Posts tagged Cian Fahey RSP

Mirror Images: Reggie Wayne – Champ Bailey

July 16, 2013 0 Comments read Matt Waldman

Champ Bailey and Reggie Wayne weren't mirror images 12 years ago, but Fahey explains how age was the defining - and refining - factor. Photo by Jeffery Beall. — Champ Bailey’s legs might be slower, but his experience helps him operate at warp speed. Photo by Jeffery Beall.

Champ Bailey and Reggie Wayne weren’t mirror images 12 years ago, but Fahey explains how age was the defining – and refining – factor. With a combined quarter century of NFL excellence, why not?

By Cian Fahey, Pre Snap Reads

Editor’s Note: A game I’ve been playing in my head in recent months is to take an offensive player and find his mirror image on the opposite side of the line of scrimmage. For example, Joey Galloway and Darrell Green were stylistically mirror images of each other. Both had amazing speed that sometimes overshadowed their underrated displays of craft at their respective positions over the course of lengthy and productive careers. Now I’m putting it on the blog and having some of my friends play.

Recently, on twitter(does this count as breaking the fourth wall?) I asked a simple question:

“If I reverted Peyton Manning and Tom Brady back to being 23 years of age with full health, in what order would you draft Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Russell Wilson, Manning and Brady?”

The overwhelming majority of responses had either Manning or Brady at the top of the list. It may seem like a stupid question, but why wouldn’t anyone take the rookie stars from last season? Maybe my subsection of the twitter universe is the rare cautious kind who are scared of brash statements or questioning the unknown. That’s unlikely considering the unique quirks of the oddball bringing them together.

Presuming that my poll has an accurate reflection on the majority’s thinking, the answer is simple. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have proven themselves for over a decade in the league. Year in and year out help their teams win football games. It may seem ridiculous, but that aspect is completely overlooked in today’s NFL. Longevity is the most underused word in NFL analysis and the most undervalued consideration for any kind of player ratings or rankings.

When is the last time you heard someone refer to longevity as a positive for a player? If it was recently, how often do you hear it? Unless you’re encountering a rare soul like Alen Dumonijic who is always considering the whole package, the likelihood is whoever you talk to will be caught up in the moment. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, because the moment right now is pretty amazing.

You’ve got quarterbacks rewriting the book on rookie expectations in the NFL. J.J. Watt, Von Miller and Richard Sherman are altering the perception of defensive players in different ways. There’s no need to question those performances; sit back and enjoy the rare opportunities we have to watch them. We don’t need to question those performances to appreciate the quality of those who have been doing it for much longer periods however. Players who are still doing it despite being some distance past their primes.

Manning an Brady are probably the poster boys for longevity in the NFL. While it’s a great achievement that both have played the game for so long, the positions they play have somewhat allowed them to last as long as they have. It’s also boring and talked to death. Instead, let’s try to appreciate two players playing positions that generally belong to the youth of the league.

Reggie Wayne and Champ Bailey are a combined 69 years on this planet, with a combined 26 seasons of professional football under their belts. At 34 and 35 years of age, they’re supposed to already be filling out the edges of the depth chart and providing guidance to the youth taking on the starting roles. Considering that today’s league is littered with spread offenses and athletic receivers that can either run past you or jink around you, you’re not supposed to be able to succeed without significant speed.

Of course, every casual fan of the game thinks that Champ Bailey isn’t able to succeed without his speed because of that playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens. That’s not exactly true. Bailey had an outstanding season last year. He doesn’t have the same athleticism that he once had, but he still has enough to flourish in the right situations. Press coverage against one of the fastest receivers in the league with no safety help is not the right situation.

He may not be a shutdown cornerback anymore, but he isn’t that far off. He can still move all over the field, has the speed to run with most receivers, the quickness to get ahead of almost any and the intelligence to still get the most out of his ball-skills.

With veteran receivers, it's the first 10 yards that yield the final five. Photo by Dan04. — With veteran receivers, it’s the first 10 yards that yield the final five. Photo by Dan04.

