What do you think of our Secondary?

[Mike]

There are a lot of new faces in our secondary. Overall, the secondary is very young. How do you think they will perform? Do you think the secondary will struggle, improve over last years secondary, etc???

[NOT THE DUDE...]

the improved talent in the secondary with a waaaaaay better pass rush plus wanny should pay off big....

[Mike]

My Opinion:

1) McGee: he is over the hill. Getting slower and more prone to injury
2) McKelvin: poor ball skills. Basically he has great skills to cover WR but poor ball skills so even during good coverage the WR comes down with the ball.
3) A. Williams: was a rookie last year who went out mid season with an injure. I think he will improve.
4) Gilmore: will have rookie moment. get burned quite a few times, come down with some picks/plays. He will have good and bad moment.
5) Byrd: Average Safety. Not lightening fast or a big hitter. Was a play maker in a cover 2 but had his first pick in last game of season. I think we see more of the same. Maybe he improves a little.
6) Scott: had a good number of picks last season. Has good ball skills and a knack for turnovers. Overall, I like him a lot but he is what he is: slightly above average.

Overall: Secondary might be one of the weaknesses of the defense. Rookies/2nd year players will have their bumps and will make some plays. I dont expect this unit to make a difference this year or to be dominant in any way shape or form. Will get shredded vs top passing teams, will dominate worst passing attacks.

[MDFINFAN]

My Opinion:

1) McGee: he is over the hill. Getting slower and more prone to injury
2) McKelvin: poor ball skills. Basically he has great skills to cover WR but poor ball skills so even during good coverage the WR comes down with the ball.
3) A. Williams: was a rookie last year who went out mid season with an injure. I think he will improve.
4) Gilmore: will have rookie moment. get burned quite a few times, come down with some picks/plays. He will have good and bad moment.
5) Byrd: Average Safety. Not lightening fast or a big hitter. Was a play maker in a cover 2 but had his first pick in last game of season. I think we see more of the same. Maybe he improves a little.
6) Scott: had a good number of picks last season. Has good ball skills and a knack for turnovers. Overall, I like him a lot but he is what he is: slightly above average.

Overall: Secondary might be one of the weaknesses of the defense. Rookies/2nd year players will have their bumps and will make some plays. I dont expect this unit to make a difference this year or to be dominant in any way shape or form. Will get shredded vs top passing teams, will dominate worst passing attacks.

Mikey, if that's your assessment, that's not too good, but from what I remember of them last year that's pretty accurate.. Wanny, while coaching in Miami, had 2 pro bowl corners in Madison and Surtain, which helped our DL get to QB's, He had pro bowlers in Dallas too.. I haven't seen a wanny without serious secondary personnel, this will be interesting if the DL doesn't get to the QB quick, and Wanny never used a lot of blitz packages which use to get on my nerve..maybe with the new pass happy NFL, he may change he ways..

[better days]

My Opinion:

1) McGee: he is over the hill. Getting slower and more prone to injury
2) McKelvin: poor ball skills. Basically he has great skills to cover WR but poor ball skills so even during good coverage the WR comes down with the ball.
3) A. Williams: was a rookie last year who went out mid season with an injure. I think he will improve.
4) Gilmore: will have rookie moment. get burned quite a few times, come down with some picks/plays. He will have good and bad moment.
5) Byrd: Average Safety. Not lightening fast or a big hitter. Was a play maker in a cover 2 but had his first pick in last game of season. I think we see more of the same. Maybe he improves a little.
6) Scott: had a good number of picks last season. Has good ball skills and a knack for turnovers. Overall, I like him a lot but he is what he is: slightly above average.

Overall: Secondary might be one of the weaknesses of the defense. Rookies/2nd year players will have their bumps and will make some plays. I dont expect this unit to make a difference this year or to be dominant in any way shape or form. Will get shredded vs top passing teams, will dominate worst passing attacks.

A good pass rush will make a mediocre backfield look good. The Bills will have a GOOD pass rush.

[Night Train]

In addition to that incomplete listing, the 4th Rounder Brooks and Justin Rogers will see plenty of action.

[YardRat]

I'm liking the youth and athleticism at corner a lot. Brooks (especially) and Gilmore are my favorite picks. Experienced, vet presence at both safety positions a bonus. They'll have good and bad moments this season, but the future looks bright.

