Ask David Davenport.

So you know those childhood dreams we all have of playing in the NFL? I'm the one guy that's mad crazy enough to give it a try-- sort of. I'm currently still in school, but instead of filling my days with accounting and sociology, my focus is (and has for a while) 100 percent about working in the NFL. No, I'm not going to be a player, but I have every intention of testing my luck as a scout, with the goal of one day becoming a General Manager and having my own team (one can dream).

A little bit about myself. I'm currently studying for a degree in Genetics and Physiology. I thought about management for a while, but having the knowledge of how the body works and develops is a tremendous advantage when evaluating players and their potential to translate into professional athletes. Outside of player evaluation, I have a tremendous grasp of almost every scheme in place not only in the NFL, but throughout the NCAA as well. I have copies of dozens of playbooks (offensive and defensive) that are both currently in place today, and some that have been thrown away years ago. I've had private meetings with many active and retired coaches including Cam Cameron, Frank Beamer, Dan Reeves, Jim Mora Jr., Howard Schnellenberger, Bud Foster, and Jim Bates. In a given week, I will spend no less than 30-40 hours studying some aspect of the game. Whether I'm watching film of certain players, learning how to defend the spread, or brushing up on modern pass rushing techniques-- I'm always learning.

Now, how does this involve you? I do not need help getting exposure or a job (I have an entry level scouting position lined up when I graduate), this is merely a means for me to stay on top of my game, and hopefully educate some fans on things that they may not have the time to study as extensively. I know what I know, but I can't ask myself questions. I'm hoping that some of the fans here will ask questions that inspire me to study more in-depth on certain topics or players that I may have neglected in the past.

I am also a Dolphins fan, and have been all of my life. So feel free to ask anything and everything Dolphins, I'd be more than happy to answer. Whether it's prospect potential, schematic based questions, or who I think has the shiniest bald head-- it's all fair game.

 

Thanks. I've been reading ThePhins for a while (even back when most people here spent their time at Finheaven), and I know this site has some of the brightest fans around-- I better be on my game.

To the question. Outside of Quarterback, most of the coaches and scouts that I have talked to say that gauging the NFL potential of a wideout is the hardest task they have in evaluating offensive talent. The reason for that is there are so many variables that have nothing to do with athletic ability that could be the reason for a WR failing at the next level. It also depends what you're looking for. Finding a Z receiver (or someone that plays the slot), is usually much easier than finding a receiver that plays the X or Y.

If you're looking for someone to play the Z, you spend most of your film time watching their legs. They need to have a strong lower body that allows them to burst off the line, and quick feet that allow them to change direction on a dime. Typically these receivers deal with little or no press coverage (because pushing your nickel back that far up usually leaves a big hole in the defense), which allows them to focus solely on reading the coverage, and getting open. You'll see many athletic, smaller rookies playing this role early in their career while they try to develop elsewhere (I.E DeSean Jackson, Davone Bess). Usually they are more prone to early success then those receivers that go directly into learning the other positions.

The other two are very similar, at least in the evaluation process. The split end (X) is usually on the line of scrimmage, which means they're almost always going to have to deal with press coverage. The "Y" usually lines up off the line which makes it easier to get off initially, but more often than not they're going against the opposing defenses best CB. Occasionally you will see smaller players eventually growing into these roles (Steve Smith), but almost never will a player that is small or thin by NFL standards have immediate success on the outside.

