DefenseRules
Pro Bowl Player
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Very interesting stuff in that article about Wheatley. This is just a small blurb.Terrence Wheatley
http://www.patriots.com/search/index.cfm?ac=searchdetail&pid=32175&pcid=41
Wheatley played his final two seasons for the Buffalo's with a rod inserted in his arm to stabilize a dislocated right wrist that required four different surgeries and cost him his entire 2005 season. Initially the one-foot support was made from titanium.
In September of his 2006 season - one in which he started all 12 games, registered 57 tackles and recorded five interceptions - Wheatley broke that unbreakable rod. But in line with the focused determination and internal toughness that those around him rave about, he kept the pain to himself, played out the season and had the rod replaced with one made from stainless steal immediately after the final game.
According to Colorado defensive passing game coordinator/secondary coach Greg Brown - who also coached for 15 seasons in the NFL, most recently with the Saints in 2005 - his two time All-Big 12 pupil hasn't been limited by the wrist that caused Wheatley, by his estimate, to be X-rayed more than 50 times at this spring's NFL Scouting Combine.
"Zero concern. That has not affected him catching the ball whatsoever," Brown said, evidenced by Wheatley's 10 interceptions over the last two years.
Brown also doesn't believe the wrist affected Wheatley in his physical play with receivers whether working in the slot in nickel packages in 2006 or in his secondary's important left corner spot last fall.
"He never complained, never said it was painful," Brown continued. "That was where he made his money for us was walking up on the line of scrimmage, putting his hands up and being able to function as a bump-and-run corner."
Kevin O'Connell
http://www.patriots.com/search/index.cfm?ac=searchdetail&pid=32192&pcid=41
O'Connell is an interesting talent. He entered his senior year as a virtual nobody among NFL scouts and was the only quarterback at the Combine not to have been listed as a pro prospect before the season started. But he is an intriguing combination of size (6-5, 225 pounds), speed (4.6 40-yard dash), agility and leadership who burst onto NFL evaluators' radar during his senior year, when the four-year captain was the Aztecs leading passer (3,063 yards) and leading rusher (408 yards).
I look forward to watching the development of Shawn Crable. That Hybrid part intrigues me.Shawn Crable
http://www.patriots.com/search/index.cfm?ac=searchdetail&pid=32321&pcid=41
Ron English, Crable's defensive coordinator at Michigan, said the linebacker always had the talent but he really came on his last two years after playing behind his friend and current Patriot Pierre Woods.
According to English, Crable is not only a great athlete but also a Patriots-type of player, and he thinks New England is a great fit for him. "He will be a guy that will radically improve," English said. "There is no question Shawn has a big football I.Q., he played a hybrid position for us and his responsibilities included run stopping, pass rush and pass coverage."
Both English and Bill Belichick believe that Crable is more of a linebacker than a defensive end, though the possibility exists he could do both. "He has a tall thin frame, but he's got exceptional strength," Belichick said. "He plays a lot stronger than he looks. He sits kind of like a basketball player, but he has good upper body strength and he plays with good leverage."
Jonathan Wilhite
http://www.patriots.com/search/index.cfm?ac=searchdetail&pid=32382&pcid=41
“Jonathan’s a great kid. All the players love him,” noted Auburn’s Director of High School and NFL Relations, Phillip Lolley. “He’s very funny, and that keeps everybody loose. He could be a stand-up comedian. He can imitate everybody, including all the coaches on our staff. Most of them have heard his impressions of them, and they love it.”
But the Patriots didn’t draft Wilhite to crack jokes. They’ll need him to prove that he can cover some of the best wide receivers in the game.
“As a football player, he has real good man-to-man cover skills, quick feet, and good ball skills down field,” observed his former position coach, Will Muschamp, who’s now the Defensive Coordinator at the University of Texas. “He’s good in sub situations. Jonathan came to work every day, worked hard, and gave a great effort. He has very good upside.”
Lolley agrees.
“Here at Auburn, we have a tradition – we lock down the corners, man-to-man. Even in Cover 3, zero-blitz, Cover 4 … only in Cover 2 do we ask our corners to play zone. Bascially we play nine men on the run, and the corners gotta hold up. So, he’s been exposed to a lot of man-to-man, which he’ll see in the NFL. One thing they’ll have to teach him is when to open his hips when he’s playing off guys at the line of scrimmage.”
It seems that both of or Rooky corners played a lot of man coverage in College. Interesting. Could we be changing from zone to a little more man coverage? Just curious. It would make sense for the Pats to draft players who can play zone, no?
Anyway. I thought all of these articles were great. You guys should go read them when you have some free time. This rooky class seemed to have one word in common: SMART. I hope that leads to an easy transition for these kids. I can't wait for training camp to start. :rocker: