Posts tagged Futures

Reads Listens Views 12/14/2012

December 14, 2012 0 Comments read Reads Listens Views

Arian Foster was a victim of sabotage by his alma mater's athletic program. Was Marquess Wilson? Doesn't look like it, but read more about the dynamics of whistle-blowing in Saturday's Futures. Photo by Will Rackley. — Arian Foster was a victim of sabotage by his Alma Mater’s athletic program. Was Marquess Wilson? Doesn’t look like it, but read more about the dynamics of whistle-blowing in Saturday’s Futures. Photo by Will Rackley.

Listens

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Thank You

Fantasy football is slowing down and draftnik season is heating up. I’ll be here and at Football Outsider’s providing analysis of the 2013 prospects as I compile my research for the 2013 Rookie Scouting Portfolio, which will be available for download April 1. If you’ve never seen the RSP publication, 2006-2012 versions are available for download here. If you are a faithful reader of the publication and this blog, thank you for your support. I have already conducted play-by-play analysis of over 100 skill position prospects for the 2013 publication. As I did last year, I will be donating 10 percent of every sale to Darkness to Light to help them combat sexual abuse through community training and awareness projects.

Football Reads

Chris Brown’s Q&A With Bruce Feldman – This was from May, but pretty interesting stuff Brown had to say about Texas A&M’s entry to the SEC.
Goodbye, Columbus – I wrote about former Washington State WR Marquess Wilson for this weekend’s Futures. I link to this Sports Illustrated piece by Austin Murphy about former Vikings and Buckeyes RB Robert Smith and his conflict with the Ohio State athletic program that ultimately caused him to quit the team but later rejoin. It’s one of several stories that indicate why athletic programs aren’t always trustworthy.
Bo Jackson is still a draw – A review of the 30 for 30 film on the Paul Bunyon of the 20th Century. The best human athlete I ever saw, no contest.

Non-Football Reads

The World In 2030: Asia Rises, The West Declines – The National Intelligence Council, comprising the 17 U.S. government intelligence agencies, prepares this report.
Tribune Watchdog: Playing with Fire The average American baby is born with 10 fingers, 10 toes and the highest recorded levels of flame retardants among infants in the world. The toxic chemicals are present in nearly every home, packed into couches, chairs and many other products. Two powerful industries — Big Tobacco and chemical manufacturers — waged deceptive campaigns that led to the proliferation of these chemicals, which don’t even work as promised.
The Case for More Guns (And More Gun Control) Jeffery Goldberg asks, “How do we reduce gun crime and Aurora-style mass shootings when Americans already own nearly 300 million firearms? Maybe by allowing more people to carry them.”

Views

This is surreal footage of driving in Russia. It’s perhaps the craziest collection of incidents I have ever seen.

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Life-affirming.

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Funny and true.

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Futures: Texas FS Kenny Vaccaro

November 10, 2012 0 Comments read Players

This week’s Futures article at Football Outsiders analysis the next in a line of NFL-caliber free safety prospects from the University of Texas. Photo by Wonggawei/

Studying football players is a solitary pursuit. So it feels good when a performance catches your attention and months later you learn that it did the same for another writer, scout, or talent evaluator. Everyone enjoys that kind of validation.

One of those moments occurred last spring when I was watching Keenan Allen. As fun as it was to watch the Cal receiver, I couldn’t keep my eyes off Texas’ Kenny Vaccaro.

The free safety didn’t have an incredible game, but his potential leaped off the screen -– and in one case, over running back Iso Sofele (see below) -– as a versatile prospect capable of starting at either safety position as well as being a force on special teams. According to Orangebloods.com writer Chip Brown, it was this Cal game that had an NFL scout tell him that Vaccaro would have been “the best Longhorn in the [2012 NFL Draft] … He might have been a first-rounder with the way he can cover and the way he defends the run.”

Vacarro might be the most impressive defender on an underachieving Longhorns defensive unit. Six defensive backs from Texas have earned top-50 selections in the NFL Draft, Vaccaro is likely to become the seventh in 2013. There’s a lot to like about his game.

Although his edge sometimes crosses the line to recklessness, I love Vaccaro’s ability to play with abandon. Once he improves . . . Read the rest at Football Outsiders

Futures: Florida TE Jordan Reed

November 3, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Tight End

Hernandez by Patriotworld — Aaron Hernandez is a unique talent in the NFL, but one of his fellow alums has the potential to change that assertion. Photo by Patriotworld.

