Off The Grid

CB Aaron Williams

Aaron Williams is probably the best Press Corner in the Draft, for the first 5 Yards: He's got the frame for the job, and he's tough and tenacious at the Line of Scrimmage.

However, the rest of his game worries me. Verticity ~ Turn + Burn Acuity ~ is absolutely vital to a Corner's Game, and he struggles mightily with this. He is neither Fluid nor Explosive out of his Breaks.

And his Diagnostic Skills + Processing Speed also need considerable improvement.

Frankly, I think he's going to have major problems out there...and he's projected as a borderline 1st Rounder.

DF Akeem Ayers

I've got a bad feeling about Akeem Ayers.

He certainly has the size and frame to excel at Flanker ~ OutSide LineBacker to you Earthlings!! ~ and NFP's Wes Bunting, for whom I have great admiration, says that "he's got the tools to be great." That's a level of lofty praise you just don't see too much of, coming from Wes Bunting, which gives it particularly potent weight, in my view.

But I don't see it. Akeem Ayers seems way too slow to Rush the Passer effectively, and his repertoire of moves is non existent. Over the last month or so, there's been increasing talk of moving him inside to Mid Fielder ~ InSide LineBacker, Earthings!! ~ where his superior skills at navigating through traffic, and both taking on and throwing off Blocks might be a better fit. However, even there, I don't see the Agility or the Lateral Velocity to be effective.

Above all, however, Akeem Ayers seems to come up short in the areas that I place the heaviest emphasis on: Instincts, Diagnostic Skills, and Processing Speed.

And I do believe that the combination will prove fatal.

DT Marvin Austin

After a disastrous ~ albeit relaxing ~ senior season, Marvin Austin has had a strong resurgence. His appearance at the Combine, and the numbers he posted there, clearly demonstrated that he hasn't been idle.

Nevertheless, I smell "Bust".

He's an explosive Talent, and has everything it takes to burn me on this one, as do many whom I've thus projected.

Here's hoping he does.

But I cannot in good conscience predict anything else: His lackadaisical attitude and self absorption are pretty much universally acknowledged. His inconsistent motor is notorious. He got in trouble, missed an entire year, and now, in the wake of an excellent Combine, he's ascending back through the 2nd Round and may quite possibly ~ in a thin Market ~ reach the 1st. So much for the consequences of ones actions.

He screwed up, and the result was that he got the year off, and now he's gonna get paid.

I have an hard time believing that he's learned a lesson, and is suddenly going to be focused, after cashing in.

WR Torrey Smith

Torrey Smith has the Size + Speed to be an Alpha Wide Out ~ a Split End. But his Fluidity + Lateral Agility are poor, and his Navigational skills are awful. He doesn't get off the Line well, either, which pretty much obviates him as a Split End, at least for now, and his hands are lousy.

In short, I think we have a projected borderline 1st Rounder who is only going to be a Vertical Threat ~ a Flanker ~ and a special teams guy...and might be a bit sketchy at that, as well.

QB Ryan Mallett

His Processing Speed is awful, and his Decision Making and Pocket Presence are even worse, as he often panics and either forces throws or flees the Pocket. And his Mechanics are awful.

Oh. And he's an A Hole.

My evaluation is that Ryan Mallett is going to be a BUST, gentlemen.

A SUPER Bust.

QB Jake Locker

Jake Locker commands exceptional physical skills ~ the quintessential Holy Grail of a Great Arm and Blazing Speed ~ but from my perspective, I'm seeing Red Flags all over the place: awful Processing Speed, sketchy Decision Making, dubious Field Vision, and extremely shaky Pocket Presence.

Sorry to say, but I believe that Jake Locker is going to prove to be one of this year's biggest BUSTS.

QB Blaine Gabbert

Blaine Gabbert scares the HELL out of me. His Pocket Presence is horrific...And that is in a Spread Offense, where he plays Shot Gun and is generally only asked to go with one read!!

If he's going to pieces in an Offense where he has all the time in the world to make the play, and only a fraction of the reads to process through before making a decision, I'm here to tell you that his career could be an extremely short nightmare!!

Needless to say, his Processing Speed, his Decision Making, and his Field Vision are severely undeveloped at best, and atrocious, at worst. And if it was simply a matter of experience and training, I find it very hard to believe that he'd be having such ugly issues, playing the incredibly simplified and Passer Friendly Offense he ran this year.

QB Cam Newton

Cam Newton comes up awfully short in Processing Speed and Diagnostics, which I consider the Alpha and Omega of Skills. He also grades poorly in Field Vision and Mechanics, and is an unknown quantity in both Decision Making and Pocket Presence. I like the guy, and he's a natural leader, but I just don't see him developing into a dependable QuarterBack, much less the Super Star that so many expect.

Mind you: He is such a Force ~ and such a natural leader ~ that I suspect his initial impact will likely be a positive one, much like Michael Vick's in Atlanta. But ultimately, I believe opposing Defenses will figure out how to contain him, and I just don't see enough of a QuarterBack ~ as opposed to an exceptional Athlete ~ to overcome that, which I believe will start a spiral that ends, at last, in mediocrity and failure. In fact, I'm going to go on the record and say that, ultimately ~ while he'll provide a lot of excitement ~ Cam Newton is going to prove to be a Bust.

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Love HURTS!!

RodThePat

I think Locker will be pretty good. His OL was awful and he played in a short percentage offense, in which his WRs couldn't get any separation whatsoever. Put him in the shotgun on those 08/09 Oklahoma teams and people would be talking about him as the second coming.

Snake Eyes

Locker's an interesting case, he's awesome on the move but terrible in the pocket, while a bit scary it also means he's capable of greatness, it's just a matter of making the changes that allow him to access it while in the pocket. While he's capable of becoming a legend it's more likely that a team will ruin him, teams are very good at ruining QBs.

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"The secret of steel has always carried with it a mystery, you must learn it's riddle, Conan, you must learn its discipline, for no one in this world can you trust, not men, not women, not beasts...this you can trust"


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