2013 white starters down from last year

[Upside]

now, unfortunately with a new coach there will be a change in white starters for sure, and I doubt it will be for better. Coe would probably find himself on the bench, Sendejo as well and a few others.

IDK, I think Allen, Robison, Greenway, and Smith are all safe as far as starters go defensively. Sendejo has been pretty solid; not great, but not bad either (making him miles better than Sanford and Raymond). Sometimes that's all you need at safety. Audie Cole looks like he should've been getting more defensive snaps a long time ago. Mauti should also be in the mix for playing time. IDK, I think we could possibly see a majority white defense next season!!

As far as the offense goes, I think Ponder's time is done in Minny, as is Gerhart's. They may draft a QB early next year, but I have a hunch Cassell will be the week 1 starter going into next season. They could use some receiver help, and I hear Decker is a free agent at the end of the year... Man, the Vikings could be a team to watch in the offseason!!

 

[dwid]

IDK, I think Allen, Robison, Greenway, and Smith are all safe as far as starters go defensively. Sendejo has been pretty solid; not great, but not bad either (making him miles better than Sanford and Raymond). Sometimes that's all you need at safety. Audie Cole looks like he should've been getting more defensive snaps a long time ago. Mauti should also be in the mix for playing time. IDK, I think we could possibly see a majority white defense next season!!

As far as the offense goes, I think Ponder's time is done in Minny, as is Gerhart's. They may draft a QB early next year, but I have a hunch Cassell will be the week 1 starter going into next season. They could use some receiver help, and I hear Decker is a free agent at the end of the year... Man, the Vikings could be a team to watch in the offseason!!

whens the last time a safety that was simply solid had any type of job security? they usually go back to being backups and come in due to injuries and bounce around, even ones that are simply above average. I haven't watched too much of him but he looks like he shows flashes of being much better than solid.

 

[bearclaw500]

whens the last time a safety that was simply solid had any type of job security? they usually go back to being backups and come in due to injuries and bounce around, even ones that are simply above average. I haven't watched too much of him but he looks like he shows flashes of being much better than solid.

Sandejo has played pretty well. He has done better than I expected in pass coverage. One criticism I have of him, is that he comes up too strong on run plays and sometimes gets burned when running backs cut back. I think he would be better suited playing at the Strong Safety position, with Harrison Smith at Free Safety.

Check out this Gem on Audie Cole from Profootballfocus.com

Audie Cole (+3.3) shone in his second start of the season, just a year after being drafted in the seventh round of the NFL Draft out of North Carolina State. Playing predominantly special teams earlier in the year, he had seen just six snaps on defense before starting for the first time in Week 12 and looked a bit out of place, struggling against the run in particular. Thankfully he was able to improve drastically this past week, and finished as our highest graded inside linebacker from the full slate of games. He wasn’t outstanding against the run by any means, but he still looked much improved on a week ago, missing just one tackle and picking up several unblocked defensive stops. In coverage he allowed just 11 yards from three targets, adding a pass breakup as well. However, it was his play on 2nd-and-11 with 6:57 left in the game which will be the lasting impression from his day against the Bears. Tipping the ball after quarterback Josh McCown had tried to flip it to running back Matt Forte, he watched as it landed in the hands of offensive lineman Kyle Long. Cole reacted quickly, ripping the ball from his grasp as he went to the ground, gifting the Vikings the ball in the red zone.


https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2013/12/05/secret-superstars-week-13-2/

 

[Upside]

whens the last time a safety that was simply solid had any type of job security? they usually go back to being backups and come in due to injuries and bounce around, even ones that are simply above average. I haven't watched too much of him but he looks like he shows flashes of being much better than solid.

As far as black safeties go, you see several average to poor starters retain their jobs year in and year out (Brandon Merriweather, Tyvon Branch, Patrick Chung, Morgan Burnett, Barry Church, William Moore, etc.) I guess I'm assuming Sendejo will be judged objectively and treated fairly....wishful thinking? .... Like I say though, from what I've seen from Mistrial Raymond and Jamarca Sanford, if it's a fair competition, Sendejo starts alongside Smith.

