mayoclinic

In the past month there has been a lot of board discussion about evaluation tools such as the 10 yard split and the 3-cone drill as being in some cases more informative than basic linear speed as measured in the 40 yard dash.

Wes Bunting from the National Football Post has an article out today on the short shuttle, particular as an evaluation tool for ILB:

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2009/03/behind-the-times-mlb-short-shuttle/

Interesting read. My biggest question is how 3-4 ILB candidates tend to differ from 4-3 MLBs. Mayo is the only 3-4 ILB listed in Bunting's article. As far as I can tell, Patrick Willis ran a 4.37 short shuttle (as well as a 4.37 40) at his pro day in 2007, which would be in Bunting's low average category. Patrick Willis, San Francisco 49ers . AJ Hawk ran a blazing fast 3.96 short shuttle in 2006 (along with a 6.82 3-cone) but hasn't really produced at an exceptional level. So I'm not sure how to interpret all this and how much faith to put in this particular drill.

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"OVER Loading at ANY position can create a Fatal Advantage. THAT is what interests ME. Attacking With Concentrated Force. THAT is what WINS. In the words ~ more or less ~ of General Patton: 'I'm fighting a WAR, here. Let the B*****ES worry about their FLANKS.' " - Off the Grid

"The key to any successful organization is to anticipate things, not react to them." - Michael Lombardi

Box_O_Rocks

Due to the nature of cutback runners, such as LdT and Edgerrin James, NE's ILBs would need good change of direction skills. Due to the gap assignment nature of BB's 3-4, it isn't as necessary if both ILBs are playing a disciplined game.

The latter point says Laurinaitis is a better option than Maualuga or my #1 ILB choice, Jason Phillips. But Phillips 4.32 isn't too bad a ss time, and he's a much better choice for taking on OL...I noticed he was a Shrine Game participant and rewatched portions of the game the other night to focus on his play - more than any other LB (which included Brinkley), when Phillips and an OL met, Phillips gave no ground. Oddly enough, the next best looking option for that was Robert Francois of BC who was an OLB for the East team, he was pushed back a couple times when he engaged a blocker without squaring up, but if he squared his shoulders to the LOS, he was nearly as rock-like as Phillips. Something I've never seen from Laurinaitis or Maualuga. Francois had a 4.34 at his Pro Day.

One play in particular for Phillips, 6'8" 325 OT Ramon Foster came at him with a couple steps to build up some steam...it was like he was hitting a wall, Phillips stoned him cold. Phillips didn't always get off the block, but he made the RB redirect to get around the obstacle, when Phillips did get off the block, he made the tackle.

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mayoclinic

Phillips is an intriguing option to me, especially with his injury likely to cause him to fall. He's a coaches' son, intelligent, high motor, good character kid. Not a bad option as a possible rotational guy. Haven't seen enough of him to form a strong opinion, but he's been on my radar for a while.

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"OVER Loading at ANY position can create a Fatal Advantage. THAT is what interests ME. Attacking With Concentrated Force. THAT is what WINS. In the words ~ more or less ~ of General Patton: 'I'm fighting a WAR, here. Let the B*****ES worry about their FLANKS.' " - Off the Grid

"The key to any successful organization is to anticipate things, not react to them." - Michael Lombardi

pats_premi

Box, you're good. Based on your very detailed posts, it appears as if you spend a lot of time breaking down film. It is great reading you analysis of the draft prospects.

Box_O_Rocks

I live a sheltered monastic life and to keep both brain cells occupied at the same time I attempt to analyze something I know very little about - in this case football. It's fun and rarely leads to global thermo-nuclear war when my many mistakes come home to roost. Thanks for the kind words.

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My2Cents

tempted to push the big red button.

Box_O_Rocks

That's the camouflage, but feel free to push it, you'll enjoy the special effects.

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MetalBleachers

Box, I haven't gotten much of a chance to watch either of Mauga or Phillips (though I did like Phillips in the all-star game). It seems that I remember Mauga getting pushed around a bit in the one game I saw him in.

Now they're both hurt.

Do you see the Pats looking at Mauga? As a college player from the state of Nevada, should we consult the Adam Seward thread?

MetalBleachers

I believe these have been posted before, but here's Mauga's highlight reel:
YouTube - Josh Mauga #30

And for an opposing viewpoint:
YouTube - Jason Phillips #39

Phillips seems more aggressive/quicker to the ball, but both are worth a look.

Box_O_Rocks

Reno and Las Vegas seem to have slight differences, so Seward's prowess may not rub off on Mauga. Mauga's injuries prevented me seeing him play, all I have are the profiles on him, and while his is good, there are other options whom I have seen play that read even better.

Phillips did enough at the Combine to say his athleticism is good for a NE 3-4 ILB. Like all of the kids, he'll need to add some muscle mass to take the beating inside, but in his case he's already been doing that in a 3-3-5 -- that's what makes him my #1 SILB prospect to pair with Mayo, he hasn't been protected by big DTs and he's still produced well.

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