How did Maualuga look?

[mavfan2390]

Amen to Brandon Spikes....although technically we could use a pure pass rusher from the OLB position more than an ILB he's a guy I would definently scoop up if available at 24 (although I expect like Mayo he will rise and be gone in the top 15 picks).

Taylor Mays is amazing, he's so quick to read the QB he reminds me of a younger Brian Dawkins.... he would be fantastic to pair with Meriweather if he falls (which I doubt).

Aaron Curry will also be gone early but that guy has some Demarcus Ware in him...he'd be great here. (Of course I also thought Gholston had some Ware in him...we all know how that went)

William Moore is a ballhawk but he disappears too often and is injured a lot... if he can work on those he's going to be a Pro-Bowler.

Clint Sintim is another pass rusher from the OLB who'd look nice in a Pats uniform.

Anywho, I think the Pats will trade up using the Chargers second to pick whoever falls out of the group above, of course it's waaaaay too early to tell.

 

[wpdougie2180]

The Mays Hit was not a helmet to helmet and he didn't lead with the crown of his helmet he lead with his shoulder and hit both players with his shoulder not his helmet watch it again. It shouldn't have been a penalty for helmet to helmet maybe unnecessary roughness but not what was called.

 

[Boston Boxer]

Mays' hit was illegal and dangerous.

Players should never go flying blind leading with the crown of their helmet like that. And though it was a bang-bang play and not a plate hit, Norwood was busy pulling the ball in and was not much of a moving target when Mays lit him up. I would not give kudos to Mays at all for that hit. It was very Jack Tatum-esque.

I just don't believe football should be played to maim people. Hard hits and intimidation, I believe in. But I draw the line at using the crown of your helmet to demolish someone like that.

i think you should go look at the play again...he did not lead with the crown of his helmet, he led with his shoulder and the helmets hit each other. It was a good football play.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd7m3QtQJus

 

[upstater1]

The Mays Hit was not a helmet to helmet and he didn't lead with the crown of his helmet he lead with his shoulder and hit both players with his shoulder not his helmet watch it again. It shouldn't have been a penalty for helmet to helmet maybe unnecessary roughness but not what was called.

I did watch. Not only did he get a penalty, but the announcers saw the same thing I did. Led with his helmet, his Norwood in the head with his helmet.

There's a video up on Youtube that confirms what I saw. There were replays during the game as well. Herbstreit said it was the crown of his helmet. I know he was trying to hit with his shoulder, but if you watch the replay, you'll see his head is looking straight down at the ground. STRAIGHT DOWN. The only thing going in the direction of the receiver is the crown of the helmet.

I think he was looking to put a big hit with his shoulder, brought his helmet down, led with the crown. Now, it probably wasn't intentional, but it was very bad form. You want to hit someone with your shoulder? Keep your head up. If you lower your head, you can not only miss hitting him with your shoulder, but you can nail him with the crown of your helmet instead, and that is clearly what happened.

 

[tanked_as_usual]

I mentioned in another thread my m aster plan and the big part includes additions of spikes and barwin via the draft as well as suggs in free agency.....which would give us the following:

DL: warren, wilfork, seymour (depth = resign wright, dump green, and draft clinton mcdonald of memphis.....plus lekevin smith)
LB: thomas,mayo, spikes, suggs (vrabel,guyton would become situational inside and outside, and barwin would develop at a comfortable pace....could even handle having bruschi in the mix for 15-20 plays a game over the course of the year until the youngin's develop more)

the potential with this group would make life much easier on the secondary

 

[condon84]

The kid on PSU that has the greatest potential in the pros is Jordan Norwood, a Bobby Engram clone. He's the kid that was hit hard by Taylor Mays. I would also look hard at the 3 offensive lineman entering the draft from PSU.

IMO, Deon Butler is small and has average size speed, and isn't exactly the best route runner. He has a nose for the ball, though, and he adjusts his body well. He came to PSU as a walk-on defensive back and moved into the lineup because of injuries and/or expulsions. Derrick Williams was the #1 recruit in the nation, and though he has been an excellent college player, he doesn't have top end speed, and he falls down a lot, and even fumbles. It's really inexplicable how he falls down. Norwood is an amazing route runner, with excellent hands, and decent speed, but not a burner (very like Bobby Engram).

PSU's defense has no players who are ready for the NFL. They are all underclassman, but in a year, those kids will be excellent when they come out into the draft, and this includes Jared Odrick, Aaron Maybin, Maurice Evans, Navorro Bowman and Sean Lee.

Good info.

