Different Views On Frank Walker

[BloodRaven]

On one side you have our current coach John Harbaugh, former secondary coach for the Eagles (although was probably lucky to work with all-pro/pro bowler types like Dawkins, Troy Vincent, Bobby Taylor, Sheldon Brown, Lito Sheppard, Michael Lewis etc)

Soundbites he's given about Walker:

[i]"We've said all along Frank can play"

"Frank, contrary to what some people might think, is a heck of a football player, he's a solid cover corner, he's a good tackler, and he's got a chance to be a good special teams player - and he can run"

“I wanted to give Frank a chance. That was my call all the way. I feel like we need to play the way we need to play, and we’re going to try to put the guys out there that play well enough for us to get the job done. And you know, that’s not a knock on Fabian or Frank or anybody else. I’ve got confidence in Fabian. I know Fabian is a really good player. Just at that point in time, as a coach, you felt like, ‘You know what, I’m going to try something different." [/i]



Then you have Rod Woodson, a HOF cornerback, has records and accolades etc, wears a big Superbowl ring that he won with us...

According to Woodson, the Ravens need to work on fundamentals. He watched in shock as Ravens cornerback Frank Walker lined up against Minnesota receiver Sidney Rice in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

Woodson said Rice was only 3 to 4 yards off the sideline as he lined up. He said he was surprised when Walker still took the outside position.

[i]"He could only have run a slant, a go or a back-shoulder fade down that sideline, so why do you take the outside?" Woodson asked. "As soon as they snapped the ball, I just said, 'Throw it Brett,' and he threw it on a straight line to Rice for the long catch.

"What was [Walker] doing on that play?" Woodson asked. "As soon as the ball was snapped, Walker bailed and started running. Regardless of blitz zones, spy zones or whatever you want to call them, if you don't have corners who are going to make plays, you're going to get beat."


"Whatever happened to lining up 7 to 8 yards off the line of scrimmage? You play press coverage or whatever, but you hold until you're 12 to 15 to 20 yards off the line of scrimmage before you turn," Woodson said. "Sooner or later, somebody has to be accountable for the poor play, regardless if you're a player, the position coach or the defensive coordinator."[/i]




Ok, now I know Harbaugh doesn't throw players under the bus but it really seems as if he really thinks Frank Walker is a great cornerback.

[YYZ66]

I think most of us are still amazed he made the final cut this year.
Too bad we didn't trade him to Green Bay instead of Martin......

[BMOREHAWAII]

[quote name='BloodRaven' date='28 October 2009 - 08:40 PM' timestamp='1256798459' post='267827']
On one side you have our current coach John Harbaugh, former secondary coach for the Eagles (although was probably lucky to work with all-pro/pro bowler types like Dawkins, Troy Vincent, Bobby Taylor, Sheldon Brown, Lito Sheppard, Michael Lewis etc)

Soundbites he's given about Walker:

[i]"We've said all along Frank can play"

"Frank, contrary to what some people might think, is a heck of a football player, he's a solid cover corner, he's a good tackler, and he's got a chance to be a good special teams player - and he can run"

“I wanted to give Frank a chance. That was my call all the way. I feel like we need to play the way we need to play, and we’re going to try to put the guys out there that play well enough for us to get the job done. And you know, that’s not a knock on Fabian or Frank or anybody else. I’ve got confidence in Fabian. I know Fabian is a really good player. Just at that point in time, as a coach, you felt like, ‘You know what, I’m going to try something different." [/i]



Then you have Rod Woodson, a HOF cornerback, has records and accolades etc, wears a big Superbowl ring that he won with us...

According to Woodson, the Ravens need to work on fundamentals. He watched in shock as Ravens cornerback Frank Walker lined up against Minnesota receiver Sidney Rice in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

Woodson said Rice was only 3 to 4 yards off the sideline as he lined up. He said he was surprised when Walker still took the outside position.

