I figured this could be a place to talk about what people see, hear, and think during senior bowl week. After watching NFLN's coverage today I came away impressed with Titus Young. I have been a fan of his for a while, but I can see myself developing a major man-crush on this guy. He is exactly what the Dolphins need at WR. Problem is, if he keeps impressing he might not make it to our pick in round 3. A guy that I plan of keeping an eye on also is Colin Kaepernick. He's raw and his delivery is too long, but I think he's a guy that can really help himself with a good senior bowl week and good workouts. I only saw one Nevada game this year so I won't pretend to know a whole lot about him and I don't think CK is that high on him, but if he can solve the mechanical issues, he has some tools to really like.
He's had some character issues. Been in the doghouse more than one occasion under Chris Peterson. Peterson is a pretty strict guy, however.
Titus Young is up there as my favorite WR in the draft. Him and DeAndre Brown are like 1a and 1b for my favorites. I'd love to have Young on our team.
Yeah I got to see the afternoon practice after work. Young can blow by people but he had issues with drops. He had about 5-6 drops if I recall correctly.
Well I like Jacquzz Rogers (sp?, to me he is the sort of later rd pick that we can get some solid value out of and who can contribute quickly.
man 24, breaking down Colin's release and delivery the other night was not comforting.. We have to find a QB without these innate weaknesses..
Ryan Mallet is my #15 First Choice Deej, let's stop monkeying around with guys who do not have the courage nor talent to hit throws into tight windows.
The thing is, they all have weaknesses. I don't know that I'm in favor of drafting Kaepernick or anything, but I just think with his physical skills he's a guy that can really move up with a good week. And if he can pull a Tebow and fix that throwing motion before the combine and workouts he could really help himself.
http://www.draftinsider.net/blog/?p=4351 Impressive, daily write ups on every single attendee to the Senior Bowl Week. Hopefully Herzlich turns it up a notch or three as the week rolls along.
Kaepernick's stock could really soar this week if he continues to have good outings. You can tell he came prepared for the Senior Bowl.
That's way higher than Mallett deserves to go based on talent. But in a weak QB year and with our desperation we may overdraft him. He's a second round talent though. He fools people by looking the physical part of an impressive first round specimen. He was Godawful in the bowl game.
I like Colin Kaepernick as a Brad Smith type playmaker. I don't know if he could return kickoffs, but coming in as a Wildcat specialist, WR/TE/ATH. He just seems like a player that can come in and immediately contribute on offense. His throwing technique will (hopefully) improve in the NFL, so who's to say that a few years down the road he doesn't evolve into a better passes. I know numbers aren't everything, but his stats improved every year at Nevada. It shows me he can take to coaching and applies what he learns to his game. I've only seen him play probably about 4 times, but I love his open field running vision. Deceptively fast with long strides, no quick cuts but enough adjustments to make tacklers miss time and again. I loathe the Jets, but I would love to have a Brad Smith-type on my team. I don't draft him as a starting QB, I draft him as an offensive weapon.
True 24, but with a hitch like that, iam just not willing to go there..dont want my QB to have that specific weakness..in a game of speed and inches that hitch alone can lose games.
I think the hitch will be worked on before he's even drafted. Much like Tebow, I think he will be coached to fix his throwing motion before his workouts. I would much rather prefer taking a QB in the 1st round, but Kaepernick is a guy in that next group that bears watching.
I don't get how it's a weak QB year. CK has Gabbert ranked near where Matt Stafford was and I think when it's said and done the area where Mallett and Newton go they will be rated similarly to other QBs taken in the same area. Vince Young was taken with the 3rd pick and Newton IMO will be rated by many as a better prospect because he's further along with his mechanics and accuracy throwing the ball. Also on a side note, after watching two days of the North practice another guy who's been impressive is Vincent Brown. He's definitely a guy I will be keeping an eye on.
Vincent Brown did well in Al Borges Gulf Coast Offense out in SDSU. He's a solid mid to late round guy IMO.
That's a good way to look at it. You look at past prospects...and as you say to me Blaine Gabbert is around the same level I had Stafford who went #1 overall. I also believe that Cameron Newton compares favorably with (as in better than) Vince Young. I think that Ryan Mallett should have a higher grade than Joe Flacco.
How much higher than Flacco? I see Mallet as a 30th-45th pick talent after watching that Bowl game. But you have watched a lot more film of him than I have (or ever will. lol.).
They may get taken near the same spots, but to my (somewhat untrained) eyes I am not nearly as impressed with them as previous classes. The Bradfords and Ryans looked better than the Gabberts and Mallets ever did. To me, of course. Perhaps the second tier is better, though I thought guys like Colt McCoy offered great value second-tier options last year. The only second tier option I like this year is Ricky Stanzi and I don;t like him as much as I liked Colt McCoy last year. I definitely agree that Newton has more to offer than Young did coming out. Overall though, just not feeling this class. Again, I watch only a little college, though, so this is based on watching maybe a couple games of each guy, some youtube videos of their highlights (I wish there were lowlight reels so I could get a better assessment), and reading up on a lot of different assessemtns of them by various college fan sites, college sports analysts during their career, and of course NFL draft analysts. That said, guys who watch a LOT of college (like Alen and CK etc) have a much better body of information and comparison. I trust my eyes and gut though and I ain;t feeling this class.
This actually brings me to a question for everyone: How much weight do you give 'recent' performance compared to how the player looked over the previous years?
I think when looking at Gabbert compared to some of the elite QBs over the past few years he may not be quite as good. But at the very least he's still a very good prospect. I think that next level though is as good as you'll find in other years. The Young/Newton comaprisons have been mentioned and CK brings up the clomparison in ratings between Mallett and Flacco. I think most people will rate him higher than Josh Freeman as well who was taken 17th. When it comes down to it these guys all have their issues. But 99% of QB's coming out do. What these guys have though are elite skill sets. Newton is a freak athlete with outstanding size and a good arm. Mallett has one of the best arms you could ask for as well as great size and good accuracy downfield. There is going to be risk with taking these guys, but there always is.
