Cornerbacks: Thoughts on our guys

[MiamiDolphin618]

The first thing Id like to discuss is our starting CB duo of Vontae and Smith. In particular, I am curious to know if Cinci had their CBs stay on the same side of the field or not. From what I have read and heard our corners are staying on one side or the other (I specifically recall Chad saying he has been going up against Smith mostly because that was the side he was on). I understand that it may be easier from a technique standpoint for these guys to only learn one side but if I recall last year Vontae did begin shadowing certain guys such as Welker later in the year. I just think that Smith and Vontae's skill sets are so different that leaving them on a certain side lets offenses pick and choose the match ups they prefer. Anyone have any insight on this?

I also wanted to discuss a guy who I think could be a big contributor this year for us, Nolan Carrol. He has all of the physical tools you look for in a CB..good burst and acceleration..etc. I believe it was CK who put up the numbers a while back from last year...but after a slow start Carrol seemed to get dialed in and played much better down the stretch. I have read several times about him breaking up passes in camp and making solid plays...yet he seems to sneak under the radar quite a bit. Im just going to keep my eyes on him through preseason and hopefully he can develop into a solid contributor.

Finally, there is Richard Marshal. Again, he quietly seems to be having a solid camp...and has been getting some run on the boundary as well. He is a versatile guy and I am interested to see how he fits in as the nickel backer. This is a passing league and you need at least 3 starting caliber CBs to cover...hopefully Marshal is a major upgrade and can help our defense take a step forward. I look forward to him bringing a physical presence to our DBs...which should feature a bunch of hard hitters (minus Smith).

What are your thoughts on the CB position and do you think these guys take a step forward this year?

 

[Travis34]

I've got high hopes for our corners this year, I expect Vontae to continue his growth and show he can be a top CB in the league. Not worried about him in the slightest.

Supposedly Smith has really stepped up his game, which would make things so, so much easier for the whole team to have our 2 guys on the outside to lockdown their man.

I expect Marshall to be our nickle guy, but from him taking snaps in place of VD, it is curious. Maybe theyre planning on letting Vontae stay with the #1, letting Marshall get reps in, who knows. But either way, he should be a good player for us.

I'm with you, I've seen potential in Carroll since his rookie year, I think if he was our nickle this year it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. But for him to be the 4th guy, he should be able to cover well enough.

Idk how many corners we'll roll with, but that leaves one open spot if we keep 5. I expect Jimmy Wilson would come in if need be as well, since he was a corner before.

 

[LANGER72]

I think the corner situation will be much like last year. SS and VD will be improved with another year of experience. I have some concerns about SS playing man to man, some receivers are just too quick for him and he tends to contain them instead of playing the ball. We shall see.
Marshall replaces Will Allen(who when healthy, played quite well) and we will need a big year from him. I think he fills the position nicely. He might alternate with SS or VD if the need arrives.
Carroll scares me(I am still not sold on him though he did better later in the season)..I would rather have Jimmy Wilson taking his snaps. Wilson seems to have that ball hawk instinct, he just needs to clean up his mental lapses in coverage.

 

[ry-dbar]

Do you guys think SS will be around after next season? I have this feeling he's going to play well this season and ask for a huge contract.

 

[Lord Of Miami]

Last year the coaches switched the side SS and VD play on because they thought SS was the better cover guy and wanted him on the other teams " X " or the other teams best WR's and so far this year the new coaches are going alone with that line of thinking.

Richard Marshal has taken over VD's starting spot in camp the last two days, so it looks like they are either throwing Marshal a bone or really are trying to see if he can hold it down and keep a starting role.

Anyways not a good sign for VD. If it was up to me I'd play Marshal at FS then have him play the inside CB spot when the other team is playing 3 wide.

As far as what i think over all... i think we need another vet to be our 3rd or 4th CB

 

[Travis34]

Last year the coaches switched the side SS and VD play on because they thought SS was the better cover guy and wanted him on the other teams " X " or the other teams best WR's and so far this year the new coaches are going alone with that line of thinking.

Richard Marshal has taken over VD's starting spot in camp the last two days

1. When did that happen?

2. I really hope people don't read that sentence and jump to conclusions like you obviously have. Marshall hasn't been starting instead of him, they have been rotating, with Vontae coming out for some snaps. Not what I would call taking the starting spot from someone

 

[hoops]

i think we're ok with vontae smith marshall and carroll as the top 4 corners...carroll has nice tools for a backup boundary cb smith may have lost some weight which i think can only help him be a little more quick twitch sudden and fluid and i expect to see a lot of jimmy wilson on the field in certain packages as a extra defender with good ball skills...i'm not sure who the backup nickle cb would be though...carroll seems to have more of a boundary game to me

 

[Lord Of Miami]

1. When did that happen?

2. I really hope people don't read that sentence and jump to conclusions like you obviously have. Marshall hasn't been starting instead of him, they have been rotating, with Vontae coming out for some snaps. Not what I would call taking the starting spot from someone

That happen two days, like i already said.

