Posts tagged NFL draft

Reads Listens Views 2/8/2013

0 Comments read Reads Listens Views
Goofy picture. Good runner. Lache Sistrunk (Photo by Mike Davis).
Goofy picture. Good runner. Lache Sistrunk (Photo by Mike Davis).

Quick Take: Lache Seastrunk

One of my favorite runners in the NFL is Ahmad Bradshaw. He was never going to be a dominant player, but there’s no denying his combination of skill and heart. One of my favorite games I’ve ever watched of a running back was Bradshaw at Marshall versus an excellent Tennessee run defense. Bradshaw had to work incredibly hard to just reach the line of scrimmage on most runs and it was a telling performance of his NFL future.

Bradshaw’s footwork, pad level, quickness, and balance have been hallmarks of his game. If he didn’t have a chronic foot injury, his career would have been even better than what we saw in New York. This sounds a bit like a career epitaph for the back whom the Giants released this week. Who knows. Whether or not he continues to thrive, he earned the respect of anyone who truly watches football.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/bCL87fQxXK8]

A player who reminds me of Bradshaw after a first look is Baylor sophomore Lache Seastrunk. Quick feet, excellent burst, the skill to layer cuts and set up defenders in tight spaces, and moments of excellent pad level and fight after contact. Most of my readers probably know about him. If you’re a casual college fan, here’s an introduction.

Thank You

First, thank you all for the birthday wishes on Wednesday. It’s incredibly humble to get the kind of outpouring I received on Twitter. If you’re a new follower as a result, I’d like to thank you for checking out what I do. Each Friday at the RSP blog, I post a variety of things to read, listen, and view about football and anything else that I find insightful, funny, or entertaining.

It’s also the time I like to thank my readers who purchase the Rookie Scouting Portfolio publication. Available for download every April 1 (no joke) for going on eight years, the RSP is an online .PDF publication devoted to the play-by-play study of NFL prospects at the offensive skill positions. The publication has a menu that bookmarks the document so you have two types of analysis. The first portion is a magazine-style, pre-draft analysis of 120-150 pages that includes position rankings, player comparisons, skill set analysis of each position, and sleepers.

The second portion is where I show all my work: between 700-800 pages of grading reports, play-by-play analysis of every player and game I watched, and a glossary that defines every criteria in my grading reports. My readers who want the bottom line love the first half of the book and appreciate the transparency of this section. My hardcore readers love the fact that they can dive as deep as they want into these raw play-by-play notes.

Included with the RSP (since 2012) is a post-draft document between 50-70 pages that comes out a week after the NFL Draft with updated post-draft rankings, tiers, team fit analysis, and fantasy cheat sheet with value analysis (Russell Wilson was calculated as the best value last year). Fantasy owners can’t get enough of it.

The RSP is $19.95 and I donate 10 percent of each sale to Darkness to Light, a non-profit dedicated to training individuals and communities on the prevention of sexual abuse. Past years of publications (2006-2012) are available for $9.95 and I also donate 10 percent of each sale to D2L. You can prepay for the 2013 RSP now.

Listens

Robert Henson, the bassist I used to play with in high school, is now a professional musician who tours with Corey Smith, has a group called Telegram, and performs around the southeast with every kind of idiom imaginable, ranging from pit orchestras to folk to jazz.  Here’s Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” with a heavy dose of Texas BBQ at the Velvet Note, new venue in Atlanta with world class acoustics. Funny and well done.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/hUVQR4Yww1o]

Views

Rightfully so, we’re in awe of Adrian Peterson’s second-half run of production while recovering from an ACL injury and a sports hernia. However, I think perhaps we ought to turn to our spouses and feel that same sense of awe when we think of them giving birth to our children. Here are two guys from Holland opting to experience what contractions feel like. Funny and partially insightful. I say partially because my friend Sarah who posted this video on her Facebook page titled, “Labor. It’s not for the feint of heart,” followed up with this comment:

“The really funny thing is that they STILL have no idea what it’s like because

  1. They knew they could bow out at any time and didn’t have to see it to completion and
  2. They missed the whole push-a-living-being-out-your-vagina part.

BUT, a valiant endeavor, nonetheless.”

[youtube=http://youtu.be/A44oEcmDn1c]

Perhaps football’s Wolverine will give this a try for a charitable cause – once he recovers from that hernia.

Football Reads

Non-Football Reads

2nd Annual RSP Writers Project: Project Draft

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So where will RGIII go in a Writer's Draft? We'll soon know as the 2nd Annual RSP Writer's Project gets underway. Photo by Mike Davis.
So where will RGIII go in a Writer’s Draft? We’ll soon know as the 2nd Annual RSP Writer’s Project gets underway. Photo by Mike Davis.
Editor’s Note: Sigmund Bloom will be leading the 2nd Annual RSP Writer’s Project. If you missed the first Writer’s Project, we fielded teams with a salary cap. Here is Bloom’s letter to last year’s participants inviting them to the second iteration of this project. More coming soon.

By Sigmund Bloom, Senior Writer/Co-Owner, Footballguys

Football talk and analysis never ends, and we want to facilitate with another round of the RSP Writer’s Project. Last year, we built rosters within a salary cap structure. This year, we’re going to go with a format everyone loves: drafting. Here’s the idea:
  • 32 owners
  • Draft order will be random.
  • 2nd and 3rd rounds will be reverse of 1st to offset big advantage of picking in top half of first half, and then it will be snake (order reverses every round) from there on out.
  • Length will be open-ended, but we’ll try to wind up before camps start for sure, and maybe earlier if we lose steam.

The point is to build the “core” of your franchise. What we’ll expect from each writer:

  • Writers will make a pick within 24 hours of when “on the clock.”
  • Give us as much as you want (at least a paragraph or two) about why you made the choice that you did within 24-48 hours of turning in the pick.
  • Feel free to talk about other players you considered, your overall strategy, picks you liked before yours that you were hoping for… whatever you want.
  • The fun part of this is making your thought process transparent, which in turn illuminates so much about what you think about the NFL
What we’ll do:
  • Keep an updated lists of picks made for reference on mattwaldmanrsp.com.
  • Publish your commentary – possibly with a little commentary of our own.
  • Publicize the project and picks on Twitter.
  • Encourage audience commentary and participation.

Once we get 32 franchises, it should be pretty easy to get the word out and get this thing rolling. In addition to snapshots of how the brightest football minds approach building a franchise, we’ll also get a nice top 150 most valuable players in the game or more based on the consensus of this supercomputer of football thinking.

