The Nightmare on Blair Street

[JGfromtheNW]

Agreed, quadsas. I'd like to see him put about 5-10lbs on, especially if he's the SS of the future.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

I'm fine with the penalty, we desperately need another thumper in the defensive backfield to put the fear of god into WR's.

Last night Thompson and Hill were put on notice, good luck keeping Blair off the field. If he stays healthy the rest of the way he's going to be starting very early in the season, if not by game 1.

I hope not, I would like to see him put on 10 to 15 good pounds if he is going to be our delivery man before anointed to an every down guy, 215 to 225 as a SS is about where he should be, he is listed at 196 right now on the team page.

I think we need to stop comparing and looking for the next Kam. Blair is the perfect size for a traditional two high strong safety, especially with the way he hits............and last year we saw a LOT more two high than one high when Earl went down.

I'm not worried about his size, I'm only worried about his football IQ on when to hit and when to play smart and cover his assignments......which was sometimes a problem for him at Utah, he just wanted to kill people and got out of position.

So as long as he plays smart, I'm just fine with him at SS. Both Thompson and Hill are just dudes to me, they're fine, but they're not special. Blair is special.

Harrison Smith - Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Weight:218 lb (99 kg
Patrick Chung - Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Weight: 210 lb (95 kg)
Jaquiski Tartt - Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Weight: 215 lb (98 kg)
Byron Jones - Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Weight:200 lb (91 kg)
Kam Chancellor - Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Weight: 232 lb (105 kg)
Keanu Neal - Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight:211 lb (96 kg)
Justin Simmons - Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Weight: 202 lb (92 kg)
Jamal Adams - Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight: 213 lb (97 kg)
Eric Reid - Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Weight: 215 lb (98 kg)
Budda Baker - Height: 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Weight: 195 lb (88 kg
Tyvon Branch - Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight: 210 lb (95 kg)
Malcolm Jenkins - Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight: 204 lb (93 kg)
Micah Hyde - Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight: 197 lb (89 kg)
Tony Jefferson - Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Weight: 215 lb (98 kg)
Reshad Jones - Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Weight: 215 lb (98 kg)
Landon Collins - Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight: 218 lb (99 kg)
Colin Jones - Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight: 210 lb (95 kg)
Eddie Jackson - Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight: 202 lb (92 kg
George Iloka - Height: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Weight: 225 lb (102 kg)
Eric Murray - Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Weight: 199 lb (90 kg)
Morgan Burnett - Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Weight: 210 lb (95 kg)
Bradley McDougald - Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Weight: 215 lb (98 kg)
Shawn Williams - Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight: 212 lb (96 kg)
Chris Conte - Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Weight: 203 lb (92 kg)
Anthony Harris - Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Weight: 202 lb (92 kg)

That's a pretty good sample size, he is below all of them, he is not average.

Blair is taller than most of these, and lighter than most..........and as we saw last night with his big hit, in today's modern game where your SS doesn't need to be 225 lbs, they need to be fast and quick in order to stay with spread offense teams that have hybrid TE's that run 4.4's, he is perfect.

Believe me, if Pete thought Blair needed to put on weight, he would have told him to do it four months ago when they drafted him.

 

[DomeHawk]

I hope not, I would like to see him put on 10 to 15 good pounds if he is going to be our delivery man before anointed to an every down guy, 215 to 225 as a SS is about where he should be, he is listed at 196 right now on the team page.

I think we need to stop comparing and looking for the next Kam. Blair is the perfect size for a traditional two high strong safety, especially with the way he hits............and last year we saw a LOT more two high than one high when Earl went down.

I'm not worried about his size, I'm only worried about his football IQ on when to hit and when to play smart and cover his assignments......which was sometimes a problem for him at Utah, he just wanted to kill people and got out of position.

So as long as he plays smart, I'm just fine with him at SS. Both Thompson and Hill are just dudes to me, they're fine, but they're not special. Blair is special.

Harrison Smith - Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Weight:218 lb (99 kg
Patrick Chung - Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Weight: 210 lb (95 kg)
Jaquiski Tartt - Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Weight: 215 lb (98 kg)
Byron Jones - Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Weight:200 lb (91 kg)
Kam Chancellor - Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Weight: 232 lb (105 kg)
Keanu Neal - Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight:211 lb (96 kg)
Justin Simmons - Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Weight: 202 lb (92 kg)
Jamal Adams - Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight: 213 lb (97 kg)
Eric Reid - Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Weight: 215 lb (98 kg)
Budda Baker - Height: 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Weight: 195 lb (88 kg
Tyvon Branch - Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight: 210 lb (95 kg)
Malcolm Jenkins - Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight: 204 lb (93 kg)
Micah Hyde - Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight: 197 lb (89 kg)
Tony Jefferson - Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Weight: 215 lb (98 kg)
Reshad Jones - Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Weight: 215 lb (98 kg)
Landon Collins - Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight: 218 lb (99 kg)
Colin Jones - Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight: 210 lb (95 kg)
Eddie Jackson - Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight: 202 lb (92 kg
George Iloka - Height: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Weight: 225 lb (102 kg)
Eric Murray - Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Weight: 199 lb (90 kg)
Morgan Burnett - Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Weight: 210 lb (95 kg)
Bradley McDougald - Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Weight: 215 lb (98 kg)
Shawn Williams - Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight: 212 lb (96 kg)
Chris Conte - Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Weight: 203 lb (92 kg)
Anthony Harris - Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Weight: 202 lb (92 kg)

