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SS Sleeper emerging in Indy? (1 Viewer)

Chaos Commish

Chaos Commish

Footballguy
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Why has Bethea been so successful so quickly?

Because he deserves it.

And because the kid is just, plain good.

“You always notice the guys who come in and make plays,” Colts linebacker Cato June said this week of Bethea. “All through camp, he’s making interceptions, getting fumble recoveries.

“He was always around the ball and that sort of thing.”

That knack made Bethea one of the surprise stories of Colts 2006 Training Camp, and it earned him a significant role in the Colts’ defense.

A particularly significant role for a player so young.

And a particularly significant role for a player of his background.

Bethea, a safety, was the Colts’ sixth-round selection in the NFL Draft, and because he played collegiately at Howard University, he was little-known outside Washington, D.C., and NFL scouting circles.

He got known quickly upon being drafted by the Colts.

Soon after the draft, Bethea began drawing praise from Colts coaches and players. He impressed with his play during mini-camps and summer school, and he impressed with his demeanor off the field.

“He came in and learned the defense right away,” Colts safety Bob Sanders said. “He showed a lot of real good instincts - just being a football player. You can’t really coach certain things. He’s the type of player who has instincts. He will help this year.”

His instincts were good enough to earn him an important role in the secondary. Throughout training camp at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, despite missing several days with a knee injury, Bethea consistently made plays. He intercepted passes. He deflected balls. He was, Sanders said, “constantly around the ball.”

With Mike Doss – a starter since 2002 – out throughout the preseason with a calf injury, Bethea started two games. Last week, as the Colts prepared for the season opener against the New York Giants, Bethea and Doss split time in practice.

Come game time, Bethea started.
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With Doss nursing a sore calf and not being all that good, Bethea is in a nice spot. Sanders is also a little gimpy so Bethea may surprise sooner than later. The many comments about deflected passes, interceptions, being around the ball... really bode well for a SS.
 
Some thoughts on Bethea that I wrote during the pre-draft period:

PositivesAntoine is a very strong, solid safety. He is a hitter and is excellent at forcing fumbles. He’s a leader of the defense and a hard working player. He also has elite timed speed which is enhanced by his strong style of play. Bethea excels in zone coverage and is at his best when the play is in front of him.NegativesBethea lacks ideal height and did not play against a top level of competition in college. He tends to overcommit on play action fakes. His hands are a weakness, and they have cost him interceptions.Numbers Game309 – Bethea’s 309 career combined tackles in college show he’s always around the ball.NFL ComparisonTerrence KielSummaryAntoine Bethea has the skillset to be a quality NFL safety. Small school defensive backs are all the rage, and Bethea might join players such Rashean Mathis and Nick Collins as NFL starting DBs from the Division I-AA Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
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So is bathea the new guy to own in dynasty leagues as far as the INDy secondary goes? Would you guys rather have him than Marlin Jackson?

 
Not sure how much of a sleeper he is after his face was on national tv as starting SS in the Manning Bowl.

 
msommer said:
Not sure how much of a sleeper he is after his face was on national tv as starting SS in the Manning Bowl.
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Scan FA in a bunch of leagues. He is the definition of a sleeper sleeping, even in deep dynasties. I have found him on no rosters in a dozen Zealots leagues. I'm sure someone has him rostered.
 
Chaos Commish said:
msommer said:
Not sure how much of a sleeper he is after his face was on national tv as starting SS in the Manning Bowl.
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Scan FA in a bunch of leagues. He is the definition of a sleeper sleeping, even in deep dynasties. I have found him on no rosters in a dozen Zealots leagues. I'm sure someone has him rostered.
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I picked him and Tyrone Culver up in a few of my very deep dynasty leagues last week.(I put in a waiver request for both prior to the Sunday game so I had to hope he didnt make to much noise and wake people up)
 
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brakeyawself said:
Im confused. Is this guy the starter now? Or are we only assuming he will be because of Doss's play?
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Some feel Doss will prolly have hard time gettin his job back. I'm not totally up on Doss situation, not sure if he has fallen out of favor with coaching staff. Bethea looked good last week, hope he plays a little more FS, I would like to Sanders closer to LOS. :D
 
Sanders spent considerably more time near the LOS in Week 1! Indy Safeties are pretty much indistinguishable as far as scheme but I have (and started) Bethea in Week 1 and he certainly looked more like a FS than Sanders!

 
DonFue said:
Sanders spent considerably more time near the LOS in Week 1! Indy Safeties are pretty much indistinguishable as far as scheme but I have (and started) Bethea in Week 1 and he certainly looked more like a FS than Sanders!
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I did a little study on SS/FS in week one. The numbers are very close. Below is link to the post. Formatting stinks, I don't know how to post an excel doc and keep formatting. :no: LINK

 
i don't have any specific recent info regarding status of doss relative to bethea...

i would think doss has to have been a disappointment for polian & dungy... he had a distinguished career at ohio st (three time all-american, like archie griffin), but when he came out, BAL personnel guru ozzie newsome made a prescient comment (& he wasn't only one, but maybe more direct) underscoring that his coverage ability was a big question mark...

after the bizarre gun discharge arrest (04 or 05?) i was a little surprised that IND reportedly shopped him... another strike is that he is somewhat undersized for a supposedly big hitter & seems constantly dinged... and it just seems like concerns about coverage ability (or lack thereof) were on the mark & he probably will never be that good at it... imo, instincts in run/pass recognition & when to break on ball or sort of like run instincts... either you have them or you don't... if he doesn't after several years in the NFL already, that doesn't bode well for his future... fact that sanders not stellar in pass defense (though arguably more alert & effective than doss... at any rate, he isn't going anywhere), makes doss poor complement... he might be best suited as #2 SS, at best...

cover two safeties haven't necessarily been great things to have in past (see TB, classically... i'm guessing they may play a little deeper & fact that CBs are so involved in run support with safeties more in coverage has a lot to do with this), but sanders was an exception... maybe bethea can be, too. many IND opponents will be playing catch up & passing a lot, so this could lead to a lot of DB tackles on regular basis...

 
It will be interesting to see if he starts at SS when Sanders comes back from injury since Bethea moved into his FS spot. I imagine that Sanders stays at FS and Bethea possibly moves into the starting SS role, mainly due to the Doss injury history. Sanders is the guy I would bet on still getting the tackle numbers for the most part either way. Having Bethea gives the Colts some nice options at both safety spots though.

Another difference between the safeties in Indy and TB is that the defensive line is so much smaller in Indy which is forcing the safeties to be used in run support a lot.

 
not a terrible stat line, but would seem low considering how much offense went on in the game. That said, I didn't see the game. Thoughts on Bethea anyone?

 
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