ScoutsNotebook Thread - 2010 Draft

[Dre]

Hey have you finished your 2009 Draft reviews? Been waiting for the 49ers one, curious to see your thoughts on our draftees.

[goeagles99]

I got behind on the reviews and stopped doing them once the preseason had started. I didn't want it to seem like what was happening on the field was affecting my reviews.

As for SF...I mostly liked what they did.

1- WR Michael Crabtree
3 - RB Glen Coffee
5 - IL Scott McKillop
5 - QB Nate Davis
6 - TE Bear Pascoe
7 - FS Curtis Taylor
7 - DL Ricky Jean-Francois

Crabtree is one of the best WRs I've ever seen play college football. That is a position that has been a major trouble spot for the Niners for years. He was risky because of character issues, but his upside was worth the risk.

The team needed a good backup to Frank Gore and Coffee was solid value in the 3rd. Coffee, like Gore, is a N-S runner. He's got some pop when he runs behind his pads. He's got size and came from a pro-style offense.

McKillop is the kind of productive overachiever that I'm sure Mike Singletary loves. He could be a solid backup and STer for years. Also, playing in the 3-4 limits the amount of ground he's got to cover.

I liked Nate Davis. I think he's got potential. There are some issues, but he was good value in the 5th. He goes to SF with no pressure or expectations and can develop at his own pace.

Bear Pascoe was solid value late. I had concerns with his speed and athletic ability, but he does have good size, can block, and will make some tough catches.

Taylor was okay in the 7th. Good hitter. Projects more to SS than FS. Lacks ideal coverage skills.

I was not a fan of the Ricky Jean-Francois pick. I don't like guys that underachieve the way he did and then come out early. I'm sure the Niners took the chance for a reason. Ricky does have potential. And if you're going to take a guy like that you sure do it in the 7th round.

Pretty good group of prospects.

[goeagles99]

by Tommy Lawlor, http://www.scoutsnotebook.com

10-31-09

Let's talk about who is up and who is down.

UP

QB Jimmy Clausen - Notre Dame --- I haven't written much about him this year, but Jimmy is having a terrific year. While other star QBs are slumping or playing a bit off, he has raised the level of his game. Jimmy has 16 TDs and only 2 INTs. He's throwing the ball very well downfield. He's accurate with his throws and generally is a good decision maker. You have to be impressed with his toughness as he plays through the pain of an injured foot. Jimmy has been the king of late game heroics this year. This is not a guy you want to get the ball late in the game with enough time to go down and score if your team is up 7 points or less. And that is one of the best compliments you can give a QB. I think Clausen has to come out this year if things stay the same. He's in the mix to be the top QB taken. That should be too much to pass up. That said, I don't see Clausen as a guy I would take in the Top 10. There's nothing special about him physically. He doesn't make "wow" throws. His numbers are impressive, but he plays mostly bad defenses. He also has some really good skill players. I never get the feeling he's carrying the team on his back the way I do with Colt McCoy or when Matt Ryan was at BC. One player that Clausen reminds me of is Rex Grossman. That isn't an insult. Rex was a stud QB in college. He didn't pan out in the NFL, but it wasn't due to lack of talent. Rex wasn't the biggest guy or the best athlete. He didn't have an explosive arm. He played in a good system and had excellent skill players around him. One big advantage Jimmy has is playing in a pro-style scheme. That will help with his adjustment to the NFL. I see Clausen as a guy that I'd consider more in the 15-25 range.


S Reshad Jones - Georgia --- Every time I watch UGA I see #9 playing well. He can cover. He has 4 pass break-ups and 1 INT. Jones can fly up in run support and he is also a big time hitter. Jones is comfortable playing in the box. He's got 26 solo tackles and 2.5 TFLs. He also has 1 FF. Jones is only a Junior, but I could easily see him coming out. He redshirted so this is his 4th year at Georgia. At 6'2, 215 he has the size that NFL teams love. He's not just an extra LB type though. He has 8 career INTs. Eric Berry and Taylor Mays are the elite guys, but Jones isn't far behind.


