Posts tagged Matt Waldman RSP

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 →

2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio is Ready for Download!

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The 2012 RSP is ready for download now. If you pre-ordered, you can go directly to this page and enter your login and password.

A big thanks to Jene Bramel doing his part ot edit and Mike MacGregor for getting the download site set up.

Here’s the Tale of the Tape:

  • Approximately 175 pages of magazine style analysis
    • Rankings
    • Player comparisons
    • Skill set break-downs by position
    • Draft history data by position
    • Fantasy football overviews
    • Bookmarked menus for easy drill-down
    • Links to highlight videos
    • Overrated/Underrated/Projects
  • 800 pages of play-by-play analysis on 151 players at the offensive skill positions.
    • Each position has its own criteria and scoring system
    • Play-by-play documentation of what happened and my observations
    • Transparent process to studying players
  • A complete glossary of scoring criteria

Remember, 10 percent of this year’s sales will be donated to Darkness to Light, a non-profit dedicated to preventing sexual abuse.

I hope you enjoy it. If you’re a first-time reader…or even a seventh-time reader, drop me a line and let me know what you think!

Reader Email Bag

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49ers fans beware. Manningham is a terrific talent, but his skill for working at his game hasn't been part of the package.

This email bag includes topics pertaining to Robert Turbin, Blaine Gabbert, physical skills and techniques I value from players at each skill position, and of course, Mario Manningham.

(From Alexandra): When evaluating a player entering the draft, what are the positives of his skills that make a difference once in the NFL, and what are the negatives of his skills that are correctable in the NFL?  Which negatives are not so correctable and therefore devalue the potential of the player in the NFL? 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 →

Free Playoff Fantasy Football

0 Comments read Matt Waldman
Didn’t get to draft Calvin Johnson this year in your fantasy league? Draft him weekly (or as long as the Lions remain alive) at Fantasy Throwdown. Photo by MattBritt00.

You can’t beat the intensity of the NFL playoffs, but you can add to it with one-on-one fantasy football. Mike MacGregor and I are holding playoff fantasy football all the way through the Super Bowl at Fantasy Throwdown.

That’s right, you can have a Super Bowl fantasy match up. In fact, we’re holding a playoff tournament right now with 24 players participating in four, one-on-one games this week. If you missed the tourney, you can still challenge a friend or someone on the site – its easy to play and difficult to stop!

Here’s the basics (for more complete directions go here):

  • Challenge a friend or another person on the site.
  • You and your opponent determine the three games for that week that will comprise your player draft pool.
  • Pick your games wisely as well as your draft order, because you each get to block a player from the draft pool during the draft. If there’s only two good QBs from those games you selected, you can set it up to force your opponent to settle for a scrub.
  • Draft your team.

Drafts take 10 minutes if you and your opponent are both online. Or you can stretch out the draft throughout the course of the week or even do predraft settings. Play standard or IDP, PPR or non-PPR while chatting live with your opponent if you wish.

Reads, Listens, Views 12/9

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David Dodds in Japan spreading his method of fantasy draft domination. (Sorry DD, I couldn't resist).

Fantasy Football

Congratulations to Footballguys.com David Dodds, who was elected to the Fantasy Sports Writers Hall of Fame. Although there are some who wonder why we have a Hall of Fame, if accountants can have one I suppose fantasy writers can, too. That being the case, Dodds is most deserving of the honor. He’s an innovative mind in the fantasy sports industry and his work spans more than just writing, but shaping content that has made Footballguys a leader in the industry.

Are your really running your fantasy football team?: Cognitive Bias in our favorite fake sport. by Renee Miller. It’s a good piece, it’s a topic I thought about covering at some point after writing about this professor’s research. Continue reading →

RSP Contest: Guess the WR Prospect

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I heard TV analysts once compare one of these receiver prospects described below to Percy Harvin. I can see that comparison in some respects, but not completely. Photo by Mark Trammell.

Here’s a guessing game for you. Below I have described three receivers that teams drafted or signed as rookies in the last 3-5 years. All three receivers see significant time with their respective offenses and they all have a similar role.

Can you guess each player? The first three people to guess all three players correctly will win a free copy of a past issue of the Rookie Scouting Portfolio (your choice from seasons 2006-2010). Just complete the form at the end of the post and I’ll announce the winners as soon as I have three readers correctly identify them. Continue reading →

Logic (Newton) or Chance (Luck)?

0 Comments read Players, Quarterback, Reads Listens Views
By rookie QB standards Cam Newton has been incredible. In fact, he's been terrific by any standard. Photo by PDA.Photo

If you were in charge of player-personnel decisions for the NFL team that had the opportunity to choose between Cam Newton or Andrew Luck, which quarterback would you take? I think this is probably one of the most compelling questions I’ve seen all season. There are so many layers of analysis to explore with this type of question.

While Newton was considered a fine quarterback prospect, only a few really nailed him as a player capable of making a Peyton Manning/Carson Palmer impact early in his career. And even fewer did as good of a job debunking the “running quarterback” myth with Newton than Chris Kouffman and Simon Clancy. Their analysis of Cam Newton was dead-on this winter. I highly recommend you make this your lunchtime read. I think the work they did was most impressive and something to learn from.

But then there’s Luck, who is considered the best prospect in the last 20 years. Unlike Newton, Luck is a three-year starter in a pro-style offense that uses West Coast concepts. Luck also has freedom to change plays at the line of scrimmage with the authority of veteran pro quarterbacks while Newton played in what is conceptually recognized as a highly simplified offense by comparison at Auburn. Furthermore, Luck is an athletic quarterback who is more physically mobile along the lines of Ben Roethlisberger or Tarvaris Jackson than Peyton Manning or Tom Brady.

So what do you do, take arguably the “best quarterback prospect in the past 20 years” or take arguably “the best performing rookie quarterback in the past 20 years?” Continue reading →

Quick Announcement: New Series

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As an actual NFL player Laurence Mauroney was a bust, but he was a great prospect. How great? Find out in the coming days if he makes my RB list in a new series where I rank the top 10 prospects during my tenure of researching the Rookie Scouting Portfolio (2006-2011). Photo by Sean O'Brien.

Tom Moore, one of my Twitter followers, asked me to rank Alabama’s Trent Richardson within the scope of the top RB prospects during the last 10 years of drafts. I thought it was a good idea, but I simply haven’t finished my due diligence on the 2012 draft class to feel comfortable compiling that kind of ranking. However I can do a series where I rank the top 10 prospects at each skill position for the duration I’ve been writing the Rookie Scouting Portfolio.

Expect this series to begin at the end of the week.

I’m still determining whether I will rank my players based on the potential I saw in them or a combo of potential and hindsight analysis based on their actual pro performance, but I hope this will be an entertaining series. It’s going to be fun to write, that’s for sure.

I’m also hoping to land an interview with Chris Brown and/or former Scout Dave Razzano for you guys, but I’ve had some trouble getting them to respond after initially expressing interest. Maybe those of you on Twitter can give them a nudge and tell them that you’d be interested in reading about them in a Q&A at the Rookie Scouting Portfolio (you know, “Power to the People” and all that good stuff).

If not, that’s okay. I’m good buddies with this certain S.O.B. who I’ve been waiting to interview, but biding my time to make the request of him. I think he’ll make time though.