Category Players

Cal WR Keenan Allen: Creating Separation With His Hands

0 Comments read Players, Wide Receiver
Keenan Allen might have DeSean Jackson’s fancy footwork in a 6’3, 205 lbs. frame, but he also flashes some quality hands in more ways than one. Photo by John Martinez Pavliga.

I’ll still be writing about 2012 NFL Draft prospects in the coming months, but with the 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio in the books – and available for download – I’m also beginning my work for next year’s draft. See below.

If you’ve been reading my blog for at least a couple of months then you know I have an appreciation for former Cal wide receiver Marvin Jones. As much as I enjoy his technical skill at the position, Jones’ contributions were sometimes overshadowed by the terrific athleticism of his teammate Keenan Allen. The rising junior is 6’3″, 205 lbs. of quick-twitch, X-box-inspired moves once the ball is in his hands. Continue reading →

QB Guru George Whitfield: “How I’d Build Tim Tebow”

0 Comments read Players, Quarterback, Reads Listens Views

[vimeo 9344613 w=500 h=281]

George Whitfield is quickly becoming known (by the media) as a QB guru. Here’s a cool segment breaking down Tim Tebow’s mechanics. Whitfield does not work with Tebow, but he believes Tebow can become “an effective…if not, great” NFL quarterback and he lays out how he’d help Tebow to achieve it.

If you’re looking for a chance to learn more about quarterbacking techniques – good and bad – this is an insightful watch.

I’ll be posting more analysis of players on this blog on Wednesday and next week I hope to begin breaking down players for 2013 – yes, 2013 😉

And as sincerely as I can convey this to you – thank you for reading this blog and thank you for being 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio readers. I have a loyal base or readers, which is one of the big ways I know I’m doing something right with this publication. If you’re considering the publication for the first time, these are some of the comments I get from readers every year.

I’m taking my wife out to dinner tonight – she deserves at least that for the support she provides for me to indulge in what can be an obsession.

 

National Football Post Draftnik Roundtable

0 Comments read Players, Quarterback
The more I watch Russell Wilson, the more I like him. I know realistically that his height means “backup,” but he’s still a fine talent worth a serious shot. Photo by Seth Youngblood.

Monday afternoon, I joined Josh Buchanan of JBScouting, Josh Norris of Rotoworld.com, and Wes Bunting of the National Football Post for Draftnik Roundtable 6.0,  a half-hour discussion of quarterbacks not named Griffin or Luck. This is a series Bunting has created for the NFP.

If you want to learn more about Bunting, I did a four-part interview with him last summer (here’s Part I) and we discussed a variety of topics related to his start as a draft analyst and our takes on the craft of studying player performance.

It was a fun discussion and I think we all hope to do more of these with Wes in the future. If you follow Josh Norris on Twitter, please feel free to tell him that he doesn’t need to call me “Mr.” I’ve tried several times to tell him so, but his good, southern upbringing just won’t let him give up so easily.

If you’re not following Josh Norris, Josh Buchanan or Wes Bunting on Twitter, I recommend you do so:

  • Follow Wes on twitter: @WesBunting
  • Follow Josh Norris on twitter: @JoshNorris
  • Follow Josh Buchanan on twitter: @JoshBDraft
  • I’ll add @ryanlownes, @optimumscouting, and ABXXV25 to that list.

Back to QB write-ups. Some likely surprises in my rankings, but that’s not unusual. It’s not because I try to make a splash – I just do most of my watching cloistered away.

UT-Chattanooga QB B.J. Coleman: Decision-Making is Also Fundamental

0 Comments read Players, Quarterback
B.J. Coleman copied Peyton Manning’s drops and play fakes to a “T.” Here’s a look at both guts and in flawed decision-making by the young prospect with late-round value. Photo by chattanoogaalumni.

For a more in-depth breakdown, see my analysis of Coleman at FootballOutsiders.com

A few weeks ago, I profiled East Carolina receiver Lance Lewis and demonstrated how his fade routes often appear identical to Patriots receiver Brandon Lloyd. In that post, I mentioned that University of Tennessee-Chattanooga QB B.J. Coleman’s drop, play fake, and release of the football is no different than Peyton Manning. Coleman voraciously studied Peyton Manning’s game as a redshirt freshman at Tennessee before transferring to Chattanooga and it has paid huge dividends with his fundamentals.

I had a chance to watch Coleman again this weekend with my Footballguys.com pals Cecil Lammey, Sigmund Bloom, and David Dodds (Jene Bramel would pop in, see one bad throw, and then mock us before returning to the NCAA tourney). I’m not going to detail how Coleman looks like Manning here. It’s pretty obvious once you see it. So, here’s highlights of the Shrine Game:

[youtube=http://youtu.be/__GQYD1aRi8]

You have to admire a young player like Coleman to copy the best fundamental physical skills of a great like Manning. I bet coaches and GMs wish more Continue reading →

Arkansas WR Greg Childs: Career Resurrection?

0 Comments read Players, Wide Receiver
Ryan Williams is working his way back from a Career Near-Death Experience. See what WR Greg Childs was like before his.

The Career Near-Death Experience. This is one of my favorite Bloomisms of football writing. A Bloomism is what I call the slang that Footballguys and Bleacher Report Draft Analyst Sigmund Bloom (who is also a medalist in some Writer-Olympiad) creates to encompass various football experiences, states of mind, or rights of passage in the sport.

The Career Near-Death Experience is an event where a player faces his career mortality. All players face it at some point. Those that don’t cross to the other side discover a new and better way to approach the game. Former wide receiver Cris Carter had a career near-death experience as drug addict when playing with the Philadelphia Eagles and Coach Buddy Ryan helped save the receiver with a southern fried reprise of the ghost of Christmas Future.

