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Breaking Down Saints Defensive Talent

this is a discussion within the Saints Community Forum; Originally Posted by FinSaint Sure, those are convincing stats presented in a way that makes him seem as valuable as dirt, but the evaluation is for fantasy football and therefore it places too much of an emphasis on certain parts ...

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Old 02-27-2013, 06:29 PM   #41
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Originally Posted by FinSaint View Post
Sure, those are convincing stats presented in a way that makes him seem as valuable as dirt, but the evaluation is for fantasy football and therefore it places too much of an emphasis on certain parts of a strong safety's job.

If used in the traditional way, the SS plays close to the LOS with a heavy emphasis on run support and covers the TE in man coverage schemes. The SS is not supposed to be a cover corner running step for step with receivers towards the end zone, but almost a pseudo LB who covers shallow routes and potentially funnels passing plays towards the FS's effective field of play.

In that traditional role Harper is a good fit, since he is well above average in run support - as a SS - is good at providing pressure on the QB, and can cover TEs on the shallow routes more than adequately as stated by those stats Papz referenced. I think more important than the number of INTs a SS has in determining his covering skills is for example the "passes defended" stats. In that regard Harper does pretty well when compared to for example William Moore from the Failclowns, who I have heard has been talked about as a SS with well above average coverage skills. During the last three seasons Harper has had 26 passes defended (8-7-11) while Moore has had 25 (8-9-8), so in that light Harper's stats aren't so bad.

What I'm trying to say is that Harper isn't as bad in coverage - when asked to cover like a traditional strong safety's job description states - but he is no cover CB nor a FS in the likes of Sharper, and never will be. There are many strong safeties with better coverage skills in the league, not to mention DBs in general, but that doesn't take away anything from the parts Harper does better than many other strong safeties in the league.

No player is perfect, but placing them in the ideal position to succeed will go a long way into masking the weaknesses that player may have, and that is what Ryan needs to do with Harper if he remains a Saint.
what stats have shown him to be good in the box covering TE's?

Yes, the evaluation is based on FF which is why reading the article would be a good place to start. It begins by stating Harper should be the 3rd best safety picked for IDP leages due to his ability blitzing and leading the team in tackles. The article then goes on to say the stats for FF are deceiving to him being a good SS, that leads to the quotes i pulled from the article.

You asked why people think he sucked and wanted reference for it. I am simply using the same site papz used for his stats.

But your right Harper shouldn't be asked to cover outside of 10yds and apparently he doesn't anyway.

As far as placing him in the ideal situation... OLB, i guess. IIRC Ryan likes having 2 FS, so Harper doesn't fit anymore... Lets move on from him please.
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Old 02-28-2013, 02:09 PM   #42
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Re: Breaking Down Saints Defensive Talent

Does he even watch our games? Seriously! Some evaluations were good but our top ten is a joke.
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