mayoclinic

With the signing of Leigh Bodden today, the FO has really done a nice job of upgrading the secondary from last year. We currently have 10 DBs on the roster, with a clear "top 7":

1. Brandon Meriweather, S. Should continue to develop and be better than last year; hopefully he will become the leader of the secondary this year. Improved.
2. James Sanders, S. Resigned. Same player as in 2008 - solid rotational and ST guy. Adequate starter but upgradeable. Unchanged.
3. Shawn Springs, CB/S. Takes over from Lewis Sanders and Chad Scott as the "big CB/S" swing guy, and is a clear upgrade over both. Improved.
4. Ellis Hobbs, CB. Same player as in 2008. Unchanged.
5. Leigh Bodden, CB. Has to be an upgrade over Deltha O'Neal, and potentially a huge one. Improved.
6. Terrance Wheatley, CB. Should be better as a second year guy and hopefully injury free. Improved.
7. Gerald Wilhite, CB. Should be better in his second year. Improved.

So 5 out of our top 7 DBs right now should be better than in 2008. Add in Antwain Spann, Ray Ventrone and Mike Richardson (none of whom should are critical, and all of whom should be as good or better than in 2008) and we seem pretty well set. If we could add one first day S prospect in the draft to groom as an eventual starter opposite Meriweather, we should have the best secondary in the BB era since 2003-2004 when we had Ty Law, Asante Samuel, Rodney Harrison and Eugene Wilson. And the secondary right now looks deeper than 2003-2004, if perhaps not quite as good at the top.

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"OVER Loading at ANY position can create a Fatal Advantage. THAT is what interests ME. Attacking With Concentrated Force. THAT is what WINS. In the words ~ more or less ~ of General Patton: 'I'm fighting a WAR, here. Let the B*****ES worry about their FLANKS.' " - Off the Grid

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JackBauer

Who is Gerald Wilhite?

Sanders is only 25 years old. He is likely to improve.

Ellis Hobbs is, likewise, 25 years old. Both players are on the cusp of their peak playing years, and I'd be shocked if we didn't see improvement from both of them.

Depending on Bodden's talent and Springs' ability to stay healthy, I think the improvement should be pretty drastic.

mayoclinic

Sorry, showing my age. Gerald Wilhite was a RB out of San Jose St. who was a 1st round draft pick in the early 1980s. Brain fart.

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"OVER Loading at ANY position can create a Fatal Advantage. THAT is what interests ME. Attacking With Concentrated Force. THAT is what WINS. In the words ~ more or less ~ of General Patton: 'I'm fighting a WAR, here. Let the B*****ES worry about their FLANKS.' " - Off the Grid

"The key to any successful organization is to anticipate things, not react to them." - Michael Lombardi

alvinnf

Who's the suprise cut come traing camp?

blackglass3

I would say Gerald Wilhite, since him being drafted in the early 80's would put him in his late 40's/early 50's.

As long as Springs or Bodden don't have a "Fernando Bryant" moment, I have no idea. Mike Richardson and Ray Ventrone, maybe?

spacecrime

make me snort Pepsi on my keyboard....

Ghost of Ben Dreith

This above quote is 100% correct.

The secondary is looking better, but there is still room to improve via the draft IMHO.

alvinnf

Bummer, he's sort of my binkie!!!

stinkypete

I think the Springs and Bodden signings mark the biggest offseason improvement in the secondary since '03. A nickel unit of Meriweather, Sanders, Springs, Hobbs and Bodden is very good. Could be stellar if Meriweather steps up and Bodden returns to his '07 form.

I would not be surprised it the secondary is considered a strength of the team by November.

mgteich

A) As has been pointed out, we should continue to see improvement in Sanders and Hobbs. Also, they will play better as part of a better secondary.

B) You discuss the top seven: four corners, two safeties and swing defensive back. There is one more real defensive back position: backup safety. We really didn't have that position last year for very long, but I would call Spann a 2008 safety and expect that any safety we pick in the second should be expected to be an improvement on Spann. In another year, one of those safeties might be plugged in as a starter from the beginning of their careers.

C) There are really no more than 8 defensive back positions. The #9 and/or #10 if there are any are special team leaders. I would expect Ventone or Richardson or Spann to be as good as last year in this position.

D "Not quite as good at the top" is quite an understatement. As you point out, we did have Law, Samuel, Harrison and Wilson.

E) So, my bottom line is that the team has done remarkably at rebuilding the secondary. I believe that the secondary is better at every position compared to 2008.

F) We do need to complete the job by drafting a backup safety, not a difficult assignment.