Coach Snow talks Donte Jackson

[Mr. Scot]

5 minutes ago, Jeremy Igo said:

That is rather.... generous. I'd say he is pushing 5'9

I gained about twenty pounds and became two inches taller when my high school roster was published in the local paper.

But I'm sure NFL teams wouldn't pull stunts like that...right? 

[thefuzz]

Make or break year for the young man, hope he makes the most of it.

[PhillyB]

based on his potential and his body of work last season, his performance this year is probably the main variable in the difference between having a middle-of-the-road defense and having a catastrophic dumpster fire defense

[dpm0409]

Valid points made regarding his height and weight.  However, if a player is disciplined, mature, and they fully understand their role and how to play within the implemented scheme they can absolutely be successful.  Especially a player with Donte's athleticism and speed. 

A good relationship with the coaching staff goes a long way as well....one of the things that I've heard Rhule, Snow, and Brady all say is, they intend to design the offense and defense to take full advantage of their players strengths.  This is a breath of fresh air imo, instead of having a scheme that is too rigid and doesn't fit your personnel, but trying to force it to work anyway.

Idk, maybe I'm overly optimistic, but I'd be surprised if Donte isn't much improved this year.

[Soul Rebel]

A CB1, Donte is not. Tempering expectations is definitely in order and I hope he can be a serviceable starting CB2....though he strikes me as more of a top-flight slot corner.

I do wonder in Snow's system if we will see a lot of DJax lining up outside but with a player like Chinn and Burris roaming the secondary if it's more of a strength-in-numbers/system approach. Chinn and Burris have the size and IQ to cover and I can see a DBBC approach. 

[shaqattaq]

3 hours ago, Jeremy Igo said:

That is rather.... generous. I'd say he is pushing 5'9

Just quoting The Google...I never met the. guy

[Jacabee]

Given the highs and lows we’ve seen (and certain off the field footage), this reeks of a coaching/systemic philosophy issue. It’s a reality in competitive sports that certain personalities are more suited to certain cultures and systems. These comments appear to be affirmation of that fact. Let’s hope Rhule is the right fit

[cardiackat88.]

8 hours ago, Smithers said:

Donte has the athletic ability to be a star...just seemed like he let his ego and emotions get in the way of putting in the work to actually improve.  Hopefully he has matured and takes a big leap this year.  

I feel like you could replace "Donte" with "Josh" (Norman) and it would be very similar to Norman's situation before he had his standout year.

[MHS831]

13 hours ago, Jeremy Igo said:

I can honestly see why. Rivera's lame duck year must have been toxic for players who need motivation from coaches. Once Donte got into the dog house with Rivera he probably thought well poo this guy won't even be here next year, screw this. t least, that would have been my attitude at his age.

This is a tremendously accurate point.  Some players feed on positivity and any form of negativity gets a reaction opposite than what was intended.  Rivera's dog house did no good.  Rivera was not a psychological coach, he was not a strategic coach, he was not a managerial coach--he was simply an "old school" coach, following the Ditka model.