I don't believe the injury is fully to blame for Jaylon Smith's issues

[SportsGuru80]

The injury coupled with inexperience is to blame. Let this kid heal up completely.

 

[mardwin]

Some people in this forum have zero knowledge of the nerve damage injury Jaylon suffered. He wasn't able to feel his leg for almost a year and can only walk around with a brace and you expect him to be Ray Lewis from day one. This guy is more than few months away from complete recovery if there's even a possibility for his nerve damage to fully regenerate.

 

[mardwin]

And I still have no idea what they saw that made them think that. Good college player sure with great size and speed but I didn't see the hype as far as top 5 player in the draft.

He was a play maker in college in both run support and pass coverage. A true MLB that could run sideline to sideline without missing a bit. If his knee and nerve are back to a 100% all he needs to overcome is the mental hurdle of being afraid to break again.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Obviously, it is a contributing factor, but I feel he had flaws in his game before the injury. Here are some scouting reports.

I posted pretty much the same thing in May of 2016:

https://cowboyszone.com/threads/im-not-getting-the-jaylon-smith-hype.348704/

Being out of football for over a year, and recovering from an injury like this are exposing holes in his games that he had pre-injury. Some players get by on shear athletic ability, like Randy Moss, and others get by on pure will power, like Michael Irvin.

I believe Jaylon Smith has always been the most athletic person on the field at every step before entering the NFL, and as a result, his fundamentals have suffered. Not to say that he's lazy or lacking motivation, it was just overlooked.

The good news is that I think he can get back on track. I don't think the injury is hampering him all that much. I think it mainly has to due with his technique and rust. With the proper coaching, he can be a quality NFL starter.

He is a sideline to sideline guy and is supposed to be great in coverage. But the knock in him was at the point of attack he can get caught up in the wash. He is NOT an enforcer in the middle of the line blowing things up like Lee does.

 

[TheCount]

I actually think he's playing out of position. He strikes me as a Will, who should be chasing plays down and given some space to roam.

Obviously, Lee isn't going anywhere soon so I'm not sure what that means for Smith.

 

[DiResta]

He shouldn't be in the middle...use him on the edge more...

hes not able to play Wilsons spot and Lee is the Will if hes healthy
i think they did 2 things with Jaylon
they bulked him up to maybe protect against blockers and to help play Mike
Ware had injury problems at a lower weight playing DE so they bulked him as well to help take the beating
of course this is just my guess like so many others
Lee is your Will, no question. he has the iq and natural play of a Mike but the body isnt big enough to take it
playing Mike lets Jaylon get snaps on the field
all off season most want to see where he is and what can he do, the Cowboys also want to see where he is at game speed and can he slowly get more snaps until a wall
i think he is playing heavy by 20 pounds and is not fluid yet
i like giving him crucial experience but entire game 70 snaps is unforgivable
i would limit him not because of fear of injury but because of limitation of his foot
when the brace comes off then we can more fairly judge his potential. and the brace should come off by what they say

when and if the brace comes off reduce weight by 20pounds he can play Will when Lee goes

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Interesting thread.

I will say this, the injury is definitely effecting his ability to be successful in the NFL. I don't think it's all of it because I never liked Smith in the run game at ND. I believe that his strength has always been as a run and chase LB, as a coverage LB and possibly as a situational rush guy. I never liked his game when he had to stack and fill. I just never saw him being very good at it, in the games that I watched. I think that now, that's only magnified. However, I believe the injury is preventing him from learning to be a guy who can Stack and Shed. A LB who can stuff a back in the whole.

He is terrible at taking angles and I suspect that this is because the injury is preventing him from redirecting. You will see him running to a spot to make a tackle and then just miss the contact point. That suggests to me that when at game speed, he is having issues adjusting or redirecting. He needs to get bigger if they intend to play him at Mike but I doubt he does this, if he can't get to a point where he is much more fluid and has gained much more strength.

That's just my opinion.

