Is Matt Elam a bust?

[ratedr]

Everyone likes to use Jimmy Smith as an example why Elam could prove you wrong. I never felt that Jimmy would be a bust once. I've internally wrestled with the question whether Elam will succeed or not. Very different circumstances with these two players and they are at all comparable despite how some of us may want to portray a comparison

Agreed

[Guest]

Agreed

 

I'm also fatigued with the Jimmy Smith comparisons.  Theres no doubt Smith struggled a bit in his first couple years, but he was not a "fish out of water".  In the Superbowl Smith had a great final series of plays. 

 

Matt Elam hasn't shown a lick of promise.

[gtalk12]

We'll see this year if he was or not

[ludy51]

Matt Elam hasn't shown a lick of promise.

Y'know except for all the times that he HAS.

[ludy51]

He also almost missed that interception on the last drive that sealed the W. It was thrown right to him and he bobbled it 3 times before securing it.

But he still caught it.

[ludy51]

Everyone likes to use Jimmy Smith as an example why Elam could prove you wrong. I never felt that Jimmy would be a bust once. I've internally wrestled with the question whether Elam will succeed or not. Very different circumstances with these two players and they are at all comparable despite how some of us may want to portray a comparison

Well I guess if YOU don't like him than he's never gonna be succesful

[FlackAttack]

Your simplistic mindset here is just flat out wrong. There isn't a coach, player, or scout anywhere who will say confidence is not a factor. Have you ever played the game outside of backyard pickup games? I have, and it does make a difference.

 

 

Ding ding

 

 

I still don't know if I'd say he was "out of position." People say he's not a free because he can't play single high, but I only remember 3-4 plays where he got beat over top as the single high. He's athletic enough, to me, to play free. The question is whether he's mentally sharp enough. That could come, or it might not. Although the NFL is moving towards have two balanced safeties as opposed to a free and a strong or a rover, I do think the best way to salvage Elam's situation is to use him as the rover type. But let me emphasize that nine times out of ten, rover safeties are just undersized LBs that can't cover like a safety should.

 

lol might want to learn how to read and comprehend first before you blow your little fanny.. I stated you need confidence to play in the NFL, if you dont own confidence on the field you wont succeed in the NFL. The NFL isn't "pickup" games, its a billion dollar industry. Stating that Matt Elam "needs confidence" is stating he will not succeed in the NFL. Any NFL coach, especially Harbaugh who has stated this before, will confirm if you dont have confidence you will fail in this league.

 

Not sure why you and a very few people continue to beat a dead horse by sticking up for Elam, when the vast majority of fans and even the organization dont believe in his skill set. It simply shows on the field. Why do you think the only free agency move we've made so far is a safety? Smh, football 101 man, learn it.

Edited March 27, 2015 by FlackAttack

[CTFan]

I can accept growing pains with respect to coverage, but his horrible tackling to this point is completely unacceptable. If he doesn't make tackles, he's as good as gone, IMO.

[FlackAttack]

I can accept growing pains with respect to coverage, but his horrible tackling to this point is completely unacceptable. If he doesn't make tackles, he's as good as gone, IMO.

^this. you can make a legitimate argument that matt elam singe handedly lost us that patriot playoff game. so many missed open field tackles that led to big gains or TDs. unacceptable.

Edited March 27, 2015 by FlackAttack

[GrimCoconut]

Well I guess if YOU don't like him than he's never gonna be succesful

What's your problem? When did I say I don't like him? There are things about him that drive me mad. I still can't forget how he stared down a WR instead of tackling them. Such  a dumb move. Still, I'm hoping he turns it around. I just don't see how you got that impression from my comment. I said that Elam isn't comparable to Jimmy Smith and that's true. He isn't. Very different set of circumstances. I also said that I've wrestled with whether he is or isn't a bust. That clearly means I am suggesting he has good and bad moments. 

Edited March 27, 2015 by GrimCoconut

[Guest]

Y'know except for all the times that he HAS.

[Cillmatic]

During a interview today Elam sId he lost about 5% of body fat and has gotten leaner and faster. Was his weight or speed ever the issue? I thought it was his tackling and coverage.

[Free Agent]

During a interview today Elam sId he lost about 5% of body fat and has gotten leaner and faster. Was his weight or speed ever the issue? I thought it was his tackling and coverage.

 

That's what's sad. Those are basically the two things you do as a safety.

 

That being sad, getting leaner and quicker is good. Now to learn some technical skills.

[GrimCoconut]

I'm sure I ragged on him in this thread and said some mean stuff, but I hope he gets his act together. I'd really love to be able to say that we have at least one of the safety positions solidified. I still can't stop getting upset when he stared a WR down instead of tackling them. I think it was against Cleveland. As a former DB myself, that really pissed me off. 

[LordRavens]

2013 Draft Class=Bust

[GrimCoconut]

2013 Draft Class=Bust

Brandon Williams, Kyle Juszczyk, Rick Wagner all invite you to come over their place later.

[Adreme]

During a interview today Elam sId he lost about 5% of body fat and has gotten leaner and faster. Was his weight or speed ever the issue? I thought it was his tackling and coverage.

 

There is not really  much more else he can do other then that until camp starts.  The best he can do is just put his body in the best position it can be to learn and improve.  I do take some joy in that his spirit has not been broken yet and that he still is trying to get his body more perfect for the position so at least he has that going for him.

[PurpleCorsair]

I'll give you all the Lions game, I was impressed that he called out Megatron and backed it up. 

 

He was much better his rookie year than last year.

You mean that Jimmy backed it up.

[Sami84]

without instincts/awareness and tackling he could could go to 0.00000001% body fat and it won't make one iota of a difference.

