Let's talk about our safeties

[twfish]

We may not have a ton of depth at the position however we have some very good players at the position.

 

Mike Adams. Talk about being lucky that we picked him up in June a couple seasons ago he's been a big difference maker for us, hopefully he stays healthy this year and helps develop the others. He's getting older though and I think this year might be his last.

 

Clayton Geathers. I still absolutely love this pick, a true hard nose strong hitting SS who's not terrible in coverage. I love how we brought him in here and there last year and helped him develop under Adams and Lowery. The hit he had on freeman last year was on of my favorites last year.

 

T.J Green. He has definitely surprised alot of us and he may not be the developmental safety we all thought but he still needs some. Some are saying he should start over geathers but I really don't think we should do that unless geathers isn't healthy. I think he could learn more and become a better player doing exactly what we did with Clayton last year. I truly beleive he could be our future FS but I'd rather not rush him.

 

Dezmen Southward. He was a third round pick by Atlanta in 2014 but we got him off waivers. He's definitely under the radar but I think he could be a really nice pick up. He's 6'2 runs a 4.38 40 and had a 6.5 second 3 cone drill (greens was 7.1) he played some corner back and has decent coverage skills but I really see him as a FS. He caught my eye in the game so I had to do some research and I really like this kid.

 

We may not have a ton of depth at the position but I really really like the quality especially with the size and speed with Green and southward

[krunk]

I liked that interception Southward got against the Bills even though he didn't get both feet in bounds.  He was playing Single High safety and had to come all the way from the middle of the field to pick that pass off.  Speed was impressive on that play.

[krunk]

Wouldn't be surprised at all if these are the 4 safeties we use during the regular season.  Adams, Geathers, Green, and Southward. If all are healthy that would be Adams and Geathers as the starters with Green and Southward being the backups.  I could definitely see Green leap frogging somebody real fast though.

[twfish]

3 minutes ago, krunk said:

I liked that interception Southward got against the Bills even though he didn't get both feet in bounds.  He was playing Single High safety and had to come all the way from the middle of the field to pick that pass off.  Speed was impressive on that play.

I loved the way he was flying all over the place. Honestly this thread was really to show some awareness for the kid, that and to kinda slow some people down on green

[krunk]

Just now, twfish said:

I loved the way he was flying all over the place. Honestly this thread was really to show some awareness for the kid, that and to kinda slow some people down on green

Actually I like Green quite a bit.  I think they see Southward as a depth safety but I like his intangibles.

[krunk]

Southward has good size though.  Just an inch shorter than Green and just as fast. That along with having played a full NFL season at the position.  That's a good guy to have as a depth player if called upon. Reminds me a little bit of Bethea, although I think Southward has enough ability and speed to cover man to man if asked to do so.  Atlanta had switched him to cornerback at one point before they got rid of him.  If Adams, Geathers, Green, and Southward wind up being our 4 safeties I'm kind of comfortable with that group.  I wasn't real comfortable at first when training camp started, but I feel better now.

[aaron11]

i think green will make an impact this year, and possibly a good to very good player down the road

 

i wouldnt worry too much about depth.  like for WRs and CBs most teams dont have the cap space to have more than one or two non starters that are proven

[krunk]

The other safeties on the current roster other than the 4 I listed really only have a chance to make the team on the special teams side of things to me.

[twfish]

5 minutes ago, krunk said:

Actually I like Green quite a bit.  I think they see Southward as a depth safety but I like his intangibles.

Oh I really like Green and believe he will probably be a solid to beyond solid safety for us for along time, however people are saying he should start over geathers after one game.

[MacDee1975]

If we have 4 good safeties, as you are suggesting, then I submit that we do have good depth at that position.

[krunk]

5 minutes ago, twfish said:

Oh I really like Green and believe he will probably be a solid to beyond solid safety for us for along time, however people are saying he should start over geathers after one game.

I'll say this.  It's going to be hard to keep Green on the bench because of what he brings to the field in terms of us matching up on another teams personnel.  It's hard to ignore him running step for step with a guy that runs 4.17 and an Olympic Sprinter like he did in the Bills game.  The same guy who when we matched up on our Number 2 Cornerback(Patrick Robinson) we had to give him safety help.  They left Green one on one with the guy. Or at least it appeared that way because I couldn't see everything.   A guy like that(Green) helps us with creative blitz packages because he can go man for man with fast WRs who you would normally have to put a corner on.   We'll see how things play out as far as how we use him.   I'm anxious to see what happens!

