Category Players

RGIII Counter Point

March 10, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Quarterback

RGIII Mike Davis — RGIII is certain to be the No.2 overall player in this draft. Here's some good counter point to my analysis of a player from his versus Oklahoma State.

Jim Urbano is a former college quarterback who I compete with in a fantasy league. He was kind enough to allow me to share his point of view that he also shared with the Footballguys Shark Pool forums when reading my take on a play I analyzed of RGIII’s versus Oklahoma State. I think Jim underscores some good points about the spread formation and the inherent difficulty of evaluating quarterbacks operating from it.

Jim’s Take:

I haven’t watched a great deal of OSU football recently but I’d be inclined to believe that them staying in this man coverage in the face of the trips formation was rare. I say that because it simply is for almost any college team I’ve ever seen. There may have been a pre-snap indication that the blitz was coming and that OSU would roll the dice with man coverage but we can’t put this play into context with out knowing the full season and schematic tendencies of OSU heading into this game. Continue reading →

Chad Spann: Lessons Learned and Work Ahead

March 10, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Reads Listens Views, Running Back

superman — Chad Spann began his career as a walk-on and ended it the MAC MVP. As Spann likes to say, "Falling Forward..."

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.

More stories about Spann at the RSP blog:

Bottom line, I liked Spann’s game before I had a chance to speak with him. However, I have no problem admitting Continue reading →

QB Kirk Cousins: Footwork and Pocket Management

March 8, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Quarterback

FBC vs. FAU — Spartan's QB Kirk Cousins has to refine his footwork and feel for the pocket or his arm will fail him. Photo by Matt Radick.

[Author’s Note: I tag this post and others like it as “scouting reports,” because readers seeking this type of information search the Internet with this terminology. This post and others like it are not scouting reports. It’s a few plays used as talking points to discuss technique. For a complete assessment of a player for my annual RSP publication, I examine multiple games and every snap.]

Bill Walsh was a big proponent of studying a quarterback’s footwork and building on a prospect’s coordination to develop an accurate and efficient passer. Good footwork helps a passer generate good timing, accuracy, and velocity. There are some quarterbacks with great arm talent that have thrived despite poor footwork.

Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins will not be one of them. I have colleagues with NFL scouting experience that think highly of Cousins’ pro prospects. He has a quick release, experience in a pro-style offense, and he can make some difficult throws down field into coverage with accuracy. According to the Twitterverse, Cousins also looks and talks the part of an NFL quarterback.

But the feet tell the immediate story. And presently, Continue reading →

QB Russell Wilson: Undersized-Underrated

March 7, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Quarterback

Author’s Note: For a far more intricate analysis of Wilson at N.C. State throwing under pressure that also features analysis of Drew Brees in comparison, read my Football Outsider’s Future’s Column “Studying The Asterisk”

One of the bigger questions about Wisconsin QB Russell Wilson will be his height. Measured at 5107, 204 lbs., Wilson will be one of the smaller quarterbacks in the NFL. Journeyman Doug Flutie was a legit 5’9″, fellow journeyman Jeff Blake might have been 6’0″. The common knock on quarterbacks under 6’2″ is that they will have difficulty playing from the pocket because they won’t be able to see over the line of scrimmage and they’ll have a higher rate of deflected passes.

Certainly a quarterback under 6’2″ has to bring an extra dimension to the table. Michael Vick brings speed, agility, and a fantastic arm. Drew Brees brings uncanny accuracy, anticipation, and athleticism. Height doesn’t worry me, but the corresponding weight does. You don’t see any sub-6’2″ quarterbacks packing 225-230 lbs. and as QB-friendly the NFL rules have become, it’s still a punishing sport.

However, Wilson’s athleticism makes him an intriguing prospect. Continue reading →

Creating Bad Luck

March 6, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Quarterback

Note: The posts of 2012 Draft Prospects this month are brief examples of plays that highlight specific skills and/or deficiencies of a player. They are not meant to draw overall conclusions of that player’s pro potential. For a thorough analysis of these prospects – and over 150 others – purchase the 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio, available through a link at this site on April, 1.

Yesterday, I featured a play where Robert Griffin III reacts poorly to pressure. Today, Andrew Luck gets the same treatment. However, I believe there’s a difference between the types of mistakes that I showed with Griffin and the two I’ll show today with Luck. Griffin’s opponent tipped its hand before the snap and the Baylor quarterback missed a relatively easy read. In contrast, Luck’s opponent uses a more complex scheme and hides it before the snap like a stone-faced killer. Luck still makes mistakes, but the errors are against a more advanced concept with stronger execution. Continue reading →

RGIII: Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick . . .

March 5, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Quarterback

Explosive (– noun): a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. Examples include TNT, C-4, and RGIII.

