[Puck]

Originally Posted by sherck

My 2 cents is that Ballard was probably picking between Hooker and Allen. That late report on Foster's shoulder is what sent him tumbling.

In the Colts defense, Allen would have played the weak-side, 3-tech DT position due to his lack of heights/length which is a bit more single gap shooting rather than the strong-side, 5-tech DE which often has to take on 2-gap responsibility and double teams from OT and TE. It is a role that I think Allen would have been perfect for.

The Colts currently have Anderson, Ridgeway and T.Y. McGill playing DT. Not a bad depth chart at the position so Allen would have displaced one of them.

Now, the kicker here is that Anderson IS tall enough/long enough to play the strong-side 5-tech DE spot on the D-Line putting him in rotation with Langford.

D-Line if we had taken Allen:

DT = Allen, Ridgeway, McGill
NT = Hankins, Woods, Parry
DE = Langford, Anderson, Hunt

However, at safety, if Ballard was not convinced that Green was the free safety he was looking for then taking Hooker is a brilliant move because he is still growing into his prime (his ceiling is high) and already has the instincts and range to be impact.

I like the 3 safety flexibility that Hooker, Geathers and Green could bring to the field on nickel and dime packages. I like the concept of Green as the nickel CB. I like having options. I hope Green shows this year that Hooker and Geathers are going to have to work hard to see the field!

Great pick, IMO. A sure top ten talent at 1-15 is exactly what I was hoping for.
THANK YOU for the WR, RB and QB run in the top 12. It helped us greatly!

Cheers,

The quick was so quick I think Ballard made his decision as soon as he knew Philly's pick