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A Collins assessment from the other side


Tempest

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http://https://cowboyswire.usatoday.com/2019/01/25/dallas-cowboys-2019-free-agency-safety-prospects-earl-thomas-landon-collins/2/

 

A lot of Cowboys fans are going to be mad Collins isn’t No. 1 on the list, but they’ll be alright. Here’s what Collins does bring to the table. He’s a true enforcer who has shown to have ball skills in the past. If Collins were to join Dallas, he’d be the box safety, and he’d tremendously add to an already stout run defense. He had a whopping 23 run stops, 7.2 percent of his run tackles was the highest rate in the league. He had a season with five interceptions, so he has the hands necessary to add to the low turnover total that still plagues the Dallas defense.
Here’s why he only ranks third on the list.
There’s mass appeal in taking a star away from a rival, but Collins is most likely returning to New York. He also had late-season surgery which may cause him to miss much of the offseason work prior to training camp. Are we sure Dallas wants to get into that scenario with a player who needs to learn Kris Richard’s system?
As far as his play, is he a capable coverage played in man defense? The stats say no. He gave up five touchdowns in just 80 targets over the last two seasons, and not just that, but QBs find him and target him when he gets matched up in man coverage.
Does Dallas really need to spend big bucks to improve their run defense, when they didn’t allow a single ground touchdown from more than nine yards out in 2018?
Then there’s the question of why Collins has been so other-worldly when deployed at the line of scrimmage. Is it because the Giants’ linebackers have been abject failures? That’s probably got a lot to do with why he gets so many opportunities to show his greatness.
A run support safety when the biggest strength of your team is your youthful linebacker corps seems like a waste of money, especially considering what he would cost. With Antwaun Woods, Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch in front of him, and all improving, that would seem to negate the need for a high-priced box safety, and that’s exactly what Collins is.
People are in love with his 2016 season. He wasn’t that in 2017 and wasn’t that in 2018.
Collins would certainly improve the Dallas defense, certainly taking better angles than Jeff Heath does. But whether he would have as big an impact as would be required to justify his probably price tag? That seems like a no.
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Eventhough I've been a big critic of Collins these last couple of seasons, I don't want him off the team, it's stronger with him on the roster.

 

However I don't want to tag or throw a bloated contract at him, but some team is probably going to outbid the Giants.

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