Emerging Talents: Lamar Miller

0 Comments read Players, Running Back
Second-year pro Lamar Miller reminds me stylistically of Clinton Portis. The upside is also there to reach that skill level. Photo by Keith Allison
Second-year pro Lamar Miller reminds me stylistically of Clinton Portis. The upside is also there to reach that skill level. Photo by Keith Allison

Evan Silva termed Miami running back Lamar Miller “the early preseason-buzz MVP.” Understandable. He’s a back whose talents reminded me of two of his University of Miami predecessors: Clinton Portis and Edgerrin James.  The 2012 rookie is earning a lot of encouraging PR from his organization. With Reggie Bush leaving and third-year back Daniel Thomas not flashing the promise that Miller demonstrated in limited time, there’s good reason for Miller to be coined an emerging talent in 2013.

Miller was my No.3 back in the 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio behind Trent Richardson and Doug Martin. Here’s my brief summary of Miller from these rankings:

Lamar Miller is a potential Pro Bowl back. He’s at the sweet spot in terms of height, weight, speed, and acceleration. He runs with patience, balance, and he protects the football. He understands how to stay close to his blocks until an opening develops and like Clinton Portis and Edgerrin James before him, he knows how to shorten his steps in traffic until he finds a cutback lane or alternate crease when the primary hole doesn’t come open. He runs with good balance and power between the tackles. He can run through contact and he has good enough footwork to prevent defenders from getting angles on him. He bends runs with good speed and he has shown some skill to pick and slide towards creases or press a crease and cut back. He keeps his legs moving after contact and his pad level is consistently low enough that he bounces off hits and maximizes his output on carries. He knows how to minimize his surface area in the hole and still get down hill fast. 

Miller is fast and his burst is Pro Bowl-caliber in the respect that when given a hole he can accelerate past all three levels of a defense and turn a 10-yard gain into a 40-yard touchdown. There is little doubt that Miller has a ton of physical talent, but there are plays where he seems to go out of bounds too willingly where he could have fought to stay in the field of play and gain more yardage. These plays occurred when time wasn’t a factor for the drive. Miller catches the ball as well as any back in this class. He uses his hands to snare passes and he repeatedly demonstrated the ability to catch the errant throw with good body control and concentration. I saw him make an acrobatic catch that was over 25 yards from release point to reception that many college WR’s can’t make.

Miller’s effort as a blocker is not good enough. He will deliver a punch and he has skill at getting the correct angle to make a block. However, he doesn’t sustain the contact and work hard enough to maintain that position. Miller diagnoses blocks effectively, but he has to do better with his cut blocking. He drops his head too early As a run blocker, he seems more worried about getting hit from behind or hurt in the act of blocking that helping his teammates make plays.

I can see the Clinton Portis comparisons because Miller has game-breaking speed, explosive lateral agility, and enough down hill power and balance to generate big plays in multiple ways. The difference is that Miller makes running the football look easier than Portis did in college and I think it might be part of the perception that his effort isn’t always there when in fact, he’s just more graceful than people realize. Purely on ability, he could start for an NFL team today. The key will be how well he transitions from a college campus to professional life.

Lamar Miller highlights:

[youtube=http://youtu.be/f7dxPzUBoi4]

After the draft, I dropped Miller a couple spots in my post-draft rankings, listing him as a “bad fit,” with a caveat:

Here’s another loaded depth chart situation in Miami where the draft pick will have to beat multiple teammates for an opportunity. Although Miller and Daniel Thomas are different styles of runner, Reggie Bush played well enough that it’s difficult to expect the rookie will see playing time as more than a return specialist unless Bush gets hurt. Past history does call Bush’s durability into question, but the former Saints runner stayed healthy in 2011. Running back has a short-term career cycle in the NFL so calling Miller’s fit “bad” today can change to “great” tomorrow.

Apparently, tomorrow is here.  Below are links to play-by-play reports and grading reports from two of the three games that I believe best represent Miller’s skill and potential. These reports are the backbone for the analysis that I provide to those who download the Rookie Scouting Portfolio every year. My readers who want the bottom-line may not spend a lot of time with this portion of the publication, but they know the analysis they get in the front of the book is based on the exhaustive detail of the process I share for the sake of transparency.

Lamar Miller Sample Play-by-Play Reports

For more analysis of skill players like this post, download the 2013 Rookie Scouting Portfolio available April 1. Prepayment is available now. Better yet, if you’re a fantasy owner the 56-page Post-Draft Add-on comes with the 2013 RSP at no additional charge. 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.

Reads Listens Views 2/1/2013

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Here's a Super Bowl moment embedded in the hype worth remembering. Photo by Mark Humphrey.
Here’s a Super Bowl moment embedded in the hype worth remembering. Photo by Mark Humphrey.

Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl (10 hours of pre-game over analysis of things like Ray Lewis’s pre-game dance, a hangnail on Joe Flacco’s non-throwing pinkie finger). Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl (Have a drink). Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl (Inject a quart of nacho cheese.) Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl (Look forward to commercials as a break from hyper-analysis of the metaphorical nature of the image in Colin Kaepernick’s tattoo near his inside left bicep). Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl (Based on endorsements all former players and coaches must be overweight and flaccid.) Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl (Wait! It’s Fred Flintstone eating Applebees with the bachelor!) Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl (Need more beer to calm myself from the frenzy of hyper screen cuts, hyper analysis, hyper Tweeting, hyper orgy of consumption.) Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl (Lost my Valentine’s Day budget on ridiculous prop bets).

Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl (Hoping Beyonce’s skirt malfunctions since you know Valentine’s Day will be a fiasco after losing ridiculous prop bet.) Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl (I can’t see the game because all my friends who don’t know shit about football are over here with takes that I think would get me fired – but in all likelihood a bigger gig if I wrote 500-word columns and Tweet-bombed readers into oblivion 18 hours a day). Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl (I could only write 500 word columns once a week if I Tweet-bombed people 18 hours a day – hmmm, but twice the readers? Super!)  Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl (Based on the state of water cooler journalism, perhaps it doesn’t matter). Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl (Patrick Willis just ripped Anquan Boldin’s arm off). Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Did a baby day trader just try to make it rain from his bassinet – ooooh, that’s cuter than road kill). Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl (Boldin is probable to return in the next series). Super Bowl. Super Bowl Super Bowl. Super Bowl (Injury lawyers have Boldin on their 2018 calendar to speed dial him). Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl (I hear gunshots. Is Canada invading? No honey, that’s just our neighbors having target practice in their backyard. In our subdivision? That, or they are ending an argument. Or was that the sound of Saints player with a rifle pointed at Roger Goodell? Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl. Super Bowl.

What? It’s Super Bowl – I’m drunk, over-stimulated,  lost my money, lost any chance at scoring on Valentine’s Day, and my team lost the game.

Enjoy your Super Bowl Weekend.

