Some (possible) insight on how the Patriots scout

[ctpatsfan77]

Yes, it comes from our favorite binky, but it's not about him directly.

In fact, this was a part of the interview Box posted on the Barwin thread, but I felt it was important enough to promote it to its own thread. [Please note I have edited for length and, ahem, accuracy.]

Q: A number of people feel you've earned a spot in the late part of round one and could end up with either the New England Patriots or Miami Dolphins? Have you spent a lot of time with those teams?

Connor Barwin: Patriots tight end coach Shane Waldron came and worked me out in a private visit. I leave March 29 for a visit with the Patriots this week.

Q: Have they spoken to you about playing OLB? DE? TE?

Connor Barwin: The LOLphins [] came to work me out as an outside linebacker. One of their coaches told me he sees me as a better tight end, but he’s the only guy in the organization who sees me as a tight end, everyone else sees me as an outside linebacker. As far as the Patriots go, their tight ends coach said he came and worked me out because he liked me at tight end. But they keep defense and offense completely separate, so he didn’t know what they thought of me as a defensive player.

I don't know what to make of that, really.

 

[BelichickFan]

Man, you open a thread thinking it might be a Barwin Free Zone and look what happens.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

I think it means offensive coaches look at offensive players only. And defensive coaches look at defensive players only.

Unless you coach for the Bengals, I think that is SOP in most organizations.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

I also took it to mean that Patriots' position coaches have a lot of latitude to work with the personnel department. I read that as Waldron found himself intrigued by Barwin the junior TE turned defensive end/goal line TE and feeling he needed to get "hand-on" to get more detail. Other than maybe discussing it with O'Brien, it was a visit coordinated with Caserio or his Dir. of College Scouting and didn't involve BB directly...it may not have even needed to involve Caserio, just the area scout and College Scouting.

 

[maverick4]

patchick, that interview is an example of what I was talking about in the other thread. Not that he tries to glamorize/market himself, but look at how he responds to questions to make himself look better:

[Q: What characteristics about yourself allowed you to make such a seamless transition from one side of the ball to the other?

Connor Barwin: I think my general athleticism was a big part of it. My endurance and my motor all played a big part of it; I was able to wear down guys because I played the same way every single snap. Those were probably the two biggest things that allowed me to make the adjustment. ]


It's a great interview. This guy Barwin is one of the best interviewer college prospects I've seen in a long time. His agent did a great job.

 

[PATSNUTme]

19 more days to go.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

19 more days to go.

Maybe by then Barwin can learn to talk like a cross between Rey Maualuga and Andre Smith.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Maybe by then Barwin can learn to talk like a cross between Rey Maualuga and Andre Smith.

Do they teach 'dumbing down your talk' classes?

Anyways I found the following excerpt interesting.

From what I did at the Senior Bowl and the combine and what I showed people at Pro Day, I continue to show people I wasn’t a guy that got lucky. I was a guy that worked for everything and it shows when you have an opportunity to create your own on defense, and that’s why I was able to be productive.

Basically, Barwin is a 4 year player. The only difference is that he spent his last year on defense instead of offense. He's a FOOTBALL player, not just an

Maybe by then Barwin can learn to talk like a cross between Rey Maualuga and Andre Smith.

Do they teach 'dumbing down your talk' classes?

Anyways I found the following excerpts interesting.

From what I did at the Senior Bowl and the combine and what I showed people at Pro Day, I continue to show people I wasn’t a guy that got lucky. I was a guy that worked for everything and it shows when you have an opportunity to create your own on defense, and that’s why I was able to be productive.

Basically, Barwin is a 4 year player. The only difference is that he spent his last year on defense instead of offense. He's a FOOTBALL player, not just an athlete. And the way he has used his experience on both sides of the ball to get better at his respective positions shows how smart he is.

And of course it's interesting to see who expressed interest in him teamwise:

Tice Jaguars #8
Ryan Jets #17
Waldron Patriots #23
Parcells Dolphins #25
Pope Giants #29

Basically I could see any of those teams outside of Jacksonville being a threat to take Barwin in the 1st round. The Dolphins worry me in particular.