[kcarr]

Quote: Originally Posted by Dmacho

Since when do coaching staffs guess when evaluating players ? They look at film ; the put players through various drills to guage what they can and can't do. Just because a DE drops into coverage every once and a while on a zone blitz, doesn't mean that they can make the switch to OLB in a 3-4 scheme. When DEs do that in a 4-3 scheme, the point is to suprise the QB; for the most part, if a player has his hand on the ground, he's going to rush the QB. Some zone blitzes have DTs dropping; surely, it isn't ideal to have a 300+ players dropping into coverage on a regular basis.

Guess may not be exactly the right word but it sure isn't a 100% accurate deal either. They do try to find as much info as possible before trying to make such a switch but it still is closer to a guess than a 100% sure thing.

I agree that just because a DE drops into coverage doesn't mean he can switch to OLB. Just because a OLB can drop into coverage doesn't mean he can play corner. Just because a DT can catch the ball on an interception once in a while doesn't mean he can play WR. I didn't say that the DE should have as high over coverage ratings as the OLB, just that he can drop back into coverage and therefore needs ratings to determine success rate.