Posts tagged RSP Senior Bowl

Jene Bramel’s Reese’s Senior Bowl Defensive Practice Day 1 Notes

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Borland was fundamentally strong and instinctive, but might not have one elite skill. Photo by Enrique Sanabria.
Borland was fundamentally strong and instinctive, but might not have one elite skill. Photo by Enrique Sanabria.

Jene Bramel posts his takes on the North squad’s front seven on the opening day of practice. 

By Jene Bramel

The first day of practice in Mobile is a transitional practice of sorts. Each NFL team that I’ve seen coach in Mobile runs their practice a little differently. Players that assimilate concepts in drills and installation work quickly and players with superior raw talent and technique stand out and draw rave reviews early. Players asked to do drills that may be just a little different than those they ran in college, who are learning a new position or who are now facing elevated competition for a full 90-minute period either do not draw any notice or are called disappointments.

Today was no exception on the defensive side of the ball.

I focused on the front seven today during the North practice, watching a mix of linebacker and defensive line drills and focusing on line play during the team sessions.

DT Aaron Donald, Pittsburgh: Without question, Donald was the most dominant player on the North defense today. Showing a mix of strong hands, a technically sound base and quick first step, Donald improved with each repetition. He was unblockable during 9-on-7 and team drills, including a stretch where he made Baylor’s Cyril Richardson look like a stationary heavy bag. Penetration is Donald’s game and today was a great start for the 288-pound defensive tackle. During team drills, Donald would have had at least three sacks had he been allowed to finish plays at the quarterback.

DT Ra’shede Hageman, Minnesota: Entering today, Hageman carried a higher consensus draft grade than Donald. He showed very quick feet during drills, especially moving laterally, but the Atlanta staff wanted him lower as he moved through the bags. Hageman was better in 9-on-7 and team drills, but didn’t flash as Donald did. Hageman’s size and athleticism are intriguing and it’s early, but if he’s unable to show he can be consistently disruptive, scouts may start to look at him as more of a 5-technique than a 4-3 defensive tackle.

DE Kareem Martin, North Carolina: In our weigh-in review earlier today, I implied that Martin’s above-average length might become a hindrance if he was unable to control his opponents with his hands. Technique was an issue for him today, as he frequently lost leverage with a base that was too wide for his pass rush plan. Notre Dame’s Zach Martin, a tackle whose measurements have observers wondering if he’s better suited to play guard, handled him with relative ease.

DE Trent Murphy, Stanford: Zach Martin also handled Murphy on the vast majority of their matchups. Murphy may have just had a bad opening practice, but he looked stiff laterally at times and had difficulty with his footwork in bag drills. He also seemed to noticeably tire at the end of his 2-3 rep bursts. It’s notable that, while Michael Sam and Marcus Smith joined the defensive line group for 1-v-1 pass rush reps, I didn’t notice Murphy join the linebacker group for coverage drills. Given his struggles with footwork in line drills, it may not be a surprise that Murphy is being looked at exclusively at end.

LB Chris Borland, Wisconsin: Borland played inside at Wisconsin, but is taking reps as the Will linebacker in Mobile alongside UCLA’s Jordan Zumwalt. In a group of linebackers featuring two edge rushers trying to learn a more traditional strong side linebacker role and others more athletic than instinctive, Borland stood out today as the only linebacker who looked confident in his reads and instinctive enough to put himself in position to make plays. He was in the right place to pick up at least two turnovers today and frequently was waiting in position to finish a tackle. The other North linebackers looked a step slow to the play and were often seen reaching to get a touch on a ballcarrier. I didn’t watch the LB v RB/TE coverage drills today. If Borland holds his own there, he may quickly move up draft boards.

CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste, Nebraska: Though I didn’t watch the CB v WR drills today, I did make a point to watch Jean-Baptiste footwork and hip turn during a handful of team reps. He looked fluid on those occasions and not limited by his 6-2, 215 pound frame. I expect he’ll generate lots of buzz if he holds his own during press drills during the week.

The North safeties are a promising group. Ahmad Dixon seemed to generate the most positive discussion from observers today. I’m also looking forward to watching Dixon, Jimmie Ward and Deone Bucannon more closely tomorrow.

Tomorrow is arguably the most critical practice session of the week. Players who struggled today can relieve concerns with a bounce-back effort while those who impressed early can further boost their momentum with another strong set of reps. North players on the hot seat include defensive ends Kareem Martin and Trent Murphy and outside linebacker Chris Kirksey.

Inside linebacker Jonathan Brown has an opportunity to take advantage of a relatively weak group of linebackers with a better day of practice. And the two edge rushers working primarily as strong side linebackers – Michael Sam and Marcus Smith – must show more comfort in playing the run off the line of scrimmage and recognizing run-pass from the second level.

[We’ll have coverage of both North and South practices on both Tuesday and Wednesday.]

Futures: Senior Bowl Preview

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Is UNC defensive end Quinton Coples the next Jason Pierre-Paul? Jene Bramel says the potential is there but like everything earned in life, he has to put in the work to hone his gifts.
The Senior Bowl practices begin next week on the Martin Luther King holiday. Photo by Jene Bramel.

Another year, another Senior Bowl. What I am looking for, and what does the format of the Senior Bowl help me see?

Futures: Senior Bowl Preview

by Matt Waldman

There will be hundreds of Senior Bowl Previews available within the next seven days. Most of them will explain why the game is important to the NFL and the participating player. Only a few writers won’t provide 3-4 sentence summaries of the prospects.

I have provided this type of preview in one form or another since I began attending five years ago. I’m doing some of that once again this year, but I’m also sharing a more personal preview of the event. In addition to disclosing what I want to see from dozens of players, this preview will cover what else all-star games offer me as an evaluator of talent with my own publication devoted to offensive skill prospects.

Continual Football Education

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At its core, studying tape is a solitary pursuit focused on the end product. Attending all-star game practices provides a glimpse into another dimension of the game, its coaches, and its players behind the scenes.

The opportunity to watch two NFL coaching staffs conduct a practice for a week provides insight into not only what’s important to them, but also what I can reasonably expect a player to reveal about his game during these sessions.

There are prospects that arrive in Mobile with a reputation for a certain skill set based on their junior and senior film, but the practices reveal something important about their game that the past two years of tape doesn’t show. I was fortunate enough to see Bengals receiver Marvin Jones showcase his skills as vertical threat during his sophomore year, but because his role at Cal changed after his sophomore year, many observers had their eyes opened for the first time when they witnessed Jones’ big-play ability at the Senior Bowl.

Practices vary in tone, tempo, and detail and it means the type of information one can gain varies from year to year. While I’ve expressed my utopian ideal for the Senior Bowl in the past, the practical approach is to be prepared to take what you can get.

When Buffalo’s staff ran a week of practice a few years ago, special teams had heightened priority and the teaching moments from individual drills were less frequent. There’s still a lot to see, but practices don’t serve as an informal technique clinic, which Bengals and Lions practices often were.

Former Detroit offensive coordinator Scott Linehan’s practice sessions for the offense at the Senior Bowl were especially good. He had an up-tempo style and packed the mornings with a variety of drills that tested and taught details that prospects needed to develop into more complete players.

Learning What’s Valuable (And What’s Not) From Practices

Everyone gets something different from watching practice. My book focuses on skill prospects, so I don’t spend much time . . . (read the rest at Football Outsiders)