Nicolas earned it, no doubt. Like Ehinger, I think he's going to struggle with basic football strength issues, but there's some talent to work with there.

And yeah, Ford wasn't given a chance to rush because that's just the way it often goes with the strong side. It really makes what Houston's able to do that much more incredible because it isn't as though Houston's just attacking downfield every play. His pass rush productivity is just off the scale.

Expecting that from Ford is nuts. But if you gave him the number of pass rush reps that Hali gets, and in situations where that's really all he has to focus on, I think you'd get past some of that indecision that you see from him.

He really does look rough when asked to do too much.

DJ did you watch DJ White? I was very impressed with him. He had a couple passes defended and threw a WR to the ground.

I think White could see snaps at nickel this year. Really like his feel for the game.

Yeah, he is further along that I thought he'd be.

I figured they'd use him like they used Nelson last year; very sparingly and in more of an 'apprenticeship' role while he gets used to the speed at this level. But he looked like he may force his way onto the field a bit sooner.

It's also important to remember that he was going up against guys that are largely the same level as he is physically (he wasn't going up against any matchups that would be tough for him) and against a vanilla offense. So essentially, he was facing a top shelf college program in terms of ability and style. It's not surprising that he'd play well.

You don't know much about the young DBs until you see offenses expressly gameplanned to confuse and exploit them. So I guess what we saw was worthwhile in that it was a litmus test; can he physically hang at this level. But it didn't really tell us much beyond that.

If they can find an olb that can set the edge, may have to start him in Houston's spot, let hali and ford rotate and just hope for the best.

After watching the first half I'm left wondering where this Steven Nelson that was having such a good camp went?

He was covering arguably the best slot WR in the NFL.

I'm very excited about us putting points up, but our defense looks like BEND not BREAK right now. I prefer dominate.....

Ok?

So we're grading on a curve?

:facepalm:

Would we freak out if Julio Jones or Antonio Brown beat Peters a couple of time in the preseason?

Doug Baldwin is a very difficult matchup for any NB. He's VERY good.

Well, it kind of shows why some werent as high on Nelson in the slot, due to his lack of great physical tools he's probably going to struggle with quick wrs.

Baldwin is good. Best slot WR in the game? Probably not.

Bullshit. Name one better. The guy had 14 TD's and a breakout season last year. He was fantastic.

Not to mention there's no game planning, and it's not like Nelson got destroyed. It was a very difficult matchup for his first real action at the postion. All I'm saying is, give the dude a break.

Sutton was playing off man coverage a lot. Nelson was lined up 10 yards off the ball at certain points so giving up the soft zone in the first 5 yards was bound to happen.

He looked good when Boykin came in and the Seahawks actually took some real shots downfield. Need to see more from him to gauge his progress IMO.

Jesus you guys - that is the whole point.

If Ford can only be pegged to play the weak side because all he can do is rush the passer but nothing else, then he is a waste. Why? Younger, cheaper, players already on the roster are demonstrating they can bring what Ford brings and have arguably shown more versatility and dependability to their game.

Someone argued all Hali does is rush, so why can't Ford? Tamba has way more tools in the box than Ford, has improved his run defense enormously over the years, is arguably the best leader on the team and has a work ethic like no other. This apparently has yet to rub off on Ford.

Can't cut or trade the guy because of dead money, but Dorsey/Reid are under no obligation to play him if his uninspired play continues.

Edelman?

Why do you think they lined him up 10 yards deep when they're playing man coverage?