East-West Shrine Game

[Peachhead]

I believe the East-West Shrine game is next weekend and weigh-ins and practices are this week. The roster is here. Does anyone know a page that will be following the weigh-ins and practices?

Some names that caught my eye:
RB Delone Carter, Syracuse (one of my binkies)
DL Marvin Austin, North Carolina
RB Graig Cooper, Miami
FS Brian Lainhart, Kent State
DE Cliff Matthews, South Carolina
OT Jah Reed, Central Florida
RB Evan Royster, Penn State
WR Terrence Tolliver, LSU
OT Joseph Barksdale, LSU (I like him too)
DE/OLB Ricky Elmore, Arizona
DE Karl Klug, Iowa (I love him but I question the schematic fit)
OC Alex Linnenkohl, Oregon
WR Jeff Maehl, Oregon (our prototypical WR, shifty intermediate threat, but I'm not sure we have room for him)
OLB Dontay Moch , Nevada (a major binkie, undersized for our scheme, but like Hernandez, I'd love to see BB find a use for him)
RB Vai Taua, Nevada (another binkie)
QB Scott Tolzien, Wisconsin

 

[SirApropos]

You can also add the following to the watch list.

DE Ryan Winterswke, Boise State
DE Pierre Allen, Nebraska
QB Pat Devlin, Delaware (2nd round prospect)

 

[ctpatsfan77]

You can also add the following to the watch list.

DE Ryan Winterswke, Boise State
DE Pierre Allen, Nebraska
QB Pat Devlin, Delaware (2nd round prospect)

For the record, the page has Winterswyk's name wrong.

Also, I can't see a second-round QB in NE's plans for 2011.

 

[SirApropos]

For the record, the page has Winterswyk's name wrong.

Also, I can't see a second-round QB in NE's plans for 2011.

Agreed. I was just listing one of the bigger names. The only reason to watch him is that if he does well some team may trade up to get him in the early 2nd or late 1st round.

 

[MaineMan]

universal draft.com had some good practice observations last year

Chad Reuter at CBS Sportsline

National Football Post

The Draftguys (Google it, since I don't appear to have the link).

Or just Google "Shrine Game practice report"

My strongest recommendation is to review all the reports from as many sources as you can in order to get a complete picture. Obviously, some guys will focus on offense for an entire day while mostly ignoring the defense while guys from another source will do the opposite. More important, some guys will focus on one aspect of (e.g.) D-line or RB drills while other guys will focus on a different aspect. MOST important, though, is when you get two or more guys watching the same player during the same drills who come up with different (though not necessarily conflicting) observations/comments.

It's also very valuable to follow the notes from day-to-day for each player right through the game to see if the flaws they show on Tuesday get corrected by the end of the week (or not).

 

[MaineMan]

As long as we're mentioning "guys to watch"......... Alex Green, RB, Hawaii.......on the West squad......... 6'0"/230, projected 40 in the 4.55-4.60 range (depending on the source) ......... 1200 yds/18 TDs on 146 attempts, plus 363 yds/1TD on 27 receptions.

Currently projected as a UDFA.

BTW - only a handful of the players at this year's game are currently projected to go earlier than about round 4/5 (most sources) and most are projected UDFA.

 

[NePatriots]

universal draft.com had some good practice observations last year

Chad Reuter at CBS Sportsline

National Football Post

The Draftguys (Google it, since I don't appear to have the link).

Or just Google "Shrine Game practice report"

One of my pals AaronAloysius (of DraftBreakdown.com) will be tweeting live from the practices. Worth a follow.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

As long as we're mentioning "guys to watch"......... Alex Green, RB, Hawaii.......on the West squad......... 6'0"/230, projected 40 in the 4.55-4.60 range (depending on the source) ......... 1200 yds/18 TDs on 146 attempts, plus 363 yds/1TD on 27 receptions.

Currently projected as a UDFA.