Often you will hear people say "it takes 3 years for a receiver to reach their full potential"-- which is more true than most people realize. The game is much different translating from college to the NFL. The coverages are much more complex, and the game is far more physical than most young wideouts are even aware of. When you're looking for a true WR, there are a lot of variables to consider, most of which is mental-- but we'll keep it simple and focus on the physical aspect of everything. Unlike a Z receiver, finding an X or Y that can contribute immediately is almost as rare as finding a franchise Quarterback. They really need to not only be extremely intelligent athletes, but usually are freaks of nature. Only once every few drafts will you find a guy like Marques Colston, who is picked in a later round and just gets it straight from day one. When you're evaluating one of these receivers, you usually want a guy that either has a large upper body, or a long, broad wingspan that will allow them to develop a large upper body. Above all, you want someone that understands how to attack the football. If the ball is in the air, they need to have the skillset and mentality to come down with it more often than not. It shows that they have the athletic ability to go up and get it, and that they have an understanding of their opponent and how to exploit them. That's the one thing that will almost always make you a top draft pick (Larry Fitzgerald, Mike Williams, Calvin Johnson).

Now, on to Ted Ginn. He's not your stereotypical Y receiver, where he has played almost exclusively since being drafted. Most scouts hate receivers that have sprinter speed, and want a quick, agile guy. In college Ginn was certainly agile, but professionally he learned very early that his greatest attribute was his stride. Also in college he was usually physical enough to beat press coverage, and if Ginn got off the press, it was almost always a touchdown. You all have probably witnessed first hand his inability to immediately adjust to this at the next level. The defenders are smarter, bigger, faster, and more physical. It's the main reason it takes so long for receivers to really come into their own-- it takes that long to develop and change their body to compete with these guys. It doesn't always necessarily mean getting "bigger" either-- it's a different build depending on who the player is. It's about getting "NFL ready", and I think Ted Ginn is well on his way. He has a better grasp of how his skill set translates to the NFL, and really has a much better understanding of coverages than he did years ago. Also, if you take a look at his body when he was drafted and compare it to today-- it's almost two different players.

I hate to follow the stereotype of Chad Pennington having a "noodle arm" because I don't think that at all. I happen to think the contrary, and that his arm strength is made a much bigger deal than it really is. However, I don't know that you will truly see Ted Ginn become that deep threat he was drafted to be until Chad Henne is ready to play. That being said, I think in year 3 you will notice a drastic improvement in Ted Ginn's level of play.

Edit: Check back later for a post about how I would defend the spread. This is completely my theory, and is used at no level, but it resulted in Dan Reeves laughing for about 2 minutes when I went over it with him. If nothing else it makes for interesting discussion.

 

Thank you.

Come draft time, I come here and read these boards before I watch the NFL network. I know first hand that many of the members here have time and again proven very knowledgeable in all aspects of player evaluation.

 

At this point I'm taking in such a plethora of information, that I couldn't pinpoint any one thing that makes me look into a player or scheme. If it involves Football and I don't know about it, I'll look into it. As far as players, lately I've been trying to find diamonds in the rough and seeing what I can come up with. Scouts make their name finding guys like Marques Colston, not guys like Calvin Johnson.

 

All valid concerns. Every defense has a weakness and clearly this formation is not void of that.

The idea of adding the extra safeties is to provide speed to penetrate gaps. The diagram I gave was just a sample. The idea is to create a situation that will allow an opportunity for him to penetrate an open gap. In that specific play, it's dependent on the WE stringing the tackle wide enough to allow for ample space to get around the LG. It's all unorthodox in it's approach, and clearly the ability to fill the gaps in the situation of a draw is a concern in itself. Will the offense exploit the personnel and run the football? Most likely. Will they have success doing so? Probably. The idea is a merely a new approach to applying pressure more than anything else. Most teams that operate in a 3-4 usually end up having their two-gap ends play the interior Tackle positions, and their SAM and WILL playing in a three-point stance on the edge. Most of these players with the exception of the WILL linebacker are normally not the most proficient pass rushers. Which is why you regularly see teams like the Colts having a lot of success against the Ravens.

What I'm presenting is merely an alternative personnel package to the norm. The concerns are there, and the reasons you listed are all reasons why the formation is not operated in today's league. Would it work if it were attempted? Who knows. Slowing the spread is a constantly evolving discussion, and all I'm presenting is my version of it. You're 100% correct that the LG can chip the S3 on that play. There are also a lot of things you can do with the formation to free up gaps. The hope is that if you have 3 players that run a sub 4.5 rushing the QB, one of them will provide enough pressure to force a throw. It's certainly susceptible to the run, but really not much more than some of the packages that are used today.