That's a pretty good sample size, he is below all of them, he is not average.

Blair is taller than most of these, and lighter than most..........and as we saw last night with his big hit, in today's modern game where your SS doesn't need to be 225 lbs, they need to be fast and quick in order to stay with spread offense teams that have hybrid TE's that run 4.4's, he is perfect.

Believe me, if Pete thought Blair needed to put on weight, he would have told him to do it four months ago when they drafted him.

^^^^Good points!

 

[chris98251]

If your going to dish out punishment you need the muscle and mass to do it without taking punishment yourself. This was a concern when we drafted him, he was injured many times in Utah, you think the NFL is going to be kinder. HE IS A strong safety taking on TE's and FB's and RB's that are bigger then he is, hell we have Receivers bigger then he is. Fast is great, Kelly Jennings was fast also.

It was also a concern with Bubba Baker who is bigger then Blair weight wise and stouter frame wise and was considered small.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

If your going to dish out punishment you need the muscle and mass to do it without taking punishment yourself. This was a concern when we drafted him, he was injured many times in Utah, you think the NFL is going to be kinder. HE IS A strong safety taking on TE's and FB's and RB's that are bigger then he is, hell we have Receivers bigger then he is. Fast is great, Kelly Jennings was fast also.

It was also a concern with Bubba Baker who is bigger then Blair weight wise and stouter frame wise and was considered small.

Maybe you're right, we'll see.

But IMO he's fine. Putting on weight would be at the detriment to speed, and like I said in today's game where every hit's a penalty now, your safeties need to be quicker and faster........not big. We've got the best LB corp in the league to thump, we need safeties to cover and deliver hits on WR's.

If there's one position group I implicitly trust Pete's judgement, it's the defensive backfield. If he thinks Blair's good at his current weight, then I'm OK with it too.

 

[chris98251]

If your going to dish out punishment you need the muscle and mass to do it without taking punishment yourself. This was a concern when we drafted him, he was injured many times in Utah, you think the NFL is going to be kinder. HE IS A strong safety taking on TE's and FB's and RB's that are bigger then he is, hell we have Receivers bigger then he is. Fast is great, Kelly Jennings was fast also.

It was also a concern with Bubba Baker who is bigger then Blair weight wise and stouter frame wise and was considered small.

Maybe you're right, we'll see.

But IMO he's fine. Putting on weight would be at the detriment to speed, and like I said in today's game where every hit's a penalty now, your safeties need to be quicker and faster........not big. We've got the best LB corp in the league to thump, we need safeties to cover and deliver hits on WR's.

If there's one position group I implicitly trust Pete's judgement, it's the defensive backfield. If he thinks Blair's good at his current weight, then I'm OK with it too.

We brought him in to HIt and be a intimidator we can get Kelly Jennings all day now, attitude on defense is what makes receivers think about extending themselves, even on the penalty Pete had no issue other then he has a bit more work on his technique and should have hit him with the other shoulder, it was not he should not have hit him.

At 191 he should be able to add some good weight and keep his speed and quickness, only 22 so he could still fill out some also., actually he has put on 5 pounds to 196 post combine numbers still another 10 pounds would be nice at least around 205 or so.

 

[DomeHawk]

https://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/n ... 94182.html

 

[olyfan63]

I think he is the game one starter.

You dont have to know a lot to start at SS.

Oh, that explains Etric Pruitt lighting it up for the Hawks in SBXL.
He didn't need to know much of anything, like which gap to cover on Willie Parker's 75 yard TD run, or who had which assignment on the Stealer's trick play TD, where his guy caught the TD.

We can just throw in a man off the street as an in-game replacement at SS in a big game and everything will be fine.
OK, so that's an exaggeration and cherry picking a bit. The point stands though, ALL the players in Pete's D need to be SMART and know their assignments.

Different position, but can't-miss LB Aaron Curry got beaten out by 5th rounder KJ Wright due to football IQ issues/desire issues during play.

Marquise Blair clearly has the smarts to play in Pete's scheme, and he will for sure know a lot when he takes the field as our starting strong safety sometime this season, possibly in Game 1.

