He sure does have wicked speed and he is relentless in his pursuit. I also love the fact that he would try to make a tackle with his teeth, while laying on the ground, if that was the only way he could bring a guy down. His strength is very deceptive.Wakesbetterthanyou wrote: quote]
Those are some more good points, i tried to make my response short as i had been building a snake enclosure all night and started posting in the morning.....definatly a good point on the rip or slash moves tho, his main problem within that is the fact that he gets and stays low in pursuit which gives lineman an easy path to his shoulder pads. One other thing that gives cam a huge boost is the fact that he can tackle from anywhere, a guy can have him wrapped up on the ground yet he is still strong enough to be able to reach out and tackle a guy with one arm. I had the chance to chat with cam for a few mins outside the future shop in abbotsford during training camp (the gal he had with him had quite the booty! POW!) and he mentioned that being a former linebacker really helped his pursuit as he does have wicked speed, especially for a huge guy. It was kinda funny, there arent many ppl that make me feel small, but he sure did......
However, I love the fact that Cameron Wake is getting lower on his speed rush this season. It's not easy for a guy who is 6'3" to do that and Cameron had a tendancy at times to rush the quarterback last season too upright, relying on his speed and strength. When a defensive end rushes lower he provides less body surface for the offensive lineman to block. It also makes it more difficult for the offensive lineman to get leverage, especially on that first contact, when the offensive lineman likes to explode with the palm of his hands into the chest area, just under the shoulder pads, from a low stance. Cameron is really dipping his inside shoulder more this season, allowing him to take a shorter route to the quarterback on his outside speed rush and also allowing him to spin back easier when the quarterback steps up.
The problem with his predecessor, Chris Wilson, who was also a tall defensive end who played at the same weight as Cameron Wake, was that he always ran too tall, allowing the defensive end to get enough push to push him just past the quarterback or the quarterback could take one step forward and Wilson would fly by. That doesn't happenn to Wake. Wake is also very smart for a defensive end. I'm amazed how he rarely gets fooled by misdirection play action and while really helping out on the inside run can also contain bootlegging quarterbacks.
I've watched a lot of excellent defensive ends play for our Leos over the years. I consider him, along with James 'Quick' Parker, as the most talented defensive ends I've ever seen play for our Leos.
