Just wondering who you guys think will be the starting Strong Safety next year. I believe Eric Smith will be given every opportunity to win the job. For one, he is a Mangini pick and I believe that gives him a slight edge. 2-Eric Coleman has manned the position for 3 years and has not improved at all. I think we have seen the best of EC and the best really isnt that good. 3-Eric Smith hits harder than Coleman and is a smarter football player. Coleman might cover a little more ground but thats it. 4-All in all, I think Smith will win the job by the end of camp. I just think he is more a strong safety than Coleman is. I always thought Coleman would make a better FS.
I agree with you on #4, I always thought of Coleman as a better FS. But I think time will tell. Eric Smith is still pretty raw, but I think he has the chance to push Coleman hard in camp. And as we all know, Mangini will play the better guy.
I still believe that SS is a position that we can significantly improve. Coleman is pretty good, but has not really improved too much as you say. I thought he would shore up some of the deficiencies of his game as he got more experience, but I still see him being shotty in run support and getting burned in coverage too often. I don't know about smith hitting harder, but I really hope we see one of these guys really step up this year. It would be a real disappointment for Coleman to lose the starting job this year with his experience.
if Smith comes far enough that he is better then Coleman, I will be estatic. Coleman is not a bad Safety by any means, but then again he is not great. Maybe slighty above average is the best way to describe him. From what I saw out of Smith, he has the ability to be a force, and obviously he has a nose for the ball to accumulate INTs in what limited time we saw out of him last year.
Agreed. And if you watched Smith make contact last year, he's not a "Nancy" when doing so- the guy closes pretty well and makes a significant "pop" when hitting the opposing player. I almost feel as if Coleman has peaked, having been passed several times over by Rhodes. An upgrade opposite Rhodes would be most welcomed and bring our secondary to the next level. Now if we could only figure out what to do with our glaring hole @ #2 CB- I know I know, Poteat was good last year, I was a big proponent for him seeing playing time, but we can do better there as well.
I was becoming a pretty big fan of Eric Smith's last year and I fully expect him to become the starting SS.
I would hope "another option" at SS. I would love to see ken Hamlin in green and White. He a Kerry would be a great tandom back there, but dobt it will happen. Why the hate for Coleman, I know he gets beat from time to time but what safty doesnt? He was all over the place in the last 3-4 games last year.
I just checked out the team site and Coleman racked up a ton of tackles the past 3 years. He was 2nd on the team with Barton this year. But he only has 3 pass DEF and 1 INT wich is way to little, but SS should have more tackles as they are in the box sometimes. 2006 New York Jets 16 101 70.0 31 0 1 3 3.0 3 0 3
no hating.. he's in on a lot of plays.. but a strong safety leading the team in tackles isn't always a good thing.. it might mean that too many runners are getting to the second level.. which was definitely true last year. He's pretty undersized though, and lacks top end speed to cover man to man. I hope he steps it up this year though.. he's been playing well, especially for a 2nd day pick, but after a great rookie season where he came close to making the probowl (sorta close), seems as though he has plateau'd. He's got the potential, not necessarily the raw talent.. we've seen him overachieve before under hermie and henderson, no reason he can't do the same under the mang.
I think Erik Coleman will have a break out year, to be blunt. He's got all the right sparks in the right place, it's just time to pull the curtain away and show us the 2007 model.
Either way, they're both going to get on the field. I get the feeling the Erik Coleman will start, but Eric Smith will see significant playing time especially in run and goal line sets. This guy is a huge hitter.
If I remember correctly, Coleman was awful in the playoffs vs. Pats. LOTS of missed tackles and what appeared to be botched coverages. I would like to see Smith step up and take the job, even though Coleman has done pretty well over the last few years. If our former starter becomes backup depth, I think that suggests an overall improvement for the Defensive backfield. That said, I'll leave it to Mangini to sort it all out. I'd be lying if I said I watched either Smith or Coleman particularly closely.
The appendectomy obviously set Coleman back last season, I'm guessing with Smith breathing down his neck for the starting spot Coleman will show up in camp ready to start. Coleman started year 2 in a sophmore slump but finished up the season strong. Year 3 was the surgery, Big Ben strugled too. Year 4 will be huge. Isn't this his contract year?
i have been pondering about this too, consistently through out the season manigini was putting smith in, and its obviously cuz he likes the guy. I think he will eventually be a better fit then coleman or like some people want to imagine Justin miller
This isn't a wise ass question, I'm really just trying to get your perspectives: what have we seen from Smith that makes many of you convinced his future is so bright? I watched all the games and when he was in, he was alright, seemed a little slow to me, but nothing too serious. I guess I didn't see anything that made me feel this guy has a very bright future. He was just a body to me, but I might be missing some signs
Yeah he was, I think our biggest problem with Coleman is that he get beat deep.... Right? Well why does it seem that you guys want E. Smith back there then, he is a big hitter but even slower than Coleman. Mabye he has more football intellect? We will se in camp, I would really like Kenny "the Brawler" Hamlin!
