Sam Shields At Nickel

[red]

at least sam is still with the WR, even if he is always playing under and going for the pick. at least he's right there. unlike the the other young corners who always seems to be way out of position. that first TD really bothered me. they blamed it on collins, and somehow burnett, but underwood did nothing to prevent the play. no jam. he just stood there while the wr ran right past him

and i've said it before and i'll say it again, there is a massive drop off between c-wood and al harris to tramon williams. tramon still doesn't look like he's ready to start

[Bossman641]

and i've said it before and i'll say it again, there is a massive drop off between c-wood and al harris to tramon williams. tramon still doesn't look like he's ready to start

I tend to agree with you. Tramon hasn't progressed over the past 1.5 as I hoped he would. He is still too inconsistent.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I was impressed with Shields's jumping ability. But he didn't get to the ball, either.

Well, he did have 3 pass deflections and an interception. I don't remember that many passes completed on him. I know Wayne got a deep one on him, but overall I'd say he played pretty well. I'm still intrigued by Patrick Lee the most for this year. It's hard to believe that an undrafted rookie could do well his rookie year--especially one that played one year of college ball at corner. I like his potential though.

[Tony Oday]

and i've said it before and i'll say it again, there is a massive drop off between c-wood and al harris to tramon williams. tramon still doesn't look like he's ready to start

I tend to agree with you. Tramon hasn't progressed over the past 1.5 as I hoped he would. He is still too inconsistent.

We WAS going against Reggie Wayne...not a small order. I think the loss of Harris hurts so bad because Tramon now has to go against the number 1 WR because Woodson goes everywhere else.

[sharpe1027]

at least sam is still with the WR, even if he is always playing under and going for the pick. at least he's right there. unlike the the other young corners who always seems to be way out of position. that first TD really bothered me. they blamed it on collins, and somehow burnett, but underwood did nothing to prevent the play. no jam. he just stood there while the wr ran right past him

I don't think GB had even called their defense yet. It is hard to know who's responsible when nobody has an assignment.

[Patler]

Tramon Williams has not lived up to the hype/reputation he gained 2 years ago subbing when Harris was out with the spleen injury. He was an interception machine for a few games that year, and looked to be just a notch below Harris and Woodson as a player. He looked like a starting caliber corner for sure, and maybe even one of the better ones. Teams came after him, and he responded.

He was not nearly as good filling in last year, and has not been yet this pre-season. It now looks that he can be OK as a starter when you need him to be, but I'm not sure he is good enough for the full time role for the future. I know lots of teams would love to have him in place of the starters they have, as would the Packers of 5-6 years ago. But you really need better play than he has given the Packers of recent.

I want him on the Packers, but I wish it were as the nickel back, not a starting corner.

[Tony Oday]

I think that year they moved Woodson over the number 1 WR and Tramon played the two guy...now he is over the number 1 guy and Woodson is EVERYWHERE else.

I could be wrong but that is what I thought I saw. Harris is a big hole to fill because damn if he wasnt glamorous he stopped number 1s all the time.

[denverYooper]

I liked the quote from Shields...

CB Sam Shields on his INT: "“The route that they ran, they ran it three times in a row. The first time they threw it, it got batted, so he ran it again, and I got my head around me, and the ball was right there.

It shows that he's paying attention to what's going on within the game and that there's more to his game than just his speed. It'll be interesting to see where he gets to with more experience and film study.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Tramon is a solid player. There are about two shutdown corners in the league. Even Woodson and Harris have had awful games. Look around the league. There aren't that many good corners. Tramon still makes big plays. He was in the top 20 amongst corners last year in both interceptions and pass deflections. He's not a Pro Bowler, but I have confidence in him. He's going to give up receptions, but I don't worry about him like I've worried about some of other corners we've had over the years. To me, he's kind of like Tyrone Williams. He'd have some awful games, he'd give up some receptions, but generally he'd play solid and he'd always end up with 4-5 interceptions and good return yardage on them.

[bobblehead]

Tramon is a solid player. There are about two shutdown corners in the league. Even Woodson and Harris have had awful games. Look around the league. There aren't that many good corners. Tramon still makes big plays. He was in the top 20 amongst corners last year in both interceptions and pass deflections. He's not a Pro Bowler, but I have confidence in him. He's going to give up receptions, but I don't worry about him like I've worried about some of other corners we've had over the years. To me, he's kind of like Tyrone Williams. He'd have some awful games, he'd give up some receptions, but generally he'd play solid and he'd always end up with 4-5 interceptions and good return yardage on them.

a good pass rush turn williams into a pro bowler

[Patler]

Tramon is a solid player. There are about two shutdown corners in the league. Even Woodson and Harris have had awful games. Look around the league. There aren't that many good corners. Tramon still makes big plays. He was in the top 20 amongst corners last year in both interceptions and pass deflections. He's not a Pro Bowler, but I have confidence in him. He's going to give up receptions, but I don't worry about him like I've worried about some of other corners we've had over the years. To me, he's kind of like Tyrone Williams. He'd have some awful games, he'd give up some receptions, but generally he'd play solid and he'd always end up with 4-5 interceptions and good return yardage on them.