Wayne on the other hand has embraced his role as a possession receiver during the Andrew Luck-era in Indianapolis. He was never solely a burner, but Wayne was much more of an all-around receiver during his prime, whereas last season he played the Hines Ward role in Bruce Arians’ offense. Within that role, Wayne was able to take advantage of defensive backs with his refined route running and accurate understanding of coverages to consistently come free. Of course, even though his speed had faded, his hands were only getting softer as the seasons went on.

Having those aspects of his game still in tact allowed him to succeed still, but much like Bailey, where he fit was also vital. With T.Y. Hilton, LaVon Brazill and Donnie Avery last year, Wayne was surrounded by more than enough speed to pull the top off the defense, while Hilton and Brazill are joined by Darrius Heyward-Bey in those roles for this upcoming season.

Longevity isn’t a reflection of talent. It’s a reflection of ability. The ability to evolve, adapt, and excel, despite facing the different obstacles that emerge throughout the span of a football career. So even while Wayne and Bailey’s physical traits continue to diminish, it’s their football abilities that have allowed them to extend their longevity to Favreian heights.

At some point, both players will be retired. When that happens, you can be pretty certain that both will be in the Hall of Fame. That’s not because they had a record-breaking season or two, or because they starred as rookies. It’s because for over a decade, they were superstars.

Mirror Images: Percy Harvin-Lardarius Webb

July 3, 2013 0 Comments read Matt Waldman

Percy Harvin and Ladarius Webb are do-everything, physical players whose games are bigger than their bodies. Photo by Rick Burtzel. — Percy Harvin and Lardarius Webb are do-everything, physical players whose games are bigger than their bodies. Photo by Rick Burtzel.

By Cian Fahey, Pre Snap Reads

What are you?

It’s a simple question with a million answers. Some of us will answer it immediately, maybe with just one word. Others will spend their whole lives searching for an answer and never come up with one. A smaller portion of us will never give a damn.

No matter how you feel about your answer, it’s impossible for you to escape the question. If you don’t answer it, plenty more will for you. Even if you do answer it, others will still look to change what you say. That’s the world we live in.

Everything needs to be labelled. Everything needs to be classified. Most of all everything needs to be simplified.

Recently, former college quarterback and 2013 NFL draft prospect Denard Robinson had to ask himself that question. Robinson probably wanted to answer it “quarterback” but those deciding his fate came up with different ideas. At the combine he tried to be a wide receiver. At the draft he was labelled a running-back. Now that he’s in the league, he’s being called an offensive weapon.

An offensive weapon. Seems ambiguous, right?

Is it really anymore ambiguous than any other label we use in the NFL? Mike Wallace and Anquan Boldin are wide receivers. Very little of their games really crossover. Jacquizz Rodgers and Michael Turner were running-backs for the same team last year, you’re not going to confuse one for the other. Craig Stevens and Jimmy Graham couldn’t play the same position if you spent 10 years trying to teach them.

That’s just the offensive side of the ball, on defense things get even more muddled the further you explore the depths of the league.

In reality, every offensive player is an offensive weapon, while every defensive player is a defensive weapon(or defensive shield if you like). The phrasing really doesn’t matter, it’s just that, phrasing. What is important in football isn’t who you are, it’s what you do. Some players have such skill-sets that they welcome the label they receive, but others spend their careers confusing those watching them.

Webb is Harvin's mirror image on the defensive side of the ball. Photo by Keith Allison. — Webb is Harvin’s mirror image on the defensive side of the ball. Photo by Keith Allison.

What is Percy Harvin? What is Lardarius Webb?

The simple answers are wide receiver and cornerback. Of course, they’re also wrong answers. Harvin and Webb are their positions in the same way that I am a writer. Technically, it’s an accurate statement, but it tells you nothing about me or what I really do.

