First, I want to apologize for the lack of posts the past few days. Between work and other important issues, I have not had much free time to post anything about he defensive players at the combine. That will likely change either tonight or tomorrow; although it will be one post, it should be fairly lengthy.
There's been a lot of news that has come out this week in regards to various other offseason news. Between restructurings and other info, it is a busy time. Not to mention that Free Agency is going to start in just under 2 weeks. Between Alberto and myself, we are going to try to keep up on it as much as we can, but we may miss some things.
As for what's coming this week, expect the Defensive positional review either tonight or tomorrow. I'm also going to try to get my opinions together on the news of the week, which should make its appearance this weekend. Finally, Alberto and I are going to try to put together a sort of mock draft for this weekend or for early next week. Look forward to more content in the near future.
-TheRealZBD
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Blink and you'll miss it: My thoughts on day 2 of on-field workouts at the NFL scouting combine
It's day 2 of on-field stuff, and again I'm watching through the NFL network. Today's drills are important from a Patriots fan's perspective, as WR could be a huge need. Relax though; while the 40s of WRs and their catching abilities are important, they will not be all I"m going to write about today. With no further ado, let's get started.
1) Damn, they're fast...: With a WR, speed is important when running the deeper routes, whether it be the go route (aka the 9 route), the post, or the corner (aka the 7 route). While it may not be everything, speed is a factor. And this year's group of receivers have it in spades. The two guys that stood out especially went early on today, in Tavon Austin (who I'll focus more on later) and Marquise Goodwin, both of which ran a 4.25 UNOFFICIAL 40. And again, while there may not be as much emphasis on the speed of a WR in the NE offense (the team more emphasizes quickness and route running), guys with that type of speed are of great importance in ANY offense.
2) ...but they'd better catch it: Of course, a receiver's hands are EXTREMELY important. It's one thing to be a speed guy, but if you can't catch the ball or run precise routes, a WR is missing 2/3 of the equation. From the looks of things, the WRs in group 4 were running the routes so sharply that it didn't look natural, but they did seem to do a really good job with catching the ball. And again, it was said yesterday, but the combine is only a part of the puzzle. The Game tape can really help to show you the route running abilities, although from the looks of it, one of the speed guys (Goodwin) could use a bit more work on knowing where to look for the ball.
3) The QBs need work: All the draft experts are of the opinion that this year's class of QBs is not even remotely close to last year's level. From what was seen today, I don't think that their minds were changed. Mayock and Kurt Warner were mentioning multiple times that the QBs were throwing late or behind, trying too hard to hit the receiver instead of leading the receivers. This is a problem: it's been shown multiple times in the NFL that if you're late or behind, it could easily be a pick or a concussion for the WR. I also agree with how Mayock said that there are some consistency issues with some of the bigger prospects, which is a bit of a worry. Gotta wonder about some of the decision making under pressure.
4) Quicker than Fast: It's a saying that was heard a pretty decent amount today from Mike Mayock, and it proved to be true with most of the RBs. There were some outliers (Knile Davis and his 4.30 unofficial 40, for one), but for the most part, you saw more quickness with RBs than there was pure top speed. This is not a bad thing; most runs aren't of the 80-yard variety, but it does help to have good long speed.
All in all, there were quite a few good performances today. Among the WRs, I saw about 4 or 5 that I liked more than others, none of which were your typical Height-Weight-Speed guys. I'll prob. reveal those later on, after the combine. Like mentioned, you should see a post from Alberto after the Combine. And of course, the Jets are the court Jesters.
-TheRealZBD
1) Damn, they're fast...: With a WR, speed is important when running the deeper routes, whether it be the go route (aka the 9 route), the post, or the corner (aka the 7 route). While it may not be everything, speed is a factor. And this year's group of receivers have it in spades. The two guys that stood out especially went early on today, in Tavon Austin (who I'll focus more on later) and Marquise Goodwin, both of which ran a 4.25 UNOFFICIAL 40. And again, while there may not be as much emphasis on the speed of a WR in the NE offense (the team more emphasizes quickness and route running), guys with that type of speed are of great importance in ANY offense.
2) ...but they'd better catch it: Of course, a receiver's hands are EXTREMELY important. It's one thing to be a speed guy, but if you can't catch the ball or run precise routes, a WR is missing 2/3 of the equation. From the looks of things, the WRs in group 4 were running the routes so sharply that it didn't look natural, but they did seem to do a really good job with catching the ball. And again, it was said yesterday, but the combine is only a part of the puzzle. The Game tape can really help to show you the route running abilities, although from the looks of it, one of the speed guys (Goodwin) could use a bit more work on knowing where to look for the ball.