[krunk]

I want to see what Green does against Mike Wallace on Saturday because I know they are going to see if he can cover him.

[sreeb2deeni]

Hard hitting safeties who can really run (AND stay healthy) will change the perception of this defense around the league. In terms of respect from the press, they could become the 85 Bears level and still get pooh-poohed by the national media. 

[krunk]

17 minutes ago, twfish said:

Oh I really like Green and believe he will probably be a solid to beyond solid safety for us for along time, however people are saying he should start over geathers after one game.

I do agree we need to see a couple more games though!

[Bluefire4]

I really hope Geathers is back by week 1 and we can leave Green in a backup role to start. Green has looked decent but had bad coverage in moments and doesn't have sound tackling. In one particular instance, he got absolutely burned by the slot receiver and gave a up a big gain. He should have played more in the first preseason game and should get a lot of work in the upcoming 3 games.

 

 

[BigQandTheManiac]

With a little more work, Geathers and Green with be a very nice safety tandom in the near future.

[krunk]

Yes!   I'm so glad they have decided to air the Colts/Ravens game nationally on NFL Network instead of just airing it on Fox 59.  Now I can watch the game without having to watch a stream or waiting for it to re-air.

 

NFL Network will air the 7:00 p.m. ET kick live from Lucas Oil Stadium.
http://www.colts.com/news/article-1/ColtsRavens-Preseason-Game-To-Air-Live-Nationally-On-NFL-Network-This-Saturday/f22b4c45-b7b1-4cba-9338-154f9db24a7a

[krunk]

26 minutes ago, Bluefire4 said:

I really hope Geathers is back by week 1 and we can leave Green in a backup role to start. Green has looked decent but had bad coverage in moments and doesn't have sound tackling. In one particular instance, he got absolutely burned by the slot receiver and gave a up a big gain. He should have played more in the first preseason game and should get a lot of work in the upcoming 3 games.

 

 

It keeps sounding like he may not be back in time enough.

[twfish]

1 hour ago, krunk said:

Southward has good size though.  Just an inch shorter than Green and just as fast. That along with having played a full NFL season at the position.  That's a good guy to have as a depth player if called upon. Reminds me a little bit of Bethea, although I think Southward has enough ability and speed to cover man to man if asked to do so.  Atlanta had switched him to cornerback at one point before they got rid of him.  If Adams, Geathers, Green, and Southward wind up being our 4 safeties I'm kind of comfortable with that group.  I wasn't real comfortable at first when training camp started, but I feel better now.

Honestly I haven't felt this good about our safeties in a really long time. I love all the talent. Don't forget geathers is 6'2 and runs a 4.55 40 with a close 3 cone to green. And I still feel like he is gunna be a steal in that draft.

[twfish]

2 hours ago, MacDee1975 said:

If we have 4 good safeties, as you are suggesting, then I submit that we do have good depth at that position.

As most would argue 2 of the players are completely unknowns, based off of everything I've read and watched I think green and southward have alot of potential to be good, however since there unknowns people that haven't taken the time too look deep only know that 2 are good and not 4.

[Steamboat_Shaun]

1 hour ago, krunk said:

Yes!   I'm so glad they have decided to air the Colts/Ravens game nationally on NFL Network instead of just airing it on Fox 59.  Now I can watch the game without having to watch a stream or waiting for it to re-air.

 

NFL Network will air the 7:00 p.m. ET kick live from Lucas Oil Stadium.
http://www.colts.com/news/article-1/ColtsRavens-Preseason-Game-To-Air-Live-Nationally-On-NFL-Network-This-Saturday/f22b4c45-b7b1-4cba-9338-154f9db24a7a

Nice that it'll also be streamed online by Fox 59 since I got rid of NFL Network this past spring. 

[Yoshinator]

I love our safeties. Besides QB, WR, and CB, I think they are our strongest unit. Adams, Geathers, Green and Southward are all capable of starting IMO. Getting Southward off waivers is robbery, and something that will boost this team's secondary throughout the year. Green looks to be the real deal with a little work, and Geathers can dominate as well. Adams is the veteran with a year or two left that can get INT's, and Southward is the wildcard that will probably have a bigger impact than we think. All in all, this is a top 10 Safety unit in the NFL by year's end.