Harvin and Webb both missed much of last season because of injuries, but that’s the most tenuous of connections you could create. Harvin is listed as being 5-11 and 184 lbs, while Webb is down as 5-10 and 182 lbs. Both have very similar, slender frames, but both also have significantly more strength and power running through their bodies than one would expect from simply looking at them on the field.

Harvin is known for being an electric player who can jink around, run past, or sidestep defenders in tight areas, but he also has that ability to put his head down and run through defenders when he has to. Webb is considered one of the very best cover cornerbacks in the NFL, but he also plays in the slot for the Ravens in nickel packages when he gets to show off his outstanding tackling ability.

Webb is the rare defensive back who is able to punish running-backs with tackles, while Harvin is the rare slot receiver who can run over safeties rather than be ran over by them.

Being able to do everything is one thing, but being able to do everything from different areas of the field is something special. Outside of playing on the offensive line, the only position Harvin seemingly hasn’t lined up at during his career so far is tight end. That’s not even considering his impact as a kick returner. Webb doesn’t play safety or on the defensive line, but the way he plays the slot position in nickel packages essentially makes him the fourth or fifth linebacker on the field, while he can play either side as an outside cornerback in base defenses.

Defending Harvin is next to impossible. He’s not the kind of player who runs away from linebackers and uses his strength to overpower defensive backs, he’s the kind of player who doesn’t need to discriminate with his talents. In other words, he can beat whoever he wants in whatever way he wants.

Beating Webb is just as difficult. He has the physical style to fight with tight ends or bigger receivers, but the fluidity to cover a guy like Wes Welker inside or run with AJ Green down the sideline. There are few cornerbacks who are better than Webb and maybe only one who is more versatile.

So that brings us back to the question. What is Percy Harvin? What is Lardarius Webb?

What am I?

I’m…confused by the question.

Vonta Leach and Red Bryant: My Amish Electricians

June 27, 2013 0 Comments read Players

Bryant brings a lot of horsepower to his unsung role. Photo by JC Winkler.

By Cian Fahey, Pre Snap Reads

It’s no secret that everyone loves superstars. Even as kids we’re brought up to worship the superstars on our father’s favorite team. Instead of getting jerseys with the name of the long-snapper or the punter, we get the quarterback or running back’s jersey. Our eyes naturally follow the football, so it makes sense that we would naturally follow the guys who are carrying it.

More than maybe any other sport, football emphasizes the importance of those without the ball. Everyone has some level of association with the ball or puck in soccer, baseball, hockey and basketball, but in football there is a different breed of talent on the field from week-to-week. In football, some of the most important players on each snap are players who don’t touch the ball. There are even some who will never touch it even once during careers that span more than a decade, yet those same players can make it to the hall-of-fame.

Often, it’s those guys who are actually more interesting than the superstars. Although, that may be just because there is a certain niche to appreciating what a guy like Vonta Leach or Red Bryant does from play to play.

Leach you will likely know. He was recently released by the Baltimore Ravens after a few seasons of excellent lead blocking for Ray Rice. Leach is by far the best run-blocking fullback in the NFL and his consistency playing to an elite level is simply outstanding.

Yet, he was just released? Released by one of the most well-respected general managers in the NFL? That doesn’t really make sense on the onset. Leach is the Aaron Rodgers of fullbacks, him being released is the fullback equivalent of the Green Bay Packers releasing their star quarterback?

This is the negative side of being a superstar. The shadow it casts over the reputations of those who don’t get the same headlines. Being a superstar isn’t really about being a good player, it’s more about your reputation. That’s not to say that Aaron Rodgers isn’t both elite and a superstar, but rather to point out that Vonta Leach can still be elite and not a superstar.

Imagine Leach as the Madden Cover model. If you truly can he's a superstar. If you can't but know he's excellent then he's just an elite player. Photo by Jeffery Beall. — Imagine Leach as the Madden Cover model. If you truly can he’s a superstar. If you can’t but know he’s excellent then he’s just an elite player. Photo by Jeffery Beall.

