PonyExpress
In the Starting Line-Up
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2006
- Messages
- 4,659
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Staley could be a Wild Card in the Pats' draft. Light was inconsistent last year, drawing some justified criticism for getting manhandled vs. Schobel and Tayler. He rebounded nicely against Merriman and Freeney. The coaching staff obviously values him, calling him to the pro bowl as a replacement. That doesn't mean he is destined to stay on the left side, necessarily. ProFootballweekly mentioned late last season that the Pats were considering moving Kaczur to the left side and Light to the right for '07. If not in '07, the Pats may be looking longer term and considering the LT position for '08 and beyond, and the cost of acquiring so important a chess piece via free agency. If a blue chip prospect is available at left tackle, the Pats would have to consider the value of drafting such a player in rd 1. The question is, can Staley be such a player.
I have questions about Staley. The only time I watched him was at the Senior Bowl. He was obviously overpowered at times due to what appeared to be a lack of upper body strength, and made two mindblowingly stupid plays. In a game where no blitzing was allowed, he blocked down on the DT twice, allowing the DE (Jay Moore) to blow by him for devastating blind side hits on the QB. A very bizarre sequence that forced me to question Staley's situational awareness.
Then, at the combine, he chose not to run with a story about a "minor injury". He still managed to brag about how fast he is, which hinted at the fact he could be a knucklehead. But he is rumored to run a 4.75 40, obscenely fast. He'll probably run a valid 4.9, and even that would be great.
Things to like: Staley has elite size at 6'6''. He has a longer reach than the elite LT prospects Brown and Thomas (BTW Thomas has stubby arms, only 32 1/2". Short arms are one of Gallery's flaws. At 6'7'' Gallery's arms are only 32 1/8", and his hands comparatively tiny at 9 1/4''. Those are similar measurements to Thomas and Jordan Gross, who both are best suited to right tackle). The elite Left tackles drafted the last few years (McNeil, J. Brown, even Ferguson assuming he improves) all have at least 10' hands and a 34" reach. Staley has 10 1/8' hands and a 33 1/2" reach. Reach is crucial in winning the battle of leverage. McNeil, not surprisingly has a ridiculous 35 3/8" reach, which was evident just by watching him play.
If the Pats can determine that Staley is not a knucklehead, and the Senior Bowl performance was a fluke; if they decide they can spend a year strengthening Staley while Light/Kaczur hold the fort down in '08; then drafting Staley in rd 1 could be a tremendous move. I can't pretend to have watched Staley play, so this is just guesswork.
I have questions about Staley. The only time I watched him was at the Senior Bowl. He was obviously overpowered at times due to what appeared to be a lack of upper body strength, and made two mindblowingly stupid plays. In a game where no blitzing was allowed, he blocked down on the DT twice, allowing the DE (Jay Moore) to blow by him for devastating blind side hits on the QB. A very bizarre sequence that forced me to question Staley's situational awareness.
Then, at the combine, he chose not to run with a story about a "minor injury". He still managed to brag about how fast he is, which hinted at the fact he could be a knucklehead. But he is rumored to run a 4.75 40, obscenely fast. He'll probably run a valid 4.9, and even that would be great.
Things to like: Staley has elite size at 6'6''. He has a longer reach than the elite LT prospects Brown and Thomas (BTW Thomas has stubby arms, only 32 1/2". Short arms are one of Gallery's flaws. At 6'7'' Gallery's arms are only 32 1/8", and his hands comparatively tiny at 9 1/4''. Those are similar measurements to Thomas and Jordan Gross, who both are best suited to right tackle). The elite Left tackles drafted the last few years (McNeil, J. Brown, even Ferguson assuming he improves) all have at least 10' hands and a 34" reach. Staley has 10 1/8' hands and a 33 1/2" reach. Reach is crucial in winning the battle of leverage. McNeil, not surprisingly has a ridiculous 35 3/8" reach, which was evident just by watching him play.
If the Pats can determine that Staley is not a knucklehead, and the Senior Bowl performance was a fluke; if they decide they can spend a year strengthening Staley while Light/Kaczur hold the fort down in '08; then drafting Staley in rd 1 could be a tremendous move. I can't pretend to have watched Staley play, so this is just guesswork.