Tag: Asante Samuel Jr.

Asante Samuel vs Greg Newsome: Which CB makes more sense for Cowboys

Debating which cornerback prospect in the 2021 NFL Draft, Greg Newsome II or Asante Samuel Jr. is the better fit for the Dallas Cowboys.

The Dallas Cowboys had an extremely limited defensive backfield headed into free agency and the draft. Trevon Diggs seems to be a draft-day steal, selected No. 51 overall in the 2020 NFL draft. Anthony Brown is set to return in Year 2 of a three-year deal and can play both inside and outside, but seems to be an average player at both. Donovan Wilson emerged as a late- pick safety who has the ability to start and make plays. Those were the only known starters for the Cowboys going into this offseason though. Bringing back Jourdan Lewis on a cost-effective three-year deal gives the club more options, but still leaves them the ability to draft multiple defensive backs across multiple positions in the upcoming draft.

This is a recurring series where debate rages over two prospects in the same position group to ponder who is the best fit for the Cowboys. This edition will feature Florida State CB Asante Samuel, Jr. and Northwestern CB Greg Newsome II, and will feature Jordan Tucker of the FTF Sports Network.

Newsome stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 192 pounds. He played in three games in the 2020 season and put up 12 tackles, nine pass deflections and an interception. Samuel, Jr stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 183 pounds. In eight games he had 30 tackles, including one for a loss, three interceptions, six pass deflections, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble of his own.

Florida State CB Asante Samuel Jr., and what the dog mentality means

Asante Samuel Jr. talks a lot about a “dog mentality” on the field. It’s why he’ll be able to transcend size issues in the NFL.

You don’t need to stand over six feet tall to play defensive back at a plus level in the modern NFL. If you can diagnose on the field, you have the movement skills to work receivers through the routes, you’re agile enough to mirror and match all over the field, and you can overcome your height issues against bigger receivers with the right technique (yes, that’s a lot of “ifs”), you can play cornerback or safety in the NFL without being relegated to the slot.

Not that the slot isn’t an important position — it certainly is, and more than ever — but when you ask defensive backs about the slot, their responses will tell you that even with that importance, many in the NFL still see the slot as the kids’ table in a “You must be this tall to ride this ride” mindset.

That mindset didn’t affect Asante Samuel, who played cornerback in the NFL from 2003 through 2013 for the Patriots, Eagles, and Falcons. Samuel played at 5-foot-10 and 185 pounds, totaled 51 interceptions in just 11 seasons (tied with Donnie Shell and Bobby Bryant for 32nd all-time), and led the league in picks twice — with 10 in 2006 for New England, and with nine in 2009 for the Eagles. Samuel overcame his alleged height deficit at times by playing receivers off until the last possible millisecond, using his closing burst and gambling mentality to jump routes with the best of them.

Now, we have the matter of Samuel’s son to consider, and where Asante Samuel Jr. fits in the NFL with the same basic measurements. More physical than his dad with not quite the same ball skills (just yet), Samuel Jr. improved drastically in each of his three seasons at Florida State, closing out his collegiate career with a 2020 season in which he allowed 19 catches on 32 targets for 179 yards, 81 yards after the catch, one touchdown, three interceptions, and an opponent passer rating allowed of 46.2.

Were I to make an NFL comparison for the younger Samuel, it wouldn’t be his dad — it would be another defensive back who has seen his son find NFL success. That would be Antoine Winfield Sr., father of Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. The elder Winfield played 14 years in the NFL from 1999 through 2012 for the Bills and Vikings, mostly at outside cornerback, and well enough to make three Pro Bowls and amass 1,094 tackles ()the seventh-most in NFL history for a cornerback) and 27 interceptions.

Before his Friday pro day, Samuel was more than happy to field questions about the “slot or outside” schism some people have with him because of his size. After all, in 2020, he played just 11 snaps in the slot, allowing one catch on one target for five yards. To Samuel, the slot is less an option than a demotion.