 

He doesn't have it..hes a 1 dimensional player at best and thats if he learns to tackle..he could only play along the line of scrimmage…and no..troy had instincts..same with bob sanders..

 

elam has none.

[PolishRifle]

Brandon Williams, Kyle Juszczyk, Rick Wagner all invite you to come over their place later.

 

Kapron Lewis-Moore will be huge, too. Just watch.

[redrum52]

Kapron Lewis-Moore will be huge, too. Just watch.

He's missed two years so I'm going to wait and see with him. He Was suppose to be a beast coming out of college.

[JoeyFlex5]

people keep pointing out his confidence, idk though, he seems to play with a swagger that would suggest hes been good, he could give up 3 consecutive touchdowns and then make a nice tackle on the next snap and he would be fired up and flexing for the crowd thats booing him. 

 

i supported elam for 2 straight years but its just too hard to support him anymore, ill still hold out some blind faith, but i dont think its confidence, i think its just mental, he absolutely cannot seem to even come close to the learning curve, he has horrible tackling technique, he stutter steps before the hit and he hits way too high, doesnt wrap up, bad angle, bad discipline, he has good ball instincts and i appreciate that in the most desperate of moments he has a knack for going after the ball and he succeeds at that more than his overall performance would suggest, but he also fails in the most routine of "catch, tackle, get off the field" situations so often that he is nothing more than a HUGE liability on the field. i cant help but think how good a wr feels when hes got the ball in his hands and he sees that #26 as the last thing between him and the endzone, when elam's on the field he will be the offenses focus, get a YAC guy in the open field against elam, any offense that can succeed at that, will succeed on the scoreboard.

[Guest]

You pretty much said it all.

 

Those that defend him say cutting him leaves us with his entire Cap Hit, but my view is that his position upon the Roster is more valuable than his dead money.  We've signed Free Agent safeties and filling Elam's spot with a young player with potential is a much more important consideration to me.

 

I don't see any NFL caliber play in Elam and it would have manifested itself by now if he had it.

 

Not worried in the least that he would develop for another team. Let the Steelers have him.

people keep pointing out his confidence, idk though, he seems to play with a swagger that would suggest hes been good, he could give up 3 consecutive touchdowns and then make a nice tackle on the next snap and he would be fired up and flexing for the crowd thats booing him. 

 

i supported elam for 2 straight years but its just too hard to support him anymore, ill still hold out some blind faith, but i dont think its confidence, i think its just mental, he absolutely cannot seem to even come close to the learning curve, he has horrible tackling technique, he stutter steps before the hit and he hits way too high, doesnt wrap up, bad angle, bad discipline, he has good ball instincts and i appreciate that in the most desperate of moments he has a knack for going after the ball and he succeeds at that more than his overall performance would suggest, but he also fails in the most routine of "catch, tackle, get off the field" situations so often that he is nothing more than a HUGE liability on the field. i cant help but think how good a wr feels when hes got the ball in his hands and he sees that #26 as the last thing between him and the endzone, when elam's on the field he will be the offenses focus, get a YAC guy in the open field against elam, any offense that can succeed at that, will succeed on the scoreboard.

[stampedehero]

He is on this roster only because it costs more to dump than to keep him.  His tackling skills are horrible. Safeties must have excellent tackle skills.  His last chance is this season..  With Nick Perry on the undrafted list and his alumni linked into Alabama I suspect Elam is reminded of his future now. 

[Maryland]

When we signed Nick Perry, the first person I thought of was Elam lol. 

 

Say what you want about Saban, but he teaches his players good fundamentals, which is something Elam lacks. 

[gtalk12]

No, last year was horrible for him. Let's give it some more time before we label him a bust. His rookie year looked promising, I however can't pinpoint what happened to him last year.

 

Let's watch this year now that the backfield is crowded with Hill, Lewis, and Brooks who LOOKS the part of the next safety for us

[Purple_City39]

No, last year was horrible for him. Let's give it some more time before we label him a bust. His rookie year looked promising, I however can't pinpoint what happened to him last year.

 

Let's watch this year now that the backfield is crowded with Hill, Lewis, and Brooks who LOOKS the part of the next safety for us

I disagree with the bold.  His rookie year, to me, wasn't promising.  All I recall was talk about him having to play out of his natural position as a reason why he looked so bad and was beaten left and right.  Then he got moved to SS and managed to actually get worse.  How does a player actually get moved to his natural position and get worse???

 

Some people compare it to Jimmy and say "well, J.Smith didn't look as promising until his 3rd season also" but there's a huge difference to me.  Outside of battling injuries and that Chargers game in 2011, Jimmy actually looked promising.  He was never flat out beat or out of position, he just had one huge flaw in his game which was turning his head to locate the ball.  His coverage was always very good and that's what you ask of a CB to start.  Elam's tackling was his only saving grace in 2013 and he managed to get immensely worse in that aspect in 2014.  

 

I will admit bias as I never liked the Elam pick from day one.  I wanted Jonathan Cyprien although I haven't followed him at all to see if he's been better but I can't imagine he hasn't been.  Until proven otherwise, Elam is a bust to me

Edited May 9, 2015 by Purple_City39

[Maryland]

No, last year was horrible for him. Let's give it some more time before we label him a bust. His rookie year looked promising, I however can't pinpoint what happened to him last year.

 

Let's watch this year now that the backfield is crowded with Hill, Lewis, and Brooks who LOOKS the part of the next safety for us

Will Terrance Brooks even be able to practice before the season begins? His injury looked ugly. 

[omar586]

i think he's a bust, he's our boller of the D. he miss tackles a lot.

[ludy51]

No