Bene to compete for corner, not nickel

[Jmac]

According to J.J and J.P on Twitter. So Norman on one side (he isn't going anywhere), and Bene on the other. Finnegan is gone and the Colin Jones experiment is over. They need a competent nickel now (or two).  Who you guys got in mind?

[brandon_87]

Captain Munnerlyn












J/k haha I have no clue, but trust in DG to pick the right person for the job

[Mr. Scot]

Robert McClain was considered a better nickel back than outside corner.  He could get a shot.

Wouldn't bet on him going into the season as the starter, though.

[Bartin]

Why do you assume Finnegan is gone? He was solid when he played and could be brought back on a minimum deal. I see no reason why we wouldn't do that and give him a shot in camp to win the job. Same for McClain.

[Mr. Scot]

Just now, Bartin said:

Why do you assume Finnegan is gone? He was solid when he played and could be brought back on a minimum deal. I see no reason why we wouldn't do that and give him a shot in camp to win the job. Same for McClain.

I think Finnegan at least gets to go to camp and compete.

[Jmac]

1 minute ago, Bartin said:

Why do you assume Finnegan is gone? He was solid when he played and could be brought back on a minimum deal. I see no reason why we wouldn't do that and give him a shot in camp to win the job. Same for McClain.

That's a possibilty, but I wouldn't care to see either starting. They need a #1 guy. Those two are off the bench material.

[Ricky Spanish]

Good. He's better on the outside. 

He was our best option at Nickel but he was better on the outside. 

[Captain Morgan]

weren't we concerned last off season because we though Bene was a better outside corner than a nickel?

[KB_fan]

Posted the following comment on the Ron Presser thread, but it's better here, so I'm reposting it.

 

Good news.  I really liked Bene on the outside.  Thought he played better there than nickel from what little my own eyes told me. 

Question:  Do you generally want more height in an outside guy than a nickel?   Quite a few of the promising corners that potentially might fall to us in the draft are somewhat shorter (5'9 - 5'11).  Not a lot of big guys that we're likely to get picking at #30 / #31 I'm wondering if that could be a factor influencing this decision.

[JawnyBlaze]

I always liked Bene better out wide than at nickel.  Never knew why we insisted on keeping him inside. 

and yes, KB_fan, typically the nickel corners are the shorter, twitchier guys cuz they need to have better change of direction skills.

[JawnyBlaze]

that's part of the reason Capt was an above average nickel for us, but abysmal (like worst in the league, not just starters..EVERYONE) when out wide.

[imminent rogaine]

Bene is a football player and needs to be on the field all of the time. He hits hard and seems to be around the ball. Defense will benefit from having him out there.

[TylerVagyler]

I like keeping McClain for depth.

Brandon Boykin is the nickel guy I really want. He has been under the radar for awhile now.

[Nick_81]

10 minutes ago, KB_fan said:

Question:  Do you generally want more height in an outside guy than a nickel?   Quite a few of the promising corners that potentially might fall to us in the draft are somewhat shorter (5'9 - 5'11).  Not a lot of big guys that we're likely to get picking at #30 / #31 I'm wondering if that could be a factor influencing this decision.

Yes, you want height on the outside, but like anything, it's not the be-all/end-all.  The 5'9" guys won't last very long on the outside, especially with these monster receivers everywhere(6'3"+).  However, with the way the NFL is right now, those guys still have a very good shot at the nickel position.  It's damn near every bit as important as the outside right now.  If there's a blue chipper that's 5'9", hell yeah, grab em.