Yep. We haven’t “seen it” as far as him being a shutdown corner and making pro bowls, obviously. However, we have seen excellent play from him. His instincts stood out to me immediately in the preseason. I remember writing on here that his reactions, reaction time, and closing on the ball looked more like a seasoned veteran than a raw rookie that spent most of his career at a community college. It was something that you almost never see.
I was really kind of stunned at how he played in the preseason. If you had told me he was the Cowboys first round pick and he was playing like that, I would’ve thought that Dallas really hit on their premium pick. Frankly you really don’t see first round corners looking that polished and in control in their rookie training camp.
The coaches also verified what our eyes were telling us back in camp. They said that he was smart and a fast learner. Quinn also said that he made some mistakes, but that once he made it, he never did it again. That is music to the fans ears because that is exactly what you want.
It is between his ears that has allowed him to come in and shoot so quickly up the depth chart. Right after the draft, it was clear that Bland had all the physical traits that you could want. He has length, speed, loose hips, is hyper athletic, and is explosive. But he is smart. Not just common sense smart either. He has a ton of football IQ, which lets him take advantage of angles, leverage, and all of the other minutia that goes into the mental part of being a good NFL player.
The only thing that I really saw him do wrong in training camp was in a preaseason game. I can’t remember who they were playing (maybe the Chargers?), but he got a bomb for a TD thrown on him. He was in perfect position and running stride-for-stride with the WR, but he never got his head around to find the ball. Which is something a lot of pro DB’s are guilty of (Anthony Brown, Chidobe Awuzie, for example). However, he has completely changed that and, as his 3 INT’s can attest, he now is always looking for the ball. Like the coaches said: He learns from his mistakes, takes the coaching and fixes it.
Anyway, I’m going on and on about him but his skill and maturity have been impressive. I just really like him as a player and I’m happy for Dallas to have stolen one in the 5th round.
