Is Matt Elam a bust?

[JoeyFlex5]

Yeah but all I'm talking about are a couple of simple tackles that would have been either no gain or tackles for a loss for 98% of all DB's in this league.

 

Small things..btw daniels TD chance wasn't easy..he had his arm swiped at and he had to stretch quite  bit for it.

the ball went unimpeded directly into both hands and bounced out. 

 

in that situation, you need to catch it, there is no if's and's or but's about it. sometimes you get boned by little slip-ups in the worst moments, but it shoulda been caught. 

 

on the subject of the strong safeties, you can say a whole lot of those things. if pitta was the TE in the endzone there then he woulda caught it, if boldin was going for that deep pass instead of torrey he would have prevented the interception, if dilfer was the qb he wouldnt have made the choice to throw that ball, etc. you can play an endless game of "if we had this player instead" but its pointless, we went much further than we should have, with our secondary we had no business taking it to the wire with the patriots, but we did anyway, and were gonna improve in this offseason, get our healthy jimmy back and barring any major injuries, we should be one of the favorites to make it to SB50, and we dont need our old players to do it.

[Sami84]

the ball went unimpeded directly into both hands and bounced out. 

 

in that situation, you need to catch it, there is no if's and's or but's about it. sometimes you get boned by little slip-ups in the worst moments, but it shoulda been caught. 

 

on the subject of the strong safeties, you can say a whole lot of those things. if pitta was the TE in the endzone there then he woulda caught it, if boldin was going for that deep pass instead of torrey he would have prevented the interception, if dilfer was the qb he wouldnt have made the choice to throw that ball, etc. you can play an endless game of "if we had this player instead" but its pointless, we went much further than we should have, with our secondary we had no business taking it to the wire with the patriots, but we did anyway, and were gonna improve in this offseason, get our healthy jimmy back and barring any major injuries, we should be one of the favorites to make it to SB50, and we dont need our old players to do it.

 

I don't know..with two aging edge rushers …daryl smith entering his mid 30's ..Webb past it…and with no upgrade worth speaking of so far ( i wouldn't call lewis an upgrade thats particularly relevant) i don't see how we can be blind to the fact that theres too many holes in this team and not enough cap to fix them. Rookies need 2 years in skill positions to really take a team to the next level. I feel next year will be better than this year as we will have cap and a tonne of picks.

[JoeyFlex5]

I don't know..with two aging edge rushers …daryl smith entering his mid 30's ..Webb past it…and with no upgrade worth speaking of so far ( i wouldn't call lewis an upgrade thats particularly relevant) i don't see how we can be blind to the fact that theres too many holes in this team and not enough cap to fix them. Rookies need 2 years in skill positions to really take a team to the next level. I feel next year will be better than this year as we will have cap and a tonne of picks.

two aging edge rushers means nothing if they havent shown any kind of decline yet, we'll start talking about how old they are when they start to show it. webb came on strong at the end of the year after being so majorly affected by his injury throughout the regular season and offseason, and im not referring to an upgrade at FS, but with will hill stepping in full time our safety position should overall look more stable than it did last year. rookies dont need 2 years to make an impact, if mike evans or ODB was on the ravens last year you think they would have been a non factor or something? that makes no sense at all. 

 

we hear the same things every single offseason, but the fact of the matter is, we are dominant in the trenches on both sides, we have one of the winningest qb's in the league, and we have leadership. that is a formula for success and ozzie knows this, and he can fill in those blanks as well as anyone in the league, no team is absolutely perfect in this salary cap era, but the ravens will keep winning.

[1/28/01]

This turned into a Matt Elam thread. Either way, even if you don't want to admit it, there's a decent possibility that Elam has a breakout season. If he doesn't he's gone and we can stop complaining about him.

There is always that possibility, but not decent. Unlikely given what we've seen thus far.

[Dubs]

There is always that possibility, but not decent. Unlikely given what we've seen thus far.

 

This turned into a Matt Elam thread. Either way, even if you don't want to admit it, there's a decent possibility that Elam has a breakout season. If he doesn't he's gone and we can stop complaining about him.

 

 

I really hope so. We have seen it happen with others like Kareem Jackson...My more realistic hope (and probably not that realistic) is if he does play well it is kinda like Dre Kirkpatrick this year. He really came on late in the season once he was forced/worked his way into the lineup. I do think Elam has a great competitive edge so i actually think him sitting behind a guy like Kendrick Lewis or others and not being on the field may light the fire...atleast I hope

[A Fish Called Yanda]

this.. a fish called yonda made a silly post. you cant even compare the two even during jimmys "bad years"

 

Elam has flashed quite a few times during his tenure with us.  I remember him making some very good plays during the playoffs this year.  Yes, obviously I'm being a little bit facetious in my statement, Jimmy did look better during his first couple of years, but the point still stands - calling for us to trade Elam is idiotic.

