Flashes – Matt Waldman & The Rookie Scouting Portfolio (RSP)

Below the Radar: Alabama Utility Back Jalston Fowler

Alabama FB/HB Jalston Folwer reminds me of Atlanta Falcons’ underrated ‘tweener Jason Snelling, only Fowler is a better ball carrier.

The eye in the sky doesn’t lie. It’s a pithy football cliché. But the eyes in our heads can fool us.

It happens to everyone while watching a football game and play-by-play commentary can reinforce inaccurate depictions of what’s happening on the field. If you’re a casual viewer this is nitpicking criticism. If you’re focusing on a player it’s important to forget what you saw on the couch with your buds and ignore what you heard during the game.

A good example is what I heard from announcer Brent Musberger’s during Alabama’s 2012 opener against Michigan when he described Crimson Tide fullback/halfback (and H-back) ‘tweener Jalston Fowler “hammering away” at the Wolverine front. I thought I saw the same thing from the 250-lb. Fowler. However, when I studied his performance last month, what I saw on repeat views was a big man making defenders miss.

If what you see below didn’t fool you upon first viewing, good for you. You have truthful eyes today. Congratulations, you’re a football analysis god. Now go away.

Whether Fowler returns to Alabama this year or leaves for the NFL (and I believe he’s staying), he is the type of prospect who heightens my interest as a talent evaluator because he has been a supporting actor on a stage that has included leading men Trent Richardson, Eddie Lacy, and T.J. Yeldon. If Folwer makes an NFL roster and develops into a contributor along the lines of Snelling, Mike Tolbert, or ascends to a lead role, it wouldn’t be the first time a runner in a collegiate supporting role earns a greater opportunity as a ball carrier as a pro.

William Andrews was a fullback for Joe Cribbs. Terrell Davis was backing up Garrison Hearst. Priest Holmes took a backseat to Ricky Williams. And Willie Parker knew every grain and knot of the pine where he sat at UNC.

These examples and others are often personnel decisions that factor scheme fit in addition to talent. In the case of Fowler, a four-star prospect as a running back at the prep level, it was an embarrassment of riches in Tuscaloosa.

Here’s an introduction to those unfamiliar with Fowler as a ball carrier.

Footwork in the Hole

Fowler is the single back on 2nd and 10 with 5:37 in the first quarter from a 21 personnel weak side twin, strong side I-formation set at the 33 of Alabama. Michigan is in a 4-3 with the free safety in the box at linebacker depth over right defensive end. This is a zone run with the right guard collapsing the defensive tackle inside and the center working to the middle linebacker.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zStxtcjBRmU&start=44&w=560&h=315]

Fowler works behind the right guard to reach the line of scrimmage, entering the hole with low pad level as the outside linebacker from the left side pursues inside. At 6’1″, Fowler is a tall runner but his pad level is excellent and I’m impressed with his ability to change direction running from this crouched position. He dips outside that linebacker’s reach two yards down field and turns up the left hash for another eight.

Then Fowler bends inside the cornerback coming from the left hash at the first down marker maintaining that strong pad level with the ball high and tight under his right arm. The Alabama runner finishes the play dropping his pads into the safety 13 yards down field gains another four yards for a total of 17.

This finish warrants Musberger’s characterization, but it’s Fowler’s maneuvering around these blocks untouched for three-quarters of this carry that is most noteworthy.

Feature Back Agility

This 2nd-and-10 gain of four with 2:11 in the first quarter isn’t a display of Lesean McCoy’s skill at cutting against the grain, but it reveals that Fowler has the agility to execute NFL-caliber, press-and-cuts down hill at the line of scrimmage. This is a 12 personnel weak side twin set versus a 4-3 with the Michigan strong safety outside the wing back on the unbalanced strong side. Alabama runs a zone blocking play to the strong side.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zStxtcjBRmU&start=75&w=560&h=315]

Fowler presses the run towards the end and then cuts the play downhill. He cuts inside his left tackle and then bends the run under his left guard. I have the 49ers-Panthers Divisional Playoff game on as I’m writing this and I just watched Frank Gore execute the same press and cut – Fowler’s was no different.

Alabama’s big back bursts through the line of scrimmage for a gain of four before the defensive back hits Fowler in the legs. This is when 250 lbs. of north-south burst and pad level does it’s job: Fowler keeps his legs moving and earns another four on the play, carrying two more defenders on his back.

