Under the rader: Kevin Smith

[VJCPatriot]

6-1, 217 lbs officially measured size. Ran a 4.43 40 at the combine.
Rushed for 2,567 yards and 29 TDs last year at UCF.
http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/profile.php?pyid=56551

If he drops to the Pats 2nd round pick, would you take him?
I say yes. The value is tremendous. And he would add nice young talent to the depth chart at RB.

"Smith is a strong, physical runner who can take over a game. He's got tremendous quickness, vision, and strength. He's patient and allows his blockers to set up in front of him, finds the open running lane, and quickly hits it. A shifty runner, Smith is a back who not only makes defenders miss, but is truly special in the open field. He's tough, can take a pounding and gets better as the game progresses. He flashes soft hands and is a receiving threat out of the backfield"
http://profootballexperts.scout.com/2/690218.html

College stats
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=173482

What amazes me, is that given all these numbers, why isn't he considered a 1st round pick? So imo if this guy keeps dropping, he could be an excellent value for the Pats. Even with Maroney already in the fold, Kevin Smith would be valuable insurance since Faulk and Morris are both over 30. And who knows how well Morris will recover from his injury.

All 41 carries of Kevin Smith shown vs UAB (Auburn?). Looks like the type of RB you can hitch your wagon to, and just grind out the clock for the win. Something that we didn't really have last year. He's not really a burner type, but he's plenty fast, and he can carry the load, wear down a defense, and end up overpowering it late in the game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aUuzBgVT98

 

[BritPat]

Which current NFL player would you say he resembles most?

 

[VJCPatriot]

Which current NFL player would you say he resembles most?

It's hard to say. He has a good combination of vision and power. He has enough speed but is not what I'd call a homerun threat, but he will make a defense pay for giving him openings. If I had to compare I'd say that game where he ran all over UAB reminds me of what McGahee did to the Pats in the game against the Ravens that we almost lost. We knew that they were going to give him the ball, but we just couldn't stop him. I think Kevin Smith has the potential to be that type of player. Am I sure? I'm not a psychic, but I'd sure like to roll the dice on him if he becomes available at a good value. Perhaps someone else could offer a better comparison?

 

[jeffbiologist]

I am not sure why people have us as NEEDING a RB(saw it on espn too). Morris' injury is to his collarbone/sternum and should heal no problem. Its not a knee or a back. He is on the books to make decent $$(2M)and it will be dead money if we draft someone to replace him. Now we do have Eckel, a ST and backup, and unless we end up taking DMC there should be no place for another RB this year. Next year we might need 2, but not this year.

 

[dryheat44]

Which current NFL player would you say he resembles most?

His upside is Thomas Jones. He'll never be a star in the league, but a guy you can depend on to grab his hardhat and boots and show up for work every day.

I like him quite a bit. I'm a bit concerned because he was clearly overworked at UCF, but I wouldn't hesitate to draft him.

He's arguably second-round talent, but we really can't justify spending a second round pick on a running back we don't need when we have a lot of holes on defense.

 

[satz]

Not with a second pick.

we have maroney ,morris ,evans and eckel. Both evans and eckel play in ST and add value.

problem is their is only 53 roster spots and 4 for RB ,question who would cut above and be confident that the rookie is going at a minium offer the same.

 

[stinkypete]

I would like the see the Pats take a developmental 3rd down back during day 2. Someone to hopefully groom into Faulk's role, or to replace Faulk when he's hurt. The offense sputters when Faulk is down and the team doesnot have a suitable replacement.

Personally, I'd love to see Mike Hart. Despite his slow 40 time, Hart possesses one of the better pairs of hands out of this year's RB crop and he is solid in blitz recognition/protection. Plus,he was extremely productive in a pro-type offense. His poor combine performance probably drops him to a round 5 grade. I think he could turn into a fine part time player for minimall investment.

 

[sebman2112]

All 41 carries of Kevin Smith shown vs UAB (Auburn?).

UAB is the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Their football team isn't even close to being good right now (2-10 record in 2007).

 

[patsfanofNC12]

Also got to see him play because ECU and UCF are in the same conference, but anyway he is a good back with a whole lot of upside.

 

[DaBruinz]

6-1, 217 lbs officially measured size. Ran a 4.43 40 at the combine.
Rushed for 2,567 yards and 29 TDs last year at UCF.
http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/profile.php?pyid=56551

If he drops to the Pats 2nd round pick, would you take him?
I say yes. The value is tremendous. And he would add nice young talent to the depth chart at RB.