3) The QBs need work: All the draft experts are of the opinion that this year's class of QBs is not even remotely close to last year's level. From what was seen today, I don't think that their minds were changed. Mayock and Kurt Warner were mentioning multiple times that the QBs were throwing late or behind, trying too hard to hit the receiver instead of leading the receivers. This is a problem: it's been shown multiple times in the NFL that if you're late or behind, it could easily be a pick or a concussion for the WR. I also agree with how Mayock said that there are some consistency issues with some of the bigger prospects, which is a bit of a worry. Gotta wonder about some of the decision making under pressure.
4) Quicker than Fast: It's a saying that was heard a pretty decent amount today from Mike Mayock, and it proved to be true with most of the RBs. There were some outliers (Knile Davis and his 4.30 unofficial 40, for one), but for the most part, you saw more quickness with RBs than there was pure top speed. This is not a bad thing; most runs aren't of the 80-yard variety, but it does help to have good long speed.
All in all, there were quite a few good performances today. Among the WRs, I saw about 4 or 5 that I liked more than others, none of which were your typical Height-Weight-Speed guys. I'll prob. reveal those later on, after the combine. Like mentioned, you should see a post from Alberto after the Combine. And of course, the Jets are the court Jesters.
-TheRealZBD
Saturday, February 23, 2013
The Scouting Combine: My Thoughts on Day 1 of on-field workouts
Each year at about this time, all 32 NFL teams gather in Indianapolis. Their objective is simple: To poke, prod, test, and gather information on the incoming wave of NFL talent. While time will tell which players from a class will become stars, the Scouting Combine is just a part of the process that eventually leads to the NFL Draft. And while there's no real big need for either of the 2 position groups that went today for New England, here are some of my observations from what I saw through the NFL network's Day 1 coverage of On-field workouts, highlighting the OL and TEs.
1) Yeah, they get faster: While watching the OL today, Mike Mayock stated that each year, players get bigger, faster, and stronger. It's an obvious statement, but a true one. For example, who would have ever thought that an OL would run a sub 4.75 second fourty, even unofficially? It happened in today's workouts (Terron Armstead and his 4.65 unofficial 40, 4.71 official), and there were others that were fairly quick, at least to me. Although speed isn't the most important thing with OL (see Chance Warmack, who ran a 5.55 and 5.53 unofficial 40), it can help with showing how quickly an OL can get down field. In my eyes, the 10-yard split time is more important to an OL.
2) Footwork is EVERYTHING: I like listening to Mayock talk about footwork when it comes to OL. It's a very important factor, due to how the OL is operating in a phone booth. From what we saw during the kick-slide drills, you can sort of tell who has issues with footwork and who doesn't. Again, an obvious statement, but it's much more important for the Tackles to be quick on their feet than it is for a Guard, who can be much more of a mauler. Footwork is important for all OL though.
3) TEs and Hops: Being a Pats fan, I am a really big fan of how Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez are able to elevate in the Red Zone and go win a jump ball. And while watching the 3 best TEs according to Mayock (Tyler Eifert, Zach Ertz, Gavin Escobar) while they were at the Vertical Jump, they all seemed to have a decent amount of hops. Will be interesting to see how they all compare to each other at the end of the day.
4) Catch the damn ball: Of course, if one's a TE, one has to be able to catch the ball, as well as block. And from what I've seen of this year's crop of TEs, there's a pretty good number of them that are able to run solid routes, along with having good hands. Some of the ones that I thought were among the best from today were the big 3 (Eifert, Ertz, Escobar), along with Dion Sims, Jake Stoneburner, and Jordan Reed.
5) Run, Rich, Run: Of course, there were the average folks running 40s. Should be fun to see how Rich Eisen runs on Tuesday.
It will be a fun Sunday set, with the WRs, RBs, and QBs hitting the field. With WR being a potential area of need for New England, I'll more than likely be watching that area closer than some other areas, but I'm looking forwards to it. Alberto should have another post later on today or this weekend about his views on the combine. And yes, the Jets STILL S-U-C-K.
-TheRealZBD
1) Yeah, they get faster: While watching the OL today, Mike Mayock stated that each year, players get bigger, faster, and stronger. It's an obvious statement, but a true one. For example, who would have ever thought that an OL would run a sub 4.75 second fourty, even unofficially? It happened in today's workouts (Terron Armstead and his 4.65 unofficial 40, 4.71 official), and there were others that were fairly quick, at least to me. Although speed isn't the most important thing with OL (see Chance Warmack, who ran a 5.55 and 5.53 unofficial 40), it can help with showing how quickly an OL can get down field. In my eyes, the 10-yard split time is more important to an OL.