 

[Jarv]

Make him add 20 LBS and make him a RDE speed rusher.

 

[Idgit]

He's a liability. And it looks like it's both a problem of him not being able to take on blockers and his sideline to sideline speed, probably because of the nature of his injury. He diagnoses the play and tackles fine when it's in front of him and he just needs to straight-line. He's pretty good at even making the tackle when he's lateral with the runner. But too often, he can't get there fast enough, and he can't cover. He needs to be replaced until he can play better. Not just have his snaps limited. It sucks, but it is what it is.

 

[Nightman]

Make him add 20 LBS and make him a RDE speed rusher.

I want him to stay at MLB but I would like to see him blitz more instead of Lee

Lee gets stonewalled every time ............ I think JSmith has the burst to get home

 

[Sydla]

You are reaching the end of Lee's lifespan anyway. I get trying to protect him when he was younger by leaving him at WILL. But if in the future, your best alignment would be Smith (assuming he gets more healthy and improves) at the WILL and Lee at MIKE, you should probably do that.

But we are a few steps away from that decision at this point.

 

[conner01]

It's 99.9% the injury.

The injury, time away from the game and a major step up in competition
I’ve said many times we won’t know about him as a player till next year and I still feel the same

 

[Blackspider214]

He was considered by NFL scouts, before his fateful injury, as the possibly the best ILB/MLB prospect coming out of college since Patrick Willis was drafted.

Had he been anything in the neighborhood of the player Willis was, he would have been a star.

Yes because scouts are never wrong...

 

[pitt33]

Some posters have becomes obsessed with this Jaylon Smith sucks threads again and again.
The OP is making sure we understand he wants to be the top of the list for Anti Jaylon post. Sort of like how the Boise State kid wants to become know as the Kellen Moore guy. And that X Walker breaveheart character wants to be the repeating Dez Bryant sucks poster...
Good times on the Zone.

The bottom line is we are all self evaluators of certain players. Both good and bad critiques abound.

We all have ones we like and support. As well as ones we tear down and rip apart.

As fans it’s what we do...

 

[Vinnie2u]

The injury coupled with inexperience is to blame. Let this kid heal up completely.

By then he’ll be on another team.

 

[JW82]

NFL scouts comparing Jaylon to Patrick Willis is beyond absurd.

Patrick Willis is one of the best linebacker/pure athletes i've ever seen play this game.

He’s not wrong. He was considered a lock top 5 pick at LB. that says it all. In college his athletic ability was so off the charts, he could easily overcome other flaws in his game. Not the case right now. I think if he spends this season learning from Lee and is actually healthy next year we’ll have something special.

 

[dallasfan4lizife]

I mean, the consensus on Morris Claiborne out of college was that he was best DB the draft has seen since Deion Sanders...

Not saying Jaylon will be like Claiborne...just saying scouts get caught up in group think.

 

[zrinkill]

LOL

Jeebus

 

[Vinnie2u]

The formula is simple:
(Nerve Damage = Draft < 4th Round) or (GM should be fired)

 

[Verdict]

Obviously, it is a contributing factor, but I feel he had flaws in his game before the injury. Here are some scouting reports.

I posted pretty much the same thing in May of 2016:

https://cowboyszone.com/threads/im-not-getting-the-jaylon-smith-hype.348704/

Being out of football for over a year, and recovering from an injury like this are exposing holes in his games that he had pre-injury. Some players get by on shear athletic ability, like Randy Moss, and others get by on pure will power, like Michael Irvin.

I believe Jaylon Smith has always been the most athletic person on the field at every step before entering the NFL, and as a result, his fundamentals have suffered. Not to say that he's lazy or lacking motivation, it was just overlooked.

The good news is that I think he can get back on track. I don't think the injury is hampering him all that much. I think it mainly has to due with his technique and rust. With the proper coaching, he can be a quality NFL starter.

His lack of ability to change direction swiftly is hampering him significantly.