Have We Seen The Last of Archuleta in a Skins Uniform?

[freddyg12]

It's all relative, it would be crazy to think that AA will suddenly become a guy we can match up on even a #4 wr.
But can he match up w/a TE or play decent zone coverage in the flats? I think there's a chance of that. He consistently got beat by TEs (Witten), but if there was really a problem w/the coaching in the secondary, compounded by him losing his confidence, then it's quite possible that he could rebound to be a decent 2nd team safety at least.

He did suck in 06, no doubt, but as someone else here said, the whole D did. ST & CR both had tough years, CR seemed to take a step back from his rookie year. There were definitely system problems & AA looked the worst. Not to mention, AC hardly showed up till the 2nd half of the year.

I would judge his value based on medical history more so than last year's performance. If he really can't get back to form because of his neck or back injuries (don't know the history there), then it might be best to cut our losses. Also, if he's unhappy & will be bad for team morale.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by freddyg12

It's all relative, it would be crazy to think that AA will suddenly become a guy we can match up on even a #4 wr.
But can he match up w/a TE or play decent zone coverage in the flats? I think there's a chance of that. He consistently got beat by TEs (Witten), but if there was really a problem w/the coaching in the secondary, compounded by him losing his confidence, then it's quite possible that he could rebound to be a decent 2nd team safety at least.

He did suck in 06, no doubt, but as someone else here said, the whole D did. ST & CR both had tough years, CR seemed to take a step back from his rookie year. There were definitely system problems & AA looked the worst. Not to mention, AC hardly showed up till the 2nd half of the year.

I would judge his value based on medical history more so than last year's performance. If he really can't get back to form because of his neck or back injuries (don't know the history there), then it might be best to cut our losses. Also, if he's unhappy & will be bad for team morale.

You're dreaming. He got burned by Witten so badly with the game on the line that he flat out got laughed at by Witten. Lucky for Archuleta, Troy Vincent and Nick Novak saved the friggin day.

He's worthless, he'll never play well for us.

[EARTHQUAKE2689]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

You're dreaming. He got burned by Witten so badly with the game on the line that he flat out got laughed at by Witten. Lucky for Archuleta, Troy Vincent and Nick Novak saved the friggin day.

He's worthless, he'll never play well for us.

that is so true but he could play well if the d line got more pressure but he will never be a good cover guy cause he is too slow

[offiss]

AA want's out just as bad as we want him out, that is why they have an agreement to extend his bonus, I would be fairly sure that he is willing to kick back money if it lands him with the right team, he knows he's going to get a big check regardless, I just think he was so humilited last season that he has something to prove and knows he can't do it in Williams system, he knows his strengths and weakness's and wasen't used to his strength and from what I can remember he flat out called us liers about the condition of how he would be used when he signed. I think something will get done I just don't think he will bring back anything but some cap relief.

[big_rod]

Originally Posted by offiss

AA want's out just as bad as we want him out, that is why they have an agreement to extend his bonus, I would be fairly sure that he is willing to kick back money if it lands him with the right team, he knows he's going to get a big check regardless, I just think he was so humilited last season that he has something to prove and knows he can't do it in Williams system, he knows his strengths and weakness's and wasen't used to his strength and from what I can remember he flat out called us liers about the condition of how he would be used when he signed. I think something will get done I just don't think he will bring back anything but some cap relief.

Offiss, you make so much sense. A large part of this thread has been spent around the notion that Archuleta sucked, which he did, as did the WHOLE DEFENSE! However, I think the defensive coaches (starting with G. Williams) needs to be held accountable, too.

I remember reading that some scouts around the league were surprised we even picked up Archuleta (and then puzzled at the way we utilized him). As Offiss pointed out, Archuleta seemed to have been lied to in how he was or would be used. It was very clear around the league that Archuleta is a great safety when used in "run support" and NOT in "pass" defense.

One thing I've always taken and remembered from John Madden that he said back in the late 80s (or perhaps 90s) was that (paraphrasing) "...a good coach always finds a way to utilize the talent that he has". A new coach, for example, can't come to his new team and institute a run and shoot offense when the personnel on the team are more structured around a smash mouth running style of team. He just doesn't have the wide receiver talent and conditioning to go pass, pass, pass. So, I say all this to say that I think Gregg Williams either misjudged Archuleta's talents in the pass defense or Williams simply forced something that just wasn't going to work. So again, I think accountability needs to be looked at by the defensive coaches as well.

