I think the reason some view Peprah as a liability is his lack of range, particularly compared to Collins and Burnett. That's why Capers had Woodson replace him in the base D on occasion vs. the Bears. One of the things that makes Collins so special is his incredible speed at the safety position - that's a huge luxury for a DC to have. I was really looking forward to Collins and Burnett at safety this year because while Burnett is not quite as fast as Collins, he's close. Both are much faster than the average player playing SS (Burnett) and FS (Collins) in the league. The knock on Burnett last year was he wasn't "laying the wood" or being physical on tackles as you'd expect a SS to be. He improved on that big time this season so Capers was going to have an incredible D backfield at his disposal this season. Yes, early on even when healthy they weren't playing great but if Shields returns to how he was playing late last season, a D backfield of Williams, Woodson, Shields, Collins and Burnett was going to be very, very special IMO. After seeing Burnett's range on that INT in Chicago, just imagine pairing him with a faster playmaking safety like Collins! Anyway I just had to vent about what could have been but it was not to be this year. Just hope Collins completely heals and gets back next season.
Of course they can still be special. Shields does have to improve - I was hoping he'd improve on his play last year but so far he has to attain that level first. I am hoping Thompson found another gem for the D backfield in House and if he can get - and stay - healthy, and get acclimated to the D he could take Bush's spot in the dime. Or he could provide another cover CB so against prolific passing offenses, Woodson could man the safety spot next to Burnett if Peprah is being exploited.
But it's still early. Like the rest of the team, it matters a lot more how they are playing at the end of the season than they are now and that's a long way away. Their incredible start - likely to be 4-0 Sunday night - isn't a guarantee of a playoff spot, but its close. Their D backfield has a lot of time to gel…