Wild pigs would be WAY smaller.

I still think none of us wants to hit him head on on the Browns' defense.

No doubt the deer are bigger in those parts...different deer really..the heat stress keeps the deer leaner here...or less fattened up, whichever way you want to view it...and the heat I think tends to kill the animal a few years sooner....unlike people, I think they do better in cooler weather.

Hey....I might have known those boys you mentioned...lol.....indeed, you head west out of Gainesville and you start getting in to Dixie and Taylor counties....you have some pretty backwoods areas. Even large parts of Alachua are pretty downhome.

@ballpeen said:

Obviously dogs have their place with rabbit and bird hunting etc, but I don't like the concept of pack dog hunting, period. Now if we're talking about protecting farms et al from destruction of wild boar or coyote packs that's a total different thing.

Since you know Gainesville Peen, my first experience with using Walker dogs to hunt deer was up in Lake Butler with some serious good ole boys. Their concept of hunting is to down a case on the side of the road and wait until the deer run out into the open exhausted from the Walker's chasing them. Course, the deer are about as big as the dogs. Or, they will get in their trucks and drive over to the next road and meet the deer.

They think the real deer hunting we do up here is mind boggling and shit themselves when they see a real rack.

I also consider the treatment of the dogs to be borderline animal abuse.

None of this crap matters unless these boys can play some ball.

Also, he has dogs with him when hunting those things, which means the dogs run the animal until it is completely useless then he comes in and sticks a knife into an animal that's exhausted and taking on several dogs. Big whoopty do, but then again I've always considered hunting with dogs (whether it be deer or anything) a total pussy way to hunt that is completely unfair to the animal.

@calfoxwc said:

I reckon he'll be a player you don't want to me head on in the Browns' defense or special teams.

I love this draft.

Great post.

Ever hear of a luau??

I doubt it was a wild boar.....probably more like a wild pig ..there is a difference.

I reckon he'll be a player you don't want to me head on in the Browns' defense or special teams.

I love this draft.

Great post.

Rookie linebacker Kaluka Maiava doesn’t have much respect for hunters that kill their game with a gun.

"That’s cheating," he said Saturday in the locker room. "Anybody can shoot something."

Maiava might have more respect for the bow and arrow hunters, but even that is too cowardly for him. Maiava uses a knife when he hunts, and he doesn’t hunt rabbits or squirrels. He runs in the mountains on the island of Maui tracking down and killing wild boar using a nine-inch blade.

"I use a knife and stick them a couple times," Maiava said. "I take my dogs with me."

Maiava has been hunting boar since he was 15. He said he has never been gored, but he has lost a couple dogs. Now that he is in the NFL, though, he will have to put boar hunting on hold. Some hobbies such as motorcycle riding and skydiving are forbidden in NFL contracts. Boar hunting can be added to the list.

"Every time I go I’m nervous," he said. "Sometimes you run into a big one. They have tusks that can hurt you. You see him and chase it down. It’s fun. Say you’re on the kickoff team and you’re chasing down the kick returner, you chase him down."

Maiava twice was voted the USC co-special teams player of the year. He figures to be an integral part of the Browns special teams.

I don't have a hard time seeing Maiava as a guy who can play in this league, but I don't see how it's at SILB. His best shot to have a major impact on defense is if D'Qwell gets hurt (last year was the first time he played 16 games) or doesn't re-sign when his contract expires after this season.

@oldcrow1945 said:

It's the same with "Playing well in space"...ILB's are not in space. They are point of attack players. Lateral movent is not that important. Especially in a 3-4. Their job is to plug rushing lanes.

while you're right about the ILBs not playing in space and that they have to take on blocks instead of eluding them, they still have to be able to move laterally to cover on runs outside the tackles.

otherwise, though, you're right that OLBs play in space more than ILBs.

ytown has some excellent points, too, and i hope that maiava can fill the rodney harrison type roll for us.

@brownindian said:

Ma ya hee, ma ya haa, Ma ha hoo, Maiava haa.

And then Rhianna and TI start singing .....

thats freaking halairious, took me a second to figure out what you were trying to say until I seen Rhianna and TI

They are not converting him, but he will need to be a tough special teamer and also a guy who they can bring in in certain situations for run support and also a guy who can cover TEs and RBs.

