I've kidded around about Jamie Collins playing free safety for Gregg Williams, but as Mac Robinson points out, it's not as funny as all that.
Mac points to his combine numbers, which he compares to those of the other safeties. For sure, Collins is faster than some starting free safeties.
However, Mac sort of discounts Jamie's 3-cone drill as an outlier. By the way, at 7.1, it's the same as Terrelle Pryor's was, which is impressive for a 6'5", 250 pounder.
...but pretty bad for a free safety. The 3-cone is more important for coverage guys in general. Collins starting at free safety is not going to happen, because every defense would exploit his (comparatively) slow change of direction with their fastest wide receivers.
Situationally, you have to know that Gregg Williams will happily put the big guy back there to screw up offenses. That would happen vs two tight end and two-back offenses, when the front is creating a lot of pressure, and when an offense has a weak quarterback and/or unreliable speed outside...that is, when he can come downhill and ruin people's days; when it's unlikely that he will be challenged by deep speed.
But the linebacker/ss hybrid player is a different story. Collins could end up doing some of that for sure!
Again, skip the labels. Jamie will be one of the 11 guys, and do all kinds of stuff. So will Kirksey btw, who is actually better in coverage anyway.
If you have an hour or so to kill, Ezweave ("Ez Like Sunday Morning"--a very smart, insightful writer), covers every move of Sashi Browns's very short carreer as boss. Anybody can do that, but Ez's comments are what makes this a great article.
I admit right here that I haven't read all of it myself yet. I just skimmed over it and put the link here because this guy never lets me down.
MKC's "Hey Mary Kay" was pretty good this week, and she explained why she was giving DeShone Kizer a decent shot at starting game one. He's learning the playbook faster than expected, and she mentions his improved mechanics and arm talent.
She's right and wrong. David Lee was as negative as he was positive about Kizer. He sometimes did it right, and sometimes screwed up, essentially playing against a clock and air.
Like many pundits, Mary Kay doesn't really get what "arm talent" means, either. It does mean velocity and deep passing yes, but it also means short and intermediate accuracy. If one quarterback makes a couple "oo! Ahh!" deep throws and an equal number of clunkers, and another gets no "oos" or "ahs" but moves his team up and down the field, he is better, period.
Now, another writer says PFF's ranking of Kessler right behind Bady under pressure is "taken out of context", because Brady threw 435 passes, while Kessler only threw 195.
...Huh? Where's the context cutoff? 225? 300? Where will we be setting the bar next week? Context? Browns offensive line vs Pats offensive line. Browns receivers vs Pats receivers. Geezer vet vs rookie. Look up "context" in your Funk and Wagnall, Einstein I'm so sick of this...
Dawgs By Nature's Chris Pokorny points to Kessler's benching last season over his reluctance to throw downfield as a reason to doubt him. That's ok, but he piled on by talking about his deep inaccuracy.
Kessler didn't throw enough deep passes for anybody to make that judgement. Jackson himself did not see what Chris thought he saw, as he publicly cited Kessler's reluctance to go deep as the reason for his benching.
Here again, people are seeing what they expect to see. Before you know it, one overthrow or underthrow becomes the whole story.
But Mary Kay is right that Kizer has (per Lee) sometimes been really impressive, and his arrow is pointing up like (insert metaphore here).
And she's right that if he looks really good in preseason against real pressure and his mechanics don't break down it wouldn't be dumb to start him game one. I just need to point out that if he's not indeed better than Kessler, he should not.
She's right to point out to a clueless question that Tim Couch had a crappy line and no help, and want to add that despite that he had a very good rookie season, and only went downhill when his chronic tendinitis wrecked his throwing arm.
The Browns have a lot of talent surrounding their quarterback this season. That means that Kizer--when he's ready--has a chance to succeed early.
She is wrong about needing to get Kizer in as soon as possible so they can evaluate him, and make a decision heading into the next draft.
They don't need that much. I'm sure he'll get at least 40% of the preseason reps, and he'll play some in garbage time, and could well take over after the bye and get the last six games (even if Kessler is actually still better---which he might well be dammit).
That's a lot of tape, and this is Hue Jackson. All they need to see is consistency and solid mechanics.
And I gotta tell ya: I think that by the end of the 2017 season, the Browns will have one too many starting quarterbacks that other teams will want.
With respect to the upcoming crop of quarterbacks in next year's draft, two or even three of which might project better than Kizer, the Browns won't go out of their way to nab one.
Remember: Hue Jackson made Andy Dalton technically the best quarterback in the NFL. No mystery. Look at the other ten guys he played with! Hue keeps telling everybody who will listen, the quarterback is the most important player yes, but it's still a team sport. (Of course, nobody listens.)
