Some interesting articles about our new rookies

[DefenseRules]

Terrence Wheatley
http://www.patriots.com/search/index.cfm?ac=searchdetail&pid=32175&pcid=41

Wheatley played his final two seasons for the Buffalo's with a rod inserted in his arm to stabilize a dislocated right wrist that required four different surgeries and cost him his entire 2005 season. Initially the one-foot support was made from titanium.

In September of his 2006 season - one in which he started all 12 games, registered 57 tackles and recorded five interceptions - Wheatley broke that unbreakable rod. But in line with the focused determination and internal toughness that those around him rave about, he kept the pain to himself, played out the season and had the rod replaced with one made from stainless steal immediately after the final game.

According to Colorado defensive passing game coordinator/secondary coach Greg Brown - who also coached for 15 seasons in the NFL, most recently with the Saints in 2005 - his two time All-Big 12 pupil hasn't been limited by the wrist that caused Wheatley, by his estimate, to be X-rayed more than 50 times at this spring's NFL Scouting Combine.

"Zero concern. That has not affected him catching the ball whatsoever," Brown said, evidenced by Wheatley's 10 interceptions over the last two years.

Brown also doesn't believe the wrist affected Wheatley in his physical play with receivers whether working in the slot in nickel packages in 2006 or in his secondary's important left corner spot last fall.

"He never complained, never said it was painful," Brown continued. "That was where he made his money for us was walking up on the line of scrimmage, putting his hands up and being able to function as a bump-and-run corner."

Very interesting stuff in that article about Wheatley. This is just a small blurb.

Kevin O'Connell
http://www.patriots.com/search/index.cfm?ac=searchdetail&pid=32192&pcid=41
O'Connell is an interesting talent. He entered his senior year as a virtual nobody among NFL scouts and was the only quarterback at the Combine not to have been listed as a pro prospect before the season started. But he is an intriguing combination of size (6-5, 225 pounds), speed (4.6 40-yard dash), agility and leadership who burst onto NFL evaluators' radar during his senior year, when the four-year captain was the Aztecs leading passer (3,063 yards) and leading rusher (408 yards).

Shawn Crable
http://www.patriots.com/search/index.cfm?ac=searchdetail&pid=32321&pcid=41

Ron English, Crable's defensive coordinator at Michigan, said the linebacker always had the talent but he really came on his last two years after playing behind his friend and current Patriot Pierre Woods.

According to English, Crable is not only a great athlete but also a Patriots-type of player, and he thinks New England is a great fit for him. "He will be a guy that will radically improve," English said. "There is no question Shawn has a big football I.Q., he played a hybrid position for us and his responsibilities included run stopping, pass rush and pass coverage."

Both English and Bill Belichick believe that Crable is more of a linebacker than a defensive end, though the possibility exists he could do both. "He has a tall thin frame, but he's got exceptional strength," Belichick said. "He plays a lot stronger than he looks. He sits kind of like a basketball player, but he has good upper body strength and he plays with good leverage."

I look forward to watching the development of Shawn Crable. That Hybrid part intrigues me.

Jonathan Wilhite
http://www.patriots.com/search/index.cfm?ac=searchdetail&pid=32382&pcid=41
“Jonathan’s a great kid. All the players love him,” noted Auburn’s Director of High School and NFL Relations, Phillip Lolley. “He’s very funny, and that keeps everybody loose. He could be a stand-up comedian. He can imitate everybody, including all the coaches on our staff. Most of them have heard his impressions of them, and they love it.”

But the Patriots didn’t draft Wilhite to crack jokes. They’ll need him to prove that he can cover some of the best wide receivers in the game.

“As a football player, he has real good man-to-man cover skills, quick feet, and good ball skills down field,” observed his former position coach, Will Muschamp, who’s now the Defensive Coordinator at the University of Texas. “He’s good in sub situations. Jonathan came to work every day, worked hard, and gave a great effort. He has very good upside.”
Lolley agrees.

