2009 Senior Bowl

[Box_O_Rocks]

Here is something to think about. This past year, Mayo and Guyton were 2 of the 3 LBs on the field in the Pats Nickle formation. Both were at ILB. And both played reasonably well. With that being said, do the Pats really NEED a ILB that is a 3 down LB since he's most likely to come off in obvious passing situations? Unless, of course, the Pats move Guyton to one of the OLB positions, but I think doing that weakens the team.

While it would be NICE to have another young LB who can Pass Rush, stop the run and drop back into coverage at the ILB position, therefore allowing him to be on the field for the 1st 3 downs, is it really a NEED? Or would it be a luxury?

Short of scoring a coup in Free Agency, or moving high enough in the draft to land Aaron Curry, Adalius Thomas is currently the best option for SILB. If the Pats were lucky enough to land Curry they could use him at WILB and slide Mayo to SILB, but I don't think it's likely and believe someone who can help in the OLB rotation with Vrabes and Woods, allowing for Thomas to take SILB reps, is the stronger option.

Those looking for an interior pass rush need to look at last season's games with Guyton, he was getting good pressure on the QB and in addition to his fumble recovery from the Mike Wright strip sack, he also flushed the QB into a couple sacks. I can see BB keeping Bruschi and rotating him with Guyton if they leave Thomas outside, but I do want to see another young Linebacker working inside this season (and Alexander isn't my first choice).

 

[captain stone]

What I think:
-- Adalius is the best candidate for SILB.
-- Mayo is probably the #2 for SILB.
Vrabel is the best candidate for SILB, because he is finished as a pass-rusher. Adalius still has a couple of years left as an OLB before he finishes his contract as a SILB. The backup SILB should either be Junior or someone from outside: a draft pick, UDFA or UFA; but not Mayo - he's our starting WILB, not a 2-down SILB.

-- Woods looked good enough to be a part of the regular OLB rotation. He was just OK, nothing more.

-- Guyton looked good enough to be a part of the regular ILB rotation. But only on 3rd/passing downs; I still doubt his run-stopping ability.

-- Bruschi's reps are already being cut back. They should be cut back to Zero. Seriously, it's time to go, Tedy.

-- Vrabel may have been playing with an injury, but if he wasn't then it's time to cut back his reps. He should play OLB only on short-yardage situations; otherwise, his future - what's left of it - should be at SILB.

-- Crable, Redd, Craig, and Robertson (but not lil' Bo Ruud) are all still in the project stage. Fixed it for ya.

-- Curry is going too high for NE, but he would be a decent WILB. Agree w/ the first part, not so much w/ the second.

-- Sintim is the "safest" LB pick, other than Curry, because he has already played in a 3-4 at OLB and projects easily to OLB for NE. Agree.

-- Cushing is the only other draft prospect who might be ready enough to take OLB reps as a rookie, but I'm not seeing a lot of upside for him. Agree.

-- My next two OLB prospects whom I like are Barwin and English, and both would just be part of the project pool listed above. I really like English, he could be our LaMar Woodley.

-- That BB either has a three man OLB rotation or a three man ILB rotation and Adalius is the swing man who'll make either work. Why can't he have both?

-- That drafting a 3-4 experienced OLB looks to be the easier option in this draft with Sintim, Cushing, and Matthews. Agree.

-- That with Thomas there is no urgency to find a SILB, as long as BB acquires or develops someone for OLB this season. We need Adalius on the Outside, not the inside.

What I suspect:
-- That Sintim has sufficient athleticism to move inside to SILB alongside Mayo (which would probably require a couple years during which he helps the OLB rotation). We'll know more after the Combine.
-- That Craig might be an option at SILB.

I don't see either as a viable option at SILB.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Another game recap with more of a play-by-play summary:

News - South pulls away - Cincinnati Bengals

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Game recap with a Riser/Faller listing.

The National Football Post | Senior Bowl Wrap Up

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

New Era Scouting Archive 2009 Senior Bowl Re-Cap

The Losers:

LB Rey Maualuga, USC- Sure, Maualuga had a good week in practice and looked like a top 15 pick. Why is he then listed as a loser? Maualuga showed that he’s a first and second-down linebacker this week, but he also shows that he may have trouble on third downs. Is Maulauga quick enough to drop back in to coverage? He looked tight in the hips all week.

While I think this analysis is a bit too harsh for Rey, I couldn't help sharing it with his many fans here.

 

[TheKraftyOne]

Game recap with a Riser/Faller listing.

The National Football Post | Senior Bowl Wrap Up

"Tennessee DE Robert Ayers finished up a strong week with a brilliant showing in the game. Ayers was responsible for two sacks and demonstrated a much better first step than scouts gave him credit for during the season. He showcases good leverage on his pass rush and is much more polished than his one year of seasoning would lead you to believe. Ayers may have solidified a spot in the top 60."


