NFL Draft Needs: Rams NEED Dennard (Shutdown Corner)

[-X-]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-s...d-defensive-back-will-be-there-165149173.html

St. Louis Rams: Janoris Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson are the Rams’ top two corners, but this team could use some help, and Michigan State cornerback Darqueze Dennard is the answer. Yes, the Rams desperately need a receiver, but the draft has plenty of quality pass-catchers. St. Louis released Cortland Finnegan earlier this year, and Dennard is a physical cornerback who could excel with the Rams. The Rams also need help at free safety, but it will be hard to let Dennard slip by.

NEED LEVEL: Extremely high

[parsehtml]<iframe src="http://sports.yahoo.com/video/nfl-draft-prospect-darqueze-dennard-231223464.html?format=embed&amp;player_autoplay=false" allowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" webkitallowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" data-yom-embed-source="{media_id_1:d597e9ec-0026-3bfe-8b64-4319205608d9}" frameborder="0" height="360" width="640" id="yom-video-d597e9ec-0026-3bfe-8b64-4319205608d9"></iframe>[/parsehtml]

 

[rhinobean]

If he's there, take him! He's what the DR. ordered!

 

[Mojo Ram]

He's my guy behind Donald at #13

 

[max]

I like Dennard a lot. I don't anything about evaluating talent like a scout does, I just watched him play and I like what I see.

 

[RaminExile]

I agree X. I think we need him more than we need Watkins and we should take him if he's about at 13.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I'd trade back at 13 if the choices were Lewan or Dennard. The Rams can get a comparable CB a few spots later. Thing is there may be a run on corners starting at 13. There are four CB needy teams in a row....in any order, Verrett, Dennard, Gilbert, Roby, etc...

 

[V3]

I agree we need a CB desperately but not Dennard.

 

[Simba]

In my opinion he is little bit short (we have TJ,JJ and GR short too).We need a CB tall and taller than other our cbs.He is a great cb, but in this era, receivers are most basketball players than footballers.Everybody has got wideouts very tall ...

 

[SierraRam]

He's my guy behind Donald at #13

If Donald is there (less and less likely), he's the guy. This draft is deep in our areas of need - OL, S, CB - but Donald is special and would put our line over the top.

Dennard is more ready than Gilbert, but Gilbert is bigger & a lot faster...

 

[V3]

This keeps coming up so I'm going to do a quick rundown on what I'm seeing. Here's just one video:



The first play of the video, he shows poor ball skills. He just looks completely lost trying to find the ball.

The second play you see him do the exact same thing. He's not even looking for the ball. On this play, however, you see him grabbing him as early as the 20 but it gets really bad in the endzone. Just look at 10's jersey. That's a flag in the NFL.

The third play[:43] Solid coverage. Maybe slightly beat by the WR but I'd call it solid.

The 4th play[1:00] he actually gets called for holding this time. This is what I see from him pretty often. He grabs the WR to prevent them from beating him.

[1:21] The WR was open if the QB just throws the ball in the right spot. Mayock even mentions it.

[1:38] Pretty similar to the last play, only in the middle of the field. The QB overthrows the WR. Dennard was pretty close to him so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

[1:53] The WR has Dennard beat for a while but he closes the gap at the last second but the WR still beats him for the ball.

[2:20] Looks like pass interference from the WR first and then Dennard.

[2:33] Dennard grabs him so badly that he throws the WR to the ground. Gets called for it.

[3:06] Should have caught that, IMO

[3:13] Hard to see anything. I'll just leave off the plays that don't show much from now on.

[3:25] Good coverage there.

[3:50] Gets beat again so you'll see him grab the jersey of the WR.

[4:04] I don't know how he isn't flagged. Grabs and then pushed off the WR to get the INT. It's after 5 yards.

[4:16] Coverage is kinda irrelevant on the play but you get to see his poor tackling skills. I could do another video on that if people want. This video mainly just shows coverage, though.

[4:40] He goes back to his grabbing. Should have been called but isn't. You can see his shoulder being pulled back by Dennard.

[5:00] Not the best tackle, but not bad either. He did rip the ball free, too.

[5:11] Good play. Times it perfectly to disrupt the catch.

[5:30] QB probably could have connected with the WR but at least Dennard showed decent coverage. You do see him grab again, though. Wasn't as bad on that play.

[5:58] He's beat and the WR makes the catch.

[6:15] He's beat again but WR drops the ball. QB could have thrown it a little better.

This is just one video. Others show the tackling aspect of his game. I'll do this to another video if people want me to but I don't even know if people care what I think. I'm mainly just doing this to show my thinking when I watch him. I see a guy that grabs A LOT, doesn't have the best ball skills, and isn't a very good tackler.

 

[Mojo Ram]

^ Sounds like your avg NFL nickel corner to me.

 

[bwdenverram]

I'd rather have Gilbert or other 2nd round and later picks.
I noticed the same things, he always seems to have his hands holding jersey. You get away with it, great, but you shouldn't need to rely on it.