“Of course, I feel that I’m an outside guy,” he said. “I’ve been playing outside all my life. I’ve played nickel sometimes, in my freshman year (when he allowed seven catches in the slot on 10 targets for 81 yards and a touchdown), but at the end of the day, I make my plays on the outside. I feel that I’m a dominant corner on the outside. They try to look at my height and things of that nature, but I’m the same size as Jaire Alexander, and he’s a dominant NFL cornerback right now – one of the best in the league. I feel like size doesn’t matter; it’s about the heart, and the dog mentality you have on that field.”

Samuel has a point about Alexander, one of the five best cornerbacks in the NFL today. Alexander is a bit thicker at 196 pounds, but the play styles are similar — Alexander may be smaller than your average guy at 5-foot-10, but he can cover anyone and he has no issue sticking his nose in wherever it’s required. When Samuel refers to a “dog mentality” (as he did quite often in his interview session), that’s what he means. It’s also why he takes particular pride in his man coverage abilities. Last season, per Sports Info Solutions, Samuel allowed seven catches on 12 targets in man coverage for 101 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 85.8.

“Man coverage is a dog mentality,” he said. “It’s like, you versus me, and you’re not going to win your rep against me, because I’m a dog, and I’ve been working hard all year for it. You’re not going to outwork me for the week, so I feel like that leads into the game. FSU really brought out the man coverage in me, because we played it a lot. Especially last year – I felt that the scheme was really good, and I was able to showcase my talent.”

Samuel has proven his ability to mirror and match in man coverage, but given his diagnostic skills and advanced on-field acumen, I really like him in combo and other more advanced concepts. When I wrote a recent piece about the best draft prospect cornerbacks in every type of coverage, Samuel was my pick for Cover-6 (quarter/quarter/half) coverage because he’s quick and smart enough to play the Cover-2 and the Cover-4 side of the equation.

His 2019 interception against Virginia was of particular interest. Samuel (No. 26 at the top of the screen) was playing the Cover-2 side of the formation, and he did a great job of following the deep route at first, and then moving quickly to jump the short stuff.

“The Virginia game – Coach Barnett (defensive coordinator Harlon Barnett), he wanted to make sure we [pressured] the quarterback,” Samuel told be about that play. “He couldn’t really throw well rolling to his left side, so we wanted to [pressure] him from that side. I just tried to split the defenders, and make sure I stayed top-down. I just played my technique, and trusted my technique, and came up with the interception.”

As far as keeping up with receivers who might be 4-5 inches taller and 20-30 pounds heavier, Samuel had a ready answer when I asked him how he deals with that from a technique perspective.

“First, you have to have a dog mentality,” he said. “Some guys, they don’t have that dog in them, so when you have that, it makes a difference. You just have to stay true to your techniques you’ve been working on all week – staying square at the line, and making sure you’re getting hands on and doing what you need to do. So what you’ve been working on, and you’ll be fine.”

Yes, the dog mentality again. Well, you can ask Georgia Tech how that worked out. Samuel more than held his own against the Yellowjackets’ collection of behemoths both against the run and in the passing game, picking off two passes, deflecting two more, allowing an opponent passer rating of 15.5, and amassing six tackles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sjyxv0J93jI

Not that Georgia Tech’s passing game is going to set the world on fire, but this game (and others) proved that the size of the dog in Asante Samuel Jr. is ready to bark — and bite — at the next level.

It’s time to see Northwestern’s Greg Newsome as a first-round cornerback

Northwestern cornerback Greg Newsome got national attention at his pro day, but the tape shows a player who’s been a first-round talent.

Through the first part of the 2021 pre-draft analysis process, there have been four cornerbacks generally regarded as first-round talents: Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II, Virginia Tech’s Caleb Farley, South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn, and Florida State’s Asante Samuel Jr. All great players for different reasons, and all first-round talents, but it’s time to add another name to the list. That name belongs to Greg Newsome of Northwestern, who blew it up at his pro day on Tuesday and finally started to get a fraction of the national attention his game deserves.

Rashawn Slater, Greg Newsome solidify first-round status at Northwestern’s pro day

Northwestern has never been a powerhouse program when it comes to feeding talent to the NFL — there have been just five first-round picks in the school’s history — but there are two legitimate first-round Wildcats in the 2021 class. Offensive tackle Rashawn Slater is a slam-dunk high first-round pick, and Newsome’s tape is just as impressive in its own way as Slater’s.

