Bluestang
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Just watched the MIA game again and compared both of them and came away with these thoughts:
Running game:
- When Hamilton was tasked with the backside contain on running plays he didn't hustle at all in pursuit of the ball carrier. This was most apparent on the outside zone plays that MIA ran where the POA was opposite his side. On these type of plays he should be able to get parallel with the LOS and pursue from the backside and be able to make the tackle from behind if the ball carrier is slow hitting the holes.
- Plays that were run at him he had a hard time getting of the blocks and keeping gap control. I've seen this same story from him throughout preseason. As a OLB you still have to be able to play the run and right now Hamilton can't do that. The NFL is much different that Praire View and that was very apparent throughout the preseason.
- He's not quick enough to diagnose run games. On one play where the entire OL blocks to the right, he takes an outside step to the opposite direction while his line mates follow the flow of the blocking to the right. This causes him to immediately take himself out of the play. This is the tell tale sign that the guy is all about getting to the QB and not keeping lane discipline. For a UDFA that's not the ticket to make the 53.
Passing Game:
- In the Miami game he wasn't very impressive pass rushing either. He tried to run around blocks too often. At one point he even tried to run around a TE rather than take the block head on. This led to him taking longer paths to get to the QB and he became ineffective. He still struggled when he took on blockers so he may have hit that proverbial "rookie wall" where he needs to figure out how to use his hands better. He also has this stutter step that he needs to get rid of because that is also part of the problem as well. I'm sure he's been coached to not do that but he reverted to that a few times in the game.
- As the game wore on he really got gassed. He got slower each qtr to the point where he just looked really bad at times. I thought Atkins did a lot better job in defending the run/pass than Hamilton. Atkins really showed a very nice burst off the ball and fought through his blocks better than Hamilton.
- During one pass set Hamilton got chipped by the FB and got knocked to the ground.
Overall I just didn't see that same player that we saw in the youtube video of him. He took on better talent and guys that have strength and speed and he looked pretty average. If he makes the PS that would be a plus for him but at this point I don't care if he does or not. At this point Atkins offers more to the team on the 53 or PS than Hamilton does. I wouldn't mind both of them on the PS but if I had to choose I'd take Atkins.
Running game:
- When Hamilton was tasked with the backside contain on running plays he didn't hustle at all in pursuit of the ball carrier. This was most apparent on the outside zone plays that MIA ran where the POA was opposite his side. On these type of plays he should be able to get parallel with the LOS and pursue from the backside and be able to make the tackle from behind if the ball carrier is slow hitting the holes.
- Plays that were run at him he had a hard time getting of the blocks and keeping gap control. I've seen this same story from him throughout preseason. As a OLB you still have to be able to play the run and right now Hamilton can't do that. The NFL is much different that Praire View and that was very apparent throughout the preseason.
- He's not quick enough to diagnose run games. On one play where the entire OL blocks to the right, he takes an outside step to the opposite direction while his line mates follow the flow of the blocking to the right. This causes him to immediately take himself out of the play. This is the tell tale sign that the guy is all about getting to the QB and not keeping lane discipline. For a UDFA that's not the ticket to make the 53.
Passing Game:
- In the Miami game he wasn't very impressive pass rushing either. He tried to run around blocks too often. At one point he even tried to run around a TE rather than take the block head on. This led to him taking longer paths to get to the QB and he became ineffective. He still struggled when he took on blockers so he may have hit that proverbial "rookie wall" where he needs to figure out how to use his hands better. He also has this stutter step that he needs to get rid of because that is also part of the problem as well. I'm sure he's been coached to not do that but he reverted to that a few times in the game.
- As the game wore on he really got gassed. He got slower each qtr to the point where he just looked really bad at times. I thought Atkins did a lot better job in defending the run/pass than Hamilton. Atkins really showed a very nice burst off the ball and fought through his blocks better than Hamilton.
- During one pass set Hamilton got chipped by the FB and got knocked to the ground.
Overall I just didn't see that same player that we saw in the youtube video of him. He took on better talent and guys that have strength and speed and he looked pretty average. If he makes the PS that would be a plus for him but at this point I don't care if he does or not. At this point Atkins offers more to the team on the 53 or PS than Hamilton does. I wouldn't mind both of them on the PS but if I had to choose I'd take Atkins.
