Pass Coverage
Ultimately, free safeties make their name and their money against the pass, and this is where the Panthers are hoping that Boston will be able to make a real impact. As in the run game, a certain amount of what Boston is asked to do as a deep field safety is to clean up plays on the back end. To this end, he shows good downhill speed, allowing him to close down to attack screens:
He also shows a nice ability to process plays and get to the right place early enough to give him the best chance to limit the plays success:
This closing speed is also useful on the back end as well, as while he is not the next Earl Thomas, he is still able to cover a huge amount of ground in order to limit yards after the catch:
He also shows a nice ability to compete at the catch point to force incompletions rather than having to settle for limiting yards after the catch:
However, probably the most impressive part of his coverage game is his ability to diagnose what the offense is trying to do, allowing him to pre-empt where he needs to be – allowing him to make plays that other safeties simply aren’t able to. A good example of that is the following play, where he appears to have the under responsibility from a two high safety formation. Recognizing that the far side receiver is going vertical to force safety help over the top, he anticipates that the near-side receiver is going to break back across into the space vacated by the vertical route:
By being able to break on the route before the receiver makes his break, Boston is therefore able to be in good position to force the incompletion. Not dissimilarly, on this next play, he is able to anticipate the break back to the ball, even if he wishes he could have this play back:
This combination of speed, instincts and ball skills allows him to be far more impactful than simply patrolling the deep middle, such as being able to drop into man coverage against a running back from a two-high safety formation:
Or this following play, where he is able to recognize the receiver crossing from the back side of the formation and then show the speed and ball skills to force the incompletion:
And finally, he shows the ball skills to allow him to turn errant throws forced by pressure into turnovers:
This was something that the coaches have highlighted since his signing – given the investment they have made in the front seven in an attempt to generate more consistent pressure, they want somebody on the back end who can turn the mistakes forced by that pressure into turnovers. This is something that Boston has consistently shown the ability to do throughout his career.
The other thing that Boston brings to the Panthers, as some may remember from the playoffs against the Seahawks in 2015, is the ability to make an impact as a blitzer, both against the pass:
And against the run:
The Panthers probably aren’t going to use him in this way a huge amount, but he has shown the ability to make an impact in this way in the past.
Boston isn’t a feature piece for a defense, but he is a good starting free safety, who is a natural compliment for Eric Reid in a split safety defense similar to what the Panthers have run in the past. Given what they are paying him, this is an excellent value move for the Panthers, and should provide them the security on the back end that they have lacked in recent seasons.
