Clarification/Explanation for my liking of Damante Horton
by crimson coug on Oct 30, 2011 9:52 PM PDT
Email
PrintSince the comments are straying away from my original point, and taking away from the original article, I will move it here and keep it short and sweet as I possibly can.
I think Horton is a good defensive back that shows great promise through his past plays to become a All Pac-12 defensive player. I've been taking into account everything he has done thus far, and my liking of him is not ONLY from the direct result of the pick 6 against Oregon.
Against CO, Horton was the one that forced the fumble that CJ recovered to seal the victory. Next game he picked off Kevin Prince, and then continued to pick off Andrew Luck in the first Stanford drive. Then, my personal favorite,he ripped out what would've been a TD pass from a WR against OSU and made it into a INT. Finally, he has picked off Thomas and ran it back for a score. That is 5 consecutive games in which he has caused a turnover. Yes, he is still unpolished, and not very consistent overall but that will improve with time as Horton is still only a sophomore. Some of you pointed out that he often gets beat deep by his receivers, but then again, the same thing can also be said about the WSU secondary as a whole. Also, some may simply attribute some of his TOs to luck, and some of it might be. But 5 consecutive TOs are not something that I'm going to say is a fluke or write it off entirely as luck.
In conclusion, over the 5 week course of time, Horton has showed glimpses of his future potential as a ballhawk. Yes, he has a long way to go, and still has his slip-ups, but I am very encouraged by the progress he has made from last year, and hope that he continues to improve. I simply believe that if he keeps up with his continued progression, that one day in the future, he will be awarded first team pac-12.
I'd also like to take this time to apologize for those that I have offended. I was caught up in the heat of the moment, and approached things a lot more awkwardly and more hostile then I should have. For the future, I will learn from my mistakes today, I will approach things a bit more differently. I'm not asking you all to agree with me, but I just wanted to fully explain my views and what I based the off from. If you still think I'm a idiot, that's fine by me, I just wanted to give credit and show my appreciation and hopes that I have for Damonte Horton, and (hopefully) I've done just that. Thanks and have a great night.
This FanPost does not necessarily reflect the views of the site's writers or editors, who may not have verified its accuracy. It does, however, reflect the views of this particular fan, which is just as important as the views of our writers or editors.
35 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
I don't know about 1st team Pac12
but both Horton and Nolan Washington should be a very solid combo for the next couple years (both are sophomores).
What would really make them look better is if we can find any sort of a consistent pass rush. Wulff has done a poor job recruiting DE’s, especially rush ends. Long is solid but he isn’t a speed rusher.
Almost rec'd
except for the DE’s comment. The problem is the same as the offensive line, and the entire team really. That problem is that there is a lot of potential there, but they still have a lot maturing to do before becoming a consistent force in the Pac-12
Attractive, Intelligent, Smart A**
by Neil Vincent Roberts on Oct 31, 2011 2:37 AM PDT up reply actions
Huh?
I think he’s pretty spot on with his “Wulff has done a poor job recruiting DEs” statement. Travis Long is by far our best DE, and he’s not really a speed guy. Not that they have to be speed guys, but you’d like at least one. Logan Mayes is progressing nicely for a true freshman, but he’s got a long way to go. Other than Long and Mayes, Xavier Cooper and Jordan Pu’u Robinson are really the only other DEs who project to be anything worth while. Now, we don’t know if he recruited someone at another position with the hopes of moving him (Long was a TE coming out of HS), but simply looking at his original comment, cougfan45 pretty much hit the nail on the head in terms of Wulff and his lack of DEs.
by Kyle Rancourt on Oct 31, 2011 3:26 PM PDT up reply actions
Jason David got beat by receivers routinely and is regarded as a legend in some circles
I don’t think anyone would fault you for loving a Coug player.
by BigWood! on Oct 31, 2011 10:33 AM PDT reply actions 4 recs
Jason David also started in the NFL for a few years so he was probaby alright.