Last week, I wrote about Notre Dame’s Tyler Eifert and how his skills fit into the growing pantheon of versatile tight end play that is in vogue in the NFL. But versatility can have a number of different meanings depending on the talents of the player and his fit within an offense. The word doesn’t necessarily mean that the player can do everything well.

Players like Jermaine Gresham, Brandon Pettigrew, Brent Celek, andHeath Miller are versatile in the sense that they can run block, have enough speed to stretch the intermediate seam, and produce in tight coverage in the red zone. I think they do a lot well, but nothing great. If anything, I believe they are the current evolution of the “average” tight end. (Though I have to say that calling personal favorite Miller “average” insults my sensibilities because in terms of smarts and execution he blows away players like Gresham and Pettigrew.)

Jermichael Finley, Jimmy Graham, and Jared Cook are versatile because they have the speed to run more vertical routes and the height and hands to function more as outside receivers. While Graham and Finley have improved as blockers, neither would list this skill as a true strength of their games. All three are essentially big wide receivers that can do a passable job as blockers depending on the way an offensive coordinator incorporates them into a scheme. In other words: teams have to be more creative with them when they aren’t running a route.

The only tight ends I believe have it all are (Read the rest at Football Outsiders).

Mike Gillislee and the Currency of Respect

October 24, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Running Back

Hitting and guts are the currency of respect in the game of football. A football player that can deliver a hit, take a hit, and play with abandon earns respect from teammates, opponents, and fans. When I watch a prospect, these three aspects of football stand out immediately when I see them. Said player may not have the technical or conceptual skills, or physical talent to become an NFL player, but hitting and guts make a great first impression.

Florida running back MIke Gillislee delivered a strong first impression against Texas A&M in the 2012 opener. Although I watched him carry the ball 14 times for 83 yards and 2 touchdowns, the box score only reveals the tip of the iceberg. What the stat line doesn’t show is that Gillislee’s best runs – both statistically and otherwise – came during his final eight carries after he injured his groin in the first offensive series and required an A-C bandage. Continue reading →

Futures: West Virginia WR Tavon Austin

October 20, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Wide Receiver

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Evaluating players is a long process. It doesn’t end when an analyst watches a few games of a prospect. I want you to keep this in mind as you read this take or any take that I provide of a player before his college career has ended. My methodology of evaluation is as detailed as any and I often find that the third, fourth, or fifth game I’ve watched of a player only validates what I saw in the first performance. Even so, there are times that my fundamental opinion of a player will change with additional viewings of games.

Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall comes to mind. I had initial concerns about his acceleration that eventually diminished after additional viewings of his performances. The more I watched him, the more I liked him. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the more I watched quarterback Matt Leinart the less confident I felt that he had the on-field makeup to become anything more than system player with fringe starter potential.

I share this because West Virginia receiver and return specialist Tavon Austin is one of those players where after my initial studies I have more questions than answers. Several draft analysts list Austin as one of the five best receiver prospects of the 2013 N.F.L. Draft class – including NFL Draft Scout and my buddy Josh Norris over at Rotoworld. I agree that the 5-9, 176-pound slot receiver and kick return specialist from West Virginia is among the most productive performers at his position in college football, but what I have seen of Austin continues to raise one question: Is there a slot receiver in pro football with the kind of marquee game that in hindsight would have deserved a first-day pick in April?

Read the rest at Football Outsiders

Big Bad Utah War Daddy Star Lotulelei

September 22, 2012 0 Comments read Players

6313318837_9c23f6f708_b — Is Star Lotulelei the next impact DT along the lines of Ndamukong Suh? Find out at Football Outsiders. Photo by Jeffery Beall.

War Daddies. Chris Brown introduces this coach’s term of endearment for big, bad defensive tackles that man the middle of a defensive front in his ode to the position at Grantland. Brown, the author of the always excellent Smart Football, explains that when it comes to prioritizing the factors that make a good defensive tackle, size is only a fundamental consideration.

