Packers Blog Roundup: Sam Shields Under the Microscope
By Brian Carriveau on Sep 13, 2011 with 18 Comments
With Tramon Williams nursing an injured shoulder and the possibility of Sam Shields playing a larger role in the Packers defense, the second-year cornerback is getting some extra attention.
The impact of Tramon Williams’ injury is laid out by Kevin Seifert, the NFC North blogger at ESPN.com. “The Packers have a pretty good nickel back in Sam Shields who would presumably step into Williams’ role, but that would move up everyone else on their depth chart as well,” writes Seifert. “Either Jarrett Bush and/or Pat Lee would play a prominent role in the Packers’ nickel defense.”
The stock of Sam Shields is falling after a subpar performance in Week 1 against the New Orleans Saints, according to Adam Czech of AllGreenBayPackers.com. “Might teams have finally figured out to stay away from Tramon Williams and pick on Shields instead?” asks Czech. “It wasn’t pretty for Shields on Thursday. Investors will have to determine if Shields is a stock they need to dump, or if he’s just a young player going through growing pains.”
The Packers offense has impressed Dan Arkush of Pro Football Weekly. “So far so good,” writes Arkush. “The delicate balance that (Aaron) Rodgers must maintain as far as using all the options at his disposal — particularly (Greg) Jennings and (Jermichael) Finley — appears intact. The way things are shaping up, it really does seem like there could be a different standout every week, both in the receiving corps and the backfield, where new RB coach Jerry Fontenot appaears determined to give both Ryan Grant and James Starks as much playing time as possible.”
The Packers got essentially an extra bye week following a Thursday night football game says Mike Vandermause of PackersNews.com. “That’s the reward that goes to the defending Super Bowl champion, who gets the privilege of hosting the NFL’s Thursday night kickoff bash, and then basically gets the next five days off,” writes Vandermause.
Predictions for every Packers game this season are made at Ken’s Packer Blog.
Jayme Joers writes about being a female Packers fan at Eat More Cheese.
Aaron Rodgers is the topic of a post at PackersHQ.
The top five plays from the Packers win over the Saints are listed at Bleacher Report.
A photo of Vince Lombardi appears at Packerville, U.S.A.
Brian Carriveau is the editor of the Maple Street Press Packers Annual. To contact Brian, email carriveau@uwalumni.com.
Second-hand news sources are not included in the Blog Roundup unless they also include meaningful commentary.
Filed Under: Packers Blogs • Packers News
Guys, read the predictions on Ken’s Packer blog. very funny.
Oh, come on! That has to be the worst title ever for someone with poor vision like me.
Almost had a hearth attack reading “Sam Shields Undergoes Microscopic…”
LMFAO – yeah, no one figured out that Sam Shields was vulnerable during the 20 game season last year. they only figured it out after the Saints game
WTF? one or two plays where he gets beat and he’s a liability? Oh wait, Tramon got beat too once for a TD too…
Some people are idiots
While its no secret that teams would want to target Shields over Williams, I don’t think its smart to be so dismissive about his struggles last Thursday, esp after a lackluster camp and preseason…
while I certainly respect your opinion because you’re a knowledgeable football fan, i think this article is completely overblown. Its one bad game. EVERY corner gets beat badly at times. The entire secondary was less than stellar at times in the preseason and against NO. Its not just Sam.
To think he was just now exposed, after a 20 game season, is silly. Other teams tested Shields last year, and they paid for it. As another person pointed out, people were worried about Woodson last year – and for no reason. I disagree with you that it had anything to do with formation. I think he just had a couple games where he happened to get beat. it happens. Not everything has an obvious explanation.
I hope every team tries to go after Shields. He’s so damn athletic, he’ll end up with 6 returned INTS for TDS.
Word.
Sheilds is a solid guy he’s up to the challenge , did people forget how well he played in the playoffs , if they go after him they will pay , and he will continue to get better
Not to be a downer to all the homers (takes one to know one) out there but what has he really done other than the two picks against Chi. last year. I often see his man open. He is horrible at tackling. I know we’re all high on him, but Tramon is light years ahead in coverage. For those of you who re-watch every player on every play let me know why I’m wrong. I like his potential, he could end-up being the best of the group, but I don’t think he’s arrived yet.
I’ve only rewatched the first half of the Packers-Saints game but Sam Shields looked great before Tramon went down. He was in perfect position to make 2 interceptions and simply was unable to catch the ball. On both plays, Sam turned his head around early, locating the ball in the air while staying within 1 step of his receiver. To me, this is exactly what you want to see in your 2nd year cornerbacks. Obviously he struggled in the second half after the loss of Tramon but the same can be said of the defense as a whole.
When Tramon gave up the Saints’ first touchdown on 2nd and 2, he had no help over the top. Collins was playing at the line of scrimmage and ended up doing nothing other than running from side to side looking for a man to cover. Ultimately, Williams was unable to stay step for step with his man deep, even though he was looking at the ball seconds before the receiver caught it. Afterward he came back strong with a near pick and another beautiful pass defended.
Overall I’m not worried about the secondary just yet. We were facing a great QB without our #2 corner. Go Pack Go!
Thanks for the info Brian.
What games were you watching?
I rewatch every game of the season, play by play, dozens of times.
His man is not “often open”. Of course it might appear that way sometimes in zone coverage, when the CB releases a WR to the safety level. Since Shields essentially plays in the #2 CB position most of the time, he will pass off receivers to safeties often. It’s just how the zone blitz scheme works.
He is not a horrible tackler, but he can get a lot better at tackling. He’s only been a CB for 2 years. Including college.
He played almost lights out last year. He was never called for a penalty. He was rarely, if ever, beat. The few times he was, it was generally because he was playing the ball.
He only had a few interceptions because his man was rarely ever open. He indeed had a less than stellar game against the Saints. But to call him a liability is simply ignorance. He basically plays the #2 CB position as it is. It won’t be much of a move for him. What really changes is dropping Woodson out of the slot and putting Jarrett Bush in there instead. Yeah that’s gonna work real well.
Drew Brees has a way of making a LOT of corners look bad. That’s why he’s Drew Brees. Furthermore, I don’t think Shields was nearly as bad on Thursday as others seem to think. It’s like last year when some people were wondering what was wrong with Charles Woodson. The answer, we learned, was nothing.
“The answer, we learned, was nothing.”
While Woodson’s play did improve, much of that has to do with the fact that Capers started using his 2-4-5 formation so much, where Woodson is allowed to kick inside and rush the passer. He still has the same issues in coverage, Capers is just able to hide them a bit more.
This is true. Although watching him against the Saints, he played pretty tight coverage. But magically his ball skills seemed to fade. That was the strangest thing in the world to see.
Word of advice for Sam- either play off coverage or ask Charles Woodson how to play press. The Devery Henderson touchdown was an exact copy of the Mike Wallace one in the Super Bowl
You mean ask Woodson how he played Colston in 2008?
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-.....highlights
Jeeze, that video needs to be deleted! I forgot how awful the defense could be under Bob Sanders.