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Ray Ray Armstrong

lauderdaleballer said:
Like Killa said Ray Ray's game is similar to Major Wright's... He's more of a run stopper... The way some of you make it seem is like he's a scrub... The kid is talented... He's good at stopping the run but struggles at times in pass coverage... The kid issue is that he is undisciplined at times... The kid is talented and linebacker is not in his future... And why would someone call him selfish because he didnt gain weight to play lb? Was that even a realistic option? Wright was really bad in pass coverage at UF... I recall Ole Miss abusing him a bit in 08, but he was still productive because they rarely put him position to be exploited...

Ray Ray's issue stems from just learning the position... He plays the run well, but he gets a bit impatient... I remember the UVA game on the half back pass... I'm not that upset with him because plays like that are designed to catch the D off guard but he was bated in... He saw the back with the ball and just assumed he was going to run... Thats just being impatient... You're already 30 yards down the field, even if it was a run you're not going to prevent him from getting positive yards... Thats an example of him trying to make plays by himself... The kid will be alright... Who ever is a returning starter or heavy rotation player will be the ones playing the most next year... So there must be an improvement on their fronts... VT and Ray will be starting so they need to get the D down...
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Well said on all counts.
 
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killa1storm said:
lauderdaleballer said:
Like Killa said Ray Ray's game is similar to Major Wright's... He's more of a run stopper... The way some of you make it seem is like he's a scrub... The kid is talented... He's good at stopping the run but struggles at times in pass coverage... The kid issue is that he is undisciplined at times... The kid is talented and linebacker is not in his future... And why would someone call him selfish because he didnt gain weight to play lb? Was that even a realistic option? Wright was really bad in pass coverage at UF... I recall Ole Miss abusing him a bit in 08, but he was still productive because they rarely put him position to be exploited...

Ray Ray's issue stems from just learning the position... He plays the run well, but he gets a bit impatient... I remember the UVA game on the half back pass... I'm not that upset with him because plays like that are designed to catch the D off guard but he was bated in... He saw the back with the ball and just assumed he was going to run... Thats just being impatient... You're already 30 yards down the field, even if it was a run you're not going to prevent him from getting positive yards... Thats an example of him trying to make plays by himself... The kid will be alright... Who ever is a returning starter or heavy rotation player will be the ones playing the most next year... So there must be an improvement on their fronts... VT and Ray will be starting so they need to get the D down...
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Well said on all counts.
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He's selfish, but not because of anything he does on the field.

Please see reason for him getting suspended for FSU game.
 
geez tough crowd i will say Ray Ray isn't the best teammate, but he did make 2nd team ALL-ACC last year with 80 tackles and 3 INT. So i don't call him a bust. Forston yes but Ramon has been solid these last two years and should be a key starter for Miami next year.
 
He's not a good tackler, he's terrible at understanding where he needs to be, his frame is actually thin, he's poor at thinking quickly. Which of these attributes screams "linebacker?" I'm not sure I understand how "not good at safety" means "better linebacker." It may just mean bad safety unless we were planning on moving Willie Cooper to linebacker also. I would actually argue that safety is probably his best shot because as long as he's not asked to play much man, he has more time to read plays. I understand that he lacks the speed to play safety (or at least I think so) and certainly he's a liability as a last line of defense but I think we're looking at the lesser of two evils. Asking him to play with the mental quickness of a linebacker is a recipe for disaster IMO plus he'll get destroyed by linemen and he can't tackle.

All in all I'd favor platooning him with a younger quicker safety who can gain experience. This is not a guy who looks like he can change positions and put it together. He can barely figure out the position he's been playing for 3 years.
 
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Pennmed Canefan said:
He's not a good tackler, he's terrible at understanding where he needs to be, his frame is actually thin, he's poor at thinking quickly. Which of these attributes screams "linebacker?" I'm not sure I understand how "not good at safety" means "better linebacker." It may just mean bad safety unless we were planning on moving Willie Cooper to linebacker also. I would actually argue that safety is probably his best shot because as long as he's not asked to play much man, he has more time to read plays. I understand that he lacks the speed to play safety (or at least I think so) and certainly he's a liability as a last line of defense but I think we're looking at the lesser of two evils. Asking him to play with the mental quickness of a linebacker is a recipe for disaster IMO plus he'll get destroyed by linemen and he can't tackle.

All in all I'd favor platooning him with a younger quicker safety who can gain experience. This is not a guy who looks like he can change positions and put it together. He can barely figure out the position he's been playing for 3 years.
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All of this.

Because of his recruiting hype, I think people are searching for reasons why he hasn't panned out. Changing positions won't help.

He's simply not good.
 
I saidz it when we were recruiting him...I thought his best position would have been TE. In HS, he had a way of willing his way with the football in his hands in that wonky Wing T they ran.

We eventually moved Dye to the position most thought he would be best at (TE) and it seems he's found a home as a blocking TE. I thought Ray Ray would have been a nice, if developed, receiving threat. But, we're at a point now where that isn't in anyone's best interest.
 
He's not a linebacker. He's not a safety who you're going to play back 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage and expect to lock down a deep half, but he's even less of a linebacker. Kid is going into his 4th year here. Gimme a break.


1. Long strider
2. Poor tackling form
3. Poor angles
4. Slow decision maker
5. Plays with high pad level
6. Not agile/lacks quick feet
7. Very thin frame
 
DMoney said:
Is it time for him to move to weakside linebacker?
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It was time 3 and a half years ago.

Now might be too late. He's not a safety, he's never been a safety. This kid is example A of a kid who was miscast from day 1. He would have had a better career on offense than what he ended up having at safety.

Some of us having been saying all these things for a LONG time. I have absolutely ZERO doubt in my mind he would have been a better linebacker than safety. I also have zero doubt in my mind he would have made a better TE than a safety.

When you take into account some of the depth issues we've had at LB during the last 3-4 years it really is one of those "what if" things you look back on. Shannon did this kid a disservice by putting him at safety and proclaiming him a "Sean Taylor" type.
 
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This isnt a video game you cant just change the position of a guy who has been playing the same one for years now. You cant just pop him in and expect him to learn how he has to take on blocks...etcThings he NEVER has ever had to do
 
All I ask is that I don't have to watch him defend a Corner Route or Post Route while he's in 2 Deep. That's all I ask. The best result in that situation is, like @ Vtech this year, he just tackles the WR during his route.
 
LuCane said:
All I ask is that I don't have to watch him defend a Corner Route or Post Route while he's in 2 Deep. That's all I ask. The best result in that situation is, like @ Vtech this year, he just tackles the WR during his route.
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:ibisroflmao:
 
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He is long and lean. Doesn't have frame to play LB.

We all have to hope that with this coaching staff, he makes strides for next year and contributes.
 
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I never understood the RR to LB talk, he doesnt have the frame or the smarts


question for Lu and Tano: Can he learn to play safety with some actual coaching + a full spring, summer, fall of practice?
 
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