DMN Blog: Michael Hamlin looks a lot faster than 4.62

[masomenos]

Spencer runs completely around the pulling guard and give up the whole. He blew it on that play, badly.

If Spencer takes on the pulling guard then he get's pushed out of the play anyway, instead he very nearly makes a play in the backfield. The running lanes are exactly the same whether or not Spencer engages because he's not going to win the battle against a guard who's coming full speed and who has a perfect angle.

 

[Idgit]

If Spencer takes on the pulling guard then he get's pushed out of the play anyway, instead he very nearly makes a play in the backfield. The running lanes are exactly the same whether or not Spencer engages because he's not going to win the battle against a guard who's coming full speed and who has a perfect angle.

He's got to take the guard on a plug that hole. Running around him was the biggest mistake on that play.

That clip is a perfect illustration of the difference between executing and not executing. 1. Spencer blows his assignment, 2. the RT executes his block on Ratliff. 3 the fullback executes a beautiful block on Bradie James, 4. the runner's stiff arm beats the safety. It's the kind of thing that loses games, and it cost of in AZ, BALT, and PIT this year, ruining what could have been a Superbowl run.

 

[GOLDENCHILD1688]

this article is so misleading after watching the video is not even funny

 

[masomenos]

Gosh i couldn’t disagree more. You make it sound so casual. When the season was on the line, twice they were completely and utterly humiliated in the worst way. Running the ball right down their throat twice in the final minutes, completely soft, spineless, heartless, undisciplined D-fense. Then followed it up next week with everything on the line this so called dominate D fell limp again. But they seem to get a free ride this offseason.

I know, and I expect most fans will disagree.

Sometimes the other team just runs and executes the right play though. Normally there are enough variables in any one play to make sure that the result isn't perfect for either side, but it still happens. Is it rare for it to happen on back to back plays? Of course it is, but the probability is still there, so sometimes it happens.

That's just the way that sports work. When facing an equal level of competition, through a season, the number of positive and negative plays will generally balance out. The way it played out, we just had two negative ones one after the other.

It does sound casual, you're right, but it's ridiculous to demand perfection on every play. All you can ask is that the players go at the play to the best of their ability and I don't think that Spencer, Hamlin or Ratliff is guilty of not doing that.

That's just my take though and, like I said, I know that most won't share it.

 

[masomenos]

He's got to take the guard on a plug that hole. Running around him was the biggest mistake on that play.

That clip is a perfect illustration of the difference between executing and not executing. 1. Spencer blows his assignment, 2. the RT executes his block on Ratliff. 3 the fullback executes a beautiful block on Bradie James, 4. the runner's stiff arm beats the safety. It's the kind of thing that loses games, and it cost of in AZ, BALT, and PIT this year, ruining what could have been a Superbowl run.

He wouldn't be able to plug the hole, the guard is moving at him at and angle that will knock him out of the play no matter what. It's not the same as a DT plugging a hole at the LOS so the LBs can make plays. The guards job is to clear Spencer out of the play and that's exactly what he was going to do. His only shot was to make a play in the backfield but, as other players on offense did, the RB just was able to make the right move and take a subtle step to the left that caused Spencer to overshoot.

 

[Idgit]

He wouldn't be able to plug the hole, the guard is moving at him at and angle that will knock him out of the play no matter what. It's not the same as a DT plugging a hole at the LOS so the LBs can make plays. The guards job is to clear Spencer out of the play and that's exactly what he was going to do. His only shot was to make a play in the backfield but, as other players on offense did, the RB just was able to make the right move and take a subtle step to the left that caused Spencer to overshoot.

Spencer has to shed that block and make a play. If he can't, he has to take on the block and reroute the RB. Its far from a foregone conclusion that that pulling guard is going to level him, but as it is, he runs himself off and doesn't have a chance. There's not a RB in the league who would have gone down from the position Spencer was in.

 

[PullMyFinger]

Hamlin was easily the best draft pick.

No Mickens was.

