Keith Rivers

[BelichickFan]

How do you guys like him for us?

Pat Kirwin got my attention here:

http://www.nfl.com/seniorbowl/story...0d5d8063738c&template=with-video&confirm=true

One GM who has a 3-4 defense feels he's the best prospect for his team even though Rivers was in a 4-3 package at USC

He's listed at 6'3", 237, which is a little light for us but at that height he should have weight potential. He sounds like he has the skills to play inside for us:

"Rivers can thump a guard who comes out to block him; he sees the scheme in front of him right away and always seems to be waiting for the back before he gets to the point of attack. What is impressive is he always leads with his hands."

Although I doubt we'll take a LB, a LB group of Vrabel, Rivers, Thomas, Colvin is interesting, to say the least.

 

[dryheat44]

Take it for what it's worth, but he was a colossal disappointment at Senior Bowl week...and that's putting it mildly. He's had a nice career at Southern Cal, but you can only impress so much against the overmatched Stanfords, Washington States, Arizonas, and UCLAs of the world. Against similar competition he was a non-factor.

Edit: Wow...I just read the Kirwan piece, and it runs counter to the other three Senior Bowl write-ups I've seen. I'm wondering if Kirwan was actually there, or if he owes a favor to Rivers's agent.

 

[BelichickFan]

I also got this from ESPN, Scouts Inc :

"USC's Keith Rivers clearly is the most complete linebacker prospect on the North roster. In addition to showing great instincts and quickness, Rivers plays with a mean streak. He takes on blockers and fights hard to get through traffic. He looks to be in excellent physical shape, and his range versus both the run and the pass is impressive."

 

[VJCPatriot]

Looks like conflicting reports.
My question is does Rivers have the build to get up to 245-250 without losing speed?

 

[Remix 6]

Take it for what it's worth, but he was a colossal disappointment at Senior Bowl week...and that's putting it mildly. He's had a nice career at Southern Cal, but you can only impress so much against the overmatched Stanfords, Washington States, Arizonas, and UCLAs of the world. Against similar competition he was a non-factor.

where u gettign this from? most of what i read says hes been doing very well..showing he can hit..fluid..fast. amazing sideline to sideline. great in coverage

 

[dryheat44]

where u gettign this from? most of what i read says hes been doing very well..showing he can hit..fluid..fast. amazing sideline to sideline. great in coverage

Actually, since this post was written, I've gone back and read some more reports. There seems to be a split down the middle, which I'm OK with, but what's confusing me is that some are calling him "Stiff...no lateral movement" and others "fluid....moves very well laterally"

I mean WTF?

We were also somewhat underwhelmed by what we saw from Southern Cal OLB Keith Rivers who, came to Mobile as one the top rated players in the Senior Bowl field, and has a nice size/speed ratio, but disappointed with his instincts, agility and overall effort.


We were also hoping to see more from star LB Keith Rivers. Rivers has been a force when attacking plays straight on, but hasn’t shown the expected lateral quickness and instincts; he also appears a little stiff at times.

 

[Remix 6]

Actually, since this post was written, I've gone back and read some more reports. There seems to be a split down the middle, which I'm OK with, but what's confusing me is that some are calling him "Stiff...no lateral movement" and others "fluid....moves very well laterally"

I mean WTF?

We were also somewhat underwhelmed by what we saw from Southern Cal OLB Keith Rivers who, came to Mobile as one the top rated players in the Senior Bowl field, and has a nice size/speed ratio, but disappointed with his instincts, agility and overall effort.


We were also hoping to see more from star LB Keith Rivers. Rivers has been a force when attacking plays straight on, but hasn’t shown the expected lateral quickness and instincts; he also appears a little stiff at times.

• USC linebacker Keith Rivers looks very smooth in everything he does. In particular today I was impressed with how fluid he was in coverage drills and how easily he flipped his hips.

• USC linebacker Keith Rivers is real vocal on the field and had another strong showing. On one play he got good pressure on the quarterback after avoiding a block on a blitz.

more where that came from. those were from NFLDraftCountdown. i've seen some others on rivals and gnb

 

[dryheat44]

more where that came from. those were from NFLDraftCountdown. i've seen some others on rivals and gnb

Oh, I agree. I've seen them too, but since the positive ones were posted, I threw up a few negative ones.

