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Players of concern

Austin Tatious

Austin Tatious

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Hey, optimism is abound as we embark on a new season. I am optimistic too. Nevertheless, I thought I'd take the opportunity to jot down some of the players who concern me...

(1) Will Allen - he was run out of NY. He has good speed, but his bad hands have been legendary. His cover skills have not been great. Basically, we're banking on Saban being able to coach him up. I am not sold on him yet. I like Will Poole better if Poole can get healthy. Maybe in a year or so. But we may still need a top drawer corner.

(2) LJ Shelton - another former number one pick, LJ has just never been anything beyond pedestrian. Left tackles are hard to come by, and we're getting Cleveland and Arizona's leftover, and neither team has had a good line in recent years. Again, we're banking on Houck coaching him up. There is some truth to that as even LJ cited Houck's tutelage as a reason he picked Miami. Let's hope he is one of those veteran big guys who gets it later in his career. Keep in mind that C-Pep tends to hold on to the ball longer than most qbs, and is coming off a horrific injury. LJ needs to deliver.

(3) Bennie Anderson - big boy who can pancake but just doesn't move well laterally. He has been dumped twice in his career, not a good sign if we want to start him.

(4) OLB: whether it is Spragan, Hodge, or Newmie, I am just not sure we have a playmaker here at a playmaker's position in Saban's scheme. This doesn't totally scare me, but I think we upgrade here next off-season.

(5) NT/run defense. We;ve been vulnerable against the run. Even if we pick up Wilkinson, we are going to need a total strongman a la John Henderson soon. I could easily see us drafting a STRONG DT in the first round of next year's draft.

The 5 points I mentioned above are in critical areas. Backup running back is a major problem at this point too, but I do fully expect Saban to address it.

I do like this team and I am expecting playoffs if C-Pep meshes well with the offense.

Optimistic on:

Roth as a backup pass rusher, Wright as a developing NT, Hill at strong safety because of his sure tackling and coverage skills, and Hagan as a developing receiver and future starter. But, arguably, those 4 guys are question marks too.
 
need not worry about Will Allen he did pretty good for the Giants IMO, besides its actually 100% impossible to earn respect as a corner in NY.. lol
 
seems like you're unhappy pretty much with the whole team
 
i think zach and channing can get the other OLB in the 4-3 on the same page. Spragan is rarily out of position and a sure tackler. He's not greenwood, but there are worse OLB than spragan.
 
I dont think that your going to be great in all areas of the game. But if your just solid in some and good in others your going to be a good team. Also dont overlook the fact that some players struggle because of the systems that they have come from and just the overall team. I do see your concern I just dont share them as strongly.
 
My player of concern: Olindo Mare. Seems to make a 50 yarder and then shank a 35 yarder at a big time in the game.
 
(1) Will Allen - I wouldn't worry so much about his hands, his job is to keep the ball out of the receiver's hands, and he is pretty good at that. Int's are gravy. I wish he was great, but then he wouldn't have gotten away from NY. However, I think Nick can make him a better DB than he was.

(2) LJ Shelton - I somewhat agree. His career this far would seem a disappointment for his draft position, but he does have the physical tools, and with HH teaching him, his mechanics will improve, and so will his overall game. I expect he will be better here than he was in AZ or CLE.

(3) Bennie Anderson - Don't know much about him, but if he is already a good run blocker, great. Good coaching should help him improve too.

(4) OLB: Spragan was solid last year, and with another year in the system he should be better. The others may surprise, but it's DS's job to lose. I am comfortable with him as the starter.

(5) NT/run defense- I agree with your concerns. We have to be able to shut down the run to win consistently, and at times last year our run D was bad. At the end of the year it was improving and becoming pretty consistent. We'll see what happens this year, it won't be a new system, and I hope they can pick up where they left off.
 
AirChambers84 said:
need not worry about Will Allen he did pretty good for the Giants IMO, besides its actually 100% impossible to earn respect as a corner in NY.. lol
Click to expand...