The stats don’t lie, either. In 2020, Newsome posted the lowest opponent quarterback rating allowed of any cornerback in the 2021 draft class — 31.7 — by allowing just 12 completions on 34 targets for 93 yards, 49 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, and one interception. He allowed seven catches against Purdue on 14 targets… for just 59 yards. Outside of that, he wasn’t targeted at all in his last three collegiate games, against Michigan State, Illinois, and in the B1G Championship game against Ohio State. Newsome left that final game in the first half with a groin injury and eschewed the Citrus Bowl game against Auburn to declare for the 2021 draft, but it was still interesting that the Buckeyes refused to throw Newsome’s way on his 17 coverage snaps.

This was Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields’ worst game as a starter — the one people automatically bring up when they talk about his dings as a player. Fields completed 12 of 27 passes for 114 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions, and things might have been even worse had Newsome been a target. It’s also where people may have started to come up with the (mostly) erroneous assumption that Fields is a one-read quarterback, because Newsome was playing 10 yards off to Fields’ back side a lot of the time, and receiver Jameson Williams had openings Fields didn’t see with curls, comebacks, and outs underneath.

But when Newsome did engage to Fields’ front side, as he did on this red zone play in the first quarter against receiver Garrett Wilson, Fields quickly realized that he was better off running the ball.

That touchdown was negated by a holding call, and on the next play, Newsome was back on Fields’ back side. Now, it’s okay to throw to the front side with a quick swing pass to running back Trey Sermon.

But it’s as an intermediate and deep eraser that Newsome shines as well or better than any other cornerback in this class. Per Pro Football Focus, against throws of 10-19 air yards in 2020, Newsome allowed just one reception on eight targets and an opponent passer rating of 0.0. Against throws of 20 or more air yards, Newsome was targeted seven times and didn’t allow a single catch. Whether in press or off coverage, he’s going to get sticky with his receiver throughout the route, and life will be very tough for the opposing quarterback when he decides to grip it and rip it with Newsome as the barrier.

Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez discovered that very quickly on November 7…

…and Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz experienced an even more unpleasant phenomenon two weeks later when he tried to hit receiver Chimere Dike on a deep sideline route, only to find that Newsome had run Dike’s route better than Dike had. The result? Newsome’s one interception last season. Dike had two catches for 52 yards and a touchdown in this game, but nothing good happened for him when Newsome was on his tail.

“There’s really no secrets,” Newsome told me after his Tuesday pro day drills regarding his knack for deep coverage. “It’s just a mentality. I’m a very confident player. If I eliminate those deep routes, I don’t think a team’s going to beat us. Just knowing that, and knowing where my help’s coming from, knowing that my guy on the other side of the field is doing his job, you know, I just don’t want to let the team down. I just trust in my technique, and work it a lot in practice with our DB coach Mack (Matt MacPherson, the team’s Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Backs), so credit to him, as well. We focus a lot on playing through the hands, and things like that. I don’t really know if there’s a secret; you’ve just got to go out there, be confident, and be a dog out there.”

Of course, if you want mirror and match in the red zone to eliminate potential touchdowns, Newsome offers that, too. On throws of 1-9 air yards against Newsome, opposing quarterbacks completed just eight of 16 attempts overall. With Newsome, the No-Fly Zone is all over the field.

Would you like to have seen more reps against high-powered passing offenses last season? Sure, but when you isolate the traits of the player, it’s abundantly clear that when analysts and teams are looking at cornerbacks with first-round talent, Greg Newsome has absolutely shoved his way into the conversation.

The best draft prospect cornerbacks in every type of coverage

In the interest of preventing schematic mismatches from the NCAA to the NFL, here are the best draft cornerbacks in every type of coverage.

When you’re looking to add a cornerback to your roster via free agency, trade, or the draft, you had better consider scheme fit and skill sets, or you’re basically hurling free agent money, the players and/or picks you gave up in a trade,  and/or draft capital, right out the window.

