GBN Report: 2010 SENIOR BOWL GAME REVIEW

**Tribal Warfare** · 02-04-2010, 05:03 PM

2010 SENIOR BOWL GAME REVIEW

Brock · 02-04-2010, 05:40 PM

That’s a wrap… Another Senior Bowl is in the books after last week's game capped off activities in Mobile. And while most NFL teams place far more value on what the players do in practice than in the game itself, we still like to watch what the guys can and can‘t do in an actual game setting. That said, there is a lot to be gleaned from watching the guys actually play the game and there is no question there were some real winners and losers in Saturday's 2010 game, although for the most part they appeared to be pretty much the same players who did well in practice.

Top 10 best players overall during the 2010 Senior Bowl game…

1. Michigan DE Brandon Graham
2. Georgia DT Geno Atkins
3. Penn State DT Jared Odrick
4. Missouri LB Sean Weatherspoon
5. North Carolina DE Cam Thomas
6. Utah LB Koa Misi
7. Tennessee DT Dan Williams
8. Florida State CB Patrick Robinson
9. Maryland DB Terrelle Skinner
10. Cincinnati WR Mardy Gilyard

Hononrable mentions: UMass OT Vlad Ducasse, Auburn RB Ben Tate, Oregon RB LeGarrette Blount, Alabama TE Colin Peek, Central Michigan QB Dan LeFevour, Vanderbilt OT Thomas Welch, California DE Tyson Aluala, TCU LB Daryl Washington

Defensive line dominates … As they say early in baseball training camp that the pitchers are always way ahead of the hitters (or is it the other way around) the defense generally has a bit of a natural edge in college football all-star games. And that was certainly the case, at least as far the line play went, at this year’s Senior Bowl game where the defensive lines pretty much overwhelmed their counterparts on offense. Michigan DE Brandon Graham, who shined in one-on-one pass rush drills during practice all week, was simply the best player on the field. Again as he did during the week, Graham exploded off the snap, got great leverage as he kept his pads low, used his hands effectively to disengage and showed some nice spin moves as well as a non-stop motor. For good measure, Graham, who had two sacks, a forced fumble and another tackle for loss, also did a solid job defending the run as he was just too quick for the South’s cadre of LTs. On occasion, though, Graham just stood up after the snap and didn’t get any real penetration, while he will also overrun the odd play in his enthusiasm to get to the pocket, but otherwise did nothing to tarnish his overall pass-rush credentials which got a huge boost last week in Mobile.

There was a similar story last Saturday for Penn State DT Jared Odrick who continued to show outstanding interior pass-rush potential in Satuday‘s game. Odrick displayed a very quick first step off the snap as well as an excellent swim move. And while he’s a little rangy for a prototype run-stuffing DT, the 6-5, 300-pound Odrick did a nice job taking on and splitting double teams. For good measure, like his former Big 10 opponent Graham, Odrick also showed a great motor and lateral range as he pursued the ball to the whistle; Odrick, who may have earned some consideration as a 3-4 DE with his play in Mobile, showed good timing get his long arms up into the passing lanes when he didn‘t get to the QB. Georgia DT Geno Atkins also proved to be too quick for the North’s interior offensive line in the Senior Bowl. In particular, Atkins gave star North OG Mike Iupati with an explosive first step along with the functional strength to maintain leverage once he got position and headed up field.

Meanwhile, Tennessee DT Dan Williams didn’t get that much actual up field penetration himself, but proved almost impossible for the North offensive front to get off the point of attack. Williams consistently beat the OL off the snap, showed good balance and short-area lateral range, as well as the strength to hold his spot when double teamed. It was also a good day for North Carolina DT Cam Thomas who didn’t show much in the way of sophisticated pass-rush moves or lateral quickness, but was able to bull-rush his way deep into the pocket on just about every play as he physically overwhelmed the South OGs. And like Penn State’s Odrick, the 6-4, 330-pound Thomas, who heretofore had been thought of as a pure NT, may start to get some serious consideration as a potential 3-4 DE, as well as a more traditional 4-3 DT.

At the same time, DTs Lamarr Houston of Texas and Mike Neal of Purdue also made big plays in the backfield in Saturday’s game, however, other than the occasional both tended to get stuck on the line of scrimmage although it didn’t appear to be from a lack of effort. Indeed, both worked very hard to the whistle, but Neal in particular looked to lack the strength of get off blocks. Same story for Louisiana Tech DT Boo Smith who was a non-factor Saturday in Mobile after a very disappointing week of practice. Then there was Alabama DT Terrence Cody, one of the biggest, both literally and figuratively, stories in Mobile last week. No question Cody was almost impossible to dislodge off the line of scrimmage in Saturday’s game, however, he really didn’t show much in the way of balance or outright strength at the point of attack and ended up being bounced around enough that he seldom was available to find the ball or make a play.

Graham’s efforts aside, the Senior Bowl DEs weren’t quite as impressive as their DT counterparts. As he had all week, Cal combo DE/DT Tyson Alualu showed plenty of energy and a non-stop motor and did get some decent leverage on occasion, but also got hung up too often especially when going one-on-one against a TE. Meanwhile, Alex Carrington of Arkansas was able to use his strength and a very effective punch to get some penetration, but didn’t show much in the way of outside explosion or closing speed. Same story for rangy Austen Lane of Murray State, who scored a TD on a recovered fumble, but for the most part appeared to lack both the quick-twitch explosion to get to the edge as well as the upper-body strength to be effective bull-rushing. Meanwhile, Troy tweener Cam Sheffield showed some initial quickness on one play where he forced a fumble on a sack, but for the most part got hung up at the line of scrimmage doing too much head-faking and hand fighting. Sheffield’s Troy teammate Brandon Lang also had a quiet afternoon as he looked a step slow to get to the edge, while USF’s George Selvie was a non-factor.