I didn't JUMP to any conclusions, read for yourself here " The past two days, we’ve seen why: Vontae Davis has lost his spot, for now at least, to veteran Richard Marshall as one of the two outside cornerbacks in the base 4-3 defense " Link http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/thed...-vontae-davis-david-garrard-earns-more-snaps/

 

[Travis34]

I'm not talking about Marshall/Davis, I'm talking about you saying last year they flopped sides, I don't remember that.

Maybe you didn't jump to any, but I'd say that site did. It's pretty clear that theyre sharing reps. Marshall isn't the starter yet bro

 

[cuban_refugee]

Carroll has been almost invisible this training camp.....maybe that is a good thing.

 

[Lord Of Miami]

I'm not talking about Marshall/Davis, I'm talking about you saying last year they flopped sides, I don't remember that.

Maybe you didn't jump to any, but I'd say that site did. It's pretty clear that theyre sharing reps. Marshall isn't the starter yet bro

Yes , they did flip sides last year before camp even opened................. Also i never said Marshall " IS THE STARTER " i said " Richard Marshal has taken over VD's starting spot in camp the last two days " Huge difference, and it also just happens what i said was 100% true.

 

[FinsNCanes]

I feel the same as I did before. They're overrated, especially in their own minds.

Vontae will have some good plays, then he'll get torched. Sean Smith just annoys me.

 

[JerryD]

Last year the coaches switched the side SS and VD play on because they thought SS was the better cover guy and wanted him on the other teams " X " or the other teams best WR's and so far this year the new coaches are going alone with that line of thinking.

Richard Marshal has taken over VD's starting spot in camp the last two days, so it looks like they are either throwing Marshal a bone or really are trying to see if he can hold it down and keep a starting role.

Anyways not a good sign for VD. If it was up to me I'd play Marshal at FS then have him play the inside CB spot when the other team is playing 3 wide.

As far as what i think over all... i think we need another vet to be our 3rd or 4th CB

I don't think that's accurate & I never heard that ... I just checked my old depth charts.
Anyone have any more actual facts/knowledge???

2010:

LCB	21 Vontae Davis	27 Benny Sapp
RCB	32 Jason Allen	24 Sean Smith	28 Nolan Carroll

2011: ... and its stayed the same
RCB 24 Sean Smith
LCB 21 Vontae Davis

Personally, from watching them play ... the switch has nothing to do with coverage ability.
Sean Smith although improved has had poor coverage ability & been badly burned repeatedly ... they throw at him!! (look at the 2010 depth chart) ... and we all know he can't tackle.

Davis, although not the best coverage in the league is a solid CB ... and is a fearsome tackler & one of the best in run support. He'll drop the biggest guys on the spot!!

I do not know how they were assigned their sides & would like to know ... but I will tell you one thing, its NOT because Sean Smith is better!! .. I'm a pretty sold football guy & he always has me annoyed pretty bad = he's a big contributor to our < .500 team!!

 

[Lord Of Miami]

I don't think that's accurate & I never heard that ... I just checked my old depth charts.
Anyone have any more actual facts/knowledge???

2010:

LCB	21 Vontae Davis	27 Benny Sapp
RCB	32 Jason Allen	24 Sean Smith	28 Nolan Carroll

2011: ... and its stayed the same
RCB 24 Sean Smith
LCB 21 Vontae Davis

Personally, from watching them play ... the switch has nothing to do with coverage ability.
Sean Smith although improved has had poor coverage ability & been badly burned repeatedly ... they throw at him!! (look at the 2010 depth chart) ... and we all know he can't tackle.

Davis, although not the best coverage in the league is a solid CB ... and is a fearsome tackler & one of the best in run support. He'll drop the biggest guys on the spot!!

I do not know how they were assigned their sides & would like to know ... but I will tell you one thing, its NOT because Sean Smith is better!! .. I'm a pretty sold football guy & he always has me annoyed pretty bad = he's a big contributor to our < .500 team!!

I thought it was common knowledge that they change sides last year , i guess not, lol.

Smith is the better cover guy but Davis is the better all around football player...........................and God i get tried of saying that because i've been saying that since they were drafted, but it took a year for the Dolphins to " get that ".

Anyways i'm done here, it's very clear i read up on my fav team way more then some on this site.

 

[IrishDolphin]

Sean Smith has been the best cover guy on the Dolphins roster since he was drafted. I don't know what's going on between Davis and Marshall but Sean Smith has been the definite no. 1 over the past few years as far as locking down a receiver is concerned.