Jo-Lonn Dunbar Tweets: He's Joining the Rams

[AvengerRam]

From Jo-Lonn Dunbar's Twitter:

2 STL winning is everything & the only thing. I'm ready to give my ALL each & everyday. Work hard, Hard work!!

It was the best 4 yrs of my life. I played w GREAT players, fathers & men. friendships I have made will always be cherished

Im excited, nervous & happy 2 b a Ram. Im blessed 4 the opportunity. Id like 2 thk god 1st NOLA & Saints Thk u 4 making my dreams come true

[AvengerRam]

Dunbar is 27 years old and played at Boston College (undrafted). He's 6'0, 226 lbs.

Last year, he started 14 games and had 79 tackles, 1 sack, 6 passes defended, and 2 forced fumbles.

[GROUND DOG 39]

Nice. Ive heard some good things about Dunbar, so Im quietly confident in this guy. Hopefully he will be a nice upgrade to our LB unit.?

[AvengerRam]

Looking at a Saints board, they seem to like the guy. A hard worker and a hard hitter. Filled in for Vilma when he was injured.

I think this is a nice "get."

[HUbison]

Looking at a Saints board, they seem to like the guy. A hard worker and a hard hitter. Filled in for Vilma when he was injured.

I think this is a nice "get."

In essence, a trade for Chamberlain. Hopefully, he will produce on ST as well.

[general counsel]

In the history of the Rams franchise, i believe that Dunbar is the first player with the name Jo-Lonn to wear the horns. So, we have that going for us. Welcome aboard Jo-Lonn, i agree that this is essentially a trade for chamberlain and fisher apparantly got the guy that he liked better.

Ramming speed to all

general counsel

[Fettmaster]

Shouldn't this thread go in the Rams section.....since he's a Ram now?

[AvengerRam]

Shouldn't this thread go in the Rams section.....since he's a Ram now?

Sure... why not.

[laram0]

Great news....but here's the rub.....I hope he wasn't one of the players involved in the BOUNTY program.

[sosa39rams]

Great signing! Dunbar is a solid OLB, and actually last off season I had us mock a trade for him! Welcome to the Lou, he can't possibly come even close to due worse than Poppinga and Leber.

[general counsel]

Agree completely Sosa, but that is really using the world's tallest midget analysis. Leber and Poppinga were just awful. I really think we had the worst outside linebackers in the NFL last year. Let's hope that Jo-Lonn, plus whatever we pick up in the draft, can get us to at least NFL mediocrity or better at the position right out of the box. They will certainly be an upgrade over what we had before.

It's been a really long time since we were even average at the outside linebacker spots. I never thought that i would miss Tommy Polley so much, let alone Pisa!

Ramming speed to all

general counsel

[tomahawk247]

good signing, would have liked to have kept chamberlain as WLB, but this is one starting position down if we don't upgrade

[RealRam]

Deleted: duplicate post.

[RealRam]

Interesting pick. ...Welcome Jo-Lonn Dunbar!

Small LB / Big CB type?

Overview excerpts

Emotional leader on defense; Dunbar has an exceptional work ethic that rubs off on teammates.

He compensates for a lack of ideal size with keen field vision and awareness, as he always seems to be in position to make the big play.

Excellence on the football field...

Analysis

Strengths / Positives:
Has a compact, but thick frame with thick and muscular thighs and calves, a V-shaped torso, tight abdomen and waist and good muscle definition in the chest and arms... Plays with outstanding field vision and instincts... Closes on the ball in a hurry and is alert to blocking schemes while doing a good job of not biting on misdirection or pump fakes... Stays low in his pads and extends his arms well to wrap and secure the ballcarrier... His low center of gravity allows him to get under blocks and push the lead blocker back into the rush lanes... Quiet leader-by-example type, but has good command in the huddle... Hard worker in the training room who has made a good transition from tailback to linebacker, putting in extra hours after practice working on technique and compiling lots of time in the film room studying game tape... Has a better straight-line burst than when moving laterally, but knows how to mirror the tight ends and backs covering the pass in the short area... Has an instinctive feel for the ball in flight, taking short pitter-patter steps in his retreat when dropping back in zone coverage... Shows a good feel for blocking schemes, he attacks the line of scrimmage with shoulders squared and plants his feet to prevent from getting washed out by bigger blockers at the point of attack... Very good at lowering his pads and driving hard with his legs to split double teams and stack and control vs. inside running plays... Gives above average effort in his chase and extends his arms properly to drag down the outside runner... Has a good flow to the ball inside the box and delivers a strong hand jolt to shock a lethargic blocker... Hits with a thud, doing a good job of colliding with and bringing down ballcarriers with his initial hit... With his low center of gravity, he is capable of slipping through the inside trash to take down the ballcarrier in the backfield... Has good eyes in pass coverage, showing good ball anticipation mirroring tight ends underneath... Attacks the outside leg of the ballcarrier consistently to prevent forward progress... Shows decent hip snap and plant-and-drive agility coming out of his breaks... Demonstrates natural hands and good timing in his leaps making plays on the thrown ball at its high point... Efficient blitzing, is very slippery avoiding blocks in pursuit and has more of a straight-line burst rather than fluid change-of-direction agility in backside pursuit, but is relentless chasing QBs... Type of athlete that plays until the whistle, competing hard to make the plays in front of him... Has some Ray Lewis in him, as he enjoys playing the "enforcer" role with his impact tackles... Shows good knee-bend and hand usage in attempts to reroute the receiver and has enough hip flexibility for transitioning from the draw read... Plays with a relentless attitude and thinks that each tackle will be his last... Active with his hands when engaging the bigger blockers and has good pass rush and counter moves to escape and pressure the pocket.


Negatives:
Has good closing speed, but lacks the lateral range or blazing speed to play on the outside (best making plays inside the tackles, not along the perimeter)... Even though he has adequate timed speed, he does a good job of coming up to the line and pressing tight ends... Needs to improve his balance when attempting to change direction (gets narrow with his feet)... Uses his hands effectively to play off blocks, but can get gobbled up by bigger blockers working his way through trash because of a lack of ideal size (best when the DTs clear a gap for him to operate)... Does not have the second gear to stay with receivers on deep routes, preventing a possible move to the secondary or a cover-2 outside linebacker at the next level... An every-down player, but the BC system didn't utilize him in man coverage much.

Compares to:
LOFA TATUPU-Seattle. Like Tatupu, Dunbar compensates for a lack of ideal size or lateral range with outstanding field vision and instincts. He has a keen feel for the ball in play and is relentless in his pursuit. He keeps his pad level low and has the leg drive to split double teams and push a blocker back into the rush lanes. He has the natural hands to make the interception or deflect the ball and can reroute tight ends and backs in the short-area passing game. Like Tatupu and the Jets' JONATHAN VILMA, he is a classic 4-3 middle linebacker who will need big defensive tackles in front of him to take out the trash, but give him just the slightest of creases to make the play and he will be quick to fill the hole at the line of scrimmage.

Source: NFL Combine Profiles

Looks like a justified addition to the D. Hey, could this be London Fletcher's return in-the-making? Dunbar needs more power bulk however, a good 12-15 lbs.

[Ram Mar Ram]

Nice pickup to address our OLB position. Thumbs Up Addition.