Here's some Matt Elam film- the funny thing is that I cant stop keying on Menelik Watson- what a RT this guy is. 1st play- he rides Elam sweeping down the right sideline 15 yards or so- at 6-6, 320. At 1:15 he's ready to go 2nd level in a flash. 1:24 he makes 2 hits to open up a gaping hole for a nice run, check out the replay afterward- these aren't Watson highlights, he just looks darned good on most of these plays. Anyway, Elam looks solid, I don't really have much to say, just thought it's some good film to look at. Good clip of him at 5:25 tracking down I think Kenny Shaw on a punt return, good wheels and nice attempted strip from behind. TD saving play at 5:45 Matt Elam is a true football player imo- could play SS, could play FS teamed up with Reshad Jones imo. We let Earl Thomas get away, I'd love to get Matt Elam on the team. He's not perfect and a little short, but then again so is Thomas and so was Bob Sanders. Regardless, a heck of a player. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8AYhBZOLJk
I like Elam's game, what I worry about with him is his frame, he is very compact and I wonder if he can handle the pounding the NFL offers
I would think that his compact frame is an advantage in terms of the NFL pounding. I'd be more concerned with a thin framed guy like Sheldon Price the CB from UCLA, long and lean.
Matt has no injury history whatsoever, and he's been built like this for as long as I've known him. I can also tell you from a personal point of view he's a great kid from a great family. I grew up with and am still friends with his older brother, Abe, who played last year for the Chiefs. Zero concerns with off the field problems.
Some guys are just players. IMO Elam is one of those guys. I can easily envision him being one of those guys that makes an average secondary suddenly appear great.
The thing with Elam is I think he is a SS and might not be enough of a FS to complement Jones back there for us. I do like Elam though and think he will have a successful NFL career.
He looks fast enough to me, and he is a play maker. Look at this clip at 4:15, those opportunistic, quick hands- I had to replay it 3 times to see it properly. We could use a Matt Elam in our secondary- I look him as a guy who is fast enough and quick enough to play FS, strong enough and tough enough to play SS. I'd love to see him at FS paired up with Reshad Jones. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8AYhBZOLJk
We don't seem to employ the traditional FS/SS system... they're pretty interchangeable so I don't see this as an issue.
Your point is why I think Elam would be a great fit for this team. He can play both FS and SS so if Matt were a fin he could play almost anywhere on the field. I know Reshad is primarily a SS, but I think he could play FS too. If we had both guys who could play both saftey positions it would have to give Coyle a lot of freedom calling plays. There are a few Gators I really want us to draft this year. Matt Elam Jordan Reed Mike Gillisee Of course we never draft any of the Gator players I want, so I expect that trend to continue.
I hope that's not a highlight game of his. I watched 3 minutes of it and saw nothing. He made one interception on a ball overthrown to a receiver and right to him. I was not impressed with that link. EDIT: Went back and watched it all. Still didn't see anything that was a must have him to me. I previously thought he would have been an upgrade to what we currently have. Not sure about that now.
I watched every game Matt played in this year. The guy makes plays all over the field, and the FSU game was only one game so it doesn't give you an impression of what he can do.
Maybe it wasn't his normal game. I'll have to take your lead on that as you've seen them all this year. I just know, IMO, this video didn't look exceptional to me.
Eh. You can't really judge that based on the game. As a Noles can I hate everything Gator related. Elam is always around the ball. Always. I think his coverage leaves something to be desired. And he needs to wrap up better. But he's a stud.
It's just some film, and not the best POV to see what Elam is doing, that's one of the reasons that I started focusing on Menelik Watson, there was continuous coverage of what he was doing at the LOS. Elam showed plenty of playmaking ability imo and some good speed/aggressiveness, but you can't really judge him from that limited view imo. That being said, I like what I see- I'd like to see more of him covering a WR deep on a fly patterns and some crossing patterns, but he sure seems to have the wheels and ability to me to get the job done.
Maybe this will help. The play he made at 3:51 was a huge play, because the Gator defense did something stupid and blew a coverage and the wide receiver was streaking down the field destined for a touchdown. Matt never gave up on the play, caught up to him and stripped the ball away and we recovered. It was a huge momentum swing. [video=youtube;rREjDTpTedE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rREjDTpTedE[/video]
If he were available in the 2nd I would **** skittles, and then proceed to go to Davie and light Ireland's desk on fire if we passed on him. However I think he's slated to be a late round pick and the first or second safety off the board.
As somebody who has watched many of Elam's games over the years, I would say that what makes Elam special is that he's a play maker. He was the guy the Gators relied on to make that big play whether it was an interception, a strip or a big stop. If this offseason is supposed to be about adding play makers, then Elam would fit the bill as well as any S out there.
I love Elam but I am not sure he is worth the 12th overall pick. They reason I like him is because he creates turnovers AND he hit like a ton of bricks. When I look at the Pats, I think their receivers struggle against defenses that hit hard. I think that is an aspect of the game the Fins are missing. Would love to see Elam back there blowing Wes W up a few times a game.
that would be the right move. I have read that dallas would be interested in moving up IF one of the DT/NT is on the board. Dropping down to 20 would be an ideal place to take Elam OR Patterson (my fav player in this draft that we have a shot at)
After watching Baltimore destroy them, it looked just like that. They were afraid of being hit hard, so they played scared.
We need to figure out what it would take to get Pollard in a Fins uniform. That guy destroys the Pats