 

[PullMyFinger]

Can we get the mathematicians and photography experts from the Martellus Bennett thread over here so that we can make a big deal over absolutely nothing?

ROTFL

 

[hendog]

One of my biggest gripes on the play is that Hamlin goes high and tries to tackle a 260 pound FB by the head and shoulders. If he goes low and takes out his knees he makes the play easily.

I've been coaching youth football for the last decade and that's the first thing we start off with, fundamental tackling. If I've told those kids to keep their head up, bend at the knees and "change their pad level" once I bet I've said it ten thousand times.

Horrible, horrible tackling on Hamlins part.

 

[Apollo Creed]

until I start seeing somebody other than Newman making plays back there we're not stacked at corner or safety.

I haven't seen Newman make a play since a gift pick-6 against the Jets 2 years ago.

 

[TNCowboy]

It does sound casual, you're right, but it's ridiculous to demand perfection on every play. All you can ask is that the players go at the play to the best of their ability and I don't think that Spencer, Hamlin or Ratliff is guilty of not doing that.
.

:laugh2: Expecting your defense to not give up two huge runs with the season on the line is hardly demanding perfection.

I've been watching football for about 30 years. I've never seen that happen on back-to-back offensive plays, at least not in an NFL game. That's the sort of thing that happens in high school games when one team is sorely overmatched.

The defense on those plays was a comedy of errors. Everyone blames Hamlin for missing the tackle, but it's obvious multiple players completely failed in their jobs, on both runs.

 

[JonJon]

Here is the first long TD run by the same poster. You can see Zach Thomas slow to react to shoot the gap, then he wipes Davis right out of the play when he may have been in position to tackle.

[youtube]RoCPJ9AJ0Tk[/youtube]

 

[hendog]

Here is the first long TD run by the same poster. You can see Zach Thomas slow to react to shoot the gap, then he wipes Davis right out of the play when he may have been in position to tackle.

[youtube]RoCPJ9AJ0Tk[/youtube]

Todd Heap abuses Spencer on that play. You have to shed that block from a TE.

 

[JonJon]

Todd Heap abuses Spencer on that play. You have to shed that block from a TE.

Tank Johnson also got abused and raped on that play. He got bulldozed and is the reason that hole was there in the first place. After seeing that, I really wish he would have shut his mouth about how the Cowboys and all the pro-bowlers couldn't get it done. Throw your name in that hat, buddy.

Edit: Not sure if that was Tank. It may have been Spears. Hard to tell from that angle.

 

[Ren]

Tank Johnson also got abused and raped on that play. He got bulldozed and is the reason that hole was there in the first place. After seeing that, I really wish he would have shut his mouth about how the Cowboys and all the pro-bowlers couldn't get it done. Throw your name in that hat, buddy.

Edit: Not sure if that was Tank. It may have been Spears. Hard to tell from that angle.

Looks like Spears, hope it was Tank though cause he got absolutely owned on that play but i don't recall him playing any DE so it must be Spears :bang2:

 

[Alexander]

Tell me why. I'm kind of excited about him being a Kenny Gant or Bill bates kind of Special Teams ace.

He's a passionate player who knows how the game is to be played. He's a hitter and appears to play smart as well. I think there was a YouTube video of his game against Boise State and it was impressive.

I think he can do more than be a special teams player. From the way that Phillips was talking about him, he might have a leg up in taking the Kevin Burnett role very soon.

 

[jobberone]

You could tell in that film. Look at Heyward's running style, his strides are longer and smoother compared to Hamlin's which are shorter.

I agree, though, that Hamlin was a steal in the 5th. I was thinking he was an early 4th at the latest.

I hadn't thought of it that way. But that is a sign of stiff hips in one way although ususally it means not being able to swivel well/quickly while moving. But you're right. Some of that is also the relative length of leg vs thigh.

Faster players in general have long legs (tibia/fibula) in relation to thigh (femur). Also the legs are more gracile (thinner) than robust. Less mass to move and more speed since the muscles greatest for running are the gluts, hamstrings, and quads.

