Yeah. He's like a safety in coverage. Mark Herzlich is the best cover linebacker in college football but Weatherspoon's not far behind. Apparently he used to stay behind with Maclin after pratice and work on defending him.
Damn, that last line about working with Maclin is impressive. Speaking of impressive, I'm watching some of the Oregon State/Oregon game that I recorded when it took place. Stephen Paea is a monster. He's small but he's strong as hell. The thing is though, I'm only four minutes into the first quarter and in the last five plays, he's been on the ground three times. Also wanted to add, James Rodgers may be small but he's tough. He fights hard.
Canfield reminds me more of Johnny Moxon. Big fan of Marvin Austin as Simon outlined. Where'd you get those KC Joyner numbers? When did he start grading college players? I've been talking about C.J. Wilson since two years ago when he gave Ryan Clady all he could handle in a game against each other. My issue with him is that he's still not a high effort player, and honestly I still do not consider him to be good against the run despite his size. He's mostly just a very devastating pass rusher with a wide array of methods of getting to the quarterback...to me. And trust me, size has never been a reason I would not plug Weatherspoon into this defense. It's his lack of comfort in the muck that makes me uncomfortable with him. He's a guy that loves to read the play from far away, react very quickly, and then burst to the ball. He's not a guy that has a comfort level, from eyes, to hands, leg strength, drive and agility, when confined to tight spaces. I think that's something that could, as all things, develop...but, you could say that about a lot of weaknesses in a lot of players.
BTW this is probably the third time I've headed into a Florida game thinking that Joe Haden is overrated, and find myself thinking damn, he covers like a blanket and makes plays.
I like him. I just wish he was more aggressive. He doesn't always attack downhill. I was hesitant to call him overrated in the past.
Well when I see a guy as small as he is allowing receptions like he did in some of the games I saw of him earlier, it's not hard for me to call a guy overrated if he's being pimped as the best CB in the draft. But certainly the last three games I've seen him, he is all over the ball.
I didn't mean to imply that you were incorrect about calling him overrated, sorry if it came off like that. I was strictly talking about my perspective of the guy.
Apropos of nothing, anyone who even THINKS of drafting Greg Hardy early in the draft, absolutely needs to read this. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/oct/31/a-rebel-in-deed/
Yeah I've read that in the past. I've got some of those quotes saved in a folder on my computer somewhere. Very interesting stuff.
Reported NFL Combine invites. QB Armanti Edwards, Appalachian State RB Joique Bell, Wayne State WR, Danario Alexander, Missouri WR Andre Roberts, Citadel WR Donald Jones, Youngstown State TE Clay Harbor, Missouri State TE Nate Overbay, Eastern Washington OT Jared Veldheer, Hillsdale OC John Estes, Hawaii DT Vincent Oghobaase, Duke DE Austen Lane, Murray State LB Greg Middleton, Indiana LB Mike McLaughlin, Boston College DB Myron Rolle, Florida State
yeah I was kind of surprised you said that about him earlier this season. think its just catching the wrong games which happens unless you watch a guy's every game. Ive had him and Pat Robinson 1 and 2 all year. I think they're both first rounders
I'll give you three weaknesses in Mike Iupati that make me want to look elsewhere with my first round pick, given our needs. 1. Not happy with the way he uses his arms, nor his overall arm strength which I question. Obviously has great lower body and engulfing size but he doesn't get his arms up on the snap nor does he dominate with his arms, keep them extended, or lock onto his opponent. Look for him not to lift the 225 lbs bar very many times. 2. He's not really a natural athlete. He shifts OK from side to side, drives forward nicely, but that hitch you noticed in his pulling is indicative of something larger. He should probably be playing tackle. 3. He has dominant size (6'6" and 330) and so we shouldn't be shocked when he dominates lower level competition which is mostly rife with smaller players. When I watch him pull and he slams right into a linebacker, all I can think is (aside from man that linebacker is small), is that linebacker generally did a terrible job managing the incoming block. When I see him engulf a DT, a lot of times that DT looks pretty small and weak to me. The Senior Bowl is going to be KEY for Mike Iupati. I'll gladly eat my words if he dominates them the way he does the WAC. Overall, I'm not going to say he's a bad prospect and he might still be the best Guard prospect out there, but I'm not ready to start trying to plug him in for a Miami pick yet.
