What about Julian Battle at FS?

[JimNasium]

He was a safety in college. I've got significant discomfort with Greg Wesley and would love to see someone else get a shot although I'm unsure if Battle has fully recovered from his injury.

[RealSNR]

You know how Vermeil is, but remember last offseason when "The stars of mini camp were Kawika and Battle." and he prattled on and on about how his guys have improved so much. If he recovers from his injury, I could see a spot for Battle on the roster very easily.

[ck_IN]

You may be right htismaqe and that may be their intention but I think it would be a mistake. I remember looking at his numbers when Maxey was drafted and thinking 'Wow that's slow for a CB but it'd be about right for a safety'.

He apears to have coverage skills so using those and hiding his speed at FS would make the most sense.

[ck_IN]

SNR, I never put ANY stock in ANYTHING that DV said. If he told me it was raining I'd stick my hand out a window to verify.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by ck_IN

You may be right htismaqe and that may be their intention but I think it would be a mistake. I remember looking at his numbers when Maxey was drafted and thinking 'Wow that's slow for a CB but it'd be about right for a safety'.

He apears to have coverage skills so using those and hiding his speed at FS would make the most sense.

I agree with you.

But I do think Herm knows DB's, so I'll defer to his judgement...

[shaneo69]

Battle has been a 3 year bust. We need to stop waiting for potential to become production and just cut our losses with these guys.

I go back to Whitlock's article about him last offseason when he talked to Battle about challenging for a starting spot and Battle was more interested in taking "baby steps".

The defensive attitude around here is changing. The nice guys who were able to keep their roster spot under Vermiel, and the guys who Gunther stuck with simply because of their potential, should now be told to hit the road. Produce or .

[ct]

Originally Posted by jspchief

No question he struggled with PI, but from what I remember, he was always tight on his man and the contact wasn't really necessary. I always felt like it was a confidence thing, like he didn't trust that he had the guy covered even when he did.

Every time I've seen him this is what I see. He can cover, he would be stride for stride and for no reason just grab the guy and get flagged. He reportedly was looking good last off-season, then lost the whole year with a mis-step achilles injury. Stuff happens. I'm lookin forward to the competition in the secondary for sure!!