There seems to be divergent opinions on Pollard around here, so maybe we should have a thread about him. He was a 2nd round pick and is in his second year as a fulltime starter. That's a significant player.

I am not impressed with his game. He is a hitter, no doubt. And he's made some plays on special teams, especially as a rookie. But beyond that, I don't see much that's impressive about him. He has been credited with exactly one pass defensed this year, according to his nfl.com page. That's horrible. Maybe it's a statistical fluke, or it's the fault of the bad players around him? But I don't buy that, he always seems to be a split second too late to make the play. It's gotten to the point where I started calling him "Too Late" Pollard yesterday.

He has made some tackles, but a safety is going to make tackles when the players in front of him aren't very good and especially if receivers are always catching passes right next to him. That's my opinion on Pollard, big hitter but is out of position too much and always arrives too late to make the play. He's not a rookie anymore, he should be entering his prime as a DB, and he should be in the proper position on most plays but that's not how I see him playing. IMO, he makes too many mistakes and misses too many tackles. Since he's been a starter, the defense has regressed badly. Maybe someone can make the case that it's not his fault, that he has nothing to do with that. If you can, then do it.

I see him as fine as a 3rd safety and special teamer, but that's not a good return from a 2nd round pick. And it seems like he's going to be a starter here as long as the management that invested that 2nd round pick in him is in charge.

What's the case for him being a good player?