Interesting what you have to say about both. I can see what you mean about consistent high effort but Wilson's pass rushing ability is so good that I think he's worth the risk in the 3rd or 4th. Below that too risky. I had us taking him in my first mock that I did a few weeks back (I already would rework part of it lol but I'll wait until after the bowl games are finished) 1) ILB Rolondo McClain - Alabama 2) OLB Eric Norwood - South Carolina 3) TE Dennis Pita - BYU 4) DE C.J. Wilson - East Carolina 6) DT Lamarr Houston - Texas 6) CB Kendric Burney - North Carolina 7) TE Andrew Quarless - Penn State 7) OG Shane Lauvao - Arizona State UFA) WR Rich Gunnell - Bostn College UFA) QB Jon Crompton- Tennessee ????: ThePHINS.com - Miami Dolphins Forums http://forums.thephins.com/showthread.php?p=942864 There is something about Weatherspoon that causes me to pause also which is why I wouldnt spend anything higher than a 2nd on him. My negative on him was he didnt play a violent position violently enough. You went the more technical route talking about a particular area namely wash but its the same principle. He can disengage fairly decently but he does seem to need space to really impact. But the way he plays, you want to like him. He plays so intelligently and smoothly. A 2nd rounder is fair risk to reward IMO
Tony Pike played well, when he actually had time to throw, hell and that only happened during garbage time in the second half. I bet Tebow and Cooper's stock's shot up.
I'm not so sure about Cooper's...he's been looking like he is going to pull a Szamardja and bolt for the guaranteed contract in MLB. Tebow's stock I'm sure rose a little, but how often does a QB get 3 weeks to prepare for an opponent without a coach? And he still has horrible pro mechanics...he sure will be an interesting one to watch.
Interesting numbers. He's done a couple of college things on defensive linemen on ESPN Insider, which I'm not a member of, but I found the Austin numbers online after a bit of looking. I tend to disagree with you on Weatherspoon. I think he does well in the trash. I think he tends to run to the edge rather than through to the edge but I've never seen him have a problem getting through trash. He protects his knees well, he's aware of what's going on around him, especially with what's going on below him and he's athletic enough to avoid it and still make plays across the field. Agility in tight spaces has never been an issue for me with him. I just don't see that.
Haven't watched last night's slate yet but I assume he played well? Was he on Gilyard? I agree that he's athletic, he changes direction well but like you I can't escape him getting done in behind too much for a guy rated so highly.
I disagree about the arm stuff. You're having a dig at him for playing and dominating small guys, especially small DT's but because he's able to push them back and rock them at the snap or use his hands to walk them back off the line, he's being criticised? I think I'd reserve judgement on that till he's playing against the Arthur Jones's at the Senior Bowl. You then say he's not athletic but say he should be playing the most athletic spot on the line. I think he's one of the most athletic 6'6, 330lb human beings I've ever seen. As I said, I want to see him better balanced when he engages on the edges, but it's hard not to call him athletic when he's doing what he's doing. The level of competition is a given.
I think you're mistaking what I'm saying. I'm saying that he does not seem to extend his arms at all and rock defensive linemen off the snap. He lets them all get into his massive body, and then uses the resulting slack after first contact to extend his arms a little bit, but he still doesn't punch with them or keep players off his body. We have different ideas about guards and tackles at the NFL level. I think that guards need to have better directional change, agility. They need to be able to turn. Tackles need to be able to kick step and run straight. Cam Cameron talked about it one time. And, say what you want about Cam's overall head coaching skills, the man knows offense.
