Welcome to Baltimore, Kamalei Correa Round 2 Pick 42

[ALPHA]

6 minutes ago, Virginia 55 said:

After watching this guy in the preseason, I'm not at all impressed.  He isn't even making splash plays.

 

Can't get off a block. Bad angles of pursuit.  Unable to read the offensive line to dissect plays.  

Myles jack was our best option here. We totally missed on this draft. Why is this guy here.  What can he do?  

Hes a rookie and like most rookies hes a work in progress. Myles Jack is a ticking timebomb

[The Raven]

Not sure how I feel about Correa at this point. I love his athleticism, but he really needs work on his technique. Honestly kinda reminiscent of the not-long-departed Arthur Brown. All the athleticism in the world, and tons of potential, but lack of technique/mental side holds him back.

I'm not calling him a bad pick or anything like that. I continue to support the pick. But I think it'll be more of a work in progress than I thought. 

For as much burst and athleticism, he sure struggled to beat tackles around the edge. I don't know if it's hand use or flexibility/lack of bend, but he's just not finishing. 

[Sami84]

Just now, The Raven said:

Not sure how I feel about Correa at this point. I love his athleticism, but he really needs work on his technique. Honestly kinda reminiscent of the not-long-departed Arthur Brown. All the athleticism in the world, and tons of potential, but lack of technique/mental side holds him back.

I'm not calling him a bad pick or anything like that. I continue to support the pick. But I think it'll be more of a work in progress than I thought. 

For as much burst and athleticism, he sure struggled to beat tackles around the edge. I don't know if it's hand use or flexibility/lack of bend, but he's just not finishing. 

 

yeah..i went and watched all the pre season games over the past few days and he really REALLY struggled with the tackles..1st team 2nd team and even a few 3rd team tackles. I'm not one of those people who thinks someone can suddenly become a great pass rusher if they struggle to such an extent..they might improve but not at a level worth really talking about.

[JoeyFlex5]

5 minutes ago, The Raven said:

Not sure how I feel about Correa at this point. I love his athleticism, but he really needs work on his technique. Honestly kinda reminiscent of the not-long-departed Arthur Brown. All the athleticism in the world, and tons of potential, but lack of technique/mental side holds him back.

I'm not calling him a bad pick or anything like that. I continue to support the pick. But I think it'll be more of a work in progress than I thought. 

For as much burst and athleticism, he sure struggled to beat tackles around the edge. I don't know if it's hand use or flexibility/lack of bend, but he's just not finishing. 

I think he's a lot more mentally inclined than Arthur Brown, he also has more passion for football and Arthur had none.

[The Raven]

5 minutes ago, Sami84 said:

yeah..i went and watched all the pre season games over the past few days and he really REALLY struggled with the tackles..1st team 2nd team and even a few 3rd team tackles. I'm not one of those people who thinks someone can suddenly become a great pass rusher if they struggle to such an extent..they might improve but not at a level worth really talking about.

I'll disagree slightly  With his physical ability, all he needs to do his work on hand use and pad level. I think he can be a double digit guy once he gets that figured out. When it comes to pass rushing, burst is the most important key. I mean Upshaw had great hand use most of the time but just sucked because he was fat and/or out of shape.

He's shortish, which increases the need to have good hand use and pad level. With our record of developing edge guys, and with Dumervil as the posterchild for short guys owning the edge, he could figure it out.

I'll be more worried if he's still struggling next preseason. 

1 minute ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

I think he's a lot more mentally inclined than Arthur Brown, he also has more passion for football and Arthur had none.

It's not a perfect comparison, just seeing similarities. I do think Correa will make something of himself but he's got some challenges.

[GrimCoconut]

3 minutes ago, The Raven said:

I'll disagree slightly  With his physical ability, all he needs to do his work on hand use and pad level. I think he can be a double digit guy once he gets that figured out. When it comes to pass rushing, burst is the most important key. I mean Upshaw had great hand use most of the time but just sucked because he was fat and/or out of shape.