"If you want your dreams to come true, don't sleep in."
NFL is probably not your strongest argument
where he excelled as a nickelback, but was torched as a cover corner.
He was one of the Top 5 highest paid CB's at one point
Fun Fact!
I feel like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football. Ugh
He was still pretty damn good in 2003
When Tru was wearing a Seahawks jersey
I miss *REAL* Four Loko
by B-Lot tailgater on Nov 1, 2011 8:25 AM PDT up reply actions
I feel like Horton gets a bad wrap for getting beat by Nelson Rosario twice against UCLA.
Outside of that he’s probably been our best corner, certainly much better than Simmons. I agree five straight games with a turnover is very impressive. Yes, results based analysis isn’t the greatest way to do things, but given that he is only a sophomore, he definitely has a ton of potential. Who knows with some decent coaching, from a new group of coaches why can’t he be all conference?
"If you want your dreams to come true, don't sleep in."
by kelly20210 on Oct 31, 2011 12:53 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Well
in fairness, he also got beat by Owusu first play against Stanford, and Luck under threw the ball.
by Kyle Rancourt on Oct 31, 2011 3:27 PM PDT up reply actions
You're also talking about Andrew Luck.
I don’t think it’s fair to Damante Horton to knock him for making a great play on a mistake made by the best college QB most of us have seen. I’m with SoCal below me, but at the same time this is like last year when I was advocating Mizell and Kaufusi should see the majority of the snaps at linebacker. The guy isn’t a polished product, at the same time he’s our best playmaker in the secondary and he clearly has Pac-12 talent, he still has a lot of time to grow as a player. The technique will come with time and experience but you can’t teach some of the abilities he’s shown the past few weeks. No one thinks he’s Marcus Trufant, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have plenty of potential.
"If you want your dreams to come true, don't sleep in."
I think you're reading too much into it.
I was replying to the your comment because you made it seem like getting beat twice against UCLA was his only flub. The pick was a nice pick, but reviewing the play, Luck under threw his man. Should we credit Horton more because Luck is amazing? I don’t understand this line of thinking. I get that he rarely makes mistakes, but he still made the mistake. An Andrew Luck bad throw is still a bad throw.
by Kyle Rancourt on Oct 31, 2011 3:43 PM PDT up reply actions
My point in that comment is that he deserves credit for capitilizing on a mistake when he absolutley had to.
Yes he was beaten, but he also made an extremely good recovery.
"If you want your dreams to come true, don't sleep in."
Also maybe Horton would look a little better if we could generate any sort of pass rush.
Long is merely an average rusher but doesn’t generate much pressure and consistently receives extra attention from our opponents. As you said above our other DEs aren’t much to write home about. More than that Chris Ball seems completely incapable of implementing anything that looks like an effective blitz package. Our blitz package is predicatable and pedestrian in terms of complexity and looks. Most of the time AHE and Kaufusi just creep towards the line before the snap and try to shoot a gap.
"If you want your dreams to come true, don't sleep in."
You're missing the point entirely by talking about the line.
The problem with the pass rush (or lack thereof) is a problem for our defense as a whole, not simply for Damante Horton. You’re taking a micro discussion and turning it into a macro one when the situation does not call for it.
by Kyle Rancourt on Oct 31, 2011 3:46 PM PDT up reply actions
So you don't think Damante Horton would get beat less if he didn't have to cover for 8 seconds on every pass play?
"If you want your dreams to come true, don't sleep in."
The eight seconds more hyperbole but the point remains that DBs tend to get beat less when there is a pass rush.
That includes the corner in question.
"If you want your dreams to come true, don't sleep in."
Agreed, and I know
But I’m just not sure he’s had to cover any longer than one normally would. Maybe a half-second, or half-step, but that’s about it.
A better, or more consistent, pass rush would be nice, but WSU is kinda playing with the hand it was dealt.
We don't have any pass rush though.
