Team Speed. (Will we see a return under the new staff?)

[dgambill]

Just something that was running through my head. Looking at the two WRs drafted and Fleener it looked like the new staff has put a real premium on speed at the skilled positions. While we did get bigger on the defensive line we really haven't lost that speed in the secondary and LB core either. So while it seems the speed had dropped off in recent years do you think we are making a concerned effort to get more speed and dynamic players then in the years past?

I say this because Wayne and to some degree Collie weren't burners. Blair White certainly not. Clark had lost a step over the past couple years. We used to have scary speed on the outside with Harrison/Wayne/Stokely and a young Clark....it just seemed we never made an effort to continue to push towards that until this year with Hilton, Brazill, and Fleener. Is this just a coincidence or do others believe this too. I mean bigger, stronger, more polished receivers were draftable.

[funktacious2]

Yes. Arians is a speed guy with receivers.

[chad72]

When you cannot spear a guy going across the middle like before, the game lends itself to giving those smaller speedier guys a chance. Just like the CB position changed. Instead of guys like Ty Law who could jam and make life difficult for WRs, we now have speedier but nimble guys like Revis, Asomugha, Samuel that make a move on the ball and not rely on the jam as much. We call them "play off the WR" kind of CBs, guys with recovery speed and breaking with anticipation ability.

Same thing with wideouts, we are seeing. The ability to read Ds and turn around in time and spot the ball, keeping your toes in bound, and coming down with the ball, those things are still relevant. But I can go up and get the ball and not worry about having 2 head-to-head collisions with 2 defenders if I am a WR, that changes how the game is played. That gives a chance to smaller wideouts, than before. It also inflates the market for the tall ones that can go up and get it, IMO.

If you are smaller, you better be speedy, or you need to be real tall with leaping abilities. The ones in between can get left out unless your route running improvizes so well that you manage to get open no matter what. That is easier said than done.

[Gavin]

I think thats exactly what we were going for I mean Garcon left and he was mostly speed and ok hands not great but alright, Avery is blazing speed decent hands, I dont know about great. Brazill I dont even know about, and Fleener and Allen had to replace Clark and Tamme, I dont think they bring so much more speed as they bring athletic ability and better blocking though (Im talking about Clark in his prime of course when comparing speed)

[Coffeedrinker]

_{Fleener is not any faster than Clark was when he was drafted. I have been impressed with what I have seen of Hilton and he really is a speed guy. Brazil does not seem like a speed guy based on what I have watched. I have no idea what his 40 time was but with pads on he has good speed not great. So I don't think he really falls into that category. Also the RB they drafted is not really a speed guy.}

_{Plus it's not like the Colts didn't have speed before, both Gonzo and Garcon and better than good speed. Gonzo couldn't stay healthy and Garcon was up and down.}

[GrizzColt]

Ty Law vs Marvin Harrison almost single handedly kept us out of a Super Bowl.

[GrizzColt]

_{Fleener is not any faster than Clark was when he was drafted. I have been impressed with what I have seen of Hilton and he really is a speed guy. Brazil does not seem like a speed guy based on what I have watched. I have no idea what his 40 time was but with pads on he has good speed not great. So I don't think he really falls into that category. Also the RB they drafted is not really a speed guy.}

_{Plus it's not like the Colts didn't have speed before, both Gonzo and Garcon and better than good speed. Gonzo couldn't stay healthy and Garcon was up and down.}

A highlight of Brazil showed him making a catch over the middle and then right when the defender is about to hit him, he switches the ball to his other hand and stiff arms the heck out of him and keeps going. Makes me think he is a tough little booger.

[Coffeedrinker]

A highlight of Brazil showed him making a catch over the middle and then right when the defender is about to hit him, he switches the ball to his other hand and stiff arms the heck out of him and keeps going. Makes me think he is a tough little booger.

Could be. I'm not saying I don't like Brazil, I don't know enough about his game to make any determination yet.... just that I don't think he can be considered a speed guy.

But watching him in the clips he did remind me more of a poor man's Wayne than a poor man's Harrison.

[Nobody]

Speed in the secondary? Since when?

[chad72]

The best thing about T.Y.Hilton is, like Coffee said, his body control in traffic during returns. He keeps going north south while making his cuts and maintains a high percentage of his speed while making his cuts.

