The first draft pick of general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, Minnesota Vikings safety Lewis Cine has had a rough start to his career. After only playing in two defensive snaps, Cine broke his leg to end his season in week four.
That injury is a debilitating one, but Cine seems to have come back well. His explosiveness looks to have fully returned and that has translated both in practice and against the Seattle Seahawks.
His PFF grade was a paltry 42.6, but there was still some good to come out of the game from Cine.
What can we take from his performance against the Seahawks? Here are seven plays that showcase his performance.
Cine tackles too high
One of the biggest issues that Cine had coming into the NFL out of Georgia was tackling too high. When yCine met rookie running back Zach Charbonnet in the hole, he got himself in a position with poor leverage. That allowed Charbonnet to bounce him off with his shoulder. If Cine goes low, that changes everything.
Again
When you do tackle too high, force from the ball carrier can knock you on your butt. That was exemplified here as Cine met Charbonnet again. This time, Cine is all squared up, but he should have gone low at his legs to get the tackle. Instead, Cine gets blown up.
And again
This is a better result, but the same thing. Cine tries attacking the upper body of a much bigger player and gets the Madden hit stick. That ends up shoving him to the ground and making him look silly.
And he does it right
Cine makes an improved tackle, but it’s not perfect. He goes after rookie wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba high again, but he starts a little bit lower and slides down to his legs for the tackle. It’s not perfect, but it’s improved.
Crashes downfield
This is exactly what you want to see from Cine. His best trait is crashing downfield like a shotgun blast. He does so really well going more lateral. He moves toward the line of scrimmage and the second Drew Lock throws the swing pass and Cine attacks it for an easy tackle.
Cine's near Sports Center top 10 moment
This is a great play from Cine, but it wasn’t perfect. He isn’t even supposed to be making the play here, but it’s a big reason why he was selected in the first round. His ability to read and react is special and he hits the running back in the hole. The issue is that he didn’t wrap up well enough which separates this from being a great play.
Missed opportunity in coverage
Cover three is used a lot in this defense and the different responsibilities can be confusing. Initially, this looks like the fault of either Andre Carter II or Ivan Pace Jr., but it seems to be the fault of Cine.
griff knows cover 3 so I'm going with him on this. Telling cine he's gotta recognize yankee faster and also I want to see what happened up front between Carter and Vilain https://t.co/pBKCehuREf
— Luke Braun (@LukeBraunNFL) August 13, 2023
Cine should realize that the receiver from the top of the screen is crossing and the far corner will fill in his spot. Cine needs to buzz down and fill the hole where the receiver catches the ball. This will improve, especially because the Vikings ran virtually no cover-3 last year.
Overall, Cine's issues are fixable
Some are calling for Cine’s head becuase of his struggles, even going so far to call him a bust. That’s a little bit premature. He is essentially going through a second rookie season and there will be warts as he figures things out. Give him time and patience, as the talent and athleticism is all there. It’s not Cine’s fault the safety room is really good this season.