I'm not just looking at a bad game, and I don't dislike him. Looking at his entire play in 2008, 2009 and so far this year, Williams is not the player that he looked like he might be two years ago. He was not as good in 2009 as he was in 2008. This year looks more like 2009, not like 2008.

Is he capable of some great plays, some great games? Sure, I think so. Will he be OK, and better than what Sherman drafted? No doubt. The Tyrone Williams comparison might be a good one. A solid guy that will have a good career, but dang, you just wish he was a little more consistent, just a little better so he could be, well, like Al Harris. Not a perennial All-Pro, but a sometimes All-Pro and a guy the receivers worry about playing against.

Some fans wanted TT to pay Williams like Harris, because they seemed to think he was just as good. It does not look like he is. He's a notch below. I still like Williams, but I wish he was just a little bit better so that the receivers know they have to work for every single reception.

[Pugger]

Tramon is a solid player. There are about two shutdown corners in the league. Even Woodson and Harris have had awful games. Look around the league. There aren't that many good corners. Tramon still makes big plays. He was in the top 20 amongst corners last year in both interceptions and pass deflections. He's not a Pro Bowler, but I have confidence in him. He's going to give up receptions, but I don't worry about him like I've worried about some of other corners we've had over the years. To me, he's kind of like Tyrone Williams. He'd have some awful games, he'd give up some receptions, but generally he'd play solid and he'd always end up with 4-5 interceptions and good return yardage on them.

They really went after Tramon and wanted nothing to do with Woodson. But this is good! Any good reps TW gets will only make him better and these preseason games are the perfect place for these 'lessons' to take place.

[Deputy Nutz]

Harvey, didn't mention anything about the Vikings corners, but now that you mention it the Vikings secondary is probably a bit weaker than the Packers, but is automatically up graded because the Vikings get pressure with the front four.

Williams got handled against on of the top five receivers in the game last night, and with Peyton Manning throwing the ball it was a very long half for Tramon. Williams isn't nearly as physical as Woodson or Harris, and his coverage skills are about average for this league, maybe a little on the plus side. The Packers should be happy to have him as their third corner, but with him and two aging corners ahead of him where are the Packers going to be in two years? I was bit suprised that Thompson didn't address the lack of corner depth on this team and decided to rely on Underwood, Lee, Bush, and now Shields. Right now I can't see any of them deserving of a starting spot, now or in the future. Maybe Shield but this fella is extra raw.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I brought the Vikings up for comparison's sake because I'm very familiar with them. I'd guess that if you took a look around the NFL, most teams have a similar makeup. A few solid veterans and a few unproven young guys. Yes, Woodson and Harris are old, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. Who knows? Maybe Thompson will spend a first round pick on a corner when they need one, or perhaps he'd even sign a free agent corner like Charles Woodson. Right now, I think the corners are solid, if Harris comes back. Like you said, they'd be better with a better pass rush.

I can't blame them for not drafting a corner in the first 2-3 rounds because OT and DE (with Jolly's impending suspension) was as big of a need as corner. (And our third round pick looks like he was a good one.) I would have liked for them to take a CB or OLB in the middle rounds, but who knows? Perhaps Thompson and our scouts weren't enamored with what was available at the time, so he didn't reach.

[Patler]

I can't blame them for not drafting a corner in the first 2-3 rounds because OT and DE (with Jolly's impending suspension) was as big of a need as corner. (And our third round pick looks like he was a good one.) I would have liked for them to take a CB or OLB in the middle rounds, but who knows? Perhaps Thompson and our scouts weren't enamored with what was available at the time, so he didn't reach.

Agreed. If they draft players that help at other positions, it is hard to criticize or complain about not bolstering a different position. You only have a few picks each year that can really be counted on to produce legitimate prospects, and even those are a bit of a crap shoot with injuries, attitudes and flat out mistakes always possible.

How much different would the team be if Harrell and Lee both were playing as hoped, or even just as competent role players with solid game day experience from 2 or 3 years in the league?

Several reporters have mentioned that Lee is very rusty, and not playing nearly as well as he was last training camp. Has he just sat too much to ever get back there?