Some Love for Marcus Burley

volsunghawk · Oct 2, 2014

I enjoy Bill Barnwell's writing, and he just did a piece on NFL players who are having success this season after coming from out of nowhere. Burley is his first entry:

Marcus Burley, Seattle

Role: Rotation cornerback
Drafted: Undrafted free agent, 2013
How Acquired: Trade, August 2014
NFL Games Before 2014: 0
Got His Job Because: Offseason departures, injuries to other backup corners

It’s unfair. It shouldn’t work this way. The Seahawks already had the best secondary in football. Sure, they lost Walter Thurmond III and Brandon Browner at corner this offseason, but with Jeremy Lane and Tharold Simon waiting to take over as the nickel cornerback, the Seahawks were set on the outside. Then Lane and Simon both got hurt. That thrust Burley, the team’s fifth corner, into a meaningful role just weeks after the Seahawks acquired him from Indianapolis on cut day.

He should have been a weakness for opponents to exploit. Instead, Burley’s play has made one NFL scout say he’s already better than Thurmond, while Sports Illustrated‘s Doug Farrar suggested that an injury to Burley was what allowed the Broncos to score on their final drive in Week 3. It shouldn’t be this easy to find worthwhile contributors at corner!

For the Seahawks, it is. There’s a lot to be said for playing next to Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas while suiting up for Pete Carroll, an incredible defensive backs coach. And it’s not like Burley wasn’t available to the rest of the league. After going undrafted in 2013, he caught on with the Jaguars, who cut him early in the year. He then bounced around the practice squads of the Eagles, Rams, and Colts, each of whom could use a cornerback. Burley then showed enough in the preseason this year for the Seahawks to send a sixth-round pick to the Colts, who were apparently about to cut the former Delaware star.

At 5-foot-10, he doesn’t fit Seattle’s known preference for bigger cornerbacks on the edge, but he fits in nicely as a slot corner. He played 58 percent of the snaps against Denver in Week 3, and while Simon will take some of Burley’s snaps when he comes back from knee surgery, Burley has shown enough to stay on the active roster. Just what Seattle needed: better defensive backs.

The entire piece is a great read, but the Burley part was just awesome.

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/marcu ... e-players/

Seahawkfan80 · Oct 2, 2014

Diamonds in the ruff..... :lol:

bigwrm · Oct 2, 2014

I was admittedly confused when we traded a sixth round pick for him, but it's a good reminder that I should just trust PC/JC, particularly when it comes to the secondary.

HawkFan72 · Oct 2, 2014

I was skeptical of a 6th rounder too, but he has been great. Just imagine when he gets comfortable here too, he's still learning the ropes!

Trenchbroom · Oct 2, 2014

That formulates a good question in my mind:

USC followers (SIS, I am looking at you): did Pete always have dominant, soul crushing secondaries at USC? I remember his teams for the string of quality LB's (Polamalu, Lofa, Rey Maualuga) but for defensive players, that's about it.

Our Man in Chicago · Oct 2, 2014

Is Burley still injured?

marymoorhawk · Oct 2, 2014

Only disagreement from me on this is the thought that Simon will push Burley out as a nickel corner when he comes back from injury. I don't see Simon as guy who will be great at covering the slot - more like a backup to Sherman/Maxwell.

Lane is a guy who could push Burley when he returns but if Marcus keeps playing like he has the first couple of weeks it won't matter ... Pete and staff won't take him out.

Blitzer88 · Oct 2, 2014

That's some good stuff there.

Basis4day · Oct 2, 2014

Our Man in Chicago":ayv60ken said:
Is Burley still injured?

From the hit he took from Kam? He got the wind knocked out of him.

marymoorhawk · Oct 2, 2014

Basis4day":2vakfwfz said:
Our Man in Chicago":2vakfwfz said:

Is Burley still injured?

Click to expand...

From the hit he took from Kam? He got the wind knocked out of him.

Kam hits so hard he finally got his breath back today ...

ivotuk · Oct 2, 2014

John Schneider is a genius! I really liked this quote:

"He should have been a weakness for opponents to exploit. Instead, Burley’s play has made one NFL scout say he’s already better than Thurmond, while Sports Illustrated‘s Doug Farrar suggested that an injury to Burley was what allowed the Broncos to score on their final drive in Week 3. It shouldn’t be this easy to find worthwhile contributors at corner!"

Funny quote from Farrar's twitter

Mack ‏@seattlevandal Sep 23
@SI_DougFarrar his LOB baptism. Not a member until Kam tattoos you.

https://twitter.com/SI_DougFarrar/statu ... 5775227904

More:

Marcus Reaves ‏@Reaves9 Sep 25
@derekneill49 @ProspectInsider Watch that last drive again. Watch manning. Gets the snap and immediately looks at Maxwell.

Jason A. Churchill ‏@ProspectInsider Sep 25
@Reaves9 Well, you aren't looking at Sherman in that situation.

Sincerely,

Colin Kaepernick

Andre Michaelson ‏@wearandtear1014 Sep 26
@NickMensio @RossJonesFOX is there anyone better than the combo of Carroll and Schneider at evaluating talent? #bargainbinkings

Nick Mensio ‏@NickMensio Sep 26
@wearandtear1014 That and/or their coaching staff can literally coach up anyone.

