Year In Review: Stephone Anthony film study (1 Viewer)

[RevDeuceWindham]

Saints 2015 1st round pick Stephone Anthony didn't see a ton of the field this past season. After leading the team in tackles in 2015, he failed to produce to the degree one would expect from a first rounder. We take a look at why, through a film study of his first two years, to see if he can return and produce in 2017.


Year In Review: Stephone Anthony Film Study

 

[ETWhoDat]

I'm just glad we benched him and stunted his growth so we could improve our record and defensive performance this year

 

[los226]

In a nutshell..

He came out of college as a great run defender, but a liability in coverage. The same still holds true today, which means that there has been minimal improvements to his game so far with the Saints.

He wasn't on the field much this year because his skill set doesn't fit Allen's scheme meaning he has to adapt. Great players adapt and good players fit roles on certain schemes. The question for next season is whether Anthony is a good player or a great player?

 

[RevDeuceWindham]

In a nutshell..

He came out of college as a great run defender, but a liability in coverage. The same still holds true today, which means that there has been minimal improvements to his game so far with the Saints.

He wasn't on the field much this year because his skill set doesn't fit Allen's scheme meaning he has to adapt. Great players adapt and good players fit roles on certain schemes. The question for next season is whether Anthony is a good player or a great player?

Way to take my several hours of film study and review and turn it into a TL;DR haha. But yes, you're 100% accurate in your assessment.

 

[los226]

Way to take my several hours of film study and review and turn it into a TL;DR haha. But yes, you're 100% accurate in your assessment.

Lol, it was a great read with plenty of bits of film for anyone interested in Anthony's journey with the Saints up to this point. I appreciate the hard work bro.

 

[ELLIASJWILLIAMS]

Great Study


Wanted to point out on the 1st play of 2015 bad this appears to be what SP was talking about in saying he doesn't read his keys well. Based on the play and where the other LB was you would assume he'd know he had help to the inside. Therefore he shouldn't have been caught biting on an inside fake. He nullified the advantage he had in athleticism by taking steps in the wrong direction.

The play where he drops back and nearly gets a hand on the ball is probably his best play in zone coverage as a Saint since he's been here but also still shows he has has a propensity to take false steps (which when you consider he was one step away makes a difference) If you notice on the snap (and based on the style of defense we play I do believe the 1st step is always forward to play run and then you retreat unless you deduce pre-snap its obviously pass) Byrd takes one hop step forward to play run, and then immediately starts to drop. Anthony however takes 3 hop steps forward on the possible run. Can we agree that he was about 1 hopstep away from having a batted ball or an INT?

He's to an extent still trying to play everything instead of narrowing down what he needs to do based on formation. Obviously his development went to hell in Vitt's hands so that's at least the bonus of having him enter his 3rd year and have what is hopefully better coaching at his disposal.

Enjoyed the read man. Thank You

 

[RevDeuceWindham]

Wanted to point out on the 1st play of 2015 bad this appears to be what SP was talking about in saying he doesn't read his keys well. Based on the play and where the other LB was you would assume he'd know he had help to the inside. Therefore he shouldn't have been caught biting on an inside fake. He nullified the advantage he had in athleticism by taking steps in the wrong direction.

Agreed. It sounds crazy, but in terms of speed and agility Anthony actually has more than a lot of starting NFL RBs, but, as I said, speed only helps you if you know where you're going. It's like I said on the Redskins play, you simply have to understand it's not your job sometimes. You aren't responsible for defending against the entire offense.

I do believe the 1st step is always forward to play run and then you retreat unless you deduce pre-snap its obviously pass) Byrd takes one hop step forward to play run, and then immediately starts to drop. Anthony however takes 3 hop steps forward on the possible run. Can we agree that he was about 1 hopstep away from having a batted ball or an INT?

I'm in agreement. Keep in mind, this was a 2800 word article, with tons of film, and yet even then I had to leave so many pieces out. It was just getting too long. His coverage here certainly isn't perfect. Obviously, it's ideal that he makes the play. Regardless, I felt it showed improvement on his part in terms of diagnosing a play in getting into position, and as you said, it was one of his better attempts at coverage. I also find it encouraging because this came at the end of the season in a game where he saw more snaps than any other game. I'm hopeful (kinda have to be, at this point) that this showed progress towards 2017's potential play.

He's to an extent still trying to play everything instead of narrowing down what he needs to do based on formation. Obviously his development went to hell in Vitt's hands so that's at least the bonus of having him enter his 3rd year and have what is hopefully better coaching at his disposal.

Enjoyed the read man. Thank You

Thank you as always for reading. I'm happy you enjoyed it. I'm interested to see what LB coach we bring in. Depending on who that is, it could very well be the difference between Anthony returning as a consistent, and possibly strong, starter or no longer being with the team.

 

[crosswatt]

Obviously his development went to hell in Vitt's hands so that's at least the bonus of having him enter his 3rd year and have what is hopefully better coaching at his disposal.

I know Vitt has his share of blame, but I think that James Willis had Stephone's ear more often on the more technical aspects of the game. His firing was probably more directly related to Anthony's regression/lack of development than Vitt's was. In my opinion of course.

 

[crosswatt]

Nice read, Rev.

 

[RevDeuceWindham]

Nice read, Rev.

Thanks, crosswatt

 

[Brennan77]

Great work. Thanks for sharing. It seems that Anthony is an absolute beast in run defense and has really good physical talent. His weakness was and remains pass defense and understanding his part in that regard.

We drafted him knowing this. If we can't find a way to get his 100+ tackles a year on the field, it's an utter coaching failure, in my opinion. This isn't a miss on a draft pick. He's exactly what we knew him to be. Now find a way to use the tool that you bought.

 

[dome patrol]

Mark Field 2.0

 

[Whodatcolston]

Wow, great read man. I love these articles you're putting together. Keep up the good work, they're real informative. Can't wait to get some of your takes when you're at the senior bowl.

In regards to Anthony, I hope our next LB coach can work some magic with him in coverage. He's too good against the run and too athletic to not have on the field.

 

[Nutria]

Really outstanding, thank you. It's true that good players adapt to the scheme, but good coaches also adapt to the players-- Payton's done a fine job with this with the offense. I hope/think that Allen will find ways to play to Anthony's strengths at the same time that he is bringing him up to speed on his scheme.

 

[Zztop]

So he is basically another Lofton?