Move Clayton Geathers to ILB Permanently?

[krunk]

I'm just asking the question. Is this a Thomas Davis type of situation? Kid is physical and he'd add needed speed to the position. Not the best cover man in the world as a pure safety, but he can play the position. Do you think he can be bulked up a bit more and moved to a full time ILB role or should he be left at safety while playing ILB situationally. What say you?

[krunk]

There's not much going on in the forum so I thought id bring up a topic.

[krunk]

I'm hypothetically speaking for the future. Not this season.

[Bravo]

Naaa... he's a safety. He can come up and play occasionally but doesn't need to be an ILB.

 

Geathers and Green should be a good duo once they get more experience. 

 

What needs to to happen is the Colts need to actually start signing good free agents and drafting better players at positions of need.

[oldunclemark]

33 minutes ago, krunk said:

I'm just asking the question. Is this a Thomas Davis type of situation? Kid is physical and he'd add needed speed to the position. Not the best cover man in the world as a pure safety, but he can play the position. Do you think he can be bulked up a bit more and moved to a full time ILB role or should he be left at safety while playing ILB situationally. What say you?

Kinda like TJ ward in Denver........

..we can have 3rd and long defenses where we only have one true LB on the field and Geathers or Green

 could be the other one  (we probably have that now)

.....some colleges play a 4-2-5...where the second safety is a rover doing everything from covering to blitzing

[twfish]

I like leaving him at strong safety. Taking him away from there and putting him at Ilb puts a hole at safety. Now if this draft we can't find a good ILB but can find an excellent safety I'm for it. Don't forget Geathers has very similar measurables as green just a tad stouter

[SP_21]

If we can draft a true Free Safety this year then yes. Move Geathers to ILB, Green to SS, and then have the draft pick at FS. 

[MacDee1975]

How about drafting or signing guys who can actually play ILB effectively, rather than raiding other position groups on the team and taking away their best player.

[ReMeDy]

I want to leave him at safety because he reminds me a bit of Bob Sanders. Of course, now I probably cursed him with never-ending injuries.

[krunk]

He probably is more of a safety, so i agree with most of you. I was just thinking hypothetically if it could be done his athletic traits as far as size, speed, and physicality would or could be elite or very good. for the ILB position. Hes already playing quite a bit in the middle any way. Just because you put him there doesnt mean you can't draft at the ILB position. Then you'd also look to draft a really good coverage safety. This is all hypothetical.

[jchandler7]

I'm a fan of what we did against GB. Have him play strong safety,  come up near the line of scrimmage playing some ilb and let him do some blitzing. Imo we need to use him as a hybrid strong safety/ilb, and not limit him to just safety or lb. He's fast,  physical and loves to hit but doesn't have ball instincts that you'd like for a free safety or coverage guy. Which is also why I'm a fan of Butler at free safety. The guy is very distinctive. Id like for us to try him there a bit more to see what we got. If he's as good as he looked against GB we can resign him and let him play back there for a few years and it shouldn't cost us a fortune. 

[ztboiler]

4 hours ago, krunk said:

He probably is more of a safety, so i agree with most of you. I was just thinking hypothetically if it could be done his athletic traits as far as size, speed, and physicality would or could be elite or very good. for the ILB position. Hes already playing quite a bit in the middle any way. Just because you put him there doesnt mean you can't draft at the ILB position. Then you'd also look to draft a really good coverage safety. This is all hypothetical.

Geathers success as a dime LB should be seen as such....a great position for him when we are in Dime...and we should play as much of that as matches up well against the opposition, like it did against GB.

 

He still looks good as a SS in base D as well, and we still benefit from traditional ILB presence against run oriented teams.  

 

To your original point, his success might diminish our need for ILB that can cover but we still need to get faster at both ILB spots in base to be a better D.  We have to be able to corral backs in space from our base D.

[oldunclemark]

 Moving him to LB on 3rd down and long is one thing..

   The downside is that if you regularly play undersized LBs...teams can slip in the 6th offensive lineman or go double tight end and stomp you like grapes making wine

[richard pallo]

I think we found out two things against GB. Gaethers can play ILB and Butler can play FS.  Gaethers has the attributes to play ILB and would have a better chance of success in coverage at that position than at safety.  Same holds true for Butler at FS.  He could have had two picks in that game.  Adams and Butler would give us two ball hawking safeties. I am all in favor of giving each more reps in those positions for the remainder of the season. Those switches did not hurt our defense but actually improved our defense.  Maybe we found a new starting spot for each player which could help us in the offseason as we prioritize our needs.  

[krunk]

3 hours ago, jchandler7 said:

I'm a fan of what we did against GB. Have him play strong safety,  come up near the line of scrimmage playing some ilb and let him do some blitzing. Imo we need to use him as a hybrid strong safety/ilb, and not limit him to just safety or lb. He's fast,  physical and loves to hit but doesn't have ball instincts that you'd like for a free safety or coverage guy. Which is also why I'm a fan of Butler at free safety. The guy is very distinctive. Id like for us to try him there a bit more to see what we got. If he's as good as he looked against GB we can resign him and let him play back there for a few years and it shouldn't cost us a fortune. 

