Reaper16
10-14-2009, 01:49 PM
the last five years, I've done somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 draft prospect interviews between the Scouting Combine and the draft itself. It's the rare time when the NFL's future stars and scrubs are readily available for interviews with few exceptions to those writers without specific team access, and the last opportunity for those players to get their names out in the world before teams come calling. Between Pro Days and team visits, you'll see prospect interviews just about everywhere. I've talked to a lot of players who've impressed me -- Ben Grubbs' intelligence (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/nfl-draft/2007/eclectic-ben-grubbs), Chad Henne's resolve (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/nfl-draft/2008/decline-and-rise-chad-henne), and Mark Sanchez's confidence (http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/04/mark-sanchez-quality-over-quantity.html) stick in my mind specifically as traits attached to players that seemed to earmark them for success. You try and ask the right questions, get past the prefab answers as much as you can, and write good, objective stories for your "assigning entity."
Once in a great while, you struggle with objectivity. When I first did a phone interview with Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry (http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/03/aaron-curry-safe-at-home----part-1.html), something about him got under my skin and stayed there. It was the passion in his voice, the determination to succeed, the love he expressed when he talked about his mother and the family circumstances that formed his otherworldly determination. Talking to him more (http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/03/aaron-curry-safe-at-home----part-2.html#more) about what he brought to the field at the NCAA level and what he wanted to do in the pros, I began to see what draft analysts like Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout.com (http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft) were talking about when they ranked him as their best prospect overall for the 2009 season.
I saw highlights and game tape of a guy who was a sure-fire wrecking machine five yards in any direction -- who would get pulled in by misdirection and "eye discipline," but who could also cover the flats as well as he could go scud on a running back (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/cover-3/2009/cover-3-tenacious-d#) or rush a quarterback if need be. Linebackers who are as good in reverse as they are in fifth gear are very rare commodities, but I started to think that I was seeing just such a player -- a real one-off, whose size and speed might make him an unmatched defensive threat.
(http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/05/aaron-curry-seattle-seahawks-draft-interview.html)When I finally met Curry (http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/05/aaron-curry-seattle-seahawks-draft-interview.html) at Seattle's first minicamp of the 2009 season and saw him on the field, the size-speed thing really came into focus. At 6-1 and 256 pounds, he looked like a rangy defensive end, or a third-down pass-rushing defensive tackle, but had the speed of an average in-the-box safety. He was still learning the fundamentals, and the coverage stuff at the next level was going to be a process, but as he rounded into shape from a short contract holdout and a groin injury, the signs of excellence came out. I didn’t expect to write about Curry this soon, but there is something special happening here, and it popped off the screen as the Seahawks trounced the Jaguars at home. Curry ended the day with nine tackles, a sack, a quarterback (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/cover-3/2009/cover-3-tenacious-d#) hit, a pass defensed, and a forced fumble. I wanted to see what's behind the numbers before this kind of stat line becomes the norm every week.
On the Jaguars' first play of the day from their own 11, with 12:05 left in the first quarter, Jacksonville went with a two-tight end set and receiver Mike Thomas (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/player/22411/mike-thomas) motioning eight to left. The Seahawks brought six to the line, with cornerback Ken Lucas (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/player/16406/ken-lucas) following Thomas' motion and safety Jordan Babineaux (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/player/15355/jordan-babineaux) filling the left edge as Lucas moved. Curry was lined up to the left of middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/player/17021/lofa-tatupu), and took one step forward before dropping into coverage. He tackled Torry Holt (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/player/16136/torry-holt) after Holt caught the ball over the middle, but it looked to me that the Seahawks read run on the play, and Curry was playing catchup from a short middle zone. Jacksonville gained 13 on the slant.
The Jags followed that play with a three-and-out, but started with a bit more success on their second drive. Jacksonville started at their own 30 and drove down to the Seattle 10 with 3:02 left in the first quarter. One play after an inevitable Marcedes Lewis drop on second-and-9, David Garrard (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/player/15897/david-garrard) took the ball out of shotgun and threw a screen to Maurice Jones-Drew (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/player/16246/maurice-jones-drew). Curry started from the middle of the defense as Pocket Hercules headed to the right. Jones-Drew tried to fake Curry out with an inside move, but Curry countered and followed him to the sideline for a gain of eight. On fourth-and-1 from the 2, Garrard got pressure in his face and had to throw the ball away. Curry, who sidestepped pulling guard Vince Manuwai (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/player/16430/vince-manuwai) to hit the edge, was one of the main men in Garrard's face.
