Jimmy Smith better as a Free Safety?

[Gashman]

Eyes always in the backfield, gets burned easily on double moves......Why not Free Safety? Cap is unfriendly towards Reed, even with Cary probably going, CB is a position of strength. I would love to see if Free Safety is a more natural and productive position for Jimmy. Thoughts?

[Ravenseconbeast]

He needs to stay healthy on field first. Doesnt matter if he play ST, the guy gets into some kind of injury every time you see him.

[The Raven]

No way. He'd be worse at free safety. He's terrible in zone. He is a shoddy tackler. Press is the only thing he's good at, and if you play him at FS you take away his best attribute. Moving him to FS wouldn't make him get burned less. He'd still get burned. He needs to stay on the outside.

[BALTIMOREFLACCO]

[quote name='The Raven' timestamp='1362847766' post='1382566']
No way. He'd be worse at free safety. He's terrible in zone. He is a shoddy tackler. Press is the only thing he's good at, and if you play him at FS you take away his best attribute. Moving him to FS wouldn't make him get burned less. He'd still get burned. He needs to stay on the outside.
[/quote]

I agree. He is and will always be a CB

[dhstandard]

No. You don't switch a young guy to safety especially one with high potential. Corners take a while to develop and Jimmy was thrust into the number 2 spot and has dealt with injuries.

If he can stay healthy he could become a top corner in the NFL. It took Webb 3 seasons to become a top flight corner. He was considered an average number 3 who wouldn't be anything better, but he made the jump. Cary Williams didn't become a starter until nearly 5 years and he showed major improvement throughout the year.

Corners take time to develop and switching him to free safety would be a waste.

[Bltravens]

[quote name='Gashman' timestamp='1362840242' post='1382472']
Eyes always in the backfield, gets burned easily on double moves......Why not Free Safety? Cap is unfriendly towards Reed, even with Cary probably going, CB is a position of strength. I would love to see if Free Safety is a more natural and productive position for Jimmy. Thoughts?
[/quote]
He gets burned because he's not an off zone coverage corner. He was drafted to play in Pagano's man schemes and being able to go press on 3rd and shorts. We play him in defensive schemes he's not good at all. He's alot like Cromartie. Play him in press man alot and he's going to play really well. Play him in off zone and he's not going to play well.

[cobrajet]

I know it takes time for young players to develop and maybe this will be the year Jimmy breaks out, but so far he has not convinced me he was worth a first round pick. I hope Webb can recover well and play opposite Corey Graham this season.

[GrimCoconut]

This is a terrible idea. As The Raven said, Smith is the following: man or even press CB with somewhat stiff hips and bites on double moves. He's weak in zone coverage (like Aso). Putting him in zone maximizes his weaknesses and even exaggerates them. The best CB on this roster to go to FS would be between Asa Jackson, Lardarius Webb (only due to his injuries, and even then I dislike this idea) & Corey Graham. Graham especially seems like the perfect fit for FS. He even said he would play FS last offseason when Reed didn't report to camp.

Jimmy Smith to FS is actually a worse idea than Michael Oher at LT. Significantly worse.

[RavensDE]

He's big and fast. He has to get better no matter where he goes.

[justifythegame]

Jimmy Smith just needs experience. Had he started for us day 1 going up against some of the NFL's best receivers, he would've been a reliable starting CB today. He will probably have some bad games early on next year, but he has the skills to be a #1 CB let alone take Cary Williams place as #2 long term.

[Ravensuperfan1]

this sounds like a terrible idea

[jimmypowder]

Webb would make more sense then Smith and that's unlikely to happen unless
his injury slows him down .

[Free Agent]

I don't get why so many people start threads about moving corners to safety. No one moves corners to safety unless they are old and slow with declining skills like Charles Woodson or Ronde Barber.

We drafted Jimmy, in the 1st round no less, to play corner, so let him play corner.

