adam Posted October 25, 2018 Report Share Posted October 25, 2018 He was the biggest story during the preseason, and is almost the forgotten defender 6 games in. He is 2nd on the team in tackles, but I haven't seen him put a complete, dominant game together yet. He was supposed to be the ball hawk tackling machine, yet there have only been a couple of standout plays to date. What do you think the issue is? Lack of reps in preseason, Fangio? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixote Posted October 25, 2018 Report Share Posted October 25, 2018 1 minute ago, adam said: He was the biggest story during the preseason, and is almost the forgotten defender 6 games in. He is 2nd on the team in tackles, but I haven't seen him put a complete, dominant game together yet. He was supposed to be the ball hawk tackling machine, yet there have only been a couple of standout plays to date. What do you think the issue is? Lack of reps in preseason, Fangio? I was wondering the same thing. I know he missed all of training camp. I would think by now he should be caught up. Everyone was saying how he was going to kick ass. All I have seen is a struggling player who quite often is taking a bad angle and missing tackles on big plays by the opponent. Let's hope he lives up to the hype he was getting when drafted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted October 25, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2018 Just now, Pixote said: I was wondering the same thing. I know he missed all of training camp. I would think by now he should be caught up. Everyone was saying how he was going to kick ass. All I have seen is a struggling player who quite often is taking a bad angle and missing tackles on big plays by the opponent. Let's hope he lives up to the hype he was getting when drafted. Yeah, for the most part, it looks like he is not comfortable or is not acting intuitively. I really hope he pans out because we can't afford to have another high draft pick wasted on a bust. White is already there, Floyd is getting there, and now Smith, who doesn't seem to be living up to his billing. On the flip side, Bilal Nichols continues to make impact plays. I would love to see him get more PT, and I am wondering when Daniels will start seeing regular reps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaskan Grizzly Posted October 25, 2018 Report Share Posted October 25, 2018 On the one hand being the second tackler on the team should amount to something. I’d say that by itself isn’t horrible, considering you have players like Mack and Trevathan already in place. To put it into some perspective I took the liberty of seeing how other highly rated college ILbs Leighton Vender Each and Tremaine Edmunds are doing and here’s where they stack up. (Also consider the Bears have had their bye where it appears Dallas and Buffalo have not). Edmunds: Tkls-54 Ast-15 Sack-1 VanderEsch: Tkls-54 Ast-12 Sack-0 Smith: Tkls-36 Ast-11 Sack-2 So really he’s only 18 tkls off the pace from the other two but leading in Sacks so I guess it’s how you look at it. His hype was more on the sideline to sideline coverage and occasional QB spy. In the NE game especially going in I was personally concerned about the short/middle coverage which is right where Smith should’ve roamed. Of course to be fair they also had Floyd and Mack dropping back off the edge in coverage too and well, Brady still managed to pass there. Nevertheless I’m going to go with the advice of many others here and give it time. As he approaches year three; like Floyd is and White has surpassed, I’ll be more critical of his production. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DABEARSDABOMB Posted October 25, 2018 Report Share Posted October 25, 2018 He's a rookie who didn't have a pre-season. I think he's played "okay" thus far and that isn't necessarily a bad thing given his inexperience. Hopefully we start to see more "flash" plays but he also was only in a little less than 60% of the time against the Pats. My gut tells me, its next year where we should have a vision / goal of a true explosion (Full off-season having leveraged a better understanding of the NFL game and speed, etc). That said, I expect he'll do nothing but continue to get better from here on out. I also expect Floyd to step up. I'm calling it now...Floyd is going to have a multi-sack game this week with a turnover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connorbear Posted October 25, 2018 Report Share Posted October 25, 2018 2 hours ago, DABEARSDABOMB said: He's a rookie who didn't have a pre-season. I think he's played "okay" thus far and that isn't necessarily a bad thing given his inexperience. Hopefully we start to see more "flash" plays but he also was only in a little less than 60% of the time against the Pats. My gut tells me, its next year where we should have a vision / goal of a true explosion (Full off-season having leveraged a better understanding of the NFL game and speed, etc). That said, I expect he'll do nothing but continue to get better from here on out. I also expect Floyd to step up. I'm calling it now...Floyd is going to have a multi-sack game this week with a turnover. Agreed. He's a rookie that had no training camp or preseason. He'll get better. Floyd has to step up soon. Peace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted October 26, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2018 In a way, the spotlight has been off of Smith, which is probably better for him. Especially with the Mack trade. I would just like to see week to week improvement. If it doesn't show on the stat line, at least let it show up on the tape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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