will elam get it straight?

[jimmypowder]

Not once when Elam was covering a reciever did he look back to the ball. Just pathetic . He was actually surprised a few times the reciever had the ball.

This is terrible instincts for anyone who plays in the secondary.

[Gtown Purple]

Can't wait for Hill to come in.

[Sami84]

Def a bad pick.

 

What to do..

 

just got to wait till hill comes back.

 

 

Elam isnt starting material. His size and lack of awareness is just too much to overcome a this level.

[jimmypowder]

Def a bad pick.

What to do..

just got to wait till hill comes back.

Elam isnt starting material. His size and lack of awareness is just too much to overcome a this level.

His lack of awareness is really bad.

And didn't he come from a big college school??

[BSHU_Miami]

His lack of awareness is really bad.

And didn't he come from a big college school??

Same school that Will Hill came from and hill is so much better.

[BmoreBird22]

I posted this in the vent thread, but it belongs here, too.

 

"Elam is going to the be the scapegoat for a while, I'm guessing. Brown was for the second week after he let up that long touchdown in week one, but Elam honestly wasn't bad. He allowed a few gorgeous passes to be completed into tight coverage, but nothing glaring or major that makes you want to bench him, if you truly watched him. 

He had tight coverage on the few times he split out, blitzed well, sniffed out some screens, and was pretty solid overall. 

I think something people aren't considering is he's being asked to know how to play nickel and outside corner, strong safety/rover, and free safety, all while making the communications. That's a lot to ask of a second year player, but I thought he was good today."

 

Oh, for all those complaining that he doesn't turn his head (not that natural for a safety who's used to having the play in front of him), I seem to remember a certain corner of ours not doing that, but said corner is now consistently called "the entire secondary".

[FlocksGottaFeed]

Has Hill been reinstated yet? If not the league is playing favoritism to the star players.

Not to date, but Elam will be okay for now. We'll still find ways to win until all that is sorted-out.

 

GO Ravens!!!

[JoeyFlex5]

I posted this in the vent thread, but it belongs here, too.

 

"Elam is going to the be the scapegoat for a while, I'm guessing. Brown was for the second week after he let up that long touchdown in week one, but Elam honestly wasn't bad. He allowed a few gorgeous passes to be completed into tight coverage, but nothing glaring or major that makes you want to bench him, if you truly watched him. 

He had tight coverage on the few times he split out, blitzed well, sniffed out some screens, and was pretty solid overall. 

I think something people aren't considering is he's being asked to know how to play nickel and outside corner, strong safety/rover, and free safety, all while making the communications. That's a lot to ask of a second year player, but I thought he was good today."

 

Oh, for all those complaining that he doesn't turn his head (not that natural for a safety who's used to having the play in front of him), I seem to remember a certain corner of ours not doing that, but said corner is now consistently called "the entire secondary".

god tier analysis. well said sir.

[flynismo]

He is COMPLETELY lost in coverage. He is Roy Williams, version 2. Except without consistent big plays against the run like Williams

[Tank 92]

It's not time to jump ship, but Matt's play is frustrating to watch. Hopefully he comes around.

[jazz1988]

I posted this in the vent thread, but it belongs here, too.

 

"Elam is going to the be the scapegoat for a while, I'm guessing. Brown was for the second week after he let up that long touchdown in week one, but Elam honestly wasn't bad. He allowed a few gorgeous passes to be completed into tight coverage, but nothing glaring or major that makes you want to bench him, if you truly watched him. 

He had tight coverage on the few times he split out, blitzed well, sniffed out some screens, and was pretty solid overall. 

I think something people aren't considering is he's being asked to know how to play nickel and outside corner, strong safety/rover, and free safety, all while making the communications. That's a lot to ask of a second year player, but I thought he was good today."

 

Oh, for all those complaining that he doesn't turn his head (not that natural for a safety who's used to having the play in front of him), I seem to remember a certain corner of ours not doing that, but said corner is now consistently called "the entire secondary".

