Analysis: The Backup Safety
by Brandon on Nov 7, 2009 11:00 AM CST
in Analysis
29 comments
With the return of SS Atari Bigby, to play alongside FS Nick Collins, the safety position is as solid as it has been all season. But the lack of depth behind the starters was exposed when Bigby missed 3 games.
Coming into the season, it looked like free agent S Anthony Smith would be the top backup, but he was surprisingly cut after the final preseason game. The backup job initially went to S Aaron Rouse, but his only start, the loss to the Bengals, was the final straw and they wisely decided to release him. Though he resurfaced with the Giants, and has become their starter, it's not because he's playing well. At this point, the Giants have no other options. The Packers also traded for S Derrick Martin before the season started, but he was bad in the Vikings game at Minnesota and hasn't played on defense since. Now he's suffered a concussion and it's not clear whether he'll be able to play next Sunday. After Rouse was released, they signed S Matt Giordano, but when asked whether Giordano was up to speed, McCarthy only said "he's been working." So apparently he's not up to speed. Now the Packers found themselves right back to where they started, and put a waiver claim in on Smith, but they lost out to the Jaguars.
Right now CB/S Jarrett Bush has to be the top backup for either safety position, and it's likely he's the best option of any the other backup candidates I've written about. Who's the best option at this point?
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Best option = Aaron Rouse
oh wait… we already rid oursleves of him, so we could sign some white guy to the practice squad.
Green and Gold / Black and White
by OznCoop on Nov 7, 2009 11:19 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
Come on man.
The race of the player has nothing to do with anything. If you disagree: See John Lynch
by StephanL on Nov 7, 2009 10:08 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Jarrett Bush is our best backup Safety
I know he’s not a good CB, but he has played ok as a Safety. I can honestly say that I am comfortable with him being on the field as a Safety. Why we got rid of Anthony Smith beats me, no logic there. Aaron Rouse was more of an ideal 4-3 Safety then a 3-4 Safety due to his athletic ability and body frame, so getting rid of him made sense, just the timing was pretty bad.
by Jabooty on Nov 7, 2009 1:04 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Bush Sucks, Period
If Bush is better than Martin and Gioridano that isn’t saying a lot for either of those pickups. Bush has been the absolute worst defensive player and penalty prone special teams player since the Packers acquired him. Contrary to your opinion Jabooty, the Packers coaches have said he’s better at CB than S, and he is the worst cover CB I’ve seen in a Packers jersey in years. I’ll give Pat Lee a chance to be healthy and step up next off-season at CB but other than him I’m gutting out every backup in the secondary.
by GGGamer on Nov 9, 2009 11:31 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Man...
They went BACK to get Smith? That had to be hard to do!!!
by TrevorR on Nov 7, 2009 1:15 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
horrible moves
Releasing Smith to keep 3 FB’s was a horrible move, especially considering how well Havner has played as a TE/ST’er and how little we run the ball. Backup safety is probably way down on the list of important positions on any team, but you should have at least one backup for the two positions you are comfortable with.
by gangstaff on Nov 7, 2009 1:25 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Releasing Smith
was such a bad idea especially considering that both of our safeties have trouble staying on the field. Bigby and Collins, when healthy, are a pretty good pair at safety, but we had to understand that the likeliness of having both of those guys out there at the same time for 16 games was not very good. It would be a good idea to have at least one veteran who understands the D as a backup so we aren’t forced into playing Aaron Rouse or Jarret Bush.
Frye is honestly gotta be one of the top 10 3rd Stringers in all of the NFL right now--colbyb
by verno329 on Nov 7, 2009 2:21 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
I give them credit
At least they admitted their mistake with Rouse. And they gave him a fair chance to learn the defense.
by Brandon on Nov 7, 2009 11:42 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
They screwed up with Rouse!
Brandon, I totally disagree with you. Aaron Rouse didn’t get worse three weeks into the season. The team HAD to know what he was capable of doing at the end of training camp. He should have been cut then. The way they handled him made no sense.
BTW, I don’t disagree with cutting him.
by ktenreb on Nov 9, 2009 8:10 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Late Cuts are a Sign of Deeper Problems
We’ve had 3 late cuts (unless I’m missing some others) in the past two years that have hurt us. I’m talking about cutting Ryan to pick up Frost, then cutting Smith to get Martin, and Rouse to get Gioridano.