Linebackers: Normally, all-star formats make it tough for LBs to really stand out but someone forgot to tell this year’s group. Missouri MLB Sean Weatherspoon, for example, had an outstanding day Saturday as he made plays all over the field. Weatherspoon was very light on his feet, did a nice job avoiding the trash and flowing to the ball, and showed good instincts and range. What really had to impress pro scouts, though, were a couple of plays in coverage in which he first stayed with speedy Ole Miss RB, and sometime WR, Dexter McCluster well down field and then turned just in time to braek up a pass in the end zone. Later, Weatherspoon read the QB’s eyes and stepped in front of another pass for a pick to put an exclamation point on the day.

TCU MLB Daryl Washington also impressed with his range and quickness to the ball, although a couple of times he was a little overaggressive going for the big hit and didn’t really wrap. As well, Washington who isn’t very big at under 230 pounds, didn’t really take on blockers at the point of attack, but tended to try and run around them instead. Utah OLB Koa Misi also showed excellent speed, quickness and range in the Senior Bowl. For good measure, Misi also delivered a couple of solid pops, one of which forced a fumble. And like both Weatherspoon, Misi impressed with his ability to slide off blocks and flow t the ball. On the other hand, A.J. Edds wasn’t quite as aggressive defending the run, but showed nice range and flexibility dropping into coverage and was rewarded with a late pick of his own.

And with speed at LB a theme in Mobile, Florida State LB Dekoda Watson also showed plenty of range, good instincts and some big-play ability in the backfield. However, while Watson ran well and covered a lot of ground he wasn’t very physical when taking on blockers and was at his most effective when allowed to run and make plays in space. Miami MLB Darryl Sharpton also covered a lot of ground in the Senior Bowl game and was very aggressive, although he tended to arrive at the play a step or so late; Sharpton also struggled at times getting off blocks and overran a couple of plays, although he also delivered a couple of big hits along the way. For his part, Mississippi State MLB Jamar Chaney was around the ball a lot; indeed he led the Senior Bowl in tackles, however, most of them were too far downfield as he tended to tackle to high and got dragged for extra yardage. Meanwhile, the one LB that really struggled in Mobile was converted South Carolina DE Eric Norwood who couldn’t get off blocks and didn’t show much in the way of instincts for the ball.

Defensive backs: Because there wasn’t a lot of downfield passing by either team, the corners weren’t really tested during the Senior Bowl game. The one CB who was challenged to some degree, though, was Patrick Robinson of Florida State and for the most part he passed the test. Robinson was able to turn and run stride-for-stride with the receiver on a couple of deep routes and almost had a pick when broke crisply on a short pass, although he also conceded some cushion when working in a zone. And while not the most physical tackler, Robinson did get off the ground to make a tackle on a reverse.

No other corner was tested enough to grade, however, each of Perrish Cox of Oklahoma State, Kyle Wilson of Boise State and Rutgers’ Devin McCourty made solid wrap-up open-field tackles. McCourty also provided nice coverage on a deep route over the middle, but didn’t make a very aggressive play on the ball. At the same time, Kentucky CB Trevard Lindley struggled at times; he gave up too much cushion and was unable to find the ball on one of Cincinnati WR Mardy Gilyard’s long gainers when he otherwise was in pretty good position. Lindley also wasn’t very physical forcing the run. Meanwhile, Alabama CB Javier Arenas was also beaten deep when Gilyard just ran by him, although he also broke nicely on an underneath route and also showed an explosive first step that set up a long punt return. USF CB Jerome Murphy was also soft in coverage and was driven 10 yards downfield when he tried to come up in run support.

Southern Cal safety Taylor Mays had to feel a little redemption after picking off a pass in the Senior Bowl, although to be honest the pass was very, very late coming over the middle. The knock on Mays coming into Mobile, of course, had been that while he looked the part, he really hadn’t made many plays on the ball while at USC. In the end, at least for the moment, Mays appeared to stop the bleeding to his rep with a solid game as he also showed some aggression coming up in run support, but did overrun one tackle when he went for the big hit rather than wrap-up. Meanwhile, Nebraska safety Larry Asante did unload on one tackle that forced a fumble, but got caught playing too deep on a South TD pass over the middle late in the first half. Same story for Florida State’s Myron Rolle who looked rusty in the game after spending the past year studying on a Rhodes Scholarship in England. Rolle appeared to be a step late on most plays and like Asante, was slow to react on a TD pass to a TE over the middle.

Brock · 02-04-2010, 05:40 PM

The safety who may have helped himself the most at the Senior Bowl game was Maryland’s Terrelle Skinner who made a number of stinging tackles, although he was never really tested in coverage. Meanwhile, Ohio State’s Kurt Coleman was around the ball all day, whereas LSU’s Harry Coleman really wasn’t.

Offense:

Quarterbacks: Truth be told, the performances of the QBs at this year’s senior Bowl was kind of a wash. On the one hand, none of the passers in Mobile likely lost any ground, but at the same time, none of the six did much of anything to raise their grade. In fact, all six came into the senior Bowl with issues, none of which were really answered in Mobile. Jarrett Brown of West Virginia, for example, impressed with his size, arm strength and mobility; indeed, Brown was able to get the ball downfield with a quick wrist flick. Brown, though, was also rather erratic in the pocket as he didn’t appear to always read the field and was occasionally wildly inaccurate. Cincinnati’s Tony Pike also showed a major league arm as well as somewhat surprising mobility. However, just about every pass Pike threw was almost all arm as he tended to lob passes downfield rather than stepping into them and putting some real zip into his delivery. Meanwhile, Zac Robinson of Oklahoma State also has some moments, particularly when he rallied the south team late in the first half. Robinson also showed good arm strength when he had time to plant, as well as the mobility to slide around the pocket to find passing lanes as he‘s under 6-3 and has something of a low release point. Robinson, though, couldn’t get much on his passes when he didn’t have to room to step up and really didn’t do a good job protecting the football as he put it on the ground twice.