 

I was going to say the samething lol.

[The Mom Gene]

I was going to say the samething lol.

Yes, he will be....  and he absolutely will get it together.  He's not playing "awful".  He just needs help back there.  The CB's are nicked up, and it's pretty apparent he feels he is out there on an island....  We never should have gotten rid of Corey Graham.  That was this year's mistake.  Every team makes one, every year.

 

I say give the kid a break for now.....  We had Big Ed back there for so long, we don't know how to act without the GOAT... and Ed certainly was one of those.

[rmcjacket23]

Yes, he will be....  and he absolutely will get it together.  He's not playing "awful".  He just needs help back there.  The CB's are nicked up, and it's pretty apparent he feels he is out there on an island....  We never should have gotten rid of Corey Graham.  That was this year's mistake.  Every team makes one, every year.

 

I say give the kid a break for now.....  We had Big Ed back there for so long, we don't know how to act without the GOAT... and Ed certainly was one of those.

Well, frankly, we didn't have Ed Reed back there last season, and once we benched Huff, our safeties were playing A LOT better than they are playing right now.

 

Much like last season, you've got two obvious "box" safeties that are being asked to cover receivers and defend half of a side of a field on a weekly basis.

 

Both Elam and Stewart have obvious weaknesses right now. Elam is a fish out of water in man coverage on receivers, and Stewart clearly has no idea how to play the deep half of a zone.

[The Mom Gene]

Well, frankly, we didn't have Ed Reed back there last season, and once we benched Huff, our safeties were playing A LOT better than they are playing right now.

 

Much like last season, you've got two obvious "box" safeties that are being asked to cover receivers and defend half of a side of a field on a weekly basis.

 

Both Elam and Stewart have obvious weaknesses right now. Elam is a fish out of water in man coverage on receivers, and Stewart clearly has no idea how to play the deep half of a zone.

I actually agree with that...  We had a few really good corners back there last year that I believe made a difference, and "masked" some of our deficiencies this year.

[BmoreBird22]

Well, frankly, we didn't have Ed Reed back there last season, and once we benched Huff, our safeties were playing A LOT better than they are playing right now.

 

Much like last season, you've got two obvious "box" safeties that are being asked to cover receivers and defend half of a side of a field on a weekly basis.

 

Both Elam and Stewart have obvious weaknesses right now. Elam is a fish out of water in man coverage on receivers, and Stewart clearly has no idea how to play the deep half of a zone.

But, the corners were also far better last season and put less pressure on the safeties

[PurplePassion824]

I posted this in the vent thread, but it belongs here, too.

 

"Elam is going to the be the scapegoat for a while, I'm guessing. Brown was for the second week after he let up that long touchdown in week one, but Elam honestly wasn't bad. He allowed a few gorgeous passes to be completed into tight coverage, but nothing glaring or major that makes you want to bench him, if you truly watched him. 

He had tight coverage on the few times he split out, blitzed well, sniffed out some screens, and was pretty solid overall. 

I think something people aren't considering is he's being asked to know how to play nickel and outside corner, strong safety/rover, and free safety, all while making the communications. That's a lot to ask of a second year player, but I thought he was good today."

 

Oh, for all those complaining that he doesn't turn his head (not that natural for a safety who's used to having the play in front of him), I seem to remember a certain corner of ours not doing that, but said corner is now consistently called "the entire secondary".

I was actually discussing this exact same thing with someone.  He's being asked to do a lot.  I was really hoping that he would be the full time SS this year.  We have been so unfortunate with injuries and lack of CB depth.  Asking a second year SS to play nickel corner is a tall order.

[acranfor]

Have stated many times before, but repetition seems to be the norm here. Elam has not 'wowed' anyone with his play so far this season; this is obvious. HOWEVER, anyone jumping to the conclusion that he is a "waste of a draft pick" is completely [wrong].

