This kid might be on the field a lot more on Sunday.
Bryan Cook had one of his best games this past week in the Divisional Round.
Starting to look a lot more comfortable playing deep zones late in the year. Good job IDing a lack of MoF presence and getting over the top on the outside vertical. pic.twitter.com/3pxuBaDwgr
Could be a nice twist in the upcoming matchup with Cin to get Cook on the field as a third S even on neutral downs.
His ability to fit the run from deep can bridge the gap for the lighter personnel in the box while still maintaining better "coverage" on the back end. pic.twitter.com/nUXihVvRll
Love how the IQ shows up in a variety of ways. Rarely late on rotations and quick to see route distribution in zone and then little things like this in man coverage.
Gonna need one of these rookies (along with Trent who I already count as a stud) to have a Sauce Gardner, fuck you NFL type game. Might as well by Cook. [Reply]
What I didn't realize in real time on the Chase play was just how badly he'd gotten beaten. And while that sounds like a criticism, it really isn't.
I thought he'd just vapor locked and didn't get his head around. And man, that just seems like such a difficult problem to fix. I cannot think of many guys who started poor at locating the ball who, after some time in the league, fixed the glitch. They are just always a little susceptible to those bad plays at bad times because they don't locate the ball.
That wasn't exactly what happened to Cook on that ball. He got caught biting on in route and got left 2 strides behind possibly the most dynamic WR in the league. At that point it does look more like a rookie biting on a route and getting straight beat than it does a player who lacks awareness when the ball is in the air.
In a strange way, that's a better sign for long-term development to me. And when you see the throw to Higgins you really do see a guy who did a nice job recognizing when the ball was coming on a play where he had tight enough coverage to actually make a play on the ball, unlike the Chase throw.
It's faint praise, to be sure - but I'm actually a little heartened by how Cook got beat there. Suddenly that play, combined with the DPI that was again more of a mental error by a guy who simply didn't time his attempted PBU correctly, show a picture that looks more like a young kid being young than a kid with some fundamental flaws that may be really tough to train out of him. [Reply]
And in fairness to Cook on the Chase play - shit that's a good call. I mean really, what choice did Cook have? He almost has to come downhill on that play. If he doesn't and it ISN'T a double move, he's just left Chase wide the hell open on an easy pitch and catch over the middle for a critical 1st down.
Cook was in no-man's land. That's the kind of shit Reid used to do with Hill all the time; just put so much pressure on the safety that no matter what decision he makes, it's probably the wrong one.
As much as that seemed like a really bad play by Cook at the time, the more I look at it the more I see a great play design and a great call at a key spot combined with a premier talent making an outstanding play on the ball. Suddenly it seems to fall into 'tip your cap' territory. The play wasn't as easy for him to make as I thought it was. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
And in fairness to Cook on the Chase play - shit that's a good call. I mean really, what choice did Cook have? He almost has to come downhill on that play. If he doesn't and it ISN'T a double move, he's just left Chase wide the hell open on an easy pitch and catch over the middle for a critical 1st down.
Cook was in no-man's land. That's the kind of shit Reid used to do with Hill all the time; just put so much pressure on the safety that no matter what decision he makes, it's probably the wrong one.
As much as that seemed like a really bad play by Cook at the time, the more I look at it the more I see a great play design and a great call at a key spot combined with a premier talent making an outstanding play on the ball. Suddenly it seems to fall into 'tip your cap' territory. The play wasn't as easy for him to make as I thought it was.
Interesting on the second play that Burrow doesn't sell the slant at all. I bet Mahomes would have done better. [Reply]