Sorry, the battery went on my Blackberry. Have always liked Golden Tate. He almost went to Ole Miss to play CB but again he showed why he's such a fun player to watch with that punt return. He REALLY reminds me of a young Hines Ward. Physically he runs similar routes and he has the big bubble and lower leg strength that Hines has. He also possesses strong hands and gets off press very well at the LOS. He's not quick, but has good short area quickness. He's the sort of player you'd like in Miami if we had a premier wideout to compliment him. Jimmy Clausen still flatters to deceive at times. All the tools and admittedly night and day over 12 months ago, but he still lacks something in his game. He can rifle the deep out to the wide side of the field, but he still looks mechanical on some of the short and underneath routes. And his deep ball can still leave a little to be desired: the 4th and 1 to Floyd is the perfect example. For all his criticism - wrong in my eyes - Bill Stull delivers a much better deep ball. Clausen will also still hang his receivers out to dry at times, which is a habit he has to get out of. But he looks more confident in the pocket than ever before and he's taller and more composed back there.for me he might be 4th of the big 4 because of the rough edges to his game.
Also watched the Rutgers demoltion of South Florida. Got my first real long look at Jason Pierre Paul. First off though, it was great to watch a game where two opposing receivers were named Tim Brown and Jessie Hester. It was an LA Raiders throwback game! Hester did nothing and my daughter is taller than Brown and she's not yet 5! Most interesting thing about this game is that after seeing extended and huge improvement in Christian Ponder to the point where in my eyes he's positioned himself to be the number one pick in 2011, it seems pretty clear that there will have to be some damn good players out there if Rutgers' Tom Savage isn't the 1st overall pick in 2012 or 2013. He has everything; great pocket prescence, big arm, mobile, good field vision, touch and an understanding of defences well beyond his years. Hugely impressive. And to think that he"l be throwing to Mohammed Sanu for at least 2 more years. That's a high 1st round combo right there. Was also impressed with George Johnson, the Knights end. Veryactive with his hands, movement and in pursuit. The two standout players were Anthony Davis the Rutgers LT and Devin McCourty the all everything CB/ special teams maven. Davis isn't close to meeting his full potential and could do with an extra year where I have no doubt he's a top 5 pick. He has excellent feet and balance, is a natural technician but lacks functional strength. His kick slide is good; he's a half step shuffle/half step shuffle/ half step shuffle guy and it makes me think he's like that because he knows he's not strong enough to sustain a bull rush if he widens his stance. Very occasionally he'll lose some balance because of it and get a little waist bendy, but it's all correctable. Where he doesn't impress me is at the 2nd level. He attacks it as well as anyone in the draft and initiates contact with good form, but then he just fails to move his feet. He sets himself as a statue and he can be beaten from there. In the run game it comes back to strength - a stronger Davis means a better run blocker. Occasionally he falls off a block in the run game although that comes from locking on a little too high to try and get the upper hand leverage wise. Personally I think that it's a strength compensation thing. But he totally and utterly dominated George Selvie to the point that he made him obselete in terms of his impact. Only when Davis and JPP went at it was there any sort of competition. McCourty is better than his brother who's had a couple of starts for the Titans. He plays the run better than Jason and whilst not always a form tackler, he's not afraid to stick his neck in. He can set the edge in the run game and consistently does a good job of disengaging and making the play. He doesn't play much press and looks more comfy in a zone but he's a good player. And on ST's he's truly dominant. A blocked kick, a forced fumble, numerous tackles, a great gunner and return man. He had a special game. Was disappointed in Nate Allen and much of South Florida's defense. Only big 91 McAskill and Pierre Paul put in any sort of shift. JPP is very raw, but you can see why people are excited. He's not very game aware which would worry Jeff Ireland. By that I mean that he's not comfortable playing as part of a defense. He's an athlete getting by. Take the 1st draw play of the game. He starts at LE, comes out of his stance, engages, then comes under and attacks the A gap. But as he disengages, you hear defenders SCREAM 'draw'. JPP is in the perfect spot to make the play as he's filling the draw hole but instead he stops and seems surprised that a back is coming through and ignores him. He can be very aggressive at times, but then will play like a ***** cat on other occasions. As a pass rusher, he has a lot of good moves, especially given how inexperienced he is. A good spin, a good push and explode move where he attacks the tackle, then grabs and pulls and a stunning inside/out move where he attacks inside, drops the right shoulder and plants the right foot committing the tackle, then explodes back outside. Disappointed not to see him use those monster wings more witha swim move. But he's very one dimensional at this point. Neither he and Selvie have ever met a run play that they like. He's going to go high, but needs a lot of work to round out his game.