[krunk]

3 minutes ago, Steamboat_Shaun said:

Nice that it'll also be streamed online by Fox 59 since I got rid of NFL Network this past spring. 

You must of downgraded from the Choice package?  Or were you getting it through Dish or something?

[krunk]

I keep telling people the Colts are going to be good.  Biggest factor will be health. As long as the injuries don't rob us too much this team is going to be good.  I think we'll be more than respectable on the defense too. Especially when we get all of our suspended and injured D linemen back.  I've been saying this the whole offseason.

[Steamboat_Shaun]

1 minute ago, krunk said:

You must of downgraded from the Choice package?  Or were you getting it through Dish or something?

Yeah, I think that's what it was called, through Comcast. Between that and the insanely fast internet connection I had, I was shelling out like $160/month once my 1 year free trial for the NFL Network ended. Now that the majority of all the Thursday night games are going to be aired on CBS, I honestly just don't have any use for it. Downgraded to a lesser wi-fi package, my bill's more than cut in half.

[Yoshinator]

1 minute ago, krunk said:

I keep telling people the Colts are going to be good.  Biggest factor will be health. As long as the injuries don't rob us too much this team is going to be good.  I think we'll be more than respectable on the defense too. Especially when we get all of our suspended and injured D linemen back.  I've been saying this the whole offseason.

When I heard we got Southward, I was thinking, what did we trade? No way did I think we'd get him for nothing. That's our pickup of the offseason from waivers IMO. It's amazing how a few things can make you feel much better about the team. Once our guys come back, we should be solid for sure.

[krunk]

2 minutes ago, Steamboat_Shaun said:

Yeah, I think that's what it was called, through Comcast. Between that and the insanely fast internet connection I had, I was shelling out like $160/month once my 1 year free trial for the NFL Network ended. Now that the majority of all the Thursday night games are going to be aired on CBS, I honestly just don't have any use for it. Downgraded to a lesser wi-fi package, my bill's more than cut in half.

Yeah.  I don't even keep internet in my house as far as paying a separate carrier every month for it.  I have a mobile hotspot on my phone and also a Starbucks in walking distance from my house.  If I want to use my laptop I do one of the two options every time.

[Steamboat_Shaun]

Just now, krunk said:

Yeah.  I don't even keep internet in my house,  I have a mobile hotspot on my phone and also a Starbucks in walking distance from my house.  If I want to use my laptop I do one of the two options every time.

I did the same thing for A LONG time. Now my roommate and I both work in tech, he's IT, I'm a web designer, and living with no wi-fi just doesn't fly anymore. Our HOA provides cable outside of the super premium stuff, which is great, but dang wi-fi is still not cheap.

[Chucklez]

1 minute ago, Steamboat_Shaun said:

I did the same thing for A LONG time. Now my roommate and I both work in tech, he's IT, I'm a web designer, and living with no wi-fi just doesn't fly anymore. Our HOA provides cable outside of the super premium stuff, which is great, but dang wi-fi is still not cheap.

Move to England... I get a 56mb connection for like $30 a month

[krunk]

2 minutes ago, Jared Cisneros said:

When I heard we got Southward, I was thinking, what did we trade? No way did I think we'd get him for nothing. That's our pickup of the offseason from waivers IMO. It's amazing how a few things can make you feel much better about the team. Once our guys come back, we should be solid for sure.

I've felt increasingly comfortable after seeing the talent of these young pass rushers to go along with Mathis and Cole. As a group they should be able to apply adequate pressure.  And then you factor in the penetrators that we have on the interior like TY McGill, Ridgeway, Arthur Jones, Zach Kerr, Parry to go along with Henry Anderson, Kendall Langford.  Not to mention an offense that I think will definitely put up some points.  I've liked everything I've seen so far with how Chud implements his offense.  It's looking like it's going to be solid to me.

[Chucklez]

2 minutes ago, krunk said:

I've felt increasingly comfortable after seeing the talent of these young pass rushers to go along with Mathis and Cole. As a group they should be able to apply adequate pressure.  And then you factor in the penetrators that we have on the interior like TY McGill, Ridgeway, Arthur Jones, Zach Kerr, Parry to go along with Henry Anderson, Kendall Langford.  Not to mention an offense that I think will definitely put up some points.  I've liked everything I've seen so far with how Chud implements his offense.  It's looking like it's going to be solid to me.

