DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum The Safety Thread

Well it is a relative statement, but I will take the 2017 roster over the 2015 anyday of the week and twain on Sunday.

25. JABRILL PEPPERS – S – CLEVELAND BROWNS – SNAP COUNT: 16

Mixing him in with the first team defense, the Browns used Peppers almost exclusively as a deep safety in their preseason opener, lining him up back there on 14 of his 16 defensive snaps, and running contrary to most people’s pre-draft expectations. Peppers also returned one kickoff (for 27 yards) along with a punt (13 yards, he also had another which he called for a fair catch on), Peppers was the secondhighest graded returner in the FBS last season, trailing just Adoree Jackson.

I think that the FS that many thought that we neglected to draft in the draft might have been a false presupposition. LOL

Yeah as wonder why we did not draft a F.S. As that would had been something else.

That sounds kinda insulting. How do you know that Peppers is going to be a good FS?

And I won't even ..... LOL at you.

I figured that they would eventually try Pep at deep safety......that transition probably got sped up with the injury to Reynolds.

What FS qualities do you think that Peppers possesses?

Do you like his ability to quickly diagnose plays?

Do you like his reaction time to moves by the receiver?

Do you think he makes a lot of good reads?

Range. Speed. Agility. Change of direction.
Football instincts. Confidence/swagger. Solid tackler. Good man coverage skills. Ability to track the ball. Good hands.

I can't judge his ability to diagnose plays from the deep safety position.

When Pep actually played man coverage (rare) he was good.

Your asking a lot of questions about Pep that we aren't in position to judge.

And iirc you said you didn't watch him much in college?

I wasn't trying to argue, ed. I was asking legit questions.

I did watch him in college. That is how I formed my opinion.

I guess my big thing is that if you can't read a route tree when you are close to the LOS, how in the heck are you going to do it when you are responsible to the entire field?

Now..........I am NOT saying he can't do it. I simply have my doubts.

Kinda like early in the season last year when I said that Kindred and Campbell were not good in coverage and you disagreed w/me.

I am not saying that to be confrontational. I've been wrong before and will be again. I am saying it simply to demonstrate that I've been right quite a bit of the time, and my opinions are not similar to the wild speculations of many on this board.

It wasn't meant to be.

And I wont LOL at you either for your poor reading comprehension...key words might have been a false presupposition

That comes across as insulting, too.


Nice.

Have a good one.

My original statement was fairly ambiguous and you replied with;

And I won't even ..... LOL at you.

Who insulted whom?

Uhmmmm................could have sworn you added the LOL. Let me check:



But, once again, what skills does Peppers have that makes you think people had false presuppositions in regards to him playing FS?

I'm with you and ed on this one. Apparently the guy being paid to run our Defense thinks JP can play FS in HIS Defense. We will see if he is correct.

We have several guys who fit the traditional SS job description and precious little who fit the FS job description. They have had Kindred at FS, so I'm guessing they feel like Peppers can handle FS duties as well given his abilities over Kindred...maybe just not full-time YET.

I agree if Peppers can become the FS, then we have some others who can fill the SS position and our secondary is in pretty good shape, going 4 deep at CB.

I'll be honest, when we drafted Peppers, nothing said FS to me. It'd be nice if he can man that position

If we stick him at FS, I hope it's because we feel that is where he belongs, not that we are trying to push someone there who might work out well at a position of critical need.

I always figured part of the plan must be to at the very least try him at FS.

I never bought Kindred being the "FS" despite the reports. Just didn't make sense based on his play last year, they had to put someone there when Reynolds went down and he was just a place holder.

BEREA, Ohio -- The Browns promoted one former Ohio high school football star to starting quarterback on Wednesday, then they signed another. Defensive back Christian Bryant, who played for Glenville High School in Cleveland, was signed, the team announced.

DeShone Kizer, who played at Toledo Central Catholic was named the starting quarterback for Saturday's preseason opener earlier in the day.