This 1st-and-10 wind back play from a 12-personnel weak side twin set at the 43 of Alabama is good display of quick, economical feet that transitions well to the NFL.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zStxtcjBRmU&start=159&w=560&h=315]

The left guard and center do a good job with their double team to the middle linebacker. Combined with the tight end’s effort on the edge, there’s a huge lane to the left side of the line of scrimmage. However the outside linebacker manages to shoot this gap unblocked straight for Fowler.

The runner executes a nifty cut inside the attempt, reaches the line of scrimmage, and runs through the arms of the next defender. Fowler maintains his balance for another five yards down field and then out runs a wrap attempt eight yards past the line of scrimmage, splits the safety and cornerback with strong pad level and falls forward for a gain of 12. The replay does an even better job of showing the footwork.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zStxtcjBRmU&start=167&w=560&h=315]

Mature Decision Maker

Fowler may have good feet, but he’s not a big back with a little back’s mindset like Lendale White or Marc Tyler. If a large crease doesn’t open, Fowler makes the most of what’s ahead. This 12 wind back play from a 12 personnel weak side twin set with 9:58 in the game isn’t a big gain, but it’s a mature decision.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zStxtcjBRmU&start=153&w=560&h=315]

At the snap, the wing back works across the formation to the weak side end as Fowler takes the exchange. Fowler spots the right defensive end working across the face of the runner’s edge block to penetrate the middle of the line. Fowler dips to the left for three yards, gaining all three after contact at the line of scrimmage when there was no crease.

With Richardson and Lacy the marquee backs while Fowler was an underclassman and Yeldon and Derrick Henry as the present and future of the Alabama backfield, Fowler isn’t a name the public will know. But whether it’s this year or next, Fowler is a player I expect to make an NFL roster as a special teams contributor who will develop into a factor in a pro offense.

For analysis of skill players in this year’s draft class, download the 2013 Rookie Scouting Portfolio.The 2014 RSP will available April 1 and if you pre-order before February 10, you get a 10 percent discount. Better yet, if you’re a fantasy owner the 56-page Post-Draft Add-on comes with the 2012 – 2014 RSPs at no additional charge and available for download within a week after the NFL Draft. Best, yet, 10 percent of every sale is donated to Darkness to Light to combat sexual abuse. You can purchase past editions of the Rookie Scouting Portfolio for just $9.95 apiece.

You can begin placing orders for the 2015 RSP in January.

Flashes: Oregon RB Kenjon Barner

Kenjon Barner by Wade Rackley — Oregon running back Kenjon Barner showing power on a short-yardage play is the debut of ‘Flashes,” a series devoted to players giving brief exhibits of a skills not usually attributed to them.

Study football players long enough and it becomes clear that we all make assumptions about what they can and cannot do. We base these conclusions on what we think we know about a player’s size, speed, and strength. The truth is that we often underestimate the importance of technique, awareness, and fit with a specific scheme and surrounding talent.

Finding evidence that challenges these assumptions can lead to discovering players who are exceptions to the rule, underrated, or under the radar. This series will be devoted to a single play of a player that illustrates an aspect of his game that is not usually attributed as a strength or weakness.

When I find these plays, I make a note to search for additional plays like them. The goal is to validate or dispel the natural assumptions we all have about prospects. Sometimes I’m unable to do either, but these flashes from a player can help me see how much potential for improvement in a specific area exists. This is equally important, because few players enter the league finished products.

Miami Dolphins running back Lamar Miller is a good example of a player that the general public didn’t think of as a good receiver, but I saw him flash these skills down the road at the University of Miami. Apparently, the Dolphins coaching staff saw the same thing. I have to believe there were other scouts and Internet talent guys who saw it, but according to my colleague Sigmund Bloom I was the only one he saw mention this aspect of Miller’s game.

Kenjon Barner

The Oregon runner’s 321-yard, 5-touchdown performance against USC earlier this month put him on the national radar. Barner is listed as a 5-11, 192-pound running back and it is assumed that he will not be able to add another 10-20 pounds to become a feature back or lead back in a pro-style running game. I may not be at the point where I can win a “guess the height and weight” contest at the local fair, but Barner doesn’t look as big as me and I’m roughly those dimensions.

