Playing safety...

I thought the guy we drafted out of utah robert johnson was going to be a real playmaker. He was a great S. in college. I would still like to see him off the practice squad and see if he is not a diamond in the rough. Fact of the matter is S, is a major weakness of the titans defense. I like our corners but our safety play has been terrible for a number of years.

 

Improve the DL through FA then draft Barron and bring back Griffin.

 

I think a good team has one hard hitting,tough in the box SS, and a ball hawk at FS. The hard part is finding safetys {2} who can do it all. Good defenses just rotate guys according to the opposition.

 

Barron is out still July / august with a double sports hernia.

 

I would actually prefer a safety to be extremely physical, making every tackle, dominating anyone who comes near him. Griffin is an average ball hawk with poor tackling skills.

Other than Reed and Polamalu, I can't really think of a dominating safety in the league. They're may not even be one. Who's the next best after those two? Landry, Bethea, Weddle? It's more important to have a great front 7. Think about it... Ravens and Steelers - great front 7 with great safeties who benefit from that fierce front 7.

 

I say it's probably 98% we go D line with our first pick, and probably within the front 7 with the second.

 

I've always liked the idea of letting our FS play center field while the SS sniffs out the ball and helps underneath.

If Hope could run better, and Griffin could catch better, we'd be set, but they can't so here we are debating what to do at safety.

Robert Johnson has to come on otherwise we should cut him.

 

you have 2 of em, SS and FS, ideally you'll like them both to b good at everything.

but, thats a tough one, so its good to have 1 as more of a coverage guy and the other as your more physical presence...


I want to say something about the position. At the end of the season i thought both of our original starters (Grif/Hope) were not so good and was OK with finding new guys.

but really, after watching the playoffs (which is the time i start watching other teams) i saw a lot of safeties struggling. i think all those new rule changes have actually made it harder for safeties than CBs.

Also, i think its especially hard to be a safety when there is little or no pass rush (again maybe even more so than CB). When i think about all the good safties and i look at their D, their rush was usually incredible (think of reed, troy, kerry when the jets had a rush).

When we had a good D and pass rush in our Big Al/KVB days, Griff/Hope were far more effective players on the field and it showed statistically.

 

sure...but i think the rule changes have much more to do with it...

there were some 'old skool gun slingers' who as QBs looked as good back than as they do now. oh yeah, and thats with a chance they can be 'whacked' on any given play (even if they got rid of it quick)...

hey, at least there are less 3 hour games where 0/1/2 TD(s) are scored.......

but at the same time, in 10 years at this rate, scores of shootouts r going to resemble basketball scores (hyperbolic i no...but watevr)