And Saturday’s actual game did almost nothing to answer any of the myriad of questions about the ultimate pro potential of Florida QB Tim Tebow. Tebow, the most celebrated prospect at the Senior Bowl in a long, long time, was efficient enough completing 8 of 12 passes, and certainly has the arm strength to all the throws required of an NFL QB given the time and space to load up, although his delivery was still painfully deliberate. Tebow, though, just didn’t appear to very quick at all; indeed, even when running he appeared to lack the quick-twitch elusiveness to make people miss in the open field. At the same time, he just didn’t have the time to get any mustard on the ball at all when pressured in the pocket and ended up lobbing out several very ugly ducks that almost certainly would have been returned for pick-6s at the next level.

If any QB did help their draft grade in Saturday’s game it may have been Dan LeFevour of Central Michigan who connected on the game’s only real big gainers, although one did require a nice adjustment on a slightly underthrown ball by the receiver. LeFevour, though, did show nice touch and accuracy, as well as the mobility to run out of trouble and make plays with his legs. Whether LeFevour has the legitimate arm strength to make all the throws, though, remains open to debate.

Running backs: As has been noted several time, all-star games are lousy tests for RBs as they really don’t enough touches to get into any kind of rhythm. Several backs in Mobile, though, had pretty good games including Auburn’s Ben Tate who showed nice patience, vision and balance, as well as a good burst and some power in the hole. Oregon’s LeGarrette Blount also looked all the part of a powerful downhill runner who just didn’t go down without a struggle. Blount also showed the ability to make some nifty first cuts, but wan’t all that effective when his pads weren’t square to the line of scrimmage. And while he didn’t bust any huge plays, Ole Miss RB/WR/KR Dexter McCluster was able to give NFL teams a glimpse of his big-play slash potential with good vision, an explosive first step and that extra gear.

Meanwhile, Lonyae Miller of Fresno State also made a couple of nice cuts as well as some explosion once he found a crease. Miller, though, appeared to have a somewhat skinny lower body and WR-thin legs; plus he put the ball on the ground. Wayne State’s Joique Bell also made some decent reads and cuts, but still looks more like a pure north-south runner who got caught trying to outrun the pursuit to the sideline a couple of times. And like Miller, Bell fumbled the ball away.

In one sense, nobody had a better Senior Bowl that Southern Cal RB Stafon Johnson who made a quite remarkable appearance in Mobile after suffering a scary, life-threatening injury while weight-lifting earlier in the season. Johnson, though, looked a tad rusty in the actual game and was just a half step slow in getting into and out of the hole.

Receivers: After struggling much of the week during practice, Cincinnati WR Mardy Gilyard had a break-out day of sorts on Saturday when he hauled in 5 passes for over 100 yards including a 43-yard TD reception and another 33-yarder that set up another score. In particular, Gilyard caught the ball well in traffic and made a nice adjustment on the fly to make one of those big catches, but never really got a whole lot of separation at any time during the game. Jeremy Williams of Tulane also had a productive afternoon snagging 6 receptions that included one big gainer on which he went high in the air to take it away from a closing defender. Williams also showed good hands and the ability to find some soft spots underneath.

For the most part, this year’s Senior Bowl wide receivers didn’t show all that much to get excited about on Saturday. The Citadel’s Andre Roberts, for example, showed good hands and concentration as he made one nice catch in traffic over the middle, but dropped another easy one; same for Riley Cooper of Florida, while Clemson speedster Jacoby Jones broke off a big punt return, but otherwise was limited to one short reception. That was pretty much it, though, in terms of impact plays from this year’s set of wideouts in Mobile.

In fact, a pretty good case can be made that this year’s Senior Bowl WRs were outplayed by their TE counterparts. Alabama’s Colin Peek and Graham Garrett of Wisconsin, for example, both hauled in TD passes after getting deep into the seam, although the latter was called back because of a penalty, while Oregon‘s Ed Dickson was able to slip behind coverage to snare a 31-yard reception. The Tide‘s Peek also put on a bit of a TE-blocking clinic as he showed nice, balance, footwork and arm extension. Meanwhile, USC’s Anthony McCoy wasn’t as refined as Peek but was also very effective blocking as he held his own almost all afternoon against North team DEs. Oregon’s Dickson, on the other hand, didn’t look very aggressive, physical or for that matter enthusiastic while blocking.

Offensive line: They call them the ’big uglies’ and that was pretty descriptive in Mobile on Saturday, as it was all week, as the Senior Bowl offensive linemen were consistently dominated by their defensive counterparts. Even big Idaho OG Mike Iupati, the one constant up front during practice this week, really struggled. Indeed, Iupati gave up a sack, as well as another tackle for loss; he was also called for one hold and could just as easily have been flagged for a half dozen others. The raw skill was apparent with Iupati when he kept his feet moving and his head, however, for whatever reason Iupati did a lot of lunging at the defensive linemen in front of him, even when it appeared he should be in a pass-block backpeddle; plus he really wasn’t taking advantage of his 35-inch reach and was also planting way too early with the result that he was often flatfooted or off-balance and had to grab some jersey to hold off his man.