Looking forward to seeing Nate Solder tonight against the Sooners, especially when they put McCoy out at RDE on obvious passing downs.
Yeah dude. Miami game on at 1am, Colorado/Oklahoma on ESPN America at 12.30 and straight onto our TiVo equivilant.
I think he's to offensive linemen what Pierre Paul is to the defensive line. The upside is huge on him but he needs to stay in Boulder for his senior campaign.
Thanks! I just wish you were a little more thorough. Keep working at it. I'm sure you will improve. I recently watched both of those games as well. Love Golden Tate and your comparison to Hines Ward. If I was Jeff Ireland I would draft him with or without the presence of a premier wideout in Miami. Devin McCourty had a very good game. Probably unlikely that he ends up in Miami but he's got a lot of potential. Jason Pierre Paul really jumped out at me. You might be too rough on his run stopping skills. I'm sure you're right about the mistakes he made but I also noticed him making a couple plays against the run. I came away believing Greg Romeus had a good game but after reading your thoughts I agree with you. Bad game for Nate Allen and I'm scratching Kion Wilson off my potential sleeper list. However now I can add George Johnson as a sleeper. I was also impressed with the youngsters Baldwin, Savage, and Sanu.
Jonathan Dwyer is not sure if he should come out yet apparently. On the flip side, his Georgia Tech teammate Derrick Morgan is 75 % chance of leaving for the NFL. Demaryius Thomas WILL be declaring. FSU's Christian Ponder was thinking NFL Draft until he got injured, so he's now expected to come back for an extra year. Ras-I-Dowling will be coming out. Rennie Curran is expected to play on Sundays next year. And word is the Jets have graded Eric Norwood, Dan Williams and Rashad Jones as 2nd rounders.
Thought Dowling would declare. He goes into the mix for number 1 corner. He can flat out play. Him, Thompson, Burney, Wilson, etc. It's an underrated class but there's some talent there for sure. Really glad to see Ponder go back. IMO it would have been a mistake for him to declare.
Here's the list that I've compiled of underclassmen that are expected to declare. This does not include Gabe Carimi, a good player IMO, who is considering the Draft but coaches are trying to keep him in Wisconsin. Also, this list doesn't include Brian Bulaga but he's expected to be leaving as well. Jason Pierre-Paul - DE - USF Johnny Patrick - CB - Louisville Jason Pinkston - OT - Pittsburgh Mike Williams - WR - Syracuse Donovan Warren - CB - Michigan Chimdi Chekwa - CB - Ohio St. Thaddeus Gibson - DE - Ohio St. Brian Price - DT - UCLA Stephen Paea - DT - Oregon St. Ryan Matthews - RB - Fresno St. Joe Haden - CB - Florida Carlos Dunlap - DE - Florida Anthony Davis - OT - Rutgers Anthony McCoy - TE - USC Damian Williams - WR - USC Charles Brown - OT - USC Jahvid Best - RB - California Kevin Basped - DE - Nevada Dez Bryant - WR - Oklahoma St. Demaryius Thomas - WR - Georgia Tech Ras-I-Dowling - CB - Virginia Rennie Curran - OLB - Georgia
I think Tate is terrific. If you look at him coming off the snap, at the way he uses his hands against press and his physicality, it's all Hines. But physically, it could be Hines in a Golden Domers outfit. His bubble and thighs are him to a tee. Don't get me wrong about Romeus, he's a decent player but I don't think he's the rush threat that his numbers make him out to be. He doesn't have the vast array of pass moves of a top notch rush end. I think Jabaal Shear is a better pure rusher than Romeus. What you get with Greg is a more rounded prospect than most.
Kurt Coleman is quite the player. Also a name to remember for the future is John Simon he is going to be a BEAST for Ohio St. Also I wouldn't mind Brandon Graham.
IMO Dwyer needs to declare for nothing more than to save his legs from the pounding in that offense. Posted via Mobile Device
Jacoby Ford. I've been refraining from talking about him.... until now. With Kyle Parker stepping his performance up, I'm really getting to see what Ford is made of. Parker has a cannon, and Jacoby has no problem catching his passes. He very well could be the closest thing to Desean Jackson in this draft, and not just because he's fast. He's a smart player, understands the game, is making clutch plays, and is a tremendous teammate. He has the slightly thick build to add even more weight as he's been gradually doing, and I could see him growing into a Steve Smith (Carolina) type impact WR. He has very good, natural hands....but has made his share of drops like Boomer has pointed out, but I think that's more of an "inexperience" issue rather than an ability or concentration issue bc he's been steadily improving every game this year. Ford is playing like a 2nd round pick today. Posted via Mobile Device
As Stitches brought up in another thread, Navorro Bowman has said he would only come out if he's a first rounder and I wonder if he is. I think talent wise, he's a first rounder. He looks great out on the field to me. He's been disciplined in that Cover 3 that Penn State runs, he's played all three LB positions, he's a factor in run support, he's done a good job setting the edge, he runs well laterally and he's often around the ball from what I've seen. The only thing that I wonder about him is his past. He's had marijuana issues and he's on probation for disorderly conduct. Will that prevent him from being a first rounder? I'm not sure but it could and that would be a shame.