My read on this is that there is a significant lack of adequate player evaluation. Check out TT’s drafting for additional evidence.
Were coaches and TT just simply too impressed with Rouse’s size and speed to see that he was lousy safety and couldn’t be the principle back-up? I mean, that is why they signed Smith in the first place.
If they’d kept Smith, then releasing Rouse after 3 weeks wouldn’t have been a problem. Instead they got rid of 2 safeties. DUMB!
by MikeDB on Nov 11, 2009 9:58 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Bigby is not that good
He had a nice playoff game a couple of years ago. He’s a flameout guy — big hitter, throws his body all over, breaks it, can’t do it at the same level. check out Chuck Cecil’s career.
Collins made the pro bowl last year. As for this year, let’s just say he isn’t going to Hawaii.
by ktenreb on Nov 9, 2009 8:09 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Of Course, Pro Bowl is in Florida this year
Still, he won’t be going there, either.
by MikeDB on Nov 11, 2009 9:45 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Honestly
If the team wants to keep Al Harris around, he might be better served off being a safety than a cornerback at this stage of his career. It’s very clear at this point that he’s lost a step, and he wasn’t very fast to begin with either. What he is though, is an exceptional tackler and very aware.
I feel like it would be a great idea to train Harris at the safety spot and start Tramon at DB opposite Woodson. It does appear more and more that Green Bay has to work on acquiring some depth in the secondary as well as on the offensive line as well. The three fullbacks thing is still puzzling, but speaking of which, Korey Hall played linebacker at Boise State.. do you think he can be converted to safety? Hey if Havner can move to TE…
by vitaminx on Nov 7, 2009 2:27 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
How about Woodson
In a pinch, what about Tramon at CB and Woodson at safety?
by GregR on Nov 7, 2009 5:02 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
I much rather have Woodson as a corner
he would have a lot more picks if it wasnt for the fact that Qbs have stopped throwing the ball in his direction
Harris actually seems really reasonable as a 3rd safety
FIRE GREG WALKER NOW!!!!!!!!!
by blackoutsox on Nov 7, 2009 5:36 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
In an ideal world
Harris would be good as a safety, but then the debate of is he good enough to read QBs rather than reading WRs. We all know he plays better when matched up at the line with a WR so he can read them better. So him lined up 10 yards back for a safety may not be the easiest thing for him. I like the idea of him being back there just dont know how well it would go.
by bizzle4 on Nov 7, 2009 6:16 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Anthony Smith
The way people talk, it’s like the Packers released a young Ronnie Lott, instead of a guy who was just cut by a team with 1 win.
by shaftr on Nov 7, 2009 8:58 PM CST reply actions 1 recs
Your right..
There has to be a reason why we cut Smith instead of one of the three fullbacks
V/R
Ted Thompson, GM
Green Bay Packers
1265 Lombardi Ave.
Green Bay, Wisconsin 54304
Tel: 920-569-7500
by Ted Thompson on Nov 8, 2009 3:57 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
true
but people complain about Tyrell Sutton being released too, as if he was Walter Payton.
Frye is honestly gotta be one of the top 10 3rd Stringers in all of the NFL right now--colbyb
by verno329 on Nov 8, 2009 7:32 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
There was a sutton appearance in the Panthers game yesterday…for some reason he got the first carry of the game. Didn’t post a stat the rest of the game.
by TrevorR on Nov 9, 2009 12:48 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
The three fullbacks
were kept for special teams reasons and because they didn’t feel like Q was ready to play yet, and they weren’t gonna try to push him (their future) to the practice squad because he wouldn’t make it there. I actually understand why they kept three fullbacks and I’ve wondered why everyone is so upset about it. Hall and Kuhn are two of their best special teams players and the special teams has sucked so that was definitely a special teams move.
I think Anthony Smith like Sutton has been way overrated by a lot of people, but they should’ve kept Smith because they didn’t have any legit backups. I was fine with the move at first because I thought Rouse would be the backup and Martin would get plenty of time to learn the system but then Thompson cuts Rouse and Martin gets thrown in there. Smith isn’t any good but he’s better than nothing.
by GGGamer on Nov 8, 2009 11:32 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
Two of the best special teams players?