I didnt realize butler is just 30. He is somebody you do have to give consideration to at the safety spot. Hes always had very good eye for creating turnovers. Mediocre skills covering man to man on the outside, but he does appear fit to be a safety more often at least on passing downs.

[krunk]

1 hour ago, richard pallo said:

I think we found out two things against GB. Gaethers can play ILB and Butler can play FS.  Gaethers has the attributes to play ILB and would have a better chance of success in coverage at that position than at safety.  Same holds true for Butler at FS.  He could have had two picks in that game.  Adams and Butler would give us two ball hawking safeties. I am all in favor of giving each more reps in those positions for the remainder of the season. Those switches did not hurt our defense but actually improved our defense.  Maybe we found a new starting spot for each player which could help us in the offseason as we prioritize our needs.  

You know I'm very interested to see how we approach Pittsburgh. I'm almost certain we will have a package featuring Adams and Butler at FS and SS along with Green and Geathers playing the ILB positions. We may not even have a real ILB on the field at certain points. Very close to what you have mentioned.

[Creekside]

20 minutes ago, krunk said:

I didnt realize butler is just 30. He is somebody you do have to give consideration to at the safety spot. Hes always had very good eye for creating turnovers. Mediocre skills covering man to man on the outside, but he does appear fit to be a safety more often at least on passing downs.

I hope they re-sign Butler. He should have several years of good play left in him. A modest contract would probably keep him in Indy.

[richard pallo]

8 minutes ago, krunk said:

You know I'm very interested to see how we approach Pittsburgh. I'm almost certain we will have a package featuring Adams and Butler at FS and SS along with Green and Geathers playing the ILB positions. We may not even have a real ILB on the field at certain points. Very close to what you have mentioned.

I like that approach a lot. Green and Gaethers are both big hitters and fast.  Defenses and offenses evolve over time to adjust to rule changes and the like.  We certainly have trouble covering tight ends with the more conventional linebackers.  This approach gives us a better chance.  I think it can work and if it does teams will be copying us instead of us trying to find people who are more conventional at their position.  I like us being innovative. 

[Coltfreak]

11 hours ago, ReMeDy said:

I want to leave him at safety because he reminds me a bit of Bob Sanders. Of course, now I probably cursed him with never-ending injuries.

 

 

How does he remind you of Sanders?    He is not even close to Sanders.  Sanders was DPOY and  was a game changer.   Geathers is just an average to slightly above average safety.  He may hit hard... but so did LaRon Landry..... 

Sanders was super fast and could cover.

 

Not much of a comparison IMO

 

[Indianapolis-Colts-Fan]

I think they should maximize playing him there this season as much as they can. At the end of the year you will know if he's good. I think it's worth a shot.

[TheRustonRifle#7]

I enjoyed watching him play last week and would rather see him play ILB in the dime and keep him at Safety in the base defense.

[Gavin]

At least until we find a cover ILB in the draft.......Hopefully Grigson sees this as a priority

[NeedsADefence]

7 hours ago, Coltfreak said:

 

 

How does he remind you of Sanders?    He is not even close to Sanders.  Sanders was DPOY and  was a game changer.   Geathers is just an average to slightly above average safety.  He may hit hard... but so did LaRon Landry..... 

Sanders was super fast and could cover.

 

Not much of a comparison IMO

 

 

 

 

He is never bob sander Geather to healthy 

[Coltfreak]

7 minutes ago, NeedsADefence said:

 

 

 

He is never bob sander Geather to healthy 

Never try to answer when you are drunk

[coltsfeva]

The unknown is Edwin Jackson. He has a learning curve to get over but could be an asset on run downs. 

[krunk]

I like Edwin too, although I still maintain we need to draft some guys for sure.

[GoColtsWin]

Geathers seems to be comfortable as a Dime backer in passing situations, so IMO they should give him reps if it helps the team out. Maybe they are wanting to use Butler more at safety now. Whatever works, just don't want 1 unit to suffer just to prop up another. 

[lollygagger8]

I said this before, but I'd really like to see Geathers (not GATHERS like the announcers like to say it) and EJax on the field at ILB. 

 

TJ Green and Mike Adams at safety, switching in Butler. 

 

Vontae and Melvin outside, and Robinson in the slot. 

 

That's a formidable secondary. 

 

[Coffeedrinker]

I don't know if the Colts should move Geathers to ILB or just play more 3-3-5 D with Geathers providing the flexibility of dropping down in the box to support the run and/or covering TEs and backs.

 

As the league becomes a more pass happy league, I'm a big proponent of the 3-3-5 D the line up would be

 

DT-NT-DT

WILL-MLB-SAM

CB- SS-FS-RS (Rover safety)-CB.

[will426]

On November 13, 2016 at 10:50 AM, richard pallo said:

I think we found out two things against GB. Gaethers can play ILB and Butler can play FS.  Gaethers has the attributes to play ILB and would have a better chance of success in coverage at that position than at safety.  Same holds true for Butler at FS.  He could have had two picks in that game.  Adams and Butler would give us two ball hawking safeties. I am all in favor of giving each more reps in those positions for the remainder of the season. Those switches did not hurt our defense but actually improved our defense.  Maybe we found a new starting spot for each player which could help us in the offseason as we prioritize our needs.  