Like many have stated, Elam is still taking on mostly FS responsibilities. He is obviously a more natural SS. His strengths are run stopping (LB hybrid) and playing the robber in Cover 1/Cover 3 robber alignments (free/zone man on underneath routes). These both are mostly SS responsibilities. A SS responsibility he needs to work on is his straight man coverage ability on TEs/RBs/WRs. His coverage is not terrible, but he does not play the ball well. This, however, is very typical with young DBs adjusting to the NFL. Becoming more fluid in the hips will come with time - same thing with Jimmy when he started out.

Now without a true FS to compliment Elam, he has had to play a lot of Cover 2 and at times be the single high in Cover 1/Cover 3 alignments - typical FS responsibilities. In these alignments, he needs to read the play going on in front of him. Both Stewart and Elam have struggles taking on passed vertical routes through a CB zone. This is impossible to point out who is at fault here. Many blamed Elam for the 70 yard completion from the Browns in week 3 where he failed to effectively take on the WR after being passed off by Asa. However, we cannot be sure if Asa was the player at fault. Asa even admitted that he should have stayed with the WR, while Elam came to take the hook zone. Again, we cannot be sure as fans who has what responsibility. Like Bmorebird effectively stated, Elam will typically be the scapegoat because of all the responsibility he is given. He is essentially playing FS, SS and Nickel Corner as a 2nd year player. I think we will not truly be able to assess his effectiveness until we have a true FS and we also give him another year or so to develop his man coverage technique.

As always, fans here want results and pro bowls from day one. This is unrealistic.

Side note: a true FS add to this team will have a huge domino effect. True FS allows Elam to play more SS which in tun allows him to take pressure off our ILBs - who are struggling in covering the intermediate zones.

[jimmypowder]

I'm gonna recommend to Matt that he take yoga

classes starting now .

[repooponus]

I scratched my head when we drafted him.  An undersized SS makes sense right?  Anyway i like to give everybody a pass until they prove me wrong.  I have not seen anything from this guy that would make me change my mind at all.  I specifically watch the safetys most of the time and Stewart is a more solid player.  IDK why they think he can play the slot because he can't,  I mean its getting to the point where qb's are finding that matchup and tossing it up for an easy completion.  To be fair we don't get much pass rush on every down let alone third.   When your in position to make a play but you can't look up to locate the ball = a chykie or a elam.   I am not calling him a bust...yet.  We will see how this and next season goes, then he can be called a bust.  

[repooponus]

Oh an i forgot to mention his tackling skills.....or lack there of. 

[rmcjacket23]

I scratched my head when we drafted him.  An undersized SS makes sense right?  Anyway i like to give everybody a pass until they prove me wrong.  I have not seen anything from this guy that would make me change my mind at all.  I specifically watch the safetys most of the time and Stewart is a more solid player.  IDK why they think he can play the slot because he can't,  I mean its getting to the point where qb's are finding that matchup and tossing it up for an easy completion.  To be fair we don't get much pass rush on every down let alone third.   When your in position to make a play but you can't look up to locate the ball = a chykie or a elam.   I am not calling him a bust...yet.  We will see how this and next season goes, then he can be called a bust.  

But, he does appear to have built in excuses (at least for fan supporters already). Basically, he's not playing much SS at all this season, just like he didn't last season.

 

Last year, he played FS for almost the entire season, and this season he's being used in coverage a whole lot more. Neither is his strong suit, obviously, but our options from a personnel standpoint are limited at the moment.

[GrimCoconut]

I'm really hoping that Brooks or Hill really develop into what we need them to be because if not, we have to get a FS next off-season. We need Elam closer to the LOS. The guy has looked overwhelmed, honestly.

[repooponus]

That doesn't make sense to me, if he is better at SS why isn't he playing around the line of scrimmage? Why would they force him in the slot if thats not his natural position?

 

Something tells me that he can't play SS either and the coaches know that. 

[rmcjacket23]

That doesn't make sense to me, if he is better at SS why isn't he playing around the line of scrimmage? Why would they force him in the slot if thats not his natural position?

