Oh man, I thought V Davis was probably more NFL ready than Sean Smith and E Green has been toastie O'd since Mini Camp. A pattern is beginning to form, the young physically talented players like V Davis and Merling are not making it past the more fundamentally sound or veterans. I like that approach "but" it also sort of puts a cloud over the young player who did not cut the mustard, a sort of "is this guy any good or what"?
really guys. the negativity needs to stop. each player is unique. they all learn differently and will contribute in different ways. it does no good to slap labels on them and then act like the world is crashing when they don't fit to your predetermined mold. There's only room for 2 starting CBs. If Allen and Smith are the best two performers, then they get those spots. It doesnt have to be a knock on Davis, but could speak volumes to Smith's immediate impact. EDIT: I'm not too upset with the idea of Vontae roaming the slot and punishing Wes Welker every time he touches the ball.
Vontae may have been making too many mental errors, looking into the backfield, biting on first moves, failure to recognize patterns that are being run. I think he'll be okay...but the Jason Allen experiment has left a bad taste in my mouth DFDupree
There is a chance that he is going to fail. That is the saddness of every draft. Chances are around 50% of all of the 1st round picks will be failures. Hopefully Davis will become one of the good ones.
I don't believe longterm Vontae will fail, the question (to me) is whether or not he has hit his floor and is now aware of what he must improve upon? If this is Vontae's rookie, it's not that high of one, most rookie Cb's take time to learn this isn't college and stuff you used to do in College will get you beat badly in the NFL. Sean Smith really hasn't hit that wall as of yet,
From what I have read it looks like Smith has better instincts and is a little more cerebral than Davis. He is just picking up things really quickly, which is allowing him to not make as many mistakes. Maybe his lack of closing speed has caused him to really work on making sure he knows what is going on around him.
Alot of athletes that depend on their athleticism, such as Davis, normally struggle to adjust to the pros, That was my biggest concern about him coming out of the draft.
well its a good thing nfl careers are marathons and not sprints. He'll get there. or maybe he won't...hey, least he's in camp
I was never a big Davis fan and I was disappointed with the pick, but that being said I do think he can be a very good 3rd CB for us and a very good starter for a cover 2 team. I am not surprised he's behind Smith whose instincts I see as far superior despite much less experience at the position. I am surprised he's fallen behind Green though, who from the reports seemed to be struggling.
Well he's not William Judson yet Rafael, Davis's problems are easily solved, "trust your speed Vontae, keep your eyes out of the backfield and know what the Wr looks like when running different routes"
So basically because a Sports writer from a newspaper says its so, means its so? Even before the first preseason game? I call a load of BS. Since when are sports writers talent evaluators, all they do is report what they see. So thats probably just his Opinion. The Battle is still ongoing, no need to worry yet.
Worried? Not yet, I do think things have shaken out a bit, we are 4 practices away from playing the Jags, players will begin to find their level.
I"m not suprised by this whatsoever. But i also wouldn't read into it at all with regards to Vontae's development or contributions to the team this year. Like others have mentioned it has more to do with Smith than lack of what Vontae's done from what i've read in TC so far.
I could not have said it better bro. Why does everything have to beso negative Vonte Davis is not preforming. So what give him some time not every player becomes an all-pro over night. Give him some time what he is 2 weeks in to his first tc. Maybe Sean Smith is just so good that he deserves to be in the starting line up. Look at the glass half full
Meant that as a general statement to everyone. I mean we have yet to play one preseason game, how on earth could he be dropped behind green on the depth chart with how green has been playing. We need some game info, heck the coaches need game info to properly grade them. Smith has been doing great, but we got 4 preseason games to iron out all the details with. I just don't share the writers view on it, it's too early to say he is not in the mix. They are all in the mix.
The only problems I've read about is that he's biting on the short stuff opening him up for the long throws. Thats typical rookie mistake stuff. Its only August Im not worried
those double moves will getcha into trouble if you bite on them... it's WAY early to be concerned IMO.