Ayers didn't make a single play in the game until the second half. I need to take another look to see who he was working against when he did make something happen. He may turn out to be a good player but I definitely liked his play in drills more than I did in the game. If a team can just let him loose like he was in the drills he can make some plays rushing. He didn't look polished at all for the majority of his PT and was out of position on some runs to his side.

 

[TheKraftyOne]

Ok I just watched the whole second half of the Senior Bowl to the 3:30 mark of the 4th qtr when my DVR stopped recording. What I saw from Robert Ayers:

He made two plays, both sacks. On the first play he jumped left when Fulton guessed right giving Ayers a straight shot to the Qb. The next play he made was around the 8:50 mark of the 4th qtr when he beat Loadholtz on an outside rush.

Both of the tackles he beat are lumbering types. The profile on Fulton at NFL DraftScout says he can be late off the snap which he showed on that play.

Loadholtz profile makes him sound like a pass protecting stiff. He gets beaten too often outside to remain at left tackle and is a tweener that will most likely be moved inside.

Ayers doesn't look anything like a dominating player from what I saw. It's laughable to call his play in that game "brilliant". IMO.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

I don't remember seeing this article from Pat Kirwin on here and I'm too lazy to read through the whole thread to double check - there were a couple remarks I found worth noting: Defensive tackles, potential outside linebackers gaining attention

3-4 outside linebacker candidates

Personnel people always must do some projecting when trying to find outside linebackers for a 3-4 defense. They spend their time wondering if an undersized defensive end can stand up and play, or if an inside linebacker from a 4-3 defense can step outside. A couple of players at the Senior Bowl have started to intrigue the people who must make those decisions.

Larry English, an undersized defensive end (6-3, 255) from Northern Illinois, had good sack production in college. He also has a good motor and is a target of 3-4 teams.

Clint Sintim played the position at Virginia and, as one scout said, "What you see is what you get. He's been well-coached but may be better suited inside than out."

USC has two guys who jumped out during Tuesday's outside linebacker blitz period. Brian Cushing played defensive end, inside linebacker, outside linebacker and even some safety in the Trojans' hybrid defense. He reminds me of Mike Vrabel and fits the bill as a ready-to-play candidate in a 3-4 defense. His teammate, Clay Mathews, is smart, gives great effort and has sound technique, but he might need more physical development.
-----
The guy I'm really interested in seeing at outside linebacker is Connor Barwin from Cincinnati. He's one of four players who caught my eye the first day here, and he continues to pique my curiosity each day.

Early in the week, Barwin worked at tight end -- his designated position on the Senior Bowl roster -- but he also rushed the passer in college and was productive. Not only can Barwin line up on either side of the ball, he also played college basketball. Combine that athletic ability with everything he learned about releasing on routes in football, understanding coverages in front of him and his Big East Conference-leading 11 sacks as a senior, and he might be the perfect 3-4 outside linebacker.

Since those remarks on Sintim and Barwin parallel my own thinking.... :singing:

 

[mayoclinic]

I don't remember seeing this article from Pat Kirwin on here and I'm too lazy to read through the whole thread to double check - there were a couple remarks I found worth noting: Defensive tackles, potential outside linebackers gaining attentionSince those remarks on Sintim and Barwin parallel my own thinking.... :singing:

BOR, I thought Sintim was your Binky?

I agree with "what you see is what you get". I think Sintim is a solid player but a bit stiff and athletically limited. He'd probably be a solid 2nd round pick (though I much prefer Barwin with his athleticism and upside; I probably also prefer Clay Matthews) but I certainly don't see him being value at #23.

 

[Richter]

Extremely hapy to see that Brace showed up really light and in shape. The guy was about 360 when he played for Burncoat HS a few years ago, and while he was still pretty dominant, a leaner Brace could be fantastic.

I would really be thrilled to have him as a backup NT, just as I would have liked guys like Gabe Watson, Alan Branch, and Red Bryant the past few seasons.p

Totally agree. Brace is one of my binkies in this draft, I'd love to see the Pats steal him in the 3rd round. Besides, with a name like Ron Brace, how the heck can he fail? Talk about a perfect name for a defensive tackle.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

BOR, I thought Sintim was your Binky?

I agree with "what you see is what you get". I think Sintim is a solid player but a bit stiff and athletically limited. He'd probably be a solid 2nd round pick (though I much prefer Barwin with his athleticism and upside; I probably also prefer Clay Matthews) but I certainly don't see him being value at #23.

