Sleeper CB: Michael Griffin?

[PonyExpress]

Cedric Griffin is not as athletically gifted as Michael but came on very strong starting for the Vikings at CB last season, despite going through the 2006 draft process as a FS prospect. C. Griffin won NFC defensive player of the week honors late in the season. UTexas began a trend 3 years ago of playing its best DB athlete at the SS position with Huff, so nominal "position" is not an indicator of NFL potential at Texas. M. Griffin's drawback at S is his small size which may lead to durability issues. He reportedly played the '06 season with a severe neck stinger and an injured foot due to collisions. Collision injuries are likely to get worse in the NFL. Griffin put on 5-10 lbs of fake weight during the draft process to please his critics and hide his "flaw" but played at 195 his senior year. His borderline weight would be an asset at CB instead of a durability issue at safety. As a CB his natural talent is #3 in this class behind Revis and Hall. I'm starting to like him better at CB than S; CB would take better advantage of his natural quickness, while S may expose his only weakness. Does anyone agree, or am I crazy here?

 

[Remix 6]

u dont rank someone as a top 5 CB when hes rarely played it

hes a Safety..he weighs 203-205 .. hes got room to bulk up.

hes a good safety..leave him there.

 

[PonyExpress]

Griffin frequently played man to man coverage, just like Huff and Meriweather. His skills in coverage are obvious. To me he sometimes looks out of position playing in the box; in the Senior Bowl, for example, he seemed a bit reluctant to stick his nose in maybe because of the after-affects of his injuries. I think he may be better suited to a pure coverage role, and he has shown up very well when in that role.

 

[sebman2112]

Cedric Griffin, Michael's brother, is not as athletically gifted but came on very strong starting for the Vikings at CB last season, despite going through the 2006 draft process as a FS prospect. C. Griffin won NFC defensive player of the week honors late in the season. UTexas began a trend 3 years ago of playing its best DB athlete at the SS position with Huff, so nominal "position" is not an indicator of NFL potential at Texas. M. Griffin's drawback at S is his small size which may lead to durability issues. He reportedly played the '06 season with a severe neck stinger and an injured foot due to collisions. Collision injuries are likely to get worse in the NFL. Griffin put on 5-10 lbs of fake weight during the draft process to please his critics and hide his "flaw" but played at 195 his senior year. His borderline weight would be an asset at CB instead of a durability issue at safety. As a CB his natural talent is #3 in this class behind Revis and Hall. I'm starting to like him better at CB than S; CB would take better advantage of his natural quickness, while S may expose his only weakness. Does anyone agree, or am I crazy here?

He's for sure not in the top three at CB. Heck, Meriweather (the other smallish FS candidate) is a better CB prospect than Griffin.

 

[PonyExpress]

He's for sure not in the top three at CB. Heck, Meriweather (the other smallish FS candidate) is a better CB prospect than Griffin.

I disagree.

 

[Remix 6]

I disagree.

how so?

Meriweather played very well for 2nd half of Miami's season as a CB

 

[hobbsownscoles]

Since when was cedric griffin ever a fs prospect?

 

[BelichickFan]

Why does everyone want to use a #1 pick to change guys' positions ? CB to S, S to CB, S to LB, it's nuts. If we want a CB we'll draft a CB not a Safety,

 

[PonyExpress]

These criticisms of my opinion are reasonable and justified. I realize I am going out on a limb and can't blame anyone for not joining me.

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

The only thing that worries me about Griffin is the wear on his body from making so many tackles in college. His college stats are through the roof, but will the wear and tear on his body catch up to him in the pros? However, if the Pats settled for Griffin, I would be happy.

 

[PonyExpress]

Since when was cedric griffin ever a fs prospect?

He ran a 4.5+ at the combine in the 40 and was considered by many to lack the straightline speed "required" for a cb in the NFL.

 

[PonyExpress]

how so?

Meriweather played very well for 2nd half of Miami's season as a CB

I originally thought the only risk associated with Merriweather was "character related". Now, i don't see his character as the issue. I now believe the risk is that Merriweather is a tweener: not ideally explosive for an NFL safety, not ideally quick for an NFL cb. I am not saying he cannot succeed, only that there is more risk associated with him than I previously thought. In college I believe he was explosive enough for S and quick enough for cb, which made him appear dominant. But I'm not sure he will have that kind of athletic advantage in the NFL. He may prove me wrong, and that's fine. But are we swinging for the fences and risking a strike out, or choking up on the bat and trying to put the ball in play? I prefer the latter approach in rd 1.

BTW, I have R. Nelson and Weddle in the same "tweener" category as Merriweather.

 

[hobbsownscoles]

He ran a 4.5+ at the combine in the 40 and was considered by many to lack the straightline speed "required" for a cb in the NFL.

He was still considered a CB

 

[PonyExpress]

He was still considered a CB

He was considered a FS by many scouts.

 

[chowder]

I would keep him at safety but I think that BB would love his versatility and his ability to cover like a corner if needed.

 

[Remix 6]

I originally thought the only risk associated with Merriweather was "character related". Now, i don't see his character as the issue. I now believe the risk is that Merriweather is a tweener: not ideally explosive for an NFL safety, not ideally quick for an NFL cb. I am not saying he cannot succeed, only that there is more risk associated with him than I previously thought. In college I believe he was explosive enough for S and quick enough for cb, which made him appear dominant. But I'm not sure he will have that kind of athletic advantage in the NFL. He may prove me wrong, and that's fine. But are we swinging for the fences and risking a strike out, or choking up on the bat and trying to put the ball in play? I prefer the latter approach in rd 1.

BTW, I have R. Nelson and Weddle in the same "tweener" category as Merriweather.

theres always "tweeners" because college players dont have a porgram like nfl for lifting and diet. u gain strength and muscle in NFL. Hes not going to come into NFL and play at his college size because so many players need to bulk up, add weight.

 

[sebman2112]

I originally thought the only risk associated with Merriweather was "character related". Now, i don't see his character as the issue. I now believe the risk is that Merriweather is a tweener: not ideally explosive for an NFL safety, not ideally quick for an NFL cb. I am not saying he cannot succeed, only that there is more risk associated with him than I previously thought. In college I believe he was explosive enough for S and quick enough for cb, which made him appear dominant. But I'm not sure he will have that kind of athletic advantage in the NFL. He may prove me wrong, and that's fine. But are we swinging for the fences and risking a strike out, or choking up on the bat and trying to put the ball in play? I prefer the latter approach in rd 1.

BTW, I have R. Nelson and Weddle in the same "tweener" category as Merriweather.

This is not a criticism, but when I read these opinions of Meriweather it made me think you haven't seen him play very much.

 

[PonyExpress]

This is not a criticism, but when I read these opinions of Meriweather it made me think you haven't seen him play very much.

You're wrong.

 

[Remix 6]

He’s a little different than Huff. Huff was more of a corner-type, I think Huff could be a better corner than he is a safety, it’s his natural position. I would say Michael Griffin’s the more natural safety that would adjust to playing corner, Griffin’s more physical.

-Duane Akina, Texas D Cord.

BostonHerald.com

 

[PonyExpress]

-Duane Akina, Texas D Cord.

BostonHerald.com

As usual you make alot of sense. But despite the fact Huff's more "natural" position is CB, he was good enough at safety to be drafted #7 overall to play it and start as a rookie. And despite the fact Griffin's more natural position may be safety, I still think he's good enough at CB to play it and play it well in the NFL. It may take him a little more time to make that transition, but in the long run it would help him survive the more physical pro game and increase his value to his team by keeping him healthy and hiding the one hole in his game.