What separates a defensive tackle who earns an invitation to compete for a roster spot from a defensive tackle that has an integral role for an NFL team is fluid athleticism and a good football IQ. It might be important to have (Read the rest at Football Outsiders)

Futures: Georgia LB Alec Ogletree

September 15, 2012 0 Comments read Players

Weights by Lars Hammar — Now here’s a room of equipment my former trainer would have been proud of. I share my Jenny Craig Moment for Guys below to give you context about Georgia ILB Alec Ogletree in my latest Futures at Football Outsiders. Photo by Lars Hammar.

Six years ago, I met an athletic trainer for the University of Georgia football team. I joined a local gym and wanted to begin a weight training program. I was leery of the bells and whistles that “athletic clubs” have in their facilities and even more skeptical of the trainers who seem to be more about sales than fitness. I also wanted a workout that incorporated a lot of body weight exercises and the supervision of an experienced, educated, trainer. The gym management got my drift and recommended one guy.

The only appointment that this trainer had available in his schedule was 5:00 a.m. three times a week. The idea of studying a football game at 5:00 a.m. was one thing, an intense workout seemed like masochism. But as bleary-eyed as I was that first morning, I knew I’d made the right decision when this trainer walked us right past the the sea of Nautilus equipment and other gadgets.

“You see all of this here? This sells gym memberships. We’ll use maybe three of these machines. Let’s do some real work.”

And within two months, I lost 20 pounds and 10 percent body fat with a workout that consisted of free weights, sprints, jump rope, and medicine ball workouts.

I’m sharing this Jenny Craig moment for guys because, as I got to know my trainer, I learned a lot about the Georgia football team. My trainer wasn’t a 23 year-old whose career prior to graduate school was that of a glorified towel boy. Besides working as a professional trainer for a number of years in Major League Baseball, he came from a rich football background. He was a second-string safety at Florida State, and his grandfather was a former head coach and scout in the NFL

Among the several great nuggets of information that he eventually shared with me about Georgia football was the school’s preference to Read the rest at Football Outsiders

Reads Listens Views 9/14/2012

September 14, 2012 0 Comments read Reads Listens Views

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Chris Potter and Marcus Strickland, two of the better saxophonists of my generation playing with a great group that includes the fantastic Benny Green on piano, Martin Wind on bass, and Matt Wilson on drums.

Reads

From the “isn’t that charming and hip, but completely stupid file,” The USB Typewriter. If someone rigged any of my devices with this hipster pile of garbage as a gift, I’d deck them. Or at least I’d be imagining how I’d dismember them as I do the polite thing. Of course, I think the polite thing to do in the long term is throw a hay maker so they never do something like that to a writer’s helper ever again. If you want to pretend you’re Hemingway go ahead. Try writing a piece to deadline with that contraption and you’ll have killed yourself decades earlier than For Whom The Bell Tolls.

Back to School: How Mike Shanahan is Using RG3’s College Offense with the Redskins by Chris Brown

Futures: Tyler Wilson by Matt Waldman

Why Fathers Really Matter by Judith Shulevitz. A fascinating article touching upon epigenetics – or how your environment triggers your genes to change.

iPhone 5? Yawn. What Will the ‘Phone’ of 2022 Look Like by Alexis C. Madrigal. What will it look like? Most likely, none of the things in this article.

Listens

Superego – The Superego podcast is a great mix of old-school radio drama techniques, stream-of-consciousness, existential-style humor, and just plain funny. Set against the format of “case studies” of varying psychological profiles, the skits and sketches range from the absurd to the thought-provoking. Highly recommended (thanks Interlocuter, whomever you are on iTunes, for the description).

Views

Optical Illusion Photography

28 Mind Bending Examples of Optical Illusion Photography

Thanks

I mean it. And you probably know why. I’m just slammed with work like nobody’s business right now to go into detail.

Futures: My New Football Outsiders Column

April 9, 2012 0 Comments read Reads Listens Views

This week’s column on Russell Wilson is titled, “Studying the Asterisk.” I studied three games of Wilson’s junior season at N.C. State – FSU, UNC, and Va. Tech – and I think there’s ample evidence that demonstrates why Wilson is an underrated commodity in this draft. I also provide some footage and analysis of Drew Brees to illustrate how Wilson could be used in an NFL offense to help a team win games.

Enjoy!

If you like the analysis you read at Football Outsiders, download the 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio for analysis of over 151 prospects at QB, RB, WR, and TE.