Date Archives November 2011

RSP Contest: Guess the WR Prospect

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I heard TV analysts once compare one of these receiver prospects described below to Percy Harvin. I can see that comparison in some respects, but not completely. Photo by Mark Trammell.

Here’s a guessing game for you. Below I have described three receivers that teams drafted or signed as rookies in the last 3-5 years. All three receivers see significant time with their respective offenses and they all have a similar role.

Can you guess each player? The first three people to guess all three players correctly will win a free copy of a past issue of the Rookie Scouting Portfolio (your choice from seasons 2006-2010). Just complete the form at the end of the post and I’ll announce the winners as soon as I have three readers correctly identify them. Continue reading →

Reads, Listens, Views 11/25

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[youtube=http://youtu.be/MemNoK9hGrA]

Did you know 40 percent of Vince Young’s career wins are fourth quarter comebacks?

I Know How Kevin Smith Feels

I was going to play football today for the first time in 22 years – an annual post-Turkey day contest in the neighborhood where I grew up. Then I started running last week. Before you get the wrong idea, I’ve been biking 10 miles a day for nearly six months so I’m in decent cardiovascular shape.

I learned that your knees also need to work up to the pounding.  Continue reading →

RSP Flashback: Lions RB Kevin Smith

0 Comments read Players, Running Back
Welcome back Kevin Smith, nice to see you still had it in you. Photo by Carlos Osorio.

Here is a very brief overview I wrote in the 2008 Rookie Scouting Portfolio about Kevin Smith as an underrated player in the 2008 draft class.

Kevin Smith, University of Central Florida: How does a 2000-yard rusher qualify as underrated? When analysts and draftniks dismiss him as a baby-faced junior who is too thin, too easy to bring down, and indecisive at the point of attack. The only thing that they have right is the remark about his face—and that doesn’t win or lose football games. Smith is bigger than Darren McFadden and will likely add another 10 pounds of muscle as he matures because it’s his upper body that is on the thinner side. He already has a very muscular trunk and runs with good balance. The skills that make Smith special are his vision, hard-cutting style, and hip flexibility, which is reminiscent of no back I’ve seen since Marcus Allen.

Smith had nearly 1000 yards as a rookie third-round pick. Photo by Carlos Osorio.

Smith faced 9- and 10-men fronts and demonstrated a decisive style. I watched him have a very productive day against a stout Mississippi State defense that loaded up the box to stop him. Although he needs to do a better job of moving his legs when wrapped up, he has deceptive power and runs out of more hits and ankle tackles than advertised. The fact that he’s one of the best pure runners in this draft and he is still raw as a player makes Smith an underrated commodity.

In a few years Smith has a strong chance to be known as the best back in this class if he can capitalize on his vast talent. What will hold him back early is his need to improve his skills as a receiver. Nevertheless, Smith will excite teammates, fans, and fantasy owners with his running style. My only concern with Smith is his hard-cutting style. Some of the backs that share this aspect of his style suffered knee injuries that robbed them of their skill.

Fantasy Throwdown Turkey Day Challenge

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Man, are poeple loving this game. Free to play. Try the Turkey Day Challenge.

There are three NFL games on Thanksgiving. There are three NFL games used to form the player pool for a Fantasy Throwdown challenge. Sounds like a perfect match for a Fantasy Throwdown Turkey Day Competition!

Fantasy Throwdown is free to play, drafts are quick, and the game is highly intuitive to pick up. Here’s a quick tutorial.

Throwdown players can accumulate points by participating in official Throwdown Turkey Day challenges. An official Throwdown Turkey Day challenge is simply a game of Fantasy Throwdown where all three NFL games are the games played on Thanksgiving Day. (Note: You and your opponent will have to manually select the three Thanksgiving Day games when you set up your Throwdown match.)

The top point getters, plus category award winners, will be recognized as the best Throwdown Turkey Day players in this event. The top point getter will be crowned our Turkey Day Champ!

Earn points in the following categories: Continue reading →

Revolutionary

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Ideas, events, and poeple can all be revolutionary. Tony Hawk gave skateboarding wings. Could a current NFL player ground the conventions of quality? Photo by Raka 18.

We fear what we don’t understand. And what we do understand is often rooted in the past. Statistics are a record of the past. Conventional thinking is also rooted in the past. But what is conventional today was revolutionary yesterday. And what was revolutionary yesterday was often met with skepticism, fear, and scorn.

The round earth theory was revolutionary. Democracy was revolutionary. Civil rights is (unfortunately still) revolutionary. Continue reading →

Reads, Listens, Views 11/18

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[youtube=http://youtu.be/H8h1Pf0h0eg]

I love how all the non-football players in this peice are ranting about Hester as NFL Films’ No.1 return ace of all time, but the former players all see the truth before the stats proved it.

Thanks. Thank you for reading. Thank you for subscribing. And thank you for recommending this blog to friends. Most of all, thank you for purchasing the Rookie Scouting Portfolio.