Again, I've been told I'm crazy before. Hell, I was even laughed at by a former coach!

 

It's all about matching personnel. When a TE comes into the game, so does a linebacker. The defense does not know which formation the offense is going to come out in, they only know the personnel that they're using for the play.

Even if it's a given that the upcoming play is going to be out of the spread, many coaches are only concerned with making sure all the gaps are accounted for in the case of a run. As Ludacris pointed out, defensive backs have a much more difficult time with gap responsibility. So, if the defense is consistently coming out with smaller players than the offense, the offense will probably use that personnel for a more heavy, run based attack to exploit the weaknesses of the defense-- and then go back to their passing attack when the defense adjusts by bringing their bigger players back in.

This is one of the biggest obstacles my view on defending the spread faces. Honestly, the key to it's success probably lies in it's ability to stop the run. If a defense can come out with smaller players and still stop the run, the offense could have some problems. Easier said than done.

 

Now you and I are in agreement!

This is actually the basis of of my theory of stopping the spread. However, it is very unorthodox, and testing an unproven formation at the NFL level and having it fail is the easiest way for a coach to be fired.

Most of the modern NFL coaches merely want to match player for player, make sure all the gaps are accounted for, and let the players play. If they fail, they can blame it on a lack of talent rather than a failed game plan. Only until someone tries something new, and it works, will you see others do it.

The league really isn't as much of a copycat league as many people think. Many coaches have similar ideas, it's just a matter of who wants to give it a try first. If it works, then other coaches have a valid argument for using it themselves.

Sounds kind of silly, but after meeting with several coaches, this seemed to be a common agreement among all of them.

 

I appreciate all the support guys and I'm glad that I'm able to provide some quality content for everyone.

I'm going to be away until Sunday, but I promise I'll get back to some of the questions I've neglected when I get back. In the meantime, feel free to discuss what I've provided thus far, and please do not be afraid to pick my brain if I'm not explaining something properly.

When I get back I'll start with how I feel the Dolphins management will be affected by Parcells' departure, and my thoughts on double-drafting.

 

Thanks for that

I'll start by saying that I have no inside information as to the date of Parcells' departure, to be honest I don't think even Bill Parcells knows at this point. If and when he does leave, though, how will that impact the success of the football team? In my opinion, not much at all. I think the majority of what Bill Parcells can offer to the organization has already been given. While he certainly is a good resource to have, I don't think he's much more than that at this point.

With that said, even after hand picking his GM and head coach, I think he did a lot more work than most people realize. The extent of his duties were not simply fill out the coaching staff and scouting department and let them go to work. While he was able to bring in the kind of people that will do things his way, don't think for a minute he didn't have a hand in everything that went on. Tony Sparano was a first time head coach, and Jeff Ireland was a first time GM-- both jobs which Parcells had done in the past. Sparano was certainly a knowledgeable coach, but having a guy like Bill to assist him with the little things is a situation that very few first time head coaches are fortunate enough to have. Just to give you an idea, let's go through some of the questions I can almost promise were asked to Bill Parcells from Tony Sparano at some point last season.

"Bill, my linemen are feeling weak in their legs, should I reduce the minutes for inside run this week or push them through it?"

"Bill, our opponent likes to run to the outside, so Ferguson and our other two-gap guys are going to be really hustling on game day. Should I rest them more this week or rotate those guys more on Sunday?"

"Bill, how can I fit in time for fundamentals during the week without taking away time from our game plan sessions?"