And Hamlin was projected in the 2nd by many although some of that is 2007 and not 2008 which caused the slide.

 

[jobberone]

First, I want to thank you for posting that video. I hadn't seen that angle in any of the other videos of that play.

Second:

everybody wants to rag oh Hamlin because he whiffed on that tackle towards the end and he DOES deserve alot of criticism. However, there are two players who deserve MORE blame than Hamlin on that play:

#93 Anthony Spencer and #56 Bradie James.

I broke down the footage frame by frame and THE most important defensive breakdowns of the play occurred between the 32 seconds frame and 36 seconds frame.

Between the 32nd and 34th seconds frames, you can see Anthony Spencer making THREE critical mistakes:

a) his initial step is towards the outside ( despite the tackle eligible player, #78, blocking down on Ratliff ) when he should have " pinched " to the inside.

b) In the 33rd seconds frame, it shows Spencer worrying more about the pulling left guard, #66, than the QB/RB positions, when it should have been the opposite.

c) In the 34th second frame, it shows Spencer avoiding the pulling guard, but by doing so, he basically takes himself out of the play and ends up taking a bad angle, reaching for the RB when, at the very least, he should have " blown up " that pulling guard, and create a pile for the RB to step around.

Had he been thinking about making a play, ie: be more aggressive, instead of worrying about getting hit, he would have made a highlight reel play, at the very least, maybe the defensive play of the game at the very best.

Also, because Spencer failed to make a play in the backfield, it freed the FB # 42 to make a DEVASTATING block on Bradie James ( as the 34th and 35th seconds frames show ), who over ran the play and ended up getting PAN CAKED when he tried to reverse himself, and that opened up the lane that that led directly to Hamlin.

Again, Hamlin should have made that tackle and there's absolutely no excuse for him not to, but I'm more disappointed in Spencer and his lack of either instinct or aggressiveness, or willingness to initiate contact.

Tuna once said that when it comes to LBs, if they don't bite when they're puppies, they're not going to bite at all. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't see that " aggressiveness " in Spencer. At least not on that play.

Agree. Also agree with others that Tank got abused. In fact it appears he didn't even try on the play. And this is the reason why I've kept saying we need a big NT who can stop that crap. Ratliff is great as a 3 but not as a 2.

These are also the reasons why I keep saying Ellis is going nowhere. Spencer has yet to begin to play the run well enough. Ware had trouble so don't despair. He should get it. Nor is Spencer the LB Ellis is either. He has to do more than rush the QB.

I suspect Hamlin was beat up last year. I hope so because o/w I don't want to think about it.

Honestly, I don't think Spencer did anything wrong there, he took the right angle to make a play in the backfield. The only problem is that the RB makes a subtle move to his left and that changes the angle, that's why Spencer overshoots. As to Ratliff, he doesn't run himself out of the play, he gets pushed out of the play. Then there's Hamlin, who actually also takes a good angle but ends up getting stiff armed.

It's not that our guys were doing the wrong thing, they just got out played and, to be honest, that just happens sometimes.

You'd be right about other teams just making plays. But if you want to be a champion you're the team making the plays. The offense got us in the game and the D took us out. Twice. Teams capitalized on running on us in the 4th.

Now is that due to talent? Conditioning? Heart and desire? Coaching? Whatever it is, it is broken.

 

[Angus]

Good to know he can run someone down from behind. EXACTLY what I want to see our safeties doing.

Maybe not monster. Maybe just heel.

 

[Randy White]

What about Ratliff running himself completely out of the play? .

No, he didn't do anything wrong. The call, obviously, was for the D-line to shoot the gaps hard. If a ball carrier happens to go where the D-lineman ends up, then great, but their main job was to shoot the gaps hard and take the O-linemen with them, which opens up the LBs to make the tackle. Clearly the D-linemen did their job because we can see two LBs in position to make the play, but they didn't.