Jacksonville started their third drive with 10 seconds left in the first quarter from their own 21. Garrard handed to Jones-Drew to the weak side. The Jags wanted the run to develop behind right tackle Eden Britton, who was pulling left, but Curry came across, sifted through the trash, escaped a Manuwai near-hold, and brought Jones-Drew down after he bounced off Tatupu for a one-yard gain. As was the case in his Wake Forest days, I am extremely impressed with Curry's speed in pursuit -- once he draws a bead on a running back, it's a problem for the opposing offense.
Curry shot off the left edge on the next play, second-and-9 from the Jacksonville 22. The Seahawks brought six to the line, and Curry blew right past Britton. He overshot the sack as Garrard stepped up in the pocket, but the result was a hurried throw and a wasted down. On the next play, Curry blitzed off the right edge and had a free lane as defensive end Darryl Tapp occupied left tackle Eugene Monroe (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/player/22307/eugene-monroe). Garrard hurried another throw -- this time to tight end Zach Miller -- and the ball was almost intercepted by linebacker David Hawthorne (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/cover-3/2009/cover-3-tenacious-d#). One of the few knocks on Curry in college was that people weren't sure he could be a consistent pass rusher. That had more to do with the Wake Forest scheme and what the coaching staff
wanted him to do than any deficiency in that area. When Curry blitzed off of three- or four-man fronts at Wake, he showed the same speed and agility he displayed on this day.
The Tatupu/Jones-Drew battle was an interesting one -- Pocket Hercules would bounce off Lofa over and over and gain extra yards after contact. When he took on Curry, it was another matter. With 7:53 left in the first half, Garrard handed to Jones-Drew out of an I-formation, and Curry filled the hole off right guard, allowing a gain of one. Along with his edge speed, Curry brings estimable run-stopping power to the middle, and he's not shy at all about mixing it up with linemen to stop a power play. This was never more evident than in the play with 13:15 left in the game (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/cover-3/2009/cover-3-tenacious-d#), with the Jags at their own 29. Backup running back Rashad Jennings headed to the right behind the pulling Manuwai, until Curry hit the line with such force, he knocked the 333-pound guard back into Jennings. The Jags gained four yards on the play, but Curry had made his point.
As the highest-drafted linebacker (fourth overall) since LaVar Arrington was selected second overall in 2000, Curry has a great many expectations tied to his future. The Seahawks didn't draft him that high, and pay him as much as they did, to have him fill out an already-adequate linebacker corps. They were shopping (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/cover-3/2009/cover-3-tenacious-d#) for a difference-maker of historic value. While it's ridiculous to conclude that he's reached that plateau already, there's enough about what's already there to have even the most seen-it-all Seahawks observers, like local players-turned-analysts Steve Raible and Brock Huard, struggling to find the right words to describe what they're seeing. My own impression after talking with and watching Curry was pretty simple: Both literally and figuratively, this guy is going to destroy anything that stands in the way of his dreams. It only sounds like hyperbole until you see him on the field
:D
Once in a great while, you struggle with objectivity. When I first did a phone interview with Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry (http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/03/aaron-curry-safe-at-home----part-1.html), something about him got under my skin and stayed there. It was the passion in his voice, the determination to succeed, the love he expressed when he talked about his mother and the family circumstances that formed his otherworldly determination. Talking to him more (http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/03/aaron-curry-safe-at-home----part-2.html#more) about what he brought to the field at the NCAA level and what he wanted to do in the pros, I began to see what draft analysts like Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout.com (http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft) were talking about when they ranked him as their best prospect overall for the 2009 season.
I saw highlights and game tape of a guy who was a sure-fire wrecking machine five yards in any direction -- who would get pulled in by misdirection and "eye discipline," but who could also cover the flats as well as he could go scud on a running back (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/cover-3/2009/cover-3-tenacious-d#) or rush a quarterback if need be. Linebackers who are as good in reverse as they are in fifth gear are very rare commodities, but I started to think that I was seeing just such a player -- a real one-off, whose size and speed might make him an unmatched defensive threat.
(http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/05/aaron-curry-seattle-seahawks-draft-interview.html)When I finally met Curry (http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/predraft/2009/05/aaron-curry-seattle-seahawks-draft-interview.html) at Seattle's first minicamp of the 2009 season and saw him on the field, the size-speed thing really came into focus. At 6-1 and 256 pounds, he looked like a rangy defensive end, or a third-down pass-rushing defensive tackle, but had the speed of an average in-the-box safety. He was still learning the fundamentals, and the coverage stuff at the next level was going to be a process, but as he rounded into shape from a short contract holdout and a groin injury, the signs of excellence came out. I didn’t expect to write about Curry this soon, but there is something special happening here, and it popped off the screen as the Seahawks trounced the Jaguars at home. Curry ended the day with nine tackles, a sack, a quarterback (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/cover-3/2009/cover-3-tenacious-d#) hit, a pass defensed, and a forced fumble. I wanted to see what's behind the numbers before this kind of stat line becomes the norm every week.