RB Toby Gerhart - Stanford --- I've always enjoyed watching Toby play. I never closely watched him until this year. I tended to think of him as a typical college power runner who had marginal NFL potential. Not the case at all. Gerhart is 6'1, 240. He is a tough, physical runner. What makes him special are his feet. Toby is a very nimble guy. The reason so many power guys don't project well to the pros is that they can only go N-S. They can't move laterally. They can't make defenders miss. Toby's feet allow him to make these kinds of moves. His production is up over past years. He's 143 yards shy of his career high in yards and has 4 games to go. He's only 2 TDs short of his career high. Toby is averaging more than 5 yards per carry. Toby is a Senior, but only played in 1 game as a Sophomore and could try to come back for a 5th year. I think workhorse RBs should come out early. Legs only have so many carries in them. I don't think his value will get any higher than it is now. He's probably a 3rd round type. One area I do wish I had a better feel for is how good a receiver he is. Toby only has 35 career catches. NFL teams want complete backs (run, block, and catch).


LB Navorro Bowman - Penn State --- Bowman had a bad offseason. He got into some trouble and that landed him in JoePa's doghouse. Bowman finally worked his way out of that only to suffer a groin injury that really limited him for the first 3 games. Bowman has been healthy the last 5 weeks and he is playing terrific football. He has 22 solo tackles, 9 TFLs, an INT, and he returned a fumble 91 yards for a TD. Bowman could play inside or outside in the NFL. He is an excellent tackler. Bowman wraps up and has plenty of strength/power. He's instinctive and always seems to be around the ball. Bowman fights through trash to get to the ball. He has excellent closing speed. He can attack upfield or drop back into coverage. Bowman is only a Junior, but I'll be shocked if he doesn't come out. He's more football player than college student. There may be some character questions, but the guy can flat out play. Based on talent I see him as an early 2nd round type.


DOWN

DT Marvin Austin - UNC --- I first heard of Marvin on signing day a few years back when he shocked some people and went to Carolina. He's been on the field for 2 1/2 years now, but I'm still waiting to see the guy that there was so much hype about. Let's start with the numbers. Marvin has 6 sacks and 9.5 TFLs...in his career. Most of that production came in his Freshman year. Those numbers are nothing special. How about the eyeball test? He fails there as well. Austin doesn't eat up blocks and control the middle. Florida State ran a QB sneak last week and Marvin was driven more than a yard off the ball. He doesn't push the pocket. Marvin lists at 6'3, 305, but sure looks heavier than that. He has a thick build. I would advise him to stay in school. Marvin should probably lose some weight and get down to about 300 pounds. He is a nimble guy. He ran an INT back for a TD last year. I think he'd be much more effective playing light and trying to be an athletic DT. Marvin does have a good motor. He will chase plays all over the field.


ILB Brandon Spikes - Florida --- I've been a big fan of Brandon's, but 2009 has not been good to him. He's gone from being the best ILB in the nation to not even the best in the SEC. Injuuries have slowed him. Last year Spikes was a complete LB. He made a ton of tackles, picked off 4 passes, and was a solid blitzer. He did have 3 sacks vs LSU a couple of weeks back, but other than that he's not been much of a playmaker this season. Spikes is huge at 6'3, 258. Teams will love that size and his career production. I hope he plays in the Senior Bowl. Spikes could boost his value with a good showing in Mobile. Back in August I saw him as a lock to go top 20. Now I think of him as somewhere in the 20-45 range.


MISC

* Minnesota WR Eric Decker is out for the year with a foot injury. This is a big blow to the Gophers offense. I also hate to see a Senior unable to finish out his career on the field. He could be a Top 100 pick. I'm sure the docs at the Combine will be all over him.