I prefer William Moore to Mays. We need a ballhawk back there and Moore provides better pass coverage, even though Mays will probably have a faster 40. IMO, Moore is one of the smartest DBs, if not the smartest, coming out this year (football wise because no one is smarter than road scholar Myron ROlle.)

 

[TheKraftyOne]

I think he cost himself a lot of money by not coming out last year. He didn't look impressive yesterday and at times even reminded me of Monty Beisel running around like a chicken with his head cut off looking for his head.

 

[LuthierJr]

I don't think he looked very good at all. Ran in past the play a few times I saw, and he was always almost at the play but not making it. That's just what it seemed like to me.

 

[reflexblue]

Matthews looked good from what I saw. I wonder if he is related to Clay Matthews? IIRC Clay played for BB in Cle.

I know this is off topic but 13 where you been?

 

[sg14]

I'm glad you brought this up, I don't like seeing this type of play on the field,, they could outlaw this type of thing if they disallowed leaving your feet without extending your arms, as if to make a diving tackle. On this one play 3 players could have left the field on stretchers.

I did watch. Not only did he get a penalty, but the announcers saw the same thing I did. Led with his helmet, his Norwood in the head with his helmet.

There's a video up on Youtube that confirms what I saw. There were replays during the game as well. Herbstreit said it was the crown of his helmet. I know he was trying to hit with his shoulder, but if you watch the replay, you'll see his head is looking straight down at the ground. STRAIGHT DOWN. The only thing going in the direction of the receiver is the crown of the helmet.

I think he was looking to put a big hit with his shoulder, brought his helmet down, led with the crown. Now, it probably wasn't intentional, but it was very bad form. You want to hit someone with your shoulder? Keep your head up. If you lower your head, you can not only miss hitting him with your shoulder, but you can nail him with the crown of your helmet instead, and that is clearly what happened.

 

[wpdougie2180]

I did watch. Not only did he get a penalty, but the announcers saw the same thing I did. Led with his helmet, his Norwood in the head with his helmet.

There's a video up on Youtube that confirms what I saw. There were replays during the game as well. Herbstreit said it was the crown of his helmet. I know he was trying to hit with his shoulder, but if you watch the replay, you'll see his head is looking straight down at the ground. STRAIGHT DOWN. The only thing going in the direction of the receiver is the crown of the helmet.

I think he was looking to put a big hit with his shoulder, brought his helmet down, led with the crown. Now, it probably wasn't intentional, but it was very bad form. You want to hit someone with your shoulder? Keep your head up. If you lower your head, you can not only miss hitting him with your shoulder, but you can nail him with the crown of your helmet instead, and that is clearly what happened.

I don't know what your looking at but the replay provided earlier in the thread clearly shows him hitting both of them with his shoulder. I do agree it was extremely dangerous but he Did Not led with his head. Look at the 40 second to 43 second mark of the video he hits them with his shoulder his head doesn't even move if he hit them with his helmet his helmet would have moved at least.

 

[Seneschal2]

I would prefer brandon spikes.........two guys who can stuff the run as well as cover is something BB has never had since he has been here

I have zero interest in Maualuga. Think he's a high-risk, high-reward player who just don't fit as well as other defensive prospects. I'd easily take Spikes over him, thinking he'd pair well with Mayo. I see Spikes available (or within reach) of #24.

The other #24 candidate is Will Moore. I prefer him over Mays, who most likely will be off the board early. Moore and Spikes are my early stage guess as the Pats first pick, along with one prospect each from the OL and DL positions.

 

[WhiZa]

He's not very humble imo. His entire career he has been put on a pedestal and he has fed right into it.

 

[mayoclinic]

I have zero interest in Maualuga. Think he's a high-risk, high-reward player who just don't fit as well as other defensive prospects. I'd easily take Spikes over him, thinking he'd pair well with Mayo. I see Spikes available (or within reach) of #24.

The other #24 candidate is Will Moore. I prefer him over Mays, who most likely will be off the board early. Moore and Spikes are my early stage guess as the Pats first pick, along with one prospect each from the OL and DL positions.

I agree with you. Aaron Curry is by far my preferred #1 choice for the pats, but is out of reach. Spikes and Moore seem to be the two candidates who fit our needs and profile best and who may be within reach, though both could easily go too early for us. I also prefer Moore to Mays and Spikes to Maualuga by a wide margin.

In my ideal scenario we would address CB and OL in FA, and then address S and LB with our 3 first day picks.

 

[VJCPatriot]

i think you should go look at the play again...he did not lead with the crown of his helmet, he led with his shoulder and the helmets hit each other. It was a good football play.

