Ha. Not even close to an expert. But, do love the position and everything it requires. Especially in modern football.
In Diaz's system, there's been considerable overlap of Safety responsibilities - rolling the Safeties, 2-Read coverages, etc.
A guy like Jamal Carter likely makes sense to most as a traditional in-the-box SS, but played some deep Centerfield here his senior year when we'd blitz heavily on the front and required minimal steps. Jaquan wasn't considered a traditional big range Safety, but played in robber coverages here to take advantage of his instincts (hey, UVA pick-6). Redwine was placed side by side with Jaquan in quarters coverages and 2-Read coverages (where Safeties have a **** ton of responsibility given our fronts). Both were forced to play inside WRs, too.
In other words, while it applies to some coverages, don't get too caught up in traditional notions of FS and SS with our current personnel and depth chart. We need guys who have good feet, cover ground (angles), tackle well in space and, ideally, can match up with an inside WR who'll release upfield (Redwine made a tremendous leap in this from Jr to Sr year). It also helps if you have a knack for blitzing (like Carter), as we've had a number of different DB blitz packages.
To me, the key is Hall. We need at least one guy to step way up. The rest have different skill sets that can fit into different situations and coverages. Derrick Smith is someone I was excited about going into last season and ended up with egg on my face when Finley kept him off the field. He changes direction well and I think he can do some of the things Redwine showed. Excited as heck to watch Bolden, too.