Obviously not good enough, he was available to come here. Shut down corners are hard to find, and you just don't let them get away if you can help it. I think we have one in Poole if he can't get healthy...I'm not as sold on Daniels as everyone else is...I keep thinking back to last year and he was burned quite often...at the end of the season, I do think he played better, but we had no one to take his place so I can't say for sure how good he is..I guess that's why I'm hoping Poole returns to form.
 
whats with all the worry about will alen hes an above avarege to good croner and an upgrade over madison imo hes fast pretty shut down corner ya he dosent have the great hands but ints arent every thing. thats just extra. and thing with nick coachin him u will all have dif opnions about him after the season starts.
 
well your number one area of concern was brought in for your number 5 problem. Will Allen is regarded as a good tackler for a CB. If anyone say those stats of allen vs. madison it is obvious allen can helo with our run defense.
 
In my view Will Allen is the better corner right now. I loved both Surtain and Madison, but those dudes cost the team too many 15-yarders, especially as they started going down the hill and had to use physical contact to contain recievers.
 
DearbornDolfan said:
In my view Will Allen is the better corner right now. I loved both Surtain and Madison, but those dudes cost the team too many 15-yarders, especially as they started going down the hill and had to use physical contact to contain recievers.
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only madison did that in his last season. when they were both together they were clutch. if patrick "certain" surtain as he once wanted to be called was still with the phins, our defense would probably still be in the top 8-10. he would be one of our defensive leaders with a lot of phin expirience. him and ogunleye are two players i miss alot
 
ejo66 said:
seems like you're unhappy pretty much with the whole team
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing. A lot of people seem to be all over Will Allen. I don't understand because he immediatly makes this secondary a lot better than it was last year. Anything not name Reggie Howard is better than what we had last year IMO.

People knock Allen because he doesn't have the stats. Okay, so his hands are made of brick, so what? He can tackle about as good as any corner in the league and he can be left on an island 1 on 1. I think he was a solid pick up by Saban and will flourish in Saban's area of expertise.
 
Austin Tatious said:
Hey, optimism is abound as we embark on a new season. I am optimistic too. Nevertheless, I thought I'd take the opportunity to jot down some of the players who concern me...

(1) Will Allen - he was run out of NY. He has good speed, but his bad hands have been legendary. His cover skills have not been great. Basically, we're banking on Saban being able to coach him up. I am not sold on him yet. I like Will Poole better if Poole can get healthy. Maybe in a year or so. But we may still need a top drawer corner.

(2) LJ Shelton - another former number one pick, LJ has just never been anything beyond pedestrian. Left tackles are hard to come by, and we're getting Cleveland and Arizona's leftover, and neither team has had a good line in recent years. Again, we're banking on Houck coaching him up. There is some truth to that as even LJ cited Houck's tutelage as a reason he picked Miami. Let's hope he is one of those veteran big guys who gets it later in his career. Keep in mind that C-Pep tends to hold on to the ball longer than most qbs, and is coming off a horrific injury. LJ needs to deliver.

(3) Bennie Anderson - big boy who can pancake but just doesn't move well laterally. He has been dumped twice in his career, not a good sign if we want to start him.

(4) OLB: whether it is Spragan, Hodge, or Newmie, I am just not sure we have a playmaker here at a playmaker's position in Saban's scheme. This doesn't totally scare me, but I think we upgrade here next off-season.

(5) NT/run defense. We;ve been vulnerable against the run. Even if we pick up Wilkinson, we are going to need a total strongman a la John Henderson soon. I could easily see us drafting a STRONG DT in the first round of next year's draft.

The 5 points I mentioned above are in critical areas. Backup running back is a major problem at this point too, but I do fully expect Saban to address it.

I do like this team and I am expecting playoffs if C-Pep meshes well with the offense.

Optimistic on:

Roth as a backup pass rusher, Wright as a developing NT, Hill at strong safety because of his sure tackling and coverage skills, and Hagan as a developing receiver and future starter. But, arguably, those 4 guys are question marks too.
Click to expand...
:sidelol: :sidelol: :sidelol:
 
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