How good is James Laurinaitis?

[walzav29]

Hearing his name alot, and with out your Buckeye goggles is he good enough to be a top 10 pick?

[gregstephens]

Hearing his name alot, and with out your Buckeye goggles is he good enough to be a top 10 pick?

Biggest knock I hear on the kid is he's kinda small for the NFL. That being said, and understanding I am indifferent when it comes to the Buckeyes, every time I have watched him on tv, he's everywhere. He's in on the tackle on runs and seems to be good at pass ocoverage. I don't think top ten, but first or second round easy.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Yes. Would be a perfect pick for the Bengals' needs. A little young and inexperienced to be considered a step-in leader though - would be happy with the kind of play AJ Hawk provides Green Bay.

[CJBestInAFC]

I think he is in the top three if not the best lb available in the draft. I am not an OSU fan, but he is a very solid lb. I don't know if he is as good as Patrick Willis, but I've been very soft on Laurinaitis since watching Justin Blalock push him around in 2k5 and 2k6. I noticed when watching the Buckeyes win over the Horns that Laurinaitis made a lot of tackles on the stat sheet, and was talked about by the announcers, but they were 6-10 yards down the field. Selvin Young was going for 8.5 ypc in that game and I think J.Charles was around 5 ypc as well - and they did it up the gut right at Laurinaitis. He is a great tackler and I like Dan Connor a lot too. I think both are very good along with Keith Rivers, but if they decide to go lb in the first round I think the best option would be to trade down and take either Connor or Rivers in the mid first round. I think until the combine happens those three are very close, and it is hard to evaluate them fairly.

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

Biggest knock I hear on the kid is he's kinda small for the NFL. That being said, and understanding I am indifferent when it comes to the Buckeyes, every time I have watched him on tv, he's everywhere. He's in on the tackle on runs and seems to be good at pass ocoverage. I don't think top ten, but first or second round easy.

So he's Caleb Miller?

[gregstephens]

Biggest knock I hear on the kid is he's kinda small for the NFL. That being said, and understanding I am indifferent when it comes to the Buckeyes, every time I have watched him on tv, he's everywhere. He's in on the tackle on runs and seems to be good at pass ocoverage. I don't think top ten, but first or second round easy.

So he's Caleb Miller?

Wouldn't know. Haven't seen that much of Miller this season.

[HoosierCat]

Doesn't matter. If drafted by the Bengals, Laurinitas will quickly bust a leg/blow out an ACL/break his neck/get caught smoking pot while banging underaged girls/or just turn out to suck.

[Kirkendall]

Biggest knock I hear on the kid is he's kinda small for the NFL. That being said, and understanding I am indifferent when it comes to the Buckeyes, every time I have watched him on tv, he's everywhere. He's in on the tackle on runs and seems to be good at pass ocoverage. I don't think top ten, but first or second round easy.

So he's Caleb Miller?

Hell no, no, no.

If you haven't watched little Animal's season, man, if you think less than greatness, then you're freaking nuts man. Freaking nuts.

[Kirkendall]

Doesn't matter. If drafted by the Bengals, Laurinitas will quickly bust a leg/blow out an ACL/break his neck/get caught smoking pot while banging underaged girls/or just turn out to suck.

Dude. Killing the chi here, man.

[Bengals44]

Here is an article about him from todays Cleveland Plain Dealer:

http://www.cleveland.com/sports/plaindeale....xml&coll=2

[BengalszoneBilly]

Doesn't matter. If drafted by the Bengals, Laurinitas will quickly bust a leg/blow out an ACL/break his neck/get caught smoking pot while banging underaged girls/or just turn out to suck.

Dude. Killing the chi here, man.

Our "chi" was killed in the second game of the season when Bresnahan's moronic defensive scheming still allowed the Bengals to lose after scoring 45 freakin' points! It was incredibly high the week after defeating Baltimore on MNF. Talk about the biggest of swings possible.

[jjakq27]

Doesn't matter. If drafted by the Bengals, Laurinitas will quickly bust a leg/blow out an ACL/break his neck/get caught smoking pot while banging underaged girls/or just turn out to suck.

That just about sums up the last 40 years of Bengals football.

[JoePong]

Good college player. Not much else.

[rishipatel]

I was listening to a draft bit on ESPN about big ten players, and they said if laurinitis declared, he would be the top LB in the draft. Don't know if this is true, but it sounds like he's highly regarded. All I know is he looked like a beast when I saw him play this yr...always making plays.

[BengalszoneBilly]

Good college player. Not much else.

