When NFL offensive coordinators draw up plays, many times they design them to entice defensive players with a fake one way, then they’ll run the play to the other side. The success of these plays are predicated on the gullibility of the defensive players.
These plays are designed like mouse traps where some cheese dangled in the trap to lure would be suckers. Eagles new linebacker Ernie Sims is known for his speed and aggressiveness, but he’s also known for his gullibility. In other words, Sims is known eating the cheese.
The book on him is that he can be influenced to move out of position. He’s outstanding when it’s a matter of him using his speed and aggressiveness to attack a play right at him or run somebody down from behind, but he struggles with misdirection plays.
The Packers know Sims because they played against him twice a year when he was in Detroit. They know you can sucker him to the strong side by faking a strongside run then bringing quarterback Aaron Rodgers back to the weakside on bootleg plays with tight end Jermichael Finley running a drag route across the field.
Hopefully Sims has been schooled by his coaches on how to avoid eating the cheese. The former Lion says he’s been studying the Packers and has a good feel for what they do. He believes he’ll be able to avoid being influenced to move out of position.
The former Lion should continue to be aggressive but he’s got to recognize the warning signs when team are trying to bait him to move out of position.
Most of the time the offensive linemen give away the play and he will be able to see this, if he studies their stances. Once the big guys get tired during a game, they could careless whether they’re giving away the upcoming play. They’re sucking air and focusing on doing their jobs.
Sims will play a key role for the Birds defense because he and middle linebacker Stewart Bradley stay on the field during nickel plays. He’s got to make some big plays for the Birds by either causing some fumbles with big hits, picking off passes or sacking quarterbacks.
He’s got to play smarter than he was in Detroit, where he was able to snag only one interception and garner only two quarterback sacks in four years of play. Sims must be more productive here and that will start by not eating the cheese.
The little I saw of Sims during the preseason, I was not overly impressesd,
He definitely has the speed,but he does commit early to the line of scrimmage on play action passes and his coverage skills are average at best.. I hope he turns out to be the player they envisioned when they signed him, but I see him coming off the field in passing-sitautions and not really being a 3 down complete LB.. (I think Fokou/Clayton will replace him by week 5-6)
He has all the physical abilities (lacks size and the long arm-span that is now common among the LB’s in the NFL). Looking back on his career, it’s a shame he was not converted to a SS when he first became a Pro a few years back,for that probably would be a natural fit for his abilities and size..
There is no way that Fokou replaces Sims this year! Did you see that penalty machine last year? He was constantly out of position, couldn’t cover, and made way way way too many mental errors. Also, you contradict youself Paulman. You say that he should have been converted to a SS but that he also can’t cover?!? Ummmmmm …
Now that Sims has some decent players around him, he should flourish … I think that he will have a great season if he can stay healthy
Ok Paulman, this is the guy you wanted to play SS and move Mikell to FS and now you’re doing a complete 180. He probably wasn’t converted because of his coverage skills. Ever thought about that? Sure it would have been nice for a guy with his size and speed to be able to play safety but I’m sure he and coaches probably knew he wasn’t never going to be good enough in coverage to play the position. It doesn’t matter how much he could have been coach, if he can’t cover, he can’t cover. Some have it and some don’t. It’s already hard enough for the natural safeties to cover in this league. Let it go Paulman.
All I am saying Scorp is that E Sims in not an everydown LB..
Being converted to a Safety is way too late at this stage of his career and not realistic, but if he was
4 years ago, he probably could have had a longer,more productive career in the NFL.
He will be a 1 year player with the Eagles and they continually seek OLB’s who can play all 3 downs..
I think they should have moved MLB S Bradley back to the outside and replace him in the middle but that’s a diferent story for a different day..
If our Eagles hope to keep this Defense strong they need to stop the revolving door at LB. If Simms is let go after this year that will be what..3 years in a row? First w/ T. Spikes, then w/ W Witherspoon, and now Simms (if it happens) How do we expect our LB trio to form any type of bond if we’re always changing the parts and having Stew try and bring around another guy into our system. We need some year-to-year consistancy at LB (injuries excluded of course)
Either way I hope Simms winds up eating the “G’s” as in the G on the Packers helmets. Go Get Em!
Better to eat the cheese than to cut it. Go birds!
ernie simms is solid. i think hes the answer. i may be baised and my opinion is dominated by the fact he was a stud at FSU. he was an animal and playing in detroit might have taken some life out of him but come sunday hell be ready to rock.
KTD, I said the same thing. Simms’ past play may just be a result of his environment in Detroit. Being in Philly may allow him to step his game up and reach his potential.
