Of course, of the three new Colts, everyone will want to know about the nose tackle, because that's where the team is weakest. Martin Tevaseu (6012/308/5.46pd in 2010) is immensely strong. Forget about his 308 draft weight, he plays at 325-330 and once got as high as 417 in college. Other than that, there's not much to say. He's slow off the ball, his agility is nonexistent and his play recognition is so-so. Besides, I'm always leery of a guy who's been released five times in two years. Still, he's not bad at shedding despite no real pass-rush moves and is a pretty good tackler. Also on the plus side is the fact that he's a fine young man. But unless he shows me something new, I'd say he's little more than a space holder for the team until Josh Chapman returns from injury.
Former Patriot Sergio Brown (6005/210/4.49pd in 2010) is a very interesting prospect at safety. He played significant snaps last season for the Pats and was pretty darn good on defense (even in coverage, unlike most strong safeties these days) and was excellent on special teams. The only thing I saw that caused me pause was that he had a propensity for drawing penalties. If he can tighten up his game, he could be a major contributor for this team. It's not out of the realm of possibility that he could be groomed as a starter if he can handle the mental/emotional aspects of the task. I'm glad they claimed him, even though I was rooting for Jermale Hines, the guy he replaced.
The third guy they claimed was Mike Person (6044/299/5.07c) who was a dominating tackle at Montana State of the FCS. But a 6'4, 299-pound tackle in the NFL? I worry. Of course, that might make you think that the Colts should bring him inside. Not so fast, Tiger, What was totally impressive about Person when he played was how he played in space, especially his outstanding kick'n'slide footwork. That's tackle stuff. And his greatest weakness was picking up second-level guys. That's guard stuff. He's a dancer, not a wrestler. The Colts, I think wisely, list him as a tackle. Despite his size constraints, I think his skill set works better there. Unless he somehow finds two inches and 30 pounds of muscle, I don't see person developing into a starter, but I think he can keep Andrew Luck out of the hospital if he has to play.
The practice squad has been set up, and I'm a tad disappointed not see an influx of new talent:
NT Chigbo Anunoby Everyone saw this one coming
OLB Jerry Brown They must have seen something I missed
G Hayworth Hicks They needed some depth here
TE Kyle Miller Ditto, he knows the playbook
WR Kashif Moore Picked up late in preseason, they want a longer look
S Latarrius Thomas this one I like a lot, Thomas is raw and full of potential
Of the other cuts, I would not have argued much. Maybe I would have kept Ross over Adams at WR because of his obvious big-play ability, but they mostly seemed astute.
3 comments:
Jerry, what are your thoughts on Jerry Hughes?
Any chance of the new scheme resulting in him becoming productive?
Jerry, I've gotta give props to Kris Adams & Griff Whalen. Didn't think either had any shot at the 53Having said that I still liked Ross's game better & hope he's added to the PS. The Off.&Def. lines are the main key to football in my estimation & will continue to be a focus through the next off season. They need one more CB & I haven't seen Tom Z. at SS do much yet. May need an upgrade there. Peace
Roy: Hard to say. He`s got all the tools, but I haven`t seen much out of him when games count. People say that he'll be better at OLB because it's closer to his natural position. But anyone who saw him on special teams will tell you his problems aren't playing out of position, it's about instincts, vision and understanding angles. So, as much as I hope I'm wrong on this, no, I don't see him developing this year.
BG: Agreed. Whalen will be the bomb if he can stay healthy. Hnads like that are rare. But Ross seems pretty PO'd at the organization, and will more likely land elsewhere. I like TZ, but think upgrades are needed at NT and G and I think the HB situation only works if the Colts can have a Patriots-like passing attack.
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