Film breakdown of Eric Reid

Originally posted by thl408:
He really improved as the season went along. He started out tentative - playing deeper than he needed to on occasion. Perhaps he was told to, or perhaps he just wasn't comfortable with the speed of the game and didn't want to get burned with the big play. He still has a lot to learn and I hope that Bethea can be as helpful as I think Whitner was towards Reid's development.

Here's a play that we would all have talked about if Reid was able to make the snag. This is the final game of the season and this play shows confidence with what he recognizes from the opposing offense.

3rd & 3
49ers: cover2 man. Reid is on the 37 yard line.


Reid has what could be two vertical routes (Fitz and a speedy Ellington) coming at him, but he has not taken one backpedal step. He's actually taken a step forward.


Palmer has not started his windup. Reid ends up taking a step back, only to start driving downfield to play the curl route by Ellington. Surely he knows that Bow is trying to cover Fitz on what looks like a vertical route by Fitz.


Palmer bringing the ball up to his ear to start his release.


Almost had a pick 6.




Palmer staring to the right doesn't help, but how does Reid know Palmer wasn't looking to Fitz? I think there was some play recognition here, but the only way to tell is to see what ARI likes to do on 3rd down and short. I'll just assume Reid and Rogers saw something they recognized (notice Rogers signaling to Reid right before the snap).

So glad you brought this to the table. I also noticed how quickly he got there. Reid is about 5 yards behind the receiver and Rogers is about 2 yards and Reid gets there first. I'm willing to bet Ward will bring a similar "range" of speed and short-area burst/quickness to the nickle spot once he's 100% healthy and has some experience in this defense.

My only concern is he has a tendency to over run plays. I saw him do it a few times last year, in particular Lynch's long TD run.

Originally posted by sdaddy101269:
My only concern is he has a tendency to over run plays. I saw him do it a few times last year, in particular Lynch's long TD run.

My only concern is durability. He still seems to skinny to be an enforcer and he got into trouble when trying to bring down larger backs.

Originally posted by NinerBuff:

Originally posted by sdaddy101269:
My only concern is he has a tendency to over run plays. I saw him do it a few times last year, in particular Lynch's long TD run.

My only concern is durability. He still seems to skinny to be an enforcer and he got into trouble when trying to bring down larger backs.

Yes, he can get overly aggressive coming up to make a tackle. I think with his two early concussions, he's had to re-think how he attacks downhill, which is one of his strengths. It could be that he wants to play instinctively, which in his case is aggressive, and run up to make a strong tackle. However, in the back of his mind he doesn't want to get another concussion so he's a bit hesitant. If he wants to take an aggressive angle to make a play, then he has to fully commit to it. It look to me like he was concussed a third time in ARI, but I could be wrong.

my only concern are those fkn concussions.

goldson handed out concussions.

Ya, especially for a young, bright star like Reid, the concussions are very worrisome.

Originally posted by ChazBoner:
my only concern are those fkn concussions.

goldson handed out concussions.

No one cares about Goldson.

Originally posted by ChazBoner:
my only concern are those fkn concussions.

goldson handed out concussions.

And was handed out penalties, which handed us defeats.

Originally posted by NinerBuff:
Ya, especially for a young, bright star like Reid, the concussions are very worrisome.

He tries to hit with his shoulder, causing him to turn his head. That is why he gets so many concussions. The NFL has shifted the concussion problem to the defensive side of the ball with their b******t rules.

Originally posted by NinerBuff:

Originally posted by sdaddy101269:
My only concern is he has a tendency to over run plays. I saw him do it a few times last year, in particular Lynch's long TD run.

My only concern is durability. He still seems to skinny to be an enforcer and he got into trouble when trying to bring down larger backs.

