Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Meck
appreciate the work you put into these. I usually like a lot of your ideas, but there's always a hitch that I don't.
a)you cut Sherman but re-signed him
b)I don't think Ford works in this defense so I'd let him walk and restructure Houston and keep him, as he's a better all-around player. Ford is strictly a pass rusher and substandard at anything else. With this money, you can sign a quality cover corner, ILB, or S. Or maybe a combination of 2.
c)I don't like the description of Abraham; a SS box safety that can't cover and misses tackles? We have one of those in Sorensen.
I like hiring Richard, but i lean towards Ben Bloom, Cowboys LB coach.
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CAUTION: A LOT OF TEXT BELOW
(I really just couldn't keep it to small bits to explain myself so sorry for that)
a) I copy-pasted my cut list from a previous mock and forgot to take him out of the list when I decided to re-sign him. Not really a hang-up.
b) Ford works extremely well as the LEO in this scheme but I can understand if you'd rather have Houston. It's not a deal-breaker going either direction but it won't let you sign anyone else. I cut Houston to save 14.0m in 2019 and 19.0m in 2020 to sign Ford who has project hits of 13.0m and 16.0m respectively.
c) The essence of pointing those things out wasn't that he's Sorenson 2.0 or anywhere near it or I wouldn't be mocking him in round 1. That said, I didn't list those things for absolutely no reason.
He sometimes takes too aggressive an angle to the ball carrier, something this team knows nothing about because they don't do aggressive anything. He also will come downhill too fast and too low. It's not an every play, every game deal so it's not something I'm overly concerned with, but I did notice it and I think he needs to work on that a bit. I think with how much faster plays set up in the NFL, it may actually be a benefit to him at how fast he tries to play. He isn't quite like Earl Thomas and Justin Evans in that he's going full-tilt 24/7 and missing tackles all the time because of it yet he shows urgency. Basically, it's great that he fires downhill instantly when he sees something but he has to reach a point where he knows when to break down, square to the target, and make the sure tackle every single time. I figured I'd point it out as something I noticed. The plus side is that it isn't something I noticed happening way out in the open field. These were occurring behind the LOS where it at least affected the play and allowed his teammates to come in and help out. That said, you obviously want to see picture perfect. We're spoiled with how good Eric Berry actually is in all facets when he's actually playing. He isn't Berry, but he certainly is not Sorenson or Murray. That said, I'd rather see a player miss from time to time being aggressive and flying downhill to make plays at or behind the line than watching players stand flat footed 7-10 yards downfield and still missing.
In watching him in coverage, I did not see him blow too many assignments, but he doesn't look to have the agility to match up underneath on the slot where players in the NFL are usually very quick. That isn't something concerning really, given that most strong safeties can't do it. He's not a free safety. Eric Berry is a rare coverage specimen and he isn't Eric Berry in that regard. The thing about Berry is that he can play the box like an elite strong-safety yet he has the coverage skills of a corner. You may never see another player with his skill set and that's what makes it so unfortunate that he's not going to be a HOF player because of all the time he's missed in his career. Anyhow, Abram can match-up over the top of receivers and he shouldn't struggle there because he does have good speed (likely mid 4.45-4.50) in zone concepts (this team runs a lot of zone over the top anyhow) and he is really good against tight ends and running backs (the bulk of what you want him covering in man). He does need to work on his coverage from man a bit, opening up more fluidly and things like that. Not deal breakers by any means. Most college players open up too soon and some don't even know how to backpedal and flip open (see 99% of Alabama DBs for example) instead doing more of a shuffle/slide step which leaves them susceptible to quick steps by receivers because they aren't squared up to the player and can't move in both directions. They get caught, automatically, trailing or recovering instead of being in the receiver's hip pocket.
Either way, Abram is a really, really good football player. He's the best strong safety in this class. Thompson and Thornhill are free safeties with better coverage skill sets but less physicality and ability in the run game. Abram can literally play like another linebacker against the run and that is invaluable for a defense that struggles to play it. You see the difference Berry makes against the run when he's in. Abram can do that. You see how well Berry takes TEs out of the game and Abram can do that. Abram is trending upward and I saw a clip today that Mike McShay has him mocked one slot of where KC currently is projected in the pecking order in round 1. I guess I'm probably not far off of projecting him and if guys like him are putting him in round 1 right now then they see a player that doesn't have any staggering flaws like suggesting he's a Sorenson-type would indicate.
d) On Kris Richard. Richard is a huge reason for change in that Dallas defense in terms of attitude and play in the secondary. His arrival this year is huge for them. The Chiefs' biggest downfall is the back end of the defense. I absolutely think getting a coach that is most well-versed on the secondary is the way to go. The fact that he knows and has run a very good scheme for modern football helps tremendously. The guy also has some coordinating experience, which certainly helps. I'm not against another guy, I just prefer one guy very much over all others.
If I had to guess at another coordinator, it'd be Leslie Frazier. His defense works and he's part of Reid's circle, having served as Philadelphia's defensive backs coach from 1999-2002. If Reid makes a change, my guess is he's phone call #1 IF Buffalo cleans house.