I believe he has the physical talent to be very successful. I do question his instincts and desire (maybe 'propensity' is a better word here?) to learn. I agree that these problems can be easily solved, but I always question why they weren't solved in college. They were readily apparent in the games I watched and snippets I heard seemed to imply that he didn't always apply what the coaches were telling him. That was why I was very critical of the pick when it was made. I put a higher value on instincts and demonstrated learning ability than measurables (at least compared to this regime's apparent emphasis). So I was the guy who started off cursing in my living room and then decided that I should start drinking to get me through the rest of the draft. I have since tempered my response and am hoping that either I was wrong in my evaluation or that at least he will be a valuable asset in another capacity rather than as a starting CB. News like this though, albeit not confirmed, doesn't increase my hope that I was wrong about him being a starter here.
Judson had such a smooth back pedal. He was just a fluid athlete. Unfortunately, he was never a great CB. I hope that Davis will be a better player for us. At a minimum, I would expect some highlight hits from Davis. He can drop his hips so quickly and he is a missile when stuff happens in front of him.
Something stinks about this story. Camp just started and we haven't even played a preseason game yet and all of a sudden he's not in the mix to start? I don't buy it. There's a lot of time left and reading all the practice reports he has done a decent job so far, and should only get better and better.
1. this is a writer's opinion, that makes it highly suspect in the first place. 2. it is WAY too early to be worried about a rookie CB, Vontae has the tools, give him time. 3. we haven't even played our first preseason game yet, 'nuff said. 4. Sean Smith came from a USC team that is run more like a pro football team than any other in college, so he is likely to have some advantages over Vontae from that viewpoint. Pete Carroll is a pretty darn good coach, and IMHO this gives Smith a leg up at the start of this thing. 5. Just the thought of the chaos that must be going on over at FH in "the Zoo" gives me shivers, can you imagine?
I've said it before and I will stick to my convictions. If Eric Green is a starter, this team is in BIG trouble.
How could Allen's struggles give you any concern about Davis? Every player is a law unto themselves and deserve to be evaluated on their own merits. Allen's lack of success in no more pertinent to how Davis will do than Surtain's successful career is.
I'd be more worried if Vontae Davis supplanted Will Allen and Sean Smith to become the No. 1 CB without challenge. Just be happy we have a good corner in Sean Smith on the opposite side. He plays for us too!
Well, it's way too early, as most have said, to be labeling Davis as a bust. Because of the natural athleticism he has, it's just way too early to count him out of the mix. Smith's accelerated development may also be part of the reason he's 'fallen behind' also. However, let's not forget that in this D and this division, the #3 CB is just as important as #1 and #2...If Smith, Davis and Green are all in the mix with Allen, it can't be all bad...
He's certainly not out of the mix to start. He may not have the inside track because no one is going to unseat Will Allen this year, and Sean Smith has been more consistent, thereby garnering more trust from the coaches. However, it's only the second week of TC, so things are definitely going to change before the season starts and as the season progresses. It doesn't seem he's likely to start anytime soon, but if his propensity (thanks, Rafael, for the perfect word) to learn from the coaching staff allows him to cut down on mistakes, he will see a lot of playing time this year, especially covering the slot.
too early for rookie predictions, however intriguing all players develop @ their own pace & every team needs to fill specific needs sometimes the two line up quickly, sometimes they don't'
Here's another media comment on the same topic. Perhaps it wasn't just one writer's opinion after all. 3. Vontae Davis has some maturity issues. Davis not only has fallen behind fellow rookie Sean Smith in the battle for the right cornerback job, but some of his actions on the field have to be raising some red flags with coaches. http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/thed...riday-talking-points-reggie-torbor-coming-on/
Wow the Media down there must be on Glue, where do they get these ideas from? Wow. Getting a holding call is a maturity issue? Everyone in the NFL tries to get away with holding.
I think the example was poor but in college he was known as the guy who was too often goofing around when the coaches felt he should be focusing. I believe that was the reason he didn't start one of the games his senior year (as punishment). There also was the article where several team mates mentioned that he was always talking. That article implied that it was just him having fun, but if he's doing it when the coaches think he should be listening then it could be a problem. So while one example in isolation wouldn't be evidence of maturity issues several reports are more concerning. For me the issue was that the guy I watched in college seemed like a guy who wasn't focused on being a good CB (or just lacked instincts). He seemed to have all the physical ability you could want but the head seemed to wander.
