Welcome to Baltimore, Matt Elam!

[mgridda]

Everywhere, I'm reading this comparison to Bernard Pollard and how Matt Elam is this short little enforcer guy who makes big hits but doesn't do much else. This couldn't be more insulting, and further from the truth. Yes, he hits players hard. That doesn't mean he doesn't do other things well. It doesn't mean he "misses tackles" and "can't cover" I'll just go ahead and take it from the mouths of scouts, starting with the best scout:

 

 

"He can do a lot of different things. He can cover well, he's tackles extremely well. This guy is a physical guy who can tackle. Quite honestly, just about every time he had a chance to get the guy down, he did." -- Eric DeCosta

 

 

"Very good in pass coverage in the deep part of the field."

"Covers a lot of ground in pass defense"

"Can execute strong and free safety responsibilities"

"Athletic enough to cover tight ends and runningbacks in man coverage"

"Solid run defender"

 

 

"-Extremely fast, Active to the ball"

"-Very good in pass coverage and can cover large areas of ground"

"-Versatility, Can play Free or Strong Safety"

 

"uses his hands extremely well in coverage."

 

"Elam is very vocal before the snap"

 

 

 

Please stop the early misconceptions about Matt Elam's game. I put a target on Elam's back as someone I wanted to be a Raven since I started scouting players right after the Superbowl. I looked at everybody and there isn't a guy on offense or defense in this draft that plays like a Raven more than Matt Elam. He has a hunger for the football. That's what being Ravenous is all about. Like Ray Lewis, he's always around the football. Troy Polamalu is like that too. Elam flies all over the field and he makes some great athletic plays. He's one of the fastest safeties in the draft, and he can make plays on the ball when it's up in the air and he has to turn around to swat it down. He can play man-to-man, he can play zone, he can cover the slot and on the outside and is a vocal leader

 

 

This is a complete play-making safety who will be the next great defensive star on the Ravens. Not some younger version of Bernard Pollard. Do your homework, please.

[BloodRaven]

He misses tackles and some of them are really bad misses, no need to be defensive about the truth. I'm sure he can improve.

[mgridda]

He misses tackles and some of them are really bad misses, no need to be defensive about the truth. I'm sure he can improve.

 

 

Newsome said he’s one of the “better tacklers” he has seen at the position. Eric Decosta said "he tackles extremely well." They kept ranting about how he doesn't miss tackles. Hmm, BloodRaven or Ozzie Newsome and Eric DeCosta.

 

hmm....

[SecretAgentMan]

Newsome said he’s one of the “better tacklers” he has seen at the position. Hmm, BloodRaven or Ozzie Newsome and Eric DeCosta.

hmm....

Me. I'm more relevant than both of them :D.

I was about to post the same thing. Well done

[Bltravens]

Everyone misses some tackles, but from what I've seen of Elam, if he wasn't 5'10 he would have been a top 15 or so pick.  Very physical ball player with some range to him.

[sflegend89]

Elam was considered one of the best tacklers in all of college football last year.. I don't understand that misconception at all from people. He's an outstanding tackler, especially in the open field. There's HL's of EVERY defender missing at least 2-3 tackles in college. That's part of the game and happens to even the best tacklers. If you want to nit pick one thing it's getting his head around in coverage (Which is coachable and a common flaw in college db's).

[mgridda]

Elam was considered one of the best tacklers in all of college football last year.. I don't understand that misconception at all from people. He's an outstanding tackler, especially in the open field. There's HL's of EVERY defender missing at least 2-3 tackles in college. That's part of the game and happens to even the best tacklers. If you want to nit pick one thing it's getting his head around in coverage (Which is coachable and a common flaw in college db's).

 

That's because when people see a big hitter, they automatically think if a player goes for the big hit then he doesn't secure the tackle. It's basically mindless myths that get passed around when someone wants something to say about a prospect. The people who watch the tape see he doesn't miss tackles. It's funny at this point because apparently the post draft Ravens press conference call was just all about Horitz, Ozzie, Harbaugh and Decosta raving about how he doesn't miss tackles and is a sure tackler...