“Here at Auburn, we have a tradition – we lock down the corners, man-to-man. Even in Cover 3, zero-blitz, Cover 4 … only in Cover 2 do we ask our corners to play zone. Bascially we play nine men on the run, and the corners gotta hold up. So, he’s been exposed to a lot of man-to-man, which he’ll see in the NFL. One thing they’ll have to teach him is when to open his hips when he’s playing off guys at the line of scrimmage.”

It seems that both of or Rooky corners played a lot of man coverage in College. Interesting. Could we be changing from zone to a little more man coverage? Just curious. It would make sense for the Pats to draft players who can play zone, no?

Anyway. I thought all of these articles were great. You guys should go read them when you have some free time. This rooky class seemed to have one word in common: SMART. I hope that leads to an easy transition for these kids. I can't wait for training camp to start. :rocker:

 

[Pats726]

GREAT POST...good to read about the rooks..optimism is high!!! ALL good...

 

[ALP]

nice find...

i wonder why they ommitted the 10th pick of the draft

 

[DefenseRules]

nice find...

i wonder why they ommitted the 10th pick of the draft

I don't think they are finished with the articles yet. They didn't do one about Slater or Bo Ruud yet. Mayo will get his turn I'm sure. They probably figure that we know more about Mayo than all of the other picks. JMO.

 

[JR4]

Interesting .... thanks for posting.

 

[PatsFan37]

Real nice article on O'Connell. Didn't know he had the highest wonderlic at the combine. I've been skeptical about this guy, not because of spending a third-rounder, but because of scouting reports (I don't watch SD State games, so what other source of info do I have?) that his pocket sense was weak, and that's been a problem for Cassel and is one of Brady's great strengths. But this was an intriguing article and it's getting me fired up about a guy who I hope won't get much playing time in the regular season.

 

[BradfordPatsFan]

Real nice article on O'Connell. Didn't know he had the highest wonderlic at the combine. I've been skeptical about this guy, not because of spending a third-rounder, but because of scouting reports (I don't watch SD State games, so what other source of info do I have?) that his pocket sense was weak, and that's been a problem for Cassel and is one of Brady's great strengths. But this was an intriguing article and it's getting me fired up about a guy who I hope won't get much playing time in the regular season.

His pocket sense may be weak but also his o-line was considered weak, was it not? I believe they surrendered upwards of 30 sacks last year. If that is so, I would think it difficult to judge one's pocket presence when there is no pocket to be had.

 

[PatsFan37]

His pocket sense may be weak but also his o-line was considered weak, was it not? I believe they surrendered upwards of 30 sacks last year. If that is so, I would think it difficult to judge one's pocket presence when there is no pocket to be had.

And that's the point everyone makes. But the scouting report I read took that into account and that's all I had to go by. "his o-line was considered weak" is also second or third hand information, regardless of whether it's true. Unless we actually saw the games, all we can do is regurgitate other people's opinions.

Personally, I'd like to see this guy succeed, but it's all drivel until we see him in at least a few pre-season games. Sensing the rush is hard to demonstrate in practice. Cassel seemed, to me and others more knowledgeable, to be a terrific candidate, but as the years went by it became obvious that in live games he was sacked too easily, so I'm reserving judgment. He is, after all, a rookie. Rookie QBs have a pretty high failure rate.

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

Great find, thanks for sharing......

 

[TB146]

I can't wait to see Crable develop either... partly because I want to see Crable and Vrabel lining up next to each other at linebacker.

I'm very excited about Mayo and Wheatley, too... and I'm very curious about the multi-talented Slater.

 

[patsox23]

And that's the point everyone makes. But the scouting report I read took that into account and that's all I had to go by. "his o-line was considered weak" is also second or third hand information, regardless of whether it's true. Unless we actually saw the games, all we can do is regurgitate other people's opinions.

Personally, I'd like to see this guy succeed, but it's all drivel until we see him in at least a few pre-season games.

I think we all agree with the first part, but from what I've read from scouts and Belichick - folks who HAVE seen the actual footage of that sieve of an OL O'Connell played behind (or, more aptly, in front of), I completely buy the meme that KO was on his own and running for his life in San Diego.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

I think we all agree with the first part, but from what I've read from scouts and Belichick - folks who HAVE seen the actual footage of that sieve of an OL O'Connell played behind (or, more aptly, in front of), I completely buy the meme that KO was on his own and running for his life in San Diego.