So if, coming up on the next draft, Sashi and Hue see a 9.5 and a 10 in the draft display window, but they think they have a 9 (and a Dalton) already here, they won't waste any draft picks ok? (Well ok unless somebody slides to them).
Back to Mary Kay and Kizer:
Natural boxers are rare. It's not natural for primates. We are built to grapple and stuff. We instinctively separate our feet for leverage, lunge, etc.
That's why the best trainers don't let their baby boxers anywhere near the ring until they master balance, defense, proper technique, combinations, etc...as in, they do it automaticly and reflexively.
First, individual punches. Next, 2 punches. Next, 3-punch combinations; shoulders here, feet here, knees bent etc. Ok?
Then, they spar. Baby steps. The good trainers, who really care, put their experienced guys in and make sure they hold back a little. Now the baby boxer is getting punched and shoved off-balance, and we find out if he loses it and starts getting wild and lunging etc.
If he doesn't, then you put him in with another baby boxer and let them have at it for real. If the mechanics don't break down here, when a bell gets rung, now you bring back your seasoned vets, and tell them to beat the crap out of the rookie, and see what you get.
Baby steps. Acid tests. The most important thing here, Mary Kay? Mechanics. DeShone Kizer is starting out well behind where Cody Kessler (a four year starter in four different offensive systems) was as a rookie. Kessler wasn't perfect, but comparing these two mechanicly is a joke. Kessler entered the NFL with a fairly solid foundation (it helps that he is more compact).
Kessler is Dalton. Kizer is...uhh...ok baby Brett Favre ok? (Favre wasn't ripe yet either, coming out of college).
In other news, I was a little surprised that Gregg Williams worked Briean Boddy-Calhoun outside, but maybe I shouldn't have been. He's already proven himself at nickel cornerback, which is substantially pretty simple in any defense (raw instincts, reflexes, quickness, and speed).
Williams also, as I've mentioned, runs more zone than other DC's, and in zone Calhoun's size is less important. Calhoun is very quick and fast, has great instincts, and is aggressive.
Gregg Williams makes the most of what he has.
As it stands, I expect Calhoun to again be the nickel corner vs microbe slot guys. A lot of teams are phasing these guys out, though, so the nickel role is changing.
Outside corner is Calhoun's second position. He's too small to play press/man, but he could be terrific in zone, especially since he's very agressive and opportunistic.
Well ok: He could also play man vs a microbe like Taylor Gabriel better than anybody else, but that's a rare matchup outside. Generally, I'd expect him to be the second backup outside.
I love these undrafted guys, and Calhoun is a perfect example of why. I guarantee you, Gregg Williams loves him. He's not going to be a "starter", but he's a top microbe-matchup guy, and a backup base corner.
Williams loves speed. Speed penetrates, converges, and stops big plays short of the end zone.
Most pundits don't get this: Gregg has a ton of speed to work with here, throughout this defense.
Garrett and Ogbah clocked under 4.76, Rodney Nassibfield is just barely slower, and (except for Shelton, who is still remarkably quick for his massive size, and Jamie Meder, who is a run-stopper and his backup), the 300-plus pound DT's are all pretty fast for their positions.
That's just the defensive line.
Jumping back past Kirksey, Collins, Peppers etc to free safety, I'm not ready to write Campbell off yet, and strongly disagree with another writer that Kai Nacua is a longshot to make this team.
Campbell ran 4.5, and Nacua is faster; Nacua is fast even for a cornerback.
Kai Nacua is listed on the Ourlads version of the Browns' depth chart at 217 lbs, and that's probably more accurate than the 205 lbs you'll see in the link. He's an interception machine and an experienced, proven free safety.
I'm telling you right now, this undrafted free agent is probably THE top contender in the Free Safety Derby, let alone to make this team. Here is smarter stuff on him from the Watercooler.
I guess he tried to make big hits and blew some tackles, but that's an easy fix (especially with Gregg Williams). Third highest sparq rating for safeties in this draft, and nobody can figure out why he went undrafted.
...how can you give him a 30% chance of making the final roster? Anyway as long as I'm sticking my neck out, I hereby predict that Kai Nacua will be the starting free safety before the end of 2017 (if not on opening day).
No doubt Mary Kay saw him practicing with the third team (with Peppers and Garrett among others) and flushed him.
Where was Calhoun this time last year? Oh yeah I think on another team, waiting to get cut. Bet he was on the third team there too, Mary Kay.
Hey do you think Peppers or Garrett will make the team? They never worked with the first team like Kizer did a little.
Wait--Osweiler got some first team reps too! Did Hogan get any? We need to get a total. I say anybody who got more than half as many as Kessler in minicamp is the starter, since Hue Jackson obviously must hate Kessler right?
It's getting so deep...pass me the snorkel wow.
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