Senior Bowl practice notes

[berserkerone88]

Basically what Polumalu does.

[Burma]

Trufant and Poyer continue to impress. Chris Harper, Markus Wheaton, Quin Patton, and Aaron Dobson are looking very good. Ezekiel Ansah continues to struggle and Lavarr Edwards starts to show up. Gillislee showed some flash, and Shawn Williams some smash.
Small school stud of the day: Jonathan Cyprien from FIU

Washington’s Desmond Trufant explodes forward out of his backpedal displaying the reason why he has been so good at breaking on balls. Utah State’s Will Davis has real fluid hips and changed directions quickly.
Finally Jordan Poyer wasn’t as fluid as some of the other corners, probably because he is a little more high cut, but his footwork is very good. Despite not being the best athlete out here he is probably the smartest corner on either team. Very impressed with most of the North DBs this week, they have all shown well.

Kansas State WR Chris Harper had himself a great day by showing strong hands, physical presence and very good overall athletic ability. Harper was able to get off press coverage most of the time, keep the defender off of him during his route and make a good hands catch. He was one of the best blocking receivers today, as he got in a good athletic blocking stance, got his hands on the receiver and was able to stay engaged the longest.

Oregon State Markus Wheaton had another real good day. His hands are probably the best on the squad and his ability to run each route the coaching staff has him run smoothly has really shown. Coming out of his routes he explodes back to the ball and then turns up field in one smooth motion. Wheaton can impact the passing game and offense at all different levels, from running reverses to comeback routes to deep vertical routes. From the minute he stepped on the field here in Mobile, he has performed at a high level.
The other receiver on the North Team who turned in a good practice is Marshall WR Aaron Dobson. He was able to build on yesterday’s productive performance and showed the ability to catch the ball away from his body. At almost 6’3″ tall Dobson is one of the bigger receivers here and has scouts interested in his ability to be a big vertical receiving threat. On top of that Dobson is very well spoken.
Receiver wise I still think Quinton Patton is head and shoulders above the rest of the guys on the squad. His wiry build and body control allow him to catch the ball in many different fashions. He is able to keep concentration while sliding to the ground to make a catch, displays good footwork on the sidelines, can adjust to a deep ball and is a hands catcher. Patton seems to be the life of the party, say to speak, as he is always joking around with teammates both on and off the field. Patton seems to be enjoying playing the game and loving his Senior Bowl experience meeting new players and competing.

Ezekial Ansah continued to be mediocre at best. He was matched up vs. Florida OT Xavier Nixon which was a real good match up. Both Nixon and Ansah used their hands really well, but Nixon ultimately won the battle. (Nixon hurt his wrist on the play). If I had to pick a pass rusher on the South that I have liked the best it would be LSU DE Lavar Edwards. He has incredibly long arms and is a sneaky good athlete. On one particular play he pulled off a great swim move vs. Virginia OT Oday Aboushi, which had scouts in attendance taking notice. There were times that even Edwards was mediocre today, but at least he made me take notice today, while the others have been invisible. The first thing noticeable about LSU DE Lavar Edwards is his long arms. If he can learn to use them more consistently he is someone who could blossom. Edwards showed a very strong rip move to beat Aboushi and had a rep in 11s where he fired out his arms and quickly disengaged to peel out and get to the ballcarrier. At other times he was just a guy and he jumped offsides twice.

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From http://www.nepatriotsdraft.com/

Both Taylor and Gillislee ran the ball well in the team scrimmage. On the first rep, Gillislee darted to the right side for a good gain. Taylor, for his part, bounced a run to the outside for gain of about 10 yards. The defense came back to stuff a few runs from both backs.

Gillislee ripped off a 40-yard run toward the very end of the team scrimmage when he jab-stepped to get through a hole to the right. Gillislee was then able to juke Alabama safety Robert Lester about 10 yards into the run to get in the open field. Lester took a terrible angle and set himself up for that.

Gillislee was running along the sideline before he was rocked flat on his back by Georgia safety Shawn Williams. Even though Gillislee was sent flying, it was still the best run of the day. Both he and Taylor have helped themselves this week.

