Vontae Davis

[AKB]

I know he had a down year, but enjoy.

 

 

[AKB]

On a side note, when he ages a bit more does anyone think he could possibly play safety. He's one of the strongest corners in the league. 

[ManningGM]

[jbaron04]

We have a big decision to make on vonte next yr, 

[21isSuperman]

1 hour ago, ManningGM said:

You must be joking....

 

11 minutes ago, jbaron04 said:

We have a big decision to make on vonte next yr, 

I think part of the reason he had a down year is because we had no pass rush.  He put an absolute blanket over DeAndre Hopkins.  You can't expect the secondary to cover everyone forever and if your pass rush isn't putting pressure on the quarterback, people will get open.  He was on a pretty team-friendly contract; his contract had an average cap hit of around $9 mil a year when other corners around the league have annual cap hits well above that (Joe Haden, $14.4 mil; Richard Sherman, $13.6 mil; Darrelle Revis, $15+ mil)

[IAColtsFan]

 

21 minutes ago, 21isSuperman said:

You must be joking....

 

I think part of the reason he had a down year is because we had no pass rush.  He put an absolute blanket over DeAndre Hopkins.  You can't expect the secondary to cover everyone forever and if your pass rush isn't putting pressure on the quarterback, people will get open.  He was on a pretty team-friendly contract; his contract had an average cap hit of around $9 mil a year when other corners around the league have annual cap hits well above that (Joe Haden, $14.4 mil; Richard Sherman, $13.6 mil; Darrelle Revis, $15+ mil)

 

I agree with the bolded statement from 21isSuperman.  Any kind of pass rush would be very helpful for the secondary.

The one thing I sadly noticed while watching Vontae's highlights is that there wasn't a hit (and barely a touch) on any of the QBs.  Some were actually even given 5-10 yard pockets.  Get a QB rushing his decisions some more and there will be more highlights on the back end.

[Andrew Luck fan club]

2 hours ago, AustinnKaine said:

On a side note, when he ages a bit more does anyone think he could possibly play safety. He's one of the strongest corners in the league. 

Heck no. He gets injured on every other tackle he makes. 

[ColtsFanMikeC]

2 hours ago, AustinnKaine said:

I know he had a down year, but enjoy.

 

 

 

2 hours ago, AustinnKaine said:

On a side note, when he ages a bit more does anyone think he could possibly play safety. He's one of the strongest corners in the league. 

 

Thanks for sharing the video -- I enjoyed watching it.  Vontae is definitely one of the surest tackling CBs in the NFL.  He seems to have the size and athleticism to be a solid S, but I think he's so good at CB that I hope Green and Geathers develop and stay healthy enough that we won't be considering having to move Vontae.

 

53 minutes ago, jbaron04 said:

We have a big decision to make on vonte next yr, 

 

I think Vontae is still a top 5 CB in the league.  His tackling is superb and his coverage skills are excellent.  Like 21isSuperman and IAColtsFan say, give him a pass rush and I don't think anyone would be talking about him having a 'down year'.  I kinda hope they extend him this off-season, so if we do get any sort of pass rush next year and he has a stellar year he won't be able to ask for astronomical money.

 

35 minutes ago, 21isSuperman said:

You must be joking....

 

I think part of the reason he had a down year is because we had no pass rush.  He put an absolute blanket over DeAndre Hopkins.  You can't expect the secondary to cover everyone forever and if your pass rush isn't putting pressure on the quarterback, people will get open.  He was on a pretty team-friendly contract; his contract had an average cap hit of around $9 mil a year when other corners around the league have annual cap hits well above that (Joe Haden, $14.4 mil; Richard Sherman, $13.6 mil; Darrelle Revis, $15+ mil)

 

Agree with you on all points here. I personally think Vontae is better than Sherman, but has just not had the help around him that Sherman has.  Hopefully Ballard figures out a way to bring in a couple guys that can really get after the QB.

 

11 minutes ago, IAColtsFan said:

 

 

I agree with the bolded statement from 21isSuperman.  Any kind of pass rush would be very helpful for the secondary.

The one thing I sadly noticed while watching Vontae's highlights is that there wasn't a hit (and barely a touch) on any of the QBs.  Some were actually even given 5-10 yard pockets.  Get a QB rushing his decisions some more and there will be more highlights on the back end.

