Is Jeff Heath starting material?

[Satchel89]

I think he can be or maybe I'm just too hopeful. At least we've seen him make some plays and there's not a lot of playmakers in the secondary. I've seen him deal out some vicious hits too. He's been effective but he's been that way in small doses. Like a guy posted earlier, We are going to find out.

 

[gmoney112]

Yes, as a FS. Problem is we have a FS in Byron.

We don't know if he's starting SS material. The tackling concerns me at the SS spot. He basically started against the Packers and our tackling as a whole was awful.

He is a very good athlete. He ran a 4.40 forty, benched 22 reps of 225 pounds and posted a 37" vertical. The problem is he's small in the upper body, particularly in the shoulders and traps, so making a form tackle in open space against a 225 pound tailback or a 250 pound TE may be an issue for him.

We'll have to see and in general I would not have a problem with him starting back there for a few games at this time. But, if we can find a dynamic SS like Peppers I think we would be fools not to take him in fear of already having Heath on the roster.




YR

Yeah, BPA on defense anywhere (i'll exclude LB if Jaylon is healthy) is the path.

You can never have too many physical secondary players that can actually cover a little bit. Heath would still get plenty of playing time. Especially if we can find anyone able to rush the passer. Defenses across the league are trending towards less traditional front 7 players in exchange for speed.

 

[CowboyRoy]

For the record, I think Heath should be given a fair shot to compete for the starting job. And if he wins it, I'm cool with that.

He has been given a fair shot to win it since he started playing here. He was just not good enough to do it obviously.
And I dont see how we have any choice. Any you would be cool with a backup that was never good enough to start winning the job simply by default? Not what I would want.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Yet for some reason the ball falls into his hands more than anyone else on the defense.

LOL...........how many picks does he have in his career? Are you comparing him to jokers like Carr who had one pick in 5 years here and 50 million dollars later?

Wish and hope all you want. Heath was a backup for a reason. We need studs on our defense, not backups starting.
If your happy with Heath starting, then I have to assume that you would make a case for any guy we signed or any guy that started. Heath having to start is an absolute worse case scenario as a replacement. What could be worse?

 

[CowboyRoy]

Haha where you been man? A couple us have brought it up a ton when talking about him over the years.

Yeah, he's crazy athletic. He's also probably one of the toughest guys on the team. Who was the guy who got between Hardy when he threw a tantrum? Jeff Heath. If you see a dust up on ST it's usually him involved in it

He does seem to be in good position a bit for turnovers when he plays snaps. He had a pick on Rodgers in the playoffs, and he picked another one that was called back on that ticky tack hold that would have won the game. 2 picks on Rodgers in the playoffs warrants an argument for starting, imo.

Oh yah, he is a pro bowler in the making. WE just had him playing behind scrubs like Wilcox because we wanted to surprise everyone. LOL

YOu gotta love this time of year when all the happy go lucky fans try to make pro bowlers out of scrubs.

 

[revospeed]

LOL...........how many picks does he have in his career? Are you comparing him to jokers like Carr who had one pick in 5 years here and 50 million dollars later?

Wish and hope all you want. Heath was a backup for a reason. We need studs on our defense, not backups starting.
If your happy with Heath starting, then I have to assume that you would make a case for any guy we signed or any guy that started. Heath having to start is an absolute worse case scenario as a replacement. What could be worse?

LOL............. obviously I'm comparing him to other Cowboys players. Yet I don't see you trashing any of those players like you do with Heath.

 

[CowboyRoy]

LOL............. obviously I'm comparing him to other Cowboys players. Yet I don't see you trashing any of those players like you do with Heath.

Really? Then you arent reading enough.

Carr stinks, Wilcox stinks. Claiborne is the only guy I would bring back at a bargain price and take a shot he stays healthy. If not, big money wasnt spent. Church was another guy I would have contemplated resigning, but not for big money. And Church was not good in coverage, but a heck of a run stopper.

We need ball hawking safeties and there wasnt one on the roster last year or so far this year.

I would go on, but I'll stop with the secondary.

 

[Bullflop]

IMHO, nobody knows for sure whether or not Heath is ready to assume ownership of a starting spot. His limited play in recent times have been substantially better than in the past, although some increased activity is sure to be a revealing test. He'll get plenty of opportunities to prove himself worthy as a starter in the upcoming months. I'm hoping his play will ultimately prove encouraging to both the team and its fans.

