Sounds like it could be a 1980's R&B group, but in fact it's an area of need for Miami. It's interesting to see that they're keen to retain Chris Clemons. He's fine. He's unsexy and he doesn't make a lot of mistakes. He also doesn't make an awful lot of plays. Which is an issue. This team needs to score more and get quicker on offense and get quicker and turn the ball over more on defense. If it can do that consistently then it won't be far away. Having spent a lot of time looking at what I perceive to be the best three safeties in the class, I think Fresno State's Phillip Thomas is the most well rounded of the three - the other two being Kenny Vaccaro and Matt Elam. However, Thomas plays an awful lot closer to the LOS than I thought he did. Perhaps it was a tactic by Tim Skipper but whatever it was, it was very interesting to see. Why? Well essentially he was playing as a strong safety, in the box, attacking the line of scrimmage. I didn't chart the percentages, but I'd say that sixty percent of the time in five games watched in isolation, he was attacking the LOS. Sometimes it would be disguised and he would line up in man on the slot and come off, other times he'd blitz off the corner. In fact he dropped off so infrequently that I was staggered. I'm sure he played deeper in 2011. He's not as fast as Vaccaro but he generally takes better angles. He's not as good a tackler as Elam but he does enough. You'd have some concerns when he's one on one in space with players coming straight into him - I saw him miss two open field tackles against Boise State and Oregon that both went for touchdowns. But he's better than both with the ball in the air. He doesn't get caught out with play action and he has excellent range, a nose for the ball and does a fantastic job of undercutting routes and getting his hands on the football. He's also a punishing hitter when the ball is in the air. Just ask Tulsa's good looking junior, Jordan James. In that game against the Golden Hurricanes, Fresno State are down by a point midway through the fourth and and it's third down. They run some play action and James is wide open in the left flat about fifteen yards downfield. It's zone and the corner has blown coverage. Thomas has a player down the seam and he sees James uncovered for a first down. The QB goes to James under pressure. Doesn't fire it in, gets a little under it, but when it leaves his hand, Thomas is ten yards away. He drives off his plant foot and jets towards James and gets there just as the ball does, managing to force the drop. Tulsa have to punt giving the Bulldogs a chance to get the ball back. It's just a great play from a great ballhawk who it looks to me was played out of position, perhaps because they played a lot of option teams during 2012 and that may have affected his stock. Against Oregon for example, I don't recall seeing him lined up as a pure safety even once. When you consider the role that Reshad Jones plays and excels in, the Phillip Thomas who can sit in coverage seems like an excellent foil. This is a ballhawk safety who doesn't always look comfortable playing run but who has natural ability and quickness in space and in coverage. Wouldn't surprise me if his 2012 tape knocks him some but to me he's a very intriguing prospect at the free safety spot, especially when you consider that Clemons lacks natural playmaking ability. Thomas is also a very good special teamer. I need to take a good look at Jonathan Cyprien, but Thomas fits a lot of what the Dolphins need. Interesting kid.
He's more like the Burnett we knew in his final year, when there was inconsistency. Cyprien did a lot of two-high shell work, though, so there are some who question if he can play deep in MOF. Seems to be that he has enough range. There's one play that particularly stands out; it came against Louisville, where he stemmed from intermediate range to the middle of the field, then backpedaled before flipping his hips and getting over the top of a nine-route for the interception. One hell of a play.
Yeah, there were some rough times then. But also flashes of big talent. I've heard that Cyprien is a box safety, which doesn't ring true for me. Be sure to let me know your thoughts, though.
I love Phillip Thomas and Matt Elam. I think Shamarko Thomas is highly underrated though. He'll be a great value later on. He has 4.3 speed and an extremely stout build. His explosiveness makes him a tough hitter and gives him range. At Shrine practices he was the most instinctive of the safeties and that's important to me because it's so rare for a safety out in patrol to play instinctive and make plays on the football. He moved in his individual drills like a corner. In fact, he and Florida's safety Josh Evans (who is a borderline slot corner anyway) looked the absolute best to me in the individual corner footwork drills...they looked quicker, smoother and better than the corners that were out there. Some of that is the level of competition, but when you've got smaller, super agile guys like Branden Smith, Kayvon Webster and Brandon McGee (not to mention Terry Hawthorne) out there and you're not only hanging with them but in some ways showing them up in those drills as a 208 lbs safety, that's saying something. If we were to go with a safety early (not 12, but 42 or 54) then I would love Matt Elam or Phillip Thomas. But otherwise, I would definitely target Shamarko Thomas big time. I don't imagine the team that gets him is going to ever regret it.
I will do. Looking forward to it. I don't know what you think but every position I'm looking at so far I see flawed individuals. Or rather flawed players. A lot more than usual. Indicative of doing this too long or a mediocre draft class?
No, you're certainly right. I haven't likely seen as many names as you have but when I started going through a bunch of names in the summer and most recently, I asserted on Twitter that most of the players in this draft, that I'd seen, had to be proper schematic fits more so than past prospects.
I'm much later coming to the prospects this year as well, generally, so I thought I'd fall in love with lots of players on first view and then begin to see flaws further down the line as per usual. But I'm really not seeing too many guys I'd go to war for in that upper echelon and getting a lot more flawed players quicker.
Thomas might be the best center-field safety in the draft. Great ball skills; What did he have 9 interceptions?
Al, just seen Cyprien against Louisville. Might as well watch him against a future first rounder. Impressed I have to say. Quick, rangy, aggressive, in that one snapshot of a game, that might have been the most impressive sixty minute showing from any of the top safeties. Now I have to see some more games to see if that level is maintained. But there was instinct in coverage, there was range, downhill speed, an ability to cut through trash, hitting ability, tackling ability, some man coverage and some play down the field in coverage including a great pick. Impressive.
The more I watch Elam the more I wonder if he and Reshad can play together. Based one evaluation, Thomas and Cyprien more suited to FS.
Thomas or Rambo would make me the happiest. Want a safety with a nose for the football if we are gonna replace Clemons.
As good as Cyprien was against Louisville, DJ Swearinger was as bad as I've seen against Clemson. Tough as it is to watch the Gamecocks and not drool over Clowney, he was awful. I even wrote 'show me something' three times in my notebook. He made no plays either in run support or in the pass game. Then in the 4th he lays out Andre Ellington only to stand over him in a muscle man pose and brings a fifteen yard penalty. What a dope. The plus side for him is that in my eyes the only way is up. Meanwhile I did two more Cyprien games and he's the real deal. He sat much deeper as a pure safety against Florida Atlantic but had the obligatory pick, a number of knockout shots and showed nice clean feet when planting and driving and in back pedal. He's a first round pick for me.
I'm just not a fan of Thomas relative to where he's projected, I think he's overrated if folks have a late first or 2nd round grade on him.
From what I've seen, Cyprien may indeed be the top safety in the draft. In fact, I might be an advocate of using our first two picks on Xavier Rhodes to play cornerback and Cyprien to play safety.
I'm saying it now......Jonathan Cyprien is to me the best safety in this draft. I need to watch more Swearinger and more Eric Reid in isolation but this guy is too good. Level of competition an issue but he was superb against Louisville who beat Florida in a BCS Bowl game and were quarterbacked by a likely top ten or even top five pick in next years or the 2015 draft. He has position flexibility; was a strong safety in college who did a lot of SS stuff but looked very, very comfortable in coverage. Phillip Thomas comfortable.
