Combine Talk: Linebackers

[Richter]

Man, Sintim tweaked something too. Did none of these guys drink their water, or are half of them just made of glass?

 

[mayoclinic]

Man, Sintim tweaked something too. Did none of these guys drink their water, or are half of them just made of glass?

Please try to avoid the term "made of glass" when talking about prospective Pats draftees.

 

[mayoclinic]

Sintim was out there in the LB drills and looked smooth, so hopefully it was nothing major.

 

[Richter]

Please try to avoid the term "made of glass" when talking about prospective Pats draftees.

Heh, that's exactly why I used it. Laurinaitis just got hung up and flubbed his transition from a backpedal to a sprint. He does not look smooth at all with his lateral movement and transitions.

 

[Richter]

Sintim was out there in the LB drills and looked smooth, so hopefully it was nothing major.

Yeah, he looked good there, I think he just tweaked something at the end of his 40.

 

[mayoclinic]

Aaron Curry looks like he's in a different league from the rest of the LBs. What a beast. I hope Pioli snags him at 3 and doesn't let him fall to Mangina at 5.

 

[jays52]

Brinkley looks real good as well. He looks like the best SILB prospect in the group.

 

[Richter]

Brinkley looks real good as well. He looks like the best SILB prospect in the group.

Yeah, he's looking real smooth through the linebacker drills. Both he and Curry dropped those picks though. Hope no one is drafting one of these guys for their hands.

Update: Wow, I gotta take that back about Matthews. He just made a terrific catch on a high ball.

 

[mayoclinic]

Sintim looks much smoother than Brinkley.

Looking at the LBs do some of their drills, I was impressed with how some of the DE's looked at the same drills. Aaron Maybin and Michael Johnson in particular looked smoother backpedaling and flipping their hips than most of the LBs.

 

[mayoclinic]

Agreed, Matthews showed good ball adjustment.

Interesting film of Mayo from last year doing the same drill. He looked better than any of this year's prospects at that particular drill, including Curry.

I haven't been very impressed with some of the lesser known potential LB picks for the Pats such as Lee Robinson or Tyrone McKenzie. Neither has shown particularly good speed or agility today - probably too much to expect.

 

[jays52]

Sintim looks much smoother than Brinkley.

Yeah, but is he in inside the guards player that Brinkley is?

 

[Richter]

Yeah, but is he in inside the guards player that Brinkley is?

He could probably play SILB too. The difference is, Brinkley can probably be had in round 5 or so, and Sintim will take a first or high second. I didn't think Sintim looked that much smoother than Brinkley in the pass drop drill anyway. Brinkley had a real nice plant and drive on the ball, showed good flexibility. Fought the ball on the catch a little bit and let it get into his body some, but still looked good. It looks like Curry and everyone else in these drills anyway, from an athleticism standpoint, but Mayo looked ridiculous in comparison to anyone doing that drill this year.

 

[mayoclinic]

Yeah, but is he in inside the guards player that Brinkley is?

BOR thinks he can move inside.

Darry Beckwith just looked absolutely terrible packbedaling and changing direction. Curry continues to look like a god.

 

[Richter]

Wow, Brinkley looked awesome doing switchbacks there. Half the guys doing the drill are falling on their asses here.

Update: Not so good on the shoulder dip. He didn't get down enough, but he's an inside guy, so I don't expect him to have great pass rushing moves.

 

[mayoclinic]

Wow, Brinkley looked awesome doing switchbacks there. Half the guys doing the drill are falling on their asses here.

I have to admit, Brinkley looked much better than I expected in space.

Maiiva from USC looks very good in the drills. Laurinaitis shows much better in the drills than in the speed events. Matthews looks good too.

 

[Richter]

Man, those drills really separated the wheat from the chaff. There was a clear line between guys who could open their hips and change directions, and move laterally while staying balanced, and the rest who struggled with anything but straight line speed. Moise Fokou, in particular, looked like he just took himself from a borderline prospect to an undrafted player. He ended up on the ground in half those drills. Guys who moved well were Curry (duh), Sintim, Matthews and Maiava on the outside, and Brinkley (my new official binkie), Phillips and Worrell Williams on the inside. McKillop looks like a stiff, which runs totally counter to his production, Beckwith looked awful, doubly so for a guy who supposedly was athletic and fast but lacking size, and Cushing didn't stand out in any way. Very interesting day of linebacker drills.