Yes, but there's still need for power and strength on the strong side. He's not going to become a better pass rusher if he's lined up over a tight end for any particular reason. The Jets have also used him as essentially a DE in a tighter position in 3-man nickel packages where he wasn't the outside-most DE, basically letting him play like a 4-3 strongside DE in a lot of schemes this last season, and it didn't do much. He's worth a look, but he's not a good player wherever you put him right now regardless of position or scheme.
Exactly on that last part, he is not good..right now, but to make a good football player then they have to have something to work with physically, if that is looked at Ghost is the most athletic DE/OLB on the mkt atm, that and his lack of playing time is what would/maybe, make him an interesting Camp Project. The way I see it this is similar to the old car racing saw of "the larger the engine the greater the potential", Ghost has plenty of physical tools, but can they be developed in a hurry? Who knows? Would prefer if he got practice snaps at OLB rather than some Rookie from Outer Mongolia who has little chance of making the roster anyway as if he does learn quickly then there would far greater potential.
Smith didnt play FS, or SS my friend. Nolan called a hybrid nickel 3 3 5 D, which makes your beta CB a FS/CB. They used this coverage a lot against GB, Cincy Basically it's a great hybrid of a nickel formation, but it's better used for pass coverages, obiviously since you only have 3 DL, if the O calls a run play, screen or draw, there are chunk yards out there. The advantage of this formation is mainly catered towards zone coverages, and floating LBs… With the introduction of Edds expect a lot more this coverage. As per the FS/SS position, it's time for an upgrade. I have been holding out the neon sign of DeAndre McDaniels since the combine, but i recently heard that he broke his wrist which is why teams didn't draft him, if we do our due diligence we should bring him in. From Day 1 expect him to beat out Clemons ( his former team mate, and the player he eventually replaced in college) and Jones. This is a reply from a friend, who played DB in college (small school).
Smith DID play safety early in the season, when he was in Sparano’s doghouse for whatever reason. Benny Sapp started at CB, and Smith played safety to cover tight ends.
Edds was/ is expected to be an upgrade, not difficult, in passing downs. Past that, we'll see when he gets on the field.
Clemons was a liability in coverage when he gave up plays of 52, 42, 37, 37, 34, and 29 yards while not being thrown at much. PFF ranks him #61 of 85 S's. NFL ranks him #76 of 85.
1 and 5 are debatable. I wouldn't touch him because he doesn't know to use his hands. He is never going to make it IMO. PFF is not very good IMO. I don't think he's a liability. I think he's done well. I just think he lacks great instincts and its been like that going back to college.
Which games, which plays? What was the coverage? What was Clemons' coverage responsibility? Throwing a bunch of numbers of out there doesn't really say much.
I agree on Clemons. I went into the year expecting him to be a liability b/c he looked lost for the most part in 2009. But IMO he was a solid player, nothing spectacular, but certainly not a liability. I think Bell, if anyone, was a liability in coverage.
Pitt- Thrown At- 2, Receptions- 2, Long- 29 yards. Cinci- 4-2, 37 yds, Balt- 2-1, 34 yds, Oak- 3-2, 52 yds, Cleve- 2-1, 37 yds, NE- 4-3, 42 yds.
I answered what I was able, showing games where the QB targeted Clemons covering a receiver. Anyone remember Gabril Wilson? In 09 he was targeted two more times than Clemons. He gave up longs of 63, 22, 21, 16, and 15 twice. He was graded much higher by NFL and PFF.
Clemons was WAAAAYYY better than Wilson in coverage, there's no stat on the planet that'll convince me otherwise so I guess we'll just agree to disagree there. What I saw was Clemons being trusted to hold down the deep middle in single high looks on a regular basis, which tells me that Nolan had a great deal of trust in him. He wasn't beaten often, and several of his negative plays were due to poor ball skills more than poor coverage IMO. The Jacoby Ford play in Oakland, the lob to Boldin vs Baltimore on the first drive, the TD to Owens in Cincinnati, if he can turn those plays into INC/INTs and continue to progress recognition wise I think he can be a decent starter for us for a long time. .
DJ, He wasn't beaten because he wasn't targeted. Buff hit 2 of 2 short passes. GB did not throw at him, Pats hit one shot pass of one, Jets were 0 of 2, and and Minny did not throw on him. He did have 21 tackles, 17 solo but that was it. I'm not down on Clemons for future but I am on his coverage last year. It was a liability but, as a first time starter.
It's worth noting that after the season, there was a minor scandal that didn't go anywhere over it coming out that Chris Clemons played the late half of the season with a hamstring injury that the Dolphins didn't properly disclose. That's when his play was sub-par, too. And he wasn't targeted because he was doing a pretty good job. A full time starting safety doesn't accidentally get not thrown at.
My favorite Dolphin to keep up with on Twitter is Vontae. He loves the fans and is very pleasant and friendly in general. I can't believe he was flagged with character concerns coming out. He's a joy both on and off the field.
Seriously..who? There really is not much on the FA market as Misi will start at OLB, what we need is a prospect who can fill in on the nickel rush and is a special teams daemon, otherwise Defensive Backs are on Specials which lessens the ST unit.
Sean Smith is a funny dude, Langford and McDaniel as well. Por McD, the lockout is killing him as he really does wish to hit FA. But the funniest twitter dude is Brian Hartline, that dude is a cornball..
Mark Anderson, Tim Crowder, Anthony Hargrove, and Travis LaBoy if we're going with the more restrictive concept of free agency this offseason. They've all had some success as pass rushers. They are all fairly young, and have had some success as pass rushers as not unreasonable from a contractual standpoint. Yes, but per sources it was half the season he had the issue. He showed up on like three injury reports, one of which he was inactive for.
when you are on the field SB you are relevant and a possible liability, whether targeted or not..This kid played very well, very fast, with no mistakes that affected the outcome of a game, at least he did thru the first 5 games... thats all I know at this point, but that is a sizable amount of data..Ive erased my memory to an extent after that, so you may be right about your concerns. I think we should be excited about his flashes and development relative to his draft slot and youth.. And SB, the injury that he had surgery on has to be accounted for his dropoff after the first half of the season ya know?, so once again, knowing what I saw thru 5 games, i'am excited about his development, because he was playing at a high level.
I'm with ya DJ. Along with the injury, 2nd year, 1st starting, new system (which Smith had trouble picking up 1st 5-6 games), and having to be the QB of the secondary. He should be much improved. To be fair, giving up an avg of 19.3 yards, #80 of 85 S's, was a liability in coverage "last year."
