Jaylon Smith weekly thread?

[CalPolyTechnique]

I'm not sure about this ......I don't see the support. Hell, I can't recall a single poster not happy with his play. Most, if not all, are hoping he's gone after the season.

kaiser believes he’s balling based on his tackle totals.

 

[tyke1doe]

I love his pass defense as well...

He looks like a hostage that’s been freed and is running out of the building with his hands up.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

To be fair to Jaylon you had a DE completely come off his responsibility and go after the RB, taking himself out of the play completely. Jaylon got doubled by a G and T, no LB is going to win that match. I cant tell the number, but i'm guessing Dlaw is the reason that play went for big yards.

I don’t expect Jaylon (or any linebacker) to pancake the o-lineman. What I do expect is that they be physical at the point of attack, stack and shed, and not get pancaked. If you don’t think this example is fair there are plenty of other examples of him being pushed backed at will (see the gif from the Bears game I just posted).

 

[tyke1doe]

Here it is...

He's so technique poor. His pad level is way too high when taking on blockers. It's not uncommon for him to be pushed back 4-5 yards. Stop me if you've seen this before: Jaylon engages blocker; Jaylon gets pushed back at will; play is stopped by someone else; Jaylon finally runs around the blocker and runs up to the play.

Look at Randy Gregory on that play!

Contains the run-pass option then chases Hurts down from behind.

 

[tyke1doe]

A lot of Jaylon's remaining supporters like to try an conveniently blame it on Nolan's scheme. These gems are from 2019 under Marinelli.

That last clip was simply awful. It's like he doesn't know what he's supposed to be doing.

 

[Sydla]

I don’t expect Jaylon (or any linebacker) to pancake the o-lineman. What I do expect is that they be physical at the point of attack, stack and shed, and not get pancaked. If you don’t think this example is fair there are plenty of other examples of him being pushed backed at will (see the gif from the Bears game I just posted).

This is also an example of his spaz traits. To stack an OL like that, you have to plant and yet his feet are always bouncing. I don't care how big you are or strong you are, if you are dancing with your feet with an OL (or two) coming at you and you take them on, you are going to get blasted.

He's a mess.

 

[GMO415]

The dude is a gimp. He runs and plays like one and he doesn't belong on this team. I see Miles Jack playing much better and I just shake my head as "what if."

 

[thunderpimp91]

I don’t expect Jaylon (or any linebacker) to pancake the o-lineman. What I do expect is that they be physical at the point of attack, stack and shed, and not get pancaked. If you don’t think this example is fair there are plenty of other examples of him being pushed backed at will (see the gif from the Bears game I just posted).

I'm not here to defend Jayon, i think he has significantly underperformed the last two years, but if we post a play it needs to be broken down fairly. Jaylon has been a liability, but his supporting cast hasnt done him any favors. His technique on the play has already been discussed on the post, i'm just saying that a team should never be able to get two blockers to double someone at the second level. A complete failure by the DE on the play. Jaylon gets the laughable blooper, but the DE was the reason the play went for a big gain.

 

[jchap]

I thought it was standard protocol to wave the entire defense into the endzone for a group celebration on any tackle for a gain of less than 25 yards?

 

[Redsfan_83]

I still say he has the best phantom tackles of any LB in NFL history

 

[Teague31]

The 90’s teams NEVER paid 4-3 LB’s as they are the least important parts of the defense. We let Ken Norton (among others)walk cause of it and Norton was a hundred times the player Smith is. We then compounded the mistake by spending a first on LVE. We need to get back to cheap LB’s and loading up at other spots

 

[Sydla]

The 90’s teams NEVER paid 4-3 LB’s as they are the least important parts of the defense. We let Ken Norton (among others)walk cause of it and Norton was a hundred times the player Smith is. We then compounded the mistake by spending a first on LVE. We need to get back to cheap LB’s and loading up at other spots

This is a bit of a misleading analysis. Yes, we didn't resign Norton Jr but we still used a 2nd round pick. So while, yes, we didn't spend a ton of money on LBs, we certainly valued the position highly in terms of draft capital invested in the position.

Look at the 93 team - Norton was a 2nd round pick, Edwards was a 2nd round pick, Jones was a 1st round pick, Smith was a 2nd round pick, Myles was the worst of the group having been a 3rd round pick. To imply that we didn't "value" the LB spot and only invested in positions around them on defense is kind of a overstatement IMO.

So when we took a LB in the first and 2nd rounds recently, that is pretty much in line with what those early Cowboys teams did. Now paying Smith all that money, well that is looking like a mistake.

