Is It Time To Cut Jatavis Brown?

[Topcat]

I'm getting pretty tired of watching Jatavis Brown whiff on tackles, or taking bad angles, or just not being in the right place at the right time. I previously posted a couple of pics from the Seahag game of Brown's miscues, like whiffing on a tackle here:

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I thought it might be useful to look back at previous games at his play, and sure enough, I found some issues. For example, vs. the Ravens in week 16, here he is at Mike, playing for the injured Perryman, pre-snap:

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Lamar Jackson runs it up the gut. Brown, instead of waiting to tackle Jackson, inexplicably moves up to the line, into the waiting arms of a Raven O-lineman:

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A second later, Jackson breaks through a hole and scampers past Brown, now totally blocked out. Jackson gets a first down and a lot more.

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Later on, Jackson hits Dixon on a little swing pass (sound familiar?). Derwin, in a rare miss, launches and misses Dixon, who is off-balance. Brown has a perfect angle on him to tackle him, but no. Somehow, Jatavis fails to wrap up, overshoots, hits the turf, and Dixon gets away for more yardage and a first down:

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[Topcat]

Even when Brown does get penetration, watch what happens. Here, he has a perfect angle on Dixon:

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Brown fails to wrap up and Dixon continues for a few more yards. He fumbled here, but still, this shows how Jatavis repeatedly fails to wrap up and finish the tackle.

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And there are more examples. This is getting old.

[blueman]

Yes.

[Steve]

Since final cuts don't happen until the end of the week, the answer is defintely no.

Some of it depends on the other numbers and the other players at other positions. Brown is still a good ST guy and has made a lot of plays over the years. He is just somewhat inconsistent. See how he plays, then see how the rest of the roster falls. I still see him as one of the guys on the active roster.

If this is the "his time is running out" thread, then I think that hits it pretty well. He needs to get his ass in gear and put it altogether. He flashes playmaking ability vs the run and pass. He is never, ever going to be a run stuffer who takes on the straight ahead run knocks big RB around. It isn't his game. But he can do a bit of everything, which is what LB are. They don't do any one thing, they are jack of all trades types and he does a bit of everything, and is still very fast.

See how his season goes and then we can simply let him fade away if the numbers work against him. I still think he is a decent backup LB, at a minimum.

[Topcat]

Since final cuts don't happen until the end of the week, the answer is defintely no.

Some of it depends on the other numbers and the other players at other positions. Brown is still a good ST guy and has made a lot of plays over the years. He is just somewhat inconsistent. See how he plays, then see how the rest of the roster falls. I still see him as one of the guys on the active roster.

If this is the "his time is running out" thread, then I think that hits it pretty well. He needs to get his ass in gear and put it altogether. He flashes playmaking ability vs the run and pass. He is never, ever going to be a run stuffer who takes on the straight ahead run knocks big RB around. It isn't his game. But he can do a bit of everything, which is what LB are. They don't do any one thing, they are jack of all trades types and he does a bit of everything, and is still very fast.

See how his season goes and then we can simply let him fade away if the numbers work against him. I still think he is a decent backup LB, at a minimum.

I wasn't thinking of cutting Brown tomorrow; I was thinking of when the final 53 are chosen, it may be time to let him go. I was kind of ticked we released DeJuan Hines last year--the dude had a great preseason, but we instead keep someone like Brown. Sorry, if we're going to keep LB's on the final 53, I want someone who can actually tackle.

[Steve]

So do I. But assuming that LB are better tacklers is a mistake. These days a lot of them aren't, especially in space. Looking at the roster below, there may not be a spot for Brown. The alternative is to cut Perryman and keep Brown. They can also cut him and then see if he is available later.

Brown was just much better suited to being a LB who can do a bit of everything. We don't blitz our LB, so that is a big chunk of his game we don't utilize. He can't pass rush, so he is kinda the odd man out. He does some stuff OK, but really none of our LB, or many other LB are impact players. LB are not impact players unless you play against run-based offenses that load up with TE and FB. Not many teams do that anymore, so LB are mostly ST guys these days.

This season we should probably only carry 6 LB. starter and backup on each spot, with Egbule being the "swing" LB who plays OTTO and ILB spots. But the NFL is a passing league, there is little point in focusing too much on LB when they play so little. They won't be on the field too much, so I don't think it makes much difference.

OTTO - Nwosu, Egbule
ILB - Davis, White, Tranquill, Perryman (or Brown),

As far as the #1 LB on the roster, we haven't even seen Davis play yet.

[Topcat]

Week 10: Bolts vs. Raiders. Brown again commits too early, gets tangled up with blockers, allows Martin to bust through for a first down:

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[Topcat]

Bolts vs. Seahags, week 9. Wilson completes short pass to Davis in flats. Brown, perfect position to tackle:

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And he whiffs:

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[21&500]

It's sad to see how bad he's played since showing out his rookie year.
I thought he was the steal of that draft class.
but the film is pretty damming
sorry brown, but there are enough LBs ahead of you at this point.

[PR#1]

As long as he is healthy, he will start.

[like54ninjas]

As long as he is healthy, he will start.

Jatavis?
When has he ever been anything but an injury replacement fill in starter at best?

[Heatmiser]

Brown has not been healthy since his rookie season and even then he got hurt towards the end as I recall. I think that is his greater problem -- cannot stay healthy and misses so much time it shows in his game when he does play.

TG