[goeagles99]

by Tommy Lawlor, http://www.scoutsnotebook.com/

11-4-09

WEEK 9

* Northwestern DE Corey Wootton tore up his knee in the Alamo Bowl last December. He's been slow to come back from the injury this year, as you might expect. I watched him play on Saturday and that's the best I've seen him all year. Wootton (6'7, 280) looked quick and agile. He only made one play, but it was a TFL on a WR screen. The pass was thrown to the short side of the field, making it somewhat close to him, but Wootton flew out there and put the WR down with ease. That kind of athleticism combined with his size is what made Corey such an intriguing guy. Wootton showed good burst off the ball on a 3rd/2 run play. He got inside the OT and drove him back. That penetration also stuffed the FB and allowed the LBs to come in and make the tackle behind the line. In the previous game, Corey got his first sack of the year. He isn't piling up big numbers, but teams looking for an athletic LDE have to be happy to see him rounding into shape.

Hopefully NW will get to a bowl game. Wootton could be getting close to 100% by then and might be able to really help himself with a good showing. He'll also have a chance to play in an all star game and to work out at the Combine. I'm not sure what his exact value is right now, but things are looking up.

Wildcats QB Mike Kafka is an interesting guy. He is perfect for the NW spread offense. Kafka got off to a great start against Penn State before getting hurt and having to leave the game. He's accurate. He makes good reads. Kafka is a decent athlete and he's tough. I don't see pro ability, but he is a good college player.

* Auburn CB Walter McFadden had a good day in the win over Ole Miss. He had 4 solo tackles, 1.5 TFLs, 1 pass break-up, and 2 INTs. He returned one of the picks 25 yards for a TD. McFadden is a quality CB prospect. He's big at 6'0, 175. He has good cover skills. One of the picks required an impressive catch. McFadden is a solid tackler and good athlete.

* LB Dekoda Watson hasn't had a great Senior year. Florida State has struggled to win games. The defense is one of the worst in all of college football (that is shocking, but true). Watson has had to deal with a groin injury that cost him one game and hampered him in others. He came up big late in the Noles win over NC State. They put him at DE on the final drive and Watson got good pressure on the QB. He is quick off the ball and looks comfortable rushing the passer. He's got 9.5 career sacks. Watson is a good LB prospect. Teams love athletic playmakers. He's 6'2, 230 and projects to WLB for most teams. He could plays SAM in some systems. Watson's value will be greatly affected by his medical reviews. He had Tommy John surgery in the offseason.

* Let's talk about the Brandon Spikes controversy. He was unbelievably dumb to shove his hand in the RB's facemask. That is one of the strangest things I've seen. I know a lot of people went nuts over it. I sort of understand that, but there's also some BS in those comments. Think about the NFL highlights we see of the Raiders from the late 60s and early 70s. Those guys tell all kinds of stories about doing dirty stuff. We laugh it off, "Oh those crazy Raiders. They were the NFL's renegade team". A kid does it in a current game and we act like he's Idi Amin, Pol Pot, or Vern Schillinger. It was a dumb, dirty move, but it doesn't mean that Spikes is a worthless scumbag that no one should ever say good things about again. Urban Meyer should have suspended him for a full game. Instead, Spikes got half a game. This incident won't dramatically affect his draft value with every team. Some may be put off, but most people will focus on his career and future.

As for the game, Spikes was in on 10 tackles. He also picked off a pass and ran it back 5 yards for a TD.

* One of my favorite guys to watch is Oregon State LB Keaton Kristick. He is a high motor guy that flies to the ball. He can hit out in space, but is also tough enough to take on RBs on inside run plays. He had a big game vs UCLA. Kristick had 7 solo tackles, a TFL, and a FF. OSU always seems to have a DE or LB who can fly around and make plays.

Junior DT Stephen Paea is a player that the average fan may not know about, but he is a force in the middle. He only lists at 6'1, 285, but plays bigger and stronger than that. He can shed blocks and is tough to move. He had his best college game on Saturday. Paea had 3 sacks and 2 FFs vs the Bruins.


