(05-28-2019, 05:09 PM)FBT Wrote:

(05-28-2019, 03:06 PM)Bullseye Wrote: I was excited about the defense coming into the year, but there are a couple of things that have served to dampen it.

First was the news regarding Telvin Smith.

next was the injury suffered by Josh Allen.  The Jaguars have said it's a bruised knee and nothing, yet Allen will miss the remainder of the OTAs. 

After that, was the news that Telvin's presumed replacement, rookie LB Quincy Williams, was taken off the field today in a golf cart (which may or may not have been serious per Searcy).

Finally, one of the 1010 XL talking heads added perspective this morning, noting that between the two starting safeties (Harrison and Wilson), there are less than ten (10) combined starts.  Considering how important S is to our scheme, it is something of a concern.

I sincerely hope all of these things are all minor in the overall scheme of things football wise.  Hopefully, Smith is well and up for a return next year (if not sooner), Allen and Williams are healthy and will be perfectly healthy by training camp, and Wilson and Harrison (more concerned about Wilson) will fit seamlessly into the defense and provide superlative coverage and tackling in a level of player equal to if not greater than their immediate predecessors.

1.  The Telvin thing is a hit, but at the end of the day, the defense has enough talent to address his missing the season.  

2.  I'm not going to get to worked up over a player riding off in a golf cart.  The heat has been ridiculous the past few days.  Odds are it was heat realated, and Quincy Williams will be fine.  The last time a local radio guy reported an injury like that on air, it turned out to be the player needed to drop a deuce and didn't want to go into the port-o-let.  Talking head speculation was off the charts.  The fact that nobody is talking about any potential injuries in the local media is a good sign.  Of course, they're all focused on Foles missing the practice for personal reasons.  Maybe they really didn't even notice.  I guess we'll see when they take the field for the next session.

3.  I'm really not concerned about the Allen injury.  Would you rather see him suffer an injury like we've seen previously with our first rounder that causes him to miss his rookie season?  Or, is it better to bubble wrap the guy for voluntary practices.  Personally, I think the guy needs to bury himself in the playbook, attend all of the meetings, and give his body a break.  These draft picks tend to wear out pretty quickly their rookie year because they never really get a chance to break from football due to the combine, private workouts, and doing the dog and pony show for the draft.  I think the team wants to avoid a minor injury becoming a problem, and I'm perfectly fine with that.  Training camp is adequate time for him to get football ready.

4.  If there was a legitimate concern about the level of play for the starting safeties, the team probably would have pursued one of the free agents that were available to them.  I guess we're going to have to trust their process.  It's certainly something to be a little worried about, but this defense is so talented that I'm sure they'll make it work.

(Numbering added)

1 & 2.  Though I am concerned about Telvin's spot, I think we can get by at a decent level this year, especially if the clips we saw of Williams is a true indicia of his NFL ability and he is healthy.

3.  Given the two extremes, I'd rather he be in bubble wrap.  But there's a whole lot of territory in between.  In the bigger scheme of things, it probably isn't much to worry about.  But what can I say?  I'm still scarred from Fowler's rookie year injury. Before then, I wouldn't have given the Allen or Williams things another thought.

4.  To clarify, I am not overly concerned with Harrison.  I think he played very well, and when he was inserted into the starting lineup, he upgraded Church in many ways.  My concern more lies with Wilson.  He seemed to play decently in the limited time I saw him, and given the three year deal he got, I think the team is confident in him.  But I'm fearful more time will expose weaknesses in his game.

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