Lamarcus Joyner

[jrry32]

It seemed to me like Jenkins was passing him off to McLeod or recovering from a move and then McLeod was expecting McDonald to be there? Or did the whole secondary bite on that run? I would think that it should have been on McLeod myself, but no matter what there should have been some safety help back there.

And I'm right there with you regarding Gaines playing slot corner with Joyner at free safety.

McDonald bit on the play-action. He was supposed to have Williams on the crossing route over the middle until he reached Jenkins's zone. McDonald wasn't there due to him being fooled. Instead of McLeod doing his job, he tried to come up and do McDonald's job. Issue with that is that Jenkins had done his job and was in position to pick Williams up. So he passed off Bryant to McLeod who wasn't in position.

So I guess you can put some blame on McDonald but the fact of the matter is that McLeod needs to be smart enough to recognize that his duties as the deep safety mean that he's the last line of defense and he has no business leaving his zone to try and do someone else's job. Because his job is the most important. If Williams catches the ball in front of McLeod, it's a 20 yard gain. But when McLeod leaves his assignment and the WR is passed off to him, you have yourself a 60 yard TD.

Not a smart play by McLeod.

 

[lockdnram21]

Gaines is better in the slot and Johnson I'd our best cb imo

 

[A55VA6]

I was huge on him and was happy when we drafted him, but he has looked terrible to be quite honest. I'd be much more comfortable with Joyner at Safety and McLeod at Nickel. But once again, Fisher is too fucking stubborn so things are what they are and they aren't going to change.

 

[Dieter the Brock]

He needs to be playing FS with McLeod as our reserve safety and slot CB.(Gaines moves into the slot when Tru returns)

He's at his best at FS and, imo, would be an upgrade on McLeod...who cost us big time today when he blew his assignment giving Dez that long TD.

I'm a huge McLeod fan but you're 100% correct

 

[RamWoodie]

I wasn't a huge fan of drafting Lamarcus Joyner because, IMO, he lacks athleticism to be a good slot corner. His SPARQ score wasn't impressive, he ran (and more importantly plays to) a 4.55 40 yd, and his 3-cone and shuttle weren't very good, so when I see him having difficulty keeping up with his assignment, it worries me. I'm hoping the Rams move him to safety, where I think he's a better fit, when Trumaine Johnson comes back and move EJ Gaines to the slot.

Your thoughts?

The kid is a rookie. Give him a chance to learn at the pro level. Those are my thoughts!

In the draft people put to much emphasis on speed...it's ONE aspect of the game.

 

[Rams0307]

One aspect, but a VERY important aspect. Joyner doesn't have the height or length to overcome his speed deficiency if he's beaten.

 

[ZigZagRam]

I guarantee you that a year from now, Joyner would make a play on the ball rather than getting called for that PI near the endzone.

For so many rookies the game is about reacting rather than instincts early on. Let's give him a chance to play his game.

 

[jrry32]

One aspect, but a VERY important aspect. Joyner doesn't have the height or length to overcome his speed deficiency if he's beaten.

Which is why he plays the slot. Because it is usually reserved for short, quick CBs that tackle well. Rarely are teams running deep routes with their slot WRs and many teams use shorter WRs in the slot.

Regardless, height and length doesn't really help you much if you're beaten unless the QB fucks up.

However, Joyner doesn't have a speed deficiency.