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The "Myth" in your concept is that Berry should be a ball hawking free safety.
He isn't and doesn't look like he can.
At the college level, under Kiffin, his athleticism, which borders on elite, as well as Kiffin giving him the ability to wander in the defensive backfield gave him the ability to put up numbers like he did in college.
But, in two years of playing time at the NFL level, he hasn't shown the ability to be able to effectively cover guys in passing situations. And it's not just Antonio Gates in his rookie season. Teams constantly send tight ends his way when he gets caught in man coverage around the box and he doesn't seem to be able to effectively keep himself between the receiver and ball, falling behind the route runner routinely.
His athleticism is somewhat nullified at this level where most guys possess high levels of athleticism and speed, but he does show a willingness to come through traffic and find the ball carrier.
I think he's a very good strong, in-the-box safety, but simply hasn't shown the instincts to be effective in a free safety/centerfielder role.
As well, I don't think that there is any mythical numerical level of passes where A. Smith is going to fall apart and collapse under the pressure. Five more passes a game. Big whoopee doo. All he needs to do in this offense is do what he did the past two seasons at SF - high percentage, ball/time control passes/completions getting the ball into our playmakers hands. You want Jamaal and Dwayne and Dexter and such making the most out of their abilities. You want the offense to maintain a decent time of possession. You want that absolutely sick linebacking corps fresh to be able to make the big plays late into the fourth quarter. And I think that's exactly what you are going to see.
Smith fits this offense quite well and I'm not going to sit here and freak out about worry about if the guy can make an extra five passes a game over the course of an entire year.
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