If you haven’t purchased the 2011 RSP yet, it’s available here for a lockout price of $9.95 that was just plain stoopid.You can also email me if you would like to purchase the RSPs from 2006-2010. It’s my RSP customers that help make this blog possible and here is what they have to say about their investment.

Let’s kick off this week’s Read, Listens, Views… Continue reading →

Penn State Scandal Updates

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Joe Paterno's nickname inside the Penn State program was "The Rat." Former Penn State grad assistant Matt Paknis explains. Photo by Vicenteb_d

I think we’ve really lost in this country—and maybe in many countries—a certain value of leadership. The idea that power can be wielded for the common good is kind of up for grabs these days, because there are so many competing commercial interests on governance as we know it.

– Investigative reporter Jason Berry on the Penn State scandal

Many of you probably want this story to go away. I understand. It’s painful. But I think our country likes to be comfortably numb. Booze. Drugs. Video games. Sports. “Reality” TV.

There’s nothing wrong with having some escapism in your life. But expressing the initial horror over the Penn State story and then slipping back to a medicated or electronic semi-coma isn’t the answer. It doesn’t help us become more educated on the subject of preventing sexual abuse in our communities.

It also doesn’t teach us how to spot the evils that exist within a power structure that happen at every level of a university, business, or government institution. Moreover, we need to learn why the initial reactions to defend this power structure are not unusual and why we shouldn’t have been as surprised as we were.

Here are some links worth reading that I think will help us continue to become more cognizant of the big-picture issues as this story continues to unfold:

Matt Paknis’ blog entry – The former Penn State grad assistant talks about his experiences working with the football team and his impressions of the power structure as well as the behaviors he witnessed from Jerry Sandusky. Paknis did not witness sexual acts, but he did see Sandusky show questionable judgment with physical boundaries between the defensive coordinator and children in public. He also doesn’t mince words about what he thinks Joe Paterno knew. This is a must read. Here’s a podcast with him on Mike Francesca’s CBS show if you just don’t feel like reading.

What the Catholic Church Can Teach Us About the Penn State Scandal – The Atlantic features a Q&A between culture writer (and terrific sportswriter) Patrick Hruby with investigative reporter Jason Berry who has “written extensively about child molestation charges against the church.” Berry says there are striking parallels, but a lot more credit should be given to Penn State for its swift reaction.

Best Offensive Play of the Year

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Aaron Rodgers is amazing. His back shoulder throws and guided-missile burners through three levels of defenders in the middle of the field can leave you speechless. But for my money, there’s nothing better than the elemental force of a running back winning a battle with a linebacker.

Especially when that linebacker is perhaps the greatest football player the NFL has seen for the past 15 years. Maybe one of then 10 best, ever. Continue reading →

The RSP Blog’s Top 20 QBs (2006-2011) Part II (10-1)

0 Comments read Players, Quarterback
There was very little separation among the top 6 players on this list. Sam Bradford could have been has high as No.2. See where he landed. Photo by SD Dirk.

Ranking players is perhaps the least important part of the analysis I do when I create the Rookie Scouting Portfolio.

I do realize that rankings are important to many of you who buy the RSP and the process I undertake to arrive at my lists is intensive. However, as me, Chad Reuter, Matt Williamson, Dan Shonka, Wes Bunting, Greg Cosell, or any analyst of NFL prospects not employed with an NFL team will tell you, our rankings lack the context of matching players to a specific teams’ schemes, they lack the extensive knowledge of these players as individuals, and they lack a thorough understanding of each teams’ needs. Therefore, using the NFL Draft as a measuring stick to determine the success of an independent analyst’s rankings of players is a limited exercise.

Rankings prior to a draft are not a good reflection of the likelihood of success. That likelihood changes for the player based on when and where he’s draft, if he stays healthy, if his teammates stay healthy, and whether he makes that emotional transition from college athlete to professional. The most accurate analysis we can offer comes from the time spent closely observing a player on film to determine what he can do – and more importantly, trying to discern the difference between what he can’t do right now with what he might never be able to do – that has the greatest value.

That is my preamble for this oft-requested feature of ranking these prospects across numerous years. These rankings aren’t what you’ll see in the Rookie Scouting Portfolios from years past because Continue reading →

Sunday Mailbag 11/13

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Find out which rookie receiver reminds me of the late Chris Henry in this week's Mailbag. Photo by Donkerdink.

Fusue Vue via Twitter: Does Denarius Moore remind you of Brandon Lloyd?

MW: Fusue, I can see where Moore and Lloyd’s games have parallels. Both receivers do a tremendous job adjusting to the football. However, I think each player has some distinct differences.

I think Moore is a better player with the ball in his hands. He’s faster, a little more rugged, and he can also make defenders miss. The comparable player that immediately came to mind for me as a ball carrier as well as their physiques and skill at adjusting to the football was Continue reading →