Posts tagged Wes Welker

A Route Lesson for Panthers WR Joe Adams From Wes Welker

Whether he runs a 4.55, 4.42, or a 4.24, Joe Adams has the raw tools to get separation in the NFL. Wes Welker gives a lesson on technique that I’m sure he’ll be watching on cutups.

Carolina Panthers rookie receiver Joe Adams has dynamite skills after the catch. I also like his ability to catch the football. However, one thing I consistently saw at Senior Bowl practices was difficulty getting early separation against press coverage.

On at least five down field routes, I saw Adams still fighting for separation against the defensive back 10 yards past the line of scrimmage. On each of these routes he was at least a step shy of a well thrown pass. This had nothing to do with speed. Adams has plenty of it. But route running isn’t about straight-line speed. Continue reading

Lesson One of a Route Clinic From Wes Welker

Video of Wes Welker running routes in practice is like the MGs giving a clinic on the Stax sound. Photo by Brian J. McDermott

I believe the best way to prepare to watch college players is to study the pros. The reason is that if I’m trying to project a prospect’s potential at the NFL level then I need to have good reference points of what works in the NFL. I also have to understand the differences between the college and NFL games when it comes to execution.

I can tell you that the process is ongoing and I’m still learning. This week, Coach Rob Paschall, PR director for the site Coach Huey, tweeted a link to a video titled, “Wide Receiver Technique Release Drills.” I expected an  instructional video.

However, if my eyes aren’t betraying me – and they might be – it was something a lot better. Continue reading

Random Post-Super Bowl Thoughts and Rants

The Super Bowl game is kind of like Michelangelo's famous work. The spectacle, not so much. Photo by Nathan Rupert.

I turn 42 today. I don’t feel 42 except when my knees feel like they’re 60 after playing Jene Bramel in a pick up game of basketball and it serves as confirmation that I still have to shed another 20 pounds. Since it is my birthday, I feel like sharing my thoughts on the spectacle in Indy that was the Super Bowl. So if you will indulge me I’ll take it as a birthday gift.

“Super Bowl Sunday”

I want you to to look at Michelangelo’s sculpture of David.  The craftsmanship and the detail raise the aesthetic beauty of the human body to a spiritual level. It’s a great work of art.

Now I want you to imagine David dressed in an Armani tux, surrounded by singers and dancers in Goliath costumes performing to a light show that begins with dry ice clouds and ends with fireworks, and the display hall draped in Budweiser and Geico banners. That’s what the Super Bowl has done to the NFL Championship Game. Overkill.

I understand why the NFL dresses its big game in emperor’s clothes. Just don’t tell me that I have to like it. The game is beautiful and compelling without its commercialization.

I admit I enjoy the television commercials, the Kia ad with Motley Crue, Chuck Liddell, and the surreal sequences of a rodeo rider on a rhino and two lumberjacks sawing a gigantic sub was terrific. So was the Chevy truck ad set post-Mayan Apocalypse. However you know what I thought of the halftime performance that delays the third quarter?

I can’t tell you because I didn’t see it. It seemed like a good time to do the dishes and clean the litter box.

Ahmad Bradshaw

The Giants runner had an uneven game and his “accidental touchdown” could have cost his team a championship. However, I feel sympathy for Bradshaw.  Continue reading

“Football Player”

George Blanda led teams down the field with his arm and often finished off drives with his foot. He was a football player in the truest sense. Photo by Nateog

We live in the football era of specialization: Slot receiver. Third down back. Move tight end. Pass rush defensive end. Nickel back. In the box safety. But there was a time when its best players played more than one role.

Sammy Baugh was both a great passer and ball hawking safety. Chuck Bednarik played on both sides of the trench. George Blanda used his arm to lead his teams down the field and his foot to finished the drive.

They transcended a single position and were best known as “football players.” Believe it or not, we still have football players in the NFL. Continue reading