He's shortish, which increases the need to have good hand use and pad level. With our record of developing edge guys, and with Dumervil as the posterchild for short guys owning the edge, he could figure it out.

I'll be more worried if he's still struggling next preseason. 

It's not a perfect comparison, just seeing similarities. I do think Correa will make something of himself but he's got some challenges.

If you believe combine measurements, he's 6-3 and that's ideal pass rusher height.  Suggs, Mack...some of the very best pass rushers are 6-3. Von Miller as wel . 

[sibelius]

Excited to see Correa continue to develop. From what I saw, you've got a guy with tools that understands the philosophy of the defense, just needs coaching on technique and game reps to put it together. He'll have ample opportunity and I'm pumped to see him there. Could see him turning into a Clay Matthews-type player for us by year 3. 

[Inqui]

3 hours ago, GrimCoconut said:

If you believe combine measurements, he's 6-3 and that's ideal pass rusher height.  Suggs, Mack...some of the very best pass rushers are 6-3. Von Miller as wel . 

Nice to know I'm the perfect pass rusher.

[allblackraven]

6 minutes ago, Inqui said:

Nice to know I'm the perfect pass rusher.

260 lbs of muscle?

[GrimCoconut]

12 minutes ago, Inqui said:

Nice to know I'm the perfect pass rusher.

I'll call John.

[RaineV1]

While Correa didn't make splash plays, he didn't give up plays either. He was generally in the right place at the right time in coverage and held his own against the run. His technique definitely needs help, but he showed good athletic ability and instincts.

[JoeyFlex5]

3 hours ago, GrimCoconut said:

If you believe combine measurements, he's 6-3 and that's ideal pass rusher height.  Suggs, Mack...some of the very best pass rushers are 6-3. Von Miller as wel . 

I thought he was 6'1"?

[JoeyFlex5]

32 minutes ago, RaineV1 said:

While Correa didn't make splash plays, he didn't give up plays either. He was generally in the right place at the right time in coverage and held his own against the run. His technique definitely needs help, but he showed good athletic ability and instincts.

He's always there and he's always in the mix, and he's always in the right place in coverage. Honestly the only negative I saw from him was that he wasn't getting pressure on the edge and that he wasn't actually making the play. But he was in position to influence a lot of plays in coverage and also showed good instinct getting to the ball in space, he just always happened to be the 2nd or 3rd guy there which is ok because our defense was absolutely swarming in the preseason

[The Raven]

3 minutes ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

I thought he was 6'1"?

I thought this too, and I think I've read he's on the shorter side of 6'1.

And if he is 6'3 and struggling, I'm more concerned.

Edited September 5, 2016 by The Raven

[kjbmore]

seen it mentioned a few times by others that given its preseason and we generally dont scheme too much - hopefully once the real action kicks off - we can send him after the QB from some different looks, allowing us to try and create mismatches for him against tight ends and RB's, we've got 2 guys who can beat up on tackles, hopefully we've added another wrinkle

[sibelius]

33 minutes ago, kjbmore said:

seen it mentioned a few times by others that given its preseason and we generally dont scheme too much - hopefully once the real action kicks off - we can send him after the QB from some different looks, allowing us to try and create mismatches for him against tight ends and RB's, we've got 2 guys who can beat up on tackles, hopefully we've added another wrinkle

Couldn't agree more. I think this is the plan exactly. 

[Ravensfan23]

KC could have shown more in the preseason, but I think he did fairly well for a guy who'll be a hybrid ILB/OLB. While Judon really only had one job of going forward and attack be it in the run or pass game, KC had more on his plate mentally in terms of reading keys. Yes Judon dropped in coverage some but for the most part they only asked him to rush and defend the run. Btw this isn't a knock to Judon, dude straight balled. 

