| Authored by Jeff Risdon - 21st January, 2009 - 11:04 am
 The North practiced in the morning in bitter cold and a stiff north wind. The temperature was well below 40 degrees all morning. It was fun watching the lowest-ranking scouts and staffers scramble to provide coffee for the GM's and coaches.
North team notes
Star of the morning: B.J. Raji, DT, Boston College. He drew audible “oohs” for absolutely planting Max Unger on a bull rush. Raji was basically unstoppable one-on-one with a bevy of power moves and great hand placement.
The QB's are often rough to watch. Rhett Bomar is the most NFL-ready of the three, certainly the most consistent. Nate Brown looks awful and somewhat overwhelmed although, interestingly, he throws the best deep ball of the three. He makes 30-yard posts and corners look effortless but missed 4 short outs in a row; none were even close. Graham Harrell is the opposite--he’s perfect on short throws although lacking zip, butwith anything over about 12 yards, he just doesn’t have the accuracy and certainly not the arm strength.
Harrell fumbled the first snap from center in the drills without RB's and LB's. He fumbled two others, as well, and is clearly watching the ball into his hands instead of the first steps of the defense. When paired with his underwhelming arm strength, it’s hard to see him being more than a late-round pick.
The WR's are not really impressive but have isolated moments of greatness. Brandon Gibson is the fastest of the group, and he made a great sliding catch; however, he also got chewed out for being passive on a release and for turning his head around too early on a deep pass, which allowed Deangelo Smith to jump the route and get an INT. Brian Robiskie had a bunch of drops, but he also made a fantastic stab in heavy traffic. One GM pointed out that Robiskie worries about defenders he can’t see or feel, but when they’re tight on him, he does great because he knows where they are and where the hit is coming from.
Ramses Barden needs a lot of work, but his size is going to attract suitors. The hands are there, and he shows good body control, but he had issues getting separation from the more physical corners.
Cincinnati DE Connor Barwin is being used at TE, which he played before 2008, and he really looked good. He sealed the edge nicely on run plays and showed good hands and burst. It will be interesting to see how NFL teams would use him, as he proved he’s quite a pass rusher last season.
Biggest loser of the morning: Raji’s BC linemate Ron Brace. He was the last guy out on the field for practice, and was the only guy I saw hit the oxygen machine, which he sucked on after almost every set. He jumped offsides 3 or 4 times and was consistently driven back by even the lesser offensive linemen.
Buzz Up
Illinois T Xavier Fulton, Michigan DE Tim Jamison, South Florida LB Tyrone McKenzie, Iowa DL Mitch King, Oregon State CB Keenan Lewis, Virginia TE John Phillips
Buzz Down
Utah K Louis Sakoda (clearly flummoxed by the cold wind), North Carolina WR Brooks Foster, Cincinnati G Trevor Canfield (plays way too high), Oregon RB Jeremiah Johnson, Western Michigan S Louis Delmas--who made some very nice plays but also some serious coverage problems
South Team Notes
It was still cold when the South team took the field, but the wind was less gusty. It was interesting to see the differences between how the Bengals staff handled the AM practice and what the Jaguars staff did with this group. Generally speaking, the North team does more scout-friendly drills and more things that the common fan would recognize.
Star of the day: tie between Michael Hamlin, S, Clemson, and Michael Oher, T, Ole Miss. Hamlin had two massive de-cleating hits that drew oohs and aahs, and he consistently closed quickly with authority and control. Oher dominated all comers in pass protection, showing nice agility and devastating hand punch. He also consistently sealed the edge in run blocking.
Georgia WR Mohammad Massaquoi is making himself some $$. He separated well and snatched the ball from the air, showing an extra gear to chase down a long throw.
Really almost all the South WRs look good, vastly better than their North counterparts. Mike Wallace of Ole Miss has really impressed me with his all-around game. He flashed nice speed and did well avoiding jams. The only WR who doesn’t look NFL-worthy is Arizona’s Mike Thomas, who is real small and has issues with route running and hands. Quan Cosby is real small too but he’s got explosive quicks and better hands.
Kenny McKinley WR South Carolina is the victim of awful luck. Twice he toasted his coverage but the QB (Cullen Harper once, J.P. Wilson once) missed him by several yards. The Harper one was only a 10-yard cross over the middle and Harper threw it at least 8 feet over his head, in a drill with no pass rush.
Southern Miss TE Shawn Nelson stood out Tuesday. Best hands of any TE here, and he impressed with his ability to turn and run after the catch. He also locked up Brian Cushing during pass rush/protect drills, putting Cushing on the ground 2 out of 3 times.
The USC contingency is faring well. The Jaguar coaches (clearly looking for one) are pushing Rey Maualuga hard to be the defensive leader and difference-maker at MLB, and he looks and acts the part. I’ve been impressed with his assignment discipline and patience, qualities he didn’t always demonstrate at USC. Clay Matthews has a nice array of pass rush moves, though he let blockers get into his pads a few times. DT Fili Moala is playing himself up draft boards, displaying nimble feet and great arm extension power. One team gushed openly about his ability to play as a 3-4 DE. His linemate Kyle Moore is gaining momentum as a 3-technique tackle who can quickly slide into gaps and shed blocks. LB Brian Cushing seems a bit robotic and was the recipient of a few coaching lectures, but his athleticism is undeniable.
The defensive backs were quite up-and-down, mostly down aside from Hamlin and Wake Forest CB Alphonso Smith. Jackson State CB Domonique Johnson sure looks like he has shutdown CB potential, but it won’t come right away; he needs to improve his feet coming out of his backpedal, and he gives up inside position too easily, lacking the closing speed to jump in and break up ins and curls. Alabama safety Rashad Johnson closes with authority but bungled an INT and was surprisingly easy to block.
Buzz Up
West Virginia QB Pat White--showing he has the arm strength and touch needed, Tennessee RB Arian Foster, Liberty RB Rashad Jennings, Tennessee DE Robert Ayers, Ole Miss LB Ashlee Palmer
Buzz Down
Clemson QB Cullen Harper and Alabama QB John Parker Wilson, both of whom struggled with the wind and displayed inconsistent mechanics, Tulane T Troy Kropog, LSU G Herman Johnson, Maryland LB Moise Fokou, Clemson RB James Davis
From the “Overheard” file
The Ray Lewis-to-Dallas talk is drawing more snickers than affirmation. As one rival GM opined, “They can have my oldest, most expensive player too.”
At the end of North practice, someone loudly espoused to no one in particular, “What a sh***y year to need a quarterback!” That drew more acknowledging nods and smiles than anything all week.
“The cover-2 is all but dead as a base defense. You’re still going to see it when teams have a lead, or when their corners are (crap). But you cannot sit back and let offenses pick you apart when they know where everyone is going to be. Our practice squad QB can pick apart cover 2.”
“Brandon Jacobs had better stay in New York. He needs that o-line. Put him behind the line in San Francisco or KC, and he wouldn’t sniff 4 yards per carry.”
And one observation of my own: I feel downright bad for the Raiders' contingency here, at least the guys I’ve seen and talked with a little. They treat their job security like a macabre joke, knowing it could very well be over by the end of week. As a disclaimer, I have not seen Tom Cable here.
Jeff Risdon is RealGM's senior football writer and draft expert. He may be reached at Jeff.Risdon@RealGM.com |