Im more worried about our CB group than our linebackers.... If Vontae or Robinson get injured for any period of time... we suddenly become very very vulnerable...

[Yoshinator]

Just now, Chucklez said:

Im more worried about our CB group than our linebackers.... If Vontae or Robinson get injured for any period of time... we suddenly become very very vulnerable...

That's true, but you can say that about most teams CB's. We basically have a 1,2, and 3 with Vontae, patrick robinson, and d'joun Smith. I feel it's one of our stronger units.

[Chucklez]

Just now, Jared Cisneros said:

That's true, but you can say that about most teams CB's. We basically have a 1,2, and 3 with Vontae, patrick robinson, and d'joun Smith. I feel it's one of our stronger units.

Smith hasnt proven anything yet I am afraid... He's got the potential, but injuries have hampered him in a Colts uniform so far. Currently Butler is our 3rd CB and seeing him thrust onto the outside is just as bad as having Toler there.

[krunk]

4 minutes ago, Chucklez said:

Im more worried about our CB group than our linebackers.... If Vontae or Robinson get injured for any period of time... we suddenly become very very vulnerable...

That's with most any team.  I mean if the Broncos lost Talib and Harris it would have a great impact on their secondary too.  However I think it all depends on what we have in Smith and Mitchel.  If they are solid like I'm thinking then I'm not so worried.  Both of them have the speed to play outside.  I like Mitchel just a little bit more than I like Smith. Mitchel has great size at 6 ft and he's used to playing top notch talent coming from Arkansas.  I like this other guy Darius White who the Colts are high on too.  If these guys are who I think they are then we'll have a lot of guys to go to in the secondary.

[krunk]

2 minutes ago, Chucklez said:

Smith hasnt proven anything yet I am afraid... He's got the potential, but injuries have hampered him in a Colts uniform so far. Currently Butler is our 3rd CB and seeing him thrust onto the outside is just as bad as having Toler there.

If Smith, Mitchel, and White show to be solid I think there is a good chance we give Butler the Axe.   Grigson said in an article way back in the offseason that he wants Djoun Smith to compete strongly for that nickel spot.  One of the reporters had asked Grigson about Butler during that time period and the reporter said that Grigson was "Non Committal".  That usually means "Hey if this goes shows me he can play then the other guy is out the door".  We'll see!

[Yoshinator]

17 minutes ago, krunk said:

I've felt increasingly comfortable after seeing the talent of these young pass rushers to go along with Mathis and Cole. As a group they should be able to apply adequate pressure.  And then you factor in the penetrators that we have on the interior like TY McGill, Ridgeway, Arthur Jones, Zach Kerr, Parry to go along with Henry Anderson, Kendall Langford.  Not to mention an offense that I think will definitely put up some points.  I've liked everything I've seen so far with how Chud implements his offense.  It's looking like it's going to be solid to me.

I'm still worried about the pass rush, however I'm excited about Curt Maggitt. He may be the gem that could help us out. McGill is another guy that could work out brilliantly (believe we got him for a 7th, lol). Ridgeway and Morrison are wildcards, but we would of never got Morrison if we didn't trade down. Anderson and Langford I love, just hope to have them back soon. It looks like we may finally have some competent coaching. Chud and Monachino are huge upgrades IMO. I'll also give credit to Grigson these last two years in the draft, he's finally starting to hit on his picks, it seems. This team just got injected with a lot of talent. I'm still worried about Jacksonville, but lets take em out, we got Andrew Luck!

[krunk]

19 minutes ago, Jared Cisneros said:

I'm still worried about the pass rush, however I'm excited about Curt Maggitt. He may be the gem that could help us out. McGill is another guy that could work out brilliantly (believe we got him for a 7th, lol). Ridgeway and Morrison are wildcards, but we would of never got Morrison if we didn't trade down. Anderson and Langford I love, just hope to have them back soon. It looks like we may finally have some competent coaching. Chud and Monachino are huge upgrades IMO. I'll also give credit to Grigson these last two years in the draft, he's finally starting to hit on his picks, it seems. This team just got injected with a lot of talent. I'm still worried about Jacksonville, but lets take em out, we got Andrew Luck!

