Darryl Morris (2013 UDFA CB)

40, 10, and 3-cone are all very good. Vert and broad are good. Not sure about the short shuttle, tbh. I don't pay as much attention to that one. I just think the dude can play football. His crazy speed is a big bonus.

Originally posted by WRATHman44:
40, 10, and 3-cone are all very good. Vert and broad are good. Not sure about the short shuttle, tbh. I don't pay as much attention to that one. I just think the dude can play football. His crazy speed is a big bonus.

Thank you! Given he was rated 93 our of 217, that may simply means to me, "He needs time to develop." And what posters in here said, he got better and better throughout his college carreer. I'm wondering if that will be the case here as well. A guy you take as an UDFA and develop for a year or two and then watch out (ala Boone and Williams)! His speed is off the charts and I also see he was a kick returner. Why has he not been tried there ala Ginn with his 4.2+ speed? He's already our top 2 gunner on the coverage units.

Originally posted by NCommand:
Thank you! Given he was rated 93 our of 217, that may simply means to me, "He needs time to develop." And what posters in here said, he got better and better throughout his college carreer. I'm wondering if that will be the case here as well. A guy you take as an UDFA and develop for a year or two and then watch out (ala Boone and Williams)! His speed is off the charts and I also see he was a kick returner. Why has he not been tried there ala Ginn with his 4.2+ speed? He's already our top 2 gunner on the coverage units.

He wasn't on the radar of any draft report or scouting service I could find, even Scouts Inc didn't have a listing for him. I think with his natural athleticism, if he can put it all together, he could be a hell of a slot corner, or heck even a starting corner given the right amount of time to develop. Could be the next Brock in a couple years.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by NCommand:
Thank you! Given he was rated 93 out of 217, that may simply means to me, "He needs time to develop." And what posters in here said, he got better and better throughout his college carreer. I'm wondering if that will be the case here as well. A guy you take as an UDFA and develop for a year or two and then watch out (ala Boone and Williams)! His speed is off the charts and I also see he was a kick returner. Why has he not been tried there ala Ginn with his 4.2+ speed? He's already our top 2 gunner on the coverage units.

He wasn't on the radar of any draft report or scouting service I could find, even Scouts Inc didn't have a listing for him. I think with his natural athleticism, if he can put it all together, he could be a hell of a slot corner, or heck even a starting corner given the right amount of time to develop. Could be the next Brock in a couple years.

I'm in line with this thinking as well. We forget Brown and Brock both came out of nowhere and became FT starters after developmental years. I'm wondering (and hoping) Morris is the same way!

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Thank you! Given he was rated 93 out of 217, that may simply means to me, "He needs time to develop." And what posters in here said, he got better and better throughout his college carreer. I'm wondering if that will be the case here as well. A guy you take as an UDFA and develop for a year or two and then watch out (ala Boone and Williams)! His speed is off the charts and I also see he was a kick returner. Why has he not been tried there ala Ginn with his 4.2+ speed? He's already our top 2 gunner on the coverage units.

He wasn't on the radar of any draft report or scouting service I could find, even Scouts Inc didn't have a listing for him. I think with his natural athleticism, if he can put it all together, he could be a hell of a slot corner, or heck even a starting corner given the right amount of time to develop. Could be the next Brock in a couple years.

I'm in line with this thinking as well. We forget Brown and Brock both came out of nowhere and became FT starters after developmental years. I'm wondering (and hoping) Morris is the same way!

Yea I think that is the nature of the position lately. It seems that a lot of the great cornerbacks today started out as UDFAs or late round picks. Started off with exceptional athleticism but hardly had any production in college and a great DB coach helps them get the most out of their skills

Originally posted by FunkNinerFlex:

Originally posted by bigmur49:

Originally posted by English:

Originally posted by brodiebluebanaszak:

Originally posted by 49ers808:

Yep I remember that, I believe he was targeted only once and he immediately made the tackle on like a 5yd gain. Don't know if anyone also noticed how swole this kid looked too by then

swole?

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=swole

Well they say you learn something new every day. I am done for today

They used "swole" a lot in the early 90s if I recall correctly. "Diesel" also

Thanks English, damn am I that old? I still use "swole" till this day lol.

Originally posted by JustinNiner:
Yea I think that is the nature of the position lately. It seems that a lot of the great cornerbacks today started out as UDFAs or late round picks. Started off with exceptional athleticism but hardly had any production in college and a great DB coach helps them get the most out of their skills

Not all colleges give equal levels of coaching and the difference between the top and the bottom can be quite drastic. If you get a guy with the right athleticism, you can definitely work on his skills to make him a passable or even better player.

Originally posted by pdizo916:

Originally posted by 5280High:

As long as one of the CB's pushes Brock off the roster Ill be happy.

i think he's gone regardless...unless one of our DB's get hurt

Good call guys!

