reamer

Every once in a while a new thread pops up profiling a particular player, or discussing positions of needs, but I haven't seen an ongoing discussion devoted solely to the weekly spate of college games. Perhaps that's purely my oversight? Feel free to direct me to the proper thread if so.

Tonight, my evening class finished early, so I pulled up the Colorado vs West Virginia game, and I'm really impressed with Devine's feel for the game. He seems to sense when he's bottled up and he needs to just drive the pile for yards and when to cut back. He constantly kept the defense off-balance, and seemed comfortable lining up at WR on several plays. Definitely a Kevin Faulk/Darren Sproles sort of player, but even shiftier (scary!).

I was paying special attention to Nate Solder, since his name is rising in scouting circles, and I came away wanting more. His pass protection is fabulous. Absolutely textbook left tackle. Smooth, quick footwork, strong hands, very long arms--he seems confident, collected, and completely in charge. In the run game, however, he struggles creating much movement off the ball, and I saw several plays where he lunged wildly when he was supposed to seal to the outside. Still, he has intriguing athleticism.

Overall, a half decent game, but it was never really in doubt. I look forward to Saturday, with a bunch of great matchups. I'll try to get to a few thoughts if I have time; I'm not very good at positing consistently, so I'd rather invite others to join me rather than try to do it alone. Looking forward to your words of wisdom, Patsfans.

reamer

Last night I focused on the play of Greg Romeus, one of the more intriguing defensive linemen in the country. He has the size to play anywhere on a four-man line (6'5, 270), and has been mentioned as possible elephant for the Pats. Last night was one of his better games, with 3.5 sacks. Several aspects of his game caught my eye, both positive and negative.

- Too often he doesn't extend his arms when engaged with a blocker, thus negating his exceptional length.
- He still has incredible power. On almost every rush, he jacked the left tackle right out of his stance, overwhelming him and forcing him into the backfield.
- Although he sets the edge remarkably well, he struggles a little shedding blocks after stacking the blocker in the run game.
- Great flexibility and excellent speed to reach the corner and bend around the left tackle.
- Heads up playing the screen; quickly changes directions to track down the ball carrier when he's rushed past the play.
- Unfortunately, lacks the make-up speed to chase the runner on his own; has tenacity, but not top-end speed.
- Several times he rushed way too far upfield; needs to learn to pinch the pocket once he's gone past the QB.
- A bit one-dimensional in his pass-rush: either he beats his man with speed, or he pushes him backward to flush the QB from the pocket.
- Hardworking player. Love his effort.
- May need to return for his senior year to polish his game; obviously still a work in progress.

More thoughts to come. I'm gonna watch some of the 'Bama game now.

mayoclinic

Thanks for the review, Andrew. Good stuff. Romeus is very interesting to me. Some of those negatives can be taught or corrected. Others are likely to be inherent physical limitations. Still, all in all an intriguing prospect.

I would be curious to see your reviews of Greg Hardy and Derrick Morgan later on, and how Romeus compares.

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Ochmed Jones

If Romeus lacks foot speed, then BB will not put him at OLB in our 3-4 defense.

I saw English playing OLB in the San Diego defense last nigt and he was JAG basically, nothing special. He reminds me a lot of Rmoues, minus about 3 inches of length.

mayoclinic

English's lack of foot speed and lack of height were my biggest concerns last year. He has a nice motor, but I don't see the kind of foot speed that we would require at OLB. Kind of reminds me of Derrick Burgess.

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cstjohn17

Auburn running game was very impressive, the guards / center dominated Tennessee. The Tennessee Left Tackle (Chris Scott I think is a massive human being).

Miami versus Oklahoma was a good game, Moncur looked more like the highly touted player he once was.

Peachhead

I'm trying to watch for RB's first and foremost this fall. Maroney isn't fit for a lead back, but can handle Faulk's role. And Faulk, Morris and Taylor are running well past their warranties. Any one of them could run out of gas for good by next spring. The guy I like best right now is RB Jonathan Dwyer. But he'll be a top 15 pick and we won't be anywhere near there.

Package our 1st and one of our 2nds to move up. Add a later pick if need be.

mayoclinic

I've been on the Dwyer bandwagon all season. He's a young Corey Dillon.

He could go top 15, but he could fall. RBs tend to fall. Beanie Wells fell to 31. I'm hoping he'll last at least tot he 20's and be within striking range.

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cstjohn17

IMO RBs fall because they are a dime a dozen (unless they are named AP). Looking across the league decent veteran free agent RBs can be had easily and cheaply every offseason. I would much rather spend a first round pick on the offensive or defensive lines, CB or DE. These positions are critical and usually end up costing big dollars in free agency.

Ochmed Jones

Auburn has a really good OT, Zemebeca (I mispelled it.). He is an excellent road grader and really seals the edges well, he is not bad as a pass protector either.