SI: Tape backs up Easley hype

Courtesy of a mention in the Mike Reiss blog, a tape study on Dominique Easley sees tons of promise.

http://nfl.si.com/2014/06/06/break-...could-redefine-new-englands-defensive-fronts/

I know there's been a lot of talk on here debating potential vs injury-prone. But it seems like this column takes the analysis to a different level and provides us with lots of hope:

What makes Easley special? As Belichick said, he plays multiple defensive line positions at a ridiculously high level. And for a defensive mind such as Belichick’s, he’s a perfect cog in a lot of ways. Belichick has been blurring the lines between 3-4 and 4-3 gap concepts long before they were the standard in the NFL; he wants players who can fit in all sorts of line gaps and disrupt no matter where they’re lined up. Easley doesn’t have a lot of tape from 2013, but what there is shows that he’s clearly this kind of player.

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Author Doug Farrar provides lots of tape samples for those whose analytical skills are well above mine (and there are a lot of you). have at it.

He goes as far as saying with a fully healthy college career he could of gone #1 overall.

Time will tell but certainly makes an injury risk worth it if we could end up with a player worthy of that.

Uncle Rico said:

Courtesy of a mention in the Mike Reiss blog, a tape study on Dominique Easley sees tons of promise.

http://nfl.si.com/2014/06/06/break-...could-redefine-new-englands-defensive-fronts/

I know there's been a lot of talk on here debating potential vs injury-prone. But it seems like this column takes the analysis to a different level and provides us with lots of hope:

Author Doug Farrar provides lots of tape samples for those whose analytical skills are well above mine (and there are a lot of you). have at it.

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It's pretty much what Farrar has been saying about Easley all along. Here's what he had to say 8 weeks ago:

Strengths: Easley’s most prominent attribute is that he can play convincingly and at a starter level in so many gaps. There are multiple examples of him blowing up protections everywhere from 1-tech (between the center and guard) to 3-tech (between the guard and tackle) to end. He even has the speed and turn to disrupt from a wide-nine stance. For his size (6-foot-2, 288), Easley flashes tremendous upper-body strength — he plays 20 or 30 pounds heavier than he is in that sense, but he has the field speed and agility of a linebacker when he’s in space or covering in short areas. Gets his hands on blockers right off the snap and uses his hands very well — will use hand-strikes, swim and rip moves, and pure bull-rushes to drive through or get past to the backfield. Didn’t do a lot of stunting and looping for the Gators, but he clearly has the skillset to do so.

Conclusion: Put simply, a totally healthy Dominique Easley would be a lock for a top-five pick in the 2014 draft, and in my opinion, people would be talking about him as they talk about Jadeveon Clowney — he’s that good on tape. Outside of his size limitations, he’s got everything you could possibly want in a defensive lineman, and the ways in which he’s dealt with his setbacks say as much about him as a person than as a player.

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http://nfl.si.com/2014/04/09/2014-nfl-draft-top-64-scott-crichton/

Rotoworld's Josh Norris is another guy who had Easley pegged months ago as a top 5 talent based on tape. Norris told Tom Curran:

"I've never seen [Easley's] type of explosiveness, his type of disruption from the interior of a defensive line. ... You can put him at the '1' technique, which is right next to the center; the '3' technique, which is right next to the guard. And he just gets upfield. He creates a lot of disruption. ... Disruption is production, even if it does not show up in a box score. And Easley is someone that is scheme versatile. He's going to be an instant contributor to this defensive front."

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http://www.csnne.com/new-england-patriots/norris-easley-disruption-production-1

For more good film breakdown on Easley, Oliver Thomas of NEPatriotsDraft.com had this nice piece 2 1/2 months ago:

http://www.nepatriotsdraft.com/2014/03/2014-nfl-draft-close-up-florida-defensive-lineman-dominique-easley.html

signbabybrady said:

He goes as far as saying with a fully healthy college career he could of gone #1 overall.

Time will tell but certainly makes an injury risk worth it if we could end up with a player worthy of that.

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The upside is why they took the risk. Belichick, like Parcells and I assume many other NFL GM's knows that there are certain athletes who are special and they are hard to come by and you usually have to use a high opick to get them, and while the ACL's are certainly a concern a player like this is a are commodity and worth the risk becuase the upside is a dominant NFL lineman. And given that Easely can play anywhere on the line he is that much more valuable because he addresses both their interior DL and gives them a rotational DE top spell Jones and Ninkovich when they need a breather.

I think pretty much everyone has been saying that it's all about the injuries with this guy.

I think the first thing that started turning me around on this pick was the fact how fast the Pats made it. Remember this was the perfect time for the Pats to be taking the full 15 minutes to field offers from those at the top of 2nd round who wanted back in. (and its been reported they there were a few). IIRC it took the Pats less than 5 to turn in the pick. In fact ESPN, figuring the Pats would take all those minutes, where in a commercial break when the Pats turned in their card. This was clearly a guy the Pats has targeted.

Also all the recent innovations in ACL surgeries have made the procedure go from a career threatening injury at worst or a career limiting one at best; into one where the only thing a player seems to lose is time. Just a few years ago an ACL took a year to get back on the field from and 2 to get maximum recovery. Now that's shrunk to as little as 6 months to get back on the field and a year to see your maximum recovery (that's when a player is fully mentally comfortable with his recovery).

