Safety is my favorite position to watch, and easily the most underrated position on the field. That said, it's rather disconcerting to watch the mess that sits in the Broncos' defensive backfield. I'll say this right now- John Lynch sucks. last year he had a grand total of a game and a half that could qualify as good. The rest of the season, he would run in after the play and kind of bop the opposing ballcarrier on the helmet like Little Bunny Foo Foo, and the scorekeeper would still give him an assist. He could never cover, but for some reason Coyer felt compelled to match him one on one against slot receivers. I watched him start 15 yards off the line, and TJ Houshmanwhatever STILL ran right by him for a touchdown. Nick Ferguson is basically the same, except without the reputation, but with a beard. My favorite safety on the roster is Big Black Cox, who covers well for a safety (not for a corner) and who, while not a big hitter, is a fundamentally sound tackler. He was also consistently the first man down on special teams last year.
That said, I still feel like safety is a position that needs to be addressed this year, and Reggie Nelson is at the top of my list. Reggie Nelson is the two way safety Denver hasn't had since, well, ever. He's a ballhawk in coverage and hits people like they raped his dog. That said, I recognize that I have an irrational mancrush on Reggie Nelson, so here are some other guys who might fit in. Missing are LaRon Landry, who won't be available, Brandon Merriwether, who is a dick, and Michael Griffin, whom I feel is average at best. His play really fell off without Michael Huff next to him.
- Eric Weddle Utah 5'11" 203 lbs 4.48
- John Wendling Wyoming 6'1"222 lbs 4.48
- Sabby Piscitelli Oregon St. 6'2" 224 lbs 4.47
- Josh Gattis Wake Forest 6'1" 206 4.55
- JJ Billingsley Colorado5'10" 181 lbs 4.6
I understand that Billingsley has no chance of getting drafted, but I don't care, because he ranks with Brandon Drumm and Lawrence Vickers among my CU mancrushes. When all is said and done, Shanahan never does what I tell him to do via threatening thought rays (except for Eslinger and Dumervil last year. I take full credit for both of those guys), so there's pretty much no chance of drafting Nelson. But I promise- if he does, the Broncos will make a good portion of his salary back just by selling Reggie Nelson jerseys to me.
2 comments:
You're dead on about Lynch. He's been the most overrated player on the team since he got here. Hey asshole, over-pursue much?
Also, one of the most jackked up things I saw last season was little 'Nique Foxworth up in run-support while Lynch was off head-hunting in the secondary. Thank god Coyer is gone.
I think JJ will get the call. After watching JJ for 4+ years, it's not a question of physical ability, but rather what's in this kid's dome.
In Boulder he had 3 or so different position coaches, so a good DB coach and JJ could be a nickle back and ST contributer in the league. This past year with Greg Brown (former NFL coach)as DB coach, he had his top year.
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