 

[CowboyRoy]

IMHO, nobody knows for certain whether or not Heath is ready to assume ownership of a starting spot. His limited play in recent times have been substantially better than in the past, although his increased activity is sure to be a revealing test. He'll get plenty of opportunities to prove himself worthy as a starter in the upcoming months. I'm hoping his play will ultimately prove encouraging to both the team and its fans.

He hasnt been since he has been here with suspect guys in front of him. You want to dream somehow that changes, be my guest.

 

[Bullflop]

He hasnt been since he has been here with suspect guys in front of him. You want to dream somehow that changes, be my guest.

He'll either make the grade or he won't. Unlike yourself, I'm not inclined to shut the door on him without affording him an equal opportunity to compete this year. Nobody said anything about awarding a starting spot without earning it in advance. Chill out.

 

[gmoney112]

Oh yah, he is a pro bowler in the making. WE just had him playing behind scrubs like Wilcox because we wanted to surprise everyone. LOL

YOu gotta love this time of year when all the happy go lucky fans try to make pro bowlers out of scrubs.

"LOL". That was a really dramatic post.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

Yeah, BPA on defense anywhere (i'll exclude LB if Jaylon is healthy) is the path.

You can never have too many physical secondary players that can actually cover a little bit. Heath would still get plenty of playing time. Especially if we can find anyone able to rush the passer. Defenses across the league are trending towards less traditional front 7 players in exchange for speed.

Our defense has a difficult time covering TE's and RB's out of the backfield. It seems like once we start to do a better job against TE's, we struggle against RB's. That means we need to be able to have quality coverage from the MIKE and the WILL along with both SS and FS positions. Hitchens is weak in coverage, but not horrendous. Church is too limited and presented issues for us in trying to cover TE's. If we were able to land Peppers, we would now have the most athletic safety duo in the league and we could switch off coverage on TE's and RB's between Byron and Peppers.

I think Byron's instincts are not quite there to be an elite safety, but he's darn good and his athleticism makes up for a lot. By the same token, what I saw from watching All-22 was that Byron really had to make up a lot for Church and Hitchens' coverage limitations. I would really like to see us give Damien Wilson a shot at the MIKE as he has good speed and has played the position in college. Relying on Jaylon to stay healthy and even be fully up to speed is pretty optimistic.




YR

 

[revospeed]

Really? Then you arent reading enough.

Carr stinks, Wilcox stinks. Claiborne is the only guy I would bring back at a bargain price and take a shot he stays healthy. If not, big money wasnt spent. Church was another guy I would have contemplated resigning, but not for big money. And Church was not good in coverage, but a heck of a run stopper.

We need ball hawking safeties and there wasnt one on the roster last year or so far this year.

I would go on, but I'll stop with the secondary.

LOL................ Claiborne has paid approximately 8 good games with the Cowboys since 2012, but he's the guy you'd bring back? It's funny how you negate every good thing that Heath has done, but don't do the same to Claiborne. Heath has made more plays than Claiborne since becoming a Cowboy and stayed consistently on the field,, but it's Heath that's god-awful and Claiborne is the guy you want to bring back? Every time Heath steps on the field, he makes plays. You can't say that for the rest of the secondary.

But yes, continue with the "This 13-3 team is awful" diatribe.

 

[CowboyRoy]

He'll either make the grade or he won't. Unlike yourself, I'm not inclined to shut the door on him without affording him an equal opportunity to compete this year. Nobody said anything about awarding a starting spot without earning it in advance. Chill out.

Hes been here for years. He has had an opportunity since the day he arrived here to win the starting job. Why are you acting like this is his first shot at it? Even if he gets the job because everyone else left in FA doesnt mean squat.
Ill chill out when we find a real safety, not a special teams hold over. And Ive watched the kid for years. HE cant get the job done. Which is exactly what the coaching staff saw, which is why he only started when there were multiple injuries.

But like I said, by all means, dont be alarmed.

 

[CowboyRoy]

LOL................ Claiborne has paid approximately 8 good games with the Cowboys since 2012, but he's the guy you'd bring back? It's funny how you negate every good thing that Heath has done, but don't do the same to Claiborne. Heath has made more plays than Claiborne since becoming a Cowboy and stayed consistently on the field,, but it's Heath that's god-awful and Claiborne is the guy you want to bring back? Every time Heath steps on the field, he makes plays. You can't say that for the rest of the secondary.