Listens-Duane Allman+Wes Montgomery+Ravi Shankar = Derek Trucks

[youtube=http://youtu.be/N65cP52NC8s]

Fitting equation from a listener commenting on this video on YouTube. I first heard of Trucks when I was 17 and visiting Savannah for concert I’d be performing with a bunch of other high school musicians. I was on River Street with my buddies and there was a sign near the outdoor stage noting that the Derek Trucks band would be playing there. My eventual college roommate raved about this little kid-guitarist back then.  In hindsight he was quite a talent scout. So you know, he became a future CEO of a major record label.  Amazing who you meet in life.

Football Reads

Non-Football Reads

By Fikret Onal

Views

[youtube=http://youtu.be/SP4MgE6EmJE]

“Bandit” wants to train with the big boys. Innocence and persistence at its finest.

Thanks

Made it this far?

Its always good to get new followers at the blog and on Twitter and there are a lot of new readers. If you’re new to the RSP blog here are some links that I think will help you learn what you’ll get here:

  • 2013 NFL  Draft Analysis – This link as a running collection of analysis I’ve written – including Sr. Bowl coverage.
  • 2012 NFL Draft Analysis – Just like above, but for 2012.
  • What is the RSP? – New to the Rookie Scouting Portfolio? I have an annual publication that is available for download April 1 and available for prepayment now. This is why folks come here.
  • 2013 RSP Players – Players I’ve studied for the April publication – a running list.

Every Friday, I post links to football and non-football reads as well as links to photos, music, and videos that catch my eye while I’m surfing. This week will have a more decided Sr. Bowl theme. If you’re new, I suggest you follow the blog and either signup for email notifications for content or add to your RSS Feed. And thanks to my loyal readers for the views, the feedback, and those who demanded I offer a prepayment option for the 2013 Rookie Scouting Portfolio.

As Martha Stewart says, “Peace-out, Homey.”

No-Huddle Series: TE Justice Cunningham

0 Comments read Players, Tight End
The "Old Ball Coach" has some great athletes at defensive end in Columbia, but there's an intriguing end on offense worth checking out. Photo by Keith Allison.
The “Old Ball Coach” has some great athletes at defensive end in Columbia, but there’s an intriguing end on offense worth checking out. Photo by Keith Allison.

All qualifiers about injury, fit, and professionalism aside, the 2013 class of tight end prospects could be the deepest I have ever seen. It would only be a mild surprise if three years from now there is a tight end from this group who becomes a valued contributor for an NFL team and began his career as a rookie free agent. A player who folks might be sleeping on is South Carolina’s Justice Cunningham.

His 2012 stats are modest: 23 catches, 324 yards, and no touchdowns. In fact, 2012’s yardage total exceeds his 2009-2011 output by 67 yards.  He has only scored once in his career.

This is one example among many that illustrates why the box scores don’t reveal the depth and potential of a player. Cunningham has a lot of tools to become a valuable contributor in an NFL offense. At 6-4, 264 lbs., Cunningham is a good blocker in the running and passing game with room to get better. He has quick hands and feet, he delivers a punch, and he has the strength and effort to work on an island against future NFL-caliber athletes at linebacker and defensive end. This is where Cunningham has earned his scholarship for Steve Spurrier.

It’s the tight end’s receiving skills – an underutilized resource in Columbia, South Carolina – that could change in the NFL. I was going to show you a 29-yard reception on a wheel route versus LSU where he works between two zone defenders up the left sideline and makes a leaping grab then nearly scores with an athletic play up the sideline. It’s a display that I believe projects well to the NFL game.

A funny thing happened while searching for a better quality clip of this play to use here: I found better plays on the same highlight reel from the link above. The best one may well be the last, a seam route against Arkansas where the quarterback throws him open in the way Drew Brees loves to throw open his tight ends in New Orleans.

This play combines aspects of his game that I think makes him an underrated prospect: speed to stretch the seam, skill against tight coverage, and athleticism to adjust to the football with is back to the quarterback. Remember, Cunningham is a prospect unlikely to hear his name called in April any time before the late afternoon of the draft’s third day – if that.  A few years down the line, this kind of skill could prove to be a great bargain compared to the likes of Tyler Eirfert, Zach Ertz, or Dion Sims.

Cunningham begins the play with an outside release and then works under the Arkansas linebacker to get up the seam.
Cunningham begins the play with an outside release and then works under the Arkansas linebacker to get up the seam.

South Carolina has a rep for being a pass-happy system under Steve Spurrier and it is true that the Ole’ Ball Coach is an aggressive play caller. At the same time, the Gamecocks employ a lot of 11 personnel and 12 personnel sets. Cunningham executes a nice hesitation just after his initial release to bait the linebacker into thinking this could be a cross or a hook underneath him.

Justice's head, knees, and arms all indicate he's about to break inside or hook under the linebacker.
Justice’s head, knees, and arms all indicate he’s about to break inside or hook under the linebacker.

There is no drumming of the arms, the head is down,and the hips are bent just enough along with the angle of his turn inside the hash that the linebacker stays on his toes to anticipate an underneath route from Cunningham. This is enough for the tight end to accelerate inside the linebacker and get 20 yards down field to make a play on the football.

Cunningham has inside position as the ball arrives. It doesn't look like a lot of separation, but you'll see soon why this is an NFL-caliber play.
Cunningham has inside position as the ball arrives. It doesn’t look like a lot of separation, but you’ll see soon why this is an NFL-caliber play.

As the ball arrives over his inside shoulder, Cunningham makes a full extension for the ball. His ability to to lay out and make this adjustment at the last moment is part and parcel of good NFL tight end play in the passing game. I also like the fact that he continues to run though the pass until the last second.

Cunningham makes the catch over his shoulder with his arms fully extended - a play many good college wide receivers fail to make.
Cunningham makes the catch over his shoulder with his arms fully extended – a play many good college wide receivers fail to make.

The best part of this play is not what I just showed you. A closer look from the red zone reveals a fuller dimension of what makes this an NFL-caliber reception.

Cunningham works inside the linebacker as the quarterback begins his release. For the quarterback to make this throw with this view of the action he has to have confidence in his receiver in tight coverage.
Cunningham works inside the linebacker as the quarterback begins his release. For the quarterback to make this throw with this view of the action he has to have confidence in his receiver in tight coverage.

Cunningham does a good job of reducing his shoulder just enough that the defender is forced to use his front arm to check the tight end down the field. It’s also what gives the tight end an opportunity to set up his break further inside with the ball in the air.

Cunningham turns outside to track the ball but the pass will be arriving over his inside shoulder.
Cunningham turns outside to track the ball but the pass will be arriving over his inside shoulder.