 

[Jazzhawk]

That was an excellent football play and should never receive a penalty call.

 

[chris98251]

That was an excellent football play and should never receive a penalty call.

During the broadcast Dave Wyman agreed and said you whole life you are taught to form tackle buy laying your shoulder on and across the body or putting your head on the other side. He also said this is one of those penalties they want to enforce a lot now like last year in pre season to send a message to players. He stated in years past that would have just been a good tackle.

 

[Mistashoesta]

He had enough of a read on the play where he could have gone for the interception if he wanted to. He chose to lay the wood. The Enforcer 3.0.

 

[Sports Hernia]

That was an excellent football play and should never receive a penalty call.

Absolutely right. So tired of “flag football”. Phantom and ticky tack penalties are killing the game.

 

[12AngryHawks]

If Blair is going to keep playing as hard as he does, I think he can afford to add a little more mass to his frame, he just seems too long & lanky for a SS. That said, I L-O-V-E the physicality he brings, that's why we all loved Chancellor, he's gonna be that guy that opponents don't want to be tackled by. Once he gets the techniques down, opposing teams better keep their eyes on him.

 

[NYCoug]

I don't see Kam when I watch Marquise. No, he reminds me instead of the love child of Eugene Robinson and Ken Hamlin. He's got Eugene's lanky frame and Kenny's appetite for reckless abandonment and destruction.

Could he stand to gain 5 to 10 pounds? Maybe. But I like that they're going to let him play at his natural playing weight first before possibly making any kinds of adjustments to his frame. As someone astutely stated above, if they wanted him to gain 15 pounds, it would have already happened by now.

Edit: Are we going with 'The Nightmare on Blair Street' or 'The Blair Hits Project'? Or would the youngin's these days prefer 'The Blair Hitz Project'? Quite the dilemma we have on our hands here.

 

[sutz]

It used to be that a rookie would gain 10-15# in his first year, taking advantage of the improved training and nutrition of the pros. In the modern game, most of the major college programs have come up to speed and players arrive in camp at a more ideal weight.

TBH, I figure the coaches and trainors are probably discussing this very subject and trying to decide Blair's ideal playing weight to both play and help him avoid injury.

:snack:

 

[bigskydoc]

TBH, I thought this was going to be a Blair Walsh thread.

Talk about a :shock:

oh wait, a nightmare.

 

[McGruff]

220 pound safeties are rare.

Pretty sure ETIII played his whole career below 210#. Wiki has him listed at 202# now.

I would be shocked if ET were ever above 200.

 

[McGruff]

I think he is the game one starter.

You dont have to know a lot to start at SS.

Oh, that explains Etric Pruitt lighting it up for the Hawks in SBXL.
He didn't need to know much of anything, like which gap to cover on Willie Parker's 75 yard TD run, or who had which assignment on the Stealer's trick play TD, where his guy caught the TD.

We can just throw in a man off the street as an in-game replacement at SS in a big game and everything will be fine.
OK, so that's an exaggeration and cherry picking a bit. The point stands though, ALL the players in Pete's D need to be SMART and know their assignments.

Different position, but can't-miss LB Aaron Curry got beaten out by 5th rounder KJ Wright due to football IQ issues/desire issues during play.

Marquise Blair clearly has the smarts to play in Pete's scheme, and he will for sure know a lot when he takes the field as our starting strong safety sometime this season, possibly in Game 1.

Pruitt played FS for us, not strong.

 

[chris98251]

I think he is the game one starter.

You dont have to know a lot to start at SS.

Oh, that explains Etric Pruitt lighting it up for the Hawks in SBXL.
He didn't need to know much of anything, like which gap to cover on Willie Parker's 75 yard TD run, or who had which assignment on the Stealer's trick play TD, where his guy caught the TD.

We can just throw in a man off the street as an in-game replacement at SS in a big game and everything will be fine.
OK, so that's an exaggeration and cherry picking a bit. The point stands though, ALL the players in Pete's D need to be SMART and know their assignments.

Different position, but can't-miss LB Aaron Curry got beaten out by 5th rounder KJ Wright due to football IQ issues/desire issues during play.

Marquise Blair clearly has the smarts to play in Pete's scheme, and he will for sure know a lot when he takes the field as our starting strong safety sometime this season, possibly in Game 1.

Pruitt played FS for us, not strong.

Height:
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:
202 lb (92 kg)

That's at Combine not his pro career.

That's exactly the size the Ravens have him listed at now also.

 

[Pandion Haliaetus]

Kind of off-topic: So far this secondary has had a King, Earl, Marquis, plus a Chancellor.

Anyone know if there is Duke, Baron, or Viscount coming up the ranks?

The Legion of Peerage.