"Smith is a strong, physical runner who can take over a game. He's got tremendous quickness, vision, and strength. He's patient and allows his blockers to set up in front of him, finds the open running lane, and quickly hits it. A shifty runner, Smith is a back who not only makes defenders miss, but is truly special in the open field. He's tough, can take a pounding and gets better as the game progresses. He flashes soft hands and is a receiving threat out of the backfield"
http://profootballexperts.scout.com/2/690218.html

College stats
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=173482

What amazes me, is that given all these numbers, why isn't he considered a 1st round pick? So imo if this guy keeps dropping, he could be an excellent value for the Pats. Even with Maroney already in the fold, Kevin Smith would be valuable insurance since Faulk and Morris are both over 30. And who knows how well Morris will recover from his injury.

All 41 carries of Kevin Smith shown vs UAB (Auburn?). Looks like the type of RB you can hitch your wagon to, and just grind out the clock for the win. Something that we didn't really have last year. He's not really a burner type, but he's plenty fast, and he can carry the load, wear down a defense, and end up overpowering it late in the game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aUuzBgVT98

Interesting that NFLDraftScout (the link you give) has him at 4.58 while FFLiveWire has him at 4.43.

My guess is that the Pats, if they decide to look for another RB, will look at a Chris Johnson type player. Someone who can be the scat-back/3rd down receiving guy out of the backfield, ala Kevin Faulk, unless Morris isn't recovering from his injury. Then I could see them going with a guy like Smith to compliment Maroney.

That being said, I don't think the Pats invest an early pick in a RB. However, there is 5 and possibly 6 legitimate 1st round quality RBs in this draft. So the Pats could get one late in the 2nd round or beginning of the 3rd round depending on how other teams draft.

 

[PatsFan37]

I would like the see the Pats take a developmental 3rd down back during day 2. Someone to hopefully groom into Faulk's role, or to replace Faulk when he's hurt. The offense sputters when Faulk is down and the team doesnot have a suitable replacement.

This was true last year only because Morris was injured and they appeared to be limiting Maroney's carries approaching the post season.

Morris is a legit 3rd-down back who excels at catching and pass-blocking. We have no reason to think his early-season chest injury will limit him. Maroney showed this year how dangerous he is catching passes in open space and this year he'll have a full TC. There's more depth now behind Faulk for the 3rd down / hurry-up role than ever before.

Without that imminent need, I don't see a high pick at either RB or fullback. Edit: And I guess I'd also be surprised if they spent an early day 2 pick.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Well here is my reasoning on why I think Kevin Smith could make sense for us. Towards the end of the year, lots of teams started blitzing Brady heavily and in creative ways. This negatively affected the effectiveness of our offense.

If we add Kevin Smith to the O, I envision a two headed running monster using K. Smith as Thunder, and Maroney as Lightning. This will help balance the Pats offensive attack a lot, saving a lot of wear and tear on Brady, and increasing the effectiveness of the play action pass.

In fact if K. Smith turns out really well he might end up being the 1A back and Maroney the 1B back. This would allow the Pats to run out clock at the end of games more and give their defense more rest as well.

Drafting a solid RB like K. Smith, if he works out, might make as much an impact on this offense as drafting an OL., maybe even more.

Our offense was great, record-setting in fact in 2007, but near the end of the year teams found ways to contain it. And Brady paid the price. Focusing more on powering up the run game, will make it even more difficult for teams to counter it. I'm not saying you have to buy into Kevin Smith as the answer, but can you see the reasoning here at least?

I agree, I'd go with the late 2nd, early 3rd to pick a RB. Chris Johnson is an alternative possibility sure, and his speed is outstanding, but I think he's too much like Maroney (game based on speed) to serve as a complementary RB. I'd go with power and vision this time around instead.

Interesting that NFLDraftScout (the link you give) has him at 4.58 while FFLiveWire has him at 4.43.

My guess is that the Pats, if they decide to look for another RB, will look at a Chris Johnson type player. Someone who can be the scat-back/3rd down receiving guy out of the backfield, ala Kevin Faulk, unless Morris isn't recovering from his injury. Then I could see them going with a guy like Smith to compliment Maroney.

That being said, I don't think the Pats invest an early pick in a RB. However, there is 5 and possibly 6 legitimate 1st round quality RBs in this draft. So the Pats could get one late in the 2nd round or beginning of the 3rd round depending on how other teams draft.

 

[DaBruinz]

Well here is my reasoning on why I think Kevin Smith could make sense for us. Towards the end of the year, lots of teams started blitzing Brady heavily and in creative ways. This negatively affected the effectiveness of our offense.

If we add Kevin Smith to the O, I envision a two headed running monster using K. Smith as Thunder, and Maroney as Lightning. This will help balance the Pats offensive attack a lot, saving a lot of wear and tear on Brady, and increasing the effectiveness of the play action pass.