Adams isn't a ball hawk he literally is just always in a good place at the right time which in our case is great lol but he lacks speed badly as well 

[Superman]

5 hours ago, Coffeedrinker said:

I don't know if the Colts should move Geathers to ILB or just play more 3-3-5 D with Geathers providing the flexibility of dropping down in the box to support the run and/or covering TEs and backs.

 

As the league becomes a more pass happy league, I'm a big proponent of the 3-3-5 D the line up would be

 

DT-NT-DT

WILL-MLB-SAM

CB- SS-FS-RS (Rover safety)-CB.

 

Agreed. Just move Geathers around depending on the opponent, down and distance, etc. I wouldn't put him in the box too often, just enough to spy and roam, looking for plays to make. They did a great job of this in the Packers game, and Geathers placement affected Rodgers even when he wasn't attacking.

 

He's not very good in man coverage, though. Until he shows he can mirror routes and not be smoked every time a receiver or TE cuts, he'll get picked on and exposed. He's better in a zone role. 

[will426]

24 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

Agreed. Just move Geathers around depending on the opponent, down and distance, etc. I wouldn't put him in the box too often, just enough to spy and roam, looking for plays to make. They did a great job of this in the Packers game, and Geathers placement affected Rodgers even when he wasn't attacking.

 

He's not very good in man coverage, though. Until he shows he can mirror routes and not be smoked every time a receiver or TE cuts, he'll get picked on and exposed. He's better in a zone role. 

True but he's a strong safety they aren't really known for coverage more so his run stopping ability and tackling..but you know this staff wants the interchangeable safeties 

[Superman]

3 minutes ago, will426 said:

True but he's a strong safety they aren't really known for coverage more so his run stopping ability and tackling..but you know this staff wants the interchangeable safeties 

 

The more teams throw the ball, the better QBs get, the more athletic TEs get, the more you'll need both safeties to hold up in man coverage. It's not just this staff, it's sound football.

 

Also, most people see FS/SS alignments as the FS being further back, and the SS being more in the box. The truth is that your SS typically plays on the strong side of the formation, which is most likely where the TE or a slot receiver is. So again, the more TEs are involved as receivers, especially split to the slot and wider, the more pressure is on SS in particular. 

 

Kam Chancellor, IMO, has never been that good in coverage, but he sure was lined up across from Gronk last night, out wide. I think Gronk was sloppy and cost himself a TD, but Chancellor's positioning and aggressiveness contributed to that. He was in the best spot he could be to contest both a quick slant and a fade, and he was able to disrupt the play enough to throw off Gronk's footwork. 

 

If Geathers can be a wrecking ball and hold up in coverage, at least, then he'll have a shot. He's basically the same size as Chancellor, and his pre-draft workouts were basically the same (slightly better, actually). Give him a chance, he might be that kind of guy.

[cbear]

10 hours ago, Coffeedrinker said:

I don't know if the Colts should move Geathers to ILB or just play more 3-3-5 D with Geathers providing the flexibility of dropping down in the box to support the run and/or covering TEs and backs.

 

As the league becomes a more pass happy league, I'm a big proponent of the 3-3-5 D the line up would be

 

DT-NT-DT

WILL-MLB-SAM

CB- SS-FS-RS (Rover safety)-CB.

 

CD, how would this look in your base d?  Would one of the lb be up on the line with the Rover dropping into the box?  You wouldn't literally play with three on the line? 

[cbear]

As far as the overall question by the op, I always want the best guys on the field.  I really don't care what number they where.  If Geathers can do a better job than Jackson or whomever, put him in there. 

[achcolts]

short term i dont mind the defense we had last week, but id like to see us heavily address the LB position in the draft.

[GoColtsWin]

14 hours ago, lollygagger8 said:

Robinson in the slot. 

He does seem to be more comfortable there, and Butler is decent at safety. 

[RockThatBlue]

On 11/13/2016 at 1:08 PM, Coltfreak said:

 

 

How does he remind you of Sanders?    He is not even close to Sanders.  Sanders was DPOY and  was a game changer.   Geathers is just an average to slightly above average safety.  He may hit hard... but so did LaRon Landry..... 

Sanders was super fast and could cover.

 

Not much of a comparison IMO

 

Hes not as good as Bob obviously, but he does play similarly. Hes a physical presence like Bob was. 

[GoColtsWin]

13 minutes ago, RockThatBlue said:

Hes not as good as Bob obviously, but he does play similarly. Hes a physical presence like Bob was. 

His physicality can't be questioned that's for sure. Dude doesn't shy away from contact. 

[RockThatBlue]

15 minutes ago, GoColtsWin said:

His physicality can't be questioned that's for sure. Dude doesn't shy away from contact. 

He will only get better too. This is only his second year, and his first year of doing it mostly by himself. Hes playing some good football out there