I admit that when the pick was first made, I was thinking, "typical BB outside the box pick". It only took about a day before I was completely turned around. Right now I believe this will be a more impactful pick than Chandler Jones and Devin McCourty. I haven't been this excited about a Pats first round pick in many many years. Now that I think about it, since Vince.

Deus Irae said:

I think pretty much everyone has been saying that it's all about the injuries with this guy.

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Yes, but how many GMs feel like taking the "risk" of having a 1st round pick that people can point to and say, "it was all right there" if he proves to be injury prone. BB is like the Warren Buffet of football. He'll gladly take something that people perceived as damage when, within a certain time frame, the value will get back to where it belongs. (basically paying $50 for $100 or more down the road).

BTW- much thanks to Rico and Mayo for the links. If you watch them, you all will be as excited as I am right now. The injuries are a risk, but as you read about them, less and less every day.

IDK, the odds of retearing an ACL is very low. In most cases, the repaired ACL is stronger than the original one. Easley said he got extra speed after he replaced the first one. Hopefully, he gets even more after the second one.

I would rather gamble on a guy who tore two ACLs than someone who had a lot of less severe injuries that keeps on taking him out. In other words, I would take an Easley over a Ras-I Dowling type.

RelocatedPatFan said:

Yes, but how many GMs feel like taking the "risk" of having a 1st round pick that people can point to and say, "it was all right there" if he proves to be injury prone. BB is like the Warren Buffet of football. He'll gladly take something that people perceived as damage when, within a certain time frame, the value will get back to where it belongs. (basically paying $50 for $100 or more down the road).

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Teams take those risks all the time. The situation here is a pair of ACL pops that were non-contact injuries, which is a higher risk. The Patriots, as an already top team that doesn't get the chance at the top talent generally, took the risk that a potential top talent will stay healthy, instead of taking someone that they might think has a lower ceiling but also has a cleaner medical history.

There were stories before the draft about this, and how it fell in such a way that this was how it would quite possibly unfold. Teams with needs v. teams with more of a luxury situation.

I'm happy to have Easley, he's a Patriot no reason to hype him, we'll find out what he is this season.

Is there any info about his availability to participate in full training camp?

I've always liked what this kid brought to the table, but it was tough to gauge his value in the draft because no one knew how physicals were looking, but as the draft got closer Rapoport said his medicals were looking very good.

I had him mocked to NE in the second round, but obviously his legs have checked out among teams and BB felt he was worth a first and same with Seattle.

This kid brings speed and explosion from the interior which is something we've never had. If he turns out to be that top 10 prospect that scouts claim he would've been if he hadn't been injured, then our pass rush will be wild. He will force attention meaning teams cant place all the attention on Jones which can help open him up as well.

I love what Easley brings to the table.

varjao said:

Is there any info about his availability to participate in full training camp?

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Easley worked out April 18 and claimed he was at 80-85% and would be ready by summer. Prior to the draft it was reported that the medical reports were favorable and that Easley should be ready by sometime during training camp:

http://nfl.si.com/2014/04/30/dominique-easley-health-2014-nfl-draft/

After the draft Tony Villani, the trainer who worked with Easley during his rehab, publicly stated that he expected Easley to be ready to be a full-go by the beginning of training camp:

http://www.nepatriotslife.com/2014/05/dominique-easleys-former-trainer.html

We're not going to get anything more definite than that, but all the reports have been favorable.

Easley tore his ACL last September 24, so he will be almost a full year out by the beginning of the regular season. In addition, he has already been through the psychologic process of recovering from an ACL injury and coming back the following season, which is a major advantage; from most accounts, the biggest hurdle to players making a speedier recovery from ACL tears is getting their confidence back and playing without fear of re-injury.

We can all hope. I think Easley probably has a big season in 2015. 2014 will be a learning, getting your explosiveness back type of season.

scott99 said:

We can all hope. I think Easley probably has a big season in 2015. 2014 will be a learning, getting your explosiveness back type of season.

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I'm holding out hope for a Jamie Collins-esque final third of the season.

Uncle Rico said:

I'm holding out hope for a Jamie Collins-esque final third of the season.

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I agree - perhaps even more. Easley won't be adapting to a position change and new responsibilities as much as Collins was. If he is healthy going into training camp then I see him being used situationally at first, but getting more use if he proves healthy. I could see him having a big impact the second half of the season. I also think that Collins and Easley will be devastating together.

FWIW, here's some more film review of Easley, from Alen Dumonjic:

http://www.thescore.com/nfl/news/502690

Uncle Rico said:

I'm holding out hope for a Jamie Collins-esque final third of the season.

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I am holding out hope for DROY honors. Why are you shooting so low in June? You make that type of statement if Easley starts the summer on the PUP and is not contributing off the bat.

He certainly has the talent to compete for DROY honors. The question will be is he ready healthy wise to compete for DROY honors.

One of these things is not like the others...

(And no, he wasn't offsides.)

Rob0729 said:

I am holding out hope for DROY honors. Why are you shooting so low in June? You make that type of statement if Easley starts the summer on the PUP and is not contributing off the bat.

He certainly has the talent to compete for DROY honors. The question will be is he ready healthy wise to compete for DROY honors.

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Hah - -hey, hope you're right. To be fair, I was responding to a post saying 2014 would be a learning/getting back year for Easley. No doubting the talent — just trying to give the rookie cushion to get comfortable both physically and mentally. DROY would be fab.