From what I've seen of Iupati, he seemed more comfortable dropping straight back than turning. However, he's done both well. It's just the hop and flip of hips that is an issue for me, which is why I say he's more comfortable dropping straight back. What's interesting to me is his lack of awareness of the pass rush behind him. I wonder if that relates to his hips, in any way. (I also could be stretching here)
Oh no I'm not mistaking it per se. As I said in my game analysis, he doesn't punch nearly as often as he might but as I said earlier, I wonder it's whether to a lack of competition. And I do believe we share the same or similar feelings about guards and tackles, suffice to say that I am aware of their individual responsibilities!! Things differ schematically but a left tackle has to do a fair bit more than just kickslide and run straight! And I've some pretty unathletic grunts playing between left and right tackle. I think Iupati is very athletic to handle a guard's responsibility either in line or on the move, with a little refinement.
Point taken. But you know as well as I do that when it comes to guys going against lower levels of competition it's not so much whether you dominated them but how you dominated them that gives you some clue, if any is even possible, how the guy might do against bigger, better and faster players. All I'm saying is he dominated for sure, but I didn't necessarily like how he dominated. He could very well go to the Senior Bowl, extend his arms and show me better arm strength (I stand by my prediction that if he were to sit at the bench today he wouldn't put the bar up that many times), and kill it. But until then I wouldn't expect me to seriously consider him for Miami's first round pick. I never said Iupati should move to left tackle. I said he should move to tackle. I think left tackle would be a stretch, given what I've seen of him.
I consider him a poor mans Reggie Bush. Is that a good asssesment? Where do you see him falling in the draft? I would like to get him in the third and put him in Ricky's psition in the wildcat and watch him shred defenses.
Looking at a guy that I mentioned in another thread as a potential prospect for the 6th or 7th round, DE Adrian Tracy of William & Mary. They played Villanova in the FCS Semi-Finals. Ten things. 1. Obviously too much to handle for a Villanova RB or TE. Jams/Re-Routes the TE. 2. Obviously one of the most athletic players on the field, you can see it in chase situations. 3. Didn't really have as good first or second step quickness as he flashed in some highlights. 4. Slow reaction time off the snap. 5. Goes without saying, a raw player that doesn't use his hands properly, lacks counters. 6. Decent at seeing where the ball is on play fakes, awareness is a plus. 7. Obvious W&M considers him a good run defender, stunting to the interior on Wildcat plays. 8. Reminds me of the 2008 version of Willie Young, not to be confused with the 2009 Young. 9. Not the most forceful or physical tackler, misses some chances to bring down the ball. 10. Regularly dropped back into zone coverage and did not look awkward. Bonus: The best pro prospect in this game was junior WR Matt Szczur (pronounced Caesar). Faster than everyone on the field, with decent size (looks bigger than his 5'11" and 195 lbs listing), an excellent North-South runner out of the backfield that regularly took Wildcat snaps, averages 27 yards per kick return, he's the best all-around player on the best team in all of FCS (Nova won the FCS Championship). He's only a junior. Watch out for him next year.
Cool story about Szczur: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/c...r_of_villanovas_fcs_title_may_help_save_.html. Was pretty impressed by him in that game as well. IIRC he was drafted by the Angels as a catcher. Be interesting to see what sport he chooses.
Just found a real nice player for us in that Virginia Tech game. Will post on him tomorrow. Also found another junior corner I'm very keen on. Oh and as good as Eric Berry is, anyone who thinks he's better than Suh is an idiot. That means you Todd McShay.
Jahvid Best RB Cal is said to be coming out this year. Any thoughts on where he might go? I was thinking somewhere in the 2nd to 4th round due to his size. This guy would be a nice change of pace back for Ronnie and he also has great hands. Could be a better version of Reggie Bush.
I've been trying to think of a good comparison too and I'm struggling a bit, to be completely honest. I've thought about Reggie Bush but McCluster's not very strong IMO. I almost want to say a smaller Lorenzo Booker. As for where he'll go, tough to gauge because it depends on the talent available at the time but I'd say around fourth round IMO.
Would you be willing to compare him to Spiller. I think Spiller has the ideal size but they are both great dual threats. I am excited to see what McCluster runs in the forty. He seems like he is going 100 mph as soon as he has the ball. Truly an explosive and phenomenal athlete. I watched the game today and was again impressed. I just know at 170 lbs. he really can't take a beating. I do think he would excell though if you used him in the wildcat and on end arounds, as long as he isn't running betweein the tackles.