On the other hand, nobody was getting around UMass OT Vlad Ducasse, who with his wide girth and long arms, was one of those proverbial $10 cab fares to get around. Ducasse also stopped more than one South DE in his tracks with a devastating punch. He was able to really lock on when drive blocking. At the same time, though, Ducasse didn’t show much at all in the way of lateral mobility and didn’t change direction at all smoothly.

Other than Ducasse, though, the OTs in Mobile - and that includes LSU’s Ciron Black, Selvish Capers of West Virginia, Tennessee’s Chris Scott, Ed Wang of Virginia Tech and Sam Young of Notre Dame - looked stiff, mechanical and not very fluid or athletic at all. At least, LSU’s Black battled most of the afternoon and showed some strength as well as some short-area quickness, but otherwise these guys really struggled both to flow laterally and to hold up physically when bull-rushed. Indeed, the one OT in the Senior Bowl game who didn’t look all that bad, other than Ducasse, was unheralded Thomas Welch of Vanderbilt, a late addition to the week, who wasn’t all that physical, but did appear technically sound with decent feet.

There was a similar story among the interior offensive linemen, none of whom really stood out on a consistent basis. OGs John Jerry of Ole Miss and Mitch Petrus of Arkansas, though, at least held up reasonably well. Jerry, for example, is another true wide-body who seemed to get some pretty good knee-bend, although he wasn’t very nimble laterally. Petrus, on the other hand, was rather fluid moving around the pocket and showed a solid base and decent functional strength at the point of attack, although he did lose focus on a couple of occasions and gave up too much penetration. OG Mike Johnson of Alabama also showed good mobility moving about the pocket and also made a couple of blocks on the move, but really struggled to held up when bull-rushed. Indeed, North Carolina DT Cam Thomas literally picked Johnson up on one play and dumped in the QB’s lap. In fact, that was the problem for just about all this year’s OGs and Cs is that they just weren’t able to match the strength of the guys on the other side of the ball.

Nightfyre · 02-04-2010, 07:50 PM

The bit about Cam Thomas intrigues me. Though, I have not watched him play nor can I find any sort of footage at all related to him.

Mr. Laz · 02-04-2010, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brock

Michigan DE Brandon Graham, who shined in one-on-one pass rush drills during practice all week, was simply the best player on the field. Again as he did during the week, Graham exploded off the snap, got great leverage as he kept his pads low, used his hands effectively to disengage and showed some nice spin moves as well as a non-stop motor. For good measure, Graham, who had two sacks, a forced fumble and another tackle for loss, also did a solid job defending the run as he was just too quick for the South’s cadre of LTs. On occasion, though, Graham just stood up after the snap and didn’t get any real penetration, while he will also overrun the odd play in his enthusiasm to get to the pocket, but otherwise did nothing to tarnish his overall pass-rush credentials which got a huge boost last week in Mobile.

i worry that Graham's performance at the Senior Bowl might be a little misleading. Not that Graham isn't good, but alot of the damage he did was against Ciron Black who is too slow to play LT in the NFL. He will have to move to RT or maybe even inside to Guard.

keg in kc · 02-04-2010, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laz

i worry that Graham's performance at the Senior Bowl might be a little misleading. Not that Graham isn't good, but alot of the damage he did was against Ciron Black who is too slow to play LT in the NFL. He will have to move to RT or maybe even inside to Guard.

Graham had just under 30 sacks in 3 seasons, and tallied 45 or 46 tackles for loss over the last two (was 2nd in the nation in 2008 and led the nation last year).

I don't think he was playing Ciron Black every week.

Mr. Laz · 02-04-2010, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keg in kc

Graham had just under 30 sacks in 3 seasons, and tallied 45 or 46 tackles for loss over the last two (was 2nd in the nation in 2008 and led the nation last year).

I don't think he was playing Ciron Black every week.

i'm well aware of graham's stats. thanks. i was referring to senior bowl week report which is what this thread is about.

Wilson8 · 02-04-2010, 10:22 PM

Graham made Ciron Black and Selvish Capers look bad but he is not a one game wonder.

Brandom Graham at Michigan - first defensive player in school history to be voted Bo Schembechler Most Valuable Player twice (2008, 2009) ... shared 2009 Chicago Tribune Silver Football as Big Ten's MVP with Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark ... 2009 All-Big Ten first team (coaches and media) ... 2008 All-Big Ten second team (coaches and media) ... posted 138 tackles, 56 tackles for loss, 29.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries and three pass breakups ... second in career TFLs and sacks at Michigan ... tied for second at U-M in career forced fumbles (six) ... two-year starter at defensive end ... four-year letterman ... played in 47 career games and made 28 starts at defensive end ... 40.6 percent of his stops came behind the line of scrimmage.

Brandom Graham was also doing this all week at the Senior Bowl practice against the North's offensive line. Vladimir Ducasse, Zane Beadles, and Mike Iupati were all getting beat by Graham.

Saccopoo · 02-04-2010, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wilson8

Graham made Ciron Black and Selvish Capers look bad but he is not a one game wonder.

Brandom Graham at Michigan - first defensive player in school history to be voted Bo Schembechler Most Valuable Player twice (2008, 2009) ... shared 2009 Chicago Tribune Silver Football as Big Ten's MVP with Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark ... 2009 All-Big Ten first team (coaches and media) ... 2008 All-Big Ten second team (coaches and media) ... posted 138 tackles, 56 tackles for loss, 29.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries and three pass breakups ... second in career TFLs and sacks at Michigan ... tied for second at U-M in career forced fumbles (six) ... two-year starter at defensive end ... four-year letterman ... played in 47 career games and made 28 starts at defensive end ... 40.6 percent of his stops came behind the line of scrimmage.

