Linebackers
Nathanael: C+
This is a hard unit to grade from Saturday’s game because I thought the inside linebackers actually looked pretty good, but the outside linebackers still didn’t do a whole lot. Daniel Bituli was everywhere on the field and led the team in tackles and even picked up a sack. Darrin Kirkland Jr. had the Vols’ other sack on the game, and he was able to make some plays. Will Ignont played well in the absence of Quart’e Sapp too. But Darrell Taylor and Jonathan Kongbo — though both got credited with two quarterback hurries apiece — still didn’t looked great as pass rushers or tacklers. Kongbo got to the quarterback once and couldn’t finish the job (Kirkland ended up getting there), and once he completely whiffed on a tackle on a running back. Taylor got into the backfield a couple times but was very inconsistent. Deandre Johnson also failed to impress even with one TFL and got a butt chewing by Pruitt on the sidelines early in the game.
Ben: B-
I liked what I saw from the inside linebackers today. Daniel Bituli was impressive, flying around the field. Bituli totaled six tackles, a sack, and a tackle for a loss as he was in the backfield a ton and flashing his speed from sideline-to-sideline. A big development at inside linebacker was Will Ignont, stepping in for a banged up Quart’e Sapp and Darrin Kirkland Jr. Ignont recorded four tackles and a tackle for a loss, including a big tackle on third down to force the Miners off the field. Despite Kirkland being banged up early on, I thought the senior had a nice game as he recorded a sack and a tackle for a loss.
The area that continues to hold the linebackers back is the outside linebackers. Darrell Taylor had two impressive quarterback hurries, but he had just one tackle. Kongbo also had two hurries, but once again, he had just one tackle. With just two tackles combined, the pair continue to struggle in stopping the run and sacking the quarterback. If they continue to struggle, I wouldn’t be surprised if Deandre Johnson or Jordan Allen receive more playing time.
