Just how NFL-ready is Jimmy Smith?

**Shas** · 07-22-2011, 01:34 PM

Since it appears that we're about to enter into a buzz-saw free-agency period -- the last chance for teams to address roster weaknesses -- I thought I'd pass along my reaction to a quick interview I happened to catch about a month ago.

You have to bear with me to make the connection, but the interview got me wondering how prepared Jimmy Smith is for a starting role in the Ravens secondary, and therefore, how pressing it may be to have a Plan B for the cornerback position.

With Foxworth coming off of injury, and with Carr or Wilson likely to not be back, and with Webb showing himself to perhaps be a better nickle than boundrey corner, a lot falls on Smith to get up to speed quickly.

Here's gist of the interview I am referring to. It was with new Colorado coach Jon Embree. I was a bit surprised to hear how blunt Embree was in trashing his predessor: head coach Dan Hawkins and, by implication, defensive coordinator Ron Collins.

Hawkins and Collins came to CU after much success at Boise State, but their six years at CU led to disappointing results, and a carousel of coaches during this time. The really damning comment from Embree came when he said he had been reviewing tape of the CU secondary in 2010 and it looked like a bunch of guys running around without a clue what they were doing -- no semblance of a scheme whatsoever. I'm paraphrasing, but that's the gist.

Now, this is where you have to take a leap, but it makes me nervous to think that Jimmy Smith -- an undoubtedly talented athlete in is own right -- is coming out of a trainwreck of a defensive system and coming into a much more advanced NFL scheme. He has to make this leap in a year where there has been absolutely no offseason coaching, and we're nearly into August.

At CU no one threw at Smith, we've heard. We've assumed that is a testament to how good he was. But perhaps, given Embree's comments, it's a testament to how terrible the secondary was as a whole. Maybe there was no need to test him. CU's defense was ranked 118 out of 120 for passing completion percentage against (68%) in the NCAA FBS, only ahead of Navy and Colorado State. They gave up 400.00 yards per game.

Embree, a former CU tight end as a player, knows a little bit about what it takes to become a decent NFL secondary -- having been an NFL assistant coach for 17 seasons. The idea that he took one look at CU game film from last year and bluntly declared the defense a mess made me think twice about Smith's readiness to excel in the Ravens' scheme.

I'm not pessimistic, but I will be curious to see how quickly he can get up to speed in a season where there is very little time to get up to speed for rookies. Hell, presumably the Ravens front office hasn't even started talking to the agent for their first round pick yet.

As much as the media made "character question" and "Jimmy Smith" synonomous -- which I think was overblown -- perhaps they should have been questioning his tutoring.

**ballhawk** · 07-22-2011, 01:52 PM

I could be wrong, but wouldn't the learning curve for a cb asked to play press coverage be a little easier than most positions. Is it as easy as pagano made it sound when he called smith on draft day and told him that they were going to stick him on the oppositions best reciever. With harbaugh's history of bringing rookies along slowly, esp with the lockout, I would expect smith to be eased into the lineup and not see a whole lot of snaps for the 1st half of the season.

**GOTA** · 07-22-2011, 01:59 PM

The Ravens scouts, coaches and front office saw the exact same tape that Embree saw. I guess we'll see who is better at evaluating talent.

**Shas** · 07-22-2011, 02:01 PM

Ballhawk,
I think there are two areas you look at when it comes to evluating a corner's performance. The first is technique. The second is scheme.

If you listen to analysts and DBs talk about technique, there is a lot of nuance. They talk about being properly position on the shoulder of the receiver depending on where you are steering him. They talk about knowing how and when to turn and look for the ball and not peek in the backfield. Hand position. Footwork. Spotting cues on the receiver as he lines up. I've never played the position, but I think there is a ton of technique to coach.

As for scheme, that's being where you are supposed to be for the scheme you're in. Knowing when you have safety help for instance. How many times did we see situations where there was poor communication, as Webb released receivers to Landry when Landry was not there.

The easiest way to say it is that players can't be thinking. They need to instictively be in the right place and right position so their natural athleticism can take over. If you're thinking you're slowing down and getting beat. The question for Smith is how quickly can he get through the thinking part, because the athleticism is there. How often was he even asked to think at CU?

**Shas** · 07-22-2011, 02:04 PM

Originally Posted by GOTA

The Ravens scouts, coaches and front office saw the exact same tape that Embree saw. I guess we'll see who is better at evaluating talent.

No denying that. I have to have confidence in them. But since no one has seen a practice yet, I thought it was worth discussing now.

I guess one thing I'm questioning, too, is how much evalutation of Smith was possible. If teams rarely threw at him, because it was so easy hit open receivers elsewhere against CU, how tested was he?

Also, as I think back to the conversations about Smith, so much of it was the fact that he is the tall, man-to-man style CB that the team has been looking for. It's more that he was the right style player, more than talking about performance. And when not talking about athleticism, it was talking about character.

**GOTA** · 07-22-2011, 02:21 PM

How are teams able to scout Asomugha when no one seems to throw at him? These guys still get the ball thrown their way a bunch of times each game. They also have to cover receivers even when the ball is not thrown their way. Watching how a DB reacts after the snap, moves after a jam and cover a receiver trying to put a move on him is valuable even if the ball never comes his way.

Now way to know how good Smith will be until we see him in some games. The Patriots got a great CB in Devin McCourty last year but completely missed on Darius Butler the year before. That's the same scouts and decision makers evaluating the same position and not that far apart in position. It sure ain't easy to figure it out.

**Shas** · 07-22-2011, 02:31 PM

All true. I don't want to overstate the issue. But it concerns me to hear that the guy played in a poorly coached system and maybe was getting by on talent alone.

**PeterB58** · 07-22-2011, 02:35 PM

Originally Posted by Shas

All true. I don't want to overstate the issue. But it concerns me to hear that the guy played in a poorly coached system and maybe was getting by on talent alone.

Perhaps. But I would rather have that then the reverse: Very coachable, but not talented to play in the NFL.

**GOTA** · 07-22-2011, 02:39 PM

Originally Posted by Shas

All true. I don't want to overstate the issue. But it concerns me to hear that the guy played in a poorly coached system and maybe was getting by on talent alone.

That's pretty much every spread offense QB who gets drafted in the first 2 rounds each year.

**wickedsolo** · 07-22-2011, 02:47 PM

Corner and receiver, IMO, are the two hardest positions to really gauge coming out of college because so often we see players who are physically gifted just absolutely dominate the competition at the collegiate level, get to the NFL, and never get on the field because they never bothered to learn (and more often than not, don't want to learn) the nuances of the position.

One thing that I do like about Jimmy Smith is that while at CU, he was coached by Ashley Ambrose for a bit, which is good.

I think Webb is going to end up being a pretty good corner and if Foxworth can shake the rust off quickly, he'll certainly at least be "solid". Don't be surprised to see Josh Wilson re-signed for 2-3 years either.

**Dave Lap** · 07-22-2011, 02:51 PM

Originally Posted by Shas

All true. I don't want to overstate the issue. But it concerns me to hear that the guy played in a poorly coached system and maybe was getting by on talent alone.

If so, he may me a little slower to learn but have an even higher upside when coached up NFL style.

**houstonravensfan** · 07-22-2011, 03:01 PM

Originally Posted by Shas

All true. I don't want to overstate the issue. But it concerns me to hear that the guy played in a poorly coached system and maybe was getting by on talent alone.

If he got by "on talent alone" I'm happy, because that means he has the tools. I don't recall anyone labeling him as "uncoachable," so now it's up to Pagano: he has a highly talented CB to coach up into an NFL star.