BY THE NUMBERS

* Miami DL Allen Bailey is red hot right now. He's got 6 TFLS in the last two weeks (4 of them are sacks). Bailey has played both DE and DT. He is a terrific athlete for a guy his size, 6'4, 288.

* Ole Miss RB Dexter McCluster continued his hot streak. He had 22 carries for 186 yards and a TD. His long run was 79 yards. He also caught 4 passes.

* Ben Tate of Auburn was almost as good. He had 25 carries for 144 yards and a TD. His long run went for 53 yards. Tate showed good speed on the long TD.

* Auburn DE Antonio Coleman had a monster game. He had 4 TFLs (2 of them sacks) and a FF. Coleman flew off the edge and gave the OTs fits. He was very disruptive. He was also credited with 4 hurries.

* Rebels DE Greg Hardy had his best game of the year, notching 2 sacks. That gives him 5 for the year.

* Fresno State WR Seyi Ajirotutu caught 7 passes for 124 yards and a TD. That was his best game of the year. He also hadn't been in the end zone since Week 2.

* East Carolina FS Van Eskridge had 5 tackles, a pass break-up, and INT.

* Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh had 5 tackles and 2.5 sacks in the win over Baylor.

* Tim Tebow played well in the win over UGA. He threw the ball well (15-21-164-2 TDs). He also ran for 85 yards and 2 TDs. I thought a couple of the throws were solid, including one TD.

* Both Florida DEs played well. Junior Carlos Dunlap had a sack, giving him 6 on the year. Senior Jermaine Cunningham had 2.5 TFLs and a FF.

* Boise CB Kyle Wilson played his best game of the year vs SJSU. Kyle had 4 solo tackles, a TFL, and an INT that he ran back for a TD. He also had a 17-yard PR.

* Jonathan Dwyer has been red hot for Ga Tech recently. In the last 6 weeks he has 736 yards on the ground and is averaging 6.3 ypc.

* Iowa LB Pat Angerer was in on 12 tackles, had 1.5 TFLs, and forced a fumble in Iowa's comeback win on Saturday.

* Texas A&M DE Von Miller had a sack, giving him 13.5 for the year. That leads the country.

* Kansas WR Dezmon Briscoe is 3rd in the nation in receiving yards. He caught 9 passes for 110 yards and a TD vs Texas Tech. Briscoe is only a Junior, but could easily come out early.

* Junior DE Jeremy Beal had 1.5 sacks for Oklahoma on Saturday. He's got 8.5 on the season. He has 13.5 TFLs.

* Brandon Banks had a monster day for Kansas State. He caught 9 passes for 156 yards. He also returned 6 kickoffs for 195 yards. He took one 98 yards for a TD. Banks now has 4 KOR TDs this year.

* Mississippi State RB Anthony Dixon had the best game of his career. He ran 33 times for 252 yards and 2 TDs. He's now 6th in the country in rushing.

* Bulldogs ILB Jamar Chaney had a big game. He was in on 15 tackles, had 1.5 TFLs, picked off a pass, and recovered a fumble.

* Kentucky LB Sam Maxwell had 8 tackles and picked off a pass in the end zone.

* Louisiana-Monroe MLB Cardia Jackson had 12 tackles and 1.5 TFLs, but his team came up short vs Troy.

____________________

I wrote a short column talking about what the Heisman race should look like:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tommy-..._b_354923.html

[goeagles99]

by Tommy Lawlor , http://www.scoutsnotebook.com/

11-6-09

* Dez Bryant is headed to the NFL. His final appeal to get reinstated was denied and he announced that he'll enter the upcoming draft. No real surprise about that. Bryant is an elite prospect, in terms of size/speed/ability. There will be some character questions about him. Teams will do a lot of checking to see if he's as innocent as he proclaims or if Bryant got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, so to speak. As long as he checks out okay, Bryant should be a Top 15 pick. He has Top 10 talent, but teams might be a bit gunshy with him because of the Michael Crabtree situation. The worst thing Bryant could do would be to sign with agent Eugene Parker. That would really make teams nervous.