I was listening to a draft bit on ESPN about big ten players, and they said if laurinitis declared, he would be the top LB in the draft. Don't know if this is true, but it sounds like he's highly regarded. All I know is he looked like a beast when I saw him play this yr...always making plays.

WTF!?! ESPN contradicting the wisdom Mr. Pong bestowed upon us!?! Those network fools!

[cincy9275]

little animal is a very very good lb. joe pong you are smoking something if you have watched him play and think any differnt. the guy can do it all and gets to the ball very quick. would be a very nice pick if we can get him. but i like gholston better a pass rusher, strong against the run and can shed blocks. even highly regarded jake long could not stop gholston. he was switching end postion all game against mich and they could not stop him what so ever, even when they had a te chipping on him he was still in the back field all day.

[kingwilly]

As comparison, he is not as good as Willis, AJ Hawk, or even O'Dell coming out. Sorry to burst your bubble but he is not as good a college player as Landon was. I think he will slip in the draft to the bottom of r1/top or r2. He will suffer at the combine (slow) and the stat/data knobs will move him way down. He is a decent f-ball player but should not be considered a savior/redeemer for the Bengals D. He is Caleb +15 lbs. and slower. I see him going to NE at the end of r1 (Seau/Bruschi getting old).

[ArmyBengal]

I personally think he should stay at Ohio State for another year. He's one of those guys that, if he stayed, would actually benefit more form it. Will he get drafted if he declares ?? Of course, but if he stays another year, I think his position as well as what he has to offer will improve. That being said, I would rather have Gholston as well !!!

WHODEY !!!

[HairOnFire]

I see him going to NE at the end of r1.

Uhhhh, you must have missed the news.

[agreen_112]

I think he'd be a great addition. Any LB of this caliber would be a great addition because he'd be 10x's better than what we have! Honestly I'd rather have the guy from Illinois.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

I personally think he should stay at Ohio State for another year. He's one of those guys that, if he stayed, would actually benefit more form it. Will he get drafted if he declares ?? Of course, but if he stays another year, I think his position as well as what he has to offer will improve. That being said, I would rather have Gholston as well !!!

WHODEY !!!

Yeah I agree as I don't think he progessed well this year, after showing so much promise as a frosh 2 seasons ago, but still has maintained his status as a top college LB.

That said he's better than any LB on the Bengals' roster right now, and would help them - just not sure he's worth a #7-#9 over-all pick if that's what folks are getting at.

If we're talking OSU players, yes Gholston is someone I've always liked and would be an ideal replacement for Smith, depending on how the other DE's/LB's shake out in the top 10.

As for Laurinitis - not sure how people can't be impressed with him most of the time - guy's a beast who is all around the ball and rushes the QB well - but tends to disappear in some games for whatever reason.

Anyone drafting him, as mentioned above, should not be counting on him as a leader or a savior or anything other than an upgrade to a LB corps, with some serious upside potential if he can handle it.

Unlike Ping Pong - I think he can be a solid NFL backer and have no idea why anyone would think differently given the level he's played at the last 3 years. He's not small nor slow either. If he fails it's due to intangibles or character, certainly not ability or talent.

[Pidge]

I see him going to NE at the end of r1.

Uhhhh, you must have missed the news.

I dunno. Would be suprised if NE didn't trade down to get more picks and more value in the draft and contracts. It's just what they do, run things very well. The bastardos.

[sparky151]

I wouldn't want Laurinaits in the top 10. He's a very good linebacker but not quite as good as AJ Hawk. OSU has a strong defense so almost any player on it will look better at the college level than in the pros. Jim Heacock, the OSU defensive coordinator won the Broyles award as the top assistant coach in college football. He's probably a better coach and game planner than Bresnahan.

[walzav29]

I think with as high as the Bengals will pick the only positions that justify the slot are OT, DE, DT or CB. Every other position can be picked later. There are more quality guys at other positions. It is hard to get someone "SPECIAL" at those positions. QB usually has to be #1 unless there is a blind luck Brady type. RB, WR, LB, S, with some obvious exceptions can be drafted wherever. By my rationale the best DE should be taken. I'm not sure who that is though.

[cincy9275]

I wouldn't want Laurinaits in the top 10. He's a very good linebacker but not quite as good as AJ Hawk. OSU has a strong defense so almost any player on it will look better at the college level than in the pros. Jim Heacock, the OSU defensive coordinator won the Broyles award as the top assistant coach in college football. He's probably a better coach and game planner than Bresnahan.

not probably, but he is better than bres could ever imagine