"Bill, how can I isolate Joey so he's not always double teamed and help him get some pressure like you used to? (Lawrence Taylor)"

Not to mention the mental aspect of being a coach. Creating competition, motivating players on game day, getting the players to buy into the workout regimen, creating a team first mentality-- all aspects Parcells is a wizard at. He wasn't just a resource for Sparano either, I'm sure Jeff Ireland is eternally grateful for having Bill in his first year.

"Jeff, you're allocating too much of our scouts time to that region"

"Jeff, save the projects for late rounds and free agency, we need to be sure we're hitting in the early rounds."

And so on. How much does Parcells actually do now? Probably still a significant amount, but I don't think his departure will be as big of an impact as some suggest. Sparano and Ireland both will have at least two years experience at their positions, the scouting department has a firm grasp of their duties, and the coaching staff is stacked with innovation and experience. Bill has already done a lot of his nitpicking with the players, the small tips he gives guys like Joey Porter and Will Allen that make them that much better. Sure, not having a resource that has been in every conceivable situation will hurt, but the structure is already in place.

Which brings me to the topic of double-drafting, which is an interesting concept and probably works a little differently than you may think at first glance. Usually how it works is the organization will draft one player, and either draft another within the next couple rounds of the same position, or sign a younger veteran player prior to the draft. Many people think "well, they picked two guys that they liked hoping one will work out." That really isn't what's going on here-- even if it works out that way more often than not. The double-drafting theory is very Parcellsesque, in the sense that the basis of it lies in promoting competition.

When you draft a rookie, especially in the early rounds, almost by default they feel a sense of entitlement-- that this organization is drafting them because they feel like he's the future. When you draft two guys, especially when their round selection is in close proximity, that sense of entitlement is erased, because you now have two guys of the same age, with a similar skill set, vying for the same position. When you bring a rookie in, sometimes they'll think it's OK for them to be behind a veteran because they're older, but most of these guys are competitive enough to not accept being behind another rookie. The end result is usually both players working harder than they normally would, because they're trying to beat each other in the present instead of relying on the fact that they're "the future". Often, because of this competitive environment, you'll see both players eventually contributing significantly (I.E Merling/Langford). Which does absolute wonders for an organization that's in the process of rebuilding.

With that in mind, and this is only my opinion, I think you'll see Jeff Ireland take a slightly different approach to the draft in year three. Not because double-drafting has been ineffective, but because he'll be focusing on filling specific, individual holes rather than overhauling entire positions.

 

It's all about creating a situation that allows the receiver the greatest opportunity to maintain his balance, regardless of the route. It's actually funny that you mention that, because over the weekend I was helping out with two-a-days at a local high school, and they actually have several formations where the slot receiver(s) puts his hand in the ground-- sprinter stance as you suggested. Since the receiver is off the line of scrimmage, it gives him enough space to get off.

Unfortunately this doesn't work in the NFL. Almost at every position, the NFL is all about hand placement. Offensive linemen are able to line up in a three-point stance, but a receiver lining up this way would not be effective because it is drastically different than sprinter stance, and would actually hinder their ability to get off the line. So while it may help them in run blocking, it wouldn't give them an advantage in running routes. On the flip side of that, if they were to actually line up in a true sprinter stance, the defensive back would basically be able to have his way with hand placement-- throwing off any forward momentum the receiver may have gained from his stance.

A few decades ago this worked because press coverage wasn't as prevalent-- at least not in the same way it is today. If they line standing up, they can shed the defensive backs hands, and continue with their route.

 

Being a coordinator and being a head coach are two entirely different things. Time and again we've seen some of the brightest minds, and most respected playcallers in the NFL (I.E Cam Cameron, Scott Linehan), fail when given the responsibility to manage an entire team. The reason they are given the jobs in the first place is their ability to coordinate one side of the football, and usually because they have had a tremendous amount of success doing so. The thought behind hiring them is, "hey, that offense (or defense) is really good, lets see if they can do that for our team." The problem is, it rarely works out that way.

