Posts tagged 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio

RSP Football Writers Project: July 23rd

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Some of the top draft analysts, football writers, and former scouts are channeling their inner talent evaluator, coach, and GM to participate in the RSP Writers Project that will debut July 23.

With the NFL Draft over and mini camps underway, we’re getting close to that time of year where football writers can take a breather. That’s my rationale for delaying the RSP Writers Project a few months (if you’re new around here, I’m re-posting the original description of the project below). It’s a nice way of saying that those of us involved have been way too busy to set it up and deliver the information our owners need to build teams.

Good news! The project will be delivered to the writers on June 18 and they will have until July 20th to submit their teams and questionnaires. I’ll begin posting one team at a time beginning July 23rd.

Details (Original Post)

Secretly, we all want to build a football team. It’s why we’re passionate about every player recruited, drafted, traded, and signed. It’s why we play fantasy football. It’s why many of us are fanatical about the NFL draft. Continue reading →

Russell Wilson, Drew Brees, Prince, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix and the Difficulty of Comparisons

0 Comments read Players, Quarterback
Russell Wilson is short by NFL QB standards but matched with the right offense, there is a place for him in the league. Photo by Seth Youngblood.

Russell Wilson to Compete for Seahawks Starting Gig Now

Apparently, I was wrong about Russell Wilson. I thought he’d compete for the starting job next year – not right now.

I’ve been talking about Wilson’s potential as a future starter before the draft at FootballOutsiders.com in my Futures column. Wilson had an off-the-charts Lewin Career Forecast score (highest ever as an indicator of potential success in the NFL), which my colleagues at Outsiders consequently labeled with an asterisk because history accurately demonstrated that quarterbacks with Wilson’s height aren’t drafted in the first three rounds as potential starters. I decided to take a bit of the different approach and “Study the Asterisk.” Click the link above and learn why Pete Carroll and the Seahawks saw Wilson as a future starter, why his game translates, and why the comparisons to Drew Brees aren’t silly.

The Nature of Player Comps

Speaking of player comparisons, I think it is important to talk about them. There are a lot of opinions about the value of comparisons. When done well, Continue reading →

RSP No-Huddle Series: Eagles RB Bryce Brown

0 Comments read Players, Running Back
Last we really saw Bryce Brown on the filed, he was a freshman with great promise. Can he make an impact in the NFL? Photo by Wade Rackley.

For more analysis of skill players like the post below, download the 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio. Better yet, if you’re a fantasy owner the 56-page Post-Draft Add-on comes with the 2012 RSP at no additional charge. Best, yet, 10 percent of every sale is donated to Darkness to Light to combat sexual abuse. Here’s an update on my pledge.

Bryce Brown was the top-rated running back entering college football in 2009 – over Trent Richardson.The Eagles made him a seventh-round pick to ensure no other team could sign him. Ability-wise, Brown is nowhere near a seventh-round grade: he’s a big back with soft hands, good burst, long speed, and finishing power.

The reason he dropped so far in the draft is past history:he left the Tennessee Volunteers after one year, sat out a year to comply with NCAA rules, and then only carried the ball three times at Kansas State before leaving the team and then entering the NFL Draft. There’s very little to see with Brown in college action. However, what’s available is filled with impressive moments. Continue reading →

2012 Post-Draft RSP Ready for Download – Reads Listens Views 5/4/2012

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Press “Play,” then read the news when the music begins…

[youtube=http://youtu.be/KbJrcpqLui8]

The 2012 Post-Draft RSP Add-on is Ready for download! You know you feel like dancing!

That’s right, 56 pages of post-draft goodness:

  • Post-Draft analysis and commentary.
    • Depth chart competition
    • Team fit
    • Long-term prospects
  • Rankings
    • Overall
    • By Position
    • Tiered Rankings
  • Draft selection data for dynasty leagues
    • Average spot of selection
    • High selection spot
    • Low selection spot
    • Value designation scores that relate to my RSP rankings to help navigate your draft
  • Overrated/Underrated Players

This analysis is part of the overall 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio product. If you already downloaded the RSP, just return to www.mattwaldman.com, enter your login and password from your original purchase, and download the post-draft analysis from the 2012 folder.

That’s right, 1031 pages of 2012 NFL Draft-Fantasy Rookie analysis. If you haven’t bought the 2012 RSP, now’s the time. Get on it!

Reads

What All Teachers Should Learn from Jazz-band Teachers

Listens

[youtube=http://youtu.be/RmtIWHTO2AE]

Views

You’re kidding, right? 56 pages of the 2012 RSP Post-Draft Add-on!!! Go get it.

