Hmmm ok. Like the signing.

But he hates us, remember?

So everyone, please be sweet, kind, loving, and nice to him and his precious mindset. 

22 hours ago, brkmsn said:

CJGJ does need to improve as a tackler. He doesn't shy away from tackles and maybe goes for the big hit a little too often. If he get's his missed tackle percentage below 10%, that will be a big improvement for him. But he also has playmaking ability that compensates for the missed tackles. I would rather see a player make a mistake by being aggressive (going for the hit) than by just being passive and not trying. It is entirely possible he can improve as a tackler still. 

I just want to point out that he's in year 6 and if people are giving him that much time to improve as a tackler they probably should be relatively nice to others because he's had plenty of time to master a concept that you're supposed to learn in high school, and if not that, definitely college.

6 hours ago, Kz! said:

How does anyone who watched our putrid trainwreck of a secondary last year complain about bringing CJGJ back? He's a versatile defender who can play nickel or safety - two positions where we desperately need help. Howie righting what was clearly a mistake last offseason. 

Well sorry for people wanting their safeties to be able to tackle. I know, strange concept. I really hope he plays nickel.

7 minutes ago, AmericanEagle77 said:

I just want to point out that he's in year 6 and if people are giving him that much time to improve as a tackler they probably should be relatively nice to others because he's had plenty of time to master a concept that you're supposed to learn in high school, and if not that, definitely college.

It's just a discipline issue for the most part. He was a CB with the Saints and played safety for us. He didn't play much last year because of the injury. But as a safety he does need to improve as a tackler to help his team. He may still improve there.

5 hours ago, LacesOut said:

Hmmm ok. Like the signing.

But he hates us, remember?

So everyone, please be sweet, kind, loving, and nice to him and his precious mindset. 

We'll he's already shown more than one guy who used to play basketball in Philly whom we're not even sure plays basketball anymore

still crazy that the guy left in the first place. Glad he's back.. 

"Got any more of those FA signings?"

14 hours ago, AmericanEagle77 said:

Well sorry for people wanting their safeties to be able to tackle. I know, strange concept. I really hope he plays nickel.

Sure he's not a great tackler, but were we better off without him? I mean, it seems pretty cut and dry to me. The secondary was a disaster last year. We had no playmakers whatsoever. The prior year CJGJ was on pace to lead the NFL in interceptions prior to the freak injury. He instantly improves our defense whether he's playing safety or nickel. 

Just now, Kz! said:

Sure he's not a great tackler, but were we better off without him? I mean, it seems pretty cut and dry to me. The secondary was a disaster last year. We had no playmakers whatsoever. The prior year CJGJ was on pace to lead the NFL in interceptions prior to the freak injury. He instantly improves our defense whether he's playing safety or nickel. 

Marcus Epps would have improved our defense by playing the other S spot. That's not exactly an upsell of Gardner-Johnson at S.

Some people like Asante Samuel. Some people like Sheldon Brown. But Asante Samuel wouldn't have been a good safety. Same deal here. Just because he's better than what we fielded at the non Blankenship safety spot doesn't mean we wouldn't have benefitted from having a safety who actually can handle all the fundamentals of the position.

20 hours ago, AmericanEagle77 said:

Marcus Epps would have improved our defense by playing the other S spot. That's not exactly an upsell of Gardner-Johnson at S.

Some people like Asante Samuel. Some people like Sheldon Brown. But Asante Samuel wouldn't have been a good safety. Same deal here. Just because he's better than what we fielded at the non Blankenship safety spot doesn't mean we wouldn't have benefitted from having a safety who actually can handle all the fundamentals of the position.