And on the Packers’ special teams, what exactly does that say?
by ktenreb on Nov 9, 2009 8:12 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
It doesn't say much
but it helps prove my point. The special teams has not been good but at least they made a move to try to help that unit out by keeping Hall and Kuhn. We have seen how important special teams can be these last couple of weeks so I don’t mind having the three fullbacks. It’s like keeping an extra linebacker for special teams. No one complained about Tracy White even though he was like the 7th linebacker in a 3 linebacker system a couple of years ago. I’m losing a lot of faith in McCarthy and Thompson’s decision making and leadership but I still think keeping Hall and Kuhn was the right decision with Q not being ready to play at the time.
by GGGamer on Nov 9, 2009 11:25 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
I agree…keeping Q was a good move. I would have been TERRIBLY disappointed if he was cut. They could have cut ONE of the two fullbacks though…I just don’t buy that they would improve special teams that much. You don’t cut a top backup at a position where you’ve already had injuries in the preseason for a special team roster spot…that is poor decision making. I see your point though…I just still don’t like it.
by TrevorR on Nov 9, 2009 12:51 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
EXACTLY!
wow…that was a really telling statement. We kept two guys at FB because they were “good” special teamers on a TERRIBLE special teams unit. Honestly I dont think that group could play worse if they brought in an entire team of guys off the street. Yesterday, ST was embarrassing. wow.
by TrevorR on Nov 9, 2009 12:50 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
On another topic, ktenreb...
I thought you were done being a douche bag but I guess not. I was just reading The Aftermath fanpost and I see you’re telling people that “Favresucks” is now TrevorR. Could we get this straight because I don’t think your old grumpy mind has wrapped around this concept yet. “Favresucks” is not myself, GGGamer, and he’s not TrevorR either. I did sign him up here and he doesn’t post anymore because he doesn’t like old grumpy guys like yourself.
I don’t even know who TrevorR is personally as well so quit telling people the poster formerly known as “Favresucks” is GGGamer and TrevorR. You once again are just absolutely ridiculous. If I was one of those guys with multiple names I would have to use ALL CAPS and a lot of exclamation points because it goes with the territory. Plus those guys are usually Favre fanatics, which you know that I am not. So could you please just quit making crap up as usual and telling people that Favresucks is this poster and that poster. Thanks.
by GGGamer on Nov 9, 2009 1:07 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
I guess he just can’t take it when people have a differing view so he has to try to discredit them. Doesn’t both me. I don’t know who FavreSucks is…I don’t even remember him. I don’t think Favre sucks…I am a little annoyed that he’s a Viking but I still think he’s great so I am not sure why I would choose a handle like that. Plus I barely have time to post on here when I do…I certainly don’t have time to be a troll. Who does? Man…maybe if I wasn’t married with a 1 year old I’d have time for that crap.
by TrevorR on Nov 9, 2009 1:16 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Exactly
He uses his lawyer-speak to try to sound intelligent and discount other fans views. I was reading comments and stories on here for awhile and I didn’t want to sign up and start posting because I knew I would get wrapped up in it so I told my friend to check it out. I signed him up and he thought FavreSucks would be a funny name and he started posting.
Well I guess ktenreb was so majorily offended by his Favresucks name, which was created jokingly, that he resorted to name calling and a bunch of other nonsense that completely boggles my mind coming from an older gentleman (which ktenreb said he is). I signed up and defended my friend and then ktenreb started talking crap to me as well and saying that I was both user names (which he is now saying you are the same guy). My friend was sick of the drama because he just wanted to post for fun that he decided to quit coming on here. That’s basically it.
Now I still like posting on here and I hate to see the Packers sucking but for a while every single post I submitted, ktenreb would call me a Favre hater and a Thompson hero worshipper even though all of my comments were fairly critical of Thompson just like most others on here. Then finally after saying he wouldn’t be so blunt and idiotic in person, he tries telling other people that I threatened to beat him up in person. I think the guy is legitimately psycho and I stopped responding to him until I saw that he was calling you Favresucks in the fanpost. That ticked me off because you have nothing to do with it. That’s the breakdown. Too much drama.
by GGGamer on Nov 9, 2009 1:55 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
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