Good News on a Bad Football Day: RSP Add-on to be Ready on Friday

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Dynasty owners, you didn’t think I was going to drop the ball for you on the most important weekend of the year, did you? I’m delivering good news like A.J. Green. But first a quick thought on Junior Seau. Photo by Tennessee Journalist Wade Rackley.(http://www.flickr.com/photos/tnjn/5064947481/sizes/l/in/photostream/)

Bad Football Day

I’m a year younger than Junior Seau, whose body was discovered yesterday after an apparent suicide. We’ll clearly learn more about his mental-emotional state in the coming days, weeks, and months, but I can tell you right now that his death is likely one more example why college and pro football is a hard life. Some pass through unscathed, but we can’t assume appearances are what they seem anymore.We use the word “physical,” to describe the game, but there are too many instances where the effects of “physical play,” are brutal.

The game and those that love it, work in it, and own it need to figure out a way to separate the brutal from the physical.

Good News!

I’m on track to finish the RSP Post-Draft Add-on by Friday May 4 instead of Sunday May 6. I had a feeling this would take me less time, but I didn’t want to place myself on schedule I couldn’t fulfill being this is the first time I’ve delivered a post-draft analysis.

This analysis includes a bevy of excellent dynasty league info:

  • Positional ranking cheat sheet
  • Overall ranking cheat sheet with tiers and a unique RSP value designation for each player that provides a shorthand guide to navigating your draft
  • Overall rankings with commentary for over 110 players
  • Overrated-Underrated players
  • Good Fit-Bad Fit based on landing spot
  • Long-Term Projects

The 2012 RSP Post-Draft Add-on is something I consider a part of the 2012 RSP so if you buy the pre-draft publication, which I’m confident 99 percent of my readers will tell you is a great draft day tool and 2-3 year resource on its own, you’ll also get the post-draft analysis.

That’s pretty good news, don’t you think?

For those of you that already bought the 2012 RSP, I will email you when I have the file ready for download at www.mattwaldman.com. Just use your login and password to download the add-on from the 2012 file.

RSP No-Huddle Series: Cowboys WR Danny Coale

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I resume the No-Huddle series with Cowboys receiver Danny Coale, a good, but underrated bet to make an impact as a rookie. Photo by Techsports.

Announcements

The RSP blog has experienced a wave of new viewers during NFL Draft season – thank you for checking it out. And thanks to those of you who post links to my work. It’s amazing how much this blog has grown in less than a year, and I have no plans on stopping.

Here are some exciting projects on the horizon:

  • The RSP Football Writers Project: Over two dozen respected football writers, analysts, and former scouts will each build a team under the structure of a salary cap. I’ll post each team here and interview the writers for further analysis. Originally scheduled to debut in May, I pushed back the schedule so we could undertake this project after the draft.
  • Grinding Tape of Ray Rice with Steelers RB Chad Spann: I’ve been super fortunate to continue talking with Spann, who is training this offseason to earn a shot at contributing to the Steelers’ roster this fall. Spann has agreed to watch a game with me. I’ll break down what I learn here.
  • The 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio Post-Draft Add-on (Downloadable May 6): Tonight I finished my post-draft rankings, tiered fantasy cheat sheet, and average pick data analysis. I have also formulated an “Over/Under/Par” rating that should help dynasty league owners have a shorthand method of gauging how I value a player relative to rookie drafts that I had access to study. I have more analysis to write and format into an Adobe document and I’ll email all RSP readers when it will be ready to download. Remember, this is part of the package you get this year for buying the 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio.

No-Huddle Series: Danny Coale

Note: I don’t claim these single-play analysis to be scouting reports that give an overall take of a player. I tag the phrase “scouting report” in my posts because this is how readers look for information on players that isn’t even as in-depth as I’m providing. While one play can tell a lot about a player, it can also be misleading. The plays I select are generally indicative of what I saw from the player overall.

Coale is one of those players that at first glance gets his yardage Continue reading →

2012 Post-Draft Skill Player Impressions Part-I

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Find out why Browns WR Carlton Mitchell is potentially a beneficiary of the Browns draft. Photo by Hank.

I don’t believe in grading the draft. Many of my colleagues, ones I respect a great deal, will be providing draft grades this week. Some of them will say that they don’t believe a draft can be graded accurately for a few years, but two paragraphs later they are grading away like they’re teaching middle school. The reason is they believe they are giving readers what they want, and they’re right.

In this case, I don’t care. I’m not indulging in that practice. Although some may want to read it, perpetuating a practice that none of my writer brethren believe in but do it anyway is not something I have to do here. This is when I love having my own blog. I’m going to try something a little different and discuss what I think teams are trying to do with certain picks and whether I can see the logic. Continue reading →

Reads Listens Views-NFL Draft Day 1 Edition 4/27/2012

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[youtube=http://youtu.be/y9s85CjEexg]

If you can look at Irvin’s game through the lens that he can learn better technique to stay low, learn a change-up move, and learn to diagnose run plays with extra work, the physical talent is evident. Read more below.

Views

That was quick. And as someone who loves evaluating players and has less patience for waiting on picks, I loved how fast the first round flew by. I’m going to share some takes, but in case you’re new to this blog, here’s a list that includes seven first-round picks that I’ve analyzed in detail in recent months so I don’t have to rehash anything.

While I’m not a huge fan of Brandon Weeden, I see the logic Continue reading →