Markus Bailey

[*bengalfan74*]

(06-26-2022, 10:21 PM)Forever Spinning Vinyl Wrote: Great player. I said the day he was drafted "They just fixed their LB room" after they also picked up Logan Wilson and ADG earlier in the draft. They already had two starters in 2nd year player Pratt and FA Bynes so Wilson and ADG were the immediate backups so Bailey had time to recover without having to fight for a spot. He was basically being groomed for being the active game day roster replacement for Bynes as everyone moved up in the pecking order as Bynes was just an AFC North veteran placeholder for a year until the rookies got more used to the system and being a professional athlete.

To me, he seems kind of like a Zach Thomas type of LB in a way that he's a bit undersized but B]he appears to read the game faster than most defenders.[/B] Those are the type of players where you throw 40 times out the window. Who cares if he's fast if he's almost always two or three steps behind every play? I want someone that will force a ball carrier to make an extra cut and slow down the play by disrupting it than have a guy that is better at chasing a ball carrier down 30 yards down the field.

Bailey has shown that he has a nose for the football and is not much of a drop off from Wilson or Pratt.

That's one of the things that jumped out at me watching him in college. He has very good football instincts. He's just one of those guys that seems to possess this 6th football sense. It's something that's hard to teach you just have to have it.

I'm hoping he takes a big step forward this year and can contribute to the LBer rotation. And perhaps more ?