Brandom Graham was also doing this all week at the Senior Bowl practice against the North's offensive line. Vladimir Ducasse, Zane Beadles, and Mike Iupati were all getting beat by Graham.

That's typical of the Senior Bowl though. Every year the defensive ends and 4-3 tackles have the best showing and the offensive line guys the worst.

However, Graham is a stud. I don't know if he gives you anything over Hali at this point though. I don't think that he's versatile enough to play upright on the left side of the formation so by picking him you are saying that he's Hali's immediate replacement. They'd do better by getting a guy like Kindle or Misi who can play either side effectively and not get hung up in pass coverage.

Wilson8 · 02-04-2010, 11:07 PM

I'm not saying that the Chiefs should draft Brandon Graham, only that he is and has been a very good player and not just a product of a Senior Bowl showing.

keg in kc · 02-04-2010, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laz

i'm well aware of graham's stats. thanks. i was referring to senior bowl week report which is what this thread is about.

So you were being a ****ing moron in other words.

Thanks.

Mecca · 02-05-2010, 01:35 AM

Graham is basically Lamar Woodley, that's his comparison for what he is at the next level.

RustShack · 02-05-2010, 07:40 AM

I've always seen him as kind of like Tamba Hali.

Chiefnj2 · 02-05-2010, 08:37 AM

Graham v. Bulaga , two potential top 20 draft picks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Jv3RuI01Rg

**Tribal Warfare** · 02-05-2010, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chiefnj2

Graham v. Bulaga , two potential top 20 draft picks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Jv3RuI01Rg

Graham looked like Jared Allen in those highlights

02-04-2010, 05:03 PM
Tribal Warfare Man of Culture Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Far Beyond Comprehension Casino cash: $-3007187	GBN Report: 2010 SENIOR BOWL GAME REVIEW 2010 SENIOR BOWL GAME REVIEW
Posts: 43,454

