Troy Hill has allowed all 12 throws in his direction to be completed so far

[Logy]

Long is short. He can stick to reveivers like glue but he doesn't play the ball well. I'm not surprised he hasn't claimed a starting spot.

Hill played every snap on defense against the Eagles. A few more games like that and he just might claim a starting spot.

 

[CGI_Ram]

Hill is “my kind of player” when I really think about it. He had to earn his way in this league.

He was undrafted, but the Rams claimed him off waivers in 2015 (from the Patriots, BTW).

He‘s made himself a nice career...

The Rams seem to really like him... McVay gave him a game ball the other day and Hill “brought the team into the locker room huddle” after the game. So, a little leadership there...

 

[Ramit]

Hill is “my kind of player” when I really think about it. He had to earn his way in this league.

He was undrafted, but the Rams claimed him off waivers in 2015 (from the Patriots, BTW).

He‘s made himself a nice career...

The Rams seem to really like him... McVay gave him a game ball the other day and Hill “brought the team into the locker room huddle” after the game. So, a little leadership there...

"One game at a time!"

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Hill played every snap on defense against the Eagles. A few more games like that and he just might claim a starting spot.

Hill is the starting slot corner,or did you mean Long? I don't recall hearing Long's name called

 

[RamsSince1969]

He's from my hometown, graduated from the HS I can see from my house, so, I love him. If he does the "tighten up"
on the dink and dunks, look out! Marcus Peters getting burned on the long ball and then throwing a tantrum like it wasn't his man, I don't miss those plays.

 

[Soul Surfer]

I wonder what Hills numbers would look like if we could get some kind of a pass-rush going from the outside linebackers?

 

[Merlin]

Hill had high PFF grades last year. Maybe he'll shorten up that cushion with more experience in the slot.

Long is short. He can stick to reveivers like glue but he doesn't play the ball well. I'm not surprised he hasn't claimed a starting spot.

Yeah I can't explain Hill's 2019 PFF grades. I did put up some stills a while back to demonstrate why I don't trust him, to show some of his inconsistencies. Some plays he looks like Deion. Others just bad. But again I feel like his biggest prob is his too-careful approach. If he'd trust his ability more and play tighter technique it would benefit him.

Haven't really seen enough Long to really have a feel for him. But right now I'm thinking you can't bat a thousand on picks.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Yeah I can't explain Hill's 2019 PFF grades. I did put up some stills a while back to demonstrate why I don't trust him, to show some of his inconsistencies. Some plays he looks like Deion. Others just bad. But again I feel like his biggest prob is his too-careful approach. If he'd trust his ability more and play tighter technique it would benefit him.

Haven't really seen enough Long to really have a feel for him. But right now I'm thinking you can't bat a thousand on picks.

I think you nailed it on Hill. I watched Long in college, being a B1G fan, I see a fair amount of Michigan. He's short and lacks ball skills imo. I was not a fan but corner is such a top commodity it can be tough to find a goid one in round 3. Oddly enough though Led Snead keeps finding them in UDFA.

 

[“Turbo set!”]

Slot corner is a new position for him. There is a learning curve. He seems to have the quickness to play the position.

It also is a lot different than playing edge corner.

 

[LouisvilleRam]

Someone posted last week about him looking slow but I'm not familiar with what type a speed he has. Has he always been slow for

I think you nailed it on Hill. I watched Long in college, being a B1G fan, I see a fair amount of Michigan. He's short and lacks ball skills imo. I was not a fan but corner is such a top commodity it can be tough to find a goid one in round 3. Oddly enough though Led Snead keeps finding them in UDFA.

Long is listed at 5'11 isn't that about average for a NFL corner?( not trying to be a smartass)

 

[Merlin]

Staley did mention Hill's run support too in his recent interview on the Rams site. That it was important to him in the scheme given the way slot corners are often in the run play area in their duties.

Still comes down to Williams earning that CB2 role though. And I am a big fan of how Staley starts the guys who play well. He has a good feel IMO. And that is going to serve him well as DC.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Someone posted last week about him looking slow but I'm not familiar with what type a speed he has. Has he always been slow for
Long is listed at 5'11 isn't that about average for a NFL corner?( not trying to be a smartass)

I don’t know what the average is but there is a trend for taller corners. But what I’ve seen of Long is that he plays tight coverage but not always turning and looking for the ball. Maybe as @Merlin mentioned about Hill being a good tackler. Maybe Long is not.

 

[FarNorth]

I don’t know what the average is but there is a trend for taller corners. But what I’ve seen of Long is that he plays tight coverage but not always turning and looking for the ball. Maybe as @Merlin mentioned about Hill being a good tackler. Maybe Long is not.

An excellent article on Hill by JR in the Athletic. https://theathletic.com/2085362/202...earned-the-imperative-role/?source=dailyemail. Points out that "Through two games, Hill has forced a quarterback rating of 72.9 when targeted, ranking No. 6 among all defensive backs, according to Pro Football Focus." Rams are playing nickel virtually all the time and Staley values Hill both for tackling and his coverage skills.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

An excellent article on Hill by JR in the Athletic. https://theathletic.com/2085362/202...earned-the-imperative-role/?source=dailyemail. Points out that "Through two games, Hill has forced a quarterback rating of 72.9 when targeted, ranking No. 6 among all defensive backs, according to Pro Football Focus." Rams are playing nickel virtually all the time and Staley values Hill both for tackling and his coverage skills.

I didn't read the article yet, but the opener here claims the rating is 78.8 and if you take away the iffy int, then its 112. The first two QBs were 12/12 on Hill but most passes were short due to the cushion he gives. I wonder if the cushion is a Staley thing or like @Merlin said a confidence thing.

For the record I've always backed Hill. I think he gets undue criticism for a cheap CB who has played well in the past.