On the Jaguars' first play of the day from their own 11, with 12:05 left in the first quarter, Jacksonville went with a two-tight end set and receiver Mike Thomas (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/player/22411/mike-thomas) motioning eight to left. The Seahawks brought six to the line, with cornerback Ken Lucas (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/player/16406/ken-lucas) following Thomas' motion and safety Jordan Babineaux (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/player/15355/jordan-babineaux) filling the left edge as Lucas moved. Curry was lined up to the left of middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/player/17021/lofa-tatupu), and took one step forward before dropping into coverage. He tackled Torry Holt (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/player/16136/torry-holt) after Holt caught the ball over the middle, but it looked to me that the Seahawks read run on the play, and Curry was playing catchup from a short middle zone. Jacksonville gained 13 on the slant.
The Jags followed that play with a three-and-out, but started with a bit more success on their second drive. Jacksonville started at their own 30 and drove down to the Seattle 10 with 3:02 left in the first quarter. One play after an inevitable Marcedes Lewis drop on second-and-9, David Garrard (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/player/15897/david-garrard) took the ball out of shotgun and threw a screen to Maurice Jones-Drew (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/player/16246/maurice-jones-drew). Curry started from the middle of the defense as Pocket Hercules headed to the right. Jones-Drew tried to fake Curry out with an inside move, but Curry countered and followed him to the sideline for a gain of eight. On fourth-and-1 from the 2, Garrard got pressure in his face and had to throw the ball away. Curry, who sidestepped pulling guard Vince Manuwai (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/player/16430/vince-manuwai) to hit the edge, was one of the main men in Garrard's face.
Jacksonville started their third drive with 10 seconds left in the first quarter from their own 21. Garrard handed to Jones-Drew to the weak side. The Jags wanted the run to develop behind right tackle Eden Britton, who was pulling left, but Curry came across, sifted through the trash, escaped a Manuwai near-hold, and brought Jones-Drew down after he bounced off Tatupu for a one-yard gain. As was the case in his Wake Forest days, I am extremely impressed with Curry's speed in pursuit -- once he draws a bead on a running back, it's a problem for the opposing offense.
Curry shot off the left edge on the next play, second-and-9 from the Jacksonville 22. The Seahawks brought six to the line, and Curry blew right past Britton. He overshot the sack as Garrard stepped up in the pocket, but the result was a hurried throw and a wasted down. On the next play, Curry blitzed off the right edge and had a free lane as defensive end Darryl Tapp occupied left tackle Eugene Monroe (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/player/22307/eugene-monroe). Garrard hurried another throw -- this time to tight end Zach Miller -- and the ball was almost intercepted by linebacker David Hawthorne (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/cover-3/2009/cover-3-tenacious-d#). One of the few knocks on Curry in college was that people weren't sure he could be a consistent pass rusher. That had more to do with the Wake Forest scheme and what the coaching staff
wanted him to do than any deficiency in that area. When Curry blitzed off of three- or four-man fronts at Wake, he showed the same speed and agility he displayed on this day.
The Tatupu/Jones-Drew battle was an interesting one -- Pocket Hercules would bounce off Lofa over and over and gain extra yards after contact. When he took on Curry, it was another matter. With 7:53 left in the first half, Garrard handed to Jones-Drew out of an I-formation, and Curry filled the hole off right guard, allowing a gain of one. Along with his edge speed, Curry brings estimable run-stopping power to the middle, and he's not shy at all about mixing it up with linemen to stop a power play. This was never more evident than in the play with 13:15 left in the game (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/cover-3/2009/cover-3-tenacious-d#), with the Jags at their own 29. Backup running back Rashad Jennings headed to the right behind the pulling Manuwai, until Curry hit the line with such force, he knocked the 333-pound guard back into Jennings. The Jags gained four yards on the play, but Curry had made his point.
As the highest-drafted linebacker (fourth overall) since LaVar Arrington was selected second overall in 2000, Curry has a great many expectations tied to his future. The Seahawks didn't draft him that high, and pay him as much as they did, to have him fill out an already-adequate linebacker corps. They were shopping (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/cover-3/2009/cover-3-tenacious-d#) for a difference-maker of historic value. While it's ridiculous to conclude that he's reached that plateau already, there's enough about what's already there to have even the most seen-it-all Seahawks observers, like local players-turned-analysts Steve Raible and Brock Huard, struggling to find the right words to describe what they're seeing. My own impression after talking with and watching Curry was pretty simple: Both literally and figuratively, this guy is going to destroy anything that stands in the way of his dreams. It only sounds like hyperbole until you see him on the field
:D