02-04-2010, 05:40 PM	#2
Brock Say hello to my little friend Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Larryville Casino cash: $9598422	That’s a wrap… Another Senior Bowl is in the books after last week's game capped off activities in Mobile. And while most NFL teams place far more value on what the players do in practice than in the game itself, we still like to watch what the guys can and can‘t do in an actual game setting. That said, there is a lot to be gleaned from watching the guys actually play the game and there is no question there were some real winners and losers in Saturday's 2010 game, although for the most part they appeared to be pretty much the same players who did well in practice. Top 10 best players overall during the 2010 Senior Bowl game… 1. Michigan DE Brandon Graham 2. Georgia DT Geno Atkins 3. Penn State DT Jared Odrick 4. Missouri LB Sean Weatherspoon 5. North Carolina DE Cam Thomas 6. Utah LB Koa Misi 7. Tennessee DT Dan Williams 8. Florida State CB Patrick Robinson 9. Maryland DB Terrelle Skinner 10. Cincinnati WR Mardy Gilyard Hononrable mentions: UMass OT Vlad Ducasse, Auburn RB Ben Tate, Oregon RB LeGarrette Blount, Alabama TE Colin Peek, Central Michigan QB Dan LeFevour, Vanderbilt OT Thomas Welch, California DE Tyson Aluala, TCU LB Daryl Washington Defensive line dominates … As they say early in baseball training camp that the pitchers are always way ahead of the hitters (or is it the other way around) the defense generally has a bit of a natural edge in college football all-star games. And that was certainly the case, at least as far the line play went, at this year’s Senior Bowl game where the defensive lines pretty much overwhelmed their counterparts on offense. Michigan DE Brandon Graham, who shined in one-on-one pass rush drills during practice all week, was simply the best player on the field. Again as he did during the week, Graham exploded off the snap, got great leverage as he kept his pads low, used his hands effectively to disengage and showed some nice spin moves as well as a non-stop motor. For good measure, Graham, who had two sacks, a forced fumble and another tackle for loss, also did a solid job defending the run as he was just too quick for the South’s cadre of LTs. On occasion, though, Graham just stood up after the snap and didn’t get any real penetration, while he will also overrun the odd play in his enthusiasm to get to the pocket, but otherwise did nothing to tarnish his overall pass-rush credentials which got a huge boost last week in Mobile. There was a similar story last Saturday for Penn State DT Jared Odrick who continued to show outstanding interior pass-rush potential in Satuday‘s game. Odrick displayed a very quick first step off the snap as well as an excellent swim move. And while he’s a little rangy for a prototype run-stuffing DT, the 6-5, 300-pound Odrick did a nice job taking on and splitting double teams. For good measure, like his former Big 10 opponent Graham, Odrick also showed a great motor and lateral range as he pursued the ball to the whistle; Odrick, who may have earned some consideration as a 3-4 DE with his play in Mobile, showed good timing get his long arms up into the passing lanes when he didn‘t get to the QB. Georgia DT Geno Atkins also proved to be too quick for the North’s interior offensive line in the Senior Bowl. In particular, Atkins gave star North OG Mike Iupati with an explosive first step along with the functional strength to maintain leverage once he got position and headed up field. Meanwhile, Tennessee DT Dan Williams didn’t get that much actual up field penetration himself, but proved almost impossible for the North offensive front to get off the point of attack. Williams consistently beat the OL off the snap, showed good balance and short-area lateral range, as well as the strength to hold his spot when double teamed. It was also a good day for North Carolina DT Cam Thomas who didn’t show much in the way of sophisticated pass-rush moves or lateral quickness, but was able to bull-rush his way deep into the pocket on just about every play as he physically overwhelmed the South OGs. And like Penn State’s Odrick, the 6-4, 330-pound Thomas, who heretofore had been thought of as a pure NT, may start to get some serious consideration as a potential 3-4 DE, as well as a more traditional 4-3 DT. At the same time, DTs Lamarr Houston of Texas and Mike Neal of Purdue also made big plays in the backfield in Saturday’s game, however, other than the occasional both tended to get stuck on the line of scrimmage although it didn’t appear to be from a lack of effort. Indeed, both worked very hard to the whistle, but Neal in particular looked to lack the strength of get off blocks. Same story for Louisiana Tech DT Boo Smith who was a non-factor Saturday in Mobile after a very disappointing week of practice. Then there was Alabama DT Terrence Cody, one of the biggest, both literally and figuratively, stories in Mobile last week. No question Cody was almost impossible to dislodge off the line of scrimmage in Saturday’s game, however, he really didn’t show much in the way of balance or outright strength at the point of attack and ended up being bounced around enough that he seldom was available to find the ball or make a play. Graham’s efforts aside, the Senior Bowl DEs weren’t quite as impressive as their DT counterparts. As he had all week, Cal combo DE/DT Tyson Alualu showed plenty of energy and a non-stop motor and did get some decent leverage on occasion, but also got hung up too often especially when going one-on-one against a TE. Meanwhile, Alex Carrington of Arkansas was able to use his strength and a very effective punch to get some penetration, but didn’t show much in the way of outside explosion or closing speed. Same story for rangy Austen Lane of Murray State, who scored a TD on a recovered fumble, but for the most part appeared to lack both the quick-twitch explosion to get to the edge as well as the upper-body strength to be effective bull-rushing. Meanwhile, Troy tweener Cam Sheffield showed some initial quickness on one play where he forced a fumble on a sack, but for the most part got hung up at the line of scrimmage doing too much head-faking and hand fighting. Sheffield’s Troy teammate Brandon Lang also had a quiet afternoon as he looked a step slow to get to the edge, while USF’s George Selvie was a non-factor. Linebackers: Normally, all-star formats make it tough for LBs to really stand out but someone forgot to tell this year’s group. Missouri MLB Sean Weatherspoon, for example, had an outstanding day Saturday as he made plays all over the field. Weatherspoon was very light on his feet, did a nice job avoiding the trash and flowing to the ball, and showed good instincts and range. What really had to impress pro scouts, though, were a couple of plays in coverage in which he first stayed with speedy Ole Miss RB, and sometime WR, Dexter McCluster well down field and then turned just in time to braek up a pass in the end zone. Later, Weatherspoon read the QB’s eyes and stepped in front of another pass for a pick to put an exclamation point on the day. TCU MLB Daryl Washington also impressed with his range and quickness to the ball, although a couple of times he was a little overaggressive going for the big hit and didn’t really wrap. As well, Washington who isn’t very big at under 230 pounds, didn’t really take on blockers at the point of attack, but tended to try and run around them instead. Utah OLB Koa Misi also showed excellent speed, quickness and range in the Senior Bowl. For good measure, Misi also delivered a couple of solid pops, one of which forced a fumble. And like both Weatherspoon, Misi impressed with his ability to slide off blocks and flow t the ball. On the other hand, A.J. Edds wasn’t quite as aggressive defending the run, but showed nice range and flexibility dropping into coverage and was rewarded with a late pick of his own. And with speed at LB a theme in Mobile, Florida State LB Dekoda Watson also showed plenty of range, good instincts and some big-play ability in the backfield. However, while Watson ran well and covered a lot of ground he wasn’t very physical when taking on blockers and was at his most effective when allowed to run and make plays in space. Miami MLB Darryl Sharpton also covered a lot of ground in the Senior Bowl game and was very aggressive, although he tended to arrive at the play a step or so late; Sharpton also struggled at times getting off blocks and overran a couple of plays, although he also delivered a couple of big hits along the way. For his part, Mississippi State MLB Jamar Chaney was around the ball a lot; indeed he led the Senior Bowl in tackles, however, most of them were too far downfield as he tended to tackle to high and got dragged for extra yardage. Meanwhile, the one LB that really struggled in Mobile was converted South Carolina DE Eric Norwood who couldn’t get off blocks and didn’t show much in the way of instincts for the ball. Defensive backs: Because there wasn’t a lot of downfield passing by either team, the corners weren’t really tested during the Senior Bowl game. The one CB who was challenged to some degree, though, was Patrick Robinson of Florida State and for the most part he passed the test. Robinson was able to turn and run stride-for-stride with the receiver on a couple of deep routes and almost had a pick when broke crisply on a short pass, although he also conceded some cushion when working in a zone. And while not the most physical tackler, Robinson did get off the ground to make a tackle on a reverse. No other corner was tested enough to grade, however, each of Perrish Cox of Oklahoma State, Kyle Wilson of Boise State and Rutgers’ Devin McCourty made solid wrap-up open-field tackles. McCourty also provided nice coverage on a deep route over the middle, but didn’t make a very aggressive play on the ball. At the same time, Kentucky CB Trevard Lindley struggled at times; he gave up too much cushion and was unable to find the ball on one of Cincinnati WR Mardy Gilyard’s long gainers when he otherwise was in pretty good position. Lindley also wasn’t very physical forcing the run. Meanwhile, Alabama CB Javier Arenas was also beaten deep when Gilyard just ran by him, although he also broke nicely on an underneath route and also showed an explosive first step that set up a long punt return. USF CB Jerome Murphy was also soft in coverage and was driven 10 yards downfield when he tried to come up in run support. Southern Cal safety Taylor Mays had to feel a little redemption after picking off a pass in the Senior Bowl, although to be honest the pass was very, very late coming over the middle. The knock on Mays coming into Mobile, of course, had been that while he looked the part, he really hadn’t made many plays on the ball while at USC. In the end, at least for the moment, Mays appeared to stop the bleeding to his rep with a solid game as he also showed some aggression coming up in run support, but did overrun one tackle when he went for the big hit rather than wrap-up. Meanwhile, Nebraska safety Larry Asante did unload on one tackle that forced a fumble, but got caught playing too deep on a South TD pass over the middle late in the first half. Same story for Florida State’s Myron Rolle who looked rusty in the game after spending the past year studying on a Rhodes Scholarship in England. Rolle appeared to be a step late on most plays and like Asante, was slow to react on a TD pass to a TE over the middle.
Posts: 47,314