They chose not to keep either following the 2022 season due to prioritizing other areas and Epps was not available as a free agent now.  Anyway, I also think CJGJ helps this defense with his play-making ability and the swagger/confidence he'll bring to the unit as a whole even if he isn't perfect. But having signed a 3 year deal (where I am guessing we likely will be able to get out of after year 2 somewhat easily), he may be a short term fix there.  Hoping that doesn't change draft plans (it shouldn't) and that those plans include drafting a S to compete with Brown and Blank for that 2nd spot opposite CJGJ for the immediate future (well more so with Blank initially as Brown won't be ready for the start of the season).  And then further hopeful Brown builds on his rookie year and turns into a solid S for us to lock down one spot in the starting lineup.  And as others have stated, who is to say CJGJ can't improve on his game.  I'm completely open minded about this.  

38 minutes ago, AmericanEagle77 said:

Marcus Epps would have improved our defense by playing the other S spot. That's not exactly an upsell of Gardner-Johnson at S.

Some people like Asante Samuel. Some people like Sheldon Brown. But Asante Samuel wouldn't have been a good safety. Same deal here. Just because he's better than what we fielded at the non Blankenship safety spot doesn't mean we wouldn't have benefitted from having a safety who actually can handle all the fundamentals of the position.

But CJGJ is a good safety. He was a playmaker at the position and would have likely lead the league in interceptions barring the injury. He was also clearly the better of the two safeties when he and Epps were the starting pair. 

Even if CJGJ isn't the sure-tackling safety of yesteryear, he's still a pretty damn tough, hard-nosed player with an an attitude and swagger that diffuses amongst his teammates. He's certainly not soft. He has good instincts, and he inspires confidence in the secondary.

Regardless, the safety position has been upgraded from last year. 

6 hours ago, Kz! said:

But CJGJ is a good safety. He was a playmaker at the position and would have likely lead the league in interceptions barring the injury. He was also clearly the better of the two safeties when he and Epps were the starting pair. 

To me, I think you have to provide at least the fundamentals of the position to a decent level to be actually good at the position. Buuut, some people give him a free pass from the picks. It is what it is, I just won't agree until I can see him actually tackle at least decently.

If he can become a decent tackler I'd be fine with it, but I think people basically ignore his flaws because he has good hands for a DB and I just do not agree with that. Until he's assignment sound, he's nowhere near as good as Jenkins to me, but people complained waaaaaaaaaaaaay more about him leaving than they did about Jenkins, or even Dawk. I do get age is a factor though.

45 minutes ago, AmericanEagle77 said:

To me, I think you have to provide at least the fundamentals of the position to a decent level to be actually good at the position. Buuut, some people give him a free pass from the picks. It is what it is, I just won't agree until I can see him actually tackle at least decently.

If he can become a decent tackler I'd be fine with it, but I think people basically ignore his flaws because he has good hands for a DB and I just do not agree with that. Until he's assignment sound, he's nowhere near as good as Jenkins to me, but people complained waaaaaaaaaaaaay more about him leaving than they did about Jenkins, or even Dawk. I do get age is a factor though.

It isn't just that he has good hands. He has good instincts and is around the ball and making plays. Albeit, maybe aggressively doing so at the expense of giving up plays here and there, like Asante. We didn't get that from our safeties last year or from our corners much either. Even though Byard was a ballhawk for the Titans. I think part of it may have been due to our pass rush dropping off last season.

14 hours ago, AmericanEagle77 said:

To me, I think you have to provide at least the fundamentals of the position to a decent level to be actually good at the position. Buuut, some people give him a free pass from the picks. It is what it is, I just won't agree until I can see him actually tackle at least decently.

If he can become a decent tackler I'd be fine with it, but I think people basically ignore his flaws because he has good hands for a DB and I just do not agree with that. Until he's assignment sound, he's nowhere near as good as Jenkins to me, but people complained waaaaaaaaaaaaay more about him leaving than they did about Jenkins, or even Dawk. I do get age is a factor though.

There are a lot of important aspects to playing safety. We have already established that tackling is a big one. But even more important than tackling is coverage ability. I'm not sure your age, but there was a lesson to be learned from Michael Lewis. Drafted in the 2nd rd and played opposite Dawkins. He made the pro bowl early, but then teams figured out he was easy to beat in coverage and fans quickly turned on him --- despite being a sure tackler. QB rating when targeting CJGJ has been consistently low.