Binky? Not yet, he is my #1 choice for SILB in this draft. The remarks about him being athletically limited and a bit stiff are fine, I'm not looking at him as a DB. He has enough athletic talent to drop into zone coverage, but I'm looking at him for his strength at the point of attack and his flexibility to play OLB while he develops inside.

I like Barwin a great deal more than Sintim, but I can't project him inside as you have. I value him more highly than some of the other stud OLB candidates because he does have added value on Special Teams and at TE, and I've seen him play in space. That said I'm weighing the value of Sintim ahead of Barwin due to my thinking he would be effective where the SILB "need" exists.

 

[Metaphors]

Here is something to think about. This past year, Mayo and Guyton were 2 of the 3 LBs on the field in the Pats Nickle formation. Both were at ILB. And both played reasonably well. With that being said, do the Pats really NEED a ILB that is a 3 down LB since he's most likely to come off in obvious passing situations? Unless, of course, the Pats move Guyton to one of the OLB positions, but I think doing that weakens the team.

While it would be NICE to have another young LB who can Pass Rush, stop the run and drop back into coverage at the ILB position, therefore allowing him to be on the field for the 1st 3 downs, is it really a NEED? Or would it be a luxury?

I hear the term "2-down linebacker" all the time and was interested in your take on the subject. Traditionally that meant a linebacker that was strong against the run since teams ran the ball frequently on 1st and 2nd down. Seems to me that thinking is a thing of the past. Lots of teams try safe passes on early downs to stay in managable 3rd down yardage. Lots of safe passes go to RBs, TEs and WR slant routes...right in the area of your "2-down" linebacker.

I understand having nickel/dime and short yardage specialists, but having a LB who is a liability in coverage creates a giant bullseye in the middle of your defense. You can scheme around linebackers that are weak against the run (Colts) but not sure you can keep a "coverage challenged" ILB from constantly being picked on.

 

[broadwayjoe]

The Great Blue North has posted their Senior Bowl Review just thought I would add that to this thread as well.

Great Blue North Draft Report

Part Deux: The Defense

The story of the week of practice at the Senior Bowl in Mobile was how the dominance of the defensive line. And while the defensive fronts weren't quite as imposing in the actual game there were still a number of noteworthy performances. Boston College DT B.J. Raji, who was arguably the best player on the field over the course of the week of practice, had another strong outing in the game. Raji didn't get into the backfield as much as in practice as he was double-teamed on just about every play, but still continued to shine top ten potential as he exploded off the snap, was effective spinning out of double teams and showed good vision and lateral range to stay with the play even when facing multiple-team blocks. Ole Miss DT Peria Jerry was also very quick off the snap and was consistently able to get into the gaps; Jerry also showed excellent lateral range and closing speed coming off an effective swim move. And for a 290-pounder, Jerry did a nice job anchoring at the point of attack when double-teamed. The other DT that really stood during the Senior Bowl was undersized Mitch King of Iowa, who was generally too quick for the opposing offensive linemen to handle. Indeed, King showed more like ILB athleticism getting through the traffic and exploding into tackles. However, at just 275 pounds and probably lacking the pure speed to move outside to DE, just where King would fit on a pro roster remains something of a poser.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Some interesting names from that article:

Tyrone Mckenzie, 6-2 244, OLB
Tyrone McKenzie | South Florida, OLB : 2009 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile

Scott Mckillop, 6'1 243, ILB
Scott McKillop | Pittsburgh, ILB : 2009 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile

These guys probably won't go until the second day. So they could be value targets for the Pats depending on how they grade out and how they project to fit into the 3-4.

Patrick Chung, 5'11 207, was also noted for making some big hits. He might be a good pickup in the late 2nd or 3rd round as a SS candidate.

Patrick Chung | Oregon, SS : 2009 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile

 

[dryheat44]

Some interesting names from that article:

Tyrone Mckenzie, 6-2 244, OLB
Tyrone McKenzie*|*South Florida,*OLB*:*2009 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile

Scott Mckillop, 6'1 243, ILB
Scott McKillop*|*Pittsburgh,*ILB*:*2009 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile

These guys probably won't go until the second day. So they could be value targets for the Pats depending on how they grade out and how they project to fit into the 3-4.

Patrick Chung, 5'11 207, was also noted for making some big hits. He might be a good pickup in the late 2nd or 3rd round as a SS candidate.

Patrick Chung*|*Oregon,*SS*:*2009 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile

Right now I have McKenzie with out Comp pick in the third round.

I love McKillop, he was one of the very best players I saw all year. If he were an inch taller and 15 pounds heavier, he'd likely be a top 20 pick, instead of day two. That being said, he seems to be superfluous with Mayo. THAT being said, if he's still hanging around in the sixth, I'd take him anyway.