Riq Woolen - Best Man Corner in the NFL

[Weadoption]

I think a sophomore slump is definitely in play here after he was so outstanding last year.
He’s got to keep his head right and stay humble, Pete calling him out isn’t constructive imo.
I wouldn’t give up on him, way too early and a lot of stuff broke down with tackling across the board, wasn’t just Riq.

 

[cymatica]

He might ultimately be better in man than zone. I don't know. But it would be improbable that he maintains those rates. For comparison, his FI% is 15% higher than Sauce, PFF's best Man corner with over 100 coverage snaps.

It's worth noting, Witherspoon, Brown, and Jackson are the inverse of Woolen. They are significantly better in zone than man, so changing the system to support Woolen may create more issues than it solves.

I would say use combo coverage but I doubt these coaches would implement that

 

[far north]

With the injuries this year and not sure what he was dealing with I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he didn't go in hard on some tackles trying to protect something

 

[TwistedHusky]

Spoon and Brown can both play man.
And our zones suck, so even if you play a good zone corner in zone - you are going to lose in these squishy soft schemes we love.

We don't like man because it allows WRs to win big plays occasionally and our whole defensive philosophy is based on limiting big plays. It is why we lose to the good teams and beat the bad.

 

[Maelstrom787]

Spoon and Brown can both play man.
And our zones suck, so even if you play a good zone corner in zone - you are going to lose in these squishy soft schemes we love.

We don't like man because it allows WRs to win big plays occasionally and our whole defensive philosophy is based on limiting big plays. It is why we lose to the good teams and beat the bad.

No one likes man enough in the NFL to run it on over about 40% of their snaps. Even Wink Martindale.

I'd love to see more man concepts worked in here and there, but it's a zone league. Our issues aren't that we run zone coverage, it's that we're sloppy.

My take is that this stat is heavily influenced by sample size, because Riq isn't the most savvy corner. His speed is immense, but he can be worked by savvier receivers who have good body control. His eyes and discipline leave a lot to be desired, and he certainly can't be mistaken as a physical player.

I, along with most others who scouted him coming into the NFL, have him as a much better fit as a zone corner. He can cover a ton of ground and close quickly on the ball. I'd rather have him taking away a ton of space than following a receiver. Having him man up mitigates some of his biggest strengths a bit, in my estimation.

 

[Hawkamaniac]

Might be because we have garbage edge play and if your corner is constantly in man coverage, leaving the flat, you open yourself up even more to being gashed on OTT runs.

I dont know... maybe THAT has something to do with it.

Putting Riq in zone and expecting him to make a tackle on the edge is pretty much the same thing as leaving the flat uncovered

 

[Sgt. Largent]

C'mon man, Woolen's been positioned & playing as Coached this season, whereas Spoon is playing 'Instinctually', making plays that thwart Coaching interferences...Fix the Coaching 'Brain-Farts' & Woolen gets back on track. ;-)

Idk what this means. If he's a 2nd year player, why did he regress and forget how to play "instinctually" like his rookie counterpart?

I see an undisciplined corner that was sniffing too many of his own farts and got caught up in the hype, Twitter beefs and distracted by the noise.

And what was the crotch grab at the end of the Cardinal game about? Just dumb.

Riq is a microcosm of the greater issue with this team, Pete and his coaches are not instilling the necessary discipline and self responsibility to fix the issues. Thus why said issues keep happening over and over.