YouTube - USC vs Penn St Rose Bowl 2009 Taylor Mays Hit

I looked at the play a few times. It appears to me that he definitely intended to hit with the shoulder. At the moment of impact he was even trying to turn his head away and lead with his shoulder. IMO that's just a kid trying to make an aggressive play that needs some coaching on his form.

I like my defensive players with a bit of a mean streak in them. When you're on D, you're there to get the ballcarrier down, I would take a Taylor Mays if he lasted that long. This is the kind of guys who can make receivers hear footsteps. One of the pivotal plays of the 2001 Superbowl was when one of the Pats safeties hit a Rams receiver so hard a rib was cracked. That changed the tone of the game. I'm not saying that "maiming" is necessary by any means, but a hard nosed attitude and aggression are definitely plusses for a defensive player.

I hear some good things about the Moore kid too. You probably won't go wrong with either of those safeties.

 

[Kontradiction]

I have zero interest in Maualuga. Think he's a high-risk, high-reward player who just don't fit as well as other defensive prospects. I'd easily take Spikes over him, thinking he'd pair well with Mayo. I see Spikes available (or within reach) of #24.

The other #24 candidate is Will Moore. I prefer him over Mays, who most likely will be off the board early. Moore and Spikes are my early stage guess as the Pats first pick, along with one prospect each from the OL and DL positions.

Completely agree. Spikes is faster, smarter (football wise), and hits harder than Maualuga. I'm a Gator fan though so I do have a partial opinion.

 

[condon84]

Completely agree. Spikes is faster, smarter (football wise), and hits harder than Maualuga. I'm a Gator fan though so I do have a partial opinion.

Can Spikes engage blockers and shed them? That's what our ILB will be called on to do in our system. Malealuga seems like he's got he size and physicality to fit into what we do more so than Spikes. Don't get me wrong, I think Spikes is a fantastic player, but is he right for our system.

Clearly, we need help on defense, but it wouldn't surprise me if the Pats pick someone who we might not be thinking is what we need. If BB thinks we can fill up our defensive needs later on in the second (two picks) and third rounds, BB might go with an OL, WR, or RB. We could use a top talent addition in our OL. Light is getting up there in age and he struggles against elite rushers. We need to start thinking about WRs as well. Moss has two years left and with our complicated system, getting someone started on learning our offense could be the way to go. And at RB, Maroney's durability is a big question mark. Can we really count on him?

 

[LloydBraun]

I predict:

1st round:

Percy Harvin
Everett Brown

2nd round:

ILB- Laurinitis or Spikes
best available S

3rd round:

RB
OG

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Can Spikes engage blockers and shed them? That's what our ILB will be called on to do in our system. Malealuga seems like he's got he size and physicality to fit into what we do more so than Spikes. Don't get me wrong, I think Spikes is a fantastic player, but is he right for our system.

Clearly, we need help on defense, but it wouldn't surprise me if the Pats pick someone who we might not be thinking is what we need. If BB thinks we can fill up our defensive needs later on in the second (two picks) and third rounds, BB might go with an OL, WR, or RB. We could use a top talent addition in our OL. Light is getting up there in age and he struggles against elite rushers. We need to start thinking about WRs as well. Moss has two years left and with our complicated system, getting someone started on learning our offense could be the way to go. And at RB, Maroney's durability is a big question mark. Can we really count on him?

Spikes needs to get better at shedding, which means technique and strength training, but the two things I've seen him do which I really like is take on OL (vice running around them) and cover receivers. Where I have some questions is how well he's been trained to read keys and trust his reads enough to play downhill on them. I think that can be fixed, and his "suspected" hesitation may be a function of Florida's defensive scheme/coaching.

Two other LBs whom I'd be going after for the SILB job:
- Clint Sintim, Virginia. Yes, he's an OLB for VA, which would help his transition here, but he's TJ's size, used to battling OL in the trenches, and I believe sharp enough to make the transition.
- Eric Norwood, South Carolina. I believe this kid could be another Tedy Bruschi. He's a DE converted to LB and been successful at both. Even better, he's already reported to be 267 so his quickness and speed are displayed while already carrying the bulk needed to survive inside the Pats 3-4. As another DL he's already been handfighting OL. Last word was he was testing the waters to see about coming out as a junior.

Spikes, Sintim, Norwood - if BB gets just one I believe the LB corps will be strengthened immensely for the long term. If he gets two.... :woohoo:

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

I predict:

1st round:

Percy Harvin
Everett Brown

2nd round:

ILB- Laurinitis or Spikes
best available S

3rd round:

RB
OG

I'm cold to Laurinaitis. I know Ochmed reports he's stacking and shedding OL more consistently, but whenever I've seen him, he just didn't look like a kid who would fit within the NE 3-4.