Since it was reported that the Bears are out of the race for the high priced Rolle who should we go after either Atogwe from the Rams, Clark from the Steelers or even Sharper from the Saints. Who would you pick for the upgrade?

Atogwe was a top choice of mine last year, and is again. I can't believe the Rams tendered him the way they did, but I would so love to add him.

 

Since it was reported that the Bears are out of the race for the high priced Rolle who should we go after either Atogwe from the Rams, Clark from the Steelers or even Sharper from the Saints. Who would you pick for the upgrade?

 

Atogwe was a top choice of mine last year, and is again. I can't believe the Rams tendered him the way they did, but I would so love to add him.

What was Atogwe tendered for? I personally wouldn't mind Clark from Pittsburgh.

Atogwe is tagged with the right-to-refusal tender. No draft picks to St. Louis if we should sign him.

Since it was reported that the Bears are out of the race for the high priced Rolle who should we go after either Atogwe from the Rams, Clark from the Steelers or even Sharper from the Saints. Who would you pick for the upgrade?

Otogwe

What was Atogwe tendered for? I personally wouldn't mind Clark from Pittsburgh.

 

Clark sucks, sorry. He is a total product of Pittsburg.

Atogwe was tendered at the lowest level, meaning Stl has the right to match, but would get NO COMPENSATION if they lose him.

 

The reason is, as I understand it, they franchise tagged him last year. So while they can tag him agains this year as a RFA, they regardless still have to pay him no less than 10% more than he got last year, which was a guaranteed $7+m as a franchise player. So, if they tagged him for compensation this year, they would have had to guarantee him nearly $8m, and they didn't want to do that.

 

What was Atogwe tendered for? I personally wouldn't mind Clark from Pittsburgh.

 

I'd probably go with Atogwe because he is a younger option over Sharper, although Sharper is the ball hawk Lovie likes in a cover 2 defense. The only problem is, and Sharper said it himself, the Cover 2 doesn't allow you to roam around for those interceptions so his numbers would go down if he switched to a Cover 2 again. Mike Brown made it work, we need somebody to solidify that position and then hopefully through the draft we are able to find a diamond in the rough for that secondary.

I'd probably go with Atogwe because he is a younger option over Sharper, although Sharper is the ball hawk Lovie likes in a cover 2 defense. The only problem is, and Sharper said it himself, the Cover 2 doesn't allow you to roam around for those interceptions so his numbers would go down if he switched to a Cover 2 again. Mike Brown made it work, we need somebody to solidify that position and then hopefully through the draft we are able to find a diamond in the rough for that secondary.

Yeah, the last time Sharper was in a Cover-2 (in Minnesota) he wasn't nearly as effective. When he went to Gregg Williams' defense in New Orleans, he got to freelance more and play more of a robber type of role. He's much better suited to that than to being a Cover-2 safety. Plus, he can't have more than a year or two left in the tank...how many 37-year-old safeties do you see running around?

 

As for Clark, he's a devastating hitter, but that's about it. I really think he's only an effective free safety on the Steelers because they've got Troy Polamalu roving all over the field from the strong side. Clark just doesn't cause many turnovers, and most of what he seems to do in Pittsburgh is clean up on the back end. The guy's got 8 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles in an 8-year career. I think he's a strong safety anywhere but Pittsburgh.

 

I'd love to get Atogwe, especially if we can't afford Rolle. If we can't get either of them, I'd prefer to draft a guy with our 3rd than to bring in Clark or Sharper.

Yeah, the last time Sharper was in a Cover-2 (in Minnesota) he wasn't nearly as effective. When he went to Gregg Williams' defense in New Orleans, he got to freelance more and play more of a robber type of role. He's much better suited to that than to being a Cover-2 safety.

When Mike Brown was at his best/healthy, wasn't he able to do pretty much exactly that out of Lovie's cover-2 system?

Id still rather have Sharper if we cant get Rolle. He is at least smart in thr secondary and would provide leadership for a year or two until we can draft a safety.

When Mike Brown was at his best/healthy, wasn't he able to do pretty much exactly that out of Lovie's cover-2 system?

I mean, I'm not an expert, but Brown was more assignment-sound and was used in more 2-deep coverage from what I saw. The Saints' defense uses a lot of Cover-1 blitz packages and lets Sharper gamble a lot more in terms of jumping routes, sitting on routes, etc. When I watched Brown play, he got his hands on a lot of passes, but he did it mostly by staying disciplined in his zone coverage and making a play once the ball was in the air. I think Sharper is better when he's allowed to read the quarterback and anticipate the throw before it happens, like he was in New Orleans and Green Bay. It's just an issue of scheme and responsibilities, I think.