 

Yes.  Part of our lack of pass rush is because we just didn't have the talent on the D side last year.  We desperately need an OLB and an ILB that can get after the QB.  I don't think we have either on the team right now -- I am optimistic Maggit will improve given another year in the NFL plus another year removed from his college injury, but don't see him being a very serious pass-rusher.   Walden was pretty good last year, but I think his strength is still on setting the edge and that he isn't more than an average pass-rusher.  Otherwise, I just don't see too much reason for optimism that our pass-rusher of the future is on this team right now.

 

I don't see anyone at the ILB position on our current roster that will emerge as a serious pass rush threat.

 

I think Anderson was kind of playing his way back into shape last year, and a healthy Kendall Langford should help our DL as well.  That said, I don't think our scheme is set up for the DL to be the major source of pass-rush, but rather put themselves into positions to free the LB's to get after the QB.  At this point, I am more concerned with ILB/OLB than I am with the DL.

 

Another reason for a lack of pass rush, IMO, is due to slow/inconsistent starts by our offense.  Last year we were 2-8 when we scored <7 points in the 1st quarter and 6-0 when we scored 7 points or more in the first quarter.  It is not easy to rush the passer when you are playing from behind early or when your offense isn't putting up points, it allows the other team to dictate how they will run their offense.  I always say, a big part of Mathis and Freeney's success over their careers is because Peyton and his offense were so efficient.  By scoring early, and often, you can force the other team to have a pretty 1-Dimensional offense, in turn allowing the D to play aggressively.

 

We have the fire power on offense, and it seems like our line was really improving toward the season's end.  Hopefully this coming year will see the Colts figure out how to start off games hot on offense -- I think the way the record shows (i..e, 6-0 when scoring 7 or > points in the first quarter) pretty clearly how important it is for that to happen.

 

[1959Colts]

Maybe they will approach Davis with an offer to renegotiate / extend his contract?

[AKB]

I don't think release Davis is anywhere near being on the table. The only people on this team with a safer future next season are Luck, Kelly, And Hilton. 

[Colts_Fan12]

Vontae is my favorite player on D get this man some help and he will show just how badass he is 

[AKB]

5 minutes ago, Colts_Fan12 said:

Vontae is my favorite player on D get this man some help and he will show just how badass he is 

When we play fast receivers like Brown they need to put Davis on their other WR to lock them down and blanket Brown with a safety and a faster corner. 

 

Asking Davis to cover Brown 1on1 is not ever going to go well. 

 

That's like Revis on Hilton.

[NewColtsFan]

 

I'm confident Vonte is NOT a top-5 corner any more if ever was one.    Top-10 yes.   Top-5?    No.

 

But after these last two injury plagued years,  I'm guessing he's not even a top-15 corner anymore.

 

It will be interesting to see how he plays this year,  in a contract year.

 

But we need Vonte to ball out.    He's a key to our defense.    

 

 

[AKB]

Just now, NewColtsFan said:

 

I'm confident Vonte is NOT a top-5 corner any more if ever was one.    Top-10 yes.   Top-5?    No.

 

But after these last two injury plagued years,  I'm guessing he's not even a top-15 corner anymore.

 

It will be interesting to see how he plays this year,  in a contract year.

 

But we need Vonte to ball out.    He's a key to our defense.    

 

 

I think he was playing injured in a depth deprived secondary. I also think he is forced to make tackles on RB's he should not be having to make, because our defense can't contain a RB to save their life. 

 

I also think that Monachino needs to understand Vontae's limitations with speed against twitchy receivers. 

[runthepost]

Guy said he still thinks he's a top 5 corner lol

[runthepost]

He wasn't even the best corner in the AFC south

[Andrew Luck fan club]

1 minute ago, runthepost said:

He wasn't even the best corner in the AFC south

Ramsey has and will have that title for awhile.

[CheezyColt]

10 minutes ago, Majin Vegeta said:

Ramsey has and will have that title for awhile.

Unfortunately. Lol

[Luck is Good]

3 hours ago, Majin Vegeta said:

Heck no. He gets injured on every other tackle he makes. 

As does every other Colts defensive player it seems

[dgambill]

2 hours ago, AustinnKaine said:

When we play fast receivers like Brown they need to put Davis on their other WR to lock them down and blanket Brown with a safety and a faster corner. 

 

Asking Davis to cover Brown 1on1 is not ever going to go well. 

 

That's like Revis on Hilton.

Yep. I think he plays physical receivers better (see his play on D. Thomas over the years). If we don't go multiple corners in this draft I'd like to sign Logan Ryans from NE and bracket like you said. I think Ryans is under-rated and could perhaps be pried away with Butler and Hightower and others needing re-signed. I'd target him if I was GM.