[casdhf]

and George Wilson

[jamze132]

Our new look D-line is going to make our secondary look great. Having the luxury to only send 4 after the QB allows 7 to defend the pass. Lot's of help over the middle.

[don137]

The best secondary will look weak with a bad pass rush and a strong pass rush will make a weak secondary good. The overall assessment is due being young they will make mistakes but with a great pass rush will be prone to making some big plays. Right now they are probably a middle ofhe road secondary but with experience and a good pass rush they will become a very good secondary.

[Skooby]

Our current D-line + good LB play = Good Secondary.

[PromoTheRobot]

In addition to that incomplete listing, the 4th Rounder Brooks and Justin Rogers will see plenty
of action.

Did we cut George Wilson??

PTR

[mjt328]

My Opinion:

1) McGee: he is over the hill. Getting slower and more prone to injury
2) McKelvin: poor ball skills. Basically he has great skills to cover WR but poor ball skills so even during good coverage the WR comes down with the ball.
3) A. Williams: was a rookie last year who went out mid season with an injure. I think he will improve.
4) Gilmore: will have rookie moment. get burned quite a few times, come down with some picks/plays. He will have good and bad moment.
5) Byrd: Average Safety. Not lightening fast or a big hitter. Was a play maker in a cover 2 but had his first pick in last game of season. I think we see more of the same. Maybe he improves a little.
6) Scott: had a good number of picks last season. Has good ball skills and a knack for turnovers. Overall, I like him a lot but he is what he is: slightly above average.

Overall: Secondary might be one of the weaknesses of the defense. Rookies/2nd year players will have their bumps and will make some plays. I dont expect this unit to make a difference this year or to be dominant in any way shape or form. Will get shredded vs top passing teams, will dominate worst passing attacks.

I agree with your assessment on McGee and McKelvin.
The others, not so much.

Although they might be young and have some growing pains, Aaron Williams and Stephon Gilmore were two of the top cornerback prospects in the 2011 and 2012 drafts. If they develop to their potential quickly, the defensive backfield could immediately be a strength.

Jairus Byrd is also much better than "average." You have to look at his overall body of work - and not just interceptions (and by the way, he had 3 last year, not 1). Not only was he solid in coverage, but he also had 98 tackles, 3 forced fumbles and a sack.

I'm assuming you meant George Wilson when you mentioned Scott.

[we are]

My Opinion:

1) McGee: he is over the hill. Getting slower and more prone to injury
2) McKelvin: poor ball skills. Basically he has great skills to cover WR but poor ball skills so even during good coverage the WR comes down with the ball.
3) A. Williams: was a rookie last year who went out mid season with an injure. I think he will improve.
4) Gilmore: will have rookie moment. get burned quite a few times, come down with some picks/plays. He will have good and bad moment.
5) Byrd: Average Safety. Not lightening fast or a big hitter. Was a play maker in a cover 2 but had his first pick in last game of season. I think we see more of the same. Maybe he improves a little.
6) Scott: had a good number of picks last season. Has good ball skills and a knack for turnovers. Overall, I like him a lot but he is what he is: slightly above average.

Overall: Secondary might be one of the weaknesses of the defense. Rookies/2nd year players will have their bumps and will make some plays. I dont expect this unit to make a difference this year or to be dominant in any way shape or form. Will get shredded vs top passing teams, will dominate worst passing attacks.

You should've just put Byrd = average safety at 1 so I could've stopped reading there. Also makes me wonder if you watch the games that you left wilson off.

[madness]

Byrd makes PFF top*100
Posted by Chris Brown on May 1, 2012 – 10:17 am

Bills safety Jairus Byrd has landed on the Pro Football Focus Top 100 players list for the 2011 season.
The film reviewers and stat crunchers at PFF have put together their list of the top 100 performers from last year and Jairus Byrd appears on the most current listing of players on their countdown from 80 to 71. Byrd ranks 72nd (see below).
72. Jairus Byrd, S, Buffalo Bills
This was the year where Byrd established himself as one of the league’s top safeties, with a season that earned him our third-highest grade of all his peers (+13.0). He broke up seven passes to go with his three interceptions, while only allowing 51.5% of passes into coverage to be completed. What’s more, for a player who spends most of his time playing deep (84.1% of all snaps), he notched up 35 tackles in run defense, good for 16th of all safeties. He’s a rare beast; a free safety who is active on every play.
Best Performance: Week 16 versus Denver (+3.3)
Key Stat: Missed one tackle for every 14.3 attempts; eighth-best of all safeties.
Byrd’s tackling and angles of entry in the run game were much improved this past season, which helps to explain his increased number of tackles as well as fewer misses (see: Key Stat above). The Oregon product admitted as a rookie that he had to adjust to fitting up the run from the free safety position after playing cornerback in college, but according to his position coach he’s gotten a lot better in that area.
“The*thing he struggled with as a rookie was run fits,” said secondary coach George Catavolos.*”That was the biggest jump he took first in 2010 and again last season he took another step. And he’s really good at forcing fumbles.”

