IDP Spotlight: OLB Omar Gaither, Philadelphia Eagles

  Posted 8/4 by Dave Baker, Exclusive to Footballguys.com

Omar Gaither, drafted in the fifth round two year ago out of Tennessee, first came on his rookie year after the team released Jeremiah Trotter. When Matt McCoy got injured and then his play suffered, Gaither took over the starting job from McCoy on the weakside and has not looked back. He led the team in tackles last year. While he played in the middle for most of last year, Gaither moves back into the weakside slot for 2008 as the team, under Defensive Coordinator Jim Johnson, looks to increase their overall playmaking. They will start Stewart Bradley in the middle, allowing Gaither to use his speed. The move outside was precipitated by the fact that Gaither could not hold up as well against bigger guards, but it was also a sensible move as the weak side is a more natural position for him.

Despite playing in only his third year in the NFL, Gaither is the veteran leader amongst the youthful Eagle linebacking crew, and his leadership will be key to them working well together. It's an intelligent, young unit that could be one of the better groups the Eagles have seen at linebacker in many years. Gaither should be a three down linebacker and is expected to be involved in nickel packages. The team also has suggested that Gaither will be allowed to blitz more often, allowing Gaither to capitalize on his speed and allow him to get to the quarterback. And Gaither can cover running backs and tight ends as well as any linebacker. He excels at making plays in the open field. One interesting note is that other than Jeremiah Trotter, it's been a while since an Eagle linebacker has held much IDP value. As for Gaither and the contribution he should give your IDP roster, he lacks huge upside but he should be a reliable backup LB4 or LB5.

Positives

• Gaither moves back to his more natural position on the weak side, perhaps enabling more big plays from him


• Young playmaker should be starting on the weakside all year long


• He is expected to play on nickel downs

Negatives

• It's not often that the Eagles defensive system has produced a top-end IDP linebacker


• He does not possess elite talent


• He's switching positions and with a new man in the middle a lack of continuity could result
  

Final Thoughts

Gaither is one of those guys that do a great job of filling out your IDP roster and you can easily plug him in for a few weeks if you're facing bye issues or injury problems. While he may not flash Patrick Willis numbers and may not be the most talented player out there. Playing on the weak side should mean decent numbers at worst for Gaither and it's exactly the place Gaither's skills fit best. Take him as your LB4 or even better as your LB5 and comfortably start him the 4-6 weeks or so a season that you'll need him. You know what you're going to get.

Quotes from the IDP Spotlight Message Thread

To view the entire thread, click here.

JEB:
"I was a Gaither owner last year, so have kept tabs on him somewhat throughout the offseason. He is expected to blitz more this year, so maybe we can get some of those precious sacks from him to go along with his decent tackle numbers. I expect his tackle production to remain about the same as his 2007 performance, so I'm giving him an upgrade of a couple of notches with hopes that he can get to the QB more this year."

Zoomanji:
"As an Eagles fan I like his move back to WLB more than I do as an owner. I expect more out of him in the pass D so his numbers were bumped accordingly from me. I hear the talk about blitzing more but I see Gocong as that guy more than Gaither. The only thing I'm sure of is that he'll be one of the nickel backers. I'm still not sure who the other will be but my guess is Bradley over Gocong. It seems like years since any Eagles LB was worthwhile but Gaither has the talent to be a LB 3 and maybe a 2."

massraider:
"I am just going to assume that it is J. Johnson's scheme that limits the Eagles LB production, and file any Eagle LB under "fantasy backup" until someone puts up numbers."

DonFue:
"As I posted before, I believe Gaither bulked up for MLB duties last year. If he loses 5-10 lbs he could see an increase all categories. I still don't love Philly's scheme though. Jim Johnson doesn't get the accolades of Belichick, but he puts every player in a position to simply stop the other team. This hurts everyone's value over the course of the season. If JJ ever decides to not blitz (very unlikely), Gaither could be a LB2-3 in a Derrick Brooks-type role.

As an aside, if Abiamiri becomes what I think he can be, he and Cole could allow the blitzing to subside (see Kawika Mitchell during the 2007 SB run by the Giants). Then, Gaither's blitzing would be more effective while still getting the majority of his snaps playing the shallow middle or flats where LB tackle numbers can get a big boost."

Duckboy:
"Other than Trotter, there hasn't really been a recent Eagles LB who has been better than around LB3 level. At the WILL, Gaither should do better in the big plays and stay roughly the same in tackles, but still not enough opportunity to make him more than a top backup. Mid- to late-level LB4."

Projections

IDP Scoring System

• 1.5 pts per Solo Tackle
• 0.75 pts per Assisted Tackle
• 4 pts per Sack
• 4 pts per Forced Fumble
• 4 pts per Fumble Recovery
• 5 pts per Interception
• 1.5 pts per Pass Defensed
• 6 pts per Touchdown
• 2 pts per Safety