I bring this up to ask what will the role of KC be now that it's regular season? How will he factor into a defense that now (hopefully) has a healthy Doom, Suggs, ZDS and Judon who are better natural pass rushers than KC. CJ and Orr are clearly the top ILBs but Correa showed well in pass coverage and that was a area that both those guys struggle with last year. Does he maybe replace Orr in Nickle? On early downs you have McClellan who'll step into that Upshaw role, but Correa also showed he can set the edge pretty well this preseason, so does he split those reps with McClellan on early downs to get more athleticism on the field? Does he only play about 5-10 defensive snaps and Pees finds a way to hopefully get him free on a blitz which happened a couple times during the preseason? Or even worse for him, does he find himself on the inactive list in favor of Carter who can provide pass rush, play ILB or OLB and played well on ST once joining the team last year?

Correa did his job for the most part during the preseason, but I don't feel he made the type of impression that forces the coaches to find a way to get him on the field. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Correa inactive in week 1. 

[GrimCoconut]

36 minutes ago, JoeyFlex5 said:

I thought he was 6'1"?

 

33 minutes ago, The Raven said:

I thought this too, and I think I've read he's on the shorter side of 6'1.

And if he is 6'3 and struggling, I'm more concerned.

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2016/profiles/kamalei-correa?id=2555339 - Lists him as 6-3 243LBs. 

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/2061725/kamalei-correa - Also confirms the above. Could be wrong, though, and possibly took those numbers from the link above.

http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=130127&draftyear=2016&genpos=OLB - This lists him as 6-3, but a closer looks suggests 6025, which is really like 6'2 1/2" (lol).

Sounds like he's 6-2 or 6-3, somewhere near that. Perhaps you guys were thinking of Victor Ochi? He is 6-1. 

[chunkywill25]

give him time.. he has a lot on his plate. the team needs to find his role

[PurpleCity5]

He hasn't been bad at all. I think we just expected more. We heard a lot about him in TC but in the pre-season it didn't show all that much. There's still time for him though/

[sflegend89]

Let me preface this by saying we no doubt have an elite front office. They get so many things right that the fans are completely off base about. Heck it already seems like many fans were dead wrong on Stanley and he was a great pick for example. Far more often then not they get it right even when the fan base isn't on board.

But there are instances in which the fans do get it right and front office overthinks something or is a little too smart for their own good. Things like passing on Keenan Allen and Stefon Diggs come to mind, in 2013 we put all our eggs in the Doss/D.Thompson basket "we like our guys" decision despite heavy criticism from the fanbase.

It's certainly too early to tell with Correa... but if we could go back in time and take Myles Jack or Noah Spence I have a hard time believing we wouldn't, let me just put it that way. It does feel a bit like Arthur Brown already (difference being the fans loved that pick at the time). Hope I'm wrong, hope I'm dead wrong. Just haven't gotten a good vibe off that pick thus far.

[kjbmore]

i dont really view this as a kc vs spence or jack conversation anymore- if we werent sold on either player, the trade back and picking up extra picks look good to me

We've added a deep threat, big play guy in Chris Moore and a budding pass rusher in Matt Judon

I look more at who was still on the board when we picked KC, all what ifs though

If one of these players reach a high level, I think the front office has done their job, if 2 reach a high level thats a great job, if all 3 hit - you get to be the Wizard

[sibelius]

8 hours ago, kjbmore said:

i dont really view this as a kc vs spence or jack conversation anymore- if we werent sold on either player, the trade back and picking up extra picks look good to me

We've added a deep threat, big play guy in Chris Moore and a budding pass rusher in Matt Judon

I look more at who was still on the board when we picked KC, all what ifs though

If one of these players reach a high level, I think the front office has done their job, if 2 reach a high level thats a great job, if all 3 hit - you get to be the Wizard

 

Totally agree. It's easy to be shortsighted about our moves but the front office has so much more to consider. Outsiders have the benefit of hindsight which is a poor method of judging decision-making in all walks of life.

I agree with your assessment. If any two of the three between KC, Moore and Judon, pan out the 2nd round move was a home run. If all 3 excel then I think the keyboard GMs should do the right thing and ban themselves. 

[The Raven]

21 hours ago, GrimCoconut said:

 

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2016/profiles/kamalei-correa?id=2555339 - Lists him as 6-3 243LBs. 