How do we know that Cunningham didn’t turn the wrong way or the quarterback threw the ball over the incorrect shoulder? We don’t without asking them, but based on the coverage where there is no safety over top, I think the quarterback knew to throw the receiver open and made the adjustment. I also think Cunningham set up this break inside with this initial turn. Even if I’m giving Cunningham too much credit, the fact that he’s athletic enough to make the adjustment you see ahead also projects well to the NFL.

Cunningham turns inside and across the face of his coverage to track the ball.
Cunningham turns inside and across the face of his coverage to track the ball.

As Cunningham completes his turn, the defender is caught in a position where he either has to turn back and lose ground to the tight end or continue to play the man and hope he can knock the ball away. It doesn’t help the linebacker that he chose to look straight up to track the ball, which will slow his stride down field and give Cunningham even more separation.

 

Cunningham extends for the ball, makes the catch, and has his back shielding the defender due to his turn.
Cunningham extends for the ball, makes the catch, and has his back shielding the defender due to his turn.

First down and much more – for the play from start to finish, here’s a link to where the play begins in the video. Cunningham isn’t fast, but I bet he’ll run as fast or faster time than a more heralded prospect like Michigan State’s Dion Sims – and I like Sims’ potential. It’s why the tight end depth has a chance to be crazy good for the 2013 class.

For more analysis of skill players like the post below, prepay for the 2013 Rookie Scouting Portfolio available April 1 for download. Better yet, if you’re a fantasy owner the 56-page Post-Draft Add-on comes with the 2013 RSP at no additional charge. Best, yet, 10 percent of every sale is donated to Darkness to Light to combat sexual abuse. Get the 2012 RSP or other past issues for just $9.95 apiece. For a current list of players studied thus far for the 2013 publication, go here. 

2013 RSP Update & Film Notes

0 Comments read RSP Publication
The writer is old, but his equipment has been upgraded thanks to you. Photo by Chandler Mowery.
Same old writer, but new equipment – thanks to you. Photo by Chandler Mowery.

It’s been a jam-packed month of travel and prospect analysis over at RSP headquarters. Today’s post reveals my first update of players I’ve done play-by-play study for the 2013 Rookie Scouting Portfolio – 168 players (and counting).Below is the list, but first some quick thoughts about some of the players I’ve watched this month.

Before I get to that, I’d like to thank my loyal readers, who’ve helped me make two investments back into this modest venture: A new PC with two monitors and a new television. My first trusty TV for player viewing was a late-`90s Sanyo standard screen box set that I bought at a pawn shop 10 years ago. It took up a third of my desk. As you can see above, the new set and the wall mount makes a great working environment. If you’re reading this then you’ve helped make this possible.

Quick Takes

A big part of studying players is projecting potential NFL performance provided that the work ethic, scheme fit, and organizational stability are all favorable. This is why that many of my favorite players that I study each year aren’t the marquee names in the Top-100. Ask anyone who truly studies the game – especially players – and you begin to see how players can develop into contributors, starters, or even stars despite lacking a marquee college pedigree.

  • A player I can see developing into a future contributor is Arizona QB Matt Scott. His footwork is a big cause of his inaccuracy down field, but a clue to him developing better accuracy is in the fact that he throws the ball well on the run. He has good velocity and an aggressive mindset with mobility than may suit this new age of NFL offense. I’d rather take a chance on Scott late or in free agency than draft Landry Jones. I know this will ruffle some feathers of Sooners fans, but I believe it is difficult for quarterbacks to improve down-field aggressiveness and anticipation. The mechanics can improve, but I believe Scott as the mentality than Jones lacks.
  • LSU has good college backs who have done little in the NFL: Keiland Williams, Charles Scott, Justin Vincent, Rondell Mealey, and Harvey Williams among them. Joseph Addai, Kevin Faulk, and Domanick Davis are noted exceptions. The best LSU back I have seen since Joseph Addai is one of my favorite runners in this draft class – junior Spencer Ware. I’ll be writing about him soon. When I do, you’ll wonder what’s been going on with Ware or LSU behind the scenes because he was under utilized. If you love the running style of Marion Barber or Marshawn Lynch, Ware is your kind of back.
  • It’s a subtle thing, but Central Florida runner Latavius Murray has one of the strangest styles I have seen in a runner in several years. I’m looking forward to watching more of him because the best way I can describe his style is the running back version of Drunken Master boxing. I’ll have my final verdict in the next 6-8 weeks, but let’s just say he’s entertaining.
  • Michigan State tight end Dion Sims reminds me an updated version of Steeler/Ravens tight end Eric Green. Big, fluid, and with soft hands, Sims will excite an NFL team with his potential. But if you’re seeking Pro Bowl upside, I can think of at least five tight ends that I’d rather take in this draft.
  • Seeking upside potential? Rutgers wide receiver Mark Harrison has the combo of physical skills and fundamentals to develop into a better pro than collegian. Big, physical, fast enough to get deep, and capable of big plays with the ball int he air, he’s going to have days in practices where he lights it up. The question will be if he can become a consistent producer.
  • I mentioned this on Twitter on Monday: Marquess Wilson may have cost himself a chance to get drafted after quitting the Washington State program, but if you watch Wilson against Oregon you’ll see a player who didn’t quit, didn’t celebrate little victories, and continued to battle despite dropping some passes that few NFL players would catch. I see a stronger-than-you-think receiver with preternatural skills to position himself between the incoming pass and the defense and a quick first step. Wilson and Spencer Ware are the two players I’d most like to interview this year with the perspective of a GM.
  • Ronnie Williams, T.J. Moe, and Ryan Swope all have slot skills that I’m looking forward to seeing develop at the next level. Moe and Swope are the most talked about, but Williams – a receiver from Houston – is a quick, powerful for his size, and reminds me of a more explosive Davone Bess.
  • Doug Farrar and I joked around about Nick Kasa at the Senior Bowl. I’ve given him the nickname the “Ulu Knife” because like this food prep tool, he’s useful, has unique properties, but might not fit in the every-day, household offense of the NFL.
  • Collin Klein has little to offer in terms of NFL-caliber accuracy, but I love watching him play football. If you appreciate good football appropriate to the level it is, watch a K-State game with Klein at the helm. I wish I could combine Klein’s mentality for the game into E.J. Manuel or Tyler Bray’s body.

First 2013 RSP Update

As always, the Rookie Scouting Portfolio will be available April 1 for download. Prepayment is available now. The post-draft analysis will be available a week after the NFL Draft. I’m happy to say I’m on schedule for the eighth straight year to meet that April 1 deadline. You can see the players I’ve watched (often multiple times) below. You can find this list here.

