For everyone that keeps arguing about Ivey, can I ask you why this isn't the same scenario with Williams & Blades???
As I've been saying since last year, Ivey is our biggest liability in coverage, he's the weak link, the only reason he starts is because the staff defers to Upperclassmen because of their "experience".
I understand the tendency to wanna defend a player that's catching a lot of heat on the board from the fans, but this isn't a case of fans being unreasonable or overdoing it.
I agree.
There's a real problem with Ivey from a technique standpoint. he has all the measurables. if you just looked at him now by the numbers, height, speed, range, you'd say: that's an NFL corner.
But as we know, looking good in your underwear does not make you an all-american.
When you have a player with the physical skills who just doesn't "get it," the unfortunate answer is that (as my old coach used to say):
"there's a problem either with what's behind the ribcage, or above the teeth."
I also have a real issue with always defaulting to "seniority." Especially in the college game, if you need to, there are some things you can do to protect a less experienced player. As El knows, things you can do with combo coverages, or rotation, or movement or alignment can help a player if they don't have the experience you'd like. Just so long as they are talented and have the skills, you can "game coach them up" provided there are certain (even if limited) packages and coverage techniques you can simply rely upon them to execute well. The problem is, it's much harder to protect a guy that is not as skilled in the first place and keeps showing the same limitations. that's when the system breaks down.
To me, that describes the Ivey/Couch situation. Admittedly, there is only so much we can evaluate when you are not in the meeting rooms, and not standing on the practice field. You just have to go with what you see on tape. So, unless a coach comes out and tells me my thesis is wrong, based on what my own eyes tell me, i'm pretty sure i'm right.