Leach was released, primarily for financial reasons and because they like one of their younger players who is also cheaper. However, Leach being released is more about the positional value of the role he plays. He and Red Bryant aren’t superstars because of the era they play football in. Both are elite pieces either for or against the running game. As I’ve already said Leach is the best run-blocker in the NFL, he punishes tacklers and keeps them away from the back he is chauffeuring, but Bryant is there to counter that by swallowing up offensive linemen.

Bryant is the rare run-stuffing 4-3 defensive end specialist who is still a starter. Unlike a Demarcus Ware or Von Miller, Bryant doesn’t get sacks, he has two in his whole career, he doesn’t fit the mold of your expectations for an orthodox edge-defender in today’s game(a Jason Pierre-Paul or Aldon Smith type). Instead, Bryant is a former defensive tackle who didn’t look to lose weight when he moved from the interior of the offensive line to the edge.

You see, Bryant and Demarcus Ware actually have a lot more in common than one would think. They are polar opposites, but both are specialists in their crafts. While Ware is racking up sacks, Bryant is shutting down rushing attempts to his side of the field on almost every single snap. Both beat double teams, but for different reasons and both are elite players, even though only one is a superstar.

Leach and Bryant are decidedly unsexy. At least, according to the accepted definition of sexy they are. Yet, there is nothing sexier than winning and both players contribute massively to their team’s success with their outstanding levels of play. Not to mention, both players have that intimidating level of toughness that helps them create an aura of leadership on the field.

Because this is an era of football when passing records are falling faster than the quarterbacks of the 2012 rookie class, Vonta Leach can be cut by a Super Bowl winning team and Red Bryant will never get the credit he deserves from the mainstream media despite the growing clout of his Seahawks. In a way, both must feel like Amish electricians, they can be as talented as they like, but job security and mass appreciation is always going to be a pipe-dream.

You won’t see many fans in Red Bryant or Vonta Leach jerseys off the field, but you won’t see many players who play in their style or to their level of class on the field either.

Mirror Images: Darren Sproles/Charles Woodson

June 23, 2013 0 Comments read Matt Waldman

Charles Woodson still has it. Perhaps not for very long, but long enough to help my team as a veteran presence and versatile option. Photo by Elvis Kennedy.

By Cian Fahey, Pre Snap Reads

Here’s an idea. Take 11 offensive players and 11 defensive players. Whoever you want, there are no limitations to who you want to choose. Set up in whatever formations you want, run whatever plays you want, but every single play must work to the strength of every single player you have on the field. You can’t run a screen with Calvin Johnson and you can’t drop Demarcus Ware into coverage. Easy, right?

Okay, now do the same, but you have to include Darren Sproles and Charles Woodson on the field. Where do you put them? What do you ask them to do?

You can probably rule out running the ball with Sproles, but you still have to figure out where he should line up and what route he should run. Is he best as a slot receiver? Releasing from the backfield? In a receiving position behind an offensive tackle? Behind a receiver in a bunch?

Once he’s lined up, should we run a screen for him? Use that screen as a decoy? Give him an option route in space? A quick pass in the flat so he can turn the corner in space?

What about Woodson? Let’s put him outside on a top receiver, or maybe move him into the slot to cover a quicker possession receiver? If he is in a safety position he can come up in run support or read the quarterback’s intentions though? Should we blitz him off the edge? Spy the quarterback? Put him in a zone or ask him to trail someone in man coverage?

It’s next to impossible to figure out how to best use Charles Woodson and Darren Sproles. Yet, no matter where you put them and what you ask them to do, you’re more than likely going to get something spectacular after a handful of snaps.

Woodson and Sproles have always shared a skill-set in my eyes. They don’t look anything like each other from a physical point of view. Woodson is 6’1″ and has somewhat of a lanky frame with long arms and a stretched core. Sproles on the other hand is a very compact 5’6″ without any real wingspan to speak of. What links the duo is their versatility and ability to create from anywhere on the field in any situation.

