Cyprien / Elam

**RavinFan** · 10-16-2013, 01:08 PM

As much as our offense has sucked, I love the direction of our defense.
Dumervil has been a great addition, Jsmith and Webb are playing great, B will has promise and Suggs is lights out.

Elam has been up and down, but has anyone seen cyprien play? At draft time folks were pretty split on who to take. Any revised thoughts now that both have a bit of gametime on who is adding more, who looks to have more upside, be a better fit long term?

**wickedsolo** · 10-16-2013, 01:16 PM

I've caught a few jags games and Cyprien is a decent player for them. He is more like Ihedigbo.

I was one who was on the fence between the two, but I think Elam is the better player now.

Elam is pretty versatile. He can play FS, SS, and he can drop down into the nickel. I also like that Elam can play in the box. Cyprien is pretty much a SS.

Elam has clearly been the better fit for Baltimore. Could you imagine if we had Cyprien and Huff as the starters? Woah.

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**JAB1985** · 10-16-2013, 01:24 PM

I thought all along Elam "played like a raven" but did switch to cyprien late. Im really glad we went with Elam. hes a better fit. I think hell eventually be a stud for us.

**bmorecareful** · 10-16-2013, 02:05 PM

Cyprien has upside, but he was always more of a "flash" player who didn't consistently dominate even weaker competition. He was always going to have a big learning curve in the NFL, but he looked good in the pre-draft process so he got way overhyped. IMO I had Cyprien as more of a 3rd round type grade so taking him in the late 1st or early 2nd would have been a big reach.

Elam on the other hand was one of the best and most consistent DBs in the SEC his whole college career. Maybe he didn't flash quite the upside of Cyprien or have as good measurables, but he was a better prospect than Cyprien and has been a much better pro thus far.

The thing is, Elam would be even better if he were allowed to play more around the LOS like a traditional SS. He can play deep in the FS position well, but if we find a true centerfielder-type FS (what Huff was supposed to be) and can move Elam to SS, watch out.

**blah3** · 10-16-2013, 02:25 PM

It's way to early in their careers to compare the two.

**ERey** · 10-16-2013, 03:00 PM

I haven't seen Cyprien play so I can't really say. But I agree on our D as a whole. Daryl Smith has been awesome as well!

**GOTA** · 10-16-2013, 03:05 PM

Cyprien has been very physical. If you can go back and watch the Rams game from 2 weeks ago. He was everywhere and looked almost like a middle linebackers. I can see the Jags eventually running more big nickel defense between him and Poz.

**The Excellector** · 10-16-2013, 03:09 PM

The obvious difference between the two, up to this point, is the disparity in surrounding talent. With Rashean Mathis constantly dealing with injuries and moving on, Daryl Smith was sort of the last of a dying breed in Del Rio's Jaguars defenses.

Going into the draft, I saw Cyprien as more of a FS who could play the run, while I saw Elam as a SS who could play the pass. Elam, as another poster eluded to, would probably be even better if they could find a quality FS, because he's better at the line of scrimmage.

It's really too early to say on both. I admit that I wanted Cyprien, as did I want Sio Moore over Arthur Brown. I haven't seen enough for my mind to be swayed, it's still very early.

**Rxdoxx** · 10-16-2013, 03:10 PM

Originally Posted by bmorecareful

The thing is, Elam would be even better if he were allowed to play more around the LOS like a traditional SS. He can play deep in the FS position well, but if we find a true centerfielder-type FS (what Huff was supposed to be) and can move Elam to SS, watch out.

Truth.

Elam was drafted to replace Pollard, which he does nicely..... when Huff proved weak, we were suddenly looking for a center fielder which Ihedigbo is definitely not, so Elam is filling is as FS because he is the best we have, but you are correct his position of strength looks to be SS.

**AirFlacco** · 10-16-2013, 06:20 PM

Originally Posted by JAB1985

I thought all along Elam "played like a raven" but did switch to cyprien late. Im really glad we went with Elam. hes a better fit. I think hell eventually be a stud for us.

I wanted Cyprien but glad it's Elam. He definitely has more upside
and plays like Pollard. He knocked Randall Cobb out (for multiple weeks) one of their best receivers with 29 receptions. He covers better than Pollard too but bit on the play action that left Webb alone on Nelson but that was a rookie mistake as IH fell for it too but Elam will be a great player.

He already has receivers feeling timid and looking around for him like Pollard did. Just wait a couple of years. He has pro bowl written all over him.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/98...ay-next-sunday

**leachisabeast** · 10-17-2013, 12:59 AM

Originally Posted by The Excellector

The obvious difference between the two, up to this point, is the disparity in surrounding talent. With Rashean Mathis constantly dealing with injuries and moving on, Daryl Smith was sort of the last of a dying breed in Del Rio's Jaguars defenses.

Going into the draft, I saw Cyprien as more of a FS who could play the run, while I saw Elam as a SS who could play the pass. Elam, as another poster eluded to, would probably be even better if they could find a quality FS, because he's better at the line of scrimmage.

It's really too early to say on both. I admit that I wanted Cyprien, as did I want Sio Moore over Arthur Brown. I haven't seen enough for my mind to be swayed, it's still very early.

Sio Moore hasn't been very good so far. I liked him a lot too, but not as much as Arthur Brown. Moore has had more playing time (mostly a starter) in Oaklands defense, but he hasn't made the impact Brown has when he's been on the field either, and isn't competing with two very talented LBs (Daryl Smith, and Josh Bynes) for playing time. In time, I think both are going to be great players in this league. Oakland need to get more talent on D, and once that happens, I see Moore becoming one of those leaders at ILB, able to cover the field like a Woodyard type player. Arthur Brown is more of a traditional/athletic type player, and is more along the lines of a Lawrence Timmons.

As for Elam, I agree with you, he's more of a modern day SS who can cover slot receivers, and hit hard at the line of scrimmage. My assessment of him before the draft was a smaller Bernard Pollard, who could hit just as hard, but drop back in coverage and be more effective. I did see him capable of playing center fielder, but its not playing to his strengths IMO. We don't have anyone else with Huff being a bust of a signing, and at least he's getting experience playing a key and very hard position in our defense.

I think we're probably going to be in the market for a true center fielder in the draft, which will allow Elam to move back to SS. At the same time, I would rather not draft another safety, at the expense of the offense, which needs A LOT of help in the offseason.

**GOTA** · 10-17-2013, 05:56 AM

Originally Posted by The Excellector

The obvious difference between the two, up to this point, is the disparity in surrounding talent. With Rashean Mathis constantly dealing with injuries and moving on, Daryl Smith was sort of the last of a dying breed in Del Rio's Jaguars defenses.

Going into the draft, I saw Cyprien as more of a FS who could play the run, while I saw Elam as a SS who could play the pass. Elam, as another poster eluded to, would probably be even better if they could find a quality FS, because he's better at the line of scrimmage.

It's really too early to say on both. I admit that I wanted Cyprien, as did I want Sio Moore over Arthur Brown. I haven't seen enough for my mind to be swayed, it's still very early.

The guy I wanted over Brown was Kiko Alonzo but I didn't think he would be drafted before we picked. Now I know why the Bills moved up to get him. Alonzo has been even better than I thought he would be. Arthur Brown hasn't played enough to get any sense of him hopefully though he'll also end up good like Alonzo.