What do you think a free safety does?

**bwilliams** · 04-03-2010, 05:53 PM

The Chiefs will be looking this draft to upgrade a defense that ranked 31st against the run and was 31st in sacks.

Eric Berry is a free safety. He will not be able to fix either of those two problems. Until the Chiefs fix those two problems, they will continue to win 4 games a season. Trying to fill critical positions (i.e. that stop the run and rush the passer) with low draft picks is how Herm Edwards destroyed the team.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

**Connie Jo** · 04-04-2010, 12:36 AM

I posted this in the other thread, "Bold Prediction"... related to drafting Berry as well. Attempting to make a rational decision as to whom I felt the Chiefs should draft in the first round...I read this article a few weeks ago & saved it.

I have many logical & justified reasons for why I personally believe Berry is the wisest first round choice for the Chiefs, and though this article doesn't back up all of my reasons for preferring Berry, it does back up a large portion of my reason. :)

INDIANAPOLIS -- Over time, cornerbacks such as Rod Woodson and Ronnie Lott were moved to safety because they had lost a step. They still had coverage skills, and their ability to set defenses from a wider scope, match up with slot receivers and tight ends, and fearlessly take on running backs near the line of scrimmage made them valuable. And they prospered.

Now teams aren't waiting for cornerbacks to grow older to consider making the switch, as the Arizona Cardinals showed last season by moving fourth-year pro Antrel Rolle to free safety, where he transitioned, with success, alongside two-time Pro Bowl strong safety Adrian Wilson.

The trend is to find cover safeties who not only protect against the deep ball and disrupt crossing routes but also deliver a blow that makes running backs and receivers tread lightly at the second and third levels of the defense. "The safety position is becoming more and more of a corner position," New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "There were times when some of the safeties, particularly the strong safeties, fit more like linebackers than they did as defensive backs. The demands of that position have changed."

General managers, scouts and coaches have combed the college ranks for versatile defensive backs whose toughness and athleticism can meet the criteria for the evolving dynamics of secondary play. Maybe more than any other position, defensive backs were heavily scrutinized during their workouts on the final day of the NFL Scouting Combine.

Footwork, the ability to change directions and ball-tracking skills were crucial to show in workouts. Some of those traits might not show up on film because certain players, such as Ohio State cornerback Malcolm Jenkins, weren't tested by opponents very often. Jenkins, a rugged, do-it-all type, might have more teams looking at him as a safety instead of a cornerback after his 4.53-second 40-yard dash Tuesday at the combine didn't even rate in the top 10 among all defensive backs. Jenkins' speed was a question that teams wanted answered, and by running slower than desired, he could have hurt his draft status and slipped out of the upper echelon of defensive prospects.

Still, safeties need to be fast, too. Oregon's Patrick Chung and Western Michigan's Louis Delmas, two of the more highly rated safety prospects, have played different positions in the secondary, which makes them all the more appealing to NFL teams, especially because they're also bell ringers. "I was a rover, so it was pretty much corner, strong safety, free, linebacker all mixed into one," Chung said about how he was used in college. "I'm not limited at all."

Safeties used to be pigeon-holed and viewed, along with defensive tackles, as the least-valued position on defense.
Strong safeties were big hitters who weighed 220-plus pounds and served as fourth or fifth linebackers. Free safeties were, and pretty much still are, cerebral signal-callers who played center field in pass coverage. But the game-altering production of Troy Polamalu, Ed Reed, Bob Sanders and Wilson has changed the thinking about safeties. Four of the top five interception leaders in 2008 were safeties. Reed led the NFL with nine picks, and Green Bay's Nick Collins, Tennessee's Michael Griffin and Polamalu each had seven. Green Bay's Charles Woodson, the lone cornerback in the top five, also had seven.

Safeties typically weren't drafted in the first round, but the tide is turning. In the past three drafts, eight safeties have been first-round selections -- four in 2007 (LaRon Landry, Michael Griffin, Reggie Nelson and Brandon Meriweather). Three of those eight were top-eight picks (Landry, Michael Huff and Donte Whitner).