It seems perhaps people came to Mobile with pre-conceived notions about Rivers and left with the same thoughts they arrived with.

 

[BelichickFan]

Oh, I agree. I've seen them too, but since the positive ones were posted, I threw up a few negative ones.

Where were your negative ones from ?

 

[dryheat44]

Where were your negative ones from ?

Great Blue North was one. One was an "insider" blog from a Texas sportswriter, and I think the third was ScoutsInc. or Scouting Exchange.

 

[PonyExpress]

Keep in mind that Kirwan is pete Carroll's best friend and routinely pumps up USC players. If Carroll ever gets a HC job in the NFL again, it is common knowledge that Kirwan will be his GM. Last season Kirwan pumped up Ryan Kalil, to the point where he said the Pats would select him in the 1st rd despite having just resigned Koppen. Ridiculous.

That being said, Rivers is very good. He has big hands and a big frame, which generally is a good indicator a guy can put on weight without losing speed. Still, I question whether he has the "sand in his pants" for the 3-4. The Scouting report at NFldraftscout is less than stellar and labels him a boom or bust prospect who did not perform up to expectations as a senior, though he did have some injury concerns. To be totally sold on him we should wait for his combine numbers, assuming the USC guys agree to work out for once at the combine.

 

[sebman2112]

Take it for what it's worth, but he was a colossal disappointment at Senior Bowl week...and that's putting it mildly. He's had a nice career at Southern Cal, but you can only impress so much against the overmatched Stanfords, Washington States, Arizonas, and UCLAs of the world. Against similar competition he was a non-factor.

Edit: Wow...I just read the Kirwan piece, and it runs counter to the other three Senior Bowl write-ups I've seen. I'm wondering if Kirwan was actually there, or if he owes a favor to Rivers's agent.

I don't know what you're reading, but I've seen a number of places talk about Rivers looking good during practices...

Also, from what I actually watched he looked good.

Edit: I think Mayock's had nothing but great things to say about Rivers all week, as well.

So, I think some of those neg reports were slightly off.

 

[chowder]

Is Rivers worth a #7? I agree he looks like a great athlete, but do you think he will be better than Patrick Willis because even Willis didn't go that high. I'm not sure if Rivers is even better than Cushing or Maualuga and I'm not sure I'd spend a #7 on either of those two if they had declared for the draft this year...

 

[Lockdown06]

Is Rivers worth a #7? I agree he looks like a great athlete, but do you think he will be better than Patrick Willis because even Willis didn't go that high. I'm not sure if Rivers is even better than Cushing or Maualuga and I'm not sure I'd spend a #7 on either of those two if they had declared for the draft this year...

willis may not have gone that high, but i bet if there was a second chance he would go a little higher than 14 - he might not have gone #7 because the vikings wouldn't trade Adrian peterson for anybody but i bet the miami dolphins would take him over ginn, for one thing.

 

[Remix 6]

Is Rivers worth a #7? I agree he looks like a great athlete, but do you think he will be better than Patrick Willis because even Willis didn't go that high. I'm not sure if Rivers is even better than Cushing or Maualuga and I'm not sure I'd spend a #7 on either of those two if they had declared for the draft this year...

and what happened with Willis? Amazing rookie year

Mike Singletary answered the questions for Willis and guys with great speed and athletic ability. Sometimes..like in Willis's case..you question how physical he can be because there were many times where he just used his speed to get by and thats natural because when your blessed with speed, you take advantage of it so people cant see how physical u are. I think this applies to Rivers when you question can he take on blockers..how physical he is. The dude hits very hard..overaggresive at times but once you get them to understand that they cant use their speed for everything, then you can develop them into something special. All depends how coachable he is ..Willis was a great student

 

[VJCPatriot]

Willis was a lot more than a speedster. He was a fundamental wrap up tackler. And I'd seen plenty of highlights where he hit guys real HARD.
If you're talking about a speedster who needed to be coached up, that guy was Boss Bailey. He didn't turn out all that great...
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/stats?playerId=4492

If the Pats are eyeing Rivers, he better be more Willis than Bailey.