Sproles is considered as a receiving back rather than a running-back, and his usage over the years supports this suggestion, but the Saints have had great success with him running the ball since he came over from the San Diego Chargers in 2011. Sproles averaged 6.9 yards per rushing attempt during his first season and 5.1 yards per carry during his second, most recent season in New Orleans.

He’s not Adrian Peterson, but he’s also not LaRod Stephens-Howling. Sproles might not run over people often, but he uses his considerable bulk combined with his low-center of gravity to break tackles and gain forward momentum in space and at times between the tackles.

Having the ability to run between the tackles, run outside, catch passes out of the backfield, and run screens is like being a cornerback who can line up on either side of the field, in the slot, as a seventh piece of the front seven, while being able to blitz, play the run, drop into zone coverage, spy the quarterback, and play man coverage. In other words, it’s like being Charles Woodson.

Woodson has never been Darrelle Revis or Richard Sherman in their prime (that’s presuming each is at their peak now, which may be foolish to presume). He won’t lock down one receiver and allow the defense to forget about that side of the field for the day, but he will scare the life out of any quarterback that has to throw at him. Much like Sproles, it’s not the quantity of positive plays that Woodson accumulates, it’s the quality of the few that he makes that are the difference.

Every single time the Saints draw up a play for Sproles, it has the potential to go the distance to the end zone. Every time the offense falls into the trap of throwing towards Woodson, they risk seeing a defender take it the distance.

Woodson and Sproles are the NFL's version of Vinnie 'the Microwave' Johnson. Photo by Elvis Kennedy. — Woodson and Sproles are the NFL’s version of Vinnie ‘the Microwave’ Johnson. Photo by Elvis Kennedy.

Woodson has 11 career touchdowns, 55 interceptions, and 24 forced fumbles. He is a black hole on the field who is returning to the original black hole in Oakland. Big plays find their way to Woodson, just like they do to Sproles.

Of course, the players I’ve described above are not the same versions of Sproles and Woodson we’ll see moving forward. Both players are past their prime. As a running-back, even considering his limited usage, the 30-year-old Sproles will be entering the twilight of his career.

Woodson has already extended his career past the point where most consider him an impact player. The soon-to-be 37-year-old returns to the Oakland Raiders and hope to provide enough big plays to make a difference. Although both players are in decline and those plays are fewer and further between, they still strike fear into their opponents.

Mirror Images: Maurice Jones-Drew/Ahmad Brooks

June 13, 2013 0 Comments read Matt Waldman

A game I’ve been playing in my head in recent months is to take an offensive player and find his mirror image on the opposite side of the line of scrimmage. For example, Joey Galloway and Darrell Green were stylistically mirror images of each other. Both had amazing speed that sometimes overshadowed their underrated displays of craft at their respective positions over the course of lengthy and productive careers. Now I’m putting it on the blog and having some of my friends play.

Editor’s Note

When Cian Fahey asked me to contribute a couple of paragraphs about cornerback Patrick Peterson for a collaborative piece he’s writing with the likes of Eric Stoner, Chris Burke, Allen Dumonjic, and Joe Goodberry, I pulled this idea of describing Peterson through the lens Dez Bryant – a player he’s trained to face – and typed it on the page. It got me thinking pairing offensive and defensive players as mirror images would be a fun way to pass the time as my fellow writers and I wait for the car trip of our football writing lives to get to its preseason destination.

I posed the idea to Fahey and Stoner and added Ryan Riddle and Jene Bramel to the mix. There are no grand designs here; we’re just passing time and I’m keeping it a free-form process. If you disagree with the takes, have a take of your own, or want to build on the idea, post a comment or email me (mattwaldmanrsp@gmail.com).

Mirror Images: Maurice Jones-Drew/Ahmad Brooks

By Cian Fahey, Pre Snap Reads

I didn’t come to football the way most do. I grew up playing a plethora of other sports in a world where football wasn’t really football at all. In fact, it wasn’t even soccer, it was Gaelic Football. For a long time I didn’t even know the game existed, not least consider a career covering it. Yet, even though I missed out on the specific benefits that come with playing the sport from a young age, there were many lessons I learned from the other sports that translated into the next.

