Eric Moore

[OldNEPatsFan]

It's just not true that by all accounts he needs a lot of weight room time before he can play in the NFL--most observers think he'll be able to start as a rookie.

What are you talking about

Sideline Scouting - Not especially strong at POA, punch lacks real force... Needs to add some bulk to rangy and over-tall frame... Lacks a great anchor, can be walked back... Inconsistent balance, looks awkward at times... Still somewhat of a project as his overall technique needs tweaked a bit... Too lean, doesn't appear to be able to gain and maintain weight... His height is a disadvantage at this stage of his development... He isn't a "plug-in and play" prospect and will need some positional coaching before he will start in the NFL.

NFP - Impression: A guy who will likely be over drafted based on upside — and rightfully so, as he has the skill set to be as good as he wants to be in the NFL. However, has a lot of cleaning up to be entrusted as a left tackle early in his NFL career and I could see him being better suited to play on the right side because of his ability to win in the run game. Reminds me some of former second-round pick Sebastian Vollmer.

Draft Scouts - Compares to: Robert Gallery, ex-Raiders -- Solder is not coming into the draft with the hype Gallery did out of Iowa in 2004, but their size and athleticism are remarkably similar. The fact Gallery ended up a guard for the Raiders, even though he's a Pro-Bowl caliber one, can't settle well with teams considering Solder for their open left tackle spot.

 

[BlueThunder]

Give him some time with Dante and the weight room and lets see what we have...Vollmer was even more of a ?? than Solder as a rookie and look what happened....

 

[Rob0729]

You may want to define a project as someone needing weight room work, but I see this as about the simplest thing to fix on someone coming into the NFL. I'd be much more concerned if he really struggled with footwork, for example.

You know I could give the Pats a pass of getting developmental player in the first round this year, but this is two years in a row. Last year they drafted McCourty who most experts felt would only be an immediate special teamer and nothing more than a nickelback his first year. So we are still waiting for him to contribute and now have to wait for Solder to contribute too.

Sorry expert projections don't mean crap. McCourty was a developmental player last year and he was a strong candidate for DROY. Meanwhile a lot of people here wanted the Pats to draft Jerry Hughes instead or even Kyle Wilson and both those players struggled. Hughes barely even saw the field. No one knows.

Besides, unless the players and owners get a deal very soon, the chances of other than a handfull of rookies around the league making a significant impact this year is going to be slim. Even for the most NFL ready rookies, it could turn into a developmental year. Every rookie have already missed out on rookie camps, minicamps, and OTAs. Most rookies don't even have the playbook. If the Pats took one of these OLB prospects who are DEs converting to OLB, the chances of them making an impact this year is slim to none.

 

[Rob0729]

What are you talking about

Sideline Scouting - Not especially strong at POA, punch lacks real force... Needs to add some bulk to rangy and over-tall frame... Lacks a great anchor, can be walked back... Inconsistent balance, looks awkward at times... Still somewhat of a project as his overall technique needs tweaked a bit... Too lean, doesn't appear to be able to gain and maintain weight... His height is a disadvantage at this stage of his development... He isn't a "plug-in and play" prospect and will need some positional coaching before he will start in the NFL.

NFP - Impression: A guy who will likely be over drafted based on upside — and rightfully so, as he has the skill set to be as good as he wants to be in the NFL. However, has a lot of cleaning up to be entrusted as a left tackle early in his NFL career and I could see him being better suited to play on the right side because of his ability to win in the run game. Reminds me some of former second-round pick Sebastian Vollmer.

Draft Scouts - Compares to: Robert Gallery, ex-Raiders -- Solder is not coming into the draft with the hype Gallery did out of Iowa in 2004, but their size and athleticism are remarkably similar. The fact Gallery ended up a guard for the Raiders, even though he's a Pro-Bowl caliber one, can't settle well with teams considering Solder for their open left tackle spot.

Anyone can grab three scouting reports out of the hundreds out there and find negative. Besides, do you want to dig up scouting reports on Tom Brady, Logan Mankins, Devin McCourty, Deion Branch, or Wes Welker (if you can actually find a scouting report on the guy). Or find those glowing reports on Laurence Maroney or Chad Jackson. Scouting reports are a bunch of garbage and just guesses like anyone else. I guarantee you there isn't a guy out there who is right much more than 50% of the time on their scouting reports for the top prospects.

The last report you listed is laughable. Most experts feel that Robert Gallery failed at OT at the NFL level in large part because of his short arms being a limitation. Gallery's arm length is 32 1/4 inches and Solder's is 35 1/2 inches. Robert Gallery with longer arms might have been an All Pro LT. Besides, the Gallery comparisons is a compliment to Solder and Draft Scouts just spun it into a negative. But it is superficial analysis like this that shows many of these so called scouts are full of BS.