Pick #4 Denzel Ward | Page 13 |

Pick #4 Denzel Ward

WRs who rely on speed won't catch a cold against Ward. But like you said, Allen is a technician and that indeed is the toughest matchup for a rookie still honing the craft.
 
Shep said:
WRs who rely on speed won't catch a cold against Ward. But like you said, Allen is a technician and that indeed is the toughest matchup for a rookie still honing the craft.
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I think the biggest test will be not to fall for the double moves and get burnt downfield. Allen is more of a middle of the field pass catcher that can go for YAC. But he can also stretch the field when needed. Like you mentioned Allen is a technician and it will be quite the test, but he did a pretty damn good job against Michael Thomas, even on the TD grab Thomas had. Ward will just need to be aware of how quickly Rivers gets rid of the ball, which will most definitely be a factor.
 
i think its time to shut ward down for the Year......coming off a concussion number 2 for the year. if he gets 3 in a year that is Career threatening.

that coupled with his small stature he needs a year to get bigger.
 
EastSideDawg said:
i think its time to shut ward down for the Year......coming off a concussion number 2 for the year. if he gets 3 in a year that is Career threatening.

that coupled with his small stature he needs a year to get bigger.
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He just needs to get smarter. He will never have the frame to hit guys above the knees. He has to stop trying that as GGG has been telling him from day one. He'll learn or he'll be out of the league.
 
Greythan said:
He just needs to get smarter. He will never have the frame to hit guys above the knees. He has to stop trying that as GGG has been telling him from day one. He'll learn or he'll be out of the league.
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That is harder to do than it looks too.

I played a couple years of flag football and I got penalized for ducking my head when I juked some guy. I was told afterward that we're not supposed to do that. It's dangerous because I could get head slapped if a defender tried to swipe my flag at the same time. I still to this day think it's bull shit, but those are the rules. I couldn't change and since I was older and barely hanging on to my playing days anyway I was done.
 
Well, as far as the concussion protocol goes, this would indicate he’s at least allowed some screen time:

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overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/denzelward/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Denzel Ward</a> (@denzelward) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2018-12-18T21:55:38+00:00">Dec 18, 2018 at 1:55pm PST</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
 
Worried about this young man. His hands were visibly shaking after the hit that knocked him out of the game. That was his third tackle that will cause him to miss playing time. Hope he can work on his tackling technique in the offseason.
 
He's not learning. I'm not sure he can at this point. GGG was public about it from the drop and he's still trying to hit.

I'm moving CB up in my draft needs. I hate it because I think Ward is elite in coverage but he's not going to be on the field much so it doesn't matter.
 
I'm thinking he can Grey. Bruce Smith talked about how it took him 2-3 years to learn how to play and not get injured. There are lots of examples of this. Ward is a very good wrap-spin-&-tackle guy, so he can build on that.

Learning how to not tackle big TE's up high is CB-ing 101. Yes, he should have learned this, but he's young, and need to prioritize technique & sense over youthful adrenaline of the moment.

However, the situation isn't concern-less, and a BPA CB would be not a bad idea at all. Totally down for that.


As far as next Sunday goes, Baltimore can't pass anyway, so let's see what Money-Mitch & OU-OhYeah TJ can do in run defense.
 
OconRecon said:
Ward is a very good wrap-spin-&-tackle guy, so he can build on that.
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Is he? I'm sure I'm tainted now but all I seem to remember is him trying to "hit" guys instead of tackling. He is too damn frail to try and hit anybody; literally. Even the slightest of slot receivers... I still want him going low and wrapping. I just never seem to recall seeing him do that.

I hope like hell I'm wrong but I can't believe he's still doing it. Week 16 after missing time due to a neck stinger (stupid hit) and concussion (stupid hit) yet he tries to blow up a 6'6" 260# guy... again.
 
One more thing on concussions, it leans towards a young person's problem for a lot of reasons.

Concussions are one of the few ailments where being young is a disadvantage. Kids and teen athletes take longer to recover. Denzel is 21 and it's known he's always been a late-bloomer, physically.

I suspect he cleared the protocol just in time, but the protocol isn't perfect. This should be considered a recurrence of the same concussion.

And there was info out there about this being his 2nd, and now 3rd, concussion. Not true.

He had a neck injury, then a concussion whereby he came back too soon. So neck, and a concussion with recurrence.

It isn't unconcerning, but it's wayyyyy too premature to say he's done, or he can't improve his technique, or just that the simple process of getting older won't help.

But fair to say it bolsters the "fortify the CB room" thought? I'm all for that.
 
He’s just NFL-learning the hard way.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Gregg Williams said Denzel Ward is better than in his last concussion just three weeks ago, but he said Ward has to tackle lower.</p>— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) <a href="https://twitter.com/jsproinsider/status/1077226593918042112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
With so many other needs starting to be less needy (WR/OL), we can be pretty aggressive adding a quality corner, maybe our best R3 pick to go with Ward, Mitchell, Carrie, and BBC.
 
The hard way is it happening once; not learning; doing it again and never making that mistake going forward. Ward is on his, like, fifth or sixth stupid high hit on a bigger player. I'll lay off, but if this doesn't wake him up to the fact that by NFL standards he's a midget I don't know what will.
 
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