Gregg Williams doesn't know how to use Jabrill Peppers.

Submitted by NotADuck on

Just watching this game, and noticing how little Jabrill is involved in it.  He is lined up as a true free safety.  The perfect position for him is at nickel corner or some sort of hybrid space player as he was used in college.  That way he could be closer to the line of scrimmage and play the run more often.  When he was at Michigan it felt like he was involved in almost every play.  For Cleveland, he is just a bystander...

It's possible that Cleveland doesn't have the right personnel to compliment him so Williams has to use him in a way that doesn't take advantage of his skillset but still, to line him up as a free safety?  It's a waste of his abilities.

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micheal honcho

November 12th, 2017 at 7:37 PM ^

Did you just equate a heisman trophy winning, NC winning, Super Bowl winning, first ballot H.O.F er with his name in the all time NFL record book to Peppers? I mean seriously that is some delusional shit right there. Peppers was perhaps THE most overrated, overhyped player in M history. I say that while respecting and appreciating how he was able to tip the field vs. spread offenses but come on? How many int's in his career? How many TFL's? Hudson will top him with a few more starts in BOTH categories. He wasn't even the best player in the back of that D. Jordan Lewis was.

Joined: 10/27/2010

MGoPoints: 2768

amedema

November 12th, 2017 at 4:21 PM ^

That sort of position doesn't really exist in the NFL. There are a couple teams that use someone similar, but those players are all better than Peppers right now. He was always destined to be a safety in the NFL. He's just not fluid enough in coverage to play as a corner.

Joined: 01/07/2016

MGoPoints: 2010

FranklinHatchett

November 12th, 2017 at 4:27 PM ^

Cleveland is the mistake by the lake and I feel bad for j peppers. I think he should be on offense only.

Joined: 11/11/2017

MGoPoints: 1985

Brian Griese

November 12th, 2017 at 4:29 PM ^

but disagree on the solution. I think nickel corner would be worse for him in the NFL. Could you have pictured him today trying to guard Tate in the slot? Browns need to use him as in the box safety, not a deep free.

Joined: 10/25/2014

MGoPoints: 30232

treetown

November 12th, 2017 at 4:42 PM ^

He is the ideal edge player - strong enough to stay on the field against power running, fast enough to rush the passer and quick enough to stay with a fast RB/H back coming out of the backfield.

Using him like a traditional deep safety is to help double up on a WR is to lose a lot of his effectiveness. But like Denard Robinson, there is an inherent reluctance in the NFL to do something that everyone else isn't already doing.

Joined: 11/10/2010

MGoPoints: 6339

NowTameInThe603

November 12th, 2017 at 5:45 PM ^

I swear it’s like some of you just burn certain things from your memory. Peppers was crushed by OSU power run game. They ATTACKED him. That was all any good nfl exec needed to see to know he was not a LB option in the NFL.

Joined: 12/10/2014

MGoPoints: 5751

buddha

November 12th, 2017 at 6:30 PM ^

Can't tell if serious. There is so much wrong with this idea, and it's filled with too many "hot takes" to consider. I love JP and will always appreciate his tenure at UM. However, he's now in a league where he can't out-athlete his competition. Unfortunately, he never had a natural position at UM that translated well to the pros. He's not in a role that an NFL DC is going to scheme around. He's not Watt, Vonn, or others that can be a defensive stalwart for the team. I fully expect to get begged for this opinion, but I am afraid Jabrill's talents translate best to special teams in the NFL.

Joined: 10/08/2009

MGoPoints: 5034

PinballPete

November 12th, 2017 at 4:58 PM ^

From a developmental standpoint putting him deep and letting him be the safety valve may be the best way to get him on the field. His coordinator has a history of putting his safeties in the pro bowl and he obviously doesn’t yet have the experience at the position. It probably should take him a season or two in order to get where he needs to be

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 1105

Doc Mango Gibbs

November 12th, 2017 at 5:11 PM ^

I disagree.  Peppers would be a major liabiliy in run support, and he sure as hell can't play nickel corner against NFL receivers.  I think he's being deployed appropriately.  He just needs to improve.

Joined: 10/23/2017

MGoPoints: 2775

buddha

November 12th, 2017 at 6:36 PM ^

Dude...the NCAA is not the NFL. Jabrill was a freakish college athlete, but now he's in a league where nearly everyone around him is also a freakish athlete. Tons of college guys "out athlete" their opponents only to crash and burn in the league because they're no longer faster, stronger, etc. im not saying JP is a bust in the pros, but he needs to get some skills fast to have a career in the NFL.

Joined: 10/08/2009

MGoPoints: 5034

Perkis-Size Me

November 12th, 2017 at 5:40 PM ^

Well Cleveland doesn’t know how to run a football team in general. Sadly I had a feeling Jabrill’s career, or at least the first 3-4 years of it, were doomed the minute he got drafted by Cleveland.

Next thing you know, they’ll be lining Kiser up as a DT.

Joined: 11/30/2011

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NowTameInThe603

November 12th, 2017 at 5:42 PM ^

I love Jabrill but it’s not shocking that he can’t find a useful spot on the defensive side of an NFL field. We saw his coverage skills and he is too small to play close to the line of scrimmage in the NFL. He should be playing offense in a Reggie bush role.

Joined: 12/10/2014

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MLD Woody

November 12th, 2017 at 5:43 PM ^

“We have to play with what we have, and he has been our best free safety back there thus far,” Jackson said, “but I think we see his skill set as being closer around the ball. “If we need him to play in the post, he can. He’s going to get better at that, but his tenacity, his quickness, his suddenness is probably more fit for being around the ball at strong safety.” Williams knows he's being played out of position, but he's still our best option.

Joined: 01/19/2011

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SpilledMilk

November 12th, 2017 at 6:01 PM ^

That's probably the worst possible position for Peppers. Strong safety is likely the best fit for him.

Joined: 10/15/2017

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The Krusty Kra…

November 12th, 2017 at 6:07 PM ^

By no fault of his own but he's kind of a misfit for NFL defenses. As someone pointed out above he can't be a nickel corner. He could play deep lying safety (which Williams seems to be deploying him as) but needs to improve his coverage and ballhawk skills. He absolutely cannot play linebacker from a size perspective unless he puts on some weight and learns to be better in run support (a la Deone Bucannon in Arizona.) I share the sentiment though sheerly by going to Cleveland, he is somewhat screwed. I hate seeing when Wolverines land in Cleveland or Detroit, because you know the water has been poisoned already.

Joined: 02/22/2017

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sharks

November 12th, 2017 at 6:21 PM ^

who drafted him, it's that he went two or three rounds too high. Anyone thinking he could play LB or CB in the NFL is delusional. I remember thinking that drafting a special teams lifer that high was the Brownsiest thing ever, but Njoku is going to be a bust too.

Joined: 11/05/2013

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The Oracle

November 12th, 2017 at 7:11 PM ^

Peppers was way overrated by Michigan fans as a defensive player. Hudson has already made more big plays from the Viper position than Peppers ever did.

Joined: 12/31/2014

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