| Authored by Jeff Risdon - 23rd January, 2009 - 10:54 am
 Another bright and sunny day, and today I didn't even have to wear a jacket. The atmosphere at Ladd-Peebles Stadium was more warm and intimate too, as many of the prominent movers and shakers departed this morning.
For those of us who remained, we got much better access to the players and coaches still here. After the North practice in the morning, I wound up spending much of the rest of the day conversing with a Sirius NFL Radio personality, a veteran personnel executive, and two team scouts, one of whom was recently let go. As such, I only caught about 15 minutes of the South team practice.
North Notes
Oklahoma WR Manny Johnson came late as an injury replacement, but he looks like he more than belongs here. In the red zone drill he demonstrated polished routes, quick cuts, and consistent ability to snatch the ball with his hands.
Brian Robiskie should make an excellent red zone target at the next level. He snared a couple of tough throws and showed great balance and awareness in getting both feet down. Robiskie also makes a lot of guttural noise as he plays.
Derrick Williams of Penn State got some heavy-duty coaching on his lack of precision on his cuts and how to position his shoulders as a target. He seemed to respond well, and his hands and ability to transition quickly from receiver to runner are top notch, but he really turned off a couple of NFL coaches I was standing with on another point. He cut a little shallow towards the back of the end zone and didn't even extend a hand towards a ball that was not well thrown but also not uncatchable, then rolled his eyes and glared back at the QB (I can't recall which) and slowly walked off. The reaction of the QB Coach standing next to me, "Just what we need, another wideout who ain't half as good as he thinks he is."
Oregon RB Jeremiah Johnson stood out in receiving drills. He ran clean routes, looked the ball into his hands every time, and showed real nice burst immediately following the catch. He struck one coach who would know as similar to Steve Slaton.
Ramses Barden merely stood around, apparently with a tweaked hamstring. When a fellow web-based reporter asked him about it after practice, he didn't elaborate.
I spent the bulk of the remaining practice watching the offensive linemen and linebackers.
Quick Impressions:
Alex Mack didn't stand out as prominently today, but he keeps great balance and explodes out of his stance ready for combat.
Kraig Urbik is very powerful and has a good understanding of how to use his power. His hand placement is textbook, and he sinks his hips nicely.
Andy Levitre gets too far out over his feet at times. During one drill he consistently placed his hands too high, and he has a habit of dropping his head when engaged.
Phil Loadholt was coached up about standing up too straight after initial contact. When he keeps good technique he can really maul, and he showed quicker feet today.
Xavier Fulton continues to impress. He needs to build lower body strength and sink his hips more comfortably, but his arm extension and ability to engage from a position of strength are consistently good.
William Beatty is quite athletic but lacks functional strength. He looks and plays lighter and less fierce than some of the tight ends here. He compares to Duane Brown from last year although Brown had better bulk and a stronger hand punch.
Marcus Freeman had another good day. He is faster than any TE or FB here and showed good ability in coverage to direct his man and to locate the ball. Reminds me of a faster Boss Bailey.
Scott McKillop is really athletically limited. He does everything the way it's supposed to be done, just not fast enough or with enough power. I'm afraid he's about 30 years too late for the NFL.
Clint Sintim needs to play with more consistent energy and tenacity. He did not look impressive in the blitz drill on Wednesday, and he was up and down in coverage today. At times he looks like he can be an impact OLB,\ while other times it looks like he's going through the motions.
Tyrone McKenzie is the antipode of Sintim, always exuding boundless energy and with unlimited gas in his motor. He runs and flows well, but he is raw in coverage and has a tendency to take three steps when two will do. Think a less ferocious Ernie Sims.
Nic Harris is making the transition from safety to OLB, and it shows he's never played the position before. He seems tentative and clueless on how to disengage from blocking and fighting through traffic. Harris lacks the foot speed and range to play safety at the next level, but from what I've seen this week he is much more Darnell Bing than Thomas Davis, two other college safeties who went to the NFL as linebackers.
Instead of shallow quick-hit observations on the South, I'll instead focus on my conversations with the NFL personnel.
Some Highlights:
Several prominent seniors are not here in Mobile. For some (Aaron Curry, Malcolm Jenkins), it's not really a big deal as they have shown enough and satisfactorily answered all the questions. But there are two players that definitely hurt themselves by not working out here: Georgia Tech DE Michael Johnson and Ohio State LB James Laurinaitis.
I've talked to quite a few people about Johnson, and the perception that he's a one-dimensional, situational pass rusher is now accepted reality in part because he failed to come here and prove otherwise. His stock appears to be plummeting.
Laurinaitis is more highly-regarded but still faces lingering questions about his athleticism and ability to navigate around blockers and through traffic. Rey Maualuga's strong performance this week makes Laurinaitis' absence more troublesome.
Opinions on USC QB Mark Sanchez are widely varied. His performance and skill-sets impress everyone, but his lack of experience and talent gap between his supporting cast and the weak Pac-10 defenses trouble many people here. Trojans' coach Pete Carroll came here to lobby for Sanchez, and lots of prominent NFL talent evaluators think he's the top QB in this draft. But some folks are seriously scared by his inexperience and how little he's faced tough competition.
The same questions dogged Sam Bradford, and the BCS Title game gave credence to those same concerns with him, sending him back to school next fall. My personal opinion: the lack of experience troubles me, but he has the arm, brain, and persona to become a star in the NFL. I wouldn't draft him to throw him into the fire right away, but for a team with an aging vet (think STL or SEA) that can afford to let him sit and learn for a year, I wouldn't hesitate to use a high first round draft pick on Sanchez.
I asked the personnel exec what the most common mistake teams make in player evaluation. Without hesitation he responded, "They worry too much about what other people think. If I really like a kid, I'm going to trust myself. Matt Millen is the classic example. He wasn't crazy about Mike Williams and a lot of his people weren't crazy on him either. But Millen saw what other teams thought of him and got nervous. He thought 'Not all those guys who love him can be wrong' and he blew it...It happens on veterans too. Look at Jacksonville and the receivers they brought in. I know there were people down there who hated the idea of Jerry Porter and (Troy Williamson), but (former GM Shack Harris) knew they needed better wide receivers and he panicked. They didn't want to miss out on the chance. If they would have trusted their own eyes and minds instead of worrying about missing out on what might be, they could have avoided most of their problems. Now they need receivers even worse, and they’re stuck with (crap)."
--Jeff.Risdon@RealGM.com |