[i]"He could only have run a slant, a go or a back-shoulder fade down that sideline, so why do you take the outside?" Woodson asked. "As soon as they snapped the ball, I just said, 'Throw it Brett,' and he threw it on a straight line to Rice for the long catch.

"What was [Walker] doing on that play?" Woodson asked. "As soon as the ball was snapped, Walker bailed and started running. Regardless of blitz zones, spy zones or whatever you want to call them, if you don't have corners who are going to make plays, you're going to get beat."


"Whatever happened to lining up 7 to 8 yards off the line of scrimmage? You play press coverage or whatever, but you hold until you're 12 to 15 to 20 yards off the line of scrimmage before you turn," Woodson said. "Sooner or later, somebody has to be accountable for the poor play, regardless if you're a player, the position coach or the defensive coordinator."[/i]




Ok, now I know Harbaugh doesn't throw players under the bus but it really seems as if he really thinks Frank Walker is a great cornerback.
[/quote]
Maybe he is seeing something that we dont see off the field with guys like Walker and Carr.Whatever it is, i hope he realizes something isn't right and soon. Because they sure arent making plays when its crunch time.

[Tighthead420]

There's that whole technique thing. They are NFL players, and physically must have the gifts needed. Otherwise, they would not be on the team if they couldn't run or be physical. So what's that leave?

[Alexir]

[quote name='YYZ66' date='29 October 2009 - 02:52 AM' timestamp='1256799152' post='267828']
I think most of us are still amazed he made the final cut this year. [img]http://boards.baltimoreravens.com/public/style_emoticons/default/scared2.gif[/img]
Too bad we didn't trade him to Green Bay instead of Martin......
[/quote]

Since he came from GB I dont think that would have happened.

Anyways, Like you have probably already seen me write about, I think Frank Walker is the least of our problems. Maybe if other cornerbacks on our team stepped it up he wouldnt be out there for all of you to complain about. Ever think about that?

[hazeleyes]

[quote name='YYZ66' date='29 October 2009 - 01:52 AM' timestamp='1256799152' post='267828']
I think most of us are still amazed he made the final cut this year.
Too bad we didn't trade him to Green Bay instead of Martin......
[/quote]
They couldn't trade Walker to Green Bay he has already been apart of the team in '07 and played so poorly he was benched most of the year. Green Bay would have laughed at the idea of taking him back after they released him based on how bad he was with them

[FerrariFan87]

Walker is terrible, but as long as he's on the Ravens, I'm going to hope for the best when he's in there... even though a pass interference, holding, or illegal contact penalty is inevitable.

[BloodRaven]

Don't get me wrong I want my Ravens to succeed but with Walker Ive seen enough to say I just don't see it happening, I used to think I was missing something but if Rod Woodson says you can't play corner then Im inclined to agree. I can't believe Im saying this... as bad as a pass interference call is it's still better than a touchdown.

[Marc2k6]

So what everyone is saying in a nut shell is that Frank Walker is a taller version of Corey Ivy?

[POE]

I still feel Frank can and should play in this defense but we can't leave him on guy that was making plays all day long, one on one in that close of a game like we did with the Vikings. This doesn't mean that his play doesn't frustrate me because I completely agree with what Woodson said, and after watching the replay he was exactly right Walker gave the receiver the inside and never forced the receiver to the sideline. They teach the whole use the sideline as another defender back at high school, so get back to the basics. As Chris Berman would say, "C'mon MAN!"

[Marc2k6]

[quote name='POE' date='29 October 2009 - 09:41 AM' timestamp='1256823671' post='267896']
I still feel Frank can and should play in this defense but we can't leave him on guy that was making plays all day long, one on one in that close of a game like we did with the Vikings. This doesn't mean that his play doesn't frustrate me because I completely agree with what Woodson said, and after watching the replay he was exactly right Walker gave the receiver the inside and never forced the receiver to the sideline. They teach the whole use the sideline as another defender back at high school, so get back to the basics. As Chris Berman would say, "C'mon MAN!"
[/quote]

I remember reading some where that Frank Walker was committing a lot of holding penalties during training camp and D. Mason did say something to Walker about it. Walker response was something like they have to see it to call it or something and I guess that is how he is playing.

