C.J. Gaddis is in danger of making little to no impact on the defensive side of the ball this season. He made a couple unpardonable mistakes today at weak safety, which shows he has no understanding of the Eagles defensive coverages.
C.J. was removed from the lineup after he blew a couple of coverages. The first one saw him come out of the deep middle and run up to cover the short flat area, while leaving the deep middle wide open. Kevin Kolb missed the throw to Jeremy Bloom and Brent Celek who were both running wide open down the middle of the field. It looked bad and is scary to a DB coach or defensive coordinator because that mistake would equal an easy six points for the opposing offense. You can't afford it. Immediately after the play, Jim Johnson removed the kid from the 7 on 7 passing drill and had him stand on the side and talk to DB coach John Harbaugh.
I dont like the way Jim Johnson employs his old school style of coaching. I know he's capable of putting this kid on the shelf and letting him sit there for his entire rookie year, but I don't think the Eagles have enough talent to do this. He doesn't seem to have patience any more for young players trying to learn. He did it last year to Brodrick Bunkley and LaJuan Ramsey. Jim even admitted this year that Ramsey didn't play because his rotation. I know that Sam Rayburn went in the Nova Care Complex and cried his way back into playing time and it put Ramsey on the shelf. I'm sounding the alarm right now about Gaddis, he's in danger of being put on the shelf.
Gaddis needs to be sat down by his coaches and taught the coverages from start to finish. Right now they're trying to teach him algebra and he doesn't know addition and subtraction. I spoke to him after practice and told him he's got to start by learning what they're trying to accomplish with each coverage. If he can learn what the defensive coordinator is trying to take away on each coverage, it will be easier for him to understand what his responsibilties will be. A safety has to know more than his assignments. He's got to know the why's behind his assignments because he has to be a quarterback of the secondary.
This is a very important time in the development of this kid because if he gets behind he might not be able to catch for the entire year. He's shown that he can compete athletically on this level. He's got good size and is aggressive with speed. C.J. is definitely going to be able to contribute on special teams but I think they're going to need him at the safety position.