While the highest-rated safety prospects in this draft are considered late first-rounders or early second-rounders, Delmas, Chung, Alabama's Rashad Johnson and Missouri's William Moore all could emerge as immediate impact players. "Ideally, we'd like to get to a situation where you have interchangeable safeties," said Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff, whose expertise as a college scout was evaluating defensive backs. "Maybe one guy is the strong safety, but you can flip it. Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed, those guys are great football players who set the benchmark. It's not easy to find those guys year in and year out, but those are the type of guys that we are ultimately looking for at the safety position."

One of the main reasons that teams are trying to find dual-role safeties is so they can better disguise defenses. Teams that routinely bring the same safety toward the line of scrimmage when putting eight defenders "in the box" tip off offenses and allow audibles to be called and the scheme to be exploited. If the same safety comes on blitzes most of the time, the same can happen. Teams also know which safety is weaker in coverage and try to match him up with a more athletic tight end, a shifty running back or a slot receiver. The Redskins used the sixth overall pick in the 2007 draft on safety LaRon Landry.

Free safeties used to be viewed as some of the lightest hitters in the secondary, and offenses tried to put them in situations to make tackles on cutback runs. That perception has changed as free safeties such as Indianapolis' Antoine Bethea, Pittsburgh's Ryan Clark and Rolle laid the wood just as violently and frequently as their strong-safety counterparts. More offenses also are using three- and four-receiver sets on first and second downs, forcing defenses to play nickel packages or leave themselves exposed to potential mismatches with strong safeties and/or outside linebackers.

If a defense can mask schemes, blitzes and coverages by moving around one safety or the other or by playing two-deep coverage, pre-snap reads are tougher for quarterbacks to make. Having safeties with similar skills makes executing the defense that much easier. "There is a lot of variety in your coverages," Dimitroff said to that point. "I think it's something that usually will keep the offenses guessing. I'm a lot more apt to evaluate a player with the ability to cover as well as have the ability to come up and stick his nose in there and be an aggressive run-stopper guy."

Another shift regarding hybrid-type safeties is the body types of this season's prospects. Most have cornerback measurables, between 5-11 and 6-1, and only a handful weigh above 220. Moore, a highly regarded prospect, weighs 221, and at the Senior Bowl, there was some thought that his eventual position could be outside linebacker.

There's always some concern that some of the smaller, punishing safeties could have durability issues, as Sanders does, but that's where evaluators must determine if a player can add weight through training or has the body type to sustain that type of play. "I think some of those hybrid guys have played corner and safety," Belichick said. "What his best fit is for a team, where he's most valuable, is certainly an interesting discussion for all teams."

**bwilliams** · 04-04-2010, 12:46 AM

Connie, I posted this in the other thread, but (in short) I think our two big issues are (1) stopping the run; and (2) rushing the passer. And A FS doesn't solve either of those issues, as your article admits. We don't need "cover safeties who not only protect against the deep ball and disrupt crossing routes but also deliver a blow that makes running backs and receivers tread lightly at the second and third levels of the defense." We need a NT and ILBs who stop running backs from getting to the second and 3rd levels, and we need a OLB who can prevent the QB from having the time to throw the long ball.

**Connie Jo** · 04-04-2010, 01:17 AM

Originally Posted by bwilliams

Connie, I posted this in the other thread, but (in short) I think our two big issues are (1) stopping the run; and (2) rushing the passer. And A FS doesn't solve either of those issues, as your article admits. We don't need "cover safeties who not only protect against the deep ball and disrupt crossing routes but also deliver a blow that makes running backs and receivers tread lightly at the second and third levels of the defense." We need a NT and ILBs who stop running backs from getting to the second and 3rd levels, and we need a OLB who can prevent the QB from having the time to throw the long ball.

Yeah, I read your reply there, but it was after posting this reply article here...I wasn't sure you'd come back to this thread on the subject, since you began a new related thread.

I replied in the other thread to you, as to why I respectively don't agree, that we need to use our first round pick on a NT, ILB, or offensive lineman...by comparison to drafting Berry.

The important thing is...though we may disagree on who we should draft in the first...we both want the end result...playoffs and a Chiefs Super Bowl!!

