Griffin vs. Nelson

One of the things I like about Griffin is he has perfect technique when he tackles. That is critical in the NFL. Griffin had somethinglike 360 tackles in college and was well over 100 the last two years.
Griffin is also a super high Character guy and I'm sure that weighed big for the Titans.

IMO both Griffin and Nelson were value picks. Meriweather might actually be the best of the three and if we were entertaining thoughts of the guy playing CB maybe Meriweather was the best but obviously character again come into play.

 

Well...

You and I are on the same page. When discussing players leading up to the draft....there were generally 4 Safeties plus one. Nelson and Landry were considered 1st rnd picks with Merriweather and Griffin being 1-2 rnd guys...Merri being dropped due to character issues (he was the guy swinging the helmet during that brawl and he he was 'returning fire' on someone he thought was a robber). Griffin was not considered as good a player as any of the other three. The plus one was Sabby Piscatelli who was on a weaker team and didn't get any of the hype (despite being bigger, faster, and very productive in college).

Landry got a ton of hype...and rightly so for being an excellent player. But most of his highlights are from blitzes in which he's unblocked. He's tough as nails and is probably a perfect SS type (think a bigger and faster Blaine Bishop)...especially for an in the box safety. However, he's not great against the pass. In the Sugar Bowl, he allowed 1 long TD in which he ran over there but didn't try to intercept or deflect the ball nor did he hit the WR (and he was right there). So he's got some questionable ball skills.

Nelson is the best FS in the draft IMO. He is an eraser and plays similar to Sean Taylor if Taylor had been put in the middle. He has great ball instincts and combined with his great speed...tends to erase the play one way (INT/deflection) or the other (the WR wakes up on the sidelines). He's a big hitter and an intimidator in the secondary. Personally, I think we could have used him! He's not as good against the run though I've only seen him toasted once (Championship game).

Griffin is the most versatile in that he can play both S spots and CB (and special teams like Nelson and Landry). He's not as good vs the pass as Nelson and not as good against the run as Landry. He is a better form tackler than Nelson but not nearly as good hitter in the secondary and doesn't tend to 'erase' much. He doesn't have solid instincts in the secondary so we won't get Lamont's deer in the headlights freeze of a Lamont.

I do think Character had a lot to do with it as Griffin might be the best 'citizen' of the group...he's from a military family, a hard worker and a dedicated person. So he might be a little smarter than Nelson, a better citizen than Merriweather and we couldn't have had Landry anyway, but we've been getting killed through the air the last few years on big plays. And for as good as Hope is, he's more of a SS than a FS (he's makes more plays vs the run than vs the pass) so an eraser like Nelson seemed a better fit to me. Plus, Schwartz is constantly putting us in a cover 3 look with Lamont playing CF just like Nelson played most of last year.

I think both Griffin and Nelson can play CB.

From watching game tape, I thought Nelson was the better player given his position and what he brought to it (speed, explosive hitting, intimidation...and very few big plays made on their secondary...and that was done without their best CB in the lineup).

However, Griffin is ours and Nelson is unfortunately a Jag so our success or failure in this pick will be evident for a number of years! I sure hope Schwartz and Fisher find a way to get the most bang for our buck with Griffin so he's the superior value and helps return our D to prominence!

Gut

 

All fine and good, except that Hope only played SS with us last year. His first 4 years he was the FS for the Steelers, covering deep, allowing SS Polamalu to roam freely underneath. In other words, Hope can play both SS and FS perfectly well.

 

Well...

I am not implying that Hope can't play FS. You're perfectly correct that he was basically there FS and they had top notch Defenses during those years.

However, without looking up his stats, I'd say he had a more productive year playing as more of a SS than he's had previously as a FS...which is why I think having an excellent SS (excellent vs the run but good against the pass) and an excellent FS (excellent against the pass and good against the run) is better than 2 S's who are good at both things but not great at one.

I'm excited to see Griffin at CB though. If he can be a big time CB...and for the love of **...Finnegan, Fuller or Lowry had better beat out Thompson....then we'll be in very good shape in the secondary...with or without Pacman!

Now if they can just go get a good DE...and Keyshawn....we'll be good to go!!!

Gut