Secondary Considerations

[MDFINFAN]

A good article by Chris Shashaty a columist for Phins.com..he looks at the secondary in a way I think we should..well we've debated it pretty much here..there are those who think we're faster, therefore better, and those who think it's year 1 for these guys, therefore maybe not much improvement..

Here's a couple of Chis's takes:

Then we have Will Poole. Used mostly as an extra defensive back in 2004, Poole registered 37 tackles and a sack while showing off excellent football instincts. His presence on the roster was an important consideration when the team decided it could afford to trade Patrick Surtain to the Chiefs. Shortly thereafter, however, disaster struck at a May 2005 minicamp when Poole blew out the ACL in his left knee.

When healthy, Poole displayed legitimate shutdown corner ability. If he can regain that level of play, and do things the way Saban wants them done, he would be an important improvement to the defense and give Saban some additional options with the remaining depth he has to work with. For example, Travis Daniels could be utilized as an extra defensive back…a role he may be currently best suited for.

Here's the whole article..
http://www.phins.com/chris/column_062306.html

 

[PeachFins]

Nice article, I don't know what to think of the secondary. It looks completely new from last year, i guess we'll have to wait til training camp and pre-seasonto see how they mesh. Looks good on paper tho

 

[The Confessor]

I think our secondary will be the wildcard. If they gel quickly, if Poole can return to where he was before the injury, and if Jason Allen can make an early impact, that opens up lots of opportunity for the other 7 guys up front. Is gonna be interesting, and I am going to watch our secondary with great anticipation

 

[popularwar]

From what I've heard of New York fans, Allen wasn't good covering the deep ball, but the article notes it as one of his strengths.

 

[SoDakDolfan]

Good article. I believe the secondary will be greatly improved from last year simply because the speed back there is so much greater. Because there are so many new players it may take a little while for the secondary to 'get it all together,' but when it does I think it will prove to be a strong asset to our defense.

 

[BLITZKRIEG]

Knowing about N. Saban's background in coaching secondaries, I think we'll be much better off this year. He's brought in more speed, and he's infusing some youth in the process. We should be in very good shape as soon these guys learn to play amongst eachother / within the system....

It will be very interesting to see what unfolds. Training camp / pre-season should provide us with more answers, but I think our secondary is in great hands right now....

PHINZ RULE!!!

 

[late again]

Knowing about N. Saban's background in coaching secondaries, I think we'll be much better off this year. He's brought in more speed, and he's infusing some youth in the process. We should be in very good shape as soon these guys learn to play amongst eachother / within the system....


PHINZ RULE!!!

I agree; if Saban is as good as he's supposed to be at: a. judging defensive talent (and DBs in particular), and b. convincing players to buy into his system, then the secondary really ought to be one of our strengths. In a way this is somewhat of a critical year for Nick and staff. He's had the chance to bring in (and keep) players who fit his vision, so I would expect to see a really good defense. I guess I would be disappointed if our defense isn't top 10 this year. Nonetheless, it all starts with the line. If our line can be dominating (which I think it can be) then our secondary will shine.

 

[The Confessor]

I agree; if Saban is as good as he's supposed to be at: a. judging defensive talent (and DBs in particular), and b. convincing players to buy into his system, then the secondary really ought to be one of our strengths. In a way this is somewhat of a critical year for Nick and staff. He's had the chance to bring in (and keep) players who fit his vision, so I would expect to see a really good defense. I guess I would be disappointed if our defense isn't top 10 this year. Nonetheless, it all starts with the line. If our line can be dominating (which I think it can be) then our secondary will shine.

Any secondary is only as good at its line... but I believe the reverse to be true also. I actually have questions at d-line. Hope Man-Wright and Roth can come on strong, we need some young studs in there.

 

[PhinGeneral]

I think the secondary certainly has potential, but we'll see. On the positive side Nick's specialty is the secondary, so that's a plus. But it will need time to Jell, and as last year showed, teaching isn't everything. Despite the positive spin in the article, Will Allen was a fair disappointment in his years as a Giant. If he can't elevate his game under Saban it could severly hamper any possible progress the unit hopes to make.

 

[The Confessor]

I think the secondary certainly has potential, but we'll see. On the positive side Nick's specialty is the secondary, so that's a plus. But it will need time to Jell, and as last year showed, teaching isn't everything. Despite the positive spin in the article, Will Allen was a fair disappointment in his years as a Giant. If he can't elevate his game under Saban it could severly hamper any possible progress the unit hopes to make.

I think Will Allen is only gonna be there till we know if Poole is back to his old form and/or if Jason Allen is gonna be worthy of his 1st round stature.
After that, Will Allen will be a very nice backup and special teamer.

 

[MDFINFAN]

I think Will Allen is only gonna be there till we know if Poole is back to his old form and/or if Jason Allen is gonna be worthy of his 1st round stature.
After that, Will Allen will be a very nice backup and special teamer.

I tend to agree with the writer, if Poole is back, T. Daniels will become the nb. and pooles and allen our starting cb's.

 

[The Confessor]

I tend to agree with the writer, if Poole is back, T. Daniels will become the nb. and pooles and allen our starting cb's.

Then that puts Jason Allen at starting FS? I am a little nervous starting a rookie CB as FS.

I think Will Allen will do fine in Nick's scheme, and he is an improvement over S-Mad as far as tackling is concerned, which is very big in Saban's scheme. But Saban also depends on his safeties to make big time reads early on in the play development, not sure its good or fair to put that on a rookies shoulders... but Saban definately know best.

 

[Eshlemon]

What's intersting is how pro-active Saban is concerning the roster. The secondary was the worst part of the defense last year and Saban revamped the unit. The QB was the worst part of the offense last year and he brought in new guys. If these guys don't step up as Saban is expecting them to, Saban will start looking for new guys next year.

 

[The Confessor]

What's intersting is how pro-active Saban is concerning the roster. The secondary was the worst part of the defense last year and Saban revamped the unit. The QB was the worst part of the offense last year and he brought in new guys. If these guys don't step up as Saban is expecting them to, Saban will start looking for new guys next year.

Actually with Saban's aggresive nature, if these guys are producing by training camp, I think they will be replaced before pre-season.

 

[Ohiophinphan]

Training camp is going to be a killer. The Oline is being revamped and generally upgraded. We have two new QB's who have significant starting time in the NFL. There are two UDFA RB's fighting with two vets for Ricky Williams carries. Behind Chambers and Booker there are six or seven guys battling for jobs. Where will the battle for Dline shake out and who will be the SLB?

All of those can't compare to the logjam at Dback. There are 12 guys with legimate chances to either start or get significant playing time. It should be a battle royal the likes of which I can't remember in a Dolphin camp!