Omar Bolden

[ForgettingBrandonMarshall]

I know this is probably not the most exciting thread, but how do you feel about Omar Bolden? I bring this up because he got a lot of playing time against the Cowboys due to injury. I saw one hustle play that he made where he tackled a WR downfield at like the 4 yard line (and then DRC made Cole Beasley look like Wes Welker on a TD play).

Other than that, he still looks like a rookie out there. I know that he is still young and does not get a lot of reps, but I've been generally discouraged what I've seen so far. If Jammer is healthy, is there a reason we suit up Bolden over him? Any Bolden supporters still out there?

[Rex]

Special Teams

[Dzone]

Hopefully Bolden will live up to his potential.
Jammer must not be any good anymore . They put Kayvon in instead.

[Ravage!!!]

Yeah.. I think Jammer is done. I thought he was cut.

[ForgettingBrandonMarshall]

One of the reasons I asked is that I feel we could have used a veteran such as Jammer over the young Bolden when our defense was decimated last game. IIRC, we moved Bolden to safety to give him a roster spot, but Jammer was still around just inactive for the game. Rex brings up a good point about special teams, as he does lead block for Holliday on KR (and maybe he blocks the gunner on PRs?). His progression just appears stagnant IMO.

[underrated29]

I know we had him as a second round talent but I have never seen it. Ive never really liked him and I like him even less as a Saftey

[G_Money]

Eh. I remember Tyrone Braxton not playing much at all his first year, then getting lots of time after that. This is basically Bolden's first year. Last year was spent recovering from the knee issue. We drafted him partly like Bruton was drafted, for special teams acumen, with the hope that with recovery he could also challenge for a nickel spot with the team.

He hasn't done that yet, and Webster has absolutely surpassed him on the depth chart. Bolden hasn't recovered all of his burst, and he never played nickel in college (being more of a press-man guy IIRC) so he's learning multiple different positions, which is a good way to look uncomfortable and confused. He's simply not better than Champ, DRC or Harris. Or apparently Webster, so he can't play where he's comfortable. I like him, but as a mid-round guy he's a depth pick and he's providing that as a hybrid db and special teams guy, and it's his job to get better at the things he's qualified to do.

Bruton is good enough at special teams that he doesn't actually have to be able to step out on defense and pull his own weight. Bolden's gonna have to be able to do both. I agree with you, his learning curve looks a little stagnant, but going from outside corner to inside, and then to safety over the course of 12 months while recovering from ACL surgery is a lot for anybody.

He's got a little time to prove he can learn.

~G

[ForgettingBrandonMarshall]

Eh. I remember Tyrone Braxton not playing much at all his first year, then getting lots of time after that. This is basically Bolden's first year. Last year was spent recovering from the knee issue. We drafted him partly like Bruton was drafted, for special teams acumen, with the hope that with recovery he could also challenge for a nickel spot with the team.

He hasn't done that yet, and Webster has absolutely surpassed him on the depth chart. Bolden hasn't recovered all of his burst, and he never played nickel in college (being more of a press-man guy IIRC) so he's learning multiple different positions, which is a good way to look uncomfortable and confused. He's simply not better than Champ, DRC or Harris. Or apparently Webster, so he can't play where he's comfortable. I like him, but as a mid-round guy he's a depth pick and he's providing that as a hybrid db and special teams guy, and it's his job to get better at the things he's qualified to do.

Bruton is good enough at special teams that he doesn't actually have to be able to step out on defense and pull his own weight. Bolden's gonna have to be able to do both. I agree with you, his learning curve looks a little stagnant, but going from outside corner to inside, and then to safety over the course of 12 months while recovering from ACL surgery is a lot for anybody.

He's got a little time to prove he can learn.

~G

Well said. I forgot that he was coming off ACL surgery coming out of college. I'm also not an expert on switching positions in the NFL, but from what I've read, switching from CB to S is hard for anybody. I also liked his attitude coming into this season about how he was going to take someone's spot. Well, he's got a long way to go still.

I'll admit I was throwing my arms in the air on the Kayvon pick this year, but he's done some good things. His play has been encouraging through the first 5 games of his career and he seems to be improving every week. Honestly, he looked pretty good covering Dez last game for the most part and that is hard to say when our D got torched for 48 points. Call it a silver lining. I just hope Omar is looking over at him and follows suit. He's still young though, so maybe this discussion is a little too early.

[Skinny]

Hopefully we can jump out to a huge lead against Jax and Bolden is able to get more reps. The more in game experiance he gets the better chance he'll have in improving in areas he needs too.

[Al Wilson 4 Mayor]

Hopefully we can jump out to a huge lead against Jax and Bolden is able to get more reps. The more in game experiance he gets the better chance he'll have in improving in areas he needs too.

His place might be on special teams. He's made plays there, but has yet to on defense. He's being outplayed by a rookie right now.

[Skinny]

His place might be on special teams. He's made plays there, but has yet to on defense. He's being outplayed by a rookie right now.

True. But remember when Woody was our ST ace for a number years before he got chance to get on the field due to DJs suspension. He blossomed and hasn't looked back. Irving last year was a ace on ST and now he's seeing more and more playing time on defense. Hopefully with more reps the same will happen with Bolden.

That's why i'm hoping we're extremely successful against the Jags that will help Bolden get more chances/reps to get some more experiance. And i hope it's not because of injuries like last week against Dallas. He was thrown into a fire during a game that Romo was playing his butt off. Our entire secondary struggled and got lit up that game. He's a very solid STer, but i think it's way too early to think that that's all he'll ever be good for.

[Al Wilson 4 Mayor]

True. But remember when Woody was our ST ace for a number years before he got chance to get on the field due to DJs suspension. He blossomed and hasn't looked back. Irving last year was a ace on ST and now he's seeing more and more playing time on defense. Hopefully with more reps the same will happen with Bolden.

That's why i'm hoping we're extremely successful against the Jags that will help Bolden get more chances/reps to get some more experiance. And i hope it's not because of injuries like last week against Dallas. He was thrown into a fire during a game that Romo was playing his butt off. Our entire secondary struggled and got lit up that game. He's a very solid STer, but i think it's way too early to think that that's all he'll ever be good for.

Well, Woody, and even Irvin to some degree showed flashes of athleticism on special teams. Woody is faster than most corners, and Irvin is a muscle bound specimin. Bolden looks small to me with average speed.

[Joel]

Bolden and Bruton are both there for special teams, and have more than earned their spots there. I had high hopes for Jammer, but we brought him in to play safety (we're MUCH better and deeper at CB than at safety) and all camp reports were that he was lost there, so I'm not sure what kind of spot that leaves him. If Adams were younger I'd feel good about him, Ihenacho and Moore (in fact, I'd start Adams ahead of Moore) but he's not and that's that.

Our safety talent AS safeties drops fast after them, but it's (relatively) young, and until/unless someone better's available we go to war with the army we have, not the army we wish we had. Hope it's enough, because if there IS a blueprint for beating us it requires going deep a lot to keep pace with our offense. If our firewall goes, we get a game like last Sunday—if OUR offense can keep pace. Eventually they'll have an off day due to injuries or something else; if it happens in the playoffs we get a game like last January.