Slot Corner ~ Damontae Kazee ~ San Diego State Spartans ~ 5103/185
Old Roles are getting dramatically transformed, and virtually every Front 7 ~ or Front 6!! ~ Defensive Job Description is transitioning into an Hybrid Role where the Defender is asked to excel in multiple Roles and in multiple Fronts.
For that reason, and in order to offer NomenClature that speaks not to archaic, obsolete "Positions", but rather to Skill Sets that accurately reflect the dynamic Changes of the 21st Century Game and the Roles they have spawned, I have undertaken to craft Terminology that is designed to break Skill Sets down as they really are.
Defensive Coordinators have, since Time Immemorial, employed highly creative terminology in devising Defenses and in designating Assignments. In that Spirit, I have admittedly indulged myself considerably in devising the following NomenClature. It is undeniably colorful, but I like to think that there's an underlying Logic, as well:
Slot Corners ~ Upon Further Review, I confess that I believe that I went A Bridge Too Far with this Business of rebranding NickelBacks as CenterFielders. CenterFielders ~ "Free Safeties" to you Earthlings!! ~ are optimally Hybrids capable of Direct Coverage, anyway, and my premise that NickelBacks ought to be able to manifest the Processing Speed that CenterFielders need, as well as the Run Defense Aspect of a CenterFielder was pushing Evolution too fast.
It would be terrific for Defenses if NickelBacks were all spry yet beefy 5090/210 Pounders whose Frames could stand up to the rigors of the Run Defense that is an important Aspect of a CenterFielder's Game.
But even then, their Height would be a Liability in surveying the Tactical LandScape.
NickelBacks are of course Pass Defense Specialists, but I will include Run Defense in my Evaluations. But I will note, of course, that as with Blocking as it pertains to WideOuts, it is desirable, yes, but its absence is no Red Flag.
This is how I break down Slot Corners:
Agility: Acceleration, Ricochet, Fluidity, and Verticity ~ that's Turn & Burn Acuity, to you Earthlings!!
Processing Speed: How quickly and effectively one Reads & Reacts to the developing Play.
Run Defense: Power, Agility, Combat Skills, Processing Speed, Motor, and Tackling.
Pass Coverage: Agility, Processing Speed, and Field Vision.
CatchPoint Capacity: Tracking, Timing, Combat Skills, and WingSpan.
Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:
Agility
* Fluidity, above all things: Core Agility & Flexibility makes everything possible.
* Ricochet ~ How crisply and how rapidly one breaks in a new direction.
* Acceleration ~ Short Speed or Quickness. Closing Speed.
* Verticity ~ The Ability ~ or lack thereof ~ to Flips Hips and Turn & Burn in Pass Coverage.
Processing Speed
* How quickly and effectively one Reads & Reacts to the developing Play.
Run Defense
* Power
* Agility
* Combat Skills
* Processing Speed
* Motor
* Tackling
Pass Coverage
* Agility ~ Fluidity, Ricochet, Acceleration, and Speed, baby!!
* Processing Speed ~ Reading and Reacting with Speed & Precision to Offensive Tactics.
* Field Vision ~ Processing Speed with an emphasis on the Tactical LandScape.
CatchPoint Capacity
* Tracking
* Timing
* Combat Skills
* WingSpan
* Vertical Agility
Agility: Shaky. Slow, Stiff, and Sluggish.
Processing Speed: Sensational.
Run Defense: Tremendous. Poor Torso Power but excellent Core Power, Combat Skills, Field Vision, and Motor!!
Pass Coverage: Competitive. Lacks both the Size and the Agility to play NFL FootBall, but his Processing Speed is great.
Catch Point Capacity: Magnificent. Lousy WingSpan, marginal Vertical Launch, and he's pretty damned short...But Kazee's Tracking & Timing, Combat Skills, Vertical Agility, and Savvy and Instincts are astonishing.
For those of you who aren't aware: I'm a Patriots Fan. And I'll be the first to admit that, based on physical Talent alone, Malcolm Butler and, yes, Tom Brady don't belong within a Mile of a FootBall Field!!
It was in fact Brady himself whose uncanny Ability to dominate, despite at best mediocre physical Talent, that drove the entire Process that led me introduce "Processing Speed" to my FootBall Lexicon in the first place.
Damnotae Kazee strikes me as that kind of FootBall Player.
He's Short, he's Small, his Torso Power sucks, and he's slow, stiff, and sluggish.
And yet he routinely plays the Game A Step Ahead...And it's not just because of The Competition.
He's 24, which damages his Stock in my Eyes ~ 25% Discount, right there ~ and he's gonna need to switch to Slot Corner at the next level, which carries a Conversion Cost with it, further depressing his Stock.
Oh...And he's got virtually no physical Talent that I can discern, and based on that alone shouldn't be allowed within a thousand Miles of a FootBall Field, unless he's hawking Peanuts, Beer, or HotDogs.
But...The Kid Can Play.
Grateful Thanks, as always, for the invaluable Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!
Market Value #149 | Yankee Grade 4th/5th Round |
None of this is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning!! Caveat Emptor!