02-04-2010, 05:40 PM	#3
Brock Say hello to my little friend Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Larryville Casino cash: $9598422	The safety who may have helped himself the most at the Senior Bowl game was Maryland’s Terrelle Skinner who made a number of stinging tackles, although he was never really tested in coverage. Meanwhile, Ohio State’s Kurt Coleman was around the ball all day, whereas LSU’s Harry Coleman really wasn’t. Offense: Quarterbacks: Truth be told, the performances of the QBs at this year’s senior Bowl was kind of a wash. On the one hand, none of the passers in Mobile likely lost any ground, but at the same time, none of the six did much of anything to raise their grade. In fact, all six came into the senior Bowl with issues, none of which were really answered in Mobile. Jarrett Brown of West Virginia, for example, impressed with his size, arm strength and mobility; indeed, Brown was able to get the ball downfield with a quick wrist flick. Brown, though, was also rather erratic in the pocket as he didn’t appear to always read the field and was occasionally wildly inaccurate. Cincinnati’s Tony Pike also showed a major league arm as well as somewhat surprising mobility. However, just about every pass Pike threw was almost all arm as he tended to lob passes downfield rather than stepping into them and putting some real zip into his delivery. Meanwhile, Zac Robinson of Oklahoma State also has some moments, particularly when he rallied the south team late in the first half. Robinson also showed good arm strength when he had time to plant, as well as the mobility to slide around the pocket to find passing lanes as he‘s under 6-3 and has something of a low release point. Robinson, though, couldn’t get much on his passes when he didn’t have to room to step up and really didn’t do a good job protecting the football as he put it on the ground twice. And Saturday’s actual game did almost nothing to answer any of the myriad of questions about the ultimate pro potential of Florida QB Tim Tebow. Tebow, the most celebrated prospect at the Senior Bowl in a long, long time, was efficient enough completing 8 of 12 passes, and certainly has the arm strength to all the throws required of an NFL QB given the time and space to load up, although his delivery was still painfully deliberate. Tebow, though, just didn’t appear to very quick at all; indeed, even when running he appeared to lack the quick-twitch elusiveness to make people miss in the open field. At the same time, he just didn’t have the time to get any mustard on the ball at all when pressured in the pocket and ended up lobbing out several very ugly ducks that almost certainly would have been returned for pick-6s at the next level. If any QB did help their draft grade in Saturday’s game it may have been Dan LeFevour of Central Michigan who connected on the game’s only real big gainers, although one did require a nice adjustment on a slightly underthrown ball by the receiver. LeFevour, though, did show nice touch and accuracy, as well as the mobility to run out of trouble and make plays with his legs. Whether LeFevour has the legitimate arm strength to make all the throws, though, remains open to debate. Running backs: As has been noted several time, all-star games are lousy tests for RBs as they really don’t enough touches to get into any kind of rhythm. Several backs in Mobile, though, had pretty good games including Auburn’s Ben Tate who showed nice patience, vision and balance, as well as a good burst and some power in the hole. Oregon’s LeGarrette Blount also looked all the part of a powerful downhill runner who just didn’t go down without a struggle. Blount also showed the ability to make some nifty first cuts, but wan’t all that effective when his pads weren’t square to the line of scrimmage. And while he didn’t bust any huge plays, Ole Miss RB/WR/KR Dexter McCluster was able to give NFL teams a glimpse of his big-play slash potential with good vision, an explosive first step and that extra gear. Meanwhile, Lonyae Miller of Fresno State also made a couple of nice cuts as well as some explosion once he found a crease. Miller, though, appeared to have a somewhat skinny lower body and WR-thin legs; plus he put the ball on the ground. Wayne State’s Joique Bell also made some decent reads and cuts, but still looks more like a pure north-south runner who got caught trying to outrun the pursuit to the sideline a couple of times. And like Miller, Bell fumbled the ball away. In one sense, nobody had a better Senior Bowl that Southern Cal RB Stafon Johnson who made a quite remarkable appearance in Mobile after suffering a scary, life-threatening injury while weight-lifting earlier in the season. Johnson, though, looked a tad rusty in the actual game and was just a half step slow in getting into and out of the hole. Receivers: After struggling much of the week during practice, Cincinnati WR Mardy Gilyard had a break-out day of sorts on Saturday when he hauled in 5 passes for over 100 yards including a 43-yard TD reception and another 33-yarder that set up another score. In particular, Gilyard caught the ball well in traffic and made a nice adjustment on the fly to make one of those big catches, but never really got a whole lot of separation at any time during the game. Jeremy Williams of Tulane also had a productive afternoon snagging 6 receptions that included one big gainer on which he went high in the air to take it away from a closing defender. Williams also showed good hands and the ability to find some soft spots underneath. For the most part, this year’s Senior Bowl wide receivers didn’t show all that much to get excited about on Saturday. The Citadel’s Andre Roberts, for example, showed good hands and concentration as he made one nice catch in traffic over the middle, but dropped another easy one; same for Riley Cooper of Florida, while Clemson speedster Jacoby Jones broke off a big punt return, but otherwise was limited to one short reception. That was pretty much it, though, in terms of impact plays from this year’s set of wideouts in Mobile. In fact, a pretty good case can be made that this year’s Senior Bowl WRs were outplayed by their TE counterparts. Alabama’s Colin Peek and Graham Garrett of Wisconsin, for example, both hauled in TD passes after getting deep into the seam, although the latter was called back because of a penalty, while Oregon‘s Ed Dickson was able to slip behind coverage to snare a 31-yard reception. The Tide‘s Peek also put on a bit of a TE-blocking clinic as he showed nice, balance, footwork and arm extension. Meanwhile, USC’s Anthony McCoy wasn’t as refined as Peek but was also very effective blocking as he held his own almost all afternoon against North team DEs. Oregon’s Dickson, on the other hand, didn’t look very aggressive, physical or for that matter enthusiastic while blocking. Offensive line: They call them the ’big uglies’ and that was pretty descriptive in Mobile on Saturday, as it was all week, as the Senior Bowl offensive linemen were consistently dominated by their defensive counterparts. Even big Idaho OG Mike Iupati, the one constant up front during practice this week, really struggled. Indeed, Iupati gave up a sack, as well as another tackle for loss; he was also called for one hold and could just as easily have been flagged for a half dozen others. The raw skill was apparent with Iupati when he kept his feet moving and his head, however, for whatever reason Iupati did a lot of lunging at the defensive linemen in front of him, even when it appeared he should be in a pass-block backpeddle; plus he really wasn’t taking advantage of his 35-inch reach and was also planting way too early with the result that he was often flatfooted or off-balance and had to grab some jersey to hold off his man. On the other hand, nobody was getting around UMass OT Vlad Ducasse, who with his wide girth and long arms, was one of those proverbial $10 cab fares to get around. Ducasse also stopped more than one South DE in his tracks with a devastating punch. He was able to really lock on when drive blocking. At the same time, though, Ducasse didn’t show much at all in the way of lateral mobility and didn’t change direction at all smoothly. Other than Ducasse, though, the OTs in Mobile - and that includes LSU’s Ciron Black, Selvish Capers of West Virginia, Tennessee’s Chris Scott, Ed Wang of Virginia Tech and Sam Young of Notre Dame - looked stiff, mechanical and not very fluid or athletic at all. At least, LSU’s Black battled most of the afternoon and showed some strength as well as some short-area quickness, but otherwise these guys really struggled both to flow laterally and to hold up physically when bull-rushed. Indeed, the one OT in the Senior Bowl game who didn’t look all that bad, other than Ducasse, was unheralded Thomas Welch of Vanderbilt, a late addition to the week, who wasn’t all that physical, but did appear technically sound with decent feet. There was a similar story among the interior offensive linemen, none of whom really stood out on a consistent basis. OGs John Jerry of Ole Miss and Mitch Petrus of Arkansas, though, at least held up reasonably well. Jerry, for example, is another true wide-body who seemed to get some pretty good knee-bend, although he wasn’t very nimble laterally. Petrus, on the other hand, was rather fluid moving around the pocket and showed a solid base and decent functional strength at the point of attack, although he did lose focus on a couple of occasions and gave up too much penetration. OG Mike Johnson of Alabama also showed good mobility moving about the pocket and also made a couple of blocks on the move, but really struggled to held up when bull-rushed. Indeed, North Carolina DT Cam Thomas literally picked Johnson up on one play and dumped in the QB’s lap. In fact, that was the problem for just about all this year’s OGs and Cs is that they just weren’t able to match the strength of the guys on the other side of the ball.
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02-04-2010, 07:50 PM	#4
Nightfyre MVP Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Helena, MT Casino cash: $1298849	The bit about Cam Thomas intrigues me. Though, I have not watched him play nor can I find any sort of footage at all related to him.
Posts: 18,647

