mthoopsfan said:
What you said is not true for secondary pass defense, especially at the college level. Technique, being lined up right, knowledge of the defensive scheme, eyes, quickness, reaction time, strong hands/arms, watching of tape, ability to run backwards and turn quickly and efficiently, etc. are far more important than speed. Sure, speed helps, and can cover up for mistakes, but most of the time those other things are far more important than speed.
Safeties that can see the field, know or have a sense of what's coming, and get a jump on the play/ball, make up for lack of speed.
Tim Hauck wasn't fast, yet he was a very good NFL player. Colt Anderson wasn't fast. Even Trumaine Johnson wasn't a burner.
The basic skills and technique for one on one pass coverage, and even zone, are actually fairly similar to what they were decades, i.e. what I just said above. Saying speed is most important 9/10 times is wrong, and really just plain stupid.
Yes, secondary coverages and schemes, and hybrid schemes, have gotten much more complicated and sophisticated.
Reading comprehension gramps. I never said speed was most important. You need speed and technique in combination.
I said, if you aren’t fast enough, having great technique won’t cover for that 9/10 times. Now, I did not put a numerical indicator on speed. I simply said, “not fast enough”. I don’t know how fast Robby is, but I know he gets burnt on the field a lot, indicating that if his technique is good, his speed is not good enough.
Regarding Tru, he ran a 4.6 40, but he made up for it with his size. He was a press corner with long arms. You will notice that once his athleticism went, he plummeted in the league. Again, technique is 100% necessary, but if you aren’t athletic enough, technique is not enough on its own.
Colt ran a 4.53 40, and a 1.53 10 yard split, and a sub 7 3-cone, indicating excellent explosion and COD. He had much better speed than Robby, and it was noticeable on the field.
Tim played decades ago, and the game is different than it was then. I don’t find player comparisons from 40 years ago work very well. Although the game is cyclical in terms of running and passing, the players are bigger, stronger, and faster. Athleticism relative to your peers would be a more worthy argument.