Bryant, 5-foot-9 and 195 pounds, played at Ohio State and was originally selected by the Rams in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He has appeared in 12 games in his career, including nine with the Rams and three with the Cardinals.

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2017/08/browns_sign_former_glenville_d.html

Is this kid any good? 9 games with the Rams, with Williams? Might a good thing.

Williams has said it quite a bit.. if has a chance to coach a guy, and finds out he's coachable.. he wants him.

I remember Bryant actually ... hopefully he does well

Jabrill Peppers finds home at free safety, showing he can handle life in the deep middle

by Scott Petrak August 24, 2017

BEREA — Jabrill Peppers was focused on Giants quarterback Eli Manning. Peppers saw that Manning didn’t take his eyes off the right side of the field and receiver Brandon Marshall vs. cornerback Joe Haden in man coverage. Peppers correctly assumed the pass was headed in that direction and took off.

Marshall beat Haden at the line and Manning threw a perfect ball down the sideline, but it went through Marshall’s hands. Peppers arrived a moment later and delivered a shoulder-to-shoulder hit that spun Marshall. It originally drew a flag but was correctly waved off.

“I know he saw me coming, but I don’t think he short-armed it,” Peppers said Thursday of Marshall, whose eyes shifted toward Peppers at the last instant. “I definitely could’ve gotten it out, but had to slow up a little bit. Still wanted to let him know that I was there, but that’s all that comes with playing the free safety position.

“You’ve got to be there to help your guys over the top but then be physical at the line of scrimmage. You’ve got to let people know that you can go sideline to sideline.”



Peppers appears to have found a home at free safety, making four tackles and playing all 28 snaps against the Giants in the role, according to profootballfocus.com. The rookie No. 25 pick will be used all over coordinator Gregg Williams’ flexible defense, but his base will be in the deep middle of the field.


That’s a departure for Peppers, who played a lot of linebacker and close to the line of scrimmage in his final year at Michigan.

Just don’t suggest it’s too difficult for him.

“I laugh at all of the reports that said maybe he can’t play in the middle of the field,” coach Hue Jackson said. “Here is a guy who returns punts and he has to judge a ball all the time. That is what he does. This guy knows how to track a ball.

“He has the skill to play back there, and he has demonstrated that.”

Peppers heard the skepticism that the Browns would have difficulty finding a position for him bouncing around for the Wolverines. He said it added “fuel to the fire” but never doubted he could make the transition.

“Because I know what I can do,” Peppers said. “Things got blown out of proportion because according to you guys I didn’t have a position, but all I knew and what I told the coaches here, all I need is an opportunity. They gave me an opportunity. I’m forever indebted and I’ll try to be the best person and player I can be.

“I’m going to take the full opportunity to keep showing what I can do.”

Peppers took one for the team when he played multiple positions on the defense to help the Wolverines. He believed he belonged at free safety.

“In my head I always knew what I wanted to do, what my best position was going to be,” he said. “I’m just back to being one of the generals on the field, seeing everything, formations, making calls. Just trying to make it as easy on the other guys as possible.”

The ability of Peppers to transition to free safety calms the uncertainty in the secondary. Derrick Kindred, a fourth-round pick, has gone back to his more comfortable spot at strong safety after trying to fill in at free when Ed Reynolds was injured.

Playing free safety should allow Peppers to make more plays on the ball. It also takes advantage of his high football IQ. He credits Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh with preparing him for the mental challenges of the NFL, but he’s also using all the resources available to him.

“I pick up a lot of things from various (veterans). I just do it very discreet,” he said. “Sometimes I’ll ask questions, but when I’m watching film, I watch what those guys do. When I’m out there at practice, watch what those guys do. So they teach me more than what they know, just because I’m always paying attention.”

“He has been a joy to be around,” Williams said. “He has been really focused in the meetings. He has been really focused in practice.”

Peppers, who had a 31-yard punt return against the Giants and a 36-yarder called back by penalty, has not only adapted to a new position. He’s adjusted to sharing a field with NFL stars like Manning, Marshall and Odell Beckham Jr.

