As has been the case for the Los Angeles Chargers with safety Derwin James, the Raiders have had difficulty keeping safety Johnathan Abram healthy enough to play an entire season. Yet, when healthy, James has performed at a high level in the 21 games he has played in his three NFL seasons, whereas Abram’s reckless,
Gus Bradley tasked with getting Johnathan Abram to harness immense talent
Why take a “in the box” safety when the league is a passing -oriented? Why do you do that?
Abram’s issues were evident at Mississippi State. Issues in coverage, over aggressiveness, etc.
I blame Mayock and Gruden for selecting him in the first round. Good luck to Bradley on trying to reform him.
Yeah, he has a bit of Mike Mitchell in him, in that he loves the attention he receives for delivering the big hit, blowing up a blocker, whatever, at the expense of making all the plays that are expected of him over the course of a game. The Raiders are aware of his shortcomings, but he is worth the effort because of his skillset, intensity, attitude and aptitude. But, yes, all these things were glaring at Mississippi State, as was his reckless style of play making him prone to injury.
It’s the injury part that concerns me most. Playing with such reckless abandon leads to concussions….which means he’s sitting on the sidelines missing the game, then missing practice the next week. It hurts himself and it hurts the team. Love his passion, which I’m sure was a main attraction in drafting him. But it’s all about discipline, discipline, discipline. His talent will shine through brightly if he can just harness it.
Agree with all of the above, I love Abram’s passion but he needs to be better at being more consistent. If he can do so, he may become the type of leader of the defense that this team sorely needs. As with Arnette, he needs to stay injury free, not only do the concussions keep him off the field it will also have a tremendous impact on his quality of life after football. How did Beastmode say it? “Take care of y’all mentals.”