BOL Round Table

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BigFunny98 said...

For those who keep calling out Vinnie, I wanted to provide some perspective:

Vinnie has been playing a position that he is not best suited for out of necessity all season. He is not a natural Star, and ordinarily would not be playing in that position. Keep in mind that the Star position was designed for and has always been played by a corner in Saban’s defense. Unfortunately we only have 2 other players on the team who can effectively play the position, Milliner (who is desperately needed elsewhere as he is our best cover corner) and Gino Smith (who was not mentally ready until now). The reason for this is that Star requires quickness rather than straight-line speed (eliminating Sylvie & Fulton), and also requires a deep understanding of the defense.

For those saying play Collins, frankly you just don’t fully understand the problem. Collins is a true safety, and the fact that the light is coming on for him is great because it provides a backup for Lester and Ha-Ha eliminating the need to have Nick Perry on the field. That said, replacing Vinnie with Collins at Star would be a disaster. Keep in mind that Collins is a natural safety and the Star position is designed for a very quick corner. He, just like Vinnie will lack the quickness to effectively cover a slot receiver. Yes, it is true that due to his natural athletic ability he would likely get beat less often than Vinnie. That said, keep in mind, he has been struggling all season just to grasp the safety position (and from Saban’s comments, the light has finally come on). Adding another position for him to learn (and one that he is not a natural fit for) would only set back his learning process and lead to us continuing to use Nick Perry (who has been out of position far more often than Vinnie) more than we should.

Having said all of that, if we can get Fulton, Milliner, & Belue healthy, we will have 4 solid corners (inclusive of Sylvie). The fact that the light has come on for Gino Smith means that he will likely be able to be our primary Star, meaning we don’t need Vinnie to play that position as often. The light coming on for Collins means that we now have 3 solid players at safety (Lester, Ha-Ha, Collins), which means that we will be able to rely less on Perry. This will allow Vinnie to focus on the 6th db position. That is his natural position, and one that he excels at. In that situation, he is able to provide the run support that he is fantastic at, able to Blitz (another strength) and will be far less of a liability in coverage. I am not saying that he will never get beat, because he will. I am just saying that as the 6th db, the rewards of playing him will far outweigh the risks.

I do have to say that it is funny how in the spring most (not all) of you were going crazy about how he was going to be the next great thing. How quickly you turn on our players without fully considering the reasons behind their performance. I still remember 2 years ago when Milliner was getting beat regularly as a freshman and you guys were going after him the same way that you are Vinnie. I don’t hear too much of that anymore.