In fact if K. Smith turns out really well he might end up being the 1A back and Maroney the 1B back. This would allow the Pats to run out clock at the end of games more and give their defense more rest as well.

Drafting a solid RB like K. Smith, if he works out, might make as much an impact on this offense as drafting an OL., maybe even more.

Our offense was great, record-setting in fact in 2007, but near the end of the year teams found ways to contain it. And Brady paid the price. Focusing more on powering up the run game, will make it even more difficult for teams to counter it. I'm not saying you have to buy into Kevin Smith as the answer, but can you see the reasoning here at least?

I agree, I'd go with the late 2nd, early 3rd to pick a RB. Chris Johnson is an alternative possibility sure, and his speed is outstanding, but I think he's too much like Maroney (game based on speed) to serve as a complementary RB. I'd go with power and vision this time around instead.

I understood your reasoning prior to you going into your lengthy post. It would be the reasoning used to justify ignoring the O-line to take a RB before it was needed.

1) The Patriots were using Maroney a lot near the end of the year. The problem was that they didn't have a HEALTHY compliment to run with. That compliment is Morris. You forgot about him. Yes, I know. He's over 30. So what. He ran extremely well in 5 of the 6 games he played.

2) If the right side of the O-line isn't fixed, you limit yourself to running to one side. That really doesn't help the team and negates much of the benefits that you'd get from running the ball the way you express. In fact, in the 2 games the Pats didn't get 100 yards rushing, the primary reason was the O-line NOT being able to open holes against the Giants D-line.

3) The Patriots had a healthy running back that they could have used to help control the clock in the SB and they chose to put the ball in Brady's hand instead. It contributed to the loss because the Pats scored too quickly and allowed the Giants to have enough time to come back and score. It was damn near identical to the 2006 AFCCG game they lost to the Colts.

I didn't rule out the possibility of them drafting a RB. In fact, I left the door open because of the depth that is there in this draft.

 

[VJCPatriot]

1. Morris did run well. And there was no depth behind him when he went down.

2. Which offensive linemen do you want to draft and where?

3. I think they didn't run the ball more in the SB because Maroney was getting stuffed on nearly every run. Maroney had 14 carries for 36 yards and a 2.6 ypa. The Pats scored but left too much time on the clock. If they had more of a grind it out offense, utilizing the running game more they could have run out the clock more and not left Eli all that time to come back and beat our tired defense in the SB 2007.

Fair enough. I could see this team going a number of ways on draft day. Anyone's guess is likely as good as mine at this point.

I understood your reasoning prior to you going into your lengthy post. It would be the reasoning used to justify ignoring the O-line to take a RB before it was needed.

1) The Patriots were using Maroney a lot near the end of the year. The problem was that they didn't have a HEALTHY compliment to run with. That compliment is Morris. You forgot about him. Yes, I know. He's over 30. So what. He ran extremely well in 5 of the 6 games he played.

2) If the right side of the O-line isn't fixed, you limit yourself to running to one side. That really doesn't help the team and negates much of the benefits that you'd get from running the ball the way you express. In fact, in the 2 games the Pats didn't get 100 yards rushing, the primary reason was the O-line NOT being able to open holes against the Giants D-line.

3) The Patriots had a healthy running back that they could have used to help control the clock in the SB and they chose to put the ball in Brady's hand instead. It contributed to the loss because the Pats scored too quickly and allowed the Giants to have enough time to come back and score. It was damn near identical to the 2006 AFCCG game they lost to the Colts.

I didn't rule out the possibility of them drafting a RB. In fact, I left the door open because of the depth that is there in this draft.

 

[DaBruinz]

1. Morris did run well. And there was no depth behind him when he went down.

So, are you suggesting the Pats carry 4 RBs? Not gonna happen.

2. Which offensive linemen do you want to draft and where?

How about you look at some of the other threads. I've mentioned it several times that I'd like them to pick up either a guard or a RT. Brendan Albert would be nice for a RG. Any one of the top RTs would help.

3. I think they didn't run the ball more in the SB because Maroney was getting stuffed on nearly every run. Maroney had 14 carries for 36 yards and a 2.6 ypa. The Pats scored but left too much time on the clock. If they had more of a grind it out offense, utilizing the running game more they could have run out the clock more and not left Eli all that time to come back and beat our tired defense in the SB 2007.

Hence the reason to IMPROVE THE LINE. Sorry, but a more "grind it out offense" wouldn't have done jack sh!t against the Giants front 4. Also, the Pats only needed to run Maroney ONE more time on the series in which they scored their last TD and it either would have run damn near 50 seconds off the clock or forced the Giants to use a Time out prior to the 2 minute warning.

Fair enough. I could see this team going a number of ways on draft day. Anyone's guess is likely as good as mine at this point.

Yep.