Date Archives February 2012

Reads Listens Views 2/17/2012

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Here’s What A Once In A Lifetime Player Looks Like

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Lather, rinse, repeat . . .

Thank You And More Comin’

NFL Draft Season is clearly underway and there’s a lot of great information available online. For those of you just getting acquainted with the Rookie Scouting Portfolio, thank you for visiting – and thank you for the massive (at least for me) immediate following on my RSP Facebook page. Check it out and like it if you haven’t (I gave away 8 free copies of past RSPs there yesterday). If you’re a long-time listener be a first-time caller and leave me a post about the RSP on the wall.

Best of all, Continue reading →

Stacking Up To Jason Pierre-Paul

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A good template for any aspiring, 4-3 NFL defensive end is Jason Pierre-Paul. Jene Bramel breaks it down as well as anyone. Photo by Mike Morbeck.

By Jene Bramel

Editor’s Note: Dr. Jene Bramel is a staff writer at Footballguys.com where he is among the best in the fantasy football business analyzing individual defensive players and player injuries. His top-notch work includes the columns “Reading the Defense,” “Second Opinion,” and his popular segments on The Audible podcasts. You can find more of his analysis of Quinton Coples against the run and the pass. Follow Jene on Twitter @JeneBramel.

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When asked at the Senior Bowl to compare his playing style to that of any current NFL defensive lineman, Quinton Coples chose Jason Pierre-Paul – the latest in a recent line of talented New York Giants’ defensive ends.

The comparison isn’t unreasonable. Both players are long and athletic and capable of stretches of dominant play. At times, when he uses his refined and preferred inside swim move or is able to get under his opponent’s pads and set a strong edge against the run, Coples’ play resembles that of Pierre-Paul.

Unlike Coples, Pierre-Paul has learned to play with a consistent pad level on every snap. In my last post, I highlighted two plays in which Coples quickly and cleanly beat the tackle off the ball but fail to finish the play due to poor technique. In this post, I’ll contrast Coples’ sloppy pad level, footwork and pass rush angles with those of the technically sound Pierre-Paul. Continue reading →

RSP Writers Project Update: Basic Salary Structure

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What can I say? I like this photo. I also like A.J. Green. Enough to put him on my RSP Writers Project Squad? We'll see. Photo by Tennessee Journalist Wade Rackley.

Author’s Note: We’re at Stage II of our RSP Writers Project, which is creating the basic salary structure to build our teams. Footballguys.com staff writer and Bleacher Report Draft Analyst Sigmund Bloom has created the setup we’ll be using. Then we had Chase Stuart of Footballguys, NY Times Fifth Down Blog, and Smart Football fame give it a once over. I’m now revealing the same bones of this structure to you that we sent to our writers so you can get ready to see what it will take to create your own team. If you have any suggestions – feedback, feel free to comment here. I can’t guarantee we’ll incorporate it, but its nice to hear ideas.

Here’s the email I sent the writers…. Continue reading →

Quinton Coples Part II: Pad Level And The Pass Rush

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Quinton Coples will be watching and learning a little more than you might expect from a top draft pick if he doesn't improve his technique quickly. Photo by Jene Bramel.

Editor’s Note: Dr. Jene Bramel is a staff writer at Footballguys.com where he is among the best in the fantasy football business analyzing individual defensive players and player injuries. His top-notch work includes the columns “Reading the Defense,” “Second Opinion,” and his popular segments on The Audible podcasts. You can find the first part of his analysis of Quinton Coples’ performance against the run in this earlier post. Follow Jene on Twitter @JeneBramel.

By Jene Bramel

Many observers – myself included – have compared Quinton Coples to Julius Peppers. It’s hard to avoid the comparison. Both are tall, athletic all-around defensive end talents from North Carolina capable of dominant play.

Yet when asked which current NFL player he feels his game most resembles it isn’t Peppers that Coples mentions. It’s Jason Pierre-Paul.

I think Coples’ comparison is reasonable. Continue reading →

UNC DE Quinton Coples: The Importance of Pad Level

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Is UNC defensive end Quinton Coples the next Jason Pierre-Paul? Jene Bramel says the potential is there but like everything earned in life, he has to put in the work to hone his gifts. Photo by Jene Bramel.

By Jene Bramel

Editor’s Note: Dr. Jene Bramel is a staff writer at Footballguys.com where he is among the best in the fantasy football business analyzing individual defensive players and player injuries. His top-notch work includes the columns “Reading the Defense,” “Second Opinion,” and his popular segments on The Audible podcasts. Jene would never tell you these things himself, but since I get to play editor he just has to deal with the fact that he’s getting the praise he deserves. Whenever I get the chance I beg him (and on occasion, “throw” a basketball game or two), to contribute here at the RSP blog. Follow Jene on Twitter @JeneBramel.

UNC’s Quinton Coples has the frame and body type that makes scouts drool and defensive line coaches want to stand on a table. That’s not hard to do when a defensive end from an ACC school has the height (6’6″), weight (281 pounds), hands (10-plus inches), arm length (33-plus inches), and wingspan (in excess of 80 inches) that makes him a top-10 prospect in most drafts.

Although his frame and athleticism are NFL-ready, Coples has flaws in his technique that may keep him from reaching his vast potential during his rookie year. Coples isn’t alone in this regard. Continue reading →

Blocking Clinic: Clemson TE Dwayne Allen

0 Comments read Players, Tight End
This analysis has nothing to do with Dwayne Allen with the football. Although he's pretty good there, too. Photo by .PDA Photo

Note: The analysis you’ll find in this blog post and other posts on RB David Wilson, WR Kendall Wright, and Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill are merely snapshots of plays I have compiled from game study. These spotlights focus on a subset of the individual’s talents or deficiencies and are not an overall report on the player. My comprehensive analysis of the player will be available April 1 in the 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio – now in its seventh year of publication.

