Genghis Khan
The worst version of myself
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2013
- Messages
- 38,037
Hooker is a way better player but I just don't think it's smart to count on him.
Cowboys Sign Keanu Neal
- Thread starter boozeman
- Start date
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2013
- Messages
- 53,230
Yeah there is good odds he won't play a full season for you. But at 24 I think there is still time for him to turn it around.
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2013
- Messages
- 120,403
Kazee is a much better tackler (199-124), plus he had a 3 INT season and a 7 INT season, and has 3 more INT than Hooker in the same amount of years in the NFL.
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2013
- Messages
- 53,230
Kazee does have the ints but I don't think the really tells the whole story. A guy can get picks and still kind of blow in coverage. I also don't care what his tackles numbers say. He looks super soft as a tackler. I just don't like him much at all despite the 7 int season. Which is saying something.
Plus Hooker is 24 and Kazee is 27. But even if we sign Hooker I have no issue drafting a safety high. He does always get hurt.
armadillooutlaw
DCC 4Life
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2020
- Messages
- 1,405
Kazee and Wilson as the safeties on passing downs would mean a significant improvement in the turnover department, IMO. Neal will be a good player, IMO, if they can be creative.. as bad as the safety play on this team has been, I'm not going to poo poo any capable players - SS, FS, hybrid types, ect.
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2013
- Messages
- 120,403
I don't agree with any of this. If Kazee looks like a soft tackler with a 75 tackle advantage, what does that make Hooker?
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2013
- Messages
- 53,230
In the end I'm sure we will get Kazee anyway and see the stellar 2019/2020 Falcons pass defense in Big D.
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2013
- Messages
- 53,230
That makes Hooker injury prone. And Kazee played SS in 2018 in place of Neal...
Hooker has played in 36 games. Kazee played in 52.
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2013
- Messages
- 120,403
Well, Kazee was out for almost all of 2019, and as Sturm said, he wasn't the reason for the shitty 2020 Falcons D.
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2013
- Messages
- 53,230
Kazee was out 2020, not 2019. Jaylon Smith would like props for his insane tackle numbers now too.
Jaylon had 154 tackles last year allegedly. Guess that makes him a great tackler too.
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2013
- Messages
- 27,189
Hell yeah it does.
Name 3 better tacklers when it comes to making tackles 7+ yards downfield.
I'll wait.
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2013
- Messages
- 123,329
I have told you repeatedly...he is a made man. You are just going to get angry at yourself for your optimism.
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2013
- Messages
- 53,230
Especially after the guy is already wrapped up by 3 guys.
p1_
DCC 4Life
- Joined
- Apr 10, 2013
- Messages
- 26,692
Film room: How safety Keanu Neal fits with the Cowboys’ defense, and why he could also be utilized as a linebacker
This low-risk acquisition could pay off in a big way for Dallas.
By John Owning
5:25 PM on Mar 20, 2021
The Dallas Cowboys signed former Falcons safety Keanu Neal to a one-year, $5 million deal Saturday.
While Neal is a newcomer to the Cowboys defense, he’s actually more familiar with its scheme and coaches than the others are, as Neal spent his entire career under defensive coordinator Dan Quinn before he was fired and last year with secondary coach Joe Whitt Jr.
However, if early reports prove true, Neal might be spending more time with linebackers coach Scott McCurley than his previous coach Whitt. NFL insider Josina Anderson first reported that Dallas was courting Neal to play weakside (WILL) linebacker. The Dallas Morning News’ own Michael Gehlken had one source also indicate that Neal would be a WILL linebacker while another “resisted that verbiage.”
However, I wonder if Gehlken’s second source resisted the verbiage because Neal’s going to play a combination of the two. To me, it would make sense to play Neal as a traditional strong safety when the defense is in its base 4-3. However, when the team moves to its nickel package, Neal slides down to one of the weakside LB spots while Donovan Wilson fills in at strong safety.
In this scenario, by taking off the defense’s worst coverage defender — Jaylon Smith — and replacing him with Neal at WLB who is then replaced by Wilson at SS, it enables the Cowboys to get as much speed on the field as possible when the team is in nickel, which is used to combat when offenses use 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers), to defend against opposing passing attacks while still maintaining good enough run defense to stop opposing ground games.
