Eye In The Sky Report – Chris Clemons aka Déjà Vu

Eye in the Sky Report – Chris Clemons aka Déjà Vu

Here we go again. Call this what now; round 4…all the OTA talk surrounding Chris Clemons is astonishing. Compliments after compliments, praise from all coaches and player. Fans are now starting to believe the hype, optimism is now growing that we finally have found a cure for our Free Safety positions….I call this déjà vu.

Like all fairy tales, this story should start with “Once upon a time,” but I believe we can skip that nonsense and just get right to the point…Is Chris Clemons our answer at Free Safety? To answer that questions let’s first take a step back and understand what we have seen from this former 6^th round pick.

Clemons was drafted under our former regimen, therefore has no ties to our current coaching staff. Clemons best asset is his speed which has made him valuable to our team. Back when Tony was our head coach, we would hear about the progress that Clemons has made. Being on the field for over 600 snaps, his game recognition is growing and we finally see the light coming on. Well that glowing play recognition did not accurately reflect what we saw on the field. Clemons first few years left many fans, this one in particular wondering; seriously we don’t have any other better options?

Defensive Stats
SEASON	TEAM	GP

COMB

TOTAL

AST

SACK

YDS

INT

YDS

AVG

LNG

STF

STFYDS

2009

MIA

0.0

2010

MIA

1.5

2011

MIA

0.0

2012

MIA

0.0

-3

Career

185

144

1.5

Extracted from ESPN.COM

His first three seasons, all under our former regimen. His stats make you curious to understand his role on our team, really this kid started for our team? As evident in the above table, Clemons had 72 total tackles in the 3 years…let that marinate for a second.

A starting Free Safety, our last line of defence on one of the worst secondaries in the NFL, had only 72 tackles in 40 games. That’s not what you are looking for statistically speaking from a starting player.

Perhaps it was the complexity of Mike Nolan’s Robber technique that caused Clemons to think too much on the field rather than just playing the game he loves. When Kevin Coyle became our new DC, we can’t help but notice a substantial increase in the statistical performance by Chris Clemons. In one season playing Coyle Zebra formation he outperformed his previous three:

– Tackles

First three season = 72
Last year = 72

– Assisted Tackles

First three season = 15
Last year = 26

– Interceptions

First three season = 1
Last year = 2

Huh!?

Is this the same player that showed no promise in his first three seasons? Clemons play last year earned him a modest one million one year contract extension. Coach Philbin believes that Clemons earned that contract and if he shows this type of progress and development that our front office will then provide the long term commitment that Clemons is looking for.

But, who is the real puppet master here? Does Clemons success reflect 100% on Kevin Coyle? We have seen what Coyle has done with his former safeties on the Bengals and with our current Strong Safety Rashad Jones. Coyle is a secondary guru, and we can’t help to be excited about this promising coach. Coyle knows how to get the best out of his players which is reflected by the breakout year Clemons produced last season. Or, we can spin the plot in another direction. Clemons was in a contract year, and for him to attract the attention of our coaching or any staff did his play on the field only increase due to wanting a new contract. Let’s be fair here, the NFL is the Not For Long league and almost all players are looking to cash in, does Clemons now fall under this umbrella?

Any angle you start looking at this, it all comes down to what we have already been through with Clemons. Playing well in OTAs, gaining the respect of his coaches, and playing for a contract. All these factors just put us in a state of déjà vu.

The nickname seems fitting, ironic…isn’t.

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