Another assumption is that Barner can’t break tackles. I’ll readily admit that when I first saw Barner and the Oregon offense, I assumed the same. However, the reason I look at defined criteria is to focus on what a player illustrates and not what I might believe before I see him. The defined process helps me maintain an open mind.

Here’s a third-and-1 play from the California 5 with 2:07 in the first quarter where Barner has forced me to at least keep an open mind about his ability to break tackles. Until I see enough evidence to validate or dispel the notion this two-yard gain did enough delay judgment for me.

BarnerA1 — This is a wind-back play run from a pistol set. The New Orleans Saints loved running this play with Pierre Thomas behind Heath Evans a couple of years ago, but from a traditional offset I-formation set.

A wind-back play is a misdirection run where the offensive line slants in one direction to get the defensive flowing to the opposite side of the eventual path of the runner. The key is the halfback helping to sell the misdirection by pressing to the linemen’s slant and then cutting back to follow the fullback crossing the formation to the backside to open a crease inside his block.

Barner slants with the offensive line as he takes the exchange from the quarterback as the fullback begins his wind back to the backside of the formation. The Ducks hope they can get the linebacker and safety to flow inside just enough for the running back to earn a clean hole for positive yards. Thus far, the safety is staring into the backfield and doesn’t seem poised to follow the tight end to the flat. The linebacker has taken a step inside, but he hasn’t bitten hard on the initial flow of the line. Oregon has run this play at least twice during this quarter and Cal’s defense seems to be catching on .

As Barner begins his bend to the backside it’s not the linebacker and safety that he has to worry about. The edge defender gets good penetration and meets the fullback at the line of scrimmage and spins off the lead blocker’s hit at the same time the front side linebacker gets easy access to the backfield through a lane inside left tackle. We know that Barner has the footwork and speed to avoid tackles, but in a tight area of a short-yardage play can he combine those skills with the pad level and strength to break tackles?

Earlier in this game, I watched Barner get knocked backwards on a wind-back play because as he hit the small backside crease he tried to beat the linebacker through the hole by turning his pads outside rather than lowering his pads through the defender. Barner wasn’t fast enough to beat this defender’s angle – no back would have been – and the linebacker hit Barner under the runner’s pads. The defender forced Barner backwards for a three-yard gain that was as questionable as his height and weight.

On this wind-back play, Barner flashes the technique that he’ll need to show more often if he wants to succeed between the tackles in the NFL. What you don’t see between the last still photo and the next one below is that he squares his pads and hips down hill. This puts him in position to attack the defense or, at least in the case of a smaller runner, minimize his surface area for defenders to hit and increase his chances to squirt through contact.

Barner’s pad level is good enough that when he encounters the safety head-on, his body is in a balanced position to handle the contact. If you look close enough at the still photo below (yes, I know it looks more like a poor attempt at a Leroy Neiman, but I do all this myself), the safety doesn’t have a square hit on Barner. The contact is to the runner’s right side, which gives Barner a shot to bounce off the hit to the inside. If Barner’s pads weren’t square he would have been hit at an angle to the chest that likely knocks the runner sideways.

The hit from the safety knocks Barner sideways, but not the away from the line of scrimmage. The pad level and down-hill angle are the difference between the outcome of the run I described earlier, and this play where Barner earns the first down. Barner isn’t going to be a tackle-breaking stud in the NFL, but the right technique and understanding of angles can give a player of his size slippery power.

Barner maintains his balance and gets his pads down hill in the next frame. His initial angle helps him take the hit and work past the line of scrimmage. Barner has already won because even if No.40 wraps him from behind, there’s little chance the Oregon runner doesn’t fall forward for the first down.

Let’s make it official . . .

It’s not so much Barner’s strength as it is his footwork, pad level, and pad orientation that helps him bounce off two hits at the line of scrimmage, keep his legs moving, and fall forward for the first down on what could have easily been a no-gainer. Barner will need to demonstrate this skill enough to earn consideration as a back capable of a lead role and not just a change of pace in a committee.

He’ll also need to demonstrate that after a physical run he isn’t forced to the sideline. This hand injury forced Barner to the locker room for a couple of series. It could have happened to any runner. It also can generate perceptions that limit a player’s opportunity for a bigger role until he proves this was not a frequent issue.

For more analysis of skill players entering the NFL, 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. The 2013 Rookie Scouting Portfolio will be available for download here on April 1, 2013.