 

oh and while I wouldn't brake the bank to re-sign Davis I think he can hang around and be a good corner for several more years. Look at his brother. Thought his career was dead and then this year Vernon looked as good as ever. Good genes in that family.

[Gabriel Alexander Morillo]

19 minutes ago, dgambill said:

Yep. I think he plays physical receivers better (see his play on D. Thomas over the years). If we don't go multiple corners in this draft I'd like to sign Logan Ryans from NE and bracket like you said. I think Ryans is under-rated and could perhaps be pried away with Butler and Hightower and others needing re-signed. I'd target him if I was GM.

 

oh and while I wouldn't brake the bank to re-sign Davis I think he can hang around and be a good corner for several more years. Look at his brother. Thought his career was dead and then this year Vernon looked as good as ever. Good genes in that family.

While I completely agree with you, I'd like to say that Demaryius Thomas is soft as Charmin TP.  Both mentally and physically 

[Colts1324]

One thing I do think Vontae Davis is great at, maybe even the best in the league at. Is forcing the receiver to run his route to far to the outside. Therefore, he cannot catch the ball in bounds. He needs to keep his legs healthy because where he has struggled is getting beat deep. I think he is still top 15 in the league. Top 8 when healthy.

[tvturner]

Vontae is a stud. We are always better when he's on the field...

[AKB]

He's definitely one of my favs on the team. 

[Indyfan4life]

Those of you trashing him would be upset if he was gone and we had no one to replace him. 

[Robin]

He will be top 10 again as soon as we get some pass rush.

[jbaron04]

13 hours ago, 21isSuperman said:

You must be joking....

 

I think part of the reason he had a down year is because we had no pass rush.  He put an absolute blanket over DeAndre Hopkins.  You can't expect the secondary to cover everyone forever and if your pass rush isn't putting pressure on the quarterback, people will get open.  He was on a pretty team-friendly contract; his contract had an average cap hit of around $9 mil a year when other corners around the league have annual cap hits well above that (Joe Haden, $14.4 mil; Richard Sherman, $13.6 mil; Darrelle Revis, $15+ mil)

I agree the only reason I say this is vonte maybe looking for revis type money knowing it's his last big contract. I know how good vonte has bin even with out a pass rush but I was just saying 11-15m annually would be a little to high we would have to let him walk

[UKColt13]

Additions to the pass rush will help him more than anything. That and he wasn't healthy for much of last year.

 

Remember when Mathis was having his 19 sack season a few years back and Vontae was being hailed a top 3 corner?

[MackAttack]

18 hours ago, Majin Vegeta said:

Heck no. He gets injured on every other tackle he makes. 

remember what Antonio brown did to vontae this year.. *shivers*

[AKB]

2 hours ago, Zalazar Elijahh said:

remember what Antonio brown did to vontae this year.. *shivers*

Remember how the coaches left him on one of the fastest, shiftiest receivers that virtually no corner in the league can cover 1 on 1?

 

*shivers*

[Andrew Luck fan club]

17 minutes ago, AustinnKaine said:

Remember how the coaches left him on one of the fastest, shiftiest receivers that virtually no corner in the league can cover 1 on 1?

 

*shivers*

That's what a top man-to-man corner does. And if vontae wasn't dinged up it would have been a good match up. 

[chad72]

1 minute ago, Majin Vegeta said:

That's what a top man-to-man corner does. And if vontae wasn't dinged up it would have been a good match up. 

 

No, it wouldn't. He is like Aqib Talib, put him on DT, A.J.Green, Gronk etc. and he will come through. But put him on OBJ or Antonio Brown or even Edelman, they will roast him with short area quickness. It is all about the secondary coaches understanding match ups and the short area quickness of their CBs to find the right one to cover. 

 

You put a speedier CB on Antonio Brown with safety help and shut down their #2 with size, Martavis Bryant etc. with Vontae Davis 1-on-1.

[Andrew Luck fan club]

3 minutes ago, chad72 said:

 

No, it wouldn't. He is like Aqib Talib, put him on DT, A.J.Green, Gronk etc. and he will come through. But put him on OBJ or Antonio Brown or even Edelman, they will roast him with short area quickness. It is all about the secondary coaches understanding match ups and the short area quickness of their CBs to find the right one to cover. 

 

You put a speedier CB on Antonio Brown with safety help and shut down their #2 with size, Martavis Bryant etc. with Vontae Davis 1-on-1.