 

[oldnotdead]

Wow, all the excuses for this guy. PFF grades don't mean squat to NFL coaches. Hill lacks 3 things that all good CBs need. He's got only average long speed for a boundary CB, he lacks the agility to stay with receivers, and most of all he lacks acceleration especially out of breaks. So WRs have 3 ways to get separation on Hill. He's probably the most overrated DB on the team.

Darious Williams has been starting boundary CB instead of Hill and he's only 5'9", and both Hill and Long are 5'11". Most of Long's issues last year were due to a young guy in his first starts. That said he played well overall with 2 PD on 10% of the D snaps. He's faster than Hill with better acceleration and agility than Troy.

For the level of play, they have been getting from Hill he's not cheap with a $4.4M cap hit. Why they aren't playing Burgess is very much like Wade was in ignoring young talent and preferring to go with lesser players simply because they are vets. That said Williams is too small to be playing boundary, his value is at SCB. Short boundary CBs have a long history of injury when played on the boundary. People laughed at me when the Chargers drafted Jason Verrett to play the boundary and I warned about this very same thing. He spent most of his career injured. Williams played 221 snaps at NCB last year and stayed healthy. He's played 130 in 2 games and he's out.

This is another reason I don't like Staley. He simply doesn't play to his player's strengths. Against Philly Staley has the best pass rusher in the NFL but he hobbles him by forcing him to read instead of attacking off the snap. The result, Wentz stays fairly clean all game and AD has one of his worst games. Didn't he watch Hill's film? It's obvious what his weaknesses are but he puts him at NCB? Burgess is a far better option at NCB with Long at boundary CB.

I've seen this defense that Staley is running and it really is only used situationally not as a base scheme. Why? Good teams rip it up, it concedes too much yardage and time on the clock. If you get behind it's really a loser scheme. Staley's scheme isn't new, what is new is he's the only one to use it as a base defense. When you look closely at it, the scheme is a variation of a prevent scheme. So now you understand why I dislike it? The Rams can't afford to get behind on the scoreboard because Staley's scheme won't allow them time to catch up.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Wow, all the excuses for this guy. PFF grades don't mean squat to NFL coaches. Hill lacks 3 things that all good CBs need. He's got only average long speed for a boundary CB, he lacks the agility to stay with receivers, and most of all he lacks acceleration especially out of breaks. So WRs have 3 ways to get separation on Hill. He's probably the most overrated DB on the team.

Darious Williams has been starting boundary CB instead of Hill and he's only 5'9", and both Hill and Long are 5'11". Most of Long's issues last year were due to a young guy in his first starts. That said he played well overall with 2 PD on 10% of the D snaps. He's faster than Hill with better acceleration and agility than Troy.

For the level of play, they have been getting from Hill he's not cheap with a $4.4M cap hit. Why they aren't playing Burgess is very much like Wade was in ignoring young talent and preferring to go with lesser players simply because they are vets. That said Williams is too small to be playing boundary, his value is at SCB. Short boundary CBs have a long history of injury when played on the boundary. People laughed at me when the Chargers drafted Jason Verrett to play the boundary and I warned about this very same thing. He spent most of his career injured. Williams played 221 snaps at NCB last year and stayed healthy. He's played 130 in 2 games and he's out.

This is another reason I don't like Staley. He simply doesn't play to his player's strengths. Against Philly Staley has the best pass rusher in the NFL but he hobbles him by forcing him to read instead of attacking off the snap. The result, Wentz stays fairly clean all game and AD has one of his worst games. Didn't he watch Hill's film? It's obvious what his weaknesses are but he puts him at NCB? Burgess is a far better option at NCB with Long at boundary CB.

I've seen this defense that Staley is running and it really is only used situationally not as a base scheme. Why? Good teams rip it up, it concedes too much yardage and time on the clock. If you get behind it's really a loser scheme. Staley's scheme isn't new, what is new is he's the only one to use it as a base defense. When you look closely at it, the scheme is a variation of a prevent scheme. So now you understand why I dislike it? The Rams can't afford to get behind on the scoreboard because Staley's scheme won't allow them time to catch up.

I’m not crazy about prevent defense either. But until they give up a bunch of points in it I won’t be too critical. I hate the lack of pass rush.

I don’t know why you are so convinced Long and Burgess should be playing over Hill. There is too much guessing there imo. I’m not saying Hill is great. But maybe he picked up the scheme faster, than the other two or is a better tackler than them.
And Staley is playing a rookie this year.

 

[Faceplant]

I'm rooting for Hill, but he does make me nervous. Always has. I'm just or convinced that he is as good as the PFF #s last year. Doesn't pass the eye test to me.

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

Hill lacks 3 things that all good CBs need. He's got only average long speed for a boundary CB, he lacks the agility to stay with receivers, and most of all he lacks acceleration especially out of breaks.

I think it was Staley said this week Hill's agility is one of the things he likes about him. Also his tackling.

I really like how McVay has surrounded himself with like-minded OCs--I think Staley will grow, scheme, and adapt quickly. What we see now might evolve rapidly over the next few games, esp. as the young players gel.

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

I wonder what Hills numbers would look like if we could get some kind of a pass-rush going from the outside linebackers?

Yeah. Our ILBs have been a nice surprise, while our OLBs have been a disappointment. I hope Terrell Lewis can get in here and make a difference. (And A'Shawn.)

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I think it was Staley said this week Hill's agility is one of the things he likes about him. Also his tackling.

I really like how McVay has surrounded himself with like-minded OCs--I think Staley will grow, scheme, and adapt quickly. What we see now might evolve rapidly over the next few games, esp. as the young players gel.

Good point. Not only is it a new position for Hill but a whole new defense for everyone. Maybe Staley has things dialed back.