QBs

  • Collin Klein
  • E.J. Manuel
  • Geno Smith
  • James Vandenberg
  • Jordan Rodgers
  • Landry Jones
  • Matt Barkley
  • Matt Scott
  • Mike Glennon
  • Ryan Griffin
  • Ryan Nassib
  • Tyler Bray
  • Tyler Wilson

RBs

  • Andre Ellington
  • Benny Cunningham
  • C.J. Anderson
  • Cameron Marshall
  • Chris Thompson
  • Christine Michael
  • Cierre Wood
  • Curtis McNeal
  • Dennis Johnson
  • D.J. Harper
  • Ed Wesley
  • Eddie Lacy
  • Eric Stephens, Jr.
  • George Winn
  • Giovani Bernard
  • Isi Sofele
  • James Sims
  • James Washington
  • Jawan Jamison
  • Jeremy Brown
  • John White
  • Johnathan Franklin
  • Joseph Randle
  • Kenjon Barner
  • Kerwynn Williams
  • Knile Davis
  • Latavius Murray
  • Le’Veon Bell
  • Marcus Lattimore
  • Max Milien
  • Michael Dyer
  • Michael Ford
  • Miguel Maysonet
  • Mike Gillislee
  • Mike James
  • Montee Ball
  • Montel Harris
  • Onterrio McCalebb
  • Orwin Smith
  • Perry Jones
  • Ray Graham
  • Reggie Bullock
  • Rex Burkhead
  • Robbie Rouse
  • Silas Redd
  • Spence Wware
  • Stepfan Taylor
  • Stepfon Jefferson
  • Zac Stacy

WRs

  • Aaron Dobson
  • Ace Sanders
  • Andrell Smith
  • Andrew Bodenheim
  • Anthony Amos
  • Brandon Wimberly
  • C.J. Hammon
  • Cameron Saddler
  • Chris Harber
  • Chuck Jacobs
  • Cody Wilson
  • Cobi Hamilton
  • Conner Vernon
  • Cordarelle Patterson
  • Corey Fuller
  • Da’Rick Rogers
  • Darius Johnson
  • Darrin Moore
  • Daymond Patterson
  • DeAndre Hopkins
  • Desmond Scott
  • Devin Street
  • DeVonte Christopher
  • Drew Terrell
  • Dyrell Robert
  • Erik Highsmith
  • Harry Peoples
  • Ivan Delgado
  • Jamal Miles
  • Javone Lawson
  • Jerry Johnson
  • Jheranie Boyd
  • Jordan Matthews
  • Josh Boyce
  • Josh Jarboe
  • Justin Brown
  • Justin Hunter
  • Keenan Allen
  • Keenan Davis
  • Kenny Stills
  • Kevin Dorsey
  • Lanear Sampson
  • La’Rod King
  • Marcus Davis
  • Marcus Sales
  • Mark Harrison
  • Markus Wheaton
  • Marqise Lee
  • Marquess Wilson
  • Marquise Goodwin
  • Martell Moore
  • Matt Austin
  • Mike Shanahan
  • Myles White
  • Perez Ashford
  • Quinton Patton
  • Reggie Dunn
  • Robert Woods
  • Ronnie Williams
  • Roy Roundtree
  • Ryan Swope
  • Shaquelle Evans
  • Skye Dawson
  • Steadman Bailey
  • Tarvarres King
  • Tavon Austin
  • Taylor Stockemer
  • Terrence Williams
  • Theo Riddick
  • Tim Wright
  • Tobias Palmer
  • Tracey Moore
  • Tyson Williams
  • Uzoma Nwachukwu

TEs

  • Andrew Power
  • Ben Cotton
  • Brandon Ford
  • Chris Gragg
  • Colby Prince
  • D.C. Jefferson
  • Dallin Rogers
  • Dion Sims
  • Gavin Escobar
  • Jack Doyle
  • Jordan Reed
  • Joseph Fauria
  • Justice Cunningham
  • Kellen Barlett
  • Levine Toilolo
  • Mychal Rivera
  • Phillip Lutzenkirchen
  • Nick Kasa
  • Ryan Griffin
  • Ryan Otten
  • Tyler Eifert
  • Travis Kelce
  • Travis Tannahill
  • Vance McDonald
  • Zach Ertz
  • Zach Sudfeld

Reads Listens Views 1/18/2013

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Life of Pi

This week on Reads Listens Views: Lance Zierlein with a round of “Microwave Scouting”; Ryan Riddle tells you what it was like to participate in a college all-star game; Andy Benoit previews the conference championships; three books I read this month that I think most of you will enjoy; experimental Latin music; and the 2013 RSP is available for pre-payment.

Prepayment for the 2013 Rookie Scouting Portfolio is Available

If you’re one of my readers who, over the years, has convinced me to offer prepayment (thank you), now’s the time. The 2013 RSP is available for $19.95 and will be available for download April (as usual). If you’ve purchased the RSP in the past, you can prepay at this link. You also get the post-draft add-on a week after the draft that includes tiered fantasy rankings, average dynasty draft spot data, team fit analysis, sleepers, UDFAs to watch, and dynasty drafting tips. It’s a second magazine-sized publication that is included with the purchase of the pre-draft publication. Past issues (2006-2012) are available for $9.95 apiece and the RSP donates 10 percent of every sale to Darkness to Light to train communities to recognize and prevent the dynamics of sexual abuse.

Senior Bowl

Once again, I’ll be at the Senior Bowl with Jene Bramel and Cecil Lammey. We’ll be covering practices and media night for the New York Times Fifth Down and Lammey’s ESPN affiliate as well as providing analysis and interviews here at the RSP blog. Stay tuned.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/jW4lDSx1GbQ]

Reads

Non-Football Reads

Here are three books I’ve read this month and I’d bet most of you will enjoy at least two of them.

  • Life of Pi by Yann Martel – I’m looking forward to seeing the movie, but the book was so good I might read it again before taking in Ang Lee’s vision of this story about an Indian Boy who is stranded on a lifeboat in the Pacific with a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena, and a Bengal tiger. The story is far less fantastical than it appears. However it is fantastic on every level.
  • The Financial Lives of Poets by Jess Walter – This is essentially what I hope to hear doesn’t happen to Chris Brown or Chase Stuart in 15 years when mid-life crisis hits. This novel is a lot of fun and will make you laugh out loud.
  • Killing Johnny Fry by Walter Mosely – Walter Mosely is one of my favorite writers. This is a much different story than his mystery novels – it’s a ‘sexistential novel.’ Not for everyone, but a good read nonetheless.

