Well first, it is pretty easy to sit back and say a rookie CB isn't ready for the prime time.. hell 90% of incoming rookie CB's aren't ready.. nature of the leap from college to the pros.. with extremely different rules at both levels for the corners.. in college they can get away with so much more.

The transition is got to be tough for a seasoned college corner to the pros.. unless they have that rare talent set and played looser at the college level.

Anyway.. Shields being raw is both helpful and harmful to him.. helpful that he doesn't have to unlearn bad habits developed over several seasons in the college level.. but harmful that he just lacks overall experience at the position. However he does have the assistance of falling back on his knowledge of playing receiver as well.. knowing what to look for in route trees and footwork..

Watching him play.. no doubt at times his lack of experience playing corner is very apparent.. but at the same time he has instincts for the spot and speed to recover..

The summation that he isn't ready is probably correct for opening day.. but it is apparent as well that past the top 3 (on on the PUP) that we don't have a more ready option either. That was the disappointment of this camp and preseason.. lack of growth at corner.

I trust Teddy is kicking over stones looking for the answer on the street or in trade.. but with his mantra of going young is going to leave us with little options.. I think it might be time for a one year veteran fill in to bridge the gap for another year and let these youngsters grow a bit more.. or prove that they are never going to fill that spot.

If I have to watch another meltdown with green corners lost on the field in a pivotal game.. I might go off the reservation mentally so to speak.. lol.

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"Talented" is the correct word no? What he lacks is Skill and Experience.

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I believe he is very talented, he has speed, quickness, instincts, maturity for his age, and is motivated. He also seems to be coachable and is a hard worker.

Now, whether he is productive remains to be seen.

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Yeah... he's so talented that he somehow flew under the radar of all 32 teams on draft day. Or maybe no one wanted corners this year... who knows?

He's had a good camp, and he's looked good in preseason. And I hope he keeps it up, I really do.

But I think he's gonna get burned like an Irishman in Haiti - early and often. You don't think Andy Reid is licking his chops right now? Even if he's not thinking about food?

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So when we are in nickel we will have a rookie cb and a rookie safety? If that happens I am picking up Kolb for fantasy week 1 lol

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Who said anything about our pass rush? I'm hoping someone uses a BB gun to take out his knee.

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No idea who will be available but CB depth is a glaring hole in the roster now that Harris is on the pup, Underwood is hurt, and Lee has not stepped up. AZ provided the blue-print.

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Arizona provided no such blueprint. Several offenses exposed the open field of our defense with quick slant passes far earlier in the year than the Cardinals did.

There is no blueprint to beating a team, or offense or defense other than the obvious, score more points. If there was, it wouldn't be the NFL, it would be High School football.

Maybe I read into 'blueprint' too much, but that thinking is just against why we love the sport. Because it is unknown, because any Sunday the underdog can win the game.

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For all the propositioning on Shield's skill-set (or lack thereof) lets not leave out mention of his "instincts." Maybe it's a football cliche, but instincts "can't be taught." When Woodson gives Shields the stamp of approval in this regard you can bet on it being at least somewhat true. Woodson is more instincts than athletic ability. He just sees things before they happen. He has freakish ball skills. I trust that he's also a good eye for noticing similar qualities in other players.

Shields may be raw -- awfully raw at that -- but speed and instincts, particularly for a cornerback, are valuable assets. His ability to succeed early on will lean heavily on those attributes. But -- again as they say -- there's no substitute for game-action. It would be nice if the situation wasn't so much of on-the-job-training.

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Where was John Randle drafted? Apparently nobody in that draft wanted a HOF DT

Or Antonio Pierce ... Or a produtive Linebacker

Or Adewale Ogunleye ... No body pays through the nose for pass rushers

or Ryan Grant .. No one wanted a consistent running back

Or Bart Scott .. Etc..

Or Brian Waters .. How many Pro Bowls does he have

Or London Fletcher.. or he..

Or Pat Williams ... or he..

Or Jeff Saturday ... or he.

Point is the draft and NFL is littered with guys that slip through the process and go onto productive careers, Pro Bowls and even the Hall of Fame.

Granted more washout.. but just because he is a UDFA rookie.. doesn't mean he can't play.

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