When i look at Eric Reid, i do not see a skinny football player. he's a big dude and very good size for a safety

Reid is already a better football player than goldson was or will ever be so glad we drafted this guy..lets hope ward turns out to be just as good as reid

Originally posted by Mr_Niner:
Reid is already a better football player than goldson was or will ever be so glad we drafted this guy..lets hope ward turns out to be just as good as reid

I think we can all agree on that. We're only concerned about his longevity as he seems to be more of a ball hawk than an enforcer.

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by thl408:
He really improved as the season went along. He started out tentative - playing deeper than he needed to on occasion. Perhaps he was told to, or perhaps he just wasn't comfortable with the speed of the game and didn't want to get burned with the big play. He still has a lot to learn and I hope that Bethea can be as helpful as I think Whitner was towards Reid's development.

Here's a play that we would all have talked about if Reid was able to make the snag. This is the final game of the season and this play shows confidence with what he recognizes from the opposing offense.

3rd & 3
49ers: cover2 man. Reid is on the 37 yard line.


Reid has what could be two vertical routes (Fitz and a speedy Ellington) coming at him, but he has not taken one backpedal step. He's actually taken a step forward.


Palmer has not started his windup. Reid ends up taking a step back, only to start driving downfield to play the curl route by Ellington. Surely he knows that Bow is trying to cover Fitz on what looks like a vertical route by Fitz.


Palmer bringing the ball up to his ear to start his release.


Almost had a pick 6.




Palmer staring to the right doesn't help, but how does Reid know Palmer wasn't looking to Fitz? I think there was some play recognition here, but the only way to tell is to see what ARI likes to do on 3rd down and short. I'll just assume Reid and Rogers saw something they recognized (notice Rogers signaling to Reid right before the snap).

So glad you brought this to the table. I also noticed how quickly he got there. Reid is about 5 yards behind the receiver and Rogers is about 2 yards and Reid gets there first. I'm willing to bet Ward will bring a similar "range" of speed and short-area burst/quickness to the nickle spot once he's 100% healthy and has some experience in this defense.

Fitz wasn't Reid's responsibility. He is looking at the bottom two receivers. You can see Whitner came over the top of Fitz/Bowmen. Fitz isn't a burner to begin with. Like you said, everyone else manned up. The top two routes didn't threaten down field at all, which allows Whitner to roll over to midfield. To me, that offensive play really wasn't drawn up well. One deep route on the top side, and Whitner has a tougher choice.

Originally posted by GoldandGarnet:
Fitz wasn't Reid's responsibility. He is looking at the bottom two receivers. You can see Whitner came over the top of Fitz/Bowmen. Fitz isn't a burner to begin with. Like you said, everyone else manned up. The top two routes didn't threaten down field at all, which allows Whitner to roll over to midfield. To me, that offensive play really wasn't drawn up well. One deep route on the top side, and Whitner has a tougher choice.

I think Reid was responsible for his own deep half of the field. Whitner doesn't break towards the middle of the field until the ball is thrown. Had Fitz ran a corner route towards the sidelines, and with Reid jumping Ellington's curl, that leaves Bow 1on1 deep down the field. Good luck to Bow. If Fitz was indeed Whitner's assignment, Whitner would have quickly shaded over to the middle of the field once the ball is snapped. The second picture shows Palmer with his completed dropback, and Whitner still honoring his assignment, his deep half. The way Bow played Fitz (inside leverage) suggests that he is trying to funnel Fitz towards Reid. If Bow knew his help was to the inside, Bow would have used outside leverage to funnel Fitz towards Whitner.

The idea of the play, I think, was to have Fitz run off Bow and Reid, opening up Ellington vs Rogers 1on1 underneath. Rogers knows he's slow and always plays with a cushion. Attack that cushion to get an easy first down on a quick curl (it was 3rd & 3).

Originally posted by NinerBuff:

Originally posted by Mr_Niner:
Reid is already a better football player than goldson was or will ever be so glad we drafted this guy..lets hope ward turns out to be just as good as reid

I think we can all agree on that. We're only concerned about his longevity as he seems to be more of a ball hawk than an enforcer.

Last time I checked a ball hawk is more valuable than an enforcer.