Jimmy still struggling

**AirFlacco** · 08-16-2013, 05:49 AM

I posted a quote from Jerry Coleman on 105.7 fm on last week's game thread
that Corey Graham had one CB spot locked up and the battle was between
Jimmy and Webb for the other spot. He sure was right as we saw again
last night. It's Webb's job as soon as he's 100%. In fact, the most that Ravens
can hope for is a speedy recovery.

Jimmy was used and abused last night. The Ravens are running out of
excuses and time on Jimmy Smith.

Jimmy was hoped to be a shut-down corner in the MacAllister mold
as a #1 draft pick but he is still struggling. He had position on the ball
one time but couldn't make a play on it.

Is he playing too stiff? Whatever, if he doesn't play another down
he earned his ring helping Ravens win the SB covering his man on the goal
line stand and another Jimmy is still whining about it.

Whatever you think of MIkie, he's spot on here.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/r...4915040.column

**pickles** · 08-16-2013, 06:02 AM

Originally Posted by AirFlacco

I posted a quote from Jerry Coleman on 105.7 fm on last week's game thread
that Corey Graham had one CB spot locked up and the battle was between
Jimmy and Webb for the other spot. He sure was right as we saw again
last night. It's Webb's job as soon as he's 100%. In fact, the most that Ravens
can hope for is a speedy recovery.

Jimmy was used and abused last night. The Ravens are running out of
excuses and time on Jimmy Smith.

Jimmy was hoped to be a shut-down corner in the MacAllister mold
as a #1 draft pick but he is still struggling. He had position on the ball
one time but couldn't make a play on it.

Is he playing too stiff? Whatever, if he doesn't play another play
he helped win the SB covering his man on the goal line stand and another
Jimmy is still whining about it.

Whatever you think of MIkie, he's spot on here.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/r...4915040.column

Barring injury, even with Webbie's return, Smith will be on the field more than he isn't this year. So I could care less about the semantics of "starter" or whatever.

I'm also not going to get too upset about 2 quarters of preseason action again the Falcons and two receptions. Ryan and those recievers will make plenty CBs look bad.

I don't think Jimmy's ever going to be a star, but I still think he can be a good NFL CB. I think we'll know more after the snaps start becoming real.

**wickedsolo** · 08-16-2013, 07:32 AM

One thing that I noticed with him and I believe bmorecareful stated something similar in the game thread was that Jimmy gets caught looking into the backfield a lot.

It almost seems like he doesn't trust himself. He needs to loosen up and just play.

I'm not going to hold a lot of last night's game against him because he was playing against Julio Jones for most of the game. Julio is arguably one of the top 5 receivers in the game and IMO I would probably put him at 3 or 4 behind guys like Megatron and Fitzgerald.

The play that bugs me the most was when he was covering #15 in the 2nd quarter and Ryan floated a pass over Jimmy's head right into #15's hands down the sideline. If you re-watch that play, Jimmy has really solid coverage on #15, but he turns his head to see where the ball is and (from my perspective) kind of freaked out like he lost track of where the receiver was in relation to the sideline and he turned his head away from the ball back to the receiver.

Now, that pass was about as perfect as you can get. Ryan is incredibly accurate. What bothers me is that Jimmy is 6'2" and had he played the ball he may have gotten a piece of it or possibly even picked it off. Even just going for the ball may have caused the receiver to lose focus for a split second, which may have resulted in an incomplete pass. Jimmy didn't play the ball at all and ended up running the received out of bounds.

Premier cornerbacks swat that pass away or pick it.

You can't tell me that a 6'2" Jimmy Smith can't jump high enough with outstretched arms to make a play on that pass.

**AirFlacco** · 08-16-2013, 08:20 AM

Yea, that was the play Mikie was talking about where he had good position but didn't
make a play on the ball. He plays too stiff, doesn't bend his knees.

**JAB1985** · 08-16-2013, 08:29 AM

Originally Posted by wickedsolo

One thing that I noticed with him and I believe bmorecareful stated something similar in the game thread was that Jimmy gets caught looking into the backfield a lot.

It almost seems like he doesn't trust himself. He needs to loosen up and just play.

I'm not going to hold a lot of last night's game against him because he was playing against Julio Jones for most of the game. Julio is arguably one of the top 5 receivers in the game and IMO I would probably put him at 3 or 4 behind guys like Megatron and Fitzgerald.

The play that bugs me the most was when he was covering #15 in the 2nd quarter and Ryan floated a pass over Jimmy's head right into #15's hands down the sideline. If you re-watch that play, Jimmy has really solid coverage on #15, but he turns his head to see where the ball is and (from my perspective) kind of freaked out like he lost track of where the receiver was in relation to the sideline and he turned his head away from the ball back to the receiver.

Now, that pass was about as perfect as you can get. Ryan is incredibly accurate. What bothers me is that Jimmy is 6'2" and had he played the ball he may have gotten a piece of it or possibly even picked it off. Even just going for the ball may have caused the receiver to lose focus for a split second, which may have resulted in an incomplete pass. Jimmy didn't play the ball at all and ended up running the received out of bounds.

Premier cornerbacks swat that pass away or pick it.

You can't tell me that a 6'2" Jimmy Smith can't jump high enough with outstretched arms to make a play on that pass.

thats a good breakdown of one play and a problem i see often. I dont know if its coaching or not, but i feel hes looking into the backfield way too much. Im not sure if its to support the run defense or just to see when the ball is thrown but that needs to be fixed. As far as making a play on the ball more, I think thats something that comes once comfortable in coverage. Hes not quite there yet so I think thatll come in time. Honestly with as little as hes played its not much unlike Doss imo. He needs to get out there and gain confidence. In his defense a little, not only was he going against Jones, but i dont think we were running a full on defensive scheme. Our corners were pretty much 1 on 1 in most cases from what i was seeing and not getting the benefits of a pass rush like they would in a real game.