FWIW he's been great today (as has the MLB Jones from MSU), and I think if he has a strong showing (and injury free) bowl game that he will be gone for sure. I am curious as to what Royster will do, because losing Darryl Clark I feel will really hurt this team. There are only freshman behind him since Pat Devlin transferred.
Yeah that's my fault. I should have specified. OT: Brian Price is simply manhandling the ASU offensive line and Alterraun Verner has a pick-six.
Andrew Luck looks very good against California. Man he's impressive. Is there a better quarterback out there right now? I think I agree with CK and Jim Harbaugh on this one, both said that Luck was the best out there. Harbaugh said it about a month or so ago when he was asked who he would take, Bradford, McCoy or Luck. He said Luck and I don't blame him one bit.
I would agree, except Larry Fitgerald didn't win it a few years back. It's pretty much become the QB from the most talented team award. My list at the moment would consist of: Dion Lewis Toby Gerhart CJ Spiller Mark Ingram Suh (honorable mention to Keenum, Shipley, and Tate, though I don't care for Shipley)
He hasn't done hardly anything this year, certainly not near the past two years at least. He doesn't have 2,000 yards passing yet, he's only got 14 passing TDs on the year, and another 12 rushing. 4 of his passing TDs came against the mighty men of Troy, hell half of his passing TDs came out of conference (3 OoC games counting Troy), along with 3 rushing TDs. I think the players I listed have been more impressive and deserving this year. Gerhart is my #1 at the moment, and by a wide margin.
nice list. If I have to sit through another Tebow highlight and speech about his life, I think my head will explode. Gerhart should take Tebow's spot. Spiller is losing out bc no one will kick the ball to him and defenses are now trying to make Parker beat them. CJ cares more about winning the ACC Championship & Bowl game than he does the trophy though. He's happy sacrificing himself to keep their winning streak alive..... which is all the more reason to send him to NY. Posted via Mobile Device
I thought Luck cost Stanford the game, good as he is. That and Harbaugh's decision not to punt. It was a poor pass that got picked at the end. Gerhart was again outstanding. He should win the Heisman and that catch and run and 6 tackle break down the left sideline might have been his 'moment'. I still can't get over the way Les Miles dribbled the end of the LSU game.
Anyone see Suh against K State? Even by his own standards his 4th quarter was special. Unfortunate for him that he's going to Cleveland. It should be him, Gerhart, Spiller, Ingram and maybe Jordan Shipley as the Heisman finalists. Going back to LSU/Ole Miss for a minute and Jerrell Powe has started making some noise. He was hugely well recruited and was something of a steal for Ed Orgeron. If he carries the upward cycle then he has some serious pro potential this year or next.
I know everybody likes to root for the up and comers or lament the fact that the Heisman usually goes to a skill player from a contending team, but these lists aren't realistic. IMO there's at least a 90% chance that the Heisman will go to either Tebow, Ingram or Colt McCoy. And the other two invites will probably go to Spiller and Keenum (sp?).
Yup.... and when it's time for them to go through ALL the redundant Tebow hooplah in NY, it'll be my key to take a potty break and a beer run. IF they show how hard Tebow worked in the offeseason to refine his mechanics to make him more NFL ready, then I'll watch it. So like I said, I'll be taking a dump and getting more beer.
The only player on my list who might not be on a national list is Dion Lewis. Aside from that to claim my list is unrealistic to me means one doesn't watch a ton of college football (and seeing how I was the only person with a list, it leads me to believe you have to be talking about mine). Gerhardt has been impressive and dominant near all year, same for Suh. Ingram has been great and the best piece of Alabama's offense. Spiller has done everything for Clemson and is possibly the most electric player in the country. Dion Lewis is just a joy to watch run the football and has very impressive numbers, also he is the only "up and comer" that I have on my list. Not one person I put down is unworthy of the award.
If you are saying who you think deserves it then you are entitled to make any list you want. But if you are saying what the Heisman list will be than it's unrealistic.
