 

[Marciano490]

Hasn’t he played DE a bit or at least put a hand in the ground before?

 

[j44thor]

My argument after last week was that they need to put him at DE. It would improve two positions likely by doing that. He’s still faster than defensive ends and moving him out of LB literally cannot be anything but an improvement.

I'm not even sure he is as fast as a decent DE anymore, that said NE is short at DE with Flowers out so I agree it can't hurt. Might just be rearranging the deck chairs on the titanic as far as HT and the front 7 is concerned.

 

[( . ) ( . ) and (_!_)]

I want to say that they should just use him like they did Rob Ninkovich because they are comparable in size and Hightower has a history of being a good pass rusher. But it's probably not that simple. They tried it last year before he got hurt, he was playing at the end of the line in 2017 and not back as a linebacker. The coaches aren't blind, they must see the lack of speed as well. So we know they've previously planned to have him play more of a DE/OLB role ala Ninkovich previously and we know they must be seeing what we are seeing, so the most logical conclusion here is that slow and crappy Hightower is unfortunately still their best option playing linebacker in the middle of the field.

What other options do they have? Christian Sam is on IR and didn't have anywhere close to the preseason that Bentley did. Elandon Roberts is what he is at this point. Van Noy is a nice player but has his limitations. They list Brandon King as an OLB on the depth chart but he weighs 214 pounds and has really never seen non-special team reps.

Nicholas Grisby, Patriots Nation turns our lonely eyes to you? A player on his 3rd team in 2 years. But at least he can run (4.51 40 time in 2016)?

They hopefully we get some decent compensatory picks next year for Nate Solder, Dion Lewis and Malcolm Butler (maybe 3rd or 4th rounders). They gives them some trade market ammo if they want to try to make a move.

 

[RedOctober3829]

At this point, a suitable role for Hightower is MLB on obvious running downs where he's filling B-gap to B-gap. He absolutely can't play in space anymore.

 

[Ed Hillel]

I was wondering about a DE shift myself. At LB, he’s basically become Brandon Spikes with brains.

 

[PaulinMyrBch]

Serious question for guys who have some elite training knowledge of heat and its effect on sports performance. From a layman's standpoint, my point of reference is my gym. The better athletes at my box do a crossfit competition in early June (here in Myrtle Beach) and its usually a scorcher. I've heard them complain months later that they still aren't right and point to those 2 days performing outdoors as the reason. Is there any chance that Hightower and others had some residual effect from the nearly 100 degree temps in Jacksonville last week? Everyone looked sluggish, but especially the bigs.

 

[Marciano490]

Serious question for guys who have some elite training knowledge of heat and its effect on sports performance. From a layman's standpoint, my point of reference is my gym. The better athletes at my box do a crossfit competition in early June (here in Myrtle Beach) and its usually a scorcher. I've heard them complain months later that they still aren't right and point to those 2 days performing outdoors as the reason. Is there any chance that Hightower and others had some residual effect from the nearly 100 degree temps in Jacksonville last week? Everyone looked sluggish, but especially the bigs.

It’s possible, but he played in the SEC, albeit it as a younger, healthier man.

 

[genoasalami]

He's due to get injured soon which will make this discussion moot.