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[SIZE=+2]Cover safeties on NFL wish list
[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]12:49 PM CDT on Tuesday, April 24, 2007
[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]By RICK GOSSELIN / The Dallas Morning News
rgosselin@***BANNED-URL***[/SIZE] The NFL is downsizing and Eric Weddle will be a beneficiary.
It wasn't long ago that the NFL coveted enforcers at safety – big, rugged thumpers who thrived in run support. Kenny Easley (6-3, 206) and Joey Browner (6-2, 223) were NFL all-decade safeties in the 1980s, and Steve Atwater (6-3, 216) and John Lynch (6-2, 220) fit the prototype in the 1990s.
http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sports/football/
But the box safety has become a dinosaur in today's NFL. The search is on for cover safeties.
The bigger, slower safety is too easy a target for the creativity of NFL offensive coordinators. Running backs are now flanking out. So are tight ends. Defenses now must have the flexibility to cover three flanked receivers in their base scheme. That means safeties who prefer to tackle are being asked to cover.
Troy Polamalu, Ed Reed and Bob Sanders are among the best safeties in today's NFL. All are under 6-0 – but all can run. Palomalu came out of college with 4.33 speed in the 40. Sanders runs a 4.40 and Reed a 4.46.
The two top safeties in the 2006 draft were Michael Huff (6-0, 204) and Donte Whitner (5-10, 204). Both run under 4.40. If you can run, you have a chance in today's NFL.
Reggie Nelson of Florida is one of the top safeties in the 2007 draft. He is 5-11, 198 pounds and runs a 4.35. He spent last spring playing cornerback before Ryan Smith transferred to Florida, allowing Nelson to move back to safety in the fall. He became an All-American there.
Miami safety Brandon Meriweather also has coverage skills. He goes 5-10, 195 pounds and started games at cornerback for the Hurricanes last season. He also played nickel corner on a regular basis. So he can cover.
Weddle was a two-time Mountain West defensive player of the year at Utah. He spent most of 2005 at safety and all of 2006 at cornerback. He can cover. Boy, can he ever. In the 2005 Emerald Bowl, Weddle lined up on Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson in man-to-man coverage and held him to two catches for 19 yards.
http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sharedcontent/dws/img/04-07/0425nfldraftsafeties.jpg Getty Images
Utah's Eric Weddle is an NFL prospect because of his cover skills.
Johnson is regarded as the best player in the 2007 NFL draft and figures to be a top-three selection. He was bigger (6-5, 239), stronger and faster (4.35 40) than Weddle (5-11, 203 with 4.50 speed). But on this night he wasn't better than Weddle.
"I pride myself on preparation – knowing what my opponent is going to do, knowing what my job is," Weddle said. "If you give me four weeks to prepare for an opponent, I'm going to take advantage of it. But you still have to bring you're A-plus game and rise to the moment."
Weddle had four weeks to prepare for Johnson and did indeed rise to the moment, winning game MVP honors in a Utah victory.
"Through film study you can eliminate things through down and distance, splits and where the ball is located [hash mark]," Weddle said. "You can eliminate about 90 percent of what a guy is going to do based on his splits and releases.
"Half that game I knew what he [Johnson] was going to do before he did it, so I was just waiting on the routes. No disrespect to their team, but the times they threw at him I was breaking on the ball at the same time he was and he didn't really have that many opportunities."
Gerald Alexander of Boise State, Dashon Goldson of Washington, Brandon Harrison of Stanford, Tanard Jackson of Syracuse and Darren Stone of Maine are other safeties in this draft who have started in their college careers at cornerback.
With coverage skills comes opportunity in the NFL.
[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]12:49 PM CDT on Tuesday, April 24, 2007
[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]By RICK GOSSELIN / The Dallas Morning News
rgosselin@***BANNED-URL***[/SIZE] The NFL is downsizing and Eric Weddle will be a beneficiary.
It wasn't long ago that the NFL coveted enforcers at safety – big, rugged thumpers who thrived in run support. Kenny Easley (6-3, 206) and Joey Browner (6-2, 223) were NFL all-decade safeties in the 1980s, and Steve Atwater (6-3, 216) and John Lynch (6-2, 220) fit the prototype in the 1990s.
http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sports/football/
But the box safety has become a dinosaur in today's NFL. The search is on for cover safeties.
The bigger, slower safety is too easy a target for the creativity of NFL offensive coordinators. Running backs are now flanking out. So are tight ends. Defenses now must have the flexibility to cover three flanked receivers in their base scheme. That means safeties who prefer to tackle are being asked to cover.
Troy Polamalu, Ed Reed and Bob Sanders are among the best safeties in today's NFL. All are under 6-0 – but all can run. Palomalu came out of college with 4.33 speed in the 40. Sanders runs a 4.40 and Reed a 4.46.
The two top safeties in the 2006 draft were Michael Huff (6-0, 204) and Donte Whitner (5-10, 204). Both run under 4.40. If you can run, you have a chance in today's NFL.
Reggie Nelson of Florida is one of the top safeties in the 2007 draft. He is 5-11, 198 pounds and runs a 4.35. He spent last spring playing cornerback before Ryan Smith transferred to Florida, allowing Nelson to move back to safety in the fall. He became an All-American there.
Miami safety Brandon Meriweather also has coverage skills. He goes 5-10, 195 pounds and started games at cornerback for the Hurricanes last season. He also played nickel corner on a regular basis. So he can cover.
Weddle was a two-time Mountain West defensive player of the year at Utah. He spent most of 2005 at safety and all of 2006 at cornerback. He can cover. Boy, can he ever. In the 2005 Emerald Bowl, Weddle lined up on Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson in man-to-man coverage and held him to two catches for 19 yards.
http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sharedcontent/dws/img/04-07/0425nfldraftsafeties.jpg Getty Images
Utah's Eric Weddle is an NFL prospect because of his cover skills.
Johnson is regarded as the best player in the 2007 NFL draft and figures to be a top-three selection. He was bigger (6-5, 239), stronger and faster (4.35 40) than Weddle (5-11, 203 with 4.50 speed). But on this night he wasn't better than Weddle.
"I pride myself on preparation – knowing what my opponent is going to do, knowing what my job is," Weddle said. "If you give me four weeks to prepare for an opponent, I'm going to take advantage of it. But you still have to bring you're A-plus game and rise to the moment."
Weddle had four weeks to prepare for Johnson and did indeed rise to the moment, winning game MVP honors in a Utah victory.
"Through film study you can eliminate things through down and distance, splits and where the ball is located [hash mark]," Weddle said. "You can eliminate about 90 percent of what a guy is going to do based on his splits and releases.
"Half that game I knew what he [Johnson] was going to do before he did it, so I was just waiting on the routes. No disrespect to their team, but the times they threw at him I was breaking on the ball at the same time he was and he didn't really have that many opportunities."
Gerald Alexander of Boise State, Dashon Goldson of Washington, Brandon Harrison of Stanford, Tanard Jackson of Syracuse and Darren Stone of Maine are other safeties in this draft who have started in their college careers at cornerback.
With coverage skills comes opportunity in the NFL.