Negative examples abound, but let’s go with former Chargers and Titans cornerback Desmond King, an impending free agent in the 2021 league year.

Before the November trade that sent him from Los Angeles to Tennessee, King had allowed 10 receptions on 15 targets for 60 yards, 47 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, no interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 74.3. With the Titans, King allowed 27 catches on 39 targets for 312 yards, 192 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 119.8.

The Titans, who allowed a league-high 23 touchdowns and grabbed just one interception when playing man coverage per Sports Info Solutions, found themselves getting splattered all season on defense due to a negligible pass rush and very little idea of how to best use their defensive backs.

The Chargers, who allowed 20 touchdowns and had eight interceptions in zone coverage, obviously had a better bead on the marriage of personnel and scheme.

When playing zone last season, King allowed 13 catches on 16 targets for 85 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions. When playing man last season, King allowed 12 catches on 21 targets for 169 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.

Sometimes, this isn’t hard.

“He’s a player that we felt like could help us, come in and play DB. He’s been disruptive. He’s an effective blitzer and has done some things,” Titans head coach Mike Vrabel said of King after the Titans acquired him. “From everything that we’ve heard, he’s a player that loves football and is competitive that has played in a number of spots and in the kicking game.”

So… you trade for a guy, you make him play the primary coverages he can’t handle, and now, he’s a free agent. That’s one way to waste a 2021 sixth-round pick.

On the whole, King is an above-average primary slot cornerback who can stay sticky with receivers on short and intermediate routes, and he did cause a lot of incompletions on extended plays. Zone-heavy teams like the Seahawks, Buccaneers, Browns, Panthers, or Giants should definitely give King’s agents a call. Man-heavy teams like the Titans (who should be banned from acquiring zone cornerbacks for at least the next three seasons as penance for what they did to this guy), Saints, Cardinals, Lions, and Dolphins should probably stay away.

Moving to the draft, let’s look at two examples of weird fits from the 2020 season.  Alabama’s Trevon Diggs and Louisiana Tech’s Amik Robertson were two of the NCAA’s most dominant man-coverage cornerbacks in the 2019 season, but each player was selected by zone-heavy teams whose overall defenses resembled car crashes more often than not.

In 2019 for Nick Saban, Diggs allowed seven completions on 23 targets in man coverage for 73 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions, and a preposterous opponent quarterback rating of 5.03. But Stefon Diggs’ younger brother was unfortunately selected with the 51st overall pick in the second round by the Cowboys, who had just hired defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, and Nolan was preparing to do a heavy waste job on a defense that had resided in the middle of the pack before his arrival.

Why is the Cowboys’ defense so bad? It’s complicated.

When Diggs operated in coverages that allowed him to use his instincts, aggressiveness, and athleticism, he was great. When he was presented with Nolan’s overcomplicated muck… not so much. Dallas played 364 of their 512 pass defense snaps in zone coverage, and Diggs allowed 45 catches on 76 targets for 650 yards, 198 yards after the catch, six touchdowns, three interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 96.9. Perhaps Dan Quinn, Dallas’ new defensive coordinator, will give Diggs the right schematic tools to work with, and bring out the best in the player.

Robertson, who tied for the NCAA lead with four picks in man coverage, was selected by the Raiders in the fourth round of the 2020 draft. The Raiders played just 175 of their 579 pass coverage snaps in any iteration of man coverage, and Robertson had just 35 cornerback snaps all season.

In pass coverage, on 28 snaps, Robertson allowed five catches on six targets for 76 yards, 27 yards after the catch, one touchdown, no interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 158.3 — the highest passer rating any NFL quarterback can achieve. Perhaps Gus Bradley, Las Vegas’ new defensive coordinator, will give Robertson the right schematic tools to work with, and bring out the best in the player.

You get the idea.

In any event, this need for the player and the playbook to match — and the repeated examples of teams valuing traits over specific skill sets at one of the NFL’s most crucial positions — had me wondering which draft-eligible cornerbacks were the best in which kinds of coverage. A bit of pre-draft homework NFL teams should be doing as well. Thanks to the Sports Info Solutions database, we can all do just that.

Cardinals to meet with Florida State CB Asante Samuel Jr.