I've seen all the rookies get pressure on the backfield. Okine, Bates, Thompson, and Maggitt. There's going to be a good couple names from that group that make the team.  

 

I never really thought Grigson had a problem selecting young talent. Not that he didn't make any mistakes of course. He was a scout for quite a while.  Scouts are used to dealing in young talent.  He had quite a bit of issues once he started delving too much in the free agent pool, which to me you have to evaluate differently than you do draft picks in some ways.  Plus he was wheeling and dealing too much.  Trading away future draft picks and risk taking on guys like Richardson. 

 

All the other stuff you deal with as a GM he was pretty much a newbie to so he made a number of mistakes.  I think his moves will look much better going forward just dealing in identifying young talent in the draft while making small calculated moves in FA like what we did with Patrick Robinson and guys like Kendall Langford.  He's done better since he settled down on all the wheeling and dealing.

[Yoshinator]

1 minute ago, krunk said:

I've seen all the rookies get pressure on the backfield. Okine, Bates, Thompson, and Maggitt. There's going to be a good couple names from that group that make the team.  

 

I never really thought Grigson had a problem selecting young talent.  He was a scout for quite a while.  Scouts are used to dealing in young talent.  He had quite a bit of issues once he started delving too much in the free agent pool.  Plus he was wheeling and dealing too much.  Trading away future draft picks and risk taking on guys like Richardson.  All the other stuff you deal with as a GM he was pretty much a newbie to so he made a number of mistakes.  I think his moves will look much better going forward just dealing in identifying young talent in the draft while making small calculated moves in FA like what we did with Patrick Robinson and guys like Kendall Langford.  He's done better since he settled down on all the wheeling and dealing.

That's good, we'll need some spark in the pass rush. As for Grigson's draft this year. Something I liked hearing was he was focused in the 1st three rounds on getting Kelly, Green, and Clark no matter what. When he got Kelly, he traded down and had Green and Clark in mind, and stuck with them when they were both there. Makes me feel about better on his evaluations of them. I think Kelly and Green will be hits, just have that good feeling. Geathers too. So much talent from the last two drafts. If we hit on the talent and get some starters, we are going to get so much better than teams who missed on most of their drafts. Most drafts have lots of busts, you get the hits, that's how you get into SB contention. Just need to get those pieces for Luck. Peterson and Southward were huge as well, IMO.

[krunk]

5 minutes ago, Jared Cisneros said:

That's good, we'll need some spark in the pass rush. As for Grigson's draft this year. Something I liked hearing was he was focused in the 1st three rounds on getting Kelly, Green, and Clark no matter what. When he got Kelly, he traded down and had Green and Clark in mind, and stuck with them when they were both there. Makes me feel about better on his evaluations of them. I think Kelly and Green will be hits, just have that good feeling. Geathers too. So much talent from the last two drafts. If we hit on the talent and get some starters, we are going to get so much better than teams who missed on most of their drafts. Most drafts have lots of busts, you get the hits, that's how you get into SB contention. Just need to get those pieces for Luck. Peterson and Southward were huge as well, IMO.

I think after this next draft in 2017 BTM(Build The Monster) will look more realistic. This next draft we should have around 8 or more picks to add to what we already have.  Just about all of that will be defense because we should be set on the O Line, should be set at WR, of course we are set at QB.  We'll probably add a RB out of that draft and I assume the rest will be Defense, Defense, Defense.  We should be stacked on both sides of the ball more than any Colts team I've watched over the years in terms of a fully balanced team.

[Yoshinator]

11 minutes ago, krunk said:

I think after this next draft in 2017 BTM(Build The Monster) will look more realistic. This next draft we should have around 8 or more picks to add to what we already have.  Just about all of that will be defense because we should be set on the O Line, should be set at WR, of course we are set at QB.  We'll probably add a RB out of that draft and I assume the rest will be Defense, Defense, Defense.

I think we'll go Pass Rusher, Guard, D-Line, RB, Defense with our first 5 picks. Should have two 4th rounders with Fleener going to the Saints. It'll definitely be the turning point when the team should be close to a finished product. We'll also have a Free Agency period to close the gaps as well.