He didn’t need long to get over the awe.

“Probably about five seconds into the first play,” Peppers said. “After that you just gotta come to a realization that you’re here now, you’ve got to treat it as such.

“Fear no one but respect all. That’s been my motto. Everyone puts their pants on the same way I do. So I’m just going to go out there and compete.”

https://www.brownszone.com/2017/08/24/ja...he-deep-middle/

i will say peppers is one of the surprises thus far to me ... his athleticism stands out IMO. He looks like he belongs and will be a playmaker

Might be a bit early to make that proclamation. He played there for part of a meaningless preseason game.

I hope he works out at that position because it certainly is an area of need. And I am NOT saying he can't be a FS. I just think it is a bit early to say he can handle the FS position.

We'll see......

IMO JP can play the FS position. He's smart, a very good athlete, is willing to learn and work hard. He has all the tools to succeed. I was glad when we drafted him and am happier now that I see how hw is.

These are all sufficient reasons for me to think that Peppers has a chance to succeed in our secondary. I'm not anointing him as a star today but I think he has enough ability to develop into a very good player for us. The fact that he has played a variety of positions with some success makes me inclined to believe he can apply his skills as a FS as well.

I disliked the picked, but I'm not too blind or stupid to admit he's warming up to me... and in a quick fashion.

I too, as many others have already stated, didn't see a free roamer in him on defense. I will trust Gregg's utilization of him though 100% and if he thinks he can play FS, then I'll watch and observe.

*EDIT*
Also, I loved in his presser recently he admitted on the Brandon Marshall hit that he said and quote:

"... still wanted to let him know I was there"

j/c

All I really have is a general comment. Peppers is a rookie. FS isn't a position he's used to playing. While it's true he is a natural athlete, there will be growing pains. I just hope people aren't overestimating how quickly he'll become proficient at the position.

Boddy keeps balling, there may be some Joe haden discussion in the safety thread.

Not referring to you specifically but a lot of posters around the Net have formed on conclusions about Peppers on and off the field. What I thought was classy was he didn't take the bait about Marshall short arming that attempt. It's a small thing but it displays character. People won't see if I they aren't looking for it. This coming from a Buckeye.

j/c:

Not sure how people are saying that Peppers has looked "good in coverage."

Did he even play FS in the first game? I'm not sure.

How many snaps has he played there in two games? I recall one play. The aforementioned play where he did provide good coverage against Marshall.

Two preseason games and people are making definitive statements. Heck, people were talking about how good Gilber was when he first got here.

This is NOT me saying that Peppers has not been good in coverage. I truly haven't seen many examples of him covering. And I think I have more experience at watching for those things than most on here.

I hope he studs out, but I think it is a bit early to be saying stuff like he is good in coverage. We don't know that yet.

You are skeptical of Peppers, others are optimistic about him, including me. I don't think that's overstating the debate about him. I'm comfortable about his potential. I don't think anybody is knocking you for being skeptical. We see it differently, is that really a surprise given the history of this board?

I am absolutely comfortable with waiting to see how it plays out.

I really don't get your reply after what I wrote.

I didn't evaluate him in a positive or negative manner.

I pretty much said that I haven't seen enough.

Is that negative?

And you know what.......I predict I am going to get slammed for "not liking" Peppers because I said we should wait and see.


Wash, Rinse, Repeat.

Go back and read what I wrote. I never accused you of negativity. I clearly said you were skeptical, that means you have questions. I also said, what we all know for certain, it will be proven ON THE FIELD!!!

I respectfully disagreed with you. I did not attack you, but I was clear that we have a difference of opinion. I'm fine with that. You need to be OK with that also.

I'm okay w/that. Sorry if I misunderstood.

No apology necessary. We are good.

BTW, I like alot of the things you have posted about Kizer. I know this isn't a Kizer thread. You have displayed balance in your appraisal of Kizer. He is a rookie and Peppers is a rookie. They both have ability and should develop the more each of them sees the field. We can agree on that, right? LOL

Go Browns!