2) Footwork is EVERYTHING: I like listening to Mayock talk about footwork when it comes to OL. It's a very important factor, due to how the OL is operating in a phone booth. From what we saw during the kick-slide drills, you can sort of tell who has issues with footwork and who doesn't. Again, an obvious statement, but it's much more important for the Tackles to be quick on their feet than it is for a Guard, who can be much more of a mauler. Footwork is important for all OL though.
3) TEs and Hops: Being a Pats fan, I am a really big fan of how Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez are able to elevate in the Red Zone and go win a jump ball. And while watching the 3 best TEs according to Mayock (Tyler Eifert, Zach Ertz, Gavin Escobar) while they were at the Vertical Jump, they all seemed to have a decent amount of hops. Will be interesting to see how they all compare to each other at the end of the day.
4) Catch the damn ball: Of course, if one's a TE, one has to be able to catch the ball, as well as block. And from what I've seen of this year's crop of TEs, there's a pretty good number of them that are able to run solid routes, along with having good hands. Some of the ones that I thought were among the best from today were the big 3 (Eifert, Ertz, Escobar), along with Dion Sims, Jake Stoneburner, and Jordan Reed.
5) Run, Rich, Run: Of course, there were the average folks running 40s. Should be fun to see how Rich Eisen runs on Tuesday.
It will be a fun Sunday set, with the WRs, RBs, and QBs hitting the field. With WR being a potential area of need for New England, I'll more than likely be watching that area closer than some other areas, but I'm looking forwards to it. Alberto should have another post later on today or this weekend about his views on the combine. And yes, the Jets STILL S-U-C-K.
-TheRealZBD
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
"They're at midfield"
Ah, Football. Nothing like the Fall Saturdays and Sundays where not much else matters. Each year, for 17 Sundays and multiple Saturdays, thousands of fans crowd stadiums across the country, with millions more watching on TV. And oh, do we love every last second of it.
That brings me to the purpose of this blog. This blog was made to allow us to state our views on various matters relating to football. Whether it be this past season's Super Bowl between Baltimore and San Francisco, or the Scouting Combine which takes place this weekend. Or even if it's fall camp at College up to the BCS (thank god that ends this year). We'll be talking about it all. You'll be getting perspective from a pair of NFC South fans whose teams seem to despise each other and from an AFC East fan who sees the hourglass ticking on his team's run. And all along the way, we hope that you'll see the same sort of humor that we seem to have when we have discussions about the game itself.
While we are new, we hope that you'll find our views interesting. I hope that you enjoy reading the blog, and the other writers will introduce themselves soon. Oh, and by the way, the Jets still S-U-C-K suck suck suck.
TheRealZBD
"He's at the 50! The 40! 30! 15! 5.... Touchdown Tampa Bay! Doug Martin!" or Vincent Jackson, or Mike Williams. I hear that every Sunday thanks to game blackouts.... but i get to hear the voice of both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Florida State Seminoles. Being a sports fan for so long, i wanted to delve into the science of sports and who and what could be good and such. this is sort of a test for me, so hopefully I can pass. well, at least i know i'll have fun! Oh, and by the way, the Jets still S-U-C-K suck suck suck.
Stay Awesome
-Alberto
That brings me to the purpose of this blog. This blog was made to allow us to state our views on various matters relating to football. Whether it be this past season's Super Bowl between Baltimore and San Francisco, or the Scouting Combine which takes place this weekend. Or even if it's fall camp at College up to the BCS (thank god that ends this year). We'll be talking about it all. You'll be getting perspective from a pair of NFC South fans whose teams seem to despise each other and from an AFC East fan who sees the hourglass ticking on his team's run. And all along the way, we hope that you'll see the same sort of humor that we seem to have when we have discussions about the game itself.
While we are new, we hope that you'll find our views interesting. I hope that you enjoy reading the blog, and the other writers will introduce themselves soon. Oh, and by the way, the Jets still S-U-C-K suck suck suck.
TheRealZBD
"He's at the 50! The 40! 30! 15! 5.... Touchdown Tampa Bay! Doug Martin!" or Vincent Jackson, or Mike Williams. I hear that every Sunday thanks to game blackouts.... but i get to hear the voice of both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Florida State Seminoles. Being a sports fan for so long, i wanted to delve into the science of sports and who and what could be good and such. this is sort of a test for me, so hopefully I can pass. well, at least i know i'll have fun! Oh, and by the way, the Jets still S-U-C-K suck suck suck.
Stay Awesome
-Alberto
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