Florida International’s Jonathan Cyprien continues to impress. Even though he’s big and muscled up, his hips are loose and his ankle flexion is outstanding. He gets from single high position to the sideline faster than any safety here on either squad, but he’s not out of control when doing so (hello Bacarri Rambo!). In an interesting twist during warm-up period, he was long-snapping and actually looked better at it than Notre Dame C Braxton Cave

[Au165]

I am all for Cyprin with our 2b. I'd like to go LB, RB, S(Cyprin), BPA the rest

[Burma]

Originally Posted by berserkerone88

Basically what Polumalu does.

Exactly. His lack of coverage skills is something that, when accounted for, can be minimized and his strengths played to.

[berserkerone88]

Originally Posted by Burma

Exactly. His lack of coverage skills is something that, when accounted for, can be minimized and his strengths played to.

If you have a coordinator who is smart enough, you can make a guy like that a HOF player. Polumalu would not succeed everywhere...or possibly not anywhere without LeBeau. That defense has been tailored for him almost since he got there.

Strong man corners.
FS who covers well in man.
Good pass rush.
Allows him to just sit and react rather than cover.

[Burma]

More info coming out. I find it odd that given how negative the reports on Ansah were that scouts think he helped his stock. Desmond Trufant made himself millions this week, ans Phillip thomas as well. Bad news for Chase Thomas

From http://www.draftinsider.net/blog/?p=6703

- Scouts told us the players who helped themselves the most the past three days were Lane Johnson/T/Oklahoma, Ezekial Ansah/DE/BYU, Leon McFaddenCB/San Diego State and Quinton Patton/WR/Louisiana Tech.
- On the flip side the consensus is Chase Thomas/LB/Stanford and Braxston Cave/C/Notre Dame were the two players who have watched their stock plummet.
- TJ McDonald/S/USC is being described by some scouts as a “better version of Taylor Mays”.
- Teams loved the play of Datone Jones/DL/UCLA during Senior Bowl practices but think he won’t be selected early in the draft. The feeling is he has no real position at the next level and is a hard schematic fit. Right now most say third round.
- As we’ve been writing all week, Markus Wheaton/Oregon State and Marquise Goodwin/Texas, were both big winners at the receiver position.
- Scouts have said Desmond Trufant/CB/Washington is a lock first round pick. Will Davis/CB/Utah State is being graded as a fourth rounder with Jamar Taylor/CB/Boise State a third round pick. Phillip Thomas/S/Fresno State is graded as a second round choice.
- A few scouts have said Justin Pugh/OL/Syracuse best projects to guard at the next level and will be a third round choice.
- Unless things change most scouts have graded Denard Robinson/WR/Michigan, as a last day pick.

[Au165]

Originally Posted by Burma

More info coming out. I find it odd that given how negative the reports on Ansah were that scouts think he helped his stock. Desmond Trufant made himself millions this week, ans Phillip thomas as well. Bad news for Chase Thomas

From http://www.draftinsider.net/blog/?p=6703

Ansah is kind of polarizing some see his raw ability has a high ceiling and therefor a positive others see him as just raw. The problem is he is unfairly getting compared to JPP.

[OchoCincos]

Originally Posted by Au165

I am all for Cyprin with our 2b. I'd like to go LB, RB, S(Cyprin), BPA the rest

I'd like to do something similar but....
Round 1 = BPA
Rounds 2-3 (3 picks): RB, DB (S or C, LB
Rounds 4-6 (4 picks): BPA
Would really like a KR somewhere in there. Good value in some of the small school scat backs projected in the sixth round.

[Au165]

Originally Posted by OchoCincos

I'd like to do something similar but....
Round 1 = BPA
Rounds 2-3 (3 picks): RB, DB (S or C, LB
Rounds 4-6 (4 picks): BPA
Would really like a KR somewhere in there. Good value in some of the small school scat backs projected in the sixth round.

Just not a fan of drafting a kick returner as the roster spot is to valuable for a guy who can't do anything else. I'd like to either find a WR who can do it or a RB who can do it, maybe even a CB.

[OchoCincos]

Originally Posted by Au165

Just not a fan of drafting a kick returner as the roster spot is to valuable for a guy who can't do anything else. I'd like to either find a WR who can do it or a RB who can do it, maybe even a CB.