Too bad physical skills mean very little when it comes to having success at the NFL. Yeah, Cam Newton has outstanding size and athleticism and a great arm, but the guy is as dumb as a pile of bricks and can't read a defense to save his life. Guess what. That inability to read a defense will hold him back in the NFL, no matter how strong his arm is or how good of an athlete he is. Ryan Mallett has great size and a great arm, but he crumbles like a wet paper towel vs pressure. Guess what. This kid gets into the NFL, he's going to face pressure and will have to make much better decisions with the football than he has. Mallett's biggest problem is that he doesn't understand that it is OK to be safe with the football, and that's one of the tougher things to teach a young quarterback. Mallett is always going for the big play when he needs to learn to just manage the game and take what the defense is giving him. Jake Locker has had two seasons in a pro style offense, and he actually regressed as a passer. He's got great athleticism and a strong arm, but he struggles with his reads and with his accuracy from the pocket. Realize this. We are talking about a quarterback being drafted in the first round that has trouble with making his reads and with his accuracy when he is passing from the pocket!! THIS IS THE NFL!! YOU DO NOT HAVE SUCCESS AS A QUARTERBACK UNLESS YOU CAN THROW THE BALL ACCURATELY FROM THE POCKET AND CAN READ A DEFENSE. But we are talking about a group of quarterbacks that have trouble doing exactly that when there are other quarterbacks in this draft who may not be the physical specimens the "top four" are, but they come from pro style systems and have shown much more cerebral ability to their game like Ricky Stanzi and TJ Yates.
Disagree with your thought about Mallet KB, he may not wish to learn how to hit the checkdown or underneath Wr, getting jacked up is the best teacher he could possibly have. He is by far the Qb in this draft who is the most aggressive throwing the football, that cannot be taught to a Qb they are, or they are not, anyone can learn to checkdown..perhaps too well as we saw with Quinn and Henne. My concern with Mallet is on the field temperment and how much actual experience he has reading defenses and injuries, for a 6'6 guy he is terribly gaunt. To me, I see some Phillip Rivers in his game.
Just because someone wasn't asked to do something in a particular situation does not mean that person cannot learn to do so when placed in another situation. It's called growing. Those of us that don't feel the need to call people we've never met dumb are able to see that people can learn new skills if they are committed to learning. Colin Kaepernick is learning how to play under center and read defenses. Is he "too dumb" to figure it out? Is he more able than Cam Newton to decipher the rocket science that is football? You obviously have insight into these guys intellect, so please advise me. Reading defenses is a skill. It can be learned. It is not rocket science. Dan Marino didn't read defenses either coming out of college.
Hmm. Then I wonder why other numb brained quarterbacks like him have never learned that skill....i.e....Vince Young, Pat White, Michael Vick....etc.
Tuesday's reports South: http://www.draftinsider.net/blog/?p=4345 north: http://www.draftinsider.net/blog/?p=4351
http://www.universaldraft.com/2011/01/25/2011-senior-bowl-day-one-observations-north-ol-preview/ UD's CK's observations
Good to see the Lee Smith love. He's getting more after Day 2. Guy is dominant as a run-blocker and can make some catches. I think if he sheds a few lb's he might be more impressive as a receiver, but he has great hands and really catches everything. It was a pleasure watching him at Marshall and had he not got in trouble early on at Tennessee, he would have never attended MU.
Allen Bailey just does not impress me at all. Yet the guys keep referring to him as a 1st/2nd rounder. I just don't get it.
He hasn't ever really impressed me either. He just doesn't really stand out. On a side note: Let's get Jock Sanders.
Well, I am a later rd guy, to me some names that are interesting: -Danny Watkins, a LG who can also play Tackle -Josh Jasper Kick off specialist, how many yrs can watch Carpenter's lollipop kickoffs get returned for TD's before something is done? -Jeremy Beal at the very least he upgrades speed on the special teams To me, if they were our #4/#5/7th rd picks I'd be quite happy as they could solves some problems for us from Day #1
It's the measurables. They'll get him drafted higher than he should. As for the rest of the day, I continue to get a major hard on for Titus Young and Kendall Hunter. These two are exactly the type of players the Dolphins need. Vincent Brown is another guy that continues to look pretty good. I wonder if the Dolphins would take him, but DJ Williams reminds me a lot of Dustin Keller and would be a great weapon. A guy that I've liked for a while that keeps doing well but doesn't seem to get a whole lot of buzz is Leonard Hankerson. Someone is going to get a steal in this guy. He's a Reggie Wayne clone IMO.
Young and Williams I like a ton. I like Hunter but really have no clue where he'll end up going. Hankerson is not someone I had any sort of opinion on, but I think he looks good in these practices. Brown looked great in and out of his breaks when I saw him.
I've met the guy before and he's one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. Accepts everyone and just treats everyone the same. Cool guy. Had 42+ scholarship offers coming out of HS and is a bright guy. I saw him at halftime at the Shrine Game and he was taking pictures and joking around with some little kids who were fans and at the game. Took pictures and gave autographs.
He is a development guy to me but at the nose tackle position it is the one position that can be learned as developed. It just takes time but look at Soliai and the advances he has made in his game. If a guy is big has big trunks and is strong as an ox i believe he can be taught the nose tackle position.
I think Hunter goes in the 2nd. To me he does everything you like to see. His size could drop him down a bit, but with the success of guys like Rice and MJD I think it might not hurt him as much as it would have a few yeras ago.
