Second half of Friday's preseason game. Falcons are up 17-0. 13 minutes until halftime. First and ten after a Chad Henne to Daniel Thomas conversion. Henne's play fake is UGLY. But - not surprisingly - Chris Owens bites. And then Brian Hartline blows right by him. Rafael Bush tries to provide some help over the top. It's too late though, and the shutout goes the way of Dave's hairline.
Look, I certainly realize that was only one play. To that effect, it's only the preseason. If you're telling me you feel comfortable with him at nickel though, then you're lying to yourself, and like my momma always said, lying ain't no good. My problem is that Owens seemingly has some limitations as a player. I genuinely wonder whether he can get past some of his deficiencies. CBSSports had this to say about him before the '09 draft:
Loses a step in his transition and isn't explosive out of his breaks [and] allows separation [yet he] isn't big or strong enough to get back around the receiver to knock away accurate passes
Sound familiar? In a league where a temporary ride on the learning curve is commonplace, Owens is starting to look like an 8th grader on the swirling tea cups. He can't blame it on the reps he's received, he just can't. He needs to improve and he needs to improve now. Long story short, you'd have to think Dominque Franks has the inside track at nickel right now, especially given his solid-to-good performance 3 days ago. Moreover, what was Yasinkas thinking when he wrong this a year ago? Owens before Grimes? On what planet? As always, I'm curious what y'all think.
Discuss!