Character & EJ Gaines

[MarlinTheMagician]

I started the other thread on Matthews' character so I thought I would read up on Gaines. Seems like he is the same type of guy, and fits their scheme. Too bad he has skinny ankles and short arms. Kidding aside, he is physical, which Darby was not. Darby could cover, but his lack of physicality always seemed a weakness - even in his good year. Seems there is a plan - we got a physical player with character who fits their scheme, hooray!

 

 

OVERVIEW

Team captain. Bench pressed at the combine but was medically excluded otherwise (pelvis).

ANALYSIS STRENGTHS

 

Good muscularity and thin ankles. Fills aggressively and supports the run. Likes to hit. Plays with confidence and carries a swagger. Good attitude and football demeanor. Competes hard and brings energy to the field. Good eyes and route recognition. Has experience matching up with slot receivers in nickel coverage and has returned punts. Very good career production on the ball. Proven special teams coverage defender.

WEAKNESSES

 

Is short and short-armed. Plays a lot into the boundary.

 

BOTTOM LINE

Strong, physical zone corner with the toughness, awareness and football IQ to function highly in short spaces. A solid tackler, Gaines plays bigger than his size and takes a professional approach.

[Jamie Muellers Ghost]

Anyone seen anything about his tackling?

[MarlinTheMagician]

The above says he plays with "physicality" - I thought it said he was a good tackler too. I might have dropped that part. I think his limitation from the reviews is he is not the guy you would want to run deep with an AJ Green type in single coverage. He is too short (and his arms are too short!). Sounds like a stubby dude who will nail your butt if he has a shot at you. High football IQ and recognition. Guy is good for zone "Plays with swagger" it says.

Sounds like a guy you could use as a zone corner to combat Brady's two yard pass routes. Poor top-end speed perhaps, but immediate "recognition" and a willingness to quickly commit to stop what he sees:

 

 

2.) He’s limited for size and speed

Gaines was a sixth-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft for a reason, chiefly his measurables. He’s too small to cover big men and too slow to cover burners. He is limited in his usage to zone packages and man coverage underneath.

So the range of what he can do is relatively small.

That being said...

3.) What he can do, he does well

There’s a reason Gaines beat out Brandon McGee in 2014. McGee was a fifth-round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft who had a full year more expertise and coaching that Gaines. Gaines simply outplayed him to win the starting nod three seasons ago.

A blend of physicality and awareness, Gaines was always quick to the spot and in position. It was that ability to diagnose the development of the offensive play and his immediate ability to commit to the appropriate angle that had Rams fans, and spectators in general, impressed with his ability.

If he’s fully healthy and the Bills ensure they limit his exposure to situations where his lack of size and speed won’t be exploited, I won’t be surprised at all if he has a bounceback year in 2017.

[NoSaint]

That had to be among the more depressing reads on a new player in a bit-- too small and too slow but feisty

[Pete]

He is a giant compared to Robey-Coleman

[DrDawkinstein]

What Buffalo Bills Fans Need To Know About CB E.J. Gaines

Here’s the three main lines on Gaines as he leaves the Rams for the Bills.

 

https://www.turfshowtimes.com/2017/8/11/16135382/los-angeles-rams-buffalo-bills-trade-e-j-gaines-scouting-report