Listens

Views

 

 

 

The Boiler Room: RB Stepfan Taylor, Stanford

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Kick off my Boiler Room series is Rose Bowl MVP Stepfan Taylor (photo by Han Shot First)>
Kicking off my Boiler Room series is 2013 Rose Bowl MVP Stepfan Taylor (photo by Han Shot First)>

One of the challenges involved with player analysis is to be succinct with delivering the goods. As the author of an annual tome, I’m often a spectacular failure in this respect. I will often study a prospect and see a play unfold that does a great job of encapsulating that player’s skills. When I witness these moments, I try to imagine if I would include this play as part of a cut-up of highlights for a draft show at a major network or if I was working for an NFL organization creating cut-ups for a personnel director. That’s the thinking behind The Boiler Room – analysis of what makes a player worth drafting by boiling down as much as I can into a single play. Unlike the No-Huddle Series, The Boiler Room is focused on prospects I expect to be drafted, and often before the fourth round.

[People] don’t like to break a player down, look at his particulars. That involves details. Most people get bored with details. Because in order to look at the details, you have to love what you’re doing, and you have to be highly motivated. I loved playing football. I relished the details.

– Jim Brown

Today’s prospect is Stanford running back Stepfan Taylor, who is the Cardinals’ all-time leading rusher. He’s a versatile power back and while I’m still refining my stylistic comparison, Leroy Hoard comes to mind. This 1st-and-15 screen pass for a 23-yard touchdown with 0:36 in the third quarter against USC to force a 14-14 tie is a big reason why. It’s also a play I would insert at the top of Taylor’s highlight reel for a personnel director’s viewing because there are a lot of details to mine from this single play.

This screen begins from 3×1 receiver, shotgun formation.

The two guards and center are the three linemen who will lead Taylor on this screen while the tackles pass block the edges.
The two guards and center are the three linemen who will lead Taylor on this screen while the tackles pass block the edges.

Taylor helps set up this screen to the right flat by approaching the right guard at the line of scrimmage as if he intends to pass protect.

I like that Taylor is nearly flat-footed and still enough to sell the idea he's in pass-protection mode.
I like that Taylor is nearly flat-footed and still enough to sell the idea he’s in pass-protection mode.

As soon as the edge rusher works inside the tackle, Taylor releases inside the defender and turns to the right flat. Many running backs don’t execute the release with precision, but Taylor’s break is as sharp as a receiver skilled at running a cross in a high-traffic area. Look at Taylor’s position as he crosses the right hash and it’s easy to see he executed a sharp, tight turn to set a position where his blockers can work down field and at the same time executing this tight turn outside the right tackle to create an obstacle between himself and any backside pursuit.

Note Taylor already has his head around before the quarterback is even halfway through his release.
Taylor’s sharp turn also means the RT is in position to pick up the backside pursuit if needed.

Note Taylor already has his head around before the quarterback is even halfway through his release. One of the more frequent mistakes seen on screen plays is a running back who doesn’t turn his head to the quarterback and get his hands in position to catch the ball as he’s executing his break. This precision and detail is going to be something that endears him to coaches if it translates to his pro career. Odds are likely that it will.

TaylorA4
Taylor extends his hands to the football and looks the pass into his body before turning up field. At the same time it’s a fluid catch and turn so he can be in position to assess his blockers and what’s ahead.

Taylor A5

At this point, Taylor approaches this run after the catch with similar concepts a runner uses at the line of scrimmage by pressing a hole and cutting back.

TaylorA6

Taylor doesn’t have to work this far to the numbers, but as he turned up field two photos prior, he saw in an instant that pressing the outside and cutting back to the inside accomplishes multiple things. First it gives his right guard room to seal the outside pursuit directly ahead. The left guard at the 15 benefits from this press and cutback because it widens the defender ahead of him and gives the guard an opportunity to seal the outside while the center works to the inside. If Taylor succeeds with this press and cutback, he will create a lane where he just needs to outrun the backside pursuit through a large crease. Once again, this is a sign of a runner who understands how to use his blockers and is processing information quickly to set up a more sophisticated plan of attack.

TaylorA7

Taylor’s press comes dangerously close to a point where he could get his legs chopped at the line of scrimmage for a minimal gain, but the runner trusts his feet to get him through trash. The next frame illustrates the kind of balance and footwork that Taylor has to make this play work. The red circles below are Taylor’s feet as he avoids the defender’s tackle attempt.

TaylorA8

Despite splitting his feet apart at a wide angel while airborne, Taylor lands without stumbling and maintains his stride.
Despite splitting his feet apart at a wide angel while airborne, Taylor lands without stumbling and maintains his stride.

The balance to avoid the defender he left at the line of scrimmage also means Taylor can set up the blocks ahead with another press and cut back, widening the lane once again and trusting his footwork to get him through.

TaylorA10

Check out the position of Taylor’s body as he executes this press outside and prepares for the cutback. His hips are bent so his backside is sticking out enough to provide a low center of gravity that will aid Taylor’s change of direction. The runner’s shoulders are leaning forward and his eyes are up. This is a balanced running form capable of breaking or eluding tackles. I don’t see this form in the open field as often as you’d think.

Compare the photo above with the one below and you’ll understand just how much this knee and hip flexibility and shoulder angle aids his change of direction. The photo above is taken just before Taylor plants his right foot into the turf to change direction to cut inside his left tackle’s block. The photo below is take just two steps later.

TaylorA11

Look how tight Taylor is to the left guard. His stride and body position to make this controlled cut is the reason. It’s a sharp change of direction but with enough room and speed to lead almost a yard of space between Taylor and the backside pursuit. A lot of backs either lack the discipline or body control to make this subtle of a move – especially backs 215 pounds and up. I also like how Taylor’s pad level remains low, giving him the chance to cut through a glancing blow if necessary. Running with abandon is fun to watch, but that phrase is more about intensity and aggression. Control is still an important facet of successful ball carrying.

TaylorA12

The only recourse the backside pursuit has at this point is to dive for Taylor’s ankles. Before analyzing this screen pass and run at this level of detail, it’s easy to imagine that Taylor nearly gets caught because he lacks speed. After viewing his form and set up of blocks, I think it’s more accurate to conclude that Taylor eliminates this defender’s best angle. Faster backs lacking Taylor’s control would have succumbed to this back side angle a couple of yards earlier.

TaylorA13

Taylor runs through the wrap to his ankles, again his stride and low center of gravity generated partially by his stride helps, and he now has another press and cut back scenario ahead. This time he continues inside another step before breaking outside to split the blocks of his tight end and receiver to reach the end zone.

TaylorA14

Six.
Six.

The subtlety of this play highlights the subtlety and attention to detail of Taylor’s game. If I were seeking a running back, I’d want one who understands how to create and eliminate angles as a blocker, receiver, and runner. Taylor can do all three. I think he’s one of the safer bets for a team seeking a contributor.

