ESPN: Archuleta: 'I don't like getting lied to'

[Longtimefan]

Originally Posted by djnemo65

Yeah, but with ARE you had a multi-dimensional guy who could impact the offense in several different ways, which was especially important given what Saunders was trying to implement. I'm not saying they didn't overpay, but at least it was clear from the start what they were going to use him for. If you bring in a safety to be a blitz specialist, you are insane. While I concede they clearly they are insane, it still doesn't make any sense to suggest that the brought Arch in for this purpose, because they ended up using him in coverage and benched him when it became clear how bad he was at that. If he was really brought in to be a blitzer, why doesn't he get on the field on blitzing downs? Why doesn't he get on the field at all? Obviously it's because he can't cover, and because his skill set is below what they expected. People make it sound as if Proileau starting in the opener was part of the plan, and I'm sorry, the front office is crazy and stupid but not so crazy and stupid as to pay 10 mil in guaranteed money for a backup safety.

Archuleta was not brought in to be just a third down safety. He was to be an overall part of the defensive rotation with emphasis placed on his ability to blitz the QB, not just on third down. They invisioned using him much like they did Matt Bowen before he got hurt. Bowen was not that great at coverage either, but the way GW uses his secondary people, they are in many instances interchangable depending on the defense and based on down, and distance. His safeties would blitz throughtout the course of the game. If you recall the GW defense of 04, they were a blitz machine, not limited to any particular down. Had not we sustained so many injuries in the secondary so early in the year, maybe we could have gotten more use out of Archuleta because they would have been able to use him the way they had origionally intended too.

If you want to credit the stupidity to anyone in particular, you can lay it at the feet of GW. He's the one who wanted him, and with his knowledge of defense, he also knew he was "not" a cover guy, and he knew it before he came here.