Obi at MLB is like having a red carded player

I made it a point to watch Ezeh today.  Forget about misreading plays and being out of position, he actually helps the offense with some of his decisions.  I'm sure he is trying hard but the mistakes he is making as a senior are inexcusable.

The coaches know more than we do.  Well I hope they do anyway.  This makes it pretty scary that he is still the MLB.  Because that means the other options are worse.

I don't think there's much of a doubt that "The Hair" is a good linebackers coach. With that being said, I can only conclude that Obi's biggest problems are those which cannot be taught- Instincts and Ability.

For anyone who has ever played linebacker, you know that there are some intangibles that make for a good linebacker. Obi has none of them.

1) Controlled Aggression: By all accounts, Obi is a nice guy and that's fine. But, when you watch him play you can tell that he doesn't play with a passion/mean streak(maybe passion isn't the best of ways to put it) and seems tentative. Even when he overruns a play it doesn't look like he's trying to destroy someone. It's more like he's running to a spot.  

2) Suddenness: This is where athleticism and playing with a mean streak comes together. Ray Lewis/Brian Urlacher are perfect examples of this. When they hit someone their momentum completely neutralizes or reverses the direction of the ball carrier. This takes athletic coordination (bringing the hips at the right moment) and "want to". You have to aggresively attack the ball carrier and pop him. I honestly cannot remember, or could count on one hand, a time when Obi hit someone and it seemed like a linebacker hit. There's no pop in his hits.

3)Instinct: Sometimes when playing linebacker you just end up in the right spot. It's called flow, its called not getting caught in the wash, its called feel.  Good athletes, whether by design or by accident, find themselves in the right place at the right time. Some people call that luck...but most of the time it's an innate ability that gets them there.

4) Habit: Im not sure if I can make this one tenable, because a lot of folks think you can uncoach a bad habit. For the most part you can, but this one is the hardest for me to blame on GERG. OBI WILL NOT STOP LOOKING IN THE BACKFIELD. There is absolutely no other explanation for being repeatedly out of position and stepping away from or out of holes. He's biting on even the slightest of RB misdirection and this takes him away from the play, easy to block and a huge liability.

5) Being Coachable: See above. At this point, I have to believe that Obi either doesn't have the ability to or just doesnt care to be coached up. I think he has all the tools to be atleast an average linebacker if he just does what he's supposed to do. Just fill a hole. That's it. Step in and atleast make a running back think.

These are 5 areas that in my estimation Obi is lacking.  I don't even want to get into technique, but that's kind of my point. If you are lacking in these areas, it's pretty obvious that technique isn't going to do much to mitigate the damage.

Wow. Sorry so long.

the bottom line is this guy is a horrendous linebacker. One of the worst I've ever seen. It's almost as if he's running around blindfolded. I feel like his football instincts are non-existent. But it's not just him...I've never seen so many bad pursuit angles taken in one game. It's mind boggling. Hopefully the young guys keep learning and improving. It starts with the fundamentals. Someone better teach them and quickly.