02-04-2010, 10:22 PM	#8
Wilson8 Veteran Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Kansas City Casino cash: $2827557	Graham made Ciron Black and Selvish Capers look bad but he is not a one game wonder. Brandom Graham at Michigan - first defensive player in school history to be voted Bo Schembechler Most Valuable Player twice (2008, 2009) ... shared 2009 Chicago Tribune Silver Football as Big Ten's MVP with Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark ... 2009 All-Big Ten first team (coaches and media) ... 2008 All-Big Ten second team (coaches and media) ... posted 138 tackles, 56 tackles for loss, 29.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries and three pass breakups ... second in career TFLs and sacks at Michigan ... tied for second at U-M in career forced fumbles (six) ... two-year starter at defensive end ... four-year letterman ... played in 47 career games and made 28 starts at defensive end ... 40.6 percent of his stops came behind the line of scrimmage. Brandom Graham was also doing this all week at the Senior Bowl practice against the North's offensive line. Vladimir Ducasse, Zane Beadles, and Mike Iupati were all getting beat by Graham.
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02-04-2010, 11:07 PM	#10
Wilson8 Veteran Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Kansas City Casino cash: $2827557	I'm not saying that the Chiefs should draft Brandon Graham, only that he is and has been a very good player and not just a product of a Senior Bowl showing.
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02-05-2010, 01:35 AM	#12
Mecca Hockey Town Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Kansas City, Missouri Casino cash: $-722950	Graham is basically Lamar Woodley, that's his comparison for what he is at the next level.
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02-05-2010, 07:40 AM	#13
RustShack **** That Noise Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Jack Trice Casino cash: $3036954	I've always seen him as kind of like Tamba Hali. __________________
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02-05-2010, 08:37 AM	#14
Chiefnj2 In Search of a Life Join Date: Mar 2007 Casino cash: $6654388	Graham v. Bulaga , two potential top 20 draft picks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Jv3RuI01Rg __________________ Mismanaging the clock.
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