BTW - only a handful of the players at this year's game are currently projected to go earlier than about round 4/5 (most sources) and most are projected UDFA.

IIRC, in recent years, that's typical; the big daddy, so to speak, is the Senior Bowl.

 

[MaineMan]

IIRC, in recent years, that's typical; the big daddy, so to speak, is the Senior Bowl.

No question. But I happened to notice, looking back at my tracking sheets for the last couple Shrine games, that more guys on this year's roster seem to be ranked much lower than their counterparts were at the time of the previous Shrine Games. Maybe it just reflects the supposed "weakness" of the seniors in this draft class?

 

[Ochmed Jones]

I still look for the Pats to draft a player or two from this game.

 

[MaineMan]

I still look for the Pats to draft a player or two from this game.

Oh, yeah. Either draft them or pick them up as UDFAs. Or maybe even snatch them up a year or two down the road after they're cut by the teams that picked them up originally. No question that Pats scouts will be paying a lot of attention to these players, however they may be ranked right now.

 

[CTHuskies]

the national football post just put up weigh-in numbers today, see scouting department :rocker:

 

[MaineMan]

the national football post just put up weigh-in numbers today, see scouting department :rocker:

Thanks! I'm just filling out the basic info on my tracking sheet, so that's a help.

 

[Sciz]

Klug's arms are extremely short.
Moch is built more like a very large strong safety than an OLB.
Holy cow at the 6'10'' tackle from Canada, Matthews O'Donnell
Winterswyk passes the size tests, we'll need to see about the athleticism tests

 

[NePatriots]

IIRC, in recent years, that's typical; the big daddy, so to speak, is the Senior Bowl.

A number of these players will end up at the Senior Bowl as well... an example of that being O'Brien Schofield, who tore up the Shrine Bowl and then tore up his knee at the Senior Bowl.

 

[MaineMan]

Klug's arms are extremely short.
Moch is built more like a very large strong safety than an OLB.
Holy cow at the 6'10'' tackle from Canada, Matthews O'Donnell
Winterswyk passes the size tests, we'll need to see about the athleticism tests

At that size, O'Donnell might get flagged for holding or unnecessary roughness before the snap.

Speaking of size - with his hgt, wgt, arm length and projected 40, maybe Jerrod Johnson should switch from QB to TE?

 

[SirApropos]

At that size, O'Donnell might get flagged for holding or unnecessary roughness before the snap.

Speaking of size - with his hgt, wgt, arm length and projected 40, maybe Jerrod Johnson should switch from QB to TE?

I was thinking the same thing about Johnson. It all depends on if he can catch and run routes. A good project for someone else IMO though. Panthers come to mind with Chud at OC now.

 

[MaineMan]

Practice notables through Tuesday:

CB Justin Rogers, Richmond - 5103/183, 31.8" arm, 4.48/40 (proj) - two picks, several PDs, shutting down every WR

WR Anthony Parker, Calgary - 6002/208 - catching everything remotely close
WR Ryan Whalen, Stanford - 6010/204 - catching everything remotely close

DT David Carter, UCLA - 6044/297, 33.8 arm - unblockable
DT Terrell McClain, USF - 6017/305, 33.3 arm - standing out over Marvin Austin

OT Joseph Barksdale getting criticized for "playing too passive" so far

NE scouts reported to have interviewed DE Cheta Ozougwu, Rice (6016/251, 31" arm). Ozougwu has been working out at DE and not doing very well there, but projects better as a 3-4 OLB.

 

[SirApropos]

Practice notables through Tuesday:
WR Ryan Whalen, Stanford - 6010/204 - catching everything remotely close

He may be catching everything but Whalen has T-Rex arms at 29.5 inches.

 

[MaineMan]

He may be catching everything but Whalen has T-Rex arms at 29.5 inches.

Noted.

Just to be clear, I'm merely reporting notes from on-site observers. I'm not promoting these players.