 

Also, who the heck is 'a fish called yonda'?  SMDH.

[polynesian15]

Make all us doubters eat crow Matt, please! And then kick us when we're lying down.
 

Edited March 15, 2015 by polynesian15

[chunkywill25]

I completely agree regardless of what anyone says. Elams problem seems to be mental. There's a reason many were high on him when he was drafted.

[A Fish Called Yanda]

I completely agree regardless of what anyone says. Elams problem seems to be mental. There's a reason many were high on him when he was drafted.

 

I wonder how he would look if Ed had stuck around with us for another year to help teach him a few lessons.  Unfortunately Elam, for the most part, has played with other bottom of the barrel safeties and has only gleaned poor technique from them.

[tolucaraven]

Dallas traded a 6th rounder to us for Rolando MCCLAIN, Elam is certainly tradeable.

[Guest]

I completely agree regardless of what anyone says. Elams problem seems to be mental. There's a reason many were high on him when he was drafted.

 

Truly believe Elam was selected to be the next Ed Reed, despite the protests that he is a Strong Safety, not a Free Safety.  Reinforced by his immediate insertion into the Free Safety role.  Newsome stated upon selecting Elam that he was, "At the very top of his board."

 

Then, Ed Reed was not resigned and Pollard was released and there went the chance to mentor Elam as a rookie.

 

To this point Elam's career highlight is the hit he laid on Randall Cobb knocking him out for the season.

 

Still not certain what the Raven Brass saw in Elam.  He's small, he has short arms, he has hands of literal stone and the critique that he doesn't make the tackle has been there from the start.  Having reviewed all the available film on him, never saw a single thing to warrant that high selection. My guess is that he had a big performance rate from somewhere.

 

There is the slim chance Elam's Safety education is incomplete, but other than our Defensive Backs coach Chris Hewitt, whose career as a DB was unspectacular and primarily a special teamer, who is going to "coach Elam up"?  It's very hard to see.

 

Can you trade your number 1 pick at this juncture?  Who is going to give you anything but a 7th round pick for him?

 

The Front Office needs to raise their game further here. It's a ticklish situation at Safety, Wide Receiver and Defensive Line.

Edited March 15, 2015 by Danny D

[Whos_Up_Next]

Dallas traded a 6th rounder to us for Rolando MCCLAIN, Elam is certainly tradeable.

Actually we gave up a 7th and they gave up a sixth. But it's really not worth trading a former first round pick for that much after two years albeit rough years

[Sami84]

Truly believe Elam was selected to be the next Ed Reed, despite the protests that he is a Strong Safety, not a Free Safety.  Reinforced by his immediate insertion into the Free Safety role.  Newsome stated upon selecting Elam that he was, "At the very top of his board."

 

Then, Ed Reed was not resigned and Pollard was released and there went the chance to mentor Elam as a rookie.

 

To this point Elam's career highlight is the hit he laid on Randall Cobb knocking him out for the season.

 

Still not certain what the Raven Brass saw in Elam.  He's small, he has short arms, he has hands of literal stone and the critique that he doesn't make the tackle has been there from the start.  Having reviewed all the available film on him, never saw a single thing to warrant that high selection. My guess is that he had a big performance rate from somewhere.

 

There is the slim chance Elam's Safety education is incomplete, but other than our Defensive Backs coach Chris Hewitt, whose career as a DB was unspectacular and primarily a special teamer, who is going to "coach Elam up"?  It's very hard to see.

 

Can you trade your number 1 pick at this juncture?  Who is going to give you anything but a 7th round pick for him?

 

The Front Office needs to raise their game further here. It's a ticklish situation at Safety, Wide Receiver and Defensive Line.

Thank you. I felt the exact same way about elam..i actually was saying before our pick ''not elam..not elam ..not elam''

 

alas

[Whos_Up_Next]

There is always that possibility, but not decent. Unlikely given what we've seen thus far.

I think there is a decent possibility. It was hard for him because he was rushed into the NFL and doesn't have confidence in himself. When he was drafted I truly believed he would be a great strong safety for the Ravens for many years. While he has shown some flashes it's not there yet but Ozzie still has confidence in him.

[Guest]

I think there is a decent possibility. It was hard for him because he was rushed into the NFL and doesn't have confidence in himself. When he was drafted I truly believed he would be a great strong safety for the Ravens for many years. While he has shown some flashes it's not there yet but Ozzie still has confidence in him.

