State Cougars ~ 6010/210
I can no longer abide the application of the pathetically weak and flaccid term "Safety" to Gladiators.
It is struck from my Vocabulary.
The erstwhile "Free Safety" is truly the CenterFielder of the Defense. Honestly, I consider the term absolutely perfect.
And the erstwhile "Strong Safety", playing an increasingly hybrid Role and constantly improvising, is a RoverBack, I think.
When analyzing the Merits of a prospective RoverBack, this is how I personally break things down:
Intangibles: Diagnostic Acuity, Field Vision, and, above all: Processing Speed. And of course: Motor. Motor Matters.
Agility: Acceleration, Fluidity, and Closing Speed. And of course: Verticity!! Turning & Burning in Direct Coverage.
Run Support: Appetite, Tactical Discipline, and Combat Skills ~ working through Traffic & Tackling Mechanics.
Pass Prevention: Timing, Vertical Burst, WingSpan, and don't forget the Brutality!!
Agility: Mediocre. He appears to have limited Fluidity to Turn & Burn with Receivers. Moderate Closing Speed.
Run Support: Superior. Wonderfully Ferocious with a clear Appetite for Contact, but he's more than a bit of a Loose Cannon, and both his mediocre Field Vision and limited Fluidity impair his Range and Effectiveness.
Pass Prevention: Exceptional. Tremendous combination of Tracking Skills, Timing, Vertical Agility, and Combat Tactics.
I just don't see it with Deone Bucannon.
There's skill, there, to be sure. He has the makings of a tremendous Run Defender, if he can develop his Field Vision and Discipline, and he's already outstanding at the Catch Point. He could become a tremendous "Box Safety."
But of course it's an open question how much utility Box Safeties have, these days.
Of course it's also an open question if I have the faintest clue about evaluating RoverBacks and CenterFielders.
Well, my eyes are telling me that, regardless of how much Potential Deone Bucannon has as a Run Defender, his Potential as a Pass Defender, due to what I perceive as mediocre Agility, is in serious doubt.
I believe that there's a place for'm in the 21st Century, but I see it as more of a combination of a Run Defense Specialist, as perhaps a Big Nickel RoverBack, and a guy who might effectively play some Press Coverage.
Indeed, I'm not entirely sure that that wouldn't be his best bet: A switch to CornerBack.
I believe that his Stock has ridden far higher than is truly warranted ~ I'm writing this after the Draft, where he actually went in the 1st Round, though generally projected to the 2nd Round ~ and has done so based on a combination of the magnificent, historical SuperBowl Slaugther that the SeaHawks delivered...and because of his "40" Time.
Well...Homey don't play that.
But please do keep in mind how hysterically awful I am at grading Defensive Backs!!
Thanks, as always, to the extraordinary Work by the men of Draft BreakDown!!
Consensus Market Value 2nd Round | Yankee Grade 4th/5th Round |