Edit: https://twitter.com/RossJonesFOX/status ... 0549360640

sc85sis · Oct 2, 2014

Trenchbroom":sscl77ix said:
That formulates a good question in my mind:

USC followers (SIS, I am looking at you): did Pete always have dominant, soul crushing secondaries at USC? I remember his teams for the string of quality LB's (Polamalu, Lofa, Rey Maualuga) but for defensive players, that's about it.

I don't think we had the level that the Seahawks do, but who does?

We certainly had a number of really good players come through USC during Pete's time. Some ended up having pro careers, some were better in college. Some probably would have had good pro careers if not for injury issues.

Troy Polamalu (finished his 'SC career after Pete came)
Terrell Thomas
Shareece Wright
Taylor Mays
Darnell Bing
Eric Wright (was dismissed from school after getting into some legal issues)
Josh Pinkard
Kevin Ellison
Cary Harris
Kevin Thomas

There were also some other guys who contributed nicely but who are lesser known.

Pete came up as a DBs coach. It's his bread and butter.

chris98251 · Oct 2, 2014

Pete was a DB.

hawkfan68 · Oct 2, 2014

Burley has been a great surprise. I hope he keeps it up. He was getting bounced around the league but hopefully he can stick with the Seahawks as a member of the LOB.

There was mention of James Hurst, OL. He was one of the draft prospects that I was hoping the Seahawks would take (pre-draft). He went undrafted but is doing a nice job with the Ravens filling in for Eugene Monroe at LT.

Mtjhoyas · Oct 2, 2014

Burley is turning out to be an incredible move. Nickel CB is one of the hardest/most thankless position in football and we have our guy for the next few years, at the price of a 6th rounder. I really like how he seems to fit in, with his personality. It definitely takes the right "mind" to survive in that DB room.

The last few drafts have been very meh, but it's moves like these that can really salvage things in the long run. Brilliant move.

Seabean · Oct 2, 2014

sc85sis":1jvcuh5m said:
Trenchbroom":1jvcuh5m said:

That formulates a good question in my mind:

USC followers (SIS, I am looking at you): did Pete always have dominant, soul crushing secondaries at USC? I remember his teams for the string of quality LB's (Polamalu, Lofa, Rey Maualuga) but for defensive players, that's about it.

Click to expand...

I don't think we had the level that the Seahawks do, but who does?

We certainly had a number of really good players come through USC during Pete's time. Some ended up having pro careers, some were better in college. Some probably would have had good pro careers if not for injury issues.

Troy Polamalu (finished his 'SC career after Pete came)
Terrell Thomas
Shareece Wright
Taylor Mays
Darnell Bing
Eric Wright (was dismissed from school after getting into some legal issues)
Josh Pinkard
Kevin Ellison
Cary Harris
Kevin Thomas

There were also some other guys who contributed nicely but who are lesser known.

Pete came up as a DBs coach. It's his bread and butter.

I might argue the fact that many of his strong secondary players (Polamalu aside) did not have strong pro careers even further speaks to his abilities as a secondary coach. He seems to get the most out of his players, and they struggle to find or sustain their same level of success elsewhere.

kpak76 · Oct 2, 2014

Mtjhoyas":3ccbuhi2 said:
Burley is turning out to be an incredible move. Nickel CB is one of the hardest/most thankless position in football and we have our guy for the next few years, at the price of a 6th rounder. I really like how he seems to fit in, with his personality. It definitely takes the right "mind" to survive in that DB room.

The last few drafts have been very meh, but it's moves like these that can really salvage things in the long run. Brilliant move.

It's hard for rookies to break this lineup ever since the the 2012 draft. I would take this year to judge the 2013 draft and next to judge this past draft. Some of the vets need to be cleared before the young guys take over for them. Glad the youngons can take a year or two to learn what they are doing so they aren't thrown to the wolves like they are on lesser teams.

NorCalSeahawk · Oct 2, 2014

This team does a good job drafting late round picks and finding retreads on different teams and even on the streets and making them viable starting players on a playoff team. Now if they could just translate that into the first two rounds of the draft, that track record is a bit shakier and not as good as some of their other moves.

Our Man in Chicago · Oct 2, 2014

marymoorhawk":2waixc9g said:
Basis4day":2waixc9g said:

Our Man in Chicago":2waixc9g said:

Is Burley still injured?

Click to expand...

From the hit he took from Kam? He got the wind knocked out of him.

Click to expand...

Kam hits so hard he finally got his breath back today ...

Ah. I hadn't heard the end of that. Good to know.

NorthDallas40oz · Oct 2, 2014

Late 6th round picks in future drafts are worthless as present day collateral. That's a negligible price to pay for anything. If you want a 6th, all you have to do is move down a few spots in the 3rd, 4th, or even 5th rounds during the draft itself. On top of that, the Hawks are currently projected to receive an extra 4th, two 6th's, and a 7th in the form of compensatory picks in the 2015 draft. Nobody should have been 'down' on the Hawks giving up a late 6th for a young CB that they obviously saw something in, and who clearly was suited to slot duty which they needed another one of (as that's not Simon's forte and Lane can't do it all himself). What was dubious was Indy deciding that they valued a future late 6th round pick more than a young corner who graded out in the top 5 overall in coverage by PFF in the pre-season, for their deficient and pass rush-less defense that needs all the talent it can find.

Some Love for Marcus Burley

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