[codizzle]

No! Just no

[dhstandard]

[quote name='Bltravens' timestamp='1362849437' post='1382603']
He gets burned because he's not an off zone coverage corner. He was drafted to play in Pagano's man schemes and being able to go press on 3rd and shorts. We play him in defensive schemes he's not good at all. He's alot like Cromartie. Play him in press man alot and he's going to play really well. Play him in off zone and he's not going to play well.
[/quote]

He can't play press every down. When they allow him to press and play man close to his receiver we never tend to hear his name called, which is a good thing. There are plenty of plays I see him on the field but not get thrown at.

He's learning how to play every part of the cornerback position which is necessary. Once he is able to get those other parts on lock we should see him play what he is used to more often, but not need to be worried on plays when he is out of his comfort zone.

[rmw10]

[quote name='dhstandard' timestamp='1362870166' post='1383149']
He can't play press every down. When they allow him to press up close we never tend to hear his name called, which is a good thing.
He's learning how to play every part of the cornerback position which is necessary. Once he is able to get those other parts on lock we should see him play what he is used to more often, but not need to be worried on plays when he is out of his comfort zone.
[/quote]

Agreed. Jimmy's issue is simply putting all of the pieces together. The pure talent is there to succeed at CB. He just needs to piece everything together and play the full role of a CB, not just a press CB.

[Ravens_destiny]

Is the perfect solution. He could roam free and see if his instincts kick in to be around the ball. He has great size and speed and as others have stated he is no good one on one.

[dhstandard]

[quote name='rmw10' timestamp='1362870290' post='1383153']
Agreed. Jimmy's issue is simply putting all of the pieces together. The pure talent is there to succeed at CB. He just needs to piece everything together and play the full role of a CB, not just a press CB.
[/quote]

Exactly. I especially hate when he is compared to Patrick Peterson. The only reason Patrick Peterson didn't get exposed for his mistakes is because of his insane quickness and speed. He made rookie mistakes as well, some which he could cover up with his speed, and others which he could not.

[Bltravens]

[quote name='dhstandard' timestamp='1362870166' post='1383149']
He can't play press every down. When they allow him to press and play man close to his receiver we never tend to hear his name called, which is a good thing. There are plenty of plays I see him on the field but not get thrown at.

He's learning how to play every part of the cornerback position which is necessary. Once he is able to get those other parts on lock we should see him play what he is used to more often, but not need to be worried on plays when he is out of his comfort zone.
[/quote]
I know he can't play press every down, which is why I said "alot" lol. He does need to learn how to be a complete corner yes, but there are just things he's better at, naturally, than others. He can play press on his side with Webb playing off on another. But for what he was drafted to do, and what he is good at, we rarely use him that way because Pees favours an off coverage scheme.

All I was saying. I actually like JSmith as a corner. Just needs to be healthy for a full season and get quality reps in.

[dhstandard]

[quote name='Bltravens' timestamp='1362870721' post='1383161']
I know he can't play press every down, which is why I said "alot" lol. He does need to learn how to be a complete corner yes, but there are just things he's better at, naturally, than others. He can play press on his side with Webb playing off on another. But for what he was drafted to do, and what he is good at, we rarely use him that way because Pees favours an off coverage scheme.

All I was saying. I actually like JSmith as a corner. Just needs to be healthy for a full season and get quality reps in.
[/quote]

We do use him the way we are supposed to. It's just he gets burned so often in zone that it's much more noticeable. I don't know if PFF has the statistic but I'd bet that he played Press-man-coverage more often than not.

[Yatagarasu]

There's a lot of worse CBs out there aka Toast Webster. Jimmy needs to find a way to be injury-free. He has a good development to be a RCB or CB #2 which was Cary Williams' position and has the upside to be a physical Nnamdi Asomugha type CB. I know that it took a couple years for Nnamdi to be All-Pro status. Remember I'm talking about the All-Pro Asomugha, where QBs decide not to test him, and not the over-the-hill Asomugha.

I'm happy that we have a deep CB corps with Webb, Smith, Graham, Brown and Jackson. However I wouldn't be surprised if Ozzie address the CB position through free agency or draft since Webb is coming off another ACL injury, Smith has been injury-prone and inconsistent, Graham is in his contract year, Brown has been solid as a spot starter, but still inconsistent, and jury still out on Jackson.

A good mid round valued CB or another affordable free agent CB like Graham would be a reasonable investment for this team.