For more analysis of skill players like this post, download the 2013 Rookie Scouting Portfolio available April 1. Prepayment is available now. Better yet, if you’re a fantasy owner the 56-page Post-Draft Add-on comes with the 2013 RSP at no additional charge. 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.

Walk on The Wildside: Notes From the RSP Bunker

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Can you guess a person's native state by his name? Apparently my wife could with Cordarrelle Patterson. Happy New Year (photo by Nashville Corps).
Can you guess a person’s native state by his name? Apparently my wife could with Cordarrelle Patterson. Happy New Year (photo by Nashville Corps).

It’s been a productive summer and fall at the RSP Film Room. I am closing in on finishing  play-by-play evaluations of 130 different skill position players as my winter vacation is ending and I thought I’d provide a few highlights of what I’ve seen this week. Most of this is lighthearted analysis in three short segments: My Readers Are Smart…But My Wife Might Be Smarter; Duke Johnson: Signs of a Waldman Family Apocalypse; and Big Nasty.

My Readers Are Smart…

I love when I write about one player and I get numerous questions about a different one. This happened with my analysis of Justin Hunter. The Tennessee wide receiver is a freakish talent, but potentially one of the riskiest players at the top of this draft class because of poor habits on both the practice field and on game day. My readers continued to ask me about his teammate Cordarrelle Patterson. I knew I’d eventually get to Patterson but I waited for my vacation because I figured I was going to see something fun and when I enjoy watching a player, I get so pumped up that I have trouble sleeping if I’m studying games at night. Patterson hasn’t disappointed:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=hIZwwkdSjiY#t=72s]

His 44-yard run after the catch for a 58-yard gain was just one of many like it. In fact, I wonder if Patterson’s terrific instincts and vision in the open field are making Hunter try to do the same things – and fail miserably at it. Hunter is so gifted, I sometimes think he’s trying to mimic his teammate and is in denial that he can’t match Patterson.

But My Wife Might Be Smarter.

The best highlight of the night was probably what happened after my wife walked into the office, saw Patterson make this run, and asked me his name. When I told her, she said that with a name like that he’s probably from South Carolina.  Sure enough, Rock Hill, S.C.  

I had to test her further.

“How about Stepfret Williams?”

“Definitely, from the South.”

“Well yeah, but what state?”

“Probably the South a lot of folks up North are scared about – rural Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana.”

Yep, Louisiana. If this were a game at a fair, we would have enough giant stuffed animals to start an E-Bay business if we weren’t banned from the theme park altogether.

Duke Johnson: Signs of a Waldman Family Paradox 

My wife went to school at UNC Chapel Hill.  According to her, I have to say the Chapel Hill part or else I’m not qualifying it correctly. A native North Carolinian is particular about their UNCs. When I’m feeling like getting a rise out of her I bring up the Tar Hell-Blue Devil rivalry and it’s the only time I get threats about divorce. [Editor’s Note: This was a complete Freudian slip on my part. It is “Tar Heel.” Unless of course, you’re a Dukie.]

“Alicia, what if one of our kids wants to go to Duke?”

“No kid of ours will ever go to Duke. Why are you even asking me such a stupid question?”

“Wait a minute, you mean to tell me that if one of our kids earned a scholarship to Duke, they couldn’t go?”

“Again, this is a dumb-ass question. Our kids will know that Duke is kidding itself when it says it’s the Harvard of the South. Who says that? Harvard is Harvard. Stop. It’s over. You haven’t gotten in. If you have to describe yourself on the back of another school then you know what’s really going on there.”

“So what if our kid earned a basketball scholarship to Duke?”

“Our kid will earn an academic scholarship and will be smart enough to realize that most Duke ball players wind up playing in Europe.”

“What if our kid chooses Duke because there is a specific program that few other schools of its quality offer?”

“Then you’re gonna have to move out and live in Durham with them in an apartment and you ain’t comin’ back home, that’s for sure.”

With lines drawn like these, it stands to reason that the only “Duke” that I can mention in the house without risking a night on the couch is the one who shares my wife’s maiden name and plays at my first university – Miami. Even so, when I invoke his name she gets a look on her face like I named a kid Hitler Rosenberg, or Hashtag Smith.   If you haven’t seen the freshman running back, check out these two touchdown runs against Boston College. You’ll be hearing a lot about this ACC Freshman of The Year soon enough.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/7VGs_szTbwo]

Johnson reminds me of that old East Carolina Johnson. Perhaps not as fast, but the new Miami version has even better balance.

Big Nasty

The tight end class might be the gem of the skill positions in the 2013 draft. Cincinnati Travis Kelce is one of many impressive prospects I’ve watched this year, including this weekend. He’s one of the best blockers I’ve seen at the position and because Cincinnati runs a pistol offense, Kelce plays the H-Back role to perfection. His dimensions are Gronkowski-like and he’s a big, aggressive, and nasty run blocker. He also has fluid athleticism and at 265 pounds, you don’t see a tight end move like this unless he has starter potential in the NFL.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/nBIK_P5c6c4]

I know the Washington Redskins have Fred Davis, but as I mentioned to my Football Outsiders cohorts this weekend, if Washington wants to find a player who can take over if Davis’ Achilles tear doesn’t recover sufficiently, or he opts to sue himself and represent both parties in a court of law, Kelce would be a fantastic fit for Robert Griffin. Then the “Shanaclan,” – as my buddy Bloom calls Mike and Kyle – can end the Niles Paul-tight end experiment and keep him as a receiver and kick return specialist.

Happy New Year!

The Rookie Scouting Portfolio Publication: A Q&A

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New to the Rookie Scouting Portfolio blog? Haven’t heard of the RSP publication? Heard of it, but haven’t given it a try? Learn more about this annual publication that has been available for download every April 1 for the past seven years and why it has become a fave among draftniks and fantasy football owners.

BTW – Best pre-draft scouting report on every conceivable guy [at the skills positions] is by @MattWaldman. Very good read – mattwaldman.com

–Chris Brown, author of Smartfootball.com and Grantland contributor, via Twitter

Q: What is the purpose of the RSP?

The RSP isn’t a draft-prediction publication, it’s an analysis of talent based on a player performance on the field.  This can help draftniks learn more about the talent of players without worrying about the machinations of the draft that are often an entirely different animal from talent evaluation. The evaluation techniques for the RSP are designed to target a player’s athletic skills, positional techniques, and conceptual understanding of the game. It also makes a great resource for fantasy football players.

Q: What makes the RSP different from other draft analysis?

I use an extensively documented process and I make the work available for the reader to see – although I don’t send them through a forced death march through the material. As a reader, you don’t have to feel the pain I had writing it – the masochism is provided at your convenience.