Funny what keeps you up at night. Saturday, I watched two backs in pass protection and their successes and failures got me so fired up that I discovered I had an offensive line coach inside me after all. I nearly burst a blood vessel yelling at the TV. The adrenaline kept me awake until 4 a.m.

The longer I study film the more I enjoy the skill of blocking. Yesterday, I watched Clemson tight end Dwayne Allen put on a blocking clinic. The fact that Allen has the physical skills and hands to become a productive move-tight end or hybrid player already places him atop most teams’ positional boards. The fact that he demonstrated the skill to execute a full complement of blocks gives him star potential.

Continue reading →

Managing the Pocket Part II: Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill

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Dolphins great Dan Marino holds two pocket management skills in high regard when evaluating players at the position. Ryan Tannehill demonstrates facility with both.

Note: The analysis you’ll find in blog posts on RB David Wilson, WR Kendall Wright, and my first post about Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill are merely snapshots of plays I have compiled from game study. These spotlights focus on a subset of the individual’s talents or deficiencies and are not an overall report on the player. My comprehensive analysis of the player will be available April 1 in the 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio – now in its seventh year of publication.

“If I worked out a quarterback for an NFL team, he’d have to show me 100 throws off his back foot.”

-Dan Marino

This is one of two statements about quarterbacking from Marino that football analyst Pat Kirwan shared in his book Take Your Eye Off The Ball that demonstrates the difference between the theory and practice of the NFL game for a pro passer. The second statement is about having a good internal clock – the awareness of the length of time a play should take, how long its actually taking, and what the defense is doing to add or subtract from that amount of time. Marino says a good internal clock “can be a quarterback’s most important asset.”

A player I’d like to watch with Dan Marino – alright, ONE of ANY player I’d like to watch with Dan Marino – is Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill. The 2012 NFL Draft prospect has good pocket presence for a college quarterback. In fact, against Oklahoma State in September, Tannehill put on a clinic of what defines good pocket presence. In the previous post of Managing the Pocket, I analyzed two plays of Tannehill’s that involved the subtleties of avoiding pressure. Today I’m featuring three plays that demonstrate two of Marino’s preferred traits of a quarterback and likely a third that I don’t have a quote from him about: managing adversity. Continue reading →

Reads Listens Views 2/10/2012

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More Tannehill? More coming. Just not today. Maybe late tonight.

Note: I had a late night with family in Atlanta and didn’t get home until 15 minutes ago. This means the additional RyanTannehill analysis won’t be posted today. I’ll have it up this weekend. But if you haven’t seen my analysis of David Wilson, Kendall Wright, and (apparently) one play of Terrance Williams, check them out here:

  1. David Wilson Series on Vision: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV
  2. Kendall Wright Analysis: Routes and The Money Catch
  3. RyanTannehill Series on Pocket Presence: Part I

I already have the rest of this Friday segment written so I’m posting this note with it to let you know that more Tannehill is on its way. Also expect to see some analysis from some of these players during the next 7-10 days: Arizona State QB Brock Osweiler, Oregon RB LaMichael James, Oklahoma State QB Brandon Weeden, and Georgia TE Orson Charles.

RSP Writers Project Update

Sigmund Bloom has delivered his preliminary salary cap-player rating structure and Continue reading →

Managing the Pocket Part I: Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill

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When it comes to managing the pocket, Texas A&M Ryan Tannehill put on a clinic in the first half  versus Oklahoma State in September ’11. Photo by SD Dirk.

Note: The analysis you’ll find in blog posts on RB David Wilson, WR Kendall Wright, and today, Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill are merely snapshots of plays I have compiled from game study. These spotlights focus on a subset of the individual’s talents or deficiencies and are not an overall report on the player. My comprehensive analysis of the player will be available April 1 in the 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio – now in its seventh year of publication.

Former Jets coach and personnel manager Pat Kirwan noted in his book Take Your Eye Off The Ball, that the only scrambling quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl was Steve Young. Some may infer from that fact that scramblers are not the ideal style of quarterback for an NFL team. I think it’s probably more accurate to take this statement as a historic reflection, but not a basic truth about today’s NFL.

I’m nitpicking the point because Fran Tarkenton, Steve McNair, John Elway, Brett Favre, and Donovan McNabb could all scramble and they led their teams to the Super Bowl. I believe the spirit of Kirwan’s statement is Continue reading →

Kendall Wright and the Money Catch

0 Comments read Players, Wide Receiver
Nyan Boateng earning his scholarship over the middle versus USC. This is the kind of play that receivers must make between the hashes to earn that second NFL contract. Photo by Avinash Kunnath.

If you didn’t see yesterday’s post, there’s more analysis of Kendall Wright’s routes here.

I love the intellectual component of football. There’s rich material to explore with every position, unit and team from the perspective of technique and strategy. It’s what I do here almost daily.

But to say football is essentially an intellectual game is horseshit. It’s far and away an emotional game. Hitting might require a technical component to doing it the right way, but it also requires violence to do it properly and violence is an emotional act.

Think I’m wrong? Take up boxing or a martial art and spar with an opponent. There’s a big difference between knowing how to Continue reading →