More praise for CJGJ (and Marcus Williams) - from Football Outsiders (1 Viewer)

[SigFreudianSlip]

Great article here with video clips of them in coverage:

Film Room: Saints Pass Defense

You know about Drew Brees, Alvin Kamara, and Michael Thomas, but defensive backs such as Marshon Lattimore, Marcus Williams, and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson deserve credit for New Orleans' success as well.

www.footballoutsiders.com

it seems that Williams gets a fair bit of criticism on here, but this article would suggest he is playing as well as any other Safety in the NFL.

Great write-up on Gardner-Johnson too, he looks like an absolute steal.

Thankful for Williams playing well and I think CJGJ will be a stud.

 

[anoldfan]

More two deep coverages. He is only responsible for half the field. Last year, he was playing there by himself, responsible for the entire field.

Seem to remember last year in camp coaches were praising his ability to cover the entire field so quickly. They probably were expecting too much and realized after last year that he wasn't superman and gave him a more reasonable responsibility this year. Just guessing.

 

[Zack Lee]

Thank god the Saints found a way to bring Jeff Ireland into the building. Now please find a way to make him stay for a long time!

Yes. Ireland’s fingerprints are all over this team. He was the true steal.

 

[Cougar 1]

With Bell’s improved play in coverage and the resurgence of the pass rush, DA is playing more 2 deep. This gives Williams a chance to be more of a ball hawk since he is only responsible for half the field. He also seems to be working on his tackling. Great year for both safeties.

This line about Bell cannot be overstated!!

Until this season, IMO, Bell was lookin more n more like Roman Harper 2.0: a good “in the box” SS, who could play the run and blitz, but was poor in pass coverage.

But things changed for the better this year.
And yes, it all started upfront with the Dline.. We still blitz, but the DL has played exceptionally well against the run, and in bringing a pretty consistent pass rush. Their play has minimized the need for Bell as the in-the-box safety, thus moving him more to the backend.
And Vonn has responded!! Not only is he playin surprisingly well in coverage, he is finding and staying around the ball, which has resulted in him making big play after big play ( including his FIRST interception as a pro last week)!

Meanwhile, I posted earlier this week about how pairing Bell more with Marcus at deep S has been a major factor in Williams’ good play this year. Whether playing the run or in coverage, splitting the field has allowed Marcus to play faster/ more aggressive with his play.

Finally, I wanna give a shoutout to Dennis Allen and DB Coach Aaron Glenn for their work in developing our young DBs, allowing them to grow, while putting them in positions to do what they do best!

 

[Taker597]

Seem to remember last year in camp coaches were praising his ability to cover the entire field so quickly. They probably were expecting too much and realized after last year that he wasn't superman and gave him a more reasonable responsibility this year. Just guessing.

Nah... Williams last year yield the lowest yardage over the deep center.

What teams did was schematicly attack the holes of cover1. Which is the outer edge.

Expecting one human to cover sideline to sideline 20 yards down field is a bygone era. It's too easy to exploit.

 

[SigFreudianSlip]

Nah... Williams last year yield the lowest yardage over the deep center.

What teams did was schematicly attack the holes of cover1. Which is the outer edge.

Expecting one human to cover sideline to sideline 20 yards down field is a bygone era. It's too easy to exploit.

Unless you have a young Ed Reed. ?

 

[Cougar 1]

Unless you have a young Ed Reed. ?

I know right? ?

But even Reed had help with another safety on the backend, at least early on in his career in Will Demps.

(Of course, I only know that cause I looked it up! ?)

Seriously tho, I NEVER liked playing a single high S. I thought it was jus asking too much of ANY one player to have to cover so much field...even an Ed Reed! ?

So for me, it was no surprise that we have gone to more 2 deep S sets. The REAL surprise is that it’s Vonn Bell who has stepped in as the second S!

I didn’t see that comin...at all!!!

 

[SigFreudianSlip]

I know right? ?

But even Reed had help with another safety on the backend, at least early on in his career in Will Demps.

(Of course, I only know that cause I looked it up! ?)

Seriously tho, I NEVER liked playing a single high S. I thought it was jus asking too much of ANY one player to have to cover so much field...even an Ed Reed! ?

So for me, it was no surprise that we have gone to more 2 deep S sets. The REAL surprise is that it’s Vonn Bell who has stepped in as the second S!

I didn’t see that comin...at all!!!

Me neither. Vonn has been ballin.

 

[Jameth]

So for me, it was no surprise that we have gone to more 2 deep S sets. The REAL surprise is that it’s Vonn Bell who has stepped in as the second S!

I didn’t see that comin...at all!!!

I listened to a podcast a couple of days ago with Williams as the guest. He said that he and Bell have worked towards being interchangeable on the field, and are constantly swapping assignments and position in game. He said that it helps tremendously with being able to disguise coverages, which seems to explain why the QBs we’ve faced often look confused or hesitant after dropping back and have had to hold on to the ball, because they can’t identify the deep safety pre-snap. This has got to be a huge part of our defensive success. No chance Bell isn’t back next year.

 

[Pkessling]

The best thing that happened is that the defensive coaches have adjusted the schemes to fit their players abilities. In past years it seems like we were forcing schemes that just didn’t fit the players that we had.

 

[Saintsfolife]

We have the best secondary in the nfl ....PERIODTTTT