so we've gotten a great look at these two guys. we've seen both get burned (vontae more than smith). we've see both make clutch plays and play some excellent blanket coverage.
smith is not thrown to as often as davis is thrown to. in most games, offenses have been putting their #1 against vontae and, consequently, he gets thrown at more often than smith. not suprisingly, a #1 receiver WILL get some catches and davis will look as if he's giving up more than smith which may be deceiving. when will allen was in coverage we saw the same thing...teams throw at sean smith and some receivers caught some balls. so i think both CBs are playing at a relatively similar level as far as coverage.
vontae smith is a bit more of a gambler and will try to step in front of a ball to make the INT. here is where the two are different and where everyone may have a different philosophy as far as risk. v.davis will occassionally try to make the INT even sacrificing a bit of coverage to try to get into position for the INT. the gamble will pay off sometimes and sometimes not....we've seen davis surrender HUGE yardage because of the gamble. on the other hand, we've also seen v.davis make the gamble a couple of times and he's had some success with the INTs. i don't know the ratio BUT here is where i think offenses will interpret it differently....some will see opportunity and some will give him respect. brady i think is an example of a QB who sees opportunity and while i don't think brady played to v.davis' inclination to gamble he nonetheless is a QB who will gamble against a risk taker like v.davis. p.manning is a good example of a QB who will play v.davis' game and bait him with a pump fake or a stare to make davis jump and then go for a deep ball. d.brees will too. like i said.....some QBs will gladly play against a risk taking CB while others who are not as talented will play away from him. so the question for us is whether we prefer a shutdown corner who allows no catches but does not play for the INT or a CB who occasionally gambles on the INT and loses but sometimes wins the battle and also offers good coverage.
s.smith appears to be more of a shutdown corner, in my opinion, he plays the receiver and blankets him. you throw to him and your ball is not going to be caught but it's probably not going to be intercepted either.
v.davis appears to love to hit as well....so he adds an added dimension to the defense in helping it appear more physical. we've seen him give a receiver, RB and TE sweet hits. i've yet to see s.smith give a powerful hit to anyone.
now, i've also seen v.davis get burned a lot more often than smith.....even though the receiver didn't catch it or the QB didn't see him open. smith also lets receivers get by sometimes but v.davis has been burned more often, in my opinion.
together, the two are demonstrating they are talented and helping to convey the impression that the Dolphins CBs are dangerous corners to throw against. my only fear is that as teams begin to respect the outside it's going to put even more pressure on the already suspect middle of the field.
what's your impression of sean smith and vontae davis? do you think any one is better than the other given the variables of the game (receivers, offensive strategies, etc)?
zor
smith is not thrown to as often as davis is thrown to. in most games, offenses have been putting their #1 against vontae and, consequently, he gets thrown at more often than smith. not suprisingly, a #1 receiver WILL get some catches and davis will look as if he's giving up more than smith which may be deceiving. when will allen was in coverage we saw the same thing...teams throw at sean smith and some receivers caught some balls. so i think both CBs are playing at a relatively similar level as far as coverage.
vontae smith is a bit more of a gambler and will try to step in front of a ball to make the INT. here is where the two are different and where everyone may have a different philosophy as far as risk. v.davis will occassionally try to make the INT even sacrificing a bit of coverage to try to get into position for the INT. the gamble will pay off sometimes and sometimes not....we've seen davis surrender HUGE yardage because of the gamble. on the other hand, we've also seen v.davis make the gamble a couple of times and he's had some success with the INTs. i don't know the ratio BUT here is where i think offenses will interpret it differently....some will see opportunity and some will give him respect. brady i think is an example of a QB who sees opportunity and while i don't think brady played to v.davis' inclination to gamble he nonetheless is a QB who will gamble against a risk taker like v.davis. p.manning is a good example of a QB who will play v.davis' game and bait him with a pump fake or a stare to make davis jump and then go for a deep ball. d.brees will too. like i said.....some QBs will gladly play against a risk taking CB while others who are not as talented will play away from him. so the question for us is whether we prefer a shutdown corner who allows no catches but does not play for the INT or a CB who occasionally gambles on the INT and loses but sometimes wins the battle and also offers good coverage.
s.smith appears to be more of a shutdown corner, in my opinion, he plays the receiver and blankets him. you throw to him and your ball is not going to be caught but it's probably not going to be intercepted either.
v.davis appears to love to hit as well....so he adds an added dimension to the defense in helping it appear more physical. we've seen him give a receiver, RB and TE sweet hits. i've yet to see s.smith give a powerful hit to anyone.
now, i've also seen v.davis get burned a lot more often than smith.....even though the receiver didn't catch it or the QB didn't see him open. smith also lets receivers get by sometimes but v.davis has been burned more often, in my opinion.
together, the two are demonstrating they are talented and helping to convey the impression that the Dolphins CBs are dangerous corners to throw against. my only fear is that as teams begin to respect the outside it's going to put even more pressure on the already suspect middle of the field.
what's your impression of sean smith and vontae davis? do you think any one is better than the other given the variables of the game (receivers, offensive strategies, etc)?
zor