As more teams move to the 3-4 there comes more speciality sets that are being run out of it. Sets like a 2-5-4 or a 3-5-3 or 4-4-3 instead of staying in the basic 3-4-4 which, in itself, gives you the ability to be diverse with two OLBs that can rush like DEs. Know we will see speciality guys like a Maiava who will be a hybrid LB/SS.

It will be very interesting to see what Ryan does to create a pass rush and stuff the run. I don't expect to see a continual dose of a standard 3-4 defense.

Mangini said hybrid guys give you a chance to better match up with specific teams.

For example, if Pissburgh wants to use two TEs and try to run the ball down our throats, then tha's when you would incorporate a guy like Maiava into the lineup.

@jewdago said:

ILB's job isn't to alude, it's to take on blocks and shed. Playing well in space and eluding are refences to what weakside LB's do.

It's the same with "Playing well in space"...ILB's are not in space. They are point of attack players. Lateral movent is not that important. Especially in a 3-4. Their job is to plug rushing lanes.

@oldcrow1945 said:

There is little shot of him playing in the inside. If the Browns drafted him as a LB then it has to be a weakside LB.

He doesn't have any of the tools to be a ILB.

Read all the scouting reports. Lacks the size and strength to put up with the rigors of playing inside. Eludes blocks well and plays well in space. Good lateral movement.

kevin ellison was a really, really slow safety. it's pure speculation as to why ellison was at S and maiava was at LB at USC, but it could have something to do with how good each is in coverage.

while maiava would be a good fit for a 4-3 will, he's far, far too small to be a mangini 3-4 will. dude likes his OLBs to run in the neighborhood of at least 250, if not larger. however, he prefers guys who aren't quite as big on the inside so they have the range to chase down plays on the sidelines.

if he eludes blocks well and plays well in space with good lateral movement, how aren't those keys to playing inside? it's always possible for a guy to bulk up. adding weight and muscle would increase his strength and make it easier for him to deal with the rigors of being an ILB. it's also a sign that he had zero sacks his senior year that maiava isn't viewed as an OLB.

ultimately, though, we're talking about a special teams player and backup at this point in his career, and, unless he magically gets faster and good in coverage or manages to work hand enough in the weight room to bulk up to a weight where he's strong enough to hold the point of attack, maiava's going to be just a role player, likely a smarter (i hope) version of leon williams, and someone whose ceiling is likely as a nickle LB.

Ma ya hee, ma ya haa, Ma ha hoo, Maiava haa.

And then Rhianna and TI start singing .....

@jewdago said:

We'll see. A strong safety's first priority is the run. Maiava actually runs a faster 40 than his fellow Trojan and safety Kevin Ellison.

There is little shot of him playing in the inside. If the Browns drafted him as a LB then it has to be a weakside LB.

He doesn't have any of the tools to be a ILB.

Read all the scouting reports. Lacks the size and strength to put up with the rigors of playing inside. Eludes blocks well and plays well in space. Good lateral movement.

maiava needs to add some weight and muscle at this point in his career so he can become a viable player on the inside. he's got a frame that can handle at least another fifteen pounds, which he'll likely have by the end of next offseason's strength and conditioning program.

at some point, he could end up stepping in and playing with d'qwell rather than as just his replacement once the stopgaps have finished being useful. remember, mangini likes smaller, faster guys on the inside and bigger guys on the outside. this, of course, is all assuming that mangini's still around in three years.

@riffer-x said:

Sure...A huge safety for the Bengals.

Kaluka could be that kind of player at safety

Safety Kaluka Maiava.

@oldcrow1945 said:

Jackson is almost undersized at 6' and 240 lbs. Do they plan on adding an ever smaller one to the LB corps?

Look at him.....He looks like an NFL safety.

Remember David Fulcher?

Jackson is almost undersized at 6' and 240 lbs. Do they plan on adding an ever smaller one to the LB corps?

Look at him.....He looks like an NFL safety.

You also have to look at a guys body. Is he at his top weight or is he going to put on weight as a natural course of aging??

I don't know why, but you can just look at some people and tell they are going to bulk up as the hit 25 or 26 years of age.

You can't constantly keep a person in wrestling practice trying to make weight. Sooner or later they are going to end up where God and genetics intends them to end up.

Aloysius said:

I'm with heck, insofar as much as I don't see what he could do for us at LB. I still think there's a very good chance he ends up at safety down the road.