 

Something tells me that he can't play SS either and the coaches know that. 

For the same reason they forced him to play FS last season...

 

Lack of options. I think Pees wants to have his most "talented" players out there, and he's willing to put them in non-ideal situations to do it.

 

Its also possible to me that they think or know that Darian Stewart is arguably worse in coverage, and the way the NFL works these days, at least one of your safeties better be able to cover somebody or at least cover in area. And right now, neither looks good doing either.

[GrimCoconut]

That doesn't make sense to me, if he is better at SS why isn't he playing around the line of scrimmage? Why would they force him in the slot if thats not his natural position?

Something tells me that he can't play SS either and the coaches know that.

Well, I'm guessing the idea is they want him to be a more versatile player. We seem to covet that. I'm thinking they believe he can play the position but they probably recognize that he needs development. They must believe in him because if they didn't he wouldn't be playing. Look at Arthur Brown.

The coaches wouldn't play him if they felt like he couldn't play. To suggest otherwise really makes no sense. You have to remember that he's got work to do. He needs to get better tackling, recognition, and coverage. I suppose they think live fire is the best teacher.

He'll either get there this year or next or we'll move on. That simple. Usually it takes three years for some players to breakout.

[The Raven]

Well, I'm guessing the idea is they want him to be a more versatile player. We seem to covet that. I'm thinking they believe he can play the position but they probably recognize that he needs development. They must believe in him because if they didn't he wouldn't be playing. Look at Arthur Brown.

The coaches wouldn't play him if they felt like he couldn't play. To suggest otherwise really makes no sense. You have to remember that he's got work to do. He needs to get better tackling, recognition, and coverage. I suppose they think live fire is the best teacher.

He'll either get there this year or next or we'll move on. That simple. Usually it takes three years for some players to breakout.

 

I think we'll see that with Elam too. His mental game needs work, and most players don't have the mental part until year three. Also, I do think he's taken a step forward this year. Outside of the blown coverages, he's looked more like the roaming, hitting safety we thought he'd be. Not quite there yet, but live fire is the best way for him to get there.

[GrimCoconut]

I think we'll see that with Elam too. His mental game needs work, and most players don't have the mental part until year three. Also, I do think he's taken a step forward this year. Outside of the blown coverages, he's looked more like the roaming, hitting safety we thought he'd be. Not quite there yet, but live fire is the best way for him to get there.

Yeah, I was really mad at him after that debacle against the Browns when he let his guy fall without getting touched. I've calmed down since then. With that said, my biggest gripe on him is I just don't get the impression he's spending enough time in film room. I think he needs to be there 10/6.

[Drew P]

I think we'll see that with Elam too. His mental game needs work, and most players don't have the mental part until year three. Also, I do think he's taken a step forward this year. Outside of the blown coverages, he's looked more like the roaming, hitting safety we thought he'd be. Not quite there yet, but live fire is the best way for him to get there.

 

At this rate Hill and Brooks will be taking over full time duties at the S positions and Elam will be a nickel back with Darian a cheerleader..

[GrimCoconut]

At this rate Hill and Brooks will be taking over full time duties at the S positions and Elam will be a nickel back with Darian a cheerleader..

The good news is I did see Brooks back there in the game getting live snaps. That has me very optimistic.

I certainly be with a secondary of Brooks, Hill, Elam, Smith, Jackson, Brown and Webb as starters and heavy rotational players. Wouldn't mind seeing three safety sets with that group and two CB.

[rmcjacket23]

At this rate Hill and Brooks will be taking over full time duties at the S positions and Elam will be a nickel back with Darian a cheerleader..

Actually, I would say Hill would be the FS and either Elam or Darian would be the box safety, with Brooks getting some looks in nickel coverage (though if Webb was healthy then I doubt Brooks sees the field much).

 

The idea of Elam playing more in coverage is not something I think any fan or even coach likes...