**Big Daddy Tek** · 04-04-2010, 06:20 AM

Unfortunately, there has been a lot of time wasted on this thread about free or strong safety.

There is no difference in Romeo Crennel's defense. Both safeties play the same exact position and can line up on either side depending on the offensive formation.

With that said, this is actually the kind of defense that would work very well for an Eric Berry, because he will always be in the best position to make plays.

On the other hand, when you rank 31st in sacks, it doesn't really matter who your safeties are.

**honda522** · 04-04-2010, 12:06 PM

Since you asked...

Safeties are the last line of defense, and are thus expected to be sure tacklers.

His job tends to be to keep some distance from the line of scrimmage, watch the play unfold, and follow the ball. The free safety would correspond to the quarterback in man coverage, but as the quarterback usually remains in the pocket the free safety is "free" to double cover another player. On pass plays, the free safety is expected to assist the cornerback on his side and to close the distance to the receiver by the time the ball reaches him. Offenses tend to use the play action pass specifically to make the free safety expect a run play, which would draw him closer to the line of scrimmage, and reduce his effectiveness as a pass defender. If the offense puts a receiver in the slot, then the free safety may be called upon to cover that receiver. Free safeties occasionally blitz as well. When this happens, the pressure on the quarterback is often very severe since a blitz by a defensive back is not usually anticipated. Free safeties, because of their speed and deep coverage, are often prone to catching interceptions

NFL safety today must fly like wideout, sting like LB

October 7, 2006

Leeway for Sunday night scheduling

Chuck Cecil was a fourth-round draft choice out of the University of Arizona in 1988. At 6 feet, 185 pounds, he didn't have great size or speed for a safety, but his hard-hitting style and insatiable appetite for contact allowed him to impact passing games because receivers had to account for his whereabouts.

JIM BAIRD / Union-Tribune

Count on Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu (left) being around the ball a lot Sunday night vs. the Chargers, as he was last October against the Bolts' Antonio Gates.
He had a productive seven-year NFL career, appearing in 95 games (61 starts) and recording 344 tackles and 16 interceptions. But when asked recently if he could play in the NFL if he were coming out of college today, Cecil was as firm with his answer as he was with his hits.
“No,” he said.
Cecil pointed to rules changes that opened up passing games and improved player safety. The adjustments forced clubs to rethink their attitudes toward safeties. It was no longer good enough to have miniature linebackers on the back end of the defense. Safeties also had to be athletic and fast enough to cover downfield.
“No question, those things changed the safety position,” said Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher, a former safety who played four seasons in Chicago. “The play-action game, the vertical game, has redefined the position. The days of the old neck-roll strong safety are over. That guy's now a linebacker. Peyton Manning and the rest of the talented quarterbacks in this league are stretching the field, if you will, and they're putting pressure on the safety down the field.
“In my day, our job was just to come downhill and hit anything that moved. Now we've got corners who are playing the position.”
The most prominent face of the new safety belongs to Troy Polamalu, whose Pittsburgh Steelers will play the Chargers tomorrow evening in Qualcomm Stadium. Polamalu has everything defensive coordinators are seeking these days: instincts, athleticism and playmaking skills against the pass as well as the run. He isn't overly big (5-10, 212) or fast, but he consistently is around the ball, making tackles or forcing turnovers.
“He's unique,” Chargers tight end Antonio Gates said. “If you watch their defense, you really have to key on him. You have to game plan him. That was deep to me, because I had never played a safety that we had to worry about, outside John Lynch. This guy, he's kind of got that John Lynch mentality that he can change the defense that much. He's a tremendous run-stopper, he's a tremendous blitzer, he's fast, he's physical, he has that long hair. He's out there like he's just mad at the world.
“When you're playing, you just have so much respect for him after you play him. You knew he was good on film, but he's even better in person. He can do it all.”
That's heady praise considering the safety position was devalued for so many decades. The last true safety to gain admittance to the Pro Football Hall of Fame was Ken Houston, and that was 20 years ago.
From 1982 through 2003, there were 17 drafts in which only one safety was selected in the first round; and from 1993 through 2003, Dallas' Roy Williams (eighth overall) was the only one taken in the top 10.