[jamze132]

Byrd makes PFF top*100
Posted by Chris Brown on May 1, 2012 – 10:17 am

Bills safety Jairus Byrd has landed on the Pro Football Focus Top 100 players list for the 2011 season.
The film reviewers and stat crunchers at PFF have put together their list of the top 100 performers from last year and Jairus Byrd appears on the most current listing of players on their countdown from 80 to 71. Byrd ranks 72nd (see below).
72. Jairus Byrd, S, Buffalo Bills
This was the year where Byrd established himself as one of the league’s top safeties, with a season that earned him our third-highest grade of all his peers (+13.0). He broke up seven passes to go with his three interceptions, while only allowing 51.5% of passes into coverage to be completed. What’s more, for a player who spends most of his time playing deep (84.1% of all snaps), he notched up 35 tackles in run defense, good for 16th of all safeties. He’s a rare beast; a free safety who is active on every play.
Best Performance: Week 16 versus Denver (+3.3)
Key Stat: Missed one tackle for every 14.3 attempts; eighth-best of all safeties.
Byrd’s tackling and angles of entry in the run game were much improved this past season, which helps to explain his increased number of tackles as well as fewer misses (see: Key Stat above). The Oregon product admitted as a rookie that he had to adjust to fitting up the run from the free safety position after playing cornerback in college, but according to his position coach he’s gotten a lot better in that area.
“The*thing he struggled with as a rookie was run fits,” said secondary coach George Catavolos.*”That was the biggest jump he took first in 2010 and again last season he took another step. And he’s really good at forcing fumbles.”
I concur. And when I concur, good **** happens.

[justasportsfan]

My Opinion:

1) McGee: could be good depth/rotational cb unless he's 100%
2) McKelvin: will be playing for a new contract. He will be motivated more than ever
3) A. Williams:talent is there.
4) Gilmore: see Williams
5) Byrd: played well against the run at times and did better in the 4-3 . Hopefully he can be can increase his INT like he did before.:

6) ScottMr. 100% effort. He shoul ride the bike to practice with Carder. He's good depth.


7) Rogers: had good momets last year and showed signs of improvement as the year went on.

8) Wilson: smart player and GREAT leader on the team. Should be a great mentor to the entire db's


All said, there's potential but there's youth that can be taken advantage of by guys like Brady. It's all up to our DL to make life easier for our secondary.

[mikemac2001]

ya byrd is a stud back there not as flashy as his rookie year but not worried with him in coverage or coming up to make a tackle.

[Mike]

NFL.COM had ranked Byrd as the #16 Best Free Safety in NFL @ start of season.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d8206ee75/article/young-faces-join-reed-polamalu-among-nfls-best-safeties

[Mike]

Here is the Bleachers Report on Grading Safetys:

1. George Wilson: #2 in the NFL among SS
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1108125-br-nfl-1000-top-32-strong-safeties/page/32

2. Byrd: #3 in NFL among FS
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1108644-br-nfl-1000-top-32-free-safeties/page/31


These are the latest rankings based in this past season, so they seem most accurate. Glad to see that our Safetys rank so high.

For Player Ranking by Position
http://bleacherreport.com/nfl1000

[Mike]

Top 100 CB Rankings 2012

#65 Aaron Williams: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1118304-br-nfl-1000-top-100-cornerbacks/page/37 (in comparison P. Peterson is #54)

#64 Florence: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1118304-br-nfl-1000-top-100-cornerbacks/page/38 (was cut)

#42 McKelvin: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1118304-br-nfl-1000-top-100-cornerbacks/page/60

McGee: didnt make list most likely due to injury

Full List:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1118304-br-nfl-1000-top-100-cornerbacks