Asante Samuel Jr. has met with several teams virtually and will meet with more. He is considered a Day 2 pick right now.

The NFL draft is at the end of next month and The Arizona Cardinals, like all other NFL teams, are doing their homework on the prospects. With no NFL combine and with the world still affected by the pandemic, most predraft contact is still virtual.

One of the Cardinals’ biggest offseason needs is at cornerbacks. They are set to meet with one of the better cornerback prospects of the draft who has NFL bloodlines.

According to Justin Melo, they will meet with Florida State cornerback Asante Samuel Jr.

Samuel is projected as of right now to be a Day 2 selection.

He is listed at 5-foot-10 and 185 pounds. He is believed to be best in man coverage, which the Cardinals use a lot of. He played three seasons for the Seminoles. In eight games in 2020, he had three interceptions and six pass breakups. He broke up 14 and had one interception in 2019.

He is a little undersized but played inside and out in college.

His father, who had almost the exact same height and weight, was a starting cornerback in the NFL and played 11 years. He was a four-time Pro Bowler and one-time All-Pro, playing for the New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons.

Because of the positional value of a cornerback, Samuel potentially could be a first-round pick but the Cardinals probably would consider him for their pick in the second round, at least right now.

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2-round 2021 NFL mock draft from PFF sends Bills CB, O-line

CB Asante Samuel, OL Jalen Mayfield go to Buffalo Bills in Pro Football Focus 2021 NFL mock draft.

Pro Football Focus released a two-round mock ahead of the 2021 NFL Draft last week and the Buffalo Bills pick a cornerback and offensive line, respectively, at picks No. 30 and 61.

Those two players end being Florida State’s Asante Samuel Jr. and Michigan offensive lineman Jalen Mayfield.

Here’s the breakdown on Samuel:

For what Samuel lacks in size, he makes up for in quicks. The 5-foot-10 corner is instinctive and was in hip pockets often throughout his time at Florida State. He was an absolute playmaker, as well, with 30 forced incompletions over the past three years (second-most in the Power Five).

Samuel’s read-and-react ability and overall athleticism give us hope that he can handle the outside at the NFL level, but putting him in the slot wouldn’t be the end of the world for Buffalo, either. Regardless, we believe he can play at a high level in the NFL.

And the football analytics outlet’s reasoning behind Mayfield:

Mayfield is likely a tackle-to-guard convert at the next level and is a bit of a project, but he is young and has the physical makeup that gives him a lot of upside. Prior to playing in a couple of games in 2020, Mayfield was a bit of a roller coaster at Michigan. He was inconsistent throughout his 2019 campaign, flashing high-end reps but also constantly showing how unrefined he is technically. That year, he gave up 27 pressures en route to a 70.2 PFF grade.

With PFF’s two picks for the Bills, we have two different stories. The one consistent is that they’re both versatile, and Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott will love that.

However, addressing cornerback early still remains to be seen if it’s a pressing enough need. If the Bills retained Levi Wallace or Josh Norman, they’ll already have a competition with Dane Jackson in place for the No. 2 cornerback spot in 2021. Buffalo GM Brandon Beane has now said multiple times this offseason that Jackson will factor in there. Adding a third or fourth to that potential battle seems unlikely.

On the offensive line pick in Mayfield, certainly adding a younger prospect there will make sense in most scenarios. Even if the Bills were to retain Jon Feliciano and Daryl Williams via free agency, the Bills don’t have an elite offensive line in the first place, so Mayfield would potentially be a welcomed addition.

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Morning mock draft: Asante Samuel Jr. a fit at No. 2 CB for Bills?

Touchdown Wire 2021 NFL Draft mock sends Buffalo Bills CB Asante Samuel Jr.

Under the watch of head coach Sean McDermott, the Bills hit on their first draft pick in cornerback Tre’Davious White. After that, the team has added one-year spot gaps at the No. 2 cornerback position across from him pretty much every offseason.

Those decisions have had more… mixed results than White.

