The Falcon Jedi Knight Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Lofton has to Rise UpJune 7th, 2011 Aaron Freeman Leave a comment Go to comments Curtis LoftonThere are two things that cannot be questioned about Curtis Lofton: first his toughness and secondly, his leadership. These are two areas where Lofton excels in. He’s a punishing, hard-hitting middle linebacker that likes to mix it up on defense. He’s taken on more of the leadership mantle during the lockout, acting as the “quarterback” of the defense during player-organized workouts according to several sources.But there are areas where Lofton can be questioned, and often that is his play on the field. He did not play up to expectations in 2010 after a very promising 2009 campaign. The previous year, he made consistent plays against the run, while struggling quite a bit against the pass. And while he made improvements as a pass defender, his run play was not up to par. And that play against the run is mainly what Lofton is known for.The Falcons emphasized improving their offense in this past year’s draft mainly because their brass feels it already has many of the pieces on defense to make significant strides going forward. Obviously, one of those pieces is Lofton. But he’ll have to step up his play like many of the others if he wants to prove the Falcons front office to be right.First of all, I want to say that one of the reasons why I think that Lofton was a less effective run defender was because of the changes the Falcons had up front at defensive tackle. Corey Peters really struggled against the run throughout the first three-quarters of the season, and Jonathan Babineaux did not do as much penetrating as he did the year before. Babineaux’s production dropped from 17.5 tackles for loss and 26 positive pass rushes (a combination of sacks, pressures, and hits) in 2009 to 9.5 and 15.5, respectively, in 2010. That’s not to say that Babineaux was bad, just that he wasn’t nearly as good. His 2009 season was an outstanding season, arguably as good if not better than any ever played by a Falcon defensive tackle. And while Peters did struggle throughout most of the year, his play did step up in the latter half of the year. He recorded 4.5 tackles for loss in the final 7 games.But Lofton’s play did not pick up in the latter half of the season. He was “key blocked” (meaning he was the victim on the principle block that sprung an opposing rusher on gains of 5 or more yards) a ridiculous 16.5 times during the latter half of the season. Through the first half of the season, that number was 3.83. And the issue is that is supposed to be the strength of Lofton’s game.It should be no secret that Lofton will never be great in coverage. In 2009, he blew 11 coverages, including 4 touchdowns. This past year that number dropped to 9 and 3, respectively. Not a ton of difference. But it was when you factor in that Lofton broke up 3 passes and had an interception, where he had none in 2009. So while he’s probably just as susceptible to being beat in coverage, he’s at least shown the ability that he can occasionally make a play to make up for it somewhat.Toughness and leadership are welcome traits to have, but they don’t mean jack if you’re not making plays out on the field. And Lofton did not do that last year. While many will tout him as one of the best middle linebackers in the league, his play in 2010 was much more evident that he’s one of the worst middle linebackers in the league. It’s a what have you done for me lately league, and as of late, Curtis Lofton hasn’t done a lot. Among the Falcon fan base, he’s essentially living off a reputation that he has yet to truly earn.Now that’s not closing the door on Lofton. I think he can continue to make strides in coverage and be in a position to make even more plays there. I also think he has the chance to bounce back as a run defender and have a season much more like the one he had in 2009 where he had 17 tackles for loss, and along with Babineaux was one of the key reasons why the Falcons had the second-rated run defense according to Football Outsiders. The Falcons dropped to 13th in 2010.Lofton is entering a contract year and at this point I would say it’s doubtful that he won’t be back in 2012. But if he doesn’t playing up to his potential as one of the top middle linebackers in the year, and regular start to make plays both against the run and the pass, then he probably should not be back.This Falcon offense with the addition of Julio Jones looks to be one of the more explosive ones in the league going forward. If the defense is going to pull its weight and try its best to catch up, then Curtis Lofton has to be one of the key reasons for its improvement going forward. He certainly has the ability, now we just need to see the production. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarterback Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Agreed.I think his biggest weakness is lack of foot speed in an era of heavy passing. I saw several RB's and TE's easily separate from him in coverage.Had Lofton come around 15-20 years ago he would be an all pro candidate; today he is at best an average MLB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KANE337 Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 "While many will tout him as one of the best middle linebackers in the league, his play in 2010 was much more evident that he’s one of the worst middle linebackers in the league. It’s a what have you done for me lately league, and as of late, Curtis Lofton hasn’t done a lot."That is a lot of BS. The writer NEVER mentioned about him playing through his bad knees and the fact he had offseason surgery on both of them. Maybe that was a contributing factor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarterback Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 "While many will tout him as one of the best middle linebackers in the league, his play in 2010 was much more evident that he's one of the worst middle linebackers in the league. It's a what have you done for me lately league, and as of late, Curtis Lofton hasn't done a lot."That is a lot of BS. The writer NEVER mentioned about him playing through his bad knees and the fact he had offseason surgery on both of them. Maybe that was a contributing factor?I hope this was the reason...we'll know for sure this season after he is all healed up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlfanstckndenver Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 "While many will tout him as one of the best middle linebackers in the league, his play in 2010 was much more evident that he’s one of the worst middle linebackers in the league. It’s a what have you done for me lately league, and as of late, Curtis Lofton hasn’t done a lot."That is a lot of BS. The writer NEVER mentioned about him playing through his bad knees and the fact he had offseason surgery on both of them. Maybe that was a contributing factor?good point. i overall do think that lofton has to play better this season but at the same time there are many reasons why he dropped off last yr and having two bum knees is as direct a factor as it gets. this write up is not a very balanced or informed piece to say the least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmer2 Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 The writer has a point that Lofton does need to step up his game from last year. But as other's have already pointed he was playing injured most of the year. I'm confident that he'll bounce back, but imo he'll always be a liability in the passing game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLofton50 Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Like others have said, not taking the injuries into consideration is just unfair and poor journalism. I expect a return to form as he fully recovers from injury and Peters/Jerry develop as true nosetackles. Lofton is a BREAST. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karst41 Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 WT Bloody F'n HeII.Now we have Shutdown Middle Linebackers in pass coverage ?Can somebody tell me the names and teams that have these guys? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Falcon Jedi Knight Posted June 10, 2011 Author Share Posted June 10, 2011 WT Bloody F'n HeII.Now we have Shutdown Middle Linebackers in pass coverage ?Can somebody tell me the names and teams that have these guys?Lofton has never been a coverage LB, and we did not draft him to be that. It would be nice if he was better at that. His knees seemed to affect him last season, he wasnt attacking the Line of scrimmage like he used to. He seemed to be laying back a little and directing the rest of the defense. I hope his knee surgeries will help him get back to attacking this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d#d#d# Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Injury is a lame excuse... If you cant play, dont playLofton is top 10 against the run and bottom ten playing the pass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Game Blouses™ Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 (edited) This is really nitpicking at a great player... we drafted him in the 2nd round and has lived up and past his expectations... we didnt draft him in the top ten to be the next ray lewis so lay off his doin his thing... yes he can improve n should against the pass but c'mon man Edited June 10, 2011 by sspeedd23 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freebird310 Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 This is really nitpicking at a great player... we drafted him in the 2nd round and has lived up and past his expectations... we didnt draft him in the top ten to be the next ray lewis so lay off his doin his thing... yes he can improve n should against the pass but c'mon manFor real, guy that wrote this is a complete fkng dooshbag ....Lofton struggled some because he had the stones to play hurt all frigging year, but the guy still had a great season ....his tackle #'s fell off a bit but he had a INT, 2 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles .......this article is garbage IMO ...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HouseofEuphoria Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Lofton struggled some because he had the stones to play hurt all frigging year, but the guy still had a great season ....his tackle #'s fell off a bit but he had a INT, 2 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles .......this article is garbage IMO ......I agree.Gosh...Lofton played oh-so-horribly as our starting MLB that he led our defense to a 13-3 record.This writer is grasping at straws. I think at the end of the season his knees were giving him trouble, but Lofton was far from being one of the "worst MLBs in the league". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freebird310 Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 I agree.Gosh...Lofton played oh-so-horribly as our starting MLB that he led our defense to a 13-3 record.This writer is grasping at straws. I think at the end of the season his knees were giving him trouble, but Lofton was far from being one of the "worst MLBs in the league". I think he had both the knees scoped, he should be good to go again this year ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twoism Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Why wouldn't he be back in 2012? :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mid-Nite-Toker Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 I'm sure a man like Lofton is being harder on himself than any writer, fan, or coach could be. Lofton will bounce back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllStarHandyMan Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 i would like to make him rush even more!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karst41 Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 Injury is a lame excuse... If you cant play, dont playLofton is top 10 against the run and bottom ten playing the pass.Rarely troughout the history has there been a 3-4 MLB that is qualityagainst the pass and rush.This is not to say that MLB's cant pick off a pass, they do and do often.The Idea is to make them have to drop back into a coverage situation,and then your offense just created a mismatch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abe Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 I remember Lofton making some game changing plays. His first year or two he was just a thumper. I think his game actually progressed. He actually said after the 09 season that his goal was to have game changing plays not just tackles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HouseofEuphoria Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 Rarely troughout the history has there been a 3-4 MLB that is qualityagainst the pass and rush.This is not to say that MLB's cant pick off a pass, they do and do often.The Idea is to make them have to drop back into a coverage situation,and then your offense just created a mismatch.Here's a man who knows his football. ^It's the main reason i think the 4-3 defense is kinda outdated in todays NFL.Much more effective against the run than against these hybrid west coast passing juggernauts we see today.It's much much harder to disguise your defense in a 4-3 as opposed to the 3-4. Blitz, Coverages, zones, etc.As "Quarterback" alluded to earlier in this thread, pure MLBers, like Lofton, are a rare breed these days.You're not gonna get the fancy stats but you will get production and consistancy, which is what we hear Smitty preaching about all the time. And it has led us to a great defense statistically against the run the last three years.Lofton doesnt make many mistakes, and as a two-down (sometimes three) MLB he plays strong. Should we try and blitz him more? Maybe. But we got Spoon for that too. There's alot of talk about our defense being "weak". I just dont see it. Especially not at the MLB position. I'm pretty happy during games knowing that Loftons in the middle, like Jesse Tuggle, waiting to lay the hammer. That kind of confidence only comes from a few, rare, MLBs in the league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abcranford2 Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 honestly i was dissapointed with loftons play this year...but like yall so kindly pointed out, he was hurt...i hope lofton gets back to form this year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheldon Cooper Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 That article makes me pretty angry. Lofton is a very important part of our defense and should be re-signed before the end of this season. He played hurt last year. I hope he is healthy and has a great year this year. He might even be moved to WLB with Dent playing MLB this year. Maybe that will be easier on his knees, and he is a great pass rusher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Spot on Dtan8 Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 If by "Rise up" you mean "grow 3 inches," then yes, I agree completelyBEASON AT MLB IN 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thule Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 If by "Rise up" you mean "grow 3 inches," then yes, I agree completelyBEASON AT MLB IN 2012Jon Beason #52 LBCarolina Panthers | Official Team SiteHeight: 6-0 Weight: 237 Age: 26 Curtis Lofton #50 LBAtlanta Falcons | Official Team SiteHeight: 6-0 Weight: 242 Age: 25 I feel sorry for your mother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borat Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 (edited) If by "Rise up" you mean "grow 3 inches," then yes, I agree completelyBEASON AT MLB IN 2012Funny that you are telling someone to "grow up..." Edited June 11, 2011 by Borat.Sagdiyev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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