Controversial opinion: Elam was pretty solid

[Dopey]

He was pretty good last week vs the Lions. It looks different when you watch the game again, without the emotions involved. Haven’t watched this one against yet. He’s not as bad as some here make him out to be. Those folks should rewatch the games. 
Oh, my bad, Toxic Bills Drive ALWAYS has to have a wupping boy. It’s better than them yelling at their kids or kicking the dog. 

[DCofNC]

Looked like Terrance McGee all over again, fast, but clueless.

[Matt_In_NH]

10 hours ago, Virgil said:

He was a solid POS

Definitely a #2

[Don Otreply]

He was solid, except for his blatant DPI in front of the refs, its like he has no sense of his surroundings for lack of a better way to say it, I get the feeling that he may not be the sharpest guy, oh well…, 

Edited 12 hours ago by Don Otreply

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

7 minutes ago, DCofNC said:

Looked like Terrance McGee all over again, fast, but clueless.

huh? McGee was great. 

[DCofNC]

Just now, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

huh? McGee was great. 

At running with his guy and getting hit in the back w the ball.

[Bruffalo]

He pretty solidly showed why he is where he is on the depth chart, regardless of how you think he performed.

 

It is what it is. He’s a physically talented CB but the game is too fast for him processing wise. It seems like that’s always why he’s handsy and a little late often.

 

When he can diagnose the play, he looks good, but that doesn’t seem to be often enough. 

[st pete gogolak]

I feel that folks are way over critical of Elam’s play yesterday. The TD to Boutte was a perfect throw to a well covered receiver (#3 top play on Sportscenter).  The first DPI was ticky tack, second was deserved. Wasn’t a great game but wasn’t horrible either.

[dpberr]

Elam needs more playing time, and I'd keep giving him large chunks of game reps.  Bills will need him in the playoffs.  

[I'm Spartacus]

I guess the "McDermott is a DB horse whisperer" guru isn't working on Elam. Bad pick for McDermott's stubborn defensive scheme.

[Virgil]

1 hour ago, Matt_In_NH said:

Definitely a #2

Well done you

[stlbills13]

He is a fine 4th stringer. Just sucks to use a 1st round pick on that role 

[Dillenger4]

13 hours ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

 

He was consistently putting his hands on his man down the field. He was more often than not with his back to the ball. The PI penalties were obvious fouls. Idk what game you were watching, but Elam was atrocious. And against the worst WR core in Football.

Ditto! Elam is a BAD CB. End thread.

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

21 minutes ago, I'm Spartacus said:

I guess the "McDermott is a DB horse whisperer" guru isn't working on Elam. Bad pick for McDermott's stubborn defensive scheme.

 

They put him in man plenty, and he got caught on 2 DPIs - neither particularly egregious but.. his supposed strength wasn't really on display.  The team has begun to blitz more, which i think is probably going to be used in the playoffs some, especially on money downs.  Man coverages are somewhat required in a lot of those blitzes. 

 

We've let teams carve up the zone in the playoffs and it has bit us before.  I think having some blitzes is important after what we've seen from the frazier d, and then mcdermotts mash unit last year.  At the same time, you also aren't among the league takeaway leaders unless you force them to march the field and not make mistakes.  

 

As for Elam - he tackles pretty well, and he's athletic, but he still struggles to read the play to the point that you break up a well thrown ball. He's always in the area so it's just that last piece of his game that separates a good starter, from a backup.  

[JP51]

He had lots of penalties... some more egregious than others... but not only is he not gonna get the benefit of the doubt at this stage he needs to not put himself in that position... I have seen this posted 10 times and I will agree, he needs to get his head around.  To me he was a significant liability in the 2ndary. 

[dave mcbride]

16 hours ago, Simon said:

 

You are going to catch way more flak than you deserve for this.

Props for having the guts to say it.

After the first td, he had fantastic coverage on two subsequent deep sideline throws in which he basically ran the receiver's route and gave Maye no chance.

Edited 8 hours ago by dave mcbride

[Rigotz]

14 hours ago, atlbillsfan1975 said:

He can’t find the ball. He has poor ball tracking abilities. He will be gone after the season. I saw today what the coaches see every practice. 

 

I think this is why they drafted him. He seems to be in the right place very often and has great physical tools, but ball awareness is bad and the game feels fast for him.

 

Honestly... I don't blame Beane and the coaching staff for taking a shot at his physical traits and believing they can develop him into a great Zone corner because your face is toward the QB more often. Some guys just don't have "it" and never will. 

 

Hopefully they can flip him for a late round pick to a team thinking they can fix him as well.

[BuffaloBill]

16 hours ago, Success said:

I thought the PI's on him were fairly questionable.  One thing he didn't do - lose his guy.  

 

He was no deer in the headlights out there. Too handsy?  You can make the case on that - but I thought the refs called it more than tight.

 

The second call was not tight.  Say what you want but he does not play consistently well.  He plays well sometimes and is out of position on others. Benford is simply a better player. 

[Mr. WEO]

boom

 

 

lol

[Sierra Foothills]

16 hours ago, Simon said:

They called him for making contact with the receiver before the ball arrived.

They never showed a good replay of it and I'm still not convinced the receiver wasn't jumping backwards due to his own momentum and Elam's tight coverage just made it look like he initiated contact.

 

Just speaking in general, I really don't know what the officials are thinking or how they're trained when it comes to calling penalties.

 

If I was training them my criteria for a foul would be:

 

1) How egregious is the foul?

2) Did it have any bearing on the outcome of the play?

 

Based on a summation of those two considerations a flag would be thrown or not.

 

It seems increasingly like NFL officials just can't resist the temptation to throw a flag, no matter how marginal the infraction is.