Who should replace Russell?

by michaelfox99 on Sep 15, 2008 9:17 PM PDT

Clearly Russell is not particularly beloved in this neck of the woods. Russell is not making much money so I would not be stunned if the team actually did can him. It would surprise me a bit because his play was atrocious last year as well and we didn't do anything about it. Still, he supposedly was helping the 'deep ball' issue of 2006 and we were winning games and putting up good defensive numbers so that probably led to hesitation to shake things up. Three things are different now:

1. Russell seems to have declined even further.

2. We were burned deep in both games so far.

3. We are losing and someone has to take the fall, might as well be the right person.

What this all leads to is... who should the other starting safety be? Obviously Grant will continue to start. I am not making any FS / SS distinctions because our system does not really distinguish the position and Grant is versatile enough anyways.

Poll

Who do you put at Safety?

Jordan Babineaux

36 votes

C.J. Wallace

8 votes

Jamar Adams

38 votes

Other / Free Agent

17 votes

99 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

Not CJ Wallace.

I don’t know Adams enough to say he’ll do fine or not, but I’d be willing to see Babineaux or Adams in there at this point.

by cashless on Sep 15, 2008 9:32 PM PDT reply actions

Agreed, no CJ

Yes to giving Babineaux a shot, Adams if there’s space on the roster.

by BrianL on Sep 15, 2008 9:34 PM PDT up reply actions

Sorry

No space on the roster – we have two kickers.

by PascoJoe on Sep 16, 2008 4:45 PM PDT up reply actions

Mike Doss, Greg Wesley,

Omar Stoutmire, Lamont Thompson would all be good for visits, and to see if they can still hold up.

XBOX live gamertag: BANE509...I would die tonight for my beliefs.

by Christian on Sep 15, 2008 10:09 PM PDT reply actions

oh and they are all free agents wanting to get back in the league.

XBOX live gamertag: BANE509...I would die tonight for my beliefs.

by Christian on Sep 15, 2008 10:09 PM PDT up reply actions

Why?

Lamont Thompson couldn’t hack the last time he was in the league; has his time off improved his speed or cover skills?
Doss had discipline problems nd couldn’t hold down a job.

This team had huge problems at safety before Russell got here (hence the meh pass defense ratings at FO in 2006 and 2005).
To me, the team needs to think about scheme and usage instead of focusing solely on personnel. They’ve now run through a few safeties and still not had half decent deep coverage. At some point, it’s on the coaching staff to ensure that even untalented players know enough about their role to contribute.

by marc w on Sep 15, 2008 11:12 PM PDT up reply actions

I think all of these moves

is done right after Grant is moved to FS. Putting the SS whomever it is in the right spot Lofa can easily do.

XBOX live gamertag: BANE509...I would die tonight for my beliefs.

by Christian on Sep 15, 2008 11:17 PM PDT up reply actions

Wait, what?

“Putting the SS whomever it is in the right spot Lofa can easily do.”
What does this mean, exactly? What does Lofa do?

I’m on board w/Grant to FS.

by marc w on Sep 15, 2008 11:38 PM PDT up reply actions

He means

that with Grant out deep, whoever is playing SS can be directed by Lofa. This is somewhat true. I think Grant can help out whoever we stick out there too. I think Babineaux out there would be totally different from when he was playing with Ken Hamlin.

by michaelfox99 on Sep 15, 2008 11:55 PM PDT up reply actions

I disagree

There is a difference between untalented (such as CJ Wallace or Babs) and Russell. Russell is not a serviceable player. Safety’s need range and he has none. Just because Boulware, Hamlin, and Babineaux made for a very poor safety unit does not mean that the problem is scheme and not Russell. That is not to say that the schemes cannot be improved, but Russell is a problem one way or another. He doesn’t work in any scheme because he isn’t an NFL-caliber player. He can’t play zone, man, or run support. So what would you have him do?

Also, bringing in Grant as a versatile safety and on the field leader of the secondary has improved our defense and you can see Grant playing well on tape every week. We need to address the other Safety spot similarly.

With Grant playing the trickier coverages and helping direct his accomplice, a more athletic player like Babineaux could probably be a big improvement.

by michaelfox99 on Sep 16, 2008 12:01 AM PDT up reply actions

MIKE DOSS!!!!

You may gain some yards on the ground, but eventually Lofa will end up biting you in the ass.

by Scruffy Lefty on Sep 16, 2008 7:58 AM PDT up reply actions

Irrelevant. Russell's a Ruskell guy, so I don't see him going away.

Unless, a can’t-miss trade offer comes up like Reggie Wayne and Bob Sanders for Brandon Coutu or something. Since that’s not going to be happen, I think we’re stuck with Russell

Yesterday's Pants
A blog-thingy about the Mariners and stuff.

by BrettJMiller on Sep 15, 2008 10:44 PM PDT reply actions