Originally posted by maxsmart:
Good call guys!

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by maxsmart:
Good call guys!

LOL. It's fun to look back and laugh now at some of our comments. But to fair, Brock was another late "meh" signing and didn't show much other than getting burned by Manningham in the 2012 NFCCG against the Giants. Then he looked significantly better in 2013 pre season. And then we all know what happened after that...injury = his time to shine and man, did he run with it! That's a rags-to-riches story right there. It still took him a couple years to develop (like Morris this year) so we should have a more keen eye and patience for the guys Baalke brings in before we quickly dimiss them next time.

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by maxsmart:
Good call guys!

LOL. It's fun to look back and laugh now at some of our comments. But to fair, Brock was another late "meh" signing and didn't show much other than getting burned by Manningham in the 2012 NFCCG against the Giants. Then he looked significantly better in 2013 pre season. And then we all know what happened after that...injury = his time to shine and man, did he run with it! That's a rags-to-riches story right there. It still took him a couple years to develop (like Morris this year) so we should have a more keen eye and patience for the guys Baalke brings in before we quickly dimiss them next time.

Always interesting to see what coaching might bring out of a player...and the scheme will play an important part in determining who and how the D backfield emerges.

The CB Situation thread got me wanting to look up the plays Morris played in. The only meaningful action he got at CB came in the second SEA game when EWright got concussed at the very end of the 3rd quarter. Morris came in at LCB in the nickel package as Rogers assumed his usual spot as slot CB (in nickel package). I counted just 3 plays where Morris recorded a defensive snap before EWright came back in during the middle of the 4th quarter.

#1
2nd & 7
49ers: cover3 shell (rush 5) - Morris playing LCB
SEA: Spider 2 Y Banana (web search that play for details)


Throw to the FB in the left flat. I'll give him a little plus on this play because he recognizes their is no threat to his zone so he starts to move towards the middle of the field.


Rogers makes the tackle.

Very next defensive snap from play above
#2
3rd & 5
Just to see his number. Lots of communication going on before this play among the 49ers.


49ers: cover3 pattern match
SEA: 11 personnel (TE is the #2 to RW's left)


RW's first read is to Lynch in the flat. Reid is attacking downhill to defend this pass. RW red lights the throw. Lynch would be smacked before he turns his head if this pass is thrown. Morris is reading the #1 and #2 on his side of the field. Because #2 goes across the middle, #1 is now Morris' man assignment. The #2s run a mesh concept over the middle of the field, in front of Bow and Willis.


Morris keeps a nice cushion in case the WR breaks vertical knowing Rogers is free to help with the underneath. The #2s just crossed one another. Since no defender was following them (playing man) there is no pick set. As soon as the #2s crossed one another in the middle of the field, Willis and Bow immediately man up. RW is seen thinking about going over the middle. RW red lights the throw. Willis would have cleaned that WR's clock.


RW scrambles left and one hops the throw to the WR (incomplete). Morris is seen recognizing a free runner down the middle of the field, although it seemed like once the WR broke up field, RW was already severely pressured with Willis running at him. Morris with his head on a swivel, don't watch the QB too much. Morris didn't factor too much in this play as RW never looked to his right.

#3
3rd & 7
49ers: cover3 shell (rush 5)
Morris at LCB.


SEA runs 4 quick curls to horizontally stretch the 3 underneath zone defenders. Morris playing a deep third zone in the cover3 shell, can only come up to help with the tackle.


Morris records an assisted tackle.

Morris didn't get tested in his three snaps at LCB. He did come up to try for a big hit in play #3. The WR rolled off and picked up an additional yard, could have wrapped up. That's my brutal assessment of the 3 plays. The thing that stood out to me is that Fangio called for some pattern matching with Morris in the game. When pattern matching goes wrong, WRs can go uncovered as miscommunication causes breakdowns in coverage. Fangio was confident enough to dial up a not-so-basic coverage call.


"He's a smart guy. He's fast. He's tough," defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said of Morris. "So, he's got some good intangibles along those ways. He just has to learn to play the position and all the nuances that go at that, which is a tall order for him coming from a small school, just making the team, making the practice squad and then being called up is a major victory. And now to ask him to take this next step, we'll see how he does with it. And he's made slow but steady progress through the offseason."

Morris has been studying tape of Carlos Rogers from last season to help get accustomed to his new duties. He played a more traditional cornerback role in college at Texas State.

"There's differences, like angles and things," Morris said. "It's an adjustment, but I think it's an opportunity and I want to continue to work at in training camp."
http://espn.go.com/blog/san-francisco-49ers/tag/_/name/darryl-morris

The parts about him being fast and tough, we all saw in the video posted on page1. A good defensive coordinator isn't going to make a complex coverage call with a dumb rookie CB on the field. It's a small take away from the three plays, but it shows me that Morris at least had his coach's confidence during that particular moment.