Good article on Nikita Whitlock (playing now)

[Buttermaker]

If he does get cut, he's gotta end up somewhere. Christ knows the Bears could use someone- anyone- to open up lanes. His attitude and work ethic has got to get him a look if Cincy lets him go.

His biggest problem would be learning sets and assignments all over again with a new team given his limited knowledge of the position. He will be a work in progress wherever he ends up.

 

[CheesePritchard]

It's also a dying position, is it not?

 

[PhDeac]

It's also a dying position, is it not?

Yeah. His best bet would be to be a great blocker on special teams and turn into an H-back type. Based on what I saw, the Bengals used the I-formation solely to get Nikita some playing time.

 

[Biff Tannen]

It's also a dying position, is it not?

Sure, but that's not Nikita's biggest problem.

 

[Biff Tannen]

Yeah. His best bet would be to be a great blocker on special teams and turn into an H-back type. Based on what I saw, the Bengals used the I-formation solely to get Nikita some playing time.

H-Back?

 

[RaleighDeacon]

It's also a dying position, is it not?

It's football. If someone wins a super bowl by using the I-formation again, and flummoxing folks with a fullback, then everyone in the NFL will be running 80 percent I-sets inside of two years.

It all comes and goes. They are incorporating so much spread stuff from college now, they have gotten away from all the power, but someone will tilt it back that way at some point.

 

[PhDeac]

H-Back?

Uh yeah. Awesome if that gif is from Dead Like Me. Great show.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9407254/nfl-fullback-tight-end-positions-transition

The trend toward more spread offenses in college has made it tougher and tougher to find pure fullbacks. It's forced NFL teams to convert players from other positions to open holes for a halfback.
The rapid evolution of the tight end has made it even tougher to keep fullbacks around. Teams are finding it easier to pay a versatile tight end and let him do the blocking and pass-catching from an H-back position.
The Eagles, for example, had no problem giving James Casey $4 million a year to move from Houston, where he was a tight end, H-back and fullback. To be able to make any money as a fullback, a player has to do more than just block.

 

[Biff Tannen]

James Casey is 6'3" and weighs less than Nikita. Whitlock is 5'10" with a complementary wingspan and no experience running routes. The chances of Nikita making the team as a converted tight end are not so good.

 

[PhDeac]

James Casey is 6'3" and weighs less than Nikita. Whitlock is 5'10" with a complementary wingspan and no experience running routes. The chances of Nikita making the team as a converted tight end are not so good.

Right. And unfortunately, that's his best bet.

 

[morrison2951]

Hoping for the best but holding out for the worst. Abbate was another beast on defense who was too small to play in the NFL.:tear:

 

[PhDeac]

Yeah. FB is really the only options for guys with the size and speed of Abbate and Whitlock. Perhaps in another era they would have been beasts.

 

[Deaconblue]

Wonder if there is some NFL coach out there who would put Nikita at Nose Tackle and let him be an "attacking" NT. That is, rather than using the NT in the traditional "soak up two blockers" role, let him go after the QB/RB and see if he really can play NT against NFL linemen. I don't think it's gonna happen, but would be intriguing to watch, particularly in preseason games.

 

[PM please.]

Wonder if there is some NFL coach out there who would put Nikita at Nose Tackle and let him be an "attacking" NT. That is, rather than using the NT in the traditional "soak up two blockers" role, let him go after the QB/RB and see if he really can play NT against NFL linemen. I don't think it's gonna happen, but would be intriguing to watch, particularly in preseason games.

There is not.