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/2061725/kamalei-correa - Also confirms the above. Could be wrong, though, and possibly took those numbers from the link above.

http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=130127&draftyear=2016&genpos=OLB - This lists him as 6-3, but a closer looks suggests 6025, which is really like 6'2 1/2" (lol).

Sounds like he's 6-2 or 6-3, somewhere near that. Perhaps you guys were thinking of Victor Ochi? He is 6-1. 

I'm gonna chalk it up to message boarding while working. 

If he's 6'3, he's really gotta work on his hand use or something. He's too much of a specimen to be this unproductive. 

[usmccharles]

I think Dodd was our pick.  Hopefully we can develop some young D guys because when Doom and Suggs leave...we arent going to have anyone to be the face of the defense outside of CJ

[Sami84]

19 hours ago, sflegend89 said:

Let me preface this by saying we no doubt have an elite front office. They get so many things right that the fans are completely off base about. Heck it already seems like many fans were dead wrong on Stanley and he was a great pick for example. Far more often then not they get it right even when the fan base isn't on board.

But there are instances in which the fans do get it right and front office overthinks something or is a little too smart for their own good. Things like passing on Keenan Allen and Stefon Diggs come to mind, in 2013 we put all our eggs in the Doss/D.Thompson basket "we like our guys" decision despite heavy criticism from the fanbase.

It's certainly too early to tell with Correa... but if we could go back in time and take Myles Jack or Noah Spence I have a hard time believing we wouldn't, let me just put it that way. It does feel a bit like Arthur Brown already (difference being the fans loved that pick at the time). Hope I'm wrong, hope I'm dead wrong. Just haven't gotten a good vibe off that pick thus far.

 

 

Dodd wouldnt have bee a good pick. Chris Jones though .....

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

KC is being asked to do a whole heckuva lot more than just rush the passer... So I think it's important to give him time. 

He hasn't impressed with his pass rush opportunities and has struggled beating NFL tackles (at times simply looked overmatched, unsure of how to beat them) but for now I'm gonna give him a pass in that he's probably having to think a lot more and isn't at the point where he can just play free yet. 

I'm sure there's still a bit of him having to really process info and figure out what his responsibility is on a given play and that's causing him to hesitate some or overthink things. 

As others have said - he's routinely in the right place, especially in coverage and in ball pursuit... Just getting there maybe a hair late to really make some big plays. I think that speaks to this. 

And for me that's encouraging for a start. He's diagnosing properly, reading plays right and reacting accordingly... It's just taking a fraction longer bc he's got a lot of new responsibilities on his plate. 

Once it all becomes second nature, I think he's shown the athleticism and football IQ to start making these plays. He's flying to the ball... so once it's a natural reaction instead of a cognitive process and decision - I think he'll start showing up all over the place. 

I always felt he was going to be more effective as a delayed blitz guy, shooting gaps than a traditional 3-4 OLB edge rusher. But as a situational guy blitzing from ILB or getting isolation on a TE, I think that's where he'll prove to be a productive pass rusher for us..... While offering a lot as a coverage LB, and as a clean up tackler pursuing sideline to sideline against the run and short/intermediate pass plays. 

Hes arguably got the biggest hill to climb of all our rookies. Personally I think he's best suited as a traditional 4-3 OLB and being asked to play ILB and 3-4 OLB.... So it's reasonable that it's going to take a little bit to put it together. 

Whats been encouraging is his understanding of zone coverages, getting into his drops properly, and that he's been getting to the ball on nearly every play. Those will start to turn into splash plays with more reps and comfort. 

I'm pleased with where he's at. 

[Passepartout]

Glad that he seems to understand and is being shown the ropes. So far it is looking good.

[flynismo]

On 4/30/2016 at 0:23 AM, flynismo said:

No. KC would get eaten alive at ILB

Yes, I'm quoting myself...

Maybe not quite eaten alive, but certainly a dud so far. He's playing out of position, that's the coaches fault.

[Sami84]

guys we have had duds in every draft..we havent had one draft in history where over 50% of the picks became good-great players. chances are kamalei is going to be a flop. The only one that had more winners than losers was 2007.

Edited September 6, 2016 by Sami84