(yahoo sports)The Pass-Rush Project: Ezekiel 'Ziggy' Ansah
I couldn't disagree with you more. What has most everyone on this site been screaming for for the last 3 or 4 years? A pass rusher. All Aldon Smith did his 1st year with the 49ers is rush the passer, he was good at it too. Just let Ansah do the same thing his first year while he refines the other parts of his game. Would you consider him a failure if all he did was get you 10 sacks every year?
In any case, it's all a moot point. From what Phil Savage said in that article, and the combine coming up this week in which I believe Ansah will be terrific, there is absolutely no way Ansah will be on the board when the Saints pick at 15. With the premium on pass rushers, one team will roll the dice before it's our turn to pick.
(A few years from now, we'll both wish the Saints had traded up for him. JMO)
Ansah is not Alson Smith. He's a 4-3 DE that's plays better coming off the ground, because he gets stood up too much by quality tackles. The guy has only played 3 years of football and one as a starter. Last year If he was on the end, he was rotated to the inside to draw more double teams. This is a clue that'd be the BYU coaches didn't think he was a great pass rusher.
If he converted to 3-4/5 technique linebacker, he is going to spend most o his career getting manhandled a te line of scrimmage. His lack of experience any real pass rushing technique will make him easy pickings for a quality left tackle. Plus his lack of knowledge will make him a liability if he needs to adjust to the run or drop back in coverage.
Stop comparing him to JPP. JPP spends 100 percent of his snaps as a hands in the dirt 4-3 pass rusher. Rob Ryan never uses his edge rushers the way JPP is used.
Ansah has 2 really good skills. He has the speed to get around the edge. This is what go him his sacks in college. Against tackles with bad foot work, he was able to beat them around the outside. He has the a good ability to knock down passes.
Watching the tape on this guy though, I'm convinced that the only reason he knocked so many passes down is because he was getting pushed back off the line on too many plays.
His college bio is identical to Vernon Gholston. A raw physical freak, with only a few years oplaying football. He plays great as strictly a 4-3 pass rusher. The risk of him becoming Just like Gholston is too great. if we draft him and try to convert him to 3-4 rush linebacker, he could become predictable and unable to adapt to a completely different style of play.
Mark him down on the long list of Saints defensive first rounders that couldn't make an impact in the NFL.