Times began changing, however, when the league liberalized some rules in the passing game and announced it would make illegal contact a point of emphasis. Plus, the league took steps to reduce helmet-to-helmet contact and hits on vulnerable receivers, thus reducing the intimidation element in some safeties' games.
With lumbering safeties/enforcers out of vogue, teams turned to the draft to address their deficiencies. In fact, there have been three safeties chosen among the first eight players over the past three drafts. And clubs have looked to convert some college cornerbacks to pro safeties.
The newfound respect for the position has meant greater recognition and wealth for safeties. In June, Baltimore's Ed Reed signed a six-year, potential $40 million extension that included $15 million in guarantees. And in August, Dallas' Williams signed a five-year, potential $25.2 million extension that included $11.1 million in guarantees.
“I'll be honest with you: If you don't pay Ed Reed like a corner – and a very good one at that – you're going to lose a guy who makes the other three DBs in your secondary a whole lot better,” said San Francisco coach Mike Nolan, who coached Reed in Baltimore. “That's why I say it's not as clear-cut as some people like to make it when applying values to certain positions. It's like saying the corner who runs 4.5 or 4.4 is better than the one who runs 4.6. You can't tell me that. It doesn't always turn out to be true.”
New England's Rodney Harrison and Denver's Lynch are examples of safeties who have excelled despite lacking the speed of others. Much of their success is due to their intelligence and understanding of offenses, which allow them to disguise their intentions but consistently be in the right place at the right time when the ball is snapped.
Still, as Tennessee's Fisher said, Harrison and Lynch are a dying breed. Defenses are so concerned about being able to match up when offenses go with three and four receivers and look to attack downfield that they're seeking safeties who can run with wideouts as well as tight ends.
“It used to be that one of your safeties was a cover guy and the other was a big thumper who basically was an enforcer,” Cecil said. “You weren't asked to cover. There was basically a big circle around you and it told the offense, 'Don't throw it in this area, otherwise you might not get to play with that guy the rest of the game or the rest of the season.' It was a no-fly zone.
“I don't know how to put it diplomatically, but that type of game really isn't allowed anymore. You can't really look for those types of guys. What you're looking for are guys who can cover down the field. The safety position is really more of a safety/corner a lot of times. Teams are isolating safeties with wide receivers. There's really no use crying about it, because the minute you do, someone will be running by you for a touchdown.”

**yashi** · 04-04-2010, 01:21 PM

It should also be noted that any safety, FS or SS, does not have the same responsibility throughout the game. There will be Cover 2 situations where the field is split in half, Cover 3 where the FS and both corners drop deep, the FS could be sent to blitz some plays, man cover, etc. We're acting like each safety has the same assignment all game long. Sure, if you want a predictable Herm Edwards style like playing Cover 2 all day long.

BTW, it still amazes me to this day that we were at one time trying to play Cover 2 with Bernard Pollard responsible for half the field in deep coverage. It should be no wonder that he thrived once he was allowed to play up near the line with the Texans. Hell Page isn't a very good coverage safety either. I actually like him more as a SS because he's a big hard hitting type, with some playmaking ability.

**lucky_lefty** · 04-04-2010, 03:39 PM

Originally Posted by chief31

If all goes well, then the FS doesn't get to do anything. If the FS is involved in alot of plays, then your defense sucks.
.

Not attacking your post or you but that makes no sense at all. With that logic then Polamalu, Reed & Sanders (when healthy) must have been on some of the worst defenses

**chief31** · 04-04-2010, 03:59 PM

Originally Posted by lucky_lefty

Not attacking your post or you but that makes no sense at all. With that logic then Polamalu, Reed & Sanders (when healthy) must have been on some of the worst defenses

No, because Polamalu is a SS and Reed isn't involved in the play all that often. He just happens to come up with plays when the opportunity arises.

In 2009 Reed had a career high in tackles, with 85.

As that defense has aged, more and more plays are reaching him, as fewer plays are being contained by the front.

If all goes well, RBs and shorter route recievers are all down before they reach the FS.

And, of course, there are exceptions. Sometimes the FS will be placed in man coverage. Sometimes he will blitz. But that goes with any position on the defense.

A FS is an "insurance" position, not the foundation.