On two consecutive plays early in yesterday's game, Julian Peterson literally bounced off Brandon Jacobs while trying to tackle him. Dude is supposed to be a pro-bowl linebacker and he's bouncing off a running back like a superball.
Tim Ruskell is all about building a smallish defense built around speed, and Peterson is perfectly representative of this. I watched the Pittsburgh-Jacksonville game last night. Every time I watch the Steelers play I come away amazed at the size of their linebackers. I know they run a 3-4, so their linebackers have to be a little bigger, but the difference is beyond noticeable to the naked eye. The Steelers' linebackers are built. The two outside linebackers for the Steelers average 6'1", 258 lbs. Peterson, a 4-3 outside linebacker, is 6'4", 240 lbs, and is skinny as hell. How is he supposed to take down a 265 lbs back like Jacobs? Exactly - he doesn't.
Peterson's smallness may be sticking out more due to the (horrendous) play the Seahawks are getting out of their right defensive end, but I'm starting to get tired of seeing Peterson unable to tackle running backs and tight ends. I know he gets a bunch of sacks each year, but that shouldn't be a reason to inflate his value. I would much rather have the linebackers focus on making tackles and let the ends pile up the sacks. Again, the right ends aren't doing squat, but if they were the Seahawks wouldn't have to rely on a smallish outside linebacker to produce pressure, probably at the expense of overall tackling ability, specifically in stopping the run.
I know Peterson got a huge six-year contract, and hopefully it's front-loaded, as it would be a shame to lose Hill because too much money is already committed to an aging (31 at the start of the 2009 season), undersized veteran with a large contract.
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