Just a thought here--David Carr looked awesome when he had Logan Mankins at guard--then he went to the Texans.

O'Connell accomplished what he did with a line that was about as useful as the Texans'--and now he gets to play behind Mankins.

 

[DefenseRules]

Just a thought here--David Carr looked awesome when he had Logan Mankins at guard--then he went to the Texans.

O'Connell accomplished what he did with a line that was about as useful as the Texans'--and now he gets to play behind Mankins.

That's a very good point.

 

[3andcounting]

Thanks for the links. Nice reads, especially this time of the years.

One nice thing about this rookie class is that they're fast, at least the top picks. They also seem to be football smart and just simply love football, a BB prerequisite. Plus I hear Mayo loves watching film.

Given that Capers is now on board and Seymour is healthy and in a contract year, it should be a fun year to watch them grow.

 

[patriotspride]

Very interesting stuff in that article about Wheatley. This is just a small blurb.




I look forward to watching the development of Shawn Crable. That Hybrid part intrigues me.



It seems that both of or Rooky corners played a lot of man coverage in College. Interesting. Could we be changing from zone to a little more man coverage? Just curious. It would make sense for the Pats to draft players who can play zone, no?

Anyway. I thought all of these articles were great. You guys should go read them when you have some free time. This rooky class seemed to have one word in common: SMART. I hope that leads to an easy transition for these kids. I can't wait for training camp to start. :rocker:

the pats defense is going to be a lot better then people think. younger faster and better than last years defense. i think people will look back at this years draft class and be very happy.

 

[PatsFan37]

Just a thought here--David Carr looked awesome when he had Logan Mankins at guard--then he went to the Texans.

O'Connell accomplished what he did with a line that was about as useful as the Texans'--and now he gets to play behind Mankins.

He's more likely to be playing behind Mruc and Yates. Brady plays behind Mankins.

I appreciate all your optimism but I believe in letting rookies be rookies and waiting until they take the field. Rohan Davey was also a high pick at 117, just a few spots below O'Connell.

O'Connell (apparently) has great intangibles: character, intelligence, toughness, and leadership, along with tangible speed, height, and accuracy. He can probably learn the playbook. The question, as it is for anyone, is whether he can adapt to the speed of the NFL: make the quick reads, sense the rush. Davey couldn't do it, Klingberry or Klingon or whatever, he couldn't do it. Cassel has his struggles, but I haven't given up on him, yet. Gutierrez is still a youngster and O'Connell hasn't even seen a training camp.

Edited to say: Personally, I thought Gutierrez looked pretty good last year and I haven't stopped rooting for him!

 

[juxtapoz15]

The question, as it is for anyone, is whether he can adapt to the speed of the NFL: make the quick reads, sense the rush. Davey couldn't do it, Klingberry or Klingon or whatever, he couldn't do it.

I was yawning at my desk and when I read the Klingon nickname I laughed and shot spit all over my monitor.

 

[PatsFan37]

If I can't be insightful, I can always be good for a laugh.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

I'll toss in this one that showed up on the Planet, from Patriots.com (emphasis mine):

Meet the Rookies: Bo Ruud

With a background like that, it's not surprising to hear Bo Ruud talk about his compulsion to watch film. "I'm kind of obsessed about it," Ruud said shortly after the Patriots took him in the sixth round (197 overall). "I will tell people there is not one linebacker in the country that spends more time watching film than me. It's one thing I actually enjoy doing and it helps. I think football is really important."

Not surprisingly, Ruud said he's been doing it since high school with his brother and continued the practice ever since. When Barrett made it to the NFL, Bo stepped it up a level. [snip]

According to Cosgrove, Ruud's off-field work has paid off handsomely. Early in his career with the Huskers, Ruud played weak-side linebacker in a 4-3 set but filled in seamlessly for the departed Stewart Bradley (Phildelphia's third-round pick in 2007) on the strong side in 2007.