Can Larry English prove himself this year?

So far Larry English from Northern Illinois is going down as a bust. It appears to  be one of AJ Smiths less impressive picks and he has been a disappointment thus far. But can he improve this year and be the player we drafted him to be?

Possibly is the answer and only if he avoids the nagging left foot injury which has kept him out of 19 games so far. These injuries prevented him having any sought of major impact on the defencive side of the ball. In his rookie season he did not perform amazingly but in his sixteen games he managed a couple of sacks and 36 tackles which is alright for a rookie. After this season it went down hill however after he broke his left foot mid season and ended up with 3 sacks which is good compared to his rookie season and bearing in mind he missed half his games but wasn't good enough for a first rounder.In 2011 he became more of a special teamer with a few plays in rotation and managed just 7 tackles and two sacks in 5 games after which he re-injured his left foot.

This is simply not good enough for a first round pick and if he wants a decent pay day at the end of his 5 year contract then he desperately needs to step up his game. Hopefully the impending contract year will put a bit more determination in him and he will turn into the sack machine he was drafted for.

Overall if English stays away from injury he could make a good impact on defence this year but i don't really see it happening. With Shaun Phillips, Antwan Barnes and rookie Melvin Ingram rushing the passer and Jarrett Johnson suring up the run defence there is little room for English to make an impact.