But yes, continue with the "This 13-3 team is awful" diatribe.

Heath is a joke my man, plain and simple. He has done NOTHING here. And no I dont consider a pick in GB as anything special. Right place, right time.

13-3 is aweful? LOL

I guess when you cant win an argument, you just make stuff up eh?

Claiborne was playing all world when he was healthy. Hell yah, I would risk a few million on that.

LOL...........every time Heath steps on the field he makes a play? ahahahahahaha!!!!

Wow, now that was funny. So tell me...............Then why hasnt Heath started the last 4 or 5 years if he is sooo great. He couldnt even beat out the hapless Wilcox? Please enlighten me.

Actually dont bother, I dont want to wake you up from your fantasy.

 

[CowboyRoy]

LOL................ Claiborne has paid approximately 8 good games with the Cowboys since 2012, but he's the guy you'd bring back? It's funny how you negate every good thing that Heath has done, but don't do the same to Claiborne. Heath has made more plays than Claiborne since becoming a Cowboy and stayed consistently on the field,, but it's Heath that's god-awful and Claiborne is the guy you want to bring back? Every time Heath steps on the field, he makes plays. You can't say that for the rest of the secondary.

But yes, continue with the "This 13-3 team is awful" diatribe.

So most of the secondary was aweful as we can both agree. Yet they started over clowns like Heath. And now they are all gone and you think the team is still primed to go 13-3 again? A bad secondary just got worse, yet that is all great news to you. Because the bad safety, that couldnt beat out the bad starters is now going to turn from a frog into a prince?

 

[Bullflop]

Hes been here for years. He has had an opportunity since the day he arrived here to win the starting job. Why are you acting like this is his first shot at it? Even if he gets the job because everyone else left in FA doesnt mean squat.
Ill chill out when we find a real safety, not a special teams hold over. And Ive watched the kid for years. HE cant get the job done. Which is exactly what the coaching staff saw, which is why he only started when there were multiple injuries.

But like I said, by all means, dont be alarmed.

Most of those here see improvement in his play in recent years. I see no harm in allowing him to compete for a starters role when nobody else appears remotely ready to step into that role. In the event that a promising draftee comes into the mix, I'm certain there's going to be competition to win a starting role as a safety, whether it's immediate or otherwise. The process of competition should take care of any doubts as to who is deserving as a starter, regardless of what we, as fans, believe or don't believe. The cream will more than likely come to the top, regardless of our "druthers." I doubt I'll be alarmed once the proof comes to the fore. After all, proving oneself ready or not is what TC is for. It'll all work itself out.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Most of those here see improvement in his play in recent years. I see no harm in allowing him to compete for a starters role when nobody else appears remotely ready to step into that role. In the event that a promising draftee comes into the mix, I'm certain there's going to be competition to win a starting role as a safety, whether it's immediate or otherwise. The process of competition should take care of any doubts as to who is deserving as a starter, regardless of what we, as fans believe or don't believe. The cream will more than likely come to the top, regardless of our "druthers." I doubt I'll be alarmed once the proof comes to the fore. After all, proving oneself or not is what TC is for. It'll all work itself out.

Im quite sure that some hopefuls see that pick in the playoff game and think it can be the norm rather then the exception. The rest of your words sound fine to me. Here is one guy hoping we dont have to rely on Heath for anything more than spot duty or SP teams.

Once more comment...................If Heath was anything special his cream would have risen to the top already. IMHO

 

[Bullflop]

Im quite sure that some hopefuls see that pick in the playoff game and think it can be the norm rather then the exception. The rest of your words sound fine to me. Here is one guy hoping we dont have to rely on Heath for anything more than spot duty or SP teams.

Once more comment...................If Heath was anything special his cream would have risen to the top already. IMHO

He's likely to be afforded one more chance to step up, like it or not. Others will get the same opportunity. May the best man win.

 

[CowboyRoy]

He's likely to be afforded one more chance to step up, like it or not. Others will get the same opportunity. May the best man win.

Im not excited in the least at this point about the competition from Heath and some scrub we signed at a bargain. Are you excited about it?