This I don’t get. Even factoring in CR and his obvious inability to develop anyone, how is it that multi year guys are lost. It makes no sense to me.
Im going to take a stab at being as fair as I can be.
The biggest problem IMO is recruiting. We keep recruiting safeties and OLBs and trying to make them inside linebackers. Maybe with some whiz position coach it would work. It will never work with CR who doesn't seem to show the ability to even be average. I don't think Im being too harsh by saying that no one has shown improvement under him, at all.
The only two mediocrish LBs we've had in the last three years are Reese and Miller. And they knew how to play LB when the two Dwags arrived. Both are too slow. Miller is a tad too small. And both were horrid in coverage, especially man coverage.
If we changed coaches, we'd still be fuchsed for a while. There just aren't any answers on this roster.
Diabete is sort of a blitz specialist OLB of extreme talent IMO. In the mold of Lawrence Taylor Lite. He even does pretty well chasing down a back in space. BUT WE DON'T PLAY AN OLB. Our OLBs in our pretend 3-4 are a Rush and a Nickel. Putting him at ILB and asking him to take on an SEC guard? He is giving up 100 pounds. Of course he can't get off those blocks. He never will. He will have to jump a gap and hope the back doesn't go the other way. Then he will be criticized.
Burney? He is a heavy safety. He'd play perfectly in the Tony Joiner role. Maybe in a REAL star. (We don't play a star, we play a 3rd corner. )
Without going through the rest, the same problems exist with them. Either too slow and untalented. Or too light and really a safety or maybe OLB.