 

All of that is true, maybe with the exception of Oz's current confidence in Elam.  Oz called Elam out recently and the fact is Elam's Cap allocation reaches a figure in 2016 where without improvement Newsome will no longer tolerate him. 

 

With the Raven's current woes and Joe Flacco's locked in Vapor Dollar / Dead Money figure, looks like Dumerville, Webb, Daryl Smith, Steve Smith, Zuttah and even Forsett, the team player, are all prospective "management tools" in 2016.  If so, look for Newsome to draft an Outside Linebacker, an inside linebacker, a running back, a safety and a cornerback in filling out his draft selections this year, despite his "best available athlete" contentions.  The Ravens don't usually start rookies.

 

Having been contemplating Elam for some time I think this video illustrates why Newsome got infatuated with him.  In Combine attire, he really is a physical specimen.  You'd have to think with that physique he'd be a "can't miss" hitter.  Note the easy drops and the time spent ensuring the caught balls were really in his grasp.  Balls caught with no opponent, no equipment, no restricted view from face masks.  He's tentative with the ball even at that stage.

 

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-combine/0ap2000000153491/2013-Combine-workout-Matt-Elam

Edited March 15, 2015 by Danny D

[ravensnick]

All of that is true, maybe with the exception of Oz's current confidence in Elam.  Oz called Elam out recently and the fact is Elam's Cap allocation reaches a figure in 2016 where without improvement Newsome will no longer tolerate him. 

 

With the Raven's current woes and Joe Flacco's locked in Vapor Dollar / Dead Money figure, looks like Dumerville, Webb, Daryl Smith, Steve Smith, Zuttah and even Forsett, the team player, are all prospective "management tools" in 2016.  If so, look for Newsome to draft an Outside Linebacker, an inside linebacker, a running back, a safety and a cornerback in filling out his draft selections this year, despite his "best available athlete" contentions.  The Ravens don't usually start rookies.

 

Having been contemplating Elam for some time I think this video illustrates why Newsome got infatuated with him.  In Combine attire, he really is a physical specimen.  You'd have to think with that physique he'd be a "can't miss" hitter.  Note the easy drops and the time spent ensuring the caught balls were really in his grasp.  Balls caught with opponent, no equipment, no restricted view from face masks.  He's tentative with the ball even at that stage.

 

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-combine/0ap2000000153491/2013-Combine-workout-Matt-Elam

You know the famous Madden saying about DBs. "If they had hands, they would be WRs." It's pretty expect that most Dbs can't catch well compared to offensive counterparts. I was very for taking Elam. He looked to be a great SS and there wasn't very much high talent left on the board. His problems now stem from I think his lack of understanding the playbook more than anything else and terrible tackling. Both can be fixed. He pretty much has one last shot. 

[Guest]

You know the famous Madden saying about DBs. "If they had hands, they would be WRs." It's pretty expect that most Dbs can't catch well compared to offensive counterparts. I was very for taking Elam. He looked to be a great SS and there wasn't very much high talent left on the board. His problems now stem from I think his lack of understanding the playbook more than anything else and terrible tackling. Both can be fixed. He pretty much has one last shot. 

 

Can't argue that most of the time he looks confused and because he doesn't know the role, he has to lack confidence. 

 

They had him calling defensive plays early last year, because I remember Webb gushing about his maturity.  It had to be an effort to assist him in becoming familiar with the Defense and becoming a Team Leader.

 

He really needs an accomplished veteran to take him under his wing and demonstrate the trade.  I'm not certain that player is there, so we may have to rely upon our Defense Back coach Chris Hewitt.

 

In the end, he is gonna have trouble covering Tight Ends off the line or defending passes due to his size.  And making the Big Play is also something that is not going to come naturally due to his stature and unnatural hands.

 

When one drafts a free safety, it's hard to fathom how soft hands could not be considered.  In the NFL games are won or lost upon turnovers.  In this opinion, you just don't give that edge away in drafting.

[ravensnick]

Can't argue that most of the time he looks confused and because he doesn't know the role, he has to lack confidence. 

 

They had him calling defensive plays early last year, because I remember Webb gushing about his maturity.  It had to be an effort to assist him in becoming familiar with the Defense and becoming a Team Leader.

 

He really needs an accomplished veteran to take him under his wing and demonstrate the trade.  I'm not certain that player is there, so we may have to rely upon our Defense Back coach Chris Hewitt.

 

In the end, he is gonna have trouble covering Tight Ends off the line or defending passes due to his size.  And making the Big Play is also something that is not going to come naturally due to his stature and unnatural hands.