While on the subject, it was nice to finally see Craig Steltz in the starting lineup last week. He was terrific exept for one key missed tackle, but outside of that, he played really well. He's a guy that has really been screwed by the league. There are about 8 to 10 teams out there that could use a starting safety, yet Steltz continues to waste away. Furthermore, Eric Smith, Corey Lynch, and Tom Zbikowski are still jobless....smh

 

[Don Wassall]

Jeff Heath is still the starting strong safety in Dallas, for now anyway, even after J. J. Wilcox returned from his knee injury. Both are rookies; Wilcox was drafted in the third round and has done very little so far while Heath is a free agent. Jeff has made lots of tackles and big plays the past several weeks and needs to keep doing so as Wilcox of course is the one with the "limitless upside" that needs to be realized.

 

[backrow]

As far as black safeties go, you see several average to poor starters retain their jobs year in and year out (Brandon Merriweather, Tyvon Branch, Patrick Chung, Morgan Burnett, Barry Church, William Moore, etc.) I guess I'm assuming Sendejo will be judged objectively and treated fairly....wishful thinking? .... Like I say though, from what I've seen from Mistrial Raymond and Jamarca Sanford, if it's a fair competition, Sendejo starts alongside Smith.

While on the subject, it was nice to finally see Craig Steltz in the starting lineup last week. He was terrific exept for one key missed tackle, but outside of that, he played really well. He's a guy that has really been screwed by the league. There are about 8 to 10 teams out there that could use a starting safety, yet Steltz continues to waste away. Furthermore, Eric Smith, Corey Lynch, and Tom Zbikowski are still jobless....smh

haha, very much so! wishful thinking at its best although sometimes players do slip through the cracks, injuries, circumstances and suddenly the rabbit is out of a hat and the player performs well enough so that even fans would question a sudden axe.

Steltz became yet another white safety (it happens here more often than at any other position) who is good enough to start and yet is a WSTD and occasional starter when coach has no other choice. Conte is the one that, weirdly, established himself as a (undisputed?) starter... I wonder what do DWFs in Chicago think of him?

Zbikowski retired, said his heart wasn't in it, he is back to boxing now.

 

[referendum]

Well, at the risk of stating the obvious, we have one new white starter gain to announce, for the rest of the season apparently, Kirk Cousins at QB for the Redskins. With Cousins starting, at times the Redskins offense will have five whites on offense, with Cousins tight end Paulsen and the three whites on the o-line, and maybe sometimes six when WR Nick Williams gets in the game.

 

[Don Wassall]

I wasn't aware of this until now -- Zeke Motta took over at free safety for the Falcons last Sunday after Thomas DeCoud was injured, and it looks like he'll be starting Sunday. I hadn't heard anything about Motta since training camp so this is a nice surprise.

 

[Upside]

Jeff Heath is still the starting strong safety in Dallas, for now anyway, even after J. J. Wilcox returned from his knee injury. Both are rookies; Wilcox was drafted in the third round and has done very little so far while Heath is a free agent. Jeff has made lots of tackles and big plays the past several weeks and needs to keep doing so as Wilcox of course is the one with the "limitless upside" that needs to be realized.

Do you guys think Dallas gives Matt Johnson another shot next season? He was slated to be the starting FS, but for the second year in a row, suffered a season-ending injury in the preseason. I agree, Heath has looked pretty good at times this season.

Zbikowski retired, said his heart wasn't in it, he is back to boxing now.

Can't really blame him. The guy gets stuck behind Reed for 3 years, gets a shot, plays well, Baltimore dumps him. Gets signed by Indy, starts, plays well, they dump him. You can only take so much, I suppose... Really sucks to see him walk away though.