Also, those (alleged) reports from The Washington Post about Steve Jackson moping on the sidelines during games because the secondary (safeties) was struggling, and then him and Jerry Gray having different meetings and philosophies with regard to defensive secondary strategies going on didn't help the matter either with the players on the field during game days.

This also points to the fact that Gregg Williams publicly said that (paraphrasing) "... NOW that Jerry Gray is here (since secondary coach Dwayne Smith moved on), we can employ even more packages because Jerry knows what I expect since we worked together back in Buffalo".

Those statements by Williams would suggest that he is very comfortable with Jerry Gray, and IF Steve Jackson is not getting the job done then perhaps Jerry Gray should be running the whole show in regard to the secondary; in an event like that, there would only be one consistent voice back there with no conflicting stuff being said to the players.

Some fans including myself were surprised that Steve Jackson wasn't also dismissed (again, based upon The Washington Post article)when Kirk Olivadotti was let go. Though I am under no illusion that it was Olivadotti's fault that the defense didn't play well, it was collectively all the defensive players and coaches that failed last season.

Anyway, that's my 200-cents!

ROD

[freddyg12]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

You're dreaming. He got burned by Witten so badly with the game on the line that he flat out got laughed at by Witten. Lucky for Archuleta, Troy Vincent and Nick Novak saved the friggin day.

He's worthless, he'll never play well for us.

I noted that he got burned by Witten & other TEs regularly last year. He's never been a man to man cover guy, but he's had good years w/the Rams.
My point is, Could it be that having 1 coach tell you to be aggressive in the run game & another tell you that you need to play deeper for coverage had an adverse impact on his coverage? I'd say it did, as was the case w/ST.

As I said, he'll never be a guy we want 1 on 1 w/wr's, but his coverage ability MAY not be as bad as it was last year either.

Finally, I concluded the post saying that it may be a health issue, that while he's healthy enough to play he may never regain his early career form. Anyone that thinks he slow is justified, but the dude did have blazing speed at one time. He does look like he has a hard time turning around in full sprint, almost like he has to turn his back completely around to see the ball.

If that's the case & he's damaged goods, we should definitely move on. Overall, I'd agree that he's not likely to contribute here, but maybe we saw the worst & he'll improve. If not for the bad season that several in our secondary had, I wouldn't say that.

My guess is that the front office is seeing if there's anything they can get for him or any compromise out there, but ultimately we'll be stuck w/him, and might as well try to use him.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

You're dreaming. He got burned by Witten so badly with the game on the line that he flat out got laughed at by Witten. Lucky for Archuleta, Troy Vincent and Nick Novak saved the friggin day.

He's worthless, he'll never play well for us.

I don't think an average starting caliber safety has the ability to cover the athletic TE in man to man coverage. Lord knows Sean Taylor doesn't.

The reason Archuleta sucked last year was because he was brought in to be a defensive enforcer and he couldn't make a damn tackle. Obviously the dude didn't forget everything he knew about tackling that offseason, so it was very clearly a physical ailment that kept him from doing his job. It's won't be hard for our coaching staff to find out in camp if this ailment is going to create similar problems this year.

I say we don't risk cutting a guy who very plausibly could have been healed by the lack of PT he got down the stretch of the season so he can go somewhere else and be the player he was in STL. We have guys like Lloyd and Patten on the roster who aren't going to improve at all,we should get their salaries off the books while we have a chance.

[Pocket$ $traight]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

I don't think an average starting caliber safety has the ability to cover the athletic TE in man to man coverage. Lord knows Sean Taylor doesn't.

The reason Archuleta sucked last year was because he was brought in to be a defensive enforcer and he couldn't make a damn tackle. Obviously the dude didn't forget everything he knew about tackling that offseason, so it was very clearly a physical ailment that kept him from doing his job. It's won't be hard for our coaching staff to find out in camp if this ailment is going to create similar problems this year.

I say we don't risk cutting a guy who very plausibly could have been healed by the lack of PT he got down the stretch of the season so he can go somewhere else and be the player he was in STL. We have guys like Lloyd and Patten on the roster who aren't going to improve at all,we should get their salaries off the books while we have a chance.

I don't recall too many tight ends making Taylor look bad. I think people are putting too much stock into last year regarding Taylor. Personally, I think he could play corner if he wanted to.