 

When one drafts a free safety, it's hard to fathom how soft hands could not be considered.  In the NFL games are won or lost upon turnovers.  In this opinion, you just don't give that edge away in drafting.

I really hope the FO didn't want Elam as a FS, but were forced to play him there, You are right, he is an awful fit there. He played SS his whole career at Florida and doesn't have the traits you want for a FS. 

[ALSKAN RAVEN FAN]

Its hard to say the guy is an ABSOLUTE BUST but if his tackling and cover skills dont get any better  he should not be any where around our team. He was definitly a very WEAK LINK in the Ravens defense.

[ellicottraven]

Is Matt Elam a bust? Hmm.. let's see. He can't tackle, he can't cover, he's confused about his assignments and he often overshoots or undershoots his point man. So, does that constitute a bust? Unless he miraculously turns into Ed Reed in his prime this year, I would safely say "YES"!

[1/28/01]

Sad to say, but he's not a bright kid.

[FlocksGottaFeed]

Is Elam a bust? We'll know before the season begins. This off-season will answer the question.

 

I still can't help to wonder if we would be asking this question right now if Elam would have come-in with veteran leadership, continuity and a strong supporting cast in place in the defensive backfield. He's never had that so I don't know.

 

I hope that our coaches can salvage his career thus far if not to simply improve his ranking to a respectable level inorder to justify his 1st round pick. It's our only chance of redemption in this case.

[ALSKAN RAVEN FAN]

Is Matt Elam a bust? Hmm.. let's see. He can't tackle, he can't cover, he's confused about his assignments and he often overshoots or undershoots his point man. So, does that constitute a bust? Unless he miraculously turns into Ed Reed in his prime this year, I would safely say "YES"!

You just made good ,strong and factual points I just kinda hope he can turn it around but I dont want him on the team just cause we spent a 1st round draft pick on him if we have guys in training camp that out play him in camp and pre-season he needs to pack his S---!!! and leave...I just dont want them to keep him around like they did Doss...

[ravenz2752]

         

 

 

My thoughts on Elam ^

[FlocksGottaFeed]

You just made good ,strong and factual points I just kinda hope he can turn it around but I dont want him on the team just cause we spent a 1st round draft pick on him if we have guys in training camp that out play him in camp and pre-season he needs to pack his S---!!! and leave...I just dont want them to keep him around like they did Doss...

There is absolutely no way they keep him if he doesn't do well. The Doss situation was very different from this one.

[ALSKAN RAVEN FAN]

There is absolutely no way they keep him if he doesn't do well. The Doss situation was very different from this one.

I agree we cant keep him if he does not do well and thats what my post said. I just hope Elam can turn it around and that would help the Ravens out with depth .. but the Ravens did in fact keep Doss and he flat out STUNK !!! This is what I was getting at by comparing the 2 situations. Right now as things go Elam stinks the first year he showed progress but last season he was a very weak link in the defense.

[RavensFanMania]

Is Elam a bust? We'll know before the season begins. This off-season will answer the question.

 

I still can't help to wonder if we would be asking this question right now if Elam would have come-in with veteran leadership, continuity and a strong supporting cast in place in the defensive backfield. He's never had that so I don't know.

 

I hope that our coaches can salvage his career thus far if not to simply improve his ranking to a respectable level inorder to justify his 1st round pick. It's our only chance of redemption in this case.

This is an excellent post and I agree wholeheartedly that the Ravens will no if he is a bust or not during the offseason, maybe even before training camp.  If he is, expect Ozzie to attempt to trade him.

[KnowNoLimits]

I don't care what position Elam played. He's a defensive player who's tackling sucked last season. When Ozzie calls you out for your bad play during the State of the Ravens Address, that says a lot!

Totally agree. Regardless of what position you're playing tackling shouldn't be an issue. He was horrible.

He doesn't wrap up the ball carrier he just lunges his shoulder every time.

[Sami84]

This is an excellent post and I agree wholeheartedly that the Ravens will no if he is a bust or not during the offseason, maybe even before training camp.  If he is, expect Ozzie to attempt to trade him.

 

I always felt there wasn't much going on in his head. I never saw him as an intelligent player. He has basic instincts but takes bad angles and has terrible field awareness. I was actually shocked that a team that prides itself on scouting couldn't see how crap he really was and how the college game made him look flashy rather than substantial. 

 

That whiffed tackle on amendola for me was the nail in the coffin for elam. Amendola is made of glass and if that were a pollard or landry or ihedgibo not only would it have been a tackle and stop on the spot ..amendola would likely not have played another snap.

Edited March 16, 2015 by Sami84

[FastEddie]

 

My thoughts on Elam ^

 

I think like this..