**Bhcforlife** · 08-16-2013, 08:48 AM

Like Zinno said last night, the idea that he was playing against Ryan and Jones and it's acceptable that he got humiliated because they are going to do that to a lot of CBs is a complete joke. So when Manning abuses him up and down the field with Decker or Thomas in Week 1, we're supposed to accept it because he's an elite QB and those WRs are elite too? Look, I'd accept that if we were talking about Chykie Brown, who was a late round pick. But Smith was a first round pick in his third year. That is a bogus excuse for poor play.

Call it as we've seen it. He finished strong last year. He's had some good games, some average, some bad. I'd say he's been decent but hardly the performance of what you'd expect from a first rounder. The fact he's still the 3CB in year three as a first round pick speaks volumes. What other Ravens first rounder in their history wasn't starting by year two? He couldn't even overtake Cary Williams last year.

**wickedsolo** · 08-16-2013, 08:55 AM

Originally Posted by Bhcforlife

Like Zinno said last night, the idea that he was playing against Ryan and Jones and it's acceptable that he got humiliated because they are going to do that to a lot of CBs is a complete joke. So when Manning abuses him up and down the field with Decker or Thomas in Week 1, we're supposed to accept it because he's an elite QB and those WRs are elite too? Look, I'd accept that if we were talking about Chykie Brown, who was a late round pick. But Smith was a first round pick in his third year. That is a bogus excuse for poor play.

Call it as we've seen it. He finished strong last year. He's had some good games, some average, some bad. I'd say he's been decent but hardly the performance of what you'd expect from a first rounder. The fact he's still the 3CB in year three as a first round pick speaks volumes. What other Ravens first rounder in their history wasn't starting by year two? He couldn't even overtake Cary Williams last year.

He was hurt a lot of last year.

**Bhcforlife** · 08-16-2013, 09:05 AM

He was also hurt in his first year. So in addition to being a mediocre at best player, he's also hurt a lot. I'm not calling him a bust yet, not going into his third year, but he's approaching that. Needs to be better than he has been and he needs to stay healthy.

**bt12483** · 08-16-2013, 09:05 AM

Originally Posted by Bhcforlife

Like Zinno said last night, the idea that he was playing against Ryan and Jones and it's acceptable that he got humiliated because they are going to do that to a lot of CBs is a complete joke. So when Manning abuses him up and down the field with Decker or Thomas in Week 1, we're supposed to accept it because he's an elite QB and those WRs are elite too? Look, I'd accept that if we were talking about Chykie Brown, who was a late round pick. But Smith was a first round pick in his third year. That is a bogus excuse for poor play.

Call it as we've seen it. He finished strong last year. He's had some good games, some average, some bad. I'd say he's been decent but hardly the performance of what you'd expect from a first rounder. The fact he's still the 3CB in year three as a first round pick speaks volumes. What other Ravens first rounder in their history wasn't starting by year two? He couldn't even overtake Cary Williams last year.

My concern is: how did Jimmy Smith last night look any different than Jimmy Smith from 2 years ago getting burned in SD by Rivers?

If a QB specifically targets you, and you fail over and over again, it is very concerning.

A 3rd year Jimmy Smith should have improved over a rookie Jimmy Smith.

Last night just reminded me of him being abused in the SD game. Where is the improvement?

**steelerhater** · 08-16-2013, 09:24 AM

Originally Posted by Bhcforlife

Like Zinno said last night, the idea that he was playing against Ryan and Jones and it's acceptable that he got humiliated because they are going to do that to a lot of CBs is a complete joke. So when Manning abuses him up and down the field with Decker or Thomas in Week 1, we're supposed to accept it because he's an elite QB and those WRs are elite too? Look, I'd accept that if we were talking about Chykie Brown, who was a late round pick. But Smith was a first round pick in his third year. That is a bogus excuse for poor play.

Call it as we've seen it. He finished strong last year. He's had some good games, some average, some bad. I'd say he's been decent but hardly the performance of what you'd expect from a first rounder. The fact he's still the 3CB in year three as a first round pick speaks volumes. What other Ravens first rounder in their history wasn't starting by year two? He couldn't even overtake Cary Williams last year.

In the NFL he'll be going against top-level receivers each week and we'll continue to hear the excuses of why he can't cover anyone. The guy is a bust and the sooner the Ravens understand this and move on from him the better. I understand that its tough admitting that you blew a first round pick, but it happens.

**wickedsolo** · 08-16-2013, 09:24 AM

Originally Posted by Bhcforlife

He was also hurt in his first year. So in addition to being a mediocre at best player, he's also hurt a lot. I'm not calling him a bust yet, not going into his third year, but he's approaching that. Needs to be better than he has been and he needs to stay healthy.

I don't disagree with that, but it is hard to develop when you're hurt.

If he can stay healthy, I'd expect him to get a lot better as he gets on the field more. Webb wasn't all that and a bag-o-chips his first year either and look how quickly he got better.

Experience is paramount.

**GOTA** · 08-16-2013, 09:54 AM

Jimmy Smith is going to end up a matchup DB. He's going to cover the big receivers and h-backs in nickel situations. The way the NFL is now that going to keep him on the field for a good chunk of time but not for most plays like Webb and Graham. There are so many big receivers in the NFL at this point that Smith is going to be an asset but he might never end up as good as he was projected to be.