Bryant has good size at 6'2, 215. He plays big. Bryant might be the best receiver I've ever seen on fade passes. He has good hands. He is fast and elusive. Bryant has come up big as a punt returner. He averages almost 20 yards per return and has 3 TDs in only 22 returns. Dez has a very good chance to be the first WR off the board.

* Syracuse WR Mike Williams recently quit the team. That likely could be the end of his time at Syracuse. Williams is a Senior, but missed the '08 season and could have looked into coming back for another year. We still don't have a good story behind why he quit. I doubt there is a story that is going to make Williams come out of this sounding good. Mike was suspended for a game recently for violating team rules. He came back from that, played, and then quit. Weird.

Mike has a lot of talent and is a definite pro prospect. He's got good size at 6'2, 204. He put up big numbers in 2007 (60-837-10) and was ahead of that pace this year, 49-746-6. Mike is fast enough to stretch the field, but also is good on short throws. He is a quality Red Zone target. NFL teams have their work cut out in trying to figure out his value based on ability vs character concerns. His current coach is Doug Marrone, who was with the Saints the previous few years. Doug is an NFL guy with a lot of connections. Is he going to give a strong recommendation to a guy who just quit his team? Not likely.

* I recently watched some tape on Western Michigan QB Tim Hiller. Interesting guy. Very experienced. Started about half of 2005 and then missed 2006. He's been the main man in the 2 1/2 years since then. Hiller has his degree and is now working on his Masters. He has good size at 6'5, 230. Hiller works almost exclusively out of the shotgun. He looks like a smart guy. You see Tim making a lot of pre-snap signals as he tries to adjust the offense to the defensive alignment. He's an okay passer. Hiller is pretty accurate. Tries to put good touch on his short throws. Okay arm. He just doesn't impress in any way. I did like his intermediate throws. He's able to step into them and get some velocity on the balls. They were accurate as well. I don't think he has the arm to be a real effective downfield guy. My big concern was how he handled pressure. Sometimes he stood tall in the pocket, but other plays he focused on the pressure and not his receivers. He doesn't have the feet to make a lot of plays on the move. As far as mechanics, Hiller holds the ball too low. He needs to bring it up by his ear. He keeps it down, giving him a slow, elongated motion. His footwork is solid.

Hiller is a big pocket passer, but he lacks a great arm and isn't as refined as you'd like. He is smart and experienced. I don't project him as a starter in the NFL. I think he definitely needs to be in the right system. I don't see him as a WCO guy. Give him a strong running attack and let him throw mostly intermediate stuff.

* Texas A&M Junior DE Von Miller recently said that he would explore entering the draft this year. Miller (6'3, 240) leads the nation with 13.5 sacks and is having a great year. I haven't had a chance to watch him much. I've got to break out the tape and see if Mr. Miller is the real deal.

* Penn State DT Jared Odrick is playing at a high level. He has 4 sacks and a blocked FG in the last 4 games. Beyond the numbers, he is a disruptive force on the inside. Odrick plays the 3-technique. That means he lines up on the guard's outside eye. Warren Sapp is probably the best 3-technique DT of all time. The goal is for the player to get into the backfield and disrupt plays. Odrick is quick off the ball. He uses his hands well. Sometimes he'll drive the blocker backward. Other times he'll use a swim move to get by him. Odrick has a good motor and makes hustle plays. He is well built at 6'5, 300. Penn State uses a lot of stunts and twists. Odrick is masterful at attacking the T to his outside and occupying that guy as well as the G and leaving a big opening for the DE to loop through. He's got 24.5 career TFLs so you know Jared can make plays when he gets the chance. He could play DT in the NFL. Some teams could project him to 3-4 DE.