Matt Elam's tackling

[rmw10]

As I said earlier. The Gerhart one was pathetic...

The Patterson one wasn't his fault

 

Exactly.  On Patterson, he had no choice but to take the angle.  He has to react to what Patterson is doing.  He made the right move when CPatt cut, but he slipped in the snow.  Chances are that he still would have had the TD, but there's really not much you can do as a player in that situation.  You're stuck on an island basically hoping that you can force him to slow up, change direction, and hope someone else can make it back to assist.

[izvoodoo]

Matt Elam's tackling...

 

was terrible today

yeah, really bad game.  You can tell the kids probably never played a game in the snow in his life.

[SecretAgentMan]

Exactly. On Patterson, he had no choice but to take the angle. He has to react to what Patterson is doing. He made the right move when CPatt cut, but he slipped in the snow. Chances are that he still would have had the TD, but there's really not much you can do as a player in that situation. You're stuck on an island basically hoping that you can force him to slow up, change direction, and hope someone else can make it back to assist.

Elam will be fine. DBs take awhile to develop and he's out of position.

[SeaHawk]

You are correct.  I was think of Sami lol, but I know we've had our disagreements on some player before.  Either way, my argument still holds.  He's still a rookie and has plenty of time to get the hang of things.  As mentioned above, how many people wrote Jimmy off his rookie year?  They all look stupid now.  If in a few years, Elam still isn't playing fantastic ball, I'll concede.  Right now, it's way too early to cast judgment on a rookie playing out of position.

 

Mike Evans is the player you are talking about.

 

And it just hurts to use a 1st rounder on a guy who won't really  be able to put up 1st rounder games until a few years from now.

[Bltravens]

His tackling was doo doo today.  No two ways about it.  Watching him slip and fall was sad.

[rmw10]

Mike Evans is the player you are talking about.

 

And it just hurts to use a 1st rounder on a guy who won't really  be able to put up 1st rounder games until a few years from now.

 

But there's no way to know it's going to take a few years.  He could dedicate this offseason to improving everything he needs work on and could be a superstar next year.  There's no way to know, which is why all of the guys prematurely saying that Elam sucks aren't popular around here.  See Jimmy Smith.

[Poes Crows]

He's fine.

The Gerhart one was pathetic but the Patterson one was snow.... He couldn't get footing and slipped......

 

I don't know.  He's certainly not an upgrade........lol

 

His play on the Patterson screen really looked alot like his combine drills.  He didn't shift or crossover well. Very awkward for a little guy when little guys are usually more coordinated.

 

Isn't the safety the last line of defense?

[CoolRodney]

Elam was not a great pick. I would have prefered Cyprien who went to Jacksonville.

[Tank 92]

As I said earlier. The Gerhart ...

The Patterson

 

 

You scared me.

 

The Flacco

[SecretAgentMan]

You scared me.

The Flacco

The Flacco wanted more screen time so he allowed those two TDs to go by so quickly

[BmoreBird22]

Elam was not a great pick. I would have prefered Cyprien who went to Jacksonville.

I'm guessing you've never watched a Jags game this year

[NFLfan123]

I'm guessing you've never watched a Jags game this year

lol

[wayne]

His tackling was doo doo today.  No two ways about it.  Watching him slip and fall was sad.

In the Patterson situation, no one in the league would have stopped him from getting a TD in that situation, especially with the field conditions.

[BmoreBird22]

His tackling form isn't preferred, and I really do hate when players don't wrap up, but Troy Polamalu tackles torpedo style and no one bats an eye. Either way, I'd prefer him to wrap up, but I can't tell him that.
However, I am disgusted by the amount of people who want to throw him under the bus. Defensive back is not an easy position to learn at all. He played strong safety at Florida. At what point did playing free safety in the snow not seem like it would be tough for him? Give him time to learn. I always hear people give him praise when he's at the line of scrimmage because he is so instinctual and he just diagnoses and attacks so quickly. It is way different knowing you have to cover sideline ti sideline in open space. I'm honestly not surprised that he is struggling after having played only THIRTEEN games in the NFL where many players have played HUNDREDS.
People just need to temper their expectations.