Pass coverage and pass rush are two things that are very strongly connected. My point in all of this is Horton has definitely exceeded expectations to this point in his career, and is certainly a Pac-12 caliber player. I’m not in love with his abilities, but as you said we’re playing the hand we’ve been dealt and Horton’s done a pretty nice job considering.
"If you want your dreams to come true, don't sleep in."
I wouldn't say there is no pass rush at all.
But there certainly isn’t a consistent one. Blitzes don’t get home more often than not and the front-four can be solid at times on its own and MIA others.
And yes, there’s definitely a strong correlation between pass rush and coverage. If one is great, it makes the other look great, as well.
Yes occassionally we do get a pass rush.
By and large however it is pretty pitiful.
"If you want your dreams to come true, don't sleep in."
Yeah, Horton still gets beat but so does everyone else
In recent memory, I think Horton is the the one that is covering the opposing team’s best WR in man coverage(making this assumption, because guarding Richardson from CO and Owusu from Furd comes off the top of my head). No doubt, Horton gets beaten by his man few times a game, but he is also the only DB that, in my mind, is making up for it by coming up with TOs one way or another. (except Deon)
by crimson coug on Oct 31, 2011 5:29 PM PDT up reply actions
Nonsense
Everyone in the stadium knew it was going to Rosario. Why didn’t he have any help from the safety ? Lamont Thompson would have have had two interceptions.
I’m impressed with Horton. His takeaway against the beavers a saved TD and was an amazing feat of athleticism. I don’t recall seeing that done in the last two decades or so.
by TheOriginalCougMan on Oct 31, 2011 7:18 PM PDT up reply actions
Because WSU was in cover 0
Because UCLA employs a run-based pistol and Richard Brehaut — who the gameplan was originally installed against — throws a bad deep ball. Kevin Prince can make that throw, but also makes poor decisions. Thus, the decision to go straight-man and bring the safeties into the box to stop the run.
I think Horton has been good at times
but really horrible at times. He looks completely lost on some plays. I will say that he has a knack to be in the right place at the right time for some plays, but that is compared to our other CBs. He is also a better tackler than our other CBs. I get where you are going, but I am not sold on him becoming an All Pac12 player yet. I feel like he is a second year baseball player who has hit five home runs in his past five games, but keeps striking out and grounding into double plays. He is exciting but a few of the home-runs were bad pitches. He just happened to get into a streak. Exciting doesn’t cut it, consistency does. I rather see consistency with good technique and fluid movements in the hips. He is hitting .175 with a huge slugging percentage and looks lost in half of his at bats. I rather take a second year guy hitting .285 and consistent with good technique who puts the ball in play. Once I see more consistency by Horton then I may jump on the wagon.
Clear eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose
by SoCalCoug on Oct 31, 2011 1:33 PM PDT reply actions 6 recs
By the way, I don't think anyone thinks you shouldn't like Damante Horton
I like Damante Horton. It’s just that citing his interceptions and perceived potential is misleading.
But if you want to cite a good play in which he did all the right things, I’d point to his interception in the end zone against UCLA. Good footwork, used the sideline as another defender, got his head around and attacked the ball at its highest point. It’s a drill the defensive backs do every single day, and Horton executed it to perfection.
by Brian Floyd on Oct 31, 2011 7:26 PM PDT reply actions 3 recs
Thanks for this.
I know that none of the authors are “hating” on Horton, but in a discussion like this it can sometimes look/feel that way.
#CougHarmonyonTwitter with your pants off, M*tha F*cker!
Here's another positive
He’s actually within a yard of receivers so he’s able to make plays, unlike our corners the last three years! ;-)
PROGRESS!!!
Attractive, Intelligent, Smart A**
by Neil Vincent Roberts on Nov 4, 2011 7:45 PM PDT up reply actions
GAWD
I hate Demante Horton. Oh man. AmIright? Who’s with me?!
just kidding.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Community Guidelines
Related FanPosts on CougCenter
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
