Posts tagged RSP

RGIII Counter Point

March 10, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Quarterback

RGIII Mike Davis — RGIII is certain to be the No.2 overall player in this draft. Here's some good counter point to my analysis of a player from his versus Oklahoma State.

Jim Urbano is a former college quarterback who I compete with in a fantasy league. He was kind enough to allow me to share his point of view that he also shared with the Footballguys Shark Pool forums when reading my take on a play I analyzed of RGIII’s versus Oklahoma State. I think Jim underscores some good points about the spread formation and the inherent difficulty of evaluating quarterbacks operating from it.

Jim’s Take:

I haven’t watched a great deal of OSU football recently but I’d be inclined to believe that them staying in this man coverage in the face of the trips formation was rare. I say that because it simply is for almost any college team I’ve ever seen. There may have been a pre-snap indication that the blitz was coming and that OSU would roll the dice with man coverage but we can’t put this play into context with out knowing the full season and schematic tendencies of OSU heading into this game. Continue reading →

Chad Spann: Lessons Learned and Work Ahead

March 10, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Reads Listens Views, Running Back

superman — Chad Spann began his career as a walk-on and ended it the MAC MVP. As Spann likes to say, "Falling Forward..."

Chad Spann is a reserve running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers after stops with the Colts and Buccaneers. I have interviewed Spann multiple times since this time last year. The former NIU walk-on who began his career ninth on the depth chart and ended it as the 2010 NCAA touchdown leader is a confident but grounded player who learned early that everything he’s going to get as a football player will be earned with hard work and persistence.

It won’t be a surprise to most fans if Pittsburgh drafts a running back in the mid-to-late rounds as a hedge for Rashard Mendenhall’s recovery from a knee injury. Even so, Spann is still the only healthy running back on the roster with change of pace, third-down skills. There’s a strong likelihood that Spann’s name becomes more common on the lips of beat writers this summer.

More stories about Spann at the RSP blog:

Bottom line, I liked Spann’s game before I had a chance to speak with him. However, I have no problem admitting Continue reading →

Reads Listens Views 3/9/2012

March 8, 2012 0 Comments read Reads Listens Views

John Wooden on true success

[ted id=498]

Ahead at the RSP Blog

The 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio will be available on April 1 via a link to my shopping cart site. Learn more about the RSP process and content here.

Pre-order the 2012 RSP and buy past RSPs (2006-2011) here.

Steelers RB Chad Spann and I had a conversation a couple of weeks ago (preview below) and he has agreed to spend time studying a game of Ray Rice’s with me. Expect transcripts of that session in mid-April or early May.

The RSP Writers Project is still on, but I decided to push back the process of picking players until May since most of us doing the work are busy covering the draft. Expect an unveiling of teams in July and August.

Preview of Next Week’s Q&A Sessions with Chad Spann

SpannPartIII — Chad Spann has been a Pittsburgh Steeler since late fall. He's a long-term sleeper to monitor. Learn more about what he's learning to compete at the highest level.

Q: You talked with me in the past about what your Steelers teammates shared about your game and the advice they gave this year. One of those things was when Will Allen told you about maintaining your drive phase longer. For my audience, can you explain what that means and why it helps a running back?

Spann: If you watch a sprinter run the 100 meters Continue reading →

QB Kirk Cousins: Footwork and Pocket Management

March 8, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Quarterback

FBC vs. FAU — Spartan's QB Kirk Cousins has to refine his footwork and feel for the pocket or his arm will fail him. Photo by Matt Radick.

[Author’s Note: I tag this post and others like it as “scouting reports,” because readers seeking this type of information search the Internet with this terminology. This post and others like it are not scouting reports. It’s a few plays used as talking points to discuss technique. For a complete assessment of a player for my annual RSP publication, I examine multiple games and every snap.]

Bill Walsh was a big proponent of studying a quarterback’s footwork and building on a prospect’s coordination to develop an accurate and efficient passer. Good footwork helps a passer generate good timing, accuracy, and velocity. There are some quarterbacks with great arm talent that have thrived despite poor footwork.

Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins will not be one of them. I have colleagues with NFL scouting experience that think highly of Cousins’ pro prospects. He has a quick release, experience in a pro-style offense, and he can make some difficult throws down field into coverage with accuracy. According to the Twitterverse, Cousins also looks and talks the part of an NFL quarterback.

But the feet tell the immediate story. And presently, Continue reading →

QB Russell Wilson: Undersized-Underrated

March 7, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Quarterback

Author’s Note: For a far more intricate analysis of Wilson at N.C. State throwing under pressure that also features analysis of Drew Brees in comparison, read my Football Outsider’s Future’s Column “Studying The Asterisk”

One of the bigger questions about Wisconsin QB Russell Wilson will be his height. Measured at 5107, 204 lbs., Wilson will be one of the smaller quarterbacks in the NFL. Journeyman Doug Flutie was a legit 5’9″, fellow journeyman Jeff Blake might have been 6’0″. The common knock on quarterbacks under 6’2″ is that they will have difficulty playing from the pocket because they won’t be able to see over the line of scrimmage and they’ll have a higher rate of deflected passes.

Certainly a quarterback under 6’2″ has to bring an extra dimension to the table. Michael Vick brings speed, agility, and a fantastic arm. Drew Brees brings uncanny accuracy, anticipation, and athleticism. Height doesn’t worry me, but the corresponding weight does. You don’t see any sub-6’2″ quarterbacks packing 225-230 lbs. and as QB-friendly the NFL rules have become, it’s still a punishing sport.

