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- May 16, 2019
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- 5,406
Signed off the waiver wire from Chicago. He's an interesting prospect. Looks like a hybrid SS/ILB.
This is the kind of player Morris likes. If he impresses he could see snaps as a WIL in the same manner as Wagner. He would be viewed as a coverage LB in the short zone. He's got good length at 6'4" and good 4.6 speed. He's a decent matchup with TEs or taller Y receivers. If he makes the roster it would be interesting to see how Morris uses him. IMO it's going to be as a coverage LB.
I'm hoping that Pleasant and Lake will close up that wide open short zone, and guys like Weatherford could do it. The inherent weakness of a two deep zone, i.e. Tampa Two scheme is the quick pass into the short zone with the idea of picking up a quick 4-6 yds per pass and moving the chains. We saw that as being the basic flaw in Morris' secondary. The counter to that is to play with 2 taller LBs with the speed and coverage skills to take that away. It's why I've been hoping for Morris to use Hampton on the strong side as the SAM LB and up to now Mathis on the weakside as the WIL. The problem with Mathis is he lacks the speed to match up with the Y WR if that receiver decides he can simply outrun the LB. So playing a hybrid SS at WIL would seem to be the answer. Hampton to match up with the TE and set the edge on the strong side and someone like Weatherford to prevent the Y receiver from a quick 3 yards and turning around or taking the WIL deeper into the intermediate zone across the middle. Having a long fast SS hybrid at WIL would close that option for the QB.
The Patriots won Super Bowls with rosters filled with role players. The key was to know how to use them properly. IMO that is why Pleasant and Lake are coaching the DBs. The signing of Weatherford off of the Bears' waiver sounds like a Pleasant hire. After his time in Detroit and Green Bay, he would be familiar with their defensive roster. Interestingly, Chicago is switching to a 4-3 one gap scheme up front with a two deep shell secondary.
If that is how they intend to play their front 7 I could understand what and why they are doing it.
This is the kind of player Morris likes. If he impresses he could see snaps as a WIL in the same manner as Wagner. He would be viewed as a coverage LB in the short zone. He's got good length at 6'4" and good 4.6 speed. He's a decent matchup with TEs or taller Y receivers. If he makes the roster it would be interesting to see how Morris uses him. IMO it's going to be as a coverage LB.
I'm hoping that Pleasant and Lake will close up that wide open short zone, and guys like Weatherford could do it. The inherent weakness of a two deep zone, i.e. Tampa Two scheme is the quick pass into the short zone with the idea of picking up a quick 4-6 yds per pass and moving the chains. We saw that as being the basic flaw in Morris' secondary. The counter to that is to play with 2 taller LBs with the speed and coverage skills to take that away. It's why I've been hoping for Morris to use Hampton on the strong side as the SAM LB and up to now Mathis on the weakside as the WIL. The problem with Mathis is he lacks the speed to match up with the Y WR if that receiver decides he can simply outrun the LB. So playing a hybrid SS at WIL would seem to be the answer. Hampton to match up with the TE and set the edge on the strong side and someone like Weatherford to prevent the Y receiver from a quick 3 yards and turning around or taking the WIL deeper into the intermediate zone across the middle. Having a long fast SS hybrid at WIL would close that option for the QB.
The Patriots won Super Bowls with rosters filled with role players. The key was to know how to use them properly. IMO that is why Pleasant and Lake are coaching the DBs. The signing of Weatherford off of the Bears' waiver sounds like a Pleasant hire. After his time in Detroit and Green Bay, he would be familiar with their defensive roster. Interestingly, Chicago is switching to a 4-3 one gap scheme up front with a two deep shell secondary.
If that is how they intend to play their front 7 I could understand what and why they are doing it.
