Writers of Pro Football Prospectus 2008

printable version

Extra Points

Articles from around the Web

Need Help with KUBIAK or Premium?

blog advertising is good for you


04 Feb 2010

Greer Underappreciated by Analysts

Well, some analysts. Mike Triplett of NOLA.com draws together metrics and concepts from Scouts, Inc., KC Joyner, and our own Bill Barnwell to make the case for Saints cornerback Jabari Greer as perhaps the second-best pass defender in the NFL. Meanwhile, Deion Sanders insists that Greer is merely on the right path, and will have arrived only when he makes the Pro Bowl. Ugh.

Posted by: Doug Farrar on 04 Feb 2010

15 comments, Last at 05 Feb 2010, 7:22am by Mr Shush

Comments

1
by Temo :: Thu, 02/04/2010 - 11:58am

To all those who say that fan voting has ruined the pro bowl--> realize that player voting is just as weighted, and includes votes by players who are less rational than Deion Sanders.

Also, patting my self on the back for being on the Greer bandwagon since week 8.

2
by Spielman :: Thu, 02/04/2010 - 12:22pm

That's a frightening concept, that anyone could be less rational than Deion Sanders.

3
by Eddo :: Thu, 02/04/2010 - 12:22pm

Yeah, player voting is arguably worse, considering there would be a lot more voting for friends as whatnot.

10
by Mello :: Thu, 02/04/2010 - 5:32pm

I'd be curious what a coach voting system like this would look like. Head coaches vote for all positions players not from their team. Defensive coordinators vote for any offense positions. Offense can vote for defense. Position coordinators can vote for those players on the opposite side of the ball as their position.

Doesn't really matter because fan voting will always be included. There's nothing to gain (except the pride of having the best players play in the Pro Bowl) and advertising to lose if you change it.

4
by Phil Osopher :: Thu, 02/04/2010 - 2:20pm

Fan voting, player voting, and coaches voting in NFL works for the most part except for Olinemen

They always vote in the guy that everyone thinks is a beast, but hasn't been for the last three years (*ahem* Orlando Pace *cough*) Those guys get like 16 straight pro bowl bids and seem like the best of all time, but then they only had 6-8 seasons where they played at pro-bowl level

The thing I don't get is starting the voting at like week 5 and ending it by week 14 where there is still close to 20% of the season to play is useless and stupid. (*clears throat* Brett Favare 2008 *cough*)

So to make the pro bowl, have 3 giant games to open the season a few mediocre games in the middle and fall off the face of the planet to end the season and you to will make 16 straight pro bowls

6
by displaced_saints_fan :: Thu, 02/04/2010 - 2:43pm

IIRC, the year after Jay Hilgenberg retired from the Bears, his brother Joel was voted to the Pro Bowl. I have always assumed he appeared on the ballot as "Hilgenberg, J" and that people thought they were voting for his brother.

5
by Anonymous9 (not verified) :: Thu, 02/04/2010 - 2:35pm

As a Bills fan, I saw him finally get a chance to start in 07 after they finally couldn't find another crappy DB to put ahead of him on the depth chart, and he played very well. We went on to draft Leodis McKelvin. In 08, he was hands-down the best DB on the roster, until he got injured running down an end-around from behind (about the only time in the past decade the Bills have held an end-around to under 10 yards).

Then we let him go after he expressed interest in an extension. The Saints signed him for $6 million/year, a lot but easily warranted by his play. Then we extended an older, worse player in Terrence McGee for what I can only assume was similar money.

But hey, good for Greer, getting out of there to a team where his excellent play will actually be recognized.

7
by The Guy You Don't Want to Hear (not verified) :: Thu, 02/04/2010 - 2:52pm

"I'll say he's on his way. He's at baggage claim."

Um, don't you go to baggage claim after you get to your destination?

8
by alexbond :: Thu, 02/04/2010 - 3:13pm

He's completed the flight, but he needs to grab a taxi to get to his hotel, or something? Perhaps luggage was lost? I'm grasping at straws here, trying to justify Deion. He's actually pretty good on the NFL Network's Gameday show, and I recall one time for one of the NFLN Thursday night games, for some reason they put in Marshall Faulk and Deion as the co-color guys. It was excellent. Deion was like a DB coach, pointing out formations and substitutions as they happened, and when they went to replay, he explained what techniques the WR and DB were using to get open and prevent the guy from getting open, respectively. I was surprised. I also like Marshall, because he's always a threat to set a world record for most uses of the word "playmaker" and its variations in a minute.

14
by Arson55 :: Thu, 02/04/2010 - 9:02pm

I agree, that was some of the best commentary during a football game ever. So I have to think that Deion just hasn't seen enough Greer. He really is actually good at spotting good DB play.

9
by Doug Farrar :: Thu, 02/04/2010 - 3:33pm

I actually like Deion as a DB analyst for the most part, and I generally respect his opinion on such matters. My guess is that he hadn't seen enough of Greer and got caught short by the question.

11
by Danish Denver-Fan :: Thu, 02/04/2010 - 5:48pm

Deion is usually sensible. A bit much into flashy storylines, but then again he *is* PrimeTime. As alex wrote, that thursday nighter was THE best colorcommentary I've ever heard. Deion handled the weird PrimeTime-as-an-analyst thing really well.

15
by Mr Shush :: Fri, 02/05/2010 - 7:22am

Thirded, or fourthed, or whatever. That was awesome.

12
by sundown (not verified) :: Thu, 02/04/2010 - 6:11pm

Truly, he won't really have "arrived" until he makes the Pro Bowl. Fair to argue if that's fair, but it is fact. Perception is everything when it comes to Pro Bowl voting; and the players are just as fickle as the fans.

13
by Joseph :: Thu, 02/04/2010 - 7:15pm

Since Mike Triplett uses FO stats, Scouts Inc, and KC Joyner to make his point. As I am not a premium member, I will request a DVOA split for the games he missed compared to those Greer played in regarding:
1) Opposing team's #1 WR
2) Saints pass D
3) Saints overall D
4) 3rd down conversions (defense)
5) Points allowed
6) Pass yds allowed, total & per play

I know that some other injuries (#2 CB Porter being the most prominent) may influence this data, but I would bet the differences to be rather large.

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.

More information about formatting options

CAPTCHA
To skip this, please log in.