Calvin Pryor

[Melchior]

There must be something in the water down here in FL. This hellhole of a state produces so many badass players.

[nerd]

Its a big deal in December and January when the smaller guys get muscled out in the playoffs. The refs allow a much more physical style of play and the WRs they face are better than in the regular season. The slippery field and increased contact changes everything in the playoffs

And interestingly enough that hasn't been a problem for Byrd in Buffalo or Ward in Cleveland, because neither of those teams have been a contender late in the season. Stud safeties in September don't matter as much as ones who can excel later on. Look at the size of the SB winning safeties for a hint

well, one was big...the other is 5'10" and maybe 200lbs so that point is very iffy.

there aren't 6'4" safeties like chancellor running around...they just don't happen. most are probably around 6'0" or smaller.

byrd isn't a hitter either...but he can play the passing lanes very well.

[PackWest]

Dive a little deeper than one SB winner, you'll note few if any safeties below 5' 11"

TEs are 6'4 or more, many WRs are 6"3 and bigger too

I didn't just make this shit up, it comes from the GMs of teams that play in the cold. And several of them are very reluctant to go below 5"11 based on their experiences. Of course there will always be exceptions...

You asked why its a big deal, and that's the reason. Little guys get out- muscled and out-jumped in the cold & snow

[hoo bleeds green]

Dive a little deeper than one SB winner, you'll note few if any safeties below 5' 11"

TEs are 6'4 or more, many WRs are 6"3 and bigger too

I didn't just make this shit up, it comes from the GMs of teams that play in the cold. And several of them are very reluctant to go below 5"11 based on their experiences. Of course there will always be exceptions...

You asked why its a big deal, and that's the reason. Little guys get out- muscled and out-jumped in the cold & snow

Off the top of my head: Troy Polamalu, Ed Reed, Antrel Rolle (ok I think he might be a bit taller), Bob Sanders, Donte Whitner (not a SB winner, but key player on very good D), Ryan Clark... and that's in the past ~7 years?

EDIT: Atari Bigby and Nick Collins also listed at 5'11.

[J_Cuz31]

Dude plays the game with bad intentions and has phenomenal instincts. he makes a shitload of tackles.

If the Eagles are so desperate for a Safety with bad intentions why not sign Bernard Pollard to a one-year deal? At least he is actually six-one.

[nerd]

Dive a little deeper than one SB winner, you'll note few if any safeties below 5' 11"

TEs are 6'4 or more, many WRs are 6"3 and bigger too

I didn't just make this shit up, it comes from the GMs of teams that play in the cold. And several of them are very reluctant to go below 5"11 based on their experiences. Of course there will always be exceptions...

You asked why its a big deal, and that's the reason. Little guys get out- muscled and out-jumped in the cold & snow

troy p from pittsburgh is listed at 5'10". in fact, going back a few years it looks like a good portion of them are just about at 5'11".

[PackWest]

Ed Reed , Antrel Rolle, Ryan Clark are all listed at 5' 11" or more
( who knows if those are accurate...)

Same with Nick Collins and Charlie Peprah ( Bigby was a back-up)

Troy is definitely shorter and so is Bob Sanders, both top-notch safeties (although Bob spent the bulk of his career indoors)
So that's 2 out of many in the last 7 years... I'm not sure if that would be enough to convince a GM to go below their size limits, but ya never know.

People said Russell Wilson was too short too, and he used that as motivation as did Brees. But smaller guys on defense is a somewhat different story, especially given the growth trend of the guys they are covering

Think about it this way:
If it didn't matter, why would players/teams lie about it and add phantom inches to their college bio's ?
And why would they bother measuring them to the nearest 1/10th inch at the combine ?

Right or wrong, personnel guys have their limits and for many cold- weather teams, the limit is 5'11".