[Shawn`]

I don't mind Frank being on our Cornerback team, it's just that he doesn't have enough to cover guys like Rice. They should revalute who he covers based on his skill set and the opposing wide receivers.

For example, don't let him cover the Brandon Marshall's of the league! Leave him on Stokley.

[TSizzle00]

He can tackle and cover the short pass.

[WinnipegRaven]

[quote name='Marc2k6' date='29 October 2009 - 08:56 AM' timestamp='1256828200' post='267911']
I remember reading some where that Frank Walker was committing a lot of holding penalties during training camp and D. Mason did say something to Walker about it. Walker response was something like they have to see it to call it or something and I guess that is how he is playing.
[/quote]
Ya, yesterday I read something he said along the lines of - its hard to play CB in today's NFL because they have to figure out creative ways to cheat without getting caught because todays NFL wants high scoring games.

[Mick0311]

[quote name='TSizzle00' date='29 October 2009 - 09:18 AM' timestamp='1256829525' post='267917']
He can tackle and cover the short pass.
[/quote]


Except for the slant, oh, and when he trips over his feet.

[Alexir]

[quote name='Mick0311' date='29 October 2009 - 11:52 AM' timestamp='1256831553' post='267938']
Except for the slant, oh, and when he trips over his feet.
[/quote]


nah, thats chris carr...actually every cornerback on our team has tripped over their feet atleast once this year. Fox does it the most.

[Dave LaP]

[quote name='Alexir' date='29 October 2009 - 12:32 PM' timestamp='1256833956' post='267953']
nah, thats chris carr...actually every cornerback on our team has tripped over their feet atleast once this year. Fox does it the most.
[/quote]

Walker often stays close to the man he's covering when one on one. He often attacks the receiver though, before the ball arrives. He needs to correct that and he'll be OK.

As far as the position taken (from Rod Woodson's comments) yeah that seems like a no-brainer to me too. Maybe he thought he had inside help? If not, that seems like an entirely correctable thing too.

[Ed_Reed20]

Frank has proven he can play in the past but he's been embarrassed too many times this year. I don't see Harbaugh ever coming out and saying a career nickel needs to work on his fundamentals but it's painfully obvious he does.

It isn't a big deal how Harbaugh addresses Frank though. He isn't a building block for this team and his playing time should steadily decrease if Webb progresses the way the fans and coaches want him to.

[YYZ66]

[quote name='Dave LaP' date='29 October 2009 - 01:46 PM' timestamp='1256834791' post='267959']
[b]Walker often stays close to the man he's covering when one on one. He often attacks the receiver though, before the ball arrives.[/b] He needs to correct that and he'll be OK.

As far as the position taken (from Rod Woodson's comments) yeah that seems like a no-brainer to me too. Maybe he thought he had inside help? If not, that seems like an entirely correctable thing too.
[/quote]

I've noticed that too. He never seems to play the ball, even when in good position.

[BloodRaven]

Its possible he was defending against streaks and out routes by forcing a slant towards help on the inside... look, even if Walker isn't a good enough cover corner to shut out anyone it shouldn't have been a big play.

[noy]

Wait, I thought Harbaugh was the special teams coach on Philadelphia..

As for Walker...maybe they should have referees participate in practice?

[Jamal]

That play still boggles my mind......

[darklight1216]

Is anyone else eerily reminded of Billick talking about Boller?

[quote name='noy' date='29 October 2009 - 01:44 PM' timestamp='1256838287' post='267994']
Wait, I thought Harbaugh was the special teams coach on Philadelphia..

As for Walker...maybe they should have referees participate in practice?
[/quote]
He was a special teams coach for about nine years and then Reid made him the secondary coach because he knew that ST coaches don't usually get head coaching jobs so he wanted to help Harbs out.