Let's take a look a the '07 Dolphins. Cam Cameron offensive genius, Dom Capers well respected defensive coordinator, on paper it looks like a recipe for a success. But that's where the problem lies, there is so much more to putting together a football team than meets the eye. I've talked with Cam Cameron a couple of times, once when he was having a great amount of success with San Diego, and again after he was fired from Miami. He will be the first to tell you his deficiencies and what aspects he failed in his first season. It's not a joke when people say football is played in fall/winter, but it is a year 'round sport. There is so much that goes into preparing a team to play that goes beyond the X's and O's.

First and foremost, if you compare the conditioning of that team to the team entering the '09 season, the difference is almost frightening. Cam Cameron was so immersed in preparing the offense and being the playcaller, that he failed to prepare his team in many regards. His team was poorly conditioned, as evident by the many losses in close games. He failed to establish a workout regiment for his players individually, resulting in a record setting year of injuries. He didn't effectively develop his younger players into roles that allowed them to contribute. He also failed in almost all aspects of game management. He was poor at managing the clock, failed to keep track of the in-game conditioning of his players (resulting in big plays for the opposing team), and failed to sync the offensive and defensive game plans. What happened that season, is essentially what would happen to almost any team around the league if both coordinators came to the game, but the head coach took the day off. There was simply no one to bring everything together.

Now, while no aspect of that team was even respectable by NFL standards, it is not a discredit to the abilities of Cam Cameron or Dom Capers as coordinators. They are both still two of the brightest coaches in the league, and the rest of the NFL knows it-- hence their ability to easily find new positions. I like to compare it to the restaurant business. You may be the best cook in the world, but it doesn't necessarily mean that you're ready to run your own restaurant.

 

I'll start off by saying that Gibril Wilson has one of the more physically impressive statures that I've seen in a defensive back. Similar to Vontae Davis, he is one of those rare defensive backs that is able to play with the upper body of a running back, while not losing much (if any) hip fluidity or cutting balance.

I'm not sure if it was Rob Ryan trying to make a player fit his scheme or if Al Davis played a hand in the ordeal, but the Raiders organization collectively failed to maximize Gibril's skill set. While he is certainly capable of providing run support, Gibril Wilson is most naturally a Free Safety—not a Strong Safety. Especially not a safety that you want lining up only a yard behind your linebackers. He absolutely plays with the body that you would look for in a strong-side safety, but his skill set screams that he is a more natural fit on the weak side. Running a 4.47 40 yard dash, he has the closing speed to cover the outside, and the strength to really make a receiver pay for coming across the middle. Whether covering short or deep, this is a guy you always want roaming the secondary-- not keying off of the TE and playing run support.

The knock on Wilson has always been that he is prone to giving up the big play. Personally, I feel like he was put in a poor situation last year. The same guy that Rob Ryan would use to line 6 yards off the line of scrimmage, he would also leave in man coverage with slot receivers. What sense does it make for a player to key off of a TE, but then be responsible for a receiver coverage?

I think you’ll see this coaching staff play to his strengths similar to how he was used in New York. He’ll still rack up a ton of tackles in the run game because of his physical nature, but he’s going to be playing much deeper and almost exclusively in zone coverage.

 

I'll keep it relatively short because I'll be offering my analysis on all of those players throughout the season, until you all are sick of hearing about it.

Vontae has the potential to be a more complete player like you said, I touched on his athleticism briefly in my last post. He's built to cover anybody, athletically there is no such thing as a mismatch with Vontae.

Smith on the other hand, is going to have to prove himself against the small, shiftier guys. The guy is an absolute playmaker and I think he's going to be one big highlight reel throughout his career. However, he's only built to play a certain way, and will have to develop his fundamentals to cover his deficiencies.

So, if you pointed a gun to my head and forced me to make a prediction-- which has about as much merit as my 4 year old nephew picking the Superbowl-- I would sum it up by saying Vontae will be the more complete player, and Sean will be the bigger playmaker.

As far as Henne, you'll have to check the homepage for that, because something will be coming soon