[PuRock]

In the Patterson situation, no one in the league would have stopped him from getting a TD in that situation, especially with the field conditions.

 

Yea,  I know that capped off a bad day.  But your are at the mercy of the runner in that situation.  Patterson knows what move he's making in the bad conditions, and can do so with confidence.  The DB cannot.  

 

I doubt anyone makes that tackle on Patterson (especially with the way he played today).

[BmoreBird22]

lol

If people think Elam is bad, I think they'd form mobs to force Cyprien out of Baltimore

[Bltravens]

In the Patterson situation, no one in the league would have stopped him from getting a TD in that situation, especially with the field conditions.

No, I didn't expect him to tackle him open field.  That would have been an incredible play coming across the field.

Nevertheless it was sad watching him fall over lol.  Especially considering he tried to put his back to him and turn and run.  I would have had more sympathy if he tried to plant and change direction.  Doing the spin o rama  and falling was, like I said, sad to watch.

[BmoreBird22]

I don't know.  He's certainly not an upgrade........lol
 
His play on the Patterson screen really looked alot like his combine drills.  He didn't shift or crossover well. Very awkward for a little guy when little guys are usually more coordinated.
 
Isn't the safety the last line of defense?

Wait, you mean to tell me that a rookie who had played in only 12 games prior to today and is playing out of position isn't an immediate upgrade over an 11 year vet who is Co side red the ball hawk to ever play the game? I am at a loss for words...
Wait, no I'm not. Elam was playing the deep zone and when Patterson has the open field and Elam is the last one, he can't just attack Patterson or he'll get shaken worse than Webb did by Bess. He had to wait until Patterson committed, which he did, and just hope to slow him down or cut him off, which he tried, until he slipped due to the weather conditions. No one makes that tackle

[The Raven]

This game was an anomaly for him so I'm not concerned. All of my concerns about this game (for all players) are negligible because snow. Elam's alright!

[BmoreBird22]

No, I didn't expect him to tackle him open field.  That would have been an incredible play coming across the field.
Nevertheless it was sad watching him fall over lol.  Especially considering he tried to put his back to him and turn and run.  I would have had more sympathy if he tried to plant and change direction.  Doing the spin o rama  and falling was, like I said, sad to watch.

The kid played in Florida. He's not used to the snow. I wasn't surprised to see him slip, honestly

[NFLfan123]

Reid and Vacarro are the best safeties of this class, both were gone.

I think Elam will be a good player in the long run. Don't give up on him this early.

[BmoreBird22]

Reid and Vacarro are the best safeties of this class, both were gone.
I think Elam will be a good player in the long run. Don't give up on him this early.

Personally, I'm not sold on Reid. He made a lot of plays when he had great cornerbacks like Claiborne and Peterson covering. Both graduate and he all of a sudden has a down year out of the blue? I'm not buying it. I don't think he's spectacular, but he does have a great supporting cast.
can't say much about Vaccaro, but I do know he's had his ups and down, mostly playing as a nickel back for them

[DefensiveMind]

wow, anyone who is already writing off Elam should be ashamed.  I hope he is a future pro bowler and you all have to eat your words

[OLD SCHOOL SMASH BALL]

Elam is terrible

[OLD SCHOOL SMASH BALL]

Ihedibo isn't getting it done either

[OLD SCHOOL SMASH BALL]

What exactly is a safety supposed to prevent when on the field?

[Sami84]

Ihedibo isn't getting it done either

he at least has some really good games and does make some plays. elam does nothing but run around like a headless chicken

[The Raven]

What exactly is a safety supposed to prevent when on the field?

 

The safety's job is to make sure those two TDs (Gerhart ad Patterson) by the Vikings don't happen. Those plays are the exact reason why the safety position was invented.

[Militant X 1]

First Webb gets shook out of his cleats vs the browns and now Elam get twisted up and slips in the open field against the vikings.  Embarrassing!  LOL!!

 

#Mili