Your opinion. There was a #DavisIsland in 2014. And I remember him shutting down Emmanuel Sanders. 

[21isSuperman]

18 hours ago, Majin Vegeta said:

Heck no. He gets injured on every other tackle he makes. 

Since joining the Colts in 2012, Vontae has played in 71 out of 80 possible regular season games.  When healthy, he's one of our best defenders

[Andrew Luck fan club]

13 minutes ago, 21isSuperman said:

Since joining the Colts in 2012, Vontae has played in 71 out of 80 possible regular season games.  When healthy, he's one of our best defenders

When healthy he's great. But he plays with nagging injuries(ankle) and it hampers his athletic ability.

[throwing BBZ]

IMO next season will be a down year as we begin Catching UP with our division rivals as we rebuild our roster, particularly our D.
 Would Belichek save himself the $9M, and pickup a draft pick while he can?
 What round of pick would he have to get? A 3rd?
 Re-sign him at age 30 for ??? Let him play out then let him sign somewhere else and possibly pickup a compensatory pick?
  I see us us rebuilding our roster for the next run that will begin no sooner than 2 years from now. And for me, I would take a 3rd for him and be looking for
 younger legs. Come on Saints!  lol   Remember it is mid feb and we are doing a lot of thinking out loud. 

[chad72]

1 hour ago, Majin Vegeta said:

Your opinion. There was a #DavisIsland in 2014. And I remember him shutting down Emmanuel Sanders. 

 

I just remember him being on DT most of the time we played the Broncos. 

 

First game in 2014 vs Emmanuel Sanders, I doubt he was on him most of the time - Sanders went 6 for 77 yards, not shut down by any means, Julius Thomas did most of the damage thanks to Laron Landry and our TE coverage. Second game in 2014 vs Emmanuel Sanders, our whole D played well, and Peyton didn't. Sanders still had 7 catches but not as many yards. 2015 - Sanders was streaking down the middle for a TD in Indy.

 

Against the Steelers, they put him with safety help with Mike Adams, Antonio Brown still caught the ball. But if you want to believe VD can hang with Antonio Brown when 100% 1-on-1, go ahead and believe. I guess you can always say "whenever he cannot hang with AB, he must not be 100%", so there is that.

 

[Andrew Luck fan club]

11 minutes ago, chad72 said:

 

I just remember him being on DT most of the time we played the Broncos. 

 

First game in 2014 vs Emmanuel Sanders, I doubt he was on him most of the time - Sanders went 6 for 77 yards, not shut down by any means, Julius Thomas did most of the damage thanks to Laron Landry and our TE coverage. Second game in 2014 vs Emmanuel Sanders, our whole D played well, and Peyton didn't. Sanders still had 7 catches but not as many yards. 2015 - Sanders was streaking down the middle for a TD in Indy.

 

Against the Steelers, they put him with safety help with Mike Adams, Antonio Brown still caught the ball. But if you want to believe VD can hang with Antonio Brown when 100% 1-on-1, go ahead and believe.

 

What are Sanders stats when Vontae was on him? I remember Sanders saying Vontae was the 2nd best corner in the nfl.

 

And like I said, nagging ankle injuries really hamper athletic ability.

 

I'm just saying it's not that far fetched if Vontae is 100% healthy. 

[BR-549]

18 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

I'm confident Vonte is NOT a top-5 corner any more if ever was one.    Top-10 yes.   Top-5?    No.

 

But after these last two injury plagued years,  I'm guessing he's not even a top-15 corner anymore.

 

It will be interesting to see how he plays this year,  in a contract year.

 

But we need Vonte to ball out.    He's a key to our defense.    

 

 

 

I have high hopes for Geathers to show more than a glimpse of what he is capable of this year.  That and add a rookie (or FA) DB playmaker and it changes the entire complexity of our defensive backfield. Especially if we get a better pass rush as others have mentioned.  

 

These changes will all make his job easier and make him better.

 

One thing I noticed in the film was how many plays could have easily went the other way and that he had to "recover" to make any play at all at times. 

 

Don't get me wrong, I like him and I too think he is crucial to our defense.  I just wonder if he is losing (has lost) a step maybe.

[AKB]

3 hours ago, Majin Vegeta said:

That's what a top man-to-man corner does. And if vontae wasn't dinged up it would have been a good match up. 

It's not even a debate guy. The numbers don't lie.

 

We all know what Davis is, and is not capable of. Look what happened to Brown when they took Vontae off of him and bracketed him.

 

It's not rocket science. Davis struggles against the twitchy receivers.