I think Spiller's a pretty good runner between the tackles. He's not phenomenal but he's pretty good, even though he gets dinged up every now and then from what I've noticed. I think when comparing them, the thing they have in common is what you note, their both dual threats and they are fast.
You all here that Mike Iupati is being looked at as a Tackle at the next level? Teams want to know if he can play left tackle. Teams want to know if he can play right tackle. He can sure as hell play Guard, even though he has some minor issues. Here's a quote; "Nearly every scout who has evaluated Iupati on film says he has the footwork and athleticism to be an NFL left tackle". This is what I've written about Iupati in the past when I watched games and I think we all seem to feel the same way about him. Now just wait on Con's thoughts.
Word is that DeAndre McDaniel, the Clemson S, is expected to declare soon. Also, Buckeye Thaddeus Gibson will come out whilst Chimdi Chekwa will only come out if he gets a top 60 grade. Keeping with the Buckeyes, Cameron Heyward will come out ONLY if he gets a first round grade. Oklahoma's Dominique Franks will come out. Indiana-Pennsylvania cornerback Akwa Owusa-Ansah will NOT be at the Shrine Game. He's got a torn labrum and will require surgery.
No pressure there, huh? I will get to him, but it likely won't this week as I am trying to put a dent in the OLB rankings etc. I have some film I can look at, but we'll have to see.
Heyward also has a pretty good shot at a national championship in 2010 as well and that's hard to pass up as well.
I thought it was already out that Heyward would go back to school. I guess you never can trust these things. Here's something to consider though. Look at the top 10 ordering. The Rams need a QB really bad. The Lions don't and the Bucs don't. My guess is the Rams do a deal with the Bucs so that they can skip the Lions and take Ndamukong Suh, leaving Gerald McCoy for the Rams. Anyway, is Washington satisfied with Jason Campbell? I doubt it, and I heard a long time ago that Sam Bradford does not make it beyond Washington's pick in the first round. Kansas City won't take a QB. I doubt Seattle is willing to give up the ghost on Hasselbeck. But Cleveland, now run by Mike Holmgren...it's been mentioned that Holmgren and Wolf like to build the lines first but they've got the cornerstone LT already and they still have Shaun Rogers. They need a QB, and I doubt they think Brady Quinn is it. Or Derek Anderson. I think they're a heavy QB player in the draft. How long before Oakland gives up on Jamarcus Russell? They already benched him. Buffalo needs a QB in the worst way, have to be considered immediate players in that market. Everyone figures Jacksonville to take Tebow but I doubt it will be in the first round, either way I doubt they take one at #10. But, what about Denver? People forget, they threw away a franchise QB last year and all they have is Kyle Orton who is NOT a long term starter I don't give a rats arse what anyone tries to spin. Then you look below us and it certainly wouldn't shock me if San Fran was willing to finally give up the ghost on the Alex Smith/Shaun Hill experiment. I see four or five major players in the QB market amongst the top 13 picks, and two or three more teams that certainly wouldn't shock me if they took a QB. Who are the QBs that will meet this demand? You do have three in Jimmy Clausen, Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy. I know many see Colt McCoy falling and I certainly am not as convinced on him as I once was, but I could really see Josh McDaniels taking a shine to him and liking the idea of what he brings to his system if he raises him right. Tony Pike just does not have what it takes to be seriously considered in this area, IMO. Nor does Sean Canfield, or Dan LeFevour. Tim Tebow will not go that high. What I'm getting at is you've got guys that could potentially rise through the ranks, in Jake Locker, Jevan Snead, Christian Ponder and Ryan Mallett. I know all of them have indicated they're not coming out. Some have flat out declared it. But we've got a ways to go before the deadline to declare, and minds can change. I've always said that the pending rookie wage scale should only affect guys who think they could go in the top 10 type area...well I think there's room for a 4th Quarterback to legitimately think he could go in that area.