Not that I’m an expert at explosives, but it only takes a childhood of movies to know that the difference between them working for you or against you is timing. There’s a reason why quarterbacks are known as trigger men. They hold the detonator in the passing game. The quarterback’s internal clock is often the difference between an explosive offensive play and an explosive defensive play.

Another integral factor is how a quarterback cares for that explosive material. There’s a line as thin as a fuse when it comes to managing pressure in the pocket, but the differences are dramatic: Quick-thinking and harried. Aggressive and reckless. Tough and masochistic.

Robert Griffin III is fast in mind and body. His speed makes him capable of feats that put jaws on the floor – teammates, opponents, and fans alike. However Continue reading →

Vertical Goodness: Stephen Hill

March 1, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Wide Receiver

DSCN6231 — Calvin Johnson was a better prospect than Stephen Hill, but the 2012 Combine Stud has the fundamentals to become a dangerous X receiver.

Because I’m tired of picking on Stephen Hill…

I’ve been critical of the Georgia Tech receiver all week, but I’ve also been saying that the star of the Combine is more than just a gold medal winner 2012’s Underwear Olympics at Lucas Oil Stadium. Hill is a legit prospect with NFL starter upside. Although I’ve spent several pages analyzing what Hill doesn’t do, one play can encompass most of his strengths. On the surface, one good play to several not so good ones might seem heavily weighted to the negative. However, there are certain talents that don’t require lengthy analysis to value. Continue reading →

WRs Stephen Hill and Marvin Jones: Going Deep

February 29, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Wide Receiver

Marvin Jones Deep by John Martinez Pavliga — Think Cal receiver Marvin Jones is strictly a possession guy? Think again.

This week I have been spotlighting the craft of playing receiver and using plays from the careers of Georgia Tech’s Stephen Hill and Cal’s Marvin Jones as examples. Yesterday, I profiled two crossing routes that couldn’t have been run more different from each other. Today, I’m going deep and examining a vertical play from both receivers.

What’s fascinating about spotlighting Hill and Jones is that outside of Techwood and Berkeley campuses, these receivers seem like polar opposites to the general public. Hill played in a run it and chuck it, triple option offense where he averaged 30 yards per catch for a stretch this year. Hill looks like the next generation mutant receivers – X-men that begin with Homer Jones and continues today with Calvin Johnson.

Marvin Jones played in a west coast offense at Cal. Steve Young says Jeff Tedord’s offense during Aaron Rodgers’ time at Berkeley was literally the 49ers offense of the dynasty era. I don’t think much as changed conceptually. Jones was the high-reception, third-down bail-out “Z” receiver during his final years with the team. Mr. Reliable. Under the safeties. Under the radar.

But Jones blew the lid off that perception at the Senior Bowl and Continue reading →

WRs Stephen Hill and Marvin Jones: Managing Physical Play (Short)

February 27, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Wide Receiver

Marvin Jones by John Martinez Pavliga — Marvin Jones can tell a story that keeps cornerbacks guessing because he has harnessed his physical talents. Photo by John Martinez Pavliga.

Greatness lies not in being strong, but in the right use of strength.

– Henry Ward Beecher

Georgia Tech wide receiver Stephen Hill is tall, fast, and has a frame that will likely support another 10-15 pounds of muscle without sacrificing his 4.36-40 speed. Cal wide receiver Marvin Jones is a shade under 6’2″ and 200 pounds and he appears to have the type of physique that wouldn’t add weight if he injected liquified Crisco with an IV. Yet if I were building a team from scratch and you asked me which receiver I’d rather have catching passes from my quarterback, at this moment I’d take Jones despite the fact Hill’s physical skills are uncommon.

I understand that Hill has a higher ceiling of potential than Jones and this makes his draft stock more valuable. If I have a stronger team with a veteran that I know will help Hill become all the player he can be then I’d consider pulling the trigger. However, Jones is likely a draft day bargain.Therefore, if my team needed a receiver that could play both the “x,” and the “z,” I’d take my chances with Jones later.

The reason is how each player harnesses his strength, speed, agility, and hand-eye coordination to manage physical play. The frequency and intensity of physical play is the greatest difference between the college and pro game for a wide receiver. Hill and Jones have the talent to thrive in the NFL, Continue reading →

Georgia Tech WR Stephen Hill: Speed Kills – Now Learn How To Aim!

February 26, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Wide Receiver

The late, great Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis coined the phrase “speed kills.” There was a time Davis prized speed the way a trained gun enthusiast prized a competition model Glock. But late in his career, Davis’ love for fast-moving players seemed more like a warning for addiction.

If Davis were alive to see Stephen Hill’s 4.36-second, 40-yard sprint on Sunday, he’d probably get a contact buzz just from watching the Georgia Tech receiver on Lucas Field’s track. It’s hard to blame Davis, speed is a lot like a loaded gun. Capable of great power, it can disable an opponent without even pulling the trigger – sometimes without even removing it from the holster. However in untrained hands, it’s often more dangerous to those handling it. Continue reading →