yeah, but look at what he did at BC and his first two seasons in GB... Dom kind of fucked up how he was being used after that, and it showed.
Originally Posted by: play2win
As a rookie, I don't think Raji did much (though it normally takes DTs a year to get adjusted to the NFL). So in my mind Raji has had one good year (his second).
I don't think it's just Dom, I think it's also Raji only wanting to play one gap, get up the field in attack mode type o football. Which in theory is fine... but in reality almost all schemes are going to ask a 320+ pound DTs to do more than just one gap and rush straight up the feild.
But Raji struggled in 2011 when the scheme was the same as 2010 when they won the Super Bowl, so it wasn't just he scheme change Dom made in 2012, to play more DL two gap defense which Raji hasn't seemed to enjoy. So getting back to one gap defense (which is what the Packers are rumored to be going more towards) could be very good for Raji and a number of others. Of course that being said, even in a one gap defense the NT can still be asked to play two gap, and Raji is the NT so ... yeah... we'll just have to wait and see how the new system works for the NT and how Raji plays it.
As for what Raji did as B.C., I don't think he can do it in a 3-4 at the NFL level (which is one of the reasons I wasn't excited about the 3-4 and him being picked combo at first). At BC they played both 4-3 and 3-4 ... but Raji wasn't the NT... Ron Brace was their NT. While Raji played the 4-3 UT (rush DT) or the one gap 3-4 DE rushing up the field. In college his over whleming burst/size let him play the rushing 3-4 DE very well... but in the NFL they have better, longer, stronger, more powerful OG/OT which could handle Raji with his lack of length. That's why I think Raji's best fit is in an agressive 4-3. Or a 3-4 system that allows the NT to attack and rush up field, but almost all 3-4s mainly have their NTs playtwo gap and run support.