However, Wilson’s athleticism makes him an intriguing prospect. Continue reading →

Q&A w/Chron.com’s Texans Chick Steph Stradley

March 6, 2012 0 Comments read Matt Waldman

Will the Texans draft a complement for Andre Johnson or his eventual replacement? Steph Stradley and talk Texans draft on her Houston Chronicle blog.

Steph Stradley, who is known as the Texans Chick, has an excellent blog on The Houston Chronicle’s web site. We took some time to do a Q&A about the Texans draft. Here’s an except below and a link to the rest:

. . . In any event, just as I love talking Texans football, Matt loves talking draft. My kind of people.

Our Discussion Below:

Steph: Everybody is talking Texans and wide receiver. Things I think that the Texans may value for their wide receivers over some other teams in no particular are:

1. Special teams ability and speed for same (very key for WR and corners. If they can’t get on field right away as starter, they want as special teams return option because Kubiak hates specialists).

2. Captain, leadership, love of football, good lockerroom guy, bright, hardworking, can pick up details of playbook quickly (applies to all positions on the field).

3. Route running

4. Hands

5. Blocking (this may translate into size–they like being able to run out of formations that usually signal pass but they can block with a WR players typically blocked by TEs).

6. From Texas/southern. Guys who may want to stay in this part of the world after their first contract. Can deal with heat.

I think they may take a big WR and a slot special teams sort of guy. I also think that their draft board tends to look very different than consensus Kiper boards. So I’m looking for some unconventional choices too. Think they are perpetually chasing the modern Rod Smith–a value who can take advantage of the offensive scheme.

Question 1: With these items in mind, which wide receivers might the Texans target at or near the bottom of the first round?

Matt: “A lot of the better NFL receivers of the past 10-15 years have remained productive well into their mid-thirties so I’m not concerned about Andre Johnson’s immediate future. So when I listen you’re run-down of what you believe the Texans want from their receivers I think you’re on the money. It means the team is likely seeking a flanker (Z receiver) to complement Johnson, but has the vertical prowess to take over Johnson’s role as the X.

The receivers projected to go in the 1st-2nd round after Kendall Wright and Justin Blackmon include Notre Dame’s Michael Floyd, LSU’s Reuben Randle, Rutgers’ Mohamed Sanu, and Georgia Tech’s Stephen Hill.

Neither Blackmon nor Sanu are vertical threats – they will never become X receivers. But they are physical, glue-fingered flankers that can get yardage after the catch and return kicks. Blackmon is the better route runner, but (read the rest of the Q&A here) . . .

Creating Bad Luck

March 6, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Quarterback

Note: The posts of 2012 Draft Prospects this month are brief examples of plays that highlight specific skills and/or deficiencies of a player. They are not meant to draw overall conclusions of that player’s pro potential. For a thorough analysis of these prospects – and over 150 others – purchase the 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio, available through a link at this site on April, 1.

Yesterday, I featured a play where Robert Griffin III reacts poorly to pressure. Today, Andrew Luck gets the same treatment. However, I believe there’s a difference between the types of mistakes that I showed with Griffin and the two I’ll show today with Luck. Griffin’s opponent tipped its hand before the snap and the Baylor quarterback missed a relatively easy read. In contrast, Luck’s opponent uses a more complex scheme and hides it before the snap like a stone-faced killer. Luck still makes mistakes, but the errors are against a more advanced concept with stronger execution. Continue reading →

RGIII: Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick . . .

March 5, 2012 0 Comments read Players, Quarterback

Explosive (– noun): a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. Examples include TNT, C-4, and RGIII.

Not that I’m an expert at explosives, but it only takes a childhood of movies to know that the difference between them working for you or against you is timing. There’s a reason why quarterbacks are known as trigger men. They hold the detonator in the passing game. The quarterback’s internal clock is often the difference between an explosive offensive play and an explosive defensive play.

Another integral factor is how a quarterback cares for that explosive material. There’s a line as thin as a fuse when it comes to managing pressure in the pocket, but the differences are dramatic: Quick-thinking and harried. Aggressive and reckless. Tough and masochistic.

Robert Griffin III is fast in mind and body. His speed makes him capable of feats that put jaws on the floor – teammates, opponents, and fans alike. However Continue reading →

Lloydesque Sleeper: ECU WR Lance Lewis

March 3, 2012 0 Comments read Running Back, Wide Receiver

[youtube=http://youtu.be/YaVwVL2wYuw]

(Warning, soundtrack not safe for work):

Brandon Lloyd was the subject of the second football-related article I ever wrote. This was two years before I launched the Rookie Scouting Portfolio. Lloyd was a fourth-round pick in his second year with the 49ers and he was beginning to make plays like the ones above.

I have always believed Lloyd was a special player with a high football IQ, flypaper hands and a skill for adjusting his body to the ball that makes one wonder if there really is a Matrix. Only Larry Fitzgerald rivals Lloyd when it comes to this aspect of playing the receiver position at the highest level.

Recently, I came across two college prospects that flash certain skills where they look almost identical to a current NFL star. One of them is Continue reading →

Reads Listens Views 3/2/2012

March 2, 2012 0 Comments read Reads Listens Views

Hurricanes QB Jacory Harris had an uneven college career and Miami, but he did play in a pro style offense and his arm strength is pretty good. Accuracy? The hips tell the story, see below. Photo by Greg Hartmann.

For more analysis like this at every skill position, purchase the Rookie Scouting Portfolio available here on April 1, 2012.

For past issues (2006-2011) email me: mattwaldmanrsp@gmail.com

Friday’s Quick-Hitter: Miami QB Jacory Harris’ Delivery

Here are two glaring examples of a mechanical flaw in a quarterback’s delivery that contributes to inaccurate passing. Continue reading →