One of those lessons I learned as a 16-year-old. As a 15-year-old, I was fortunate enough to be part of an outstanding rugby team for 16 year olds and younger. From the first starter to the last backup, my team was littered with talented players and committed workers. We dominated our league in the same way the Patriots have dominated the regular season in recent years. However, once that season passed, our older players moved onto the under 18 team and I was elevated into a different role with six or seven others who were carrying over.

We swapped out our older, exceptional players for younger, nervous and inexperienced players. Despite having seven or eight players from the dominant team a year before, we dropped below mediocrity because of our weak spots.

After that season finished, I would forever become aware of the minor details. Minor details such as perceived role players, bench players, the impact of coaches or minor tactical adjustments. For that reason, when Matt approached me about this new series concept he had come up with, the first player that came to mind was Ahmad Brooks of the San Francisco 49ers.

Brooks is one of my favorite defensive players in the NFL. He is an outside linebacker on a defense that is often celebrated for its superstars at the linebacker position, but he is definitely not considered one of them. It was that overlooked aspect of Brooks that first linked him to Maurice Jones-Drew in my mind. Of course, being underrated isn’t enough to link two players for this series, but as the brain so often does, it was working much faster than my thoughts were.

Pocket Hercules, as Jones-Drew is affectionately known, may be significantly shorter than Brooks, but their frames are not too dissimilar and both players play with a similar physicality that permeates throughout their game. I’ve often compared Jones-Drew to a bowling ball when he is running with the ball, because he initiates contact with defenders as much as they look to hit him. If Jones-Drew is a bowling ball, Brooks is a medicine ball. Slightly bigger, but just as effective when it lands on your toe.

Neither has long speed, in the sense that they won’t sprint with the best athletes at their positions for 40 yards, but Jones-Drew is enough of a home-run hitter to make defenses quiver while Brooks has been a very consistent pass-rusher since joining the 49ers. Neither explodes off the screen as much as an Adrian Peterson or Von Miller, but both do enough to get by, especially with their all-around skill-sets.

It’s those all-around skill-sets that really makes this comparison work for me.

Brooks’ game isn’t about rushing the passer, he is a pivotal piece for the 49ers because he can balance his intensity and physicality in when taking on blockers in the running game, while still being flexible and fluid enough to drop into coverage. Is he going to slide into defensive tackle and overcome double teams like Justin Smith? No, but if you leave a tight end or fullback on him your play design will likely fail. Is he going to cover Rob Gronkowski on an island? No, but he does more than enough to excel in that area and uphold the standards of the most intimidating front seven in the NFL.

I said previously that Jones-Drew and Brooks were linked first because they are both overlooked or underrated. Jones-Drew isn’t overshadowed by his teammates, but instead by backs on winning teams such as Adrian Peterson, Ray Rice and Arian Foster. He still gets credit for his powerful running style and the previously spoken about breakaway potential, but few ever point to his incredible play as a pass-protector or as a receiving back.

The running-back position is changing in the NFL. Feature backs can no longer be just big, powerful runners, they must have that all-around game so they can be a part of the passing attack. Jones-Drew should be the player who powerful backs look to moving forward. He has proven himself in the past as a more than respectable receiver coming out of the backfield, while since 2010, he has only allowed two sacks, three hits and two hurries on 189 pass blocks(courtesy of PFF).

For me, Jones-Drew is clearly the best pass-blocking running-back in the NFL, while it’s hard to think of a player who stops the run as well as Brooks without sacrificing in other areas. These may be little things, but little things are important. You may not notice it when you’re winning, but you definitely will when you start losing. At least, I did when I started losing.

Maurice Jones-Drew and Ahmad Brooks are mirror images of each other.

Cian Fahey has written for a number of sites, including The Guardian, Bleacher Report, and Irishcentral. He is also contributing to Footballguys.com and his blog Pre Snap Reads is a growing encyclopedia of content with an emphasis on defensive backs.