The Way We Hear It - Maualuga

[mayoclinic]

Interesting article by Nolan Nawrocki on Rey Maualuga today, subtitled "Maualuga's Bust Factor Scares NFL Teams":

NFL Draft - NFL draft preview and analysis from Pro Football Weekly

Some notable quotes:

"On Wednesday, Maualuga has another chance to prove himself at USC's highly anticipated pro-day workout, but the way we hear it, nothing Maualuga does will erase the concerns teams have about him on tape and off the field. 'Chart how many times he is on the ground,' one longtime evaluator said, 'and you will see why I think he will always struggle in the pros. He had so much talent around him — that defense may be as talented as I’ve ever seen in college. It covers up a lot of mistakes.' For as fearlessly as Maualuga may run through contact and as violently as he may deliver some big hits, he too often struggles to break down in the open field and gets caught out of position by taking false steps. His instincts still leave a lot to be desired. Scouts that revisit the Trojans’ loss to Oregon State have come away even more unimpressed, as Maualuga’s shoddy tackling was identified as a major reason for the 27-21 loss to the Beavers."

"'He has a high bust factor,' said one NFL executive responsible for stacking his team's draft board. 'There is a lot there that scares me. There is a right price for everyone, but I would not feel comfortable taking him in the first round where we are picking. The money is too great. You cannot afford to make mistakes and expect to recover from them.'"

 

[maverick4]

"'He has a high bust factor,' said one NFL executive responsible for stacking his team's draft board. 'There is a lot there that scares me. There is a right price for everyone, but I would not feel comfortable taking him in the first round where we are picking. The money is too great. You cannot afford to make mistakes and expect to recover from them.'"

and yet every year teams still spend 1st rounders on unpolished, high potential guys. I hope the negative PR keeps coming and Maualuga falls to us with one of our top 4 picks.

 

[BelichickFan]

Sounds like that must have come from a top ten picking team given the quote about the money. I still think he's the best need/value given what we have next to Mayo and the (lack of) depth at ILB in the draft vs. that of OLB. How the Patriots have him ranked, obviously, I have no clue.

 

[BelichickFan]

FWIW the Patriots are not on the list of visits that PFT has for him :

"Maualuga is set to visit the San Francisco 49ers next week followed by visits with the Miami Dolphins, San Diego Chargers, St. Louis Rams, Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans and New Orleans Saints."

 

[jays52]

Frightening audio release from the USC IT department. Apparently Maualuga was struggling to switch email formats.

YouTube - Special Ed - I Got Mail

 

[dryheat44]

and yet every year teams still spend 1st rounders on unpolished, high potential guys. I hope the negative PR keeps coming and Maualuga falls to us with one of our top 4 picks.

I've got him going to New Orleans at 14, and I have New Orleans being very sorry one year from now.

 

[BlackFrancis]

They are using the Oregon State game where he got injured and still accumulated 12 tackles as his benchmark? That's a bit of a head scratcher, right there.

I am not worried about Maualuga's pursuit angles or tackling technique, at least on the Patriots. I'd be worried about his partying when off the field and future injuries.

 

[slash83]

I think Maualuga is the only ILB that fits what the Pats need next to Mayo. People are worried about him only being a 2down lb but is that so bad? We need somebody to replace Tedy in that position, even if Mau only becomes a 2down lb we have Guyton that could play on passing downs while Mau helps being that thumper lb we havent had since Ted Johnson. Mayo Muauluga and Guyton could be a nice trio for a long time to come. Mayo the 3down lb who can do it all, Mau the thumper who can play the run and hit like a ton of bricks and is a faster version of Ted J, and Guyton who has great speed and can play on passing downs.

If Mau is there at 23 and if the Pats like him I hope they get him even if Barwin is there, Barwin could last until 34 but even if he dont im sure a Clay Matthews or English, Brown, or Maybin will still be available.

 

[BadMoFo]

FWIW the Patriots are not on the list of visits that PFT has for him :

"Maualuga is set to visit the San Francisco 49ers next week followed by visits with the Miami Dolphins, San Diego Chargers, St. Louis Rams, Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans and New Orleans Saints."

Well that means nothing. Actually from reading the LA Times blog sounds like the Saints are very big on Cushing.

 

[BelichickFan]

Well that means nothing.

That's why I said FWIW.

 

[Feep50]

I've got him going to New Orleans at 14, and I have New Orleans being very sorry one year from now.

Agreed.... He has "bust' written all over him... Definitely not interested in him.

 

[BadMoFo]

Apparently he's looking good at today's pro day, but Matthews is looking much better, according to the experts.

Thoughts from draft guru Mike Mayock: Matthews - great hips, excellent hands, moves more like a safety than an LB.

 

[slash83]

just a question during an espn insider chat:

Mike (Boca Raton): New England can't possibly use all of the picks it has in rounds 1 - 3 this year. do you see them trading up in this year's draft or out of the draft (until next year)?

SportsNation Matt Williamson: Very possible and no one plans for the future by stock piling future picks as well as NEng. Excellent point. I bet they really liike R Mauluga as well-could trade up to nab someone like him that they love. Put him next to Mayo behind that DL. Oh baby.

 

[BelichickFan]

Apparently he's looking good at today's pro day, but Matthews is looking much better, according to the experts.

Any chance of a link so we can see what else was said ?

 

[BadMoFo]

I was following it on Twitter, plus I have seen some stuff on the wearesc.com Web site and the USC RipsIt blog:

Sam Farmer LA Times (LATimesfarmer) on Twitter

University Southern California Official Athletic Site

USC Pro Day Updates - WeAreSC Forums

 

[BelichickFan]

I was following it on Twitter, blus I have seen some stuff on the wearesc.com Web sitye and the USC RipsIt blog:

Sam Farmer LA Times (LATimesfarmer) on Twitter

University Southern California Official Athletic Site

USC Pro Day Updates - WeAreSC Forums

Thanks. Twitter is too new for me

 

[BadMoFo]

Thanks. Twitter is too new for me

Yeah, it's the most useless useful thing on the Web, but it's the latest craze for now.

 

[patchick]

I was following it on Twitter

Thanks, Farmer's feed is pretty good. Any others you know of worth following for draft news?

 

[TriplecHamp]

There are only four ILB that I would want us to get day one.
1) Aaron Curry-ILB/OLB Wake Forest
2) Rey Maualuga-ILB USC
3) Clay Matthews-ILB/OLB USC
4) Brian Cushing-ILB/OLB USC

 

[BadMoFo]

Thanks, Farmer's feed is pretty good. Any others you know of worth following for draft news?

So far I haven't seen anything good on Twitter for news I can't get elsewhere, but PatriotsInsider seems pretty good, basically news from all over, including the Globe, Herald, Scout, etc.

I new of the Sam Farmer live tweeting because I'm an SC fan and wanted to see how the guys were doing. Plus I'm interested in seeing what guys would look best on the Pats. Hey, just noticed that Sam Farmer is following Patriots Insider.