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| Senior Bowl |
| --Game Day: Saturday, January 30 (4 ET) |
| January 28 -- South Practice Thoughts: |
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Patrick Robinson |
I went to the South practice thinking I’d find little to report based on the no-contact practice style. I was wrong.
The team did a ton of 11-on-11 work and I got a great look at the defensive backs and wide receivers as well as quarterbacks. Some players continued to impress. Patrick Robinson was the standout of the day.
Robinson picked off Zac Robinson in 7-on-7 drills and then deflected a pass from Tim Tebow on the next play. He also knocked a pass out of Riley Cooper’s hands at the end of practice. He looked absolutely phenomenal in every facet of pass coverage today. I really think he could warrant a first-round pick with a good showing during the game and at the combine.
Perrish Cox also looked a lot better today. He didn’t get out of position very often and I liked watching him during return drills. He was a standout kick returner in college and has a lot of value in his ability to make things happen with the ball in his hands.
Javier Arenas and Dexter McCluster provided the most fun match-up today. Arenas covered McCluster in 7-on-7s a few times and watching those guys run stride-for-stride down the sidelines really intrigued me. Both are shorter players with a lot of attitude and a ton of speed. They also both returned kicks in practice today.
Jeremy Williams dropped a kickoff toward the end of the drill. He got a tongue lashing from coaches afterward. I wasn’t particularly wowed by him in receiving drills, either.
One defensive back I haven’t been high on at all this week is Trevard Lindley. He continues to look nonchalant and complacent in coverage, giving way too much cushion to receivers, particularly on underneath routes. At his size, Lindley needs to prove he wants to be out there, and he doesn’t look like it to me.
I watched Taylor Mays play safety in some cover one looks. It didn’t help his stock. He remains a big question mark at the safety position, as it takes too long for Mays to diagnose plays. I don’t see him as a center-field safety and even though he has speed to get to the ball in the air, Mays doesn’t read the quarterback’s eyes well enough to get out of position that often. It’s disappointing to see a guy with his size and physical skills perform poorly at his position.
Dexter McCluster was working out of the wildcat some today. He’s so quick at accelerating and I’m excited to see him in the game Saturday. If he can prove he can make players miss and get in space, I think he’ll be a lot of fun to watch. When lined up out wide, McCluster is so fast off the line and could be a major problem for slower corners. I really hope this guy runs a low-4.3s forty in the combine. Scouts want to see that and the need for versatile skill-position players with return skills is always there.
No quarterback stood out to me today, but none looked awful, either. Tim Tebow missed on a couple throws rolling out to his left. Jarrett Brown continued to throw too many balls high of the mark and Robinson’s decision-making skills looked skeptic, but I didn’t see any horrible play by quarterbacks today. Tebow managed to thread the needle between two defenders and hit Anthony McCoy up the middle for a touchdown, and although I really doubt Tebow’s ability to play on Sunday's at the quarterback position, that throw impressed me.
Darryl Sharpton has been playing weak-side linebacker at practice the last couple days. He weighed in at 239 lbs. and is so fast that outside linebacker may suit him better than inside anyway. He ran to the flats step-for-step with McCluster in 11-on-11s and although I doubt he’d have stayed with him had McCluster cut it up on a wheel route, I was still impressed with Sharpton’s speed and athleticism.
We’ll have notes from tonight’s 5:30 news conference online later this evening. Be sure to check back.
--Justin Onslow
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Tim Tebow |
Tim Tebow continued to look unimpressive with a lackluster performance on Thursday. He still shows the slow throwing motion that makes scouts pull out their hair. He also struggled in passing drills today when he missed multiple throws, including a miscommunication between him and Jimmy Graham. During 11 vs. 11’s, Tebow threw a couple lame ducks that just fluttered to the ground rather than showing the accurate arm that was on display yesterday. Another problem I noticed today was that Tebow was not going through any sort of progression. Every play he was staring down his receiver and defenders were able to get a quick jump on the ball. It appears at this point that Tebow is going to have to simply convince scouts that his style of play will work in the NFL rather than try to be a typical NFL quarterback because he is nowhere near that point right now. The only quarterback that has looked worse this week is Sean Canfield on the North squad. This was a make or break week for Tebow and it hasn’t worked in his favor. He may have all the intangibles in the world, but being an NFL quarterback takes more than just will and determination.
Jarrett Brown looked very good for the second day in a row. He hit all of his targets in a hurry up drill where he completed 4 passes in a row. He continues to show that he has the strongest arm here in Mobile and if he works on his accuracy he has a ton of potential. One issue I had today with him though was that during a 2 minute drill he took the ball to run three times rather than finding the open receiver. He has grown accustomed to running the ball in West Virginia’s spread offense, but he won’t be able to do in the NFL.
As far as running backs are concerned, Dexter McCluster was lined up the wildcat a few times and drew praise from scouts for his explosiveness. Ben Tate took a couple tosses and showed the ability to get to the corner, which is something that scouts wanted to see from him coming into the week. Anthony Dixon looks like a monster at 245 pounds and will be a force between the tackles. I’m excited to see him finish runs in Saturday’s game.
Andre Roberts has been one of the biggest suprises of the week, showing consistent hands, great route running, and above average speed. Coming from the Citadel, I hadn’t been able to watch him prior to this week. He looks like the real deal. He took an end around that would have been a touchdown and was fielding punts. A versatile player who can catch the ball well is a great asset for any team to have.
LaMarr Houston showed active hands while batting down a pass at the line of scrimmage during the 2 minute drill.
Taylor Mays has looked absolutely atrocious at safety this week. He has the worst instincts I’ve seen from any player down here. Whether it be a run or a pass, he’s always out of position and I didn’t see him make a single play today worthy of praise. It’s clear to me that his future is at outside linebacker where his size/speed ratio becomes a major asset and he can focus on stopping the run.
Because they don’t get any credit, I’m going to give him some props. The long snapper, Morgan Cox out of Tennessee has looked great. I haven’t seen him make a bad snap all week. The ball is always in the right place whether it be for kickers or punters.
Today there were 4 players fielding kickoffs. They were rotating between Javier Arenas, Dexter McCluster, Jeremy Williams, and Perrish Cox.
During position matchups, I watched the offensive and defensive lines. Geno Atkins showed a good swim move and was able to penetrate easily with it. Antonio Coleman used a nice inside move to beat Selvish Capers. Capers has struggled some this week and appears weak at the point of attack compared to the competition here.
--Ian Kenyon
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(May 31) --
Welcome to Sideline Scouting - Season Two! We're glad you're back with us as we prepare for the 2011 NFL draft.
Even with the uncertainty of the 2011 NFL season, there will be a rookie draft regardless and we're glad to help you prepare
for the big day. Over the next couple of weeks the site will be under minor reconstruction as we
shift toward our 2011 content.
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