J. Kapp 11 wrote:It's been interesting for me to have the chance to go up to a game a couple times in US Bank Stadium. We're very fortunate ... the seats we get are in the end zone near the big doors, and at just the right height to be pretty much the same view as the all-22.
I've made it a point to spend a little time watching Trae Waynes. He's got a lot of things going for him. He's excellent at shadowing his man, changing directions on a dime, with really flexible hips. The problems I've seen are that he sometimes isn't aware that the ball is on the way. But for the most part, he's able to stay very close to his man when he's in man coverage.
One play was interesting against Baltimore. The Vikings were in Cover 2, and Baltimore completed one of its few reasonably long completions to Waynes' side. He was visibly upset at Harrison Smith, of all people, because apparently Harry was late to his zone. Waynes let the receiver go past his zone, obviously thinking he had help over the top. The fact that he stood up to a Pro Bowler tells me that he's gaining confidence. And from where I sat, Waynes had every right to be upset.
As others have said, he's a good tackler ... better than his somewhat slender build would suggest.
I like him. He plays hard, and he hangs in there despite getting the majority of the targets. And you know, the more he's targeted, the better he's going to get.
Good to have a live report. I think it reflects what I am seeing on TV. He seems to defend the player and not the ball. That's my only gripe about his play. He sometimes looks like he's about to get burned because by not looking back for the ball he looks a bit lost on some plays (again, on TV). There's no denying his speed, though, and he uses it well to blanket WRs. Compared to where our secondary was when we had Leslie Frazier (former DB himself) we have improved by leaps and bounds.
By the way, I completely agree with your observations on Zimmer that you posted elsewhere. My esteem for him is likely clear from my username pic (or is that an avatar? showing my age / lack of tech savvy), but he really was a solid hire and I love what he brings to the organization.