Quote:
Originally Posted by Pestilence
Yet Abdullah is better than Berry?
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Athletically, there's no question that Berry is in a class or two above him and has the physical potential to make more big plays than Abdullah has made.
However, when you just look at their performance on the field, they aren't that far apart and certainly not $7+ million a year apart, and I think that's the main argument to be made. Abdullah makes up for his lack of elite athleticism with his technical discipline, football intelligence, and instincts in coverage and run support.
Let's put it this way.
If both were to get close to the same contract, no question that I would take Eric Berry over Abdullah. I prefer highly athletic safeties simply because they have more range and have a better chance to recover if they take a misstep or get fooled a bit by misdirection.
But if we're paying them like we are now, Abdullah at roughly $1.1 mil a year and Berry at roughly $8.4 mil a year, the product on the field from Berry just isn't worth $7+ mil more than what Abdullah brings to the table. I'd rather take that money and put it in a starting caliber CB, impact DE, etc.
That's what it really boils down to for me. Others may think differently.