 

...this is a really special player that not many people felt would be. It's okay. The same thing happened to Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, and their fire and instincts just burned right through their competition.

 

I love Elam's fire and instincts. He does gamble though, much like Ed Reed.

[BloodRaven]

I made my point. Welcome to your new home Matt Elam!

[BloodRaven]

If it makes you feel better...

 

http://www.steelersfever.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97819

[rlh445]

Lol we get it gridda, you picked Elam and love him, that doesn't mean people can't look at the guy and make their own judgments. He's a great pick and will flourish here.

[ghost1986]

Everybody's entitled to their opinion, but I like to give people a chance before criticizing them (with the exception of Te'o). Look at Torrey Smith. People said he had small hands, caught with his body and couldn't run routes to save his life and he shut em up. Matt Elam's gonna do the same. And that's good that the one person was able to find 4 missed tackles from just watching tape of one game. Solid detective work there...

[T3hRaven]

I like Matt Elam and think he will be a good player, I just have some concerns about certain matchups that teams might try to exploit against him.

[sflegend89]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2MX2Hd6rU4

 

0:47 miss  

 

1:26 miss

 

1:47 miss

 

4:12 miss

 

There were 3 or 4 occasions he was in position to make the tackle and didn't.

 

So like I've mentioned before I actually like the pick and I think he's a good player, but I'm just not going to put on purple glasses and say he's 7ft tall and shoots fireballs out of his butt when my eyes say he doesn't. 

 

0:47: Doesn't finish the tackle but slows the ball carrier down enough for his teammate to come in and finish the play

 

1:26: Elam's coming off the edge on a safety blitz and he keeps outside contain during his rush and forces the QB into the interior DL for a sack. QB had no where to run coming off his read-option.

 

As an Alabama fan and someone who watches a lot of SEC ball I can tell you he was one of the best open field tacklers in college football last year. If you watch enough tape of these prospects you can find every defender in this draft class missing plays in a few games. Ed Reed, Troy, Sean Taylor, Ronnie Lott all missed tackles at some point. That's part of the game and playing that position. If you watch enough of Elam you'll see open field tackling is his biggest strength. 11 tackles for a loss last year (Most on the whole defense), dude is a crazy efficient tackler in space. Ask Ozzie and Eric DeCosta who probably watched this kids whole college career by draft day.

 

Like I said if you want to nit pick one thing it's getting his head around in coverage! The tackling is the best part of his game.

[Hraventyr]

Watching some if his tape he does seen to go low on his tackles which made me wonder if he might be slightly liable to getting leapt over.

However that said. He has great vision, tracks the ball/ball carrier and moves across the field very fast. I'll be excited to watching him in camp and it looks like he could be a starter from the get go.

I'm very excited for our secondary this year.

[Ed_Reed20]

He does miss some tackles. Hyper-aggressive safeties that fly up and throw their body around often do. But I'm not especially worried about that part of his game because he more than has the natural strength to bring down most ball-carriers when he uses proper technique, which I'm sure he'll be encouraged to use more often.

 

As for his coverage, there's definitely room for improvement. 

[BloodRaven]

Just to clear a few things up I'm not concerned about a few missed tackles or his lack of height, I'm pretty confident that he'll become one of the great all-time Raven defenders.

[Purple Nurple]

I can't wait for the first thump he lays.

[ravensdfan]

If it makes you feel better...

 

http://www.steelersfever.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97819

 

 

If the pick makes Steelers' fans whine and moan, it's all good for me! lol

 

I liked the pick. I was on pins and needles because I was afraid they would pass on Elam and take Teo. I just really don't want Teo to be honest. I don't know what it is, but I don't. I hope we don't trade up in the 2nd for him.

