Thoughts on the safety position Church vs Wilcox

[Wood]

I would not surprise me to see Wilcox become one of the better defensive players on this team this year. He is entering that time where it should all start to come together for him.

 

[MagicMan]

Don't really like the FS safety play from the guy, hope Wilcox learns quick because we have no other alternative. The only thing that will improve Wilcox and Church's play will be increased pressure from up front. It is what it is. Until we get better options, we'll have to do with these guys. My more immediate concern would be replacing Carr eventually with a great cover corner.

 

[Bluestang]

No, this is a good example of how fans don't understand angles and Safety play.

The natural reaction would have been for Wilcox to go straight at Garcon . The fact that Wilcox went to the outside of Garcon shows that he was coached to do that. Wilcox has to error on the side of overrunning it to the outside because there was no help outside. He is coached to force that back inside. Yes, an elite Safety might have been able to force it back inside and still get back to make the play, but this was not a mental error or an issue with "angles". If Wilcox goes straight at Garcon and misses, then it's an easy touchdown. Marinelli's scheme is based on limiting scoring even if it means giving up yardage. A gambling DC like Rob Ryan might coach Wilcox to go straight at Jackson in this play, but that's not how Marinelli coaches it.

Broaddus reviewed this play during the season and confirmed that in the coaches grades that Cam Lawrence #53 was at fault in that play, not Wilcox. In this scheme it's a big no-no for the LB (#53) to get trapped inside on this type of play.

I think you need to stop acting like your opinion is the only right one. Your "evaluations" are the opinion of a football fan that really has no connection to scouting or coaches within VR.

You can study the All-22 all you want but don't sit there and say "fans don't understand angles and safety play" when you are posting your best guess about what is happening.

As they say, the film don't lie.

 

[xwalker]

I think you need to stop acting like your opinion is the only right one. Your "evaluations" are the opinion of a football fan that really has no connection to scouting or coaches within VR.

You can study the All-22 all you want but don't sit there and say "fans don't understand angles and safety play" when you are posting your best guess about what is happening.

As they say, the film don't lie.

Like I said, Broaddus reviewed this play during the season.

 

[Bluestang]

Like I said, Broaddus reviewed this play during the season.

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2...ass-rush-continues-swarm-clutts-best-day-more

http://www.dallascowboys.com/video/2014/12/29/film-room-3-key-plays-cowboys-win-over-Commanders

Nothing there at all about that particular play...but if you have the specific video where Bryan breaks it down I'm all ears...

And of course from Bryan himself:

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2...ways-highlight-wilcox’s-high-level-production

2014 Impact: I don’t know if there is a player on this roster that I enjoy watching play more than J.J. Wilcox, but at the same time I find myself cringing while he is doing it. I don’t want to call him an inconsistent player because I feel like that there are more positive traits to his game than negative ones. For a player that had not had many experiences playing the position before he was drafted, Wilcox has made some nice improvements. There are still some areas where he needs to pick up his game, but those are fixable areas. I respect how he always finds himself around the ball or in the pile for a tackle. His aggressiveness is his best trait but also at times his biggest curse. I have been critical of his play in regard to playing with his eyes. When he gets in trouble it is when he doesn’t see the play develop or he sees it too late and it affects his ability to get himself in position to make the play. When you study him on tape, you can tell when he sees the play well -- especially in pass coverage -- because of the position he is in. For a guy trying to learn the position like Wilcox currently is, this is the most difficult area to understand due to all the things he has to process at a split second because of the routes. I feel another area where Wilcox needs to show improvement is not only with his angles to the ball, but playing under control when he gets there. There were one or two times a game where, if he just gathered himself better, he could have made the play. Coaches don't want to take away his aggressiveness, but coaching him to be mindful of how he arrives would eliminate those missed tackles in space.

 

[RS12]

Who do you like more. .

Neither

 

[Yakuza Rich]

Wilcox has potential, Church is a known commodity with no real potential and most likely to regress over the next few years.

Church was far better in coverage this year, but he's not a great cover guy and is limited in what he can do. This year Church's tackling suffered a bit. He's still a pretty good tackler with classic technique, but he was more mistake prone in open space with those tackles that a great taclker, especially at the safety position has to make and he would miss more often than he did in the past.

The thing about Wilcox is that he's only played the position for 3 years. I was excited by him knowing the coverages and where to be and being the general of the defensive backfield. There were times when there would be a screwup and a pass would be completed and you could see Wilcox yell at one of the defenders that screwed up and if you looked at the play, Wilcox was right and that player was in the wrong position.

I like Wilcox's range and man-to-man cover skill . He sometimes gambles a bit and then gets out of position slightly. If he does take a bad angle he has the speed and quickness to recover. I do think he takes way too many bad angles. The other issue is his tackling. I'm afraid he's going to get injured with leading with his head so much. I really wish we had a combination of Church's tackling technique and Wilcox's athleticism.






YR