Savage got the reps in the CCG after Vaughn went down. He and Rawls are technically 2nd year true freshman so they’ve been through multiple camps. Makes me wonder if the time the two spent on the receiver side during spring/fall camp (not sure if it was both or just one camp) slowed their development.
Mataele may have more experience at nickel but, per Shah, he is trained in both nickel and outside. Bishop has taken over McKinney’s starting spot but again, per Shah, our safeties are training in both safety and nickel. Putting your most experienced DB lineup out there would have been Mataele/Phillips at corner, McKinney at nickel, and Bishop/Davis at safety.
Ultimately, the problem was not the DB rotation. Could they have played better? Sure, no one ever plays a perfect game. However, the real issue was the inability of the DLine to get any pressure on Stroud and take him out of his comfort zone. NFL DB’s can’t cover for 5-6 seconds and since Stroud is just punching his time before he is eligible for his first round draft slot, that was always going to a struggle. Even 5 Clark Phillips’s would have had trouble with those timing and crossing routes.
The number of times Stroud put the ball right where only his receiver had a chance was impressive. The first TD to Harrison, there was nothing Bernard could do. The last TD to Smith-Njiba, Mataele was in perfect position. Sometimes you tip your cap to the other guy and accept that he was just better on that day.
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