[oldunclemark]

Just something that was running through my head. Looking at the two WRs drafted and Fleener it looked like the new staff has put a real premium on speed at the skilled positions. While we did get bigger on the defensive line we really haven't lost that speed in the secondary and LB core either. So while it seems the speed had dropped off in recent years do you think we are making a concerned effort to get more speed and dynamic players then in the years past?

I say this because Wayne and to some degree Collie weren't burners. Blair White certainly not. Clark had lost a step over the past couple years. We used to have scary speed on the outside with Harrison/Wayne/Stokely and a young Clark....it just seemed we never made an effort to continue to push towards that until this year with Hilton, Brazill, and Fleener. Is this just a coincidence or do others believe this too. I mean bigger, stronger, more polished receivers were draftable.

Very good point and it rides with a point I make many times.

Playing indoors and in warm wetaher cities...we will get a fast track 75% of the time and at all playoff home games.

The secret plus of this draft is that we loaded up on speed...at WR, KR and TE...

I ask agains to look at our division and then lok at Pitt, Balt, Cincy, and Cleve....

they play outdoors....cold weather and slick fields from Novemebr on for all key division games..

We play indoors or on fast tracks 11 (or more) of 16 games.

We can take those teams and shred them the way NOLA shreds folks at home

..and with a roll-out friendly QB who is a run threat...we can use sideline-to-sideline threats tom open lanes for fast runners...

It may take 10-15 games to put it all together offensively but you're going to like it..

[oldunclemark]

_{Fleener is not any faster than Clark was when he was drafted. I have been impressed with what I have seen of Hilton and he really is a speed guy. Brazil does not seem like a speed guy based on what I have watched. I have no idea what his 40 time was but with pads on he has good speed not great. So I don't think he really falls into that category. Also the RB they drafted is not really a speed guy.}

_{Plus it's not like the Colts didn't have speed before, both Gonzo and Garcon and better than good speed. Gonzo couldn't stay healthy and Garcon was up and down.}

Stop your self.

Fleener is faster than Clark was when we drafted him.

I dont think Dallas ever ran a 4.5, did he?

[Fr33UpFr33ney]

as long as we don't sacrifice SIZE for speed, i'd be fine.

[dgambill]

I do like the picks. Outside of shoring up the offensive line for the future I think we have a good base to build from for Luck. Perhaps finding that true #1 wide out to replace Wayne in the next year or so and the offense should be dangerous.

The defense will continue to need work. The thing is without Manning and Freeney's huge contracts tying up a huge portion of the cap we should have the opportunity to build something special over the next few years. Then once Luck's next contract comes up in say 4 years we will then have to pay through the nose.

[Fr33UpFr33ney]

Stop your self.

Fleener is faster than Clark was when we drafted him.

I dont think Dallas ever ran a 4.5, did he?

Dallas ran like a 4.66 or something like that. Every scout had Fleener under 4.55. People refuse to use the game film on the internet that is free for everybody. If they just watched him in 3 or 4 games they would be beyond estatic to have him on our team

[dgambill]

as long as we don't sacrifice SIZE for speed, i'd be fine.

Great thing about the new nfl is that players just keep getting bigger and faster. How many 300lb guys did we see run under 5.0 40's. Unbelievable really. To me on defense we need speed and strength on the ends and in the secondary. We can still get those big bad defensive tackles/nose tackles. Adequate speed MLB. Then fast corners that can recover and most important to me is opportunistic saftey's. I don't have to have the fastest...but ones like Reed and Polumalu that make big plays is what I prefer.

[Coffeedrinker]

Stop your self.

Fleener is faster than Clark was when we drafted him.

I dont think Dallas ever ran a 4.5, did he?

I really have no idea what Dallas ran, I'm sure I could look it up. All you have to do is watch them play to see they are about the same speed and I believe Clark had (when he was younger than 30) better acceleration and agility than Fleener.

[Hans Moleman]

Clark was also one of the fastest TE's in the league in his prime and one of the best at making big plays, that's why he cost us a 1st rounder to draft. If Fleener's as good or better than that, it's a home run pick.

As I posted in the other thread, he's the only TE I could find that's led the Pac 12/10 in yards per reception. The dude's got another gear that 6'6, 250 pounders don't usually have. I don't care if his blocking's mediocre; if we use him for that more than we have to, we're wasting the skill that separates him from the rest of the TE's that came out this year.