In turn, with Smith at WLB and Neal at SS in the team’s base 4-3 defense, when opposing offenses beef up with 12 (one running back, two tight ends, two wide receivers) and 21 (two running backs, one tight end, two wide receivers) personnel, the Cowboys will have enough beef on the field to stop the run and Smith is much less of a weakness against bigger personnel groupings.
In plain terms, the Cowboys would have more coverage players on the field when teams are more likely to pass and more run defenders on the field when teams tend to run more, which I think is a great way to build a defense.
Whether Neal ultimately plays WILL LB or strong safety, it’s clear that he’s going to spend most of, if not all, his time in and around the box, which is where Neal has been a catalytic presence when healthy throughout his career.
Neal is a bonafide heat-seeking missile against the run. At 6-foot-1 and 216 pounds, Neal gets downhill and attacks ball carriers quick, fast and in a hurry, and when he gets there, Neal often brings the thunder, hitting with force akin to players 20 pounds heavier than him. This is why, when healthy, Neal routinely ranks among the league leaders in stops (which is more illustrative of good run defense play than tackles) among safeties. Even coming off a torn Achilles that eliminated the previous season in 2020, Neal finished 12th among safeties in stops, per Pro Football Focus.
While Neal will have some fly-by missed tackles due to the momentum he carries into his tackle attempts. However, he limits those situations because he doesn’t an excellent job wrapping ball carriers and dragging them down when his initial impact doesn’t.
The problem for Neal, which could be exacerbated if he spends a lot of time at LB, against the run is when blockers are able to climb and immediately get in his face.
When Neal is able to get moving downhill, he has the quickness and agility to elude heavy-footed blockers and still make plays (above clip). However, when he doesn’t have that space to work, Neal just does have the size or play strength to be able to consistently take on blocks and maintain his gap integrity.
Therefore, IF the Cowboys plan on playing Neal at LB a large percentage of snaps, especially on downs and against heavier personnel groupings, the Cowboys have to pair him with effective defensive tackles who can slow offensive lineman to the second. Now, this is easier to do for a WILL LB because he’s protected by the three-technique by alignment, but the three-technique still has to be able to capably do his job.
In coverage, Neal isn’t quite as impactful as he is defending the run, but he still has a lot of utility in today’s NFL. Neal does his best work as a low-hole defender in Cover 1 or as a hook dropper in Cover 3, where he can be an enforcer against any throws over the short-to-intermediate middle of the defense.
This plays into Neal’s strengths as a big hitter and is why he was so commonly compared to Kam Chancellor during his healthy seasons with Atlanta. Neal’s presence in the intermediate middle of the field will make receivers and tight ends think twice about laying out for passes over the middle, which can create turnover opportunities and schematic advantages for the defense.
In addition, Neal has shown the ability to capably defend most tight ends in man coverage, as Neal has the athleticism to mirror in addition to the physicality to not get bullied at the top of routes or the catch point.
Neal also has a knack for sniffing out and blowing up screens, as his burst enables him to blow by blockers and arrive with authority on the player receiving the screen. This plays into Neal’s football intelligence and ability to process information quickly because if he didn’t, he wouldn’t make so many plays against plays with deception — like screens.
Where Neal gets into trouble is when he gets isolated against wide receivers in space or man coverage, as Neal just doesn’t possess the high-level change-of-direction skills and deep speed to hang with receivers in today’s NFL.
Ultimately, I really like the idea of playing Neal in a hybrid SS/WLB role depending on the defense’s personnel grouping, as I think it enables Dallas to properly match up with whatever personnel they see on offense.
However, even if not, the idea of bringing in an impactful run defender who has familiarity with the coaching staff and scheme on a cheap one-year deal is difficult to not like. While I’m slightly concerned about what this means for Donovan Wilson, it’s not enough to depress my excitement about bringing Neal into the fold.
This is a low-risk acquisition that can pay off in a big way for the Cowboys.
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2013
- Messages
- 53,230
A lot like Lewis, size speed and all.
Genghis Khan
The worst version of myself
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2013
- Messages
- 38,037