[Purple Nurple]

Teo is gonna have a tree trunk of a chip on his shoulder after this fall.

Just sayin. Don't really want him, but just sayin.

[sflegend89]

Just to clear a few things up I'm not concerned about a few missed tackles or his lack of height, I'm pretty confident that he'll become one of the great all-time Raven defenders.

 

Yeah I know what your saying.. it's at least good to highlight some negative plays as well so we don't get too carried away just because he's officially a Raven now. I know this is a guy a lot of us have been clamoring for since the SB ended and the one thing that kept coming up is "He plays like a Raven". That's what I think it comes down to with Elam, he's very talented and has great instincts (As do Vaccaro and Reid).. but he has the swagger and the fiery attitude to be the next great ravens defender. That's what separated him from every other safety in this draft to me. It's something you can't coach, knocking over your teammate because your so pumped off the special teams tackle he made. Now that's a ball player.

[Purple Nurple]

Was he a red star player on our boards?

[gabefergy]

He definitely misses tackles and hits rather than wrapping up. He is more of an in the box safety than center field roamer which is what we need. Hopefully he can improve his tackling form and maintain his playmaking ability. He flies all over the field which is fun to watch.I wasn't a big fan, but now I am!

[Inqui]

Here's a really good highlights clip, especially for people like me who aren't too flashy at rating players.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilRa5jbVqpM

[mgridda]

I was actually excited for your post below. I had watched that game, and I thought you were backing up your claim with evidence. However, missed tackles are incorrectly labeled. He blatantly missed the :47 tackle and let the guy get his leg free and away there. Yes. However, 1:26 he's rushing the QB and doesn't even make contact with the QB. He gets pushed out of the pocket while the Mr. Heisman steps up and takes off. 1:47 is also not a missed tackle, he had outside contain and the ball carrier spun inside without any contact his guys made the tackle right there. He did miss the 4:12 tackle though as he just flung him self at a ball carrier passing by to pick his ankle. That kind of move is very Polamalu-esque. He does gamble.

 

But 2 missed tackles...he's still one of the better tacklers at the safety position.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2MX2Hd6rU4

 

0:47 miss  

 

1:26 miss

 

1:47 miss

 

4:12 miss

 

There were 3 or 4 occasions he was in position to make the tackle and didn't.

 

So like I've mentioned before I actually like the pick and I think he's a good player, but I'm just not going to put on purple glasses and say he's 7ft tall and shoots fireballs out of his butt when my eyes say he doesn't. 

 

[Gordo52]

This would've been a greater pick about 8 years ago IMO. Elam seems reckless to me, and there's definitely room for improvement in his coverage abilities. Good thing we have spectacular player development

[Dewy101]

If it makes you feel better...

http://www.steelersfever.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97819

Yea we know their scared lol. I'm a little scared of Jarvis Jones too be honest lol

[jaege]

Newsome said he’s one of the “better tacklers” he has seen at the position. Eric Decosta said "he tackles extremely well." They kept ranting about how he doesn't miss tackles. Hmm, BloodRaven or Ozzie Newsome and Eric DeCosta.

 

hmm....

 

 

 

You seem to be taking this all very personally. Are you his mother or something?

 

For my part, Ozzie chose him, in the first round none the less. That means he is good by me regardless of what he does well. If the FO wanted him that much he must be a good player that can bolster the team.

[Ravenslifer]

If it makes you feel better...

 

http://www.steelersfever.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97819

 

Any time a Steeler fan is worried/upset, it's a good day for me.

[arnie_uk]

A month a go I was all over this guy, even got a bit of flack for how much I loved him, then haven't watched him in a while and kinda cooled on him. Need to re watch the games i have of him.

[PuRock]

Teo is gonna have a tree trunk of a chip on his shoulder after this fall.

Just sayin. Don't really want him, but just sayin.

Whoever drafts him should make sure to tell him that there really isn't a tree trunk on his shoulder.  *ba-dum-TSH*