re: Am I the only one who thinks Eddie Jackson is not a safety?

I hear what you are saying but I think that Vinnie is the exception. Kid was always in the right spot even though he wasn't playing FS.

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. Furthermore, I'd rather have a guy that could be more of a hybrid between a safety and corner

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That's exactly what Geno is and he was a liability last year in nickel.

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I remember Jarrick Williams getting torched.

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It's the last thing I remember from that game. First time I ever got more drunk on New Year's Day than on New Year's Eve.

I think EJ's move is beneficial for him and the team. As I said early in the 2014 season, EJ's physical ability is more suited for safety, especially after watching him get beat in numerous foot races. He has long limbs and decent leaping ability, which will work wonders if he is placed at FS. Additionally, his knowledge of the playbook can, in a perfect world, allow Hootie to line up at SS and play "free" underneath on the flats and curls.

Sidenote: I know this might be a vanity statement, but I'll feel more comfortable with EJ once he sheds the bulky knee brace and sports a compression sleeve or no support apparatus period. I've played college ball and noticed a huge difference in agility from my skilled position teammates who wore the knee brace after injury. Might not mean nothing at all, but just my two cents.

First: EJ does not have elite speed or CB speed, Bradley is much faster than him and a better corner. His first showing was against a guy who may be a 1st round draft pick in White. I don't hold that against Bradley.

Second: EJ may be a nice fit for safety where that speed isn't the end all, Eddie had that killer instinct to hit which Bradley lacks.

Third: We had a huge problem at coaching on the defense. I think some of that is sorted out now. We shall see. Worst or almost worst case scenario, put the most athletic guys on the field and dumb the defense.

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If you think about it, almost every DB who had a role except Cyrus seemed like a liability in coverage at times: Sylve, EJ, TB, LC, Geno, Jarrick, Perry, Washington.

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Sadly, I have to agree...I actually thought Sylve might've been our second best cover guy last year, but think he lost confidence after White torched him. Sad thing was, Sylve seemed to have decent coverage on White most of that game, it's just that either he couldn't find the ball or White was able to go up and over him and get the ball. Think one of the key turning points on D in the Iron Bowl was when Sylve took over for EJ...

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Leads me to believe the key might not be personnel as much as coaching.

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Don't know if I fully agree, but I see your point. Looks like our coaches teach the CBs to play the ball and not the WR, and our CBs, other than CJ, aren't as physical and have trouble knowing when to look back for the ball...hopefully Tucker will make a difference...

I think the larger problem is that the good spread offenses have figured out our scheme and know how to attack it. Many times this past year, our D has looked confused against some formations (like when Ole Miss kept lining up in trips on one side). Makes me long for the days when McClain was roaming the middle; he was like having another coach on the field as he made all the calls on D. I recall several games when spread teams would line up, look at our D's alignment, and then look to the sideline for the play...then Ro would instantly walk up to the line and switch the defensive formation...I don't think we've really had a single player who's fully grasped Saban's D, especially in making calls & changes, since Ro left...

Football is about a lot more than being the fastest and most athletic player. You don't dumb down a defense just to put a guy with a great 40 time on the field. Do yall just want to have all the dbs sprint across the field and the first five finishers get to start?

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And therein lies the problem.

If a younger DB can't learn the defense, its probably too complicated.

Those complicated schemes are always a liability against the quick strike spreads, HUNH, etc.

Time to adjust.

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Exactly. When 5-star corners walk onto the field as freshmen and dominate at places like FSU and UF, but they take 2-3 years to learn the defense at Bama, something is wrong. I'm all for a complex NFL defense if we have time to develop young DBs...but when we need them to come in and play we need to adjust things and let their talent take over as we have seen young DBs do many times at other schools. Against the HUNH teams the more complex our scheme is the less effective it is anyway as there isn't time for alot of adjustments, stunts, disguises, etc. Just line our best cover guys on their best WR's and tell them not to let their guy catch the ball if need be.

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like who? VHIII? He is an anomaly.

We've had true freshmen dominate at other positions. Some true freshmen are just badass right out of the gates, but most of them aren't, 5 star or not.

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VHIII is one example, yes. FSU signed a guy a few years ago out of GA that we almost got, and he was BA right out of the gate too. LSU plays freshmen in the secondary fairly often as well over older, less talented guys. It can be done...but the system can't take two years to learn.

Yep, that's him. He was incredible. And between Brown, Hump, Fitz and Sheffield that's FOUR 5-star corners we have signed in two years. You can't tell me that not one of those guys is ready to come in and play grown man ball if the system is simple enough. I just don't buy that. In Saban's 8 seasons we have really only had one freshman DB come in and start early, and he was beaten like a red headed step child that year mostly because he didn't know what he was supposed to be doing (Dee Milliner.) Our scheme on the back end needs to be simplified, plain and simple...and I won't be convinced otherwise.