 

[V3]

^ Sounds like your avg NFL nickel corner to me.

He's not playing nickle in the video and I don't want to spend the 13th pick on a nickle CB.

 

[BonifayRam]

^ Sounds like your avg NFL nickel corner to me.

Yes and you do not use a first round selection on one of those.

 

[Mojo Ram]

Point completely missed...but thats ok.

 

[jrry32]

If we're going to be almost entirely running press and zone coverage then it's acceptable. But if you put Dennard in off man a lot, he's going to look like Bradley Fletcher. We all remember how good Fletcher looked in Spags's press man scheme and then how bad(and penalized he was) in the off man scheme the next year.

Dennard is a grabber. When you press, you can get away with it(see Seattle's CBs). When you don't, you get flagged...a lot.

 

[duckhunter]

I think Verrett, Gilbert, and Dennard excel at press man which is what GW will primarily and first priority want CBs to do. Being from the Midwest, I've watched each enough to know they are exceptional in their own way. All three have that shut down mystique/aura about them.

The experts usually are blowing whichever way the wind is coming from. As an example, I've read some of the recent criticism about Gilbert losing guys in double moves when last year other experts criticized him for not closing quickly enough when in off coverage and not getting enough interceptions. So he gets 6 interceptions and allows a guy or two gain a little more separation than usual.

GW will call the shots and won't care what Bournie or the other crayon users say.

 

[The Rammer]

This keeps coming up so I'm going to do a quick rundown on what I'm seeing. Here's just one video:



The first play of the video, he shows poor ball skills. He just looks completely lost trying to find the ball.

The second play you see him do the exact same thing. He's not even looking for the ball. On this play, however, you see him grabbing him as early as the 20 but it gets really bad in the endzone. Just look at 10's jersey. That's a flag in the NFL.

The third play[:43] Solid coverage. Maybe slightly beat by the WR but I'd call it solid.

The 4th play[1:00] he actually gets called for holding this time. This is what I see from him pretty often. He grabs the WR to prevent them from beating him.

[1:21] The WR was open if the QB just throws the ball in the right spot. Mayock even mentions it.

[1:38] Pretty similar to the last play, only in the middle of the field. The QB overthrows the WR. Dennard was pretty close to him so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

[1:53] The WR has Dennard beat for a while but he closes the gap at the last second but the WR still beats him for the ball.

[2:20] Looks like pass interference from the WR first and then Dennard.

[2:33] Dennard grabs him so badly that he throws the WR to the ground. Gets called for it.

[3:06] Should have caught that, IMO

[3:13] Hard to see anything. I'll just leave off the plays that don't show much from now on.

[3:25] Good coverage there.

[3:50] Gets beat again so you'll see him grab the jersey of the WR.

[4:04] I don't know how he isn't flagged. Grabs and then pushed off the WR to get the INT. It's after 5 yards.

[4:16] Coverage is kinda irrelevant on the play but you get to see his poor tackling skills. I could do another video on that if people want. This video mainly just shows coverage, though.

[4:40] He goes back to his grabbing. Should have been called but isn't. You can see his shoulder being pulled back by Dennard.

[5:00] Not the best tackle, but not bad either. He did rip the ball free, too.

[5:11] Good play. Times it perfectly to disrupt the catch.

[5:30] QB probably could have connected with the WR but at least Dennard showed decent coverage. You do see him grab again, though. Wasn't as bad on that play.

[5:58] He's beat and the WR makes the catch.

[6:15] He's beat again but WR drops the ball. QB could have thrown it a little better.

This is just one video. Others show the tackling aspect of his game. I'll do this to another video if people want me to but I don't even know if people care what I think. I'm mainly just doing this to show my thinking when I watch him. I see a guy that grabs A LOT, doesn't have the best ball skills, and isn't a very good tackler.

Come on man your breaking down things and nit picking.... I can do that with Justin Gilbert, Trumaine Johnson, or Janoris Jenkins. I look at overall what he offers and what he gives and what that is is a hell of a CB that isn't going to consistently get beat for huge plays and knocks a wR and QB out of sync just enough to get the job done. It might not be pretty but it works.

 

[The Rammer]

If we're going to be almost entirely running press and zone coverage then it's acceptable. But if you put Dennard in off man a lot, he's going to look like Bradley Fletcher. We all remember how good Fletcher looked in Spags's press man scheme and then how bad(and penalized he was) in the off man scheme the next year.

Dennard is a grabber. When you press, you can get away with it(see Seattle's CBs). When you don't, you get flagged...a lot.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think Greg Williams is mostly a press man to man guy when it comes to the CB's for the most part right?

 

[Ramrasta]

I like Dennard. He is extremely physical and aggressive both in coverage and making tackles. He has great hand placement and he rips the ball out several times even if the WR manages a catch. If you ask me, he displays perfect press coverage. You can grab jersey in press coverage as long as you don't pull. If you are Richard Sherman, you can rip a guys jersey off and it's ok so I don't see any issue here.