Josh Norman in 2020? Not bad, up and down, some success. Vontae Davis? Well, you know…

With the 2021 NFL Draft now coming into the picture, the NFL Wire predicts that the Bills finally end their run of one-year fillers. Analyst Doug Farrar pegs Florida State cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. as the player Buffalo selects in a recent mock draft. 

Cornerback could be a position the Bills target with the No. 30 overall pick, but it remains to be seen exactly how things go prior to the draft. If the Bills don’t get linebacker Matt Milano back or lose players along the offensive line like Daryl Williams, those positions could be more pressing than cornerback.

But in Samuel, the Bills would land a player that is a trigger word for McDermott: Versatile. He can play all over the defense from slot cornerback inside, to an outside No. 2 cornerback to potentially even at safety.

So far, the Bills only have Dane Jackson at the No. 2 spot. Bills general manager Brandon Beane said Jackson will get a chance to compete for snaps there next season, but he should not be handed that job.

The incumbent No. 2 cornerback is Levi Wallace, who is a restricted free agent, and Norman, who is an unrestricted free agent as well. Between the two, Wallace seems more likely to return which could setup a big training camp battle for playing time in Buffalo’s secondary.

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Packers meet virtually with Florida State CB Asante Samuel Jr.

The Packers have virtually met with one of the best cornerbacks in the 2021 NFL draft.

The Green Bay Packers, a team with an obvious need at cornerback, have met with one of the most heralded players at the position in the 2021 NFL draft.

According to Justin Melo of The Draft Network, the Packers are one of six teams to recently meet virtually with Florida State cornerback Asante Samuel Jr.

The Packers will likely lose starting cornerback Kevin King in free agency next month, ensuring the position is a top draft need for general manager Brian Gutekunst.

Samuel is the son of former Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel, who played 11 seasons in the NFL with three teams, including the New England Patriots.

Over eight games in 2020, Samuel produced six pass breakups, three interceptions, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble. He finished his collegiate career with six interceptions and 29 pass breakups, including an ACC-high 14 in 2019.

Pro Football Focus currently ranks Samuel as the site’s 29th best prospect overall and fourth best cornerback in the 2021 draft.

From his draft profile at The Draft Network: “Samuel Jr. has the potential to start at the next level for a defense that plays a lot of man coverage and is willing to move him around to maximize his strengths.”

The Packers could see Samuel as a potential starter opposite All-Pro Jaire Alexander and a replacement for King, who is a free agent. Samuel also has experience playing in the slot, where the Packers also have a long-term need on defense.

The Packers hold the 29th overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft.

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Falcons held virtual meeting with CB Asante Samuel Jr.

Despite addressing the position in the first round of the 2020 draft, the Atlanta Falcons still have a need at the cornerback spot.

Despite addressing the position in the first round of the 2020 draft, the Atlanta Falcons still have a need at the cornerback spot. According to Justin Melo of The Draft Network, the Falcons were one of six teams to hold a virtual meeting with Florida State cornerback Asante Samuel Jr.

Analysts expect Samuel Jr. to be drafted somewhere between the second and third rounds. In 2020, he finished with 22 tackles, three interceptions, six passes defended, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble. He’s also the son of former NFL CB Asante Samuel.

Scouts believe Samuel Jr. is best suited to play in a man coverage scheme, which the Falcons played a lot of last season and could do so again in Dean Pees’ defense.

Here’s Samuel Jr. going up against Georgia Tech.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sjyxv0J93jI

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Chargers have had virtual meeting with Florida State CB Asante Samuel, Jr.

The Chargers have spoken to one of the top corners in this year’s draft.

The Chargers will be looking to add more talent to the cornerback room this offseason.

Los Angeles recently had a virtual meeting with former Florida State cornerback Asante Samuel Jr., according to The Draft Network’s Justin Melo.

After losing safety Derwin James, Samuel Jr., the son of the former NFL star, was the one who asserted himself as the key piece in the secondary.

In three years at Florida State, he finished with 97 total tackles (71 solo), three tackles for loss, four interceptions, 29 pass deflections, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble.

Despite being a tad undersized to NFL standards, Samuel Jr. is a complete cover corner who excels in press-man coverage with great instincts, decent foot quickness, football intelligence and is reliable in run support.