It's funny you should mention that. I remember reading how Mason told Walker during training camp, that if he didn't stop grabbing jerseys he would get flagged in a game.

[ROH522155]

[quote name='BMOREHAWAII' date='29 October 2009 - 05:03 AM' timestamp='1256807012' post='267858']
Maybe he is seeing something that we dont see off the field with guys like Walker and Carr.Whatever it is, i hope he realizes something isn't right and soon. Because they sure arent making plays when its crunch time.
[/quote]

I gave you a -1 jus because of the Eron Riley statement in your signature

[ravensfolife]

[quote name='BloodRaven' date='29 October 2009 - 01:04 PM' timestamp='1256835879' post='267965']
Its possible he was defending against streaks and out routes by forcing a slant towards help on the inside... look, even if Walker isn't a good enough cover corner to shut out anyone it shouldn't have been a big play.
[/quote]
I've seen Walker make a couple of plays this year for us. With that said, with the game on the line theres no way he should have lined up against there deep threat. Landry was coming up for the run, so was Reed suppose to help over the top. Or was we in cover 0?

[Ed_Reed20]

[quote name='ravensfolife' date='30 October 2009 - 01:24 PM' timestamp='1256923484' post='268444']
I've seen Walker make a couple of plays this year for us. With that said, with the game on the line theres no way he should have lined up against there deep threat. Landry was coming up for the run,[b] so was Reed suppose to help over the top. Or was we in cover 0?[/b]
[/quote]

I really think Reed either bailed from his deep center-field role to break on a play that was never there or he was simply watched Favre for so long that by the time Favre uncorked the bomb, Rice and Walker were too far down-field for him to do anything about it.

[BMOREHAWAII]

[quote name='ravensorioleshoyas522155' date='30 October 2009 - 07:09 AM' timestamp='1256922585' post='268437']
I gave you a -1 jus because of the Eron Riley statement in your signature
[/quote]
Dont hate.. When it happens it'll still be in my sig

[Bltravens]

[quote name='ravensfolife' date='30 October 2009 - 11:24 AM' timestamp='1256923484' post='268444']
I've seen Walker make a couple of plays this year for us. With that said, with the game on the line theres no way he should have lined up against there deep threat. Landry was coming up for the run, so was Reed suppose to help over the top. Or was we in cover 0?
[/quote]
Ya Walker was supposed to have help over the top I dont know if it was Ed or Dawan but someobody was supposed to help him. Personally I think its BS that whoever had that assignment blew it, you know Frank Walker is on the field, you know theres an 80% chance that Favre is going to throw Walkers way. Why do u blow coverage...like what are u thinking

[T-Sizzle55]

[quote name='Alexir' date='29 October 2009 - 08:28 AM' timestamp='1256819321' post='267863']
Since he came from GB I dont think that would have happened.

Anyways, Like you have probably already seen me write about, I think Frank Walker is the least of our problems. Maybe if other cornerbacks on our team stepped it up he wouldnt be out there for all of you to complain about. Ever think about that?
[/quote]

Good point. If Foxworth and Fabian stepped up Frank would see a lot less time and he was put in the game because Fabian got benched! That's when Sidney Rice gave Frank a wink and took a 63 yard catch to set up a field goal that ultimately won them the game.

Our new motto. "Play better so we can keep the gridiron Frank Walker free!".

[T-Sizzle55]

[quote name='Bltravens' date='30 October 2009 - 05:35 PM' timestamp='1256938542' post='268559']
Ya Walker was supposed to have help over the top I dont know if it was Ed or Dawan but someobody was supposed to help him. Personally I think its BS that whoever had that assignment blew it, you know Frank Walker is on the field, you know theres an 80% chance that Favre is going to throw Walkers way. Why do u blow coverage...like what are u thinking
[/quote]

It was previously blamed on Reed but it was Landry's assignment. Landry said he was covering an intermediate route instead and left Walker alone with 6'4 Sidney Rice who at that time had only 116 yards. Whoopsy!