Sherrod and Charles

[Argus Plexus]

We don't have a 3rd.

:frown5:

[pantherj]

What happened to Martin and Godfrey? They were so fast and athletic in 2009, going after the ball on almost every play. Now, they just look sluggish and unmotivated.

What happened? They look scared to tackle, they get run over often, they get burned on a regular basis, and the number of picks has dropped significantly.

You cannot blame this completely on bad line/linebacker/corner play. Nope. That can only absorb part of the blame. What it comes down to is this:

What happened to our Safeties? Why do they appear so sluggish and unmotivated, and what can be done to fix them? And if they cannot be fixed, then who should replace them, be it someone on the team/draftee/free agent?

Discuss.

The reason is because we are no longer playing Tampa-2. When we did they had less ground to cover, and they made more plays.

[Argus Plexus]

Yay, someone else knows something about coverages. I don't feel like such a football nerd now.

[LinvilleGorge]

In a standard Tampa 2, the safeties have a lot of deep field responsibility. They have to drop, THEN react. They're always the last line of defense. They absolutely cannot get beat deep.

Godfrey is getting these tackle numbers because he's playing a lot more up in the box and not having to drop deep. He's playing a lot more shallow zone.

[CarolinaKat]

We really need to look into drafting or trading for someone to replace Martin. I'm ok with Godfrey because of his run support. But Martin hasnt shown anything that says NFL starter this year

[Ruff]

Godfrey is now utilized as part of the run defense, as well as a constant blitzing safety. McDermott really wants him to be like Brian Dawkins was, and it's going to take Godfrey a while to adjust to it, going from the Tampa 2 to a blitz heavy 4-3, with no offseason.

I think Godfrey will be fine. Does he give up big plays? Sure. But, now he's helping the linebackers in the running game.

It's honestly Martin that concerns me moving forward.

[rainwater]

Wake up dude. This isn't your father's NFL. There isn't much difference between a FS and a SS in today's NFL and safeties for the most part play a role closer to a CB than a LB.

Do you even watch the Panthers play? When the Panthers run nickel (which is a lot because of the injuries to LB), Godfrey is at the line of scrimmage a lot of the time to stop the run or take on a LB if he leaks out. The Panthers are running a lot of single high safety with Godfrey in the box this year. Maybe next year with a healthy LB core it may be different, but this year he has spent a lot of time playing a LB type role.

[(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻]

You should care because for most teams the SS is like a 4th linebacker against teams that run the ball well. If you care about tackles for LBs, then you should care about tackles for the SS as well. What makes Polamalu one of the best SS's in the game is his ability to tackle. Not saying he is bad in coverage, but its not like hes a lights out coverage guy. He only gets about 10 PD"s per season, combined with around 80 tackles.

PS: Everyone bringing up Ed Reed, he is a FS, a much more coverage oriented position than SS. Comparing him to Godfrey is like comparing a running back to a fullback, the both have back in the name, but they dont really have that much in common.

It saddens me greatly that this had to be explained on a message board for football.

[SOJA]

Godfrey has drastically improved

[brandon_87]

What happened to Martin and Godfrey? They were so fast and athletic in 2009, going after the ball on almost every play. Now, they just look sluggish and unmotivated.

What happened? They look scared to tackle, they get run over often, they get burned on a regular basis, and the number of picks has dropped significantly.

You cannot blame this completely on bad line/linebacker/corner play. Nope. That can only absorb part of the blame. What it comes down to is this:

What happened to our Safeties? Why do they appear so sluggish and unmotivated, and what can be done to fix them? And if they cannot be fixed, then who should replace them, be it someone on the team/draftee/free agent?

Discuss.

They don't make a lot, so when they get fined for a hit that they didn't mean to make, are you going to help them pay their fine?

[DoWorkBson]

They don't make a lot, so when they get fined for a hit that they didn't mean to make, are you going to help them pay their fine?

Umm Godfrey gets paid a good bit sir

[Argus Plexus]

They don't make a lot, so when they get fined for a hit that they didn't mean to make, are you going to help them pay their fine?

I would like them to get run the f**k over less. It's pathetic sometimes, just watching them get burned to a crisp by receivers and get completely run over by backs.

[nickzz]

linvillegeorge proved to me he doesn't know poo about football in this thread

[rmoneyg35]

I think the coaching could be one of the problems. I can't remember his name but the secondary coach we had a few years ago really helped our secondary play very well. Martin had some great hits yesterday and I thought he played well. I know it was only the bucs but still he layed the wood like Chris Harris would have. I thought Martin was going to be a great player because of the potential he showed but he just sucked this year. It could be the fact our corners are so bad or maybe coaching but I know Martin has the talent to start he just needs proper motivation.