Still, the process is important to talk about. It has helped me arrive at high pre-draft grades for many underrated players, including Russell Wilson, Matt Forte, Ahmad Bradshaw, Dennis Pitta, Arian Foster and Joseph Addai. Where it really makes a difference is when I’m studying a player in a game where the competition limits a player’s statistical success and I’m still able to see the talent shine through. Likewise, this process has helped me spot critical issues with players like Stephen Hill, Isaiah Pead, Matt Leinart, Robert Meachem, and C.J. Spiller when others anticipated an early, and often immediate, impact.  

Q: The RSP is huge, but you say it is easy to read and navigate. How is it structure? Is it iPad-friendly?

The easiest way to describe the RSP is that it’s an online publication with two main parts:

  • The front part most people read, which is the same length of any draft magazine you see at the newsstand.
  • The back part that my craziest, most devoted, and masochistic readers check out – all the play-by-play analysis of every player I watch.

The RSP has a menu that allows you to jump to various parts of the publication so the crazy detail in the back doesn’t swallow you whole and you never return to reality. I continue to provide the back part because many of my readers love to know that I back up my analysis with painstaking work. In that sense they are also sadists, but being the ultimate masochist that I am – I appreciate their sadism.

“The GoodReader app takes anything I want to read in PDF form, presents it very nicely, and makes the document portable and enjoyable. The encyclopedia that you’ve created (which I absolutely love 25% into it) would require someone to peer into his or her computer/laptop screen for a very long time. On an iPad inside that app it bookmarks your place and makes reading long files a joy…AND PORTABLE.”

-Ray Calder

Q: How is The Rookie Scouting Portfolio rooted in best practices?

I managed a large branch of a call center and eventually had responsibility for the performance evaluation of over 70 call centers around the U.S. I began my career from the bottom-up. I was heavily involved in recruiting, hiring, training, and developing large and small teams of employees.I often had to build large teams that competed with a client’s internal call enter and with a fraction of the budget to train and develop in terms of time and money.

We beat them consistently.

One of the biggest reasons was a focus on instituting quality processes. We figured out what was important to us, how to prioritize it’s importance, and how to evaluate our employs in a fair, consistent, and flexible manner to spot the good and bad. Eventually, my company sent me to an organization that provided training for best-practice performance techniques that successful Fortune 500 businesses tailored to their service and manufacturing sectors.

The most important thing I learned that applies to the RSP is best practices for monitoring performance. Although the original purpose for my training was to monitor representatives talking with customers over the phone, these techniques also made sense to apply to personnel evaluation in other ways. Football is one of them.

Think the NFL couldn’t use a best-practice approach? Read about its current evaluation system and what former scouts have to say about the management of that process and you’ll think differently. The RSP approach makes the evaluation process transparent to the reader and helps the author deliver quality analysis.

Another “best practice” I’m implementing in 2012 is “giving back.” Ten percent of each sale in 2012 is going to charity.

Q: What do readers think of the RSP?

I collect these emails like one of my favorite pizza joints in Colorado collects napkin drawings from customers and places them all over the walls of its restaurant. If you have one you want to send me, please feel free. I’ll add them my list. Here are some of them below:

“If you don’t buy the RSP, be prepared to get dominated in your rookie draft by someone that did.”

– Jarrett Behar, Staff writer for Dynasty League Football and creator of Race to the Bottom.

“In complete awe of the 2007 Rookie Scouting Portfolio via @MattWaldman — Incredibly in-depth analysis that required time & football smarts”

– Ryan Lownes, NFL Draft analyst, writer or DraftBreakdown.com.

“Any diehard #Dynasty #fantasyfootball fan should go get @MattWaldman’s Rookie Scouting Portfolio bit.ly/I4fOa2 You’ll thank me later”

-@JamesFFB NFL Draft analyst, enthusiast, and writer for DraftBreakdown.com and Bleacher Report.

“For someone like me who doesn’t closely follow the college game, there is nothing I have found even vaguely measuring up to your thoroughness and point by point analysis of the draftable rookies. Among my favorite things is that at the core you rely on play rather than comparing stats produced or combine numbers. Measurables I can get anywhere, but numbers offer little perspective on what they mean or what factors together created them. I want to know what a guy looks like out there, who plays fast – rather than who runs fast in shorts with no one to dodge or avoid. Which WRs can and can’t run routes or consistently get separation or catch with their hands or fight off defenders to make contested catches. Your exhaustive package gives me a basis to work from including a careful look at every significant player. I can read and add the views and comments and stats I want to like ornaments on the Christmas tree – where that tree is the foundation of player abilities that you weave together into a ranked whole.

I have no way to know how right or wrong your conclusions are. You certainly don’t shy away from controversial evaluations. But overall, for just plain understanding of who the rookies are, how they play and what we might expect in the NFL – I don’t know of anything close. After reading this tome, I would feel blind and naked walking into a rookie draft next year without having that insight. My huge thanks!”

–Catbird, Footballguys.com message boards

“Love your work. I’ve subscribed to your RSP for the past 3 years and it is my bible for dynasty league rookie drafts.”

– David Liu

“In our business, we are able to access many different types of reference materials. The Rookie Scouting Portfolio stands above the rest for one simple fact: it is more comprehensive than anything else I have seen. Matt Waldman is head and shoulders the best fantasy football expert I have had on the air, and his expertise starts well before the players get to the NFL with analysis and game film study of the incoming rookie class. I can’t recommend the RSP highly enough.”

– Ian Furness
Host, Sports Radio 950 KJR
Seattle, WA

“All I can really say at first is “Wow!” There is just a TON of great and useful information packed into that report. I thought I’d give it a quick glance during my lunch hour and I found myself reading quite a bit of it over the next 2 hours. I like the way everything is laid out. It’s easy to understand and covers all the items necessary to make it a top notch scouting report for the fantasy footballer.

– Tim Huckaby

“IMHO this is a MUST read. Matt really does the work and tells it the way he sees it. Had a couple of GREAT picks this year with Austin Collie and and I think Stafford. In prior years, he has lead me to Ray Rice in a PPR no less and Mike Sims Walker… If you are like me in a Zealots league, go back and read the prior years as it helps with the RFA/UFA process.”

– Tony Madeira

Hey Matt,

Just thought you would want to know that I enjoyed the 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio so much that I had to buy the other six years, to see what you had to say about previous players. I’ve been playing fantasy football for over 20 years (started at age 11) and I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to see someone put this much effort into analyzing prospects skills, and then filtering that info back to their potential fantasy value.

Not sure if you have a running testimonial page but if your ever inclined to do so, feel free to use this email as one, if you wish.

Not trying to kiss your butt or anything but your work is really an inspiration for someone like myself.

Thank you for your efforts,

Sean Douglas, FantasyInfo.com’

Download the 2012 RSP or purchase past issues (2006-2011)