The actual Senior Bowl game is more for the fans than anybody. The scouts saw what they wanted to see during the first 3 days of practice where players were matched up in one-on-one drills and working on fundamentals and getting used to NFL style work-outs. The great thing about the practices is that you could really see what each guy was made of.
But you couldn't tell how well he could play football.
And that's why the game really showed up a few unexpected things. First of all, the offensive tackles who got so much praise, really couldn't pass protect (remember this is in a game where the defense wasn't allowed to blitz and had to play a 4-3 base.
Secondly, the QBs who were starting to get comfortable by Thursday in the pro-set really didn't have it put together. If they couldn't make the throws without any blitzer in their faces, then how much worse can they be when there is the added pressure?
The DBs have no hands. I think I counted 3 dropped interceptions in the game, the most spectacular of which was by INT phenom Alphonso Smith who had a pick 6 gift-wrapped to him and let it bounce off his hands.
The NFL Network conducts its business similarly to how CNN conducts its war reporting. They had the North team's head coach wired for sound, and in an almost deadpan way, he would explain what the next play was and who it was going to.
Was there any surprise then that the South team was able to stop the North team fairly efficiently? They obviously had the audio feed piped straight into the MLB (Maualuga) helmet!
Also, I would like to thank tivo for continuously failing to understand that a football game is a live event and as such should be recorded from start to finish rather than in a pre-determined 3 hour window thus constantly cutting off the final 5 to 10 minutes of said game.
UPDATE:
Defensive stats - on the North side Marcus Freeman led all tacklers with 8, Tyrone McKenzie and Scott McKillop both had 7. McKenzie had a pass deflection and McKillop had a tackle for loss. The North forced zero turnovers and had zero sacks.
on the South side the top 7 tacklers were defensive backs with the top LB only getting 3 tackles (Maualuga). They also had 8 pass deflections and 4.5 sacks as a group which indicates that there were a lot of passing plays from the North who were down all game long.
Who were the most impressive pass rushers?
ReplyDeleteProbably Ayers from Tennessee and Mitch King from Iowa, though I think he was playing DT. Sintim was neutralized and English was only marginally better. But Kyle Moore and Corey Irvin? got a sack each as well, though I didn't see the Moore sack, might've been in garbage time after my tivo stopped taping. To be honest it was hard to tell who was doing a good job of applying pressure because the Tackles from both sides were all horrible.
ReplyDeleteYou know what they say about DBs? If they had hands, THEY'D BE RECEIVERS!
ReplyDeleteWe'll see how it all goes. I like Raji (even though his "frame" is all wrong for Omar LOL!), and Alex Mack.
I also think there's a bunch of decent receivers out there so there's unlikely to be a high pick spent at that position.
Regarding the "strength" of the QBs in this draft, well, lets just say I'm still looking for the "strength" from the Leinart, Cutler, Young draft.
Jay Cutler alone hardly constitutes a strong QB class. Thanks for following this stuff for us Tin!
Oh yeah, and if Randy reads this, I'd like to hear if his opinion of Jake Long has changed now that he knows what normal college tackles look like...and that J is a PROBOWLER!
ReplyDeleteTin, Being at UTENN fan, I got to watch Robert Ayers play his entire career. His maturation off the field has been the key for him. He can be a solid pro and reminds me of Kenny Mixon from LSU who played w/our phins.
ReplyDeleteKent, to be honest I don't watch a lot of SEC games so Ayers is a relative unknown to me. But he sure impressed the NFL Network, and undoubtedly a lot of scouts as well. Do you think he would stand up in a 3-4 or be better suited to bulk up for a 4-3?
ReplyDeleteHe never stood up at Tenn., the previous regime took big LB's(like Ayers) from high school, added weight and put them on the edge in a 4-3. I want to see what his measurables are at the combine(weight and speed). He has good leverage and plays hard.
ReplyDelete