And, on another note. Everyone who wanted to sign Kevin Mawae as “insurance” for Jamal Jackson while he was injured. Mawae just announced he’s going to retire.
Pman, he IS an every down LB. Where’s your evidence that he is not? And for the record, many many teams rotate different guys in on third downs, that’s not a weakness, it’s a strategy.
Paulman of course we know it’s too late to be converted to a safey but that’s not what you were saying a few weeks ago. Back then you were saying he should play safety because of how fast he is.
Here’s your quote from G’s article “It’s Still early, but this defense is definitely faster and more aggressive”
Paul Mancini says:
August 24, 2010 at 2:20 pm
Good points G..
You did fail to mention that the Block by dissapointing OL A Smiht (who is 2nd string right now)
was his 1st succesful block in the 2 years since being drafted by the Bengals
I also think the Eagles are still smallish at the point of attack (minus Bradley) plus add in that the Secndary is smallish and they may have a problem matching up with bigger,stronger WR’s in the Red-ZOne or in short-yardage situations though they have played very weel as a group so far this pre-season… I think SIms would make a great Strong Safety and play him down in the box on running plays and then let him roam the middle part of the field in passing situations, I do not think he will do well at LB for he is too small to shed the big blockers who will come his way and don’t envision him as a 3 Down/everydown LB in the NFL…
In that quote you say he would make a good safety not that could have been had he been converted 4 years ago. Just don’t try to change your story now. Earlier you thought he was good enough to be safety now and it’s obvious he’s not.
Uh oh… Caught! LOL! Scorp, do you have a paralegal working for you?
At any rate, I’m not yet sold on Sims as the best answer, but hopefully not a severe liability.
Don’t worry birds fan. I just heard that Dimitri Patterson has been asked to study as the 4th saftey. We are saved and Simms can focus soley on being a lactose intollerant LB.
I know what I said/posted Scorpion, ( I have a great memory as you do too..)
It would not been a bad idea early in camp or back even OTA to take a look at him on the back line
just to see what the guys capable of … But he’s an overall good LB and hopefully he plays like one
and makes some plays.. ( I personally think he is too small and will get pushed around by the O/Lines
and TE’s that play in the NFC East, but that’s just me )
Yes it would have been a bad idea for the very reason you posted on this thread….. it’s too late. Back then you thought he was good enough. Not for them to just try him out, but actually play. Now that you’ve come down to earth you realize dude is not a safety. He’s a fast LB. They do exist.
And I do agree with you assertion about him. I do think he’s going to get pushed around, but that’s been a recurring problem with our defense. Undersized. So it doesn’t surprise me but I don’t expect every undersized LB to play safety. Some of them are best suited in certain defenses or just key situations. I don’t think he’s an every down LB either. I think he will make some plays because of his aggressiveness and speed but there will be those games where he is lost and getting pushed outside the TV viewing area. With this a more passing league, there is no such things as a passing/rushing down anymore. If he doesn’t make good decisions, once teams see him on the field they audible to something to take advantage of him. So he’s got to be good as well as the other LBs.
He is going to eat some cheese for sure, its his nature, but i think that the coaches has cleaned him up,and his play with his speed and nastiness is going to make us so very forgiving for his occassional cheese munching. And Now the Monolith Prayer……Dear Lord give unto us a down right mean and nasty defense, one that shareth liberally to all offenses the gift of pain. Mayeth we bird fans delight in the trembling of our foes. May we ravege like locust every stadium we visit, and mayeth the name of the eagles defense be preceded by all manner of foul language when spoken by our enemy. Amen. Go Eagles
Preach on…
So the real question is this…. Is Sims a really talented guy that was trying to do way too much in Detroit and thus failed to live up to his potential or Is he A physically gifted player that is not heady enough to make good football decisions (A not eat cheese, B not kill his own teammates in training camp)?
I hope he was making up for a lack of talent. (I fear given the training camp incidents that he lacks a pros understanding)
If he proves to be coach able and dependable we will have gotten a steal.
I am rooting for you to succeed #50!!!
I honestly think Sims lacks the smarts to really absorb the defensive calls and schemes
and reliy’s too much on his athletic ability (SImilar to how Safeties S Jones & Q Demps were, they just could not pick-up this defense)
If sims wasn’t a liability he wouldn’t be with the Eagles…..clearly a bust 1st round pick which the drafted regularly under Millen
Ernie SIms wad drafted by the GREAT DRAFTNIK Matt Millen….perhaps there’s a reason why they let Ernie Sims go for a pack of bubble yum…. Ummm let me think, we know he knows how to hurt his own teammates. I have yet to see a nice hard hit from Sims in preseason yet, have you?