The career near-death experience can also manifest Continue reading →

Juron Criner: “Trust Me”

0 Comments read Players, Wide Receiver
Arizona WR Juron Criner is a “Trust Me” player. See below (trust me).

Whether it was in a stadium, the park, the street, or your friend’s back yard, I know you’ve been in a situation where you knew you could take the man assigned to you. All you had to do was convince your quarterback. The fewer the words, the better.

“Trust me.”

Continue reading →

Tight Quarters: LaMichael James

0 Comments read Players, Running Back
LaMichael James plays in an offense tailored to his strengths, but there are still game situations that reveal he has a fighting chance to do more than catch screens and run draws in the NFL. Photo by Neon Tommy.

LaMichael James is a short, quicksilver running back in an offense that plays at a break-neck tempo. There’s little doubt that he can have an impact as a kick return specialist and a third-down back in the NFL. And if the Broncos don’t land Peyton Manning and continue with some form of spread option offense, James could be a nice fit as an integral part of Denver’s backfield as my Footballguys.com colleague Cecil Lammey suggests.

However, let’s presume that “the future” is not “now” when it comes to offensive concepts and James must work in a traditional, pro-style offense. Does he have what it takes to perform as a between the tackles runner in the NFL? Can he carry the load like Warrick Dunn did for a couple of years with the Atlanta Falcons?  I’m looking at a few plays that provide some indication of what James can – and can’t – do.

Yesterday, I examined James in a short-yardage situation. Today, I’m looking at a play that requires an ability to carry the football in tight quarters. This is an aspect of James’ game where I think he shines. Continue reading →

Looking for Mr. Dunn: LaMichael James

0 Comments read Players, Reads Listens Views, Running Back

[youtube=http://youtu.be/5dgrjrp6jXE]

If there’s an alternate universe, I’m a running back in it. There isn’t a week that goes by that I walk along the field that held the first football game at the University of Georgia and daydream of ripping off a run like Garrison Hearst’s 96-yard touchdown versus the Jets. I just don’t act it out (although the urge is there). It’s probably why most of my analysis this month has been quarterbacks, receivers, and tight ends. I want to save the best stuff for last – the way your son or daughter might save a favorite dessert.

One of the running backs of the past 20 years whose game I had grown to admire was Warrick Dunn. He was listed at 5’8″, 187 pounds, but I bet 5’6″, 178 is closer to the truth. Even if his listed weight is correct, I like the tall tale version more – it befits a back of his size who carried the load for Alex Gibbs’ zone blocking scheme for the Falcons.

I love what LaMichael James brings to the table, but it isn't in Hungry Man portions - if you know what I mean. Photo by Neon Tommy.

Since Dunn, Continue reading →

Why Ryan Tannehill is a First-Round Prospect

0 Comments read Players, Quarterback
Dolphins offensive coordinator Mike Sherman says Ryan Tannehill is a lot like Andy Dalton, but with a better arm. Some evaluators think Tannehill will get a GM fired. I'm on Sherman's side of the fence.

What do you call 9/22, 156 yards, TD, INT in a half of football? If the execution behind the stats isn’t studied then I call it meaningless. These stats belong to Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill’s performance in a blowout loss to Oklahoma in 2011. After studying his performance in this game and others, my conclusion is that Tannehill exhibits starter potential for the NFL.

Oftentimes the worst statistical games reveal strong positives in a player’s skill and potential. I’d rather see how a player deals with adversity than study games where he only has success. There are more situations that test a player’s skill to its limit and the absence of good stats doesn’t mean an absence of skills to watch. It’s why I had strong marks for players like Ahmad Bradshaw, Joseph Addai, Matt Forte, and several other prospects whose opponents over-matched their teams. If you’re watching technique, effort, and physical skill then stats fade into the background.

I’ve written about Tannehill here recently and with the Redskins’ exchange of three first-round picks for the second spot in the NFL Draft, there is a lot of debate among draftniks about Tannehill’s value as a top-10 overall pick. I’ve read one former scout write on Twitter that he’s the most likely player to get a GM fired. I read another say he’s overrated. On the other hand, Tannehill’s former coach Mike Sherman compares his A&M starter favorably to Bengals QB Andy Dalton – with a better arm. Continue reading →

Chad Spann: Post Rookie Debriefing

0 Comments read Players, Running Back
UDFA RB Chad Spann began his rookie year with the Colts, mid season with the Buccaneers, and the rest of the year as a Steeler. Spann explains how Coach Mike Tomlin and the team create a culture that he appreciates.

Chad Spann is a reserve running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers after stops with the Colts and Buccaneers. I have interviewed Spann multiple times since this time last year. The former NIU walk-on who began his career ninth on the depth chart and ended it as the 2010 NCAA touchdown leader is a confident but grounded player who learned early that everything he’s going to get as a football player will be earned with hard work and persistence.

It won’t be a surprise to most fans if Pittsburgh drafts a running back in the mid-to-late rounds as a hedge for Rashard Mendenhall’s recovery from a knee injury. Even so, Spann is still the only healthy running back on the roster with change of pace, third-down skills. There’s a strong likelihood that Spann’s name becomes more common on the lips of beat writers this summer.

Q: I read your DLF interview and I’d like to build on it. You talked about the Steelers organization with me in the past. Now that the season is over and you’ve had time to reflect, tell me specifically what you like about being in Pittsburgh.

A: Man, it was really just a culture shock going in there after being in Tampa and Indianapolis. It was completely different. The environment. The coaches. The players. The very first day I was there Coach Tomlin Continue reading →