 

[DenCWBY]

I thought it was standard protocol to wave the entire defense into the endzone for a group celebration on any tackle for a gain of less than 25 yards?

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

I'm not here to defend Jayon, i think he has significantly underperformed the last two years, but if we post a play it needs to be broken down fairly. Jaylon has been a liability, but his supporting cast hasnt done him any favors. His technique on the play has already been discussed on the post, i'm just saying that a team should never be able to get two blockers to double someone at the second level. A complete failure by the DE on the play. Jaylon gets the laughable blooper, but the DE was the reason the play went for a big gain.

To be clear I’m not blaming him for the outcome of that specific play. It looks like D-Law crashed inside hard off the misdirection. What I am criticizing is Jaylon’s general approach to playing the position which can be looked at individually.

I noticed his deficiencies in 2018 but rationalized a lot of it as “field rust” and surmised he was on the right trajectory. 2019 he was an absolute mess (under Maranelli) despite his Pro Bowl appearance. 2020 has been a continuation of that. Does scheme play a role? Sure, but there is no defensive scheme that allows your linebackers to simply be untouched, never having to take on blocks, make reads, maintain gap integrity, et cetera.

 

[fifaguy]

Had a nice fumble recovery..

 

[John813]

The 90’s teams NEVER paid 4-3 LB’s as they are the least important parts of the defense. We let Ken Norton (among others)walk cause of it and Norton was a hundred times the player Smith is. We then compounded the mistake by spending a first on LVE. We need to get back to cheap LB’s and loading up at other spots

Maybe if they actually fix the interior DL.
Like getting a legit DT.

 

[fansince68]

The celebration after stopping the Eagles player after a 10-15 yard run was about all I could stand.

What a tool - the guy is an idiot!

Mediocre backs would have taken that run for 60 yards plus. Jaylon was celebrating because he prevented that......

 

[Hawkeye0202]

To be clear I’m not blaming him for the outcome of that specific play. It looks like D-Law crashed inside hard off the misdirection. What I am criticizing is Jaylon’s general approach to playing the position which can be looked at individually.

I noticed his deficiencies in 2018 but rationalized a lot of it as “field rust” and surmised he was on the right trajectory. 2019 he was an absolute mess (under Maranelli) despite his Pro Bowl appearance. 2020 has been a continuation of that. Does scheme play a role? Sure, but there is no defensive scheme that allows your linebackers to simply be untouched, never having to take on blocks, make reads, maintain gap integrity, et cetera.

Honest question........how do you/fans reconcile TWO different defensive coordinators who have seen him as a legit starter vs many fans who believe he's not even good enough "to play" let alone start. A huge gap in fans' reality or evaluation and NFL defensive coor.

 

[thunderpimp91]

To be clear I’m not blaming him for the outcome of that specific play. It looks like D-Law crashed inside hard off the misdirection. What I am criticizing is Jaylon’s general approach to playing the position which can be looked at individually.

I noticed his deficiencies in 2018 but rationalized a lot of it as “field rust” and surmised he was on the right trajectory. 2019 he was an absolute mess (under Maranelli) despite his Pro Bowl appearance. 2020 has been a continuation of that. Does scheme play a role? Sure, but there is no defensive scheme that allows your linebackers to simply be untouched, never having to take on blocks, make reads, maintain gap integrity, et cetera.

I have no issues with that. As mentioned Jaylon isnt exactly on my all pro list this year either. But with so many individual plays and gifs being posted singling out Jaylon it has created the illusion that he is the root of all our problems. I dont think that is the case as there is plenty of blame to go around for issues on this defense. Hell, i'm not sure Brian Urlacher in his prime helps this run defense unless we get better DT play.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

Honest question........how do you/fans reconcile TWO different defensive coordinators who have seen him as a legit starter vs many fans who believe he's not even good enough "to play" let alone start. A huge gap in fans' reality or evaluation and NFL defensive coor.

He was drafted at the top of 2nd round. The Cowboys were invested in him. I think Maranelli and company looked at him the same way I did in 2018 as an ascending player on the right trajectory warts and all.

I thinks it’s off base to presume that if a team trots out any specific player as a starter that they’ve evaluated him correctly. This is the same team that has had Xavier Woods as a starting safety; signed Dontari Poe as a free agent, named him a starter and then cut him during the season; and thought they could get by with Allen Hurns and D. Thompson as starting wideouts.

The Cowboys just signed Jaylon to an extension. To think McCarthy & Nolan are going to walk in and cut him or demote him is unrealistic. The team is invested in giving Jaylon a ton of rope.