I meant a KR like Kerwynn Williams or Dennis Johnson that can be utilized as a 3rd down RB as well. Use one player to play both roles of Tate and Leonard. Maybe you didn't associate my mention of a KR with the sentence about the scat backs?

[wolfkaosaun]

Originally Posted by berserkerone88

Basically what Polumalu does.

The only thing is, will the Bengals allow Rambo to do that?

I think if they allowed Rambo to do that, he could end up becoming a ball-hawking safety we have needed for so long.

Nelson would be good opposite of him, and honestly the Bengals need a turnover machine. Rambo could turn into that.

But again, I am REALLY starting to like Shawn Williams as well. He continues to impress me during practices.

[JungleRock85]

If Datone Jones is a 3rd round pick this season someone will be getting quote the steal. The guy is 6'4" and 280 lbs. He has the burst I look for in a pass rusher and the size to stop the run. I see no reason he couldn't rotate with guys throughout our defensive line. Can rotate at DE with the guys we already have and can slide in and rush the passer from the inside like he did at UCLA on 3rd downs. Trufant has been good but I thought Poyer looked just as good the times I saw him but not much talk about him the past two days.

[pulses]

Originally Posted by OchoCincos

I meant a KR like Kerwynn Williams or Dennis Johnson that can be utilized as a 3rd down RB as well. Use one player to play both roles of Tate and Leonard. Maybe you didn't associate my mention of a KR with the sentence about the scat backs?

Why not draft a lockdown CB like Robert Alford who can do PR's and then later on get someone like the WR from TX who can do KR's as well.

[wolfkaosaun]

I didn't get to watch much of today, so my notes won't be as in depth as I would like. But anyway.

Robert Lester just seemed out of place quite a lot. I think his draft stock is going down and he is not doing well. He is probably hurting himself the most in the secondary.

King looked very good today again. Yesterday he didn't stand out as much as he did on Tuesday, but still had a good practice today. Helping his draft stock.

Tyler Wilson, IMO, seems to have made strides today as well. He will have to learn a bit, and will have to be given time, but I think he could very well be a starter.

Webb also looked decent in drills, and I think is helping his draft stock obviously. I'll be watching him quite a lot during the game.

Again, I didn't get to watch much today, so I didn't really come out with much

[dr1441]

Originally Posted by wolfkaosaun

I didn't get to watch much of today, so my notes won't be as in depth as I would like. But anyway.

Robert Lester just seemed out of place quite a lot. I think his draft stock is going down and he is not doing well. He is probably hurting himself the most in the secondary.

King looked very good today again. Yesterday he didn't stand out as much as he did on Tuesday, but still had a good practice today. Helping his draft stock.

Tyler Wilson, IMO, seems to have made strides today as well. He will have to learn a bit, and will have to be given time, but I think he could very well be a starter.

Webb also looked decent in drills, and I think is helping his draft stock obviously. I'll be watching him quite a lot during the game.

Again, I didn't get to watch much today, so I didn't really come out with much

Lester got abused by King in one on one drills today. Webb also got beat a few times pretty badly.

[OSUfan]

Originally Posted by Burma

More info coming out. I find it odd that given how negative the reports on Ansah were that scouts think he helped his stock. Desmond Trufant made himself millions this week, ans Phillip thomas as well. Bad news for Chase Thomas

From http://www.draftinsider.net/blog/?p=6703

Did you say Phillip Thomas?

[wolfkaosaun]

Originally Posted by dr1441

Lester got abused by King in one on one drills today. Webb also got beat a few times pretty badly.

I didn't get to see much of Webb. But what I saw, he did decent. Wasn't great, but wasn't bad.

Lester has had a pretty bad week of practice. I could see him become the Chris Polk of this draft class the way he's been playing.

[Au165]

Originally Posted by OchoCincos

I meant a KR like Kerwynn Williams or Dennis Johnson that can be utilized as a 3rd down RB as well. Use one player to play both roles of Tate and Leonard. Maybe you didn't associate my mention of a KR with the sentence about the scat backs?

I know what your saying, but with us drafting a RB early(hopefully) I don't see a spot for this KR scat back. I think it will be Law Firm, New Guy, Peerman, Herron.

[OchoCincos]

Originally Posted by Au165

I know what your saying, but with us drafting a RB early(hopefully) I don't see a spot for this KR scat back. I think it will be Law Firm, New Guy, Peerman, Herron.

Guess that's where we differ. I see Herron as only useful on ST, whereas someone like Williams or Johnson could be used on third down as well as STs. I really don't see both Peerman and Herron both on the 53-man roster. I see Peerman getting the nod over Herron for the roster spot, as Peerman is a ST ace and also has experience as a NFL RB too. Plus he looks better than Herron as a RB.

Originally Posted by pulses

Why not draft a lockdown CB like Robert Alford who can do PR's and then later on get someone like the WR from TX who can do KR's as well.

The coaches have already stated this past year that they do not like to use a returner that also plays many snaps on offense or defense. Jones did not always do PR unless the defense was only on the field for a short time.
A true lockdown CB would ideally get more playing time than even Jones gets, so he could be even more gassed when it's time to do returns. I don't think we even really need a PR, as Jones does fine. That is assuming we sign him back, but most of us believe that will happen. We can all agree with need a KR. A late round WR pick could do the job, but would it be more value to get a dynamic RB like Williams or Johnson that can replace both Leonard and Tate for their duties? I think there's more value from the later round RBs than the later round WRs, but everyone has their own opinions.

[Burma]

Originally Posted by OSUfan

Did you say Phillip Thomas?

yep, He has had a good week and according to some reports has increased his draft stock as much as half a round.

[OSUfan]

Originally Posted by Burma

yep, He has had a good week and according to some reports has increased his draft stock as much as half a round.

So he has not been black listed for a poor bowl game?

[Burma]

Originally Posted by OSUfan

So he has not been black listed for a poor bowl game?

I got you a pretty basket to carry your grudge in!

[dr1441]

Originally Posted by OSUfan

So he has not been black listed for a poor bowl game?

Your sense of wanting to say you were right is kind of pathetic.

[OSUfan]

Originally Posted by Burma

I got you a pretty basket to carry your grudge in!

Not a grudge at all merely pointing out that just a couple of days ago you were down on the guy because of one game when his body of work said the contrary.

[Burma]

Thursday was the last day of the senior bowl practices and it was just a shells day, no contact. So not a lot of news.
Lavarr Edwards looked agile, Landry Jones shows he's not a running QB and the injuries start to mount.

Going through change of direction drills Edwards was clearly the most fluid and agile. He displayed good, quick feet and was able to bend around the corner better than any other defensive linemen going through the drills. Edwards hasn’t stood out too much in actually 1 on 1 pass rushing drills, but has shown enough this week to think he can develop into a good edge rusher with the development of a couple pass rush moves.

Landry Jones made some impressive throws today, including a real nice back shoulder throw to Baylor WR Terrance Williams. I thought Jones had command of the offense in red zone drills, anticipated well and threw the ball to the proper spot. Even today however, you could see what happens when the play breaks down and Jones holds the ball too long.

- Quinton Patton is clearly the most sudden athlete of the Wide Receivers
- Conner Vernon is just a solid receiver. He isn’t flashy, but he continues to run good routes and catches everything that is thrown to him.
- Georgia WR Tavarres King had two bad drops today. There were easy catches which he just botched.
- Tennessee-Martin DT Montori Hughes had another really good practice. He has violent hands, exhibits very good power and is one of the vocal leaders of the South defense.
- Arkansas WR Cobi Hamilton continued to show a good rapport with Tyler Wilson. He made two tough catches in the back of the endzone, both times in tight coverage.
- Virginia OL Oday Aboushi moved inside to OG for a couple plays. In that formation Terron Armstead played LT and Jordan Mills played the right tackle spot.
- There have been a ton of injuries on the South squad. They were already short on players today and then Texas A&M LB Sean Porter went down as well. It also appeared that Chase Thomas got banged up at one point.
- Tomorrow is just a basic walk-through, followed by the actual game on Saturday. We won’t have practice notes tomorrow but, look for more Senior Bowl content throughout tonight and tomorrow.