I don't know how many of you realize how impressive his play was Saturday night. The kid misses 9 games with an injury, and comes back and immediately shuts down one of the best receivers in the NFL. Look at how tight his coverage is. He uses his hands like a seasoned vet to give him leverage without committing a penalty. He said Byron Maxwell told him to play it safe at the beginning of the season but X decided to go back to his aggressive style of play in this game and it paid off. He's also shown himself to be a good and willing tackler. A physical presence on the outside that fits this defense so well. With Tony Lippett making his own strides on the other side, we might just have ourselves another duo that we'll be proud to call our own for many years to come. This coaching staff has really done a hell of a job with these guys, and I'm confident they'll continue to get better.
I am gonna go out on a limb here and say that all of us realized Howard played a heck of a game. Even for a football novice like me, it was hard to miss! :-)
If Lippett continues to play like he has and with Reshad Jones back next year, our secondary looks really nice. Once a sore spot, it looks like a place of strength.
I dont know, sometimes he has looked completely lost out there. Perhaps it's more of a scheme thing because I think our Zone Coverage stinks!
I don't get too deep into defensive statistics, but I would be amazed if Howard wasn't the top corner in the league last week. He embarrassed Marshall and completely took him out of the game...that's super impressive for any player, much less a rookie fresh off IR.
There was one play where Howard let an out route be completed in front of him, and I remember him pounding his fist into his other hand, pissed that he took that extra step back that allowed the WR to get open. I enjoyed that the play bothered him. Most of the game, his coverage was tight. He did have a missed tackle that allowed quite a few yards afterward, but aside from those two instances, his overall play was pretty outstanding. With his talent and Lippett growing more comfortable and having those A-1 ball skills on the other side, it'd be really nice to mention Lippett/Howard inn the same breath as Madison/Surtain in coming years... you know, as opposed to Judson/Langford.
Or it could be that given the rule changes on defense it is next to impossible to stop a slot receiver these days. The rules have made nickel corner one of the toughest if not the the toughest position to play aside from the QB spot. It's a sore spot for most teams, not just us.
Yeah I admit sometimes I sour on him but then he ends up playing well and I remember he's so young and it might just take time for him to become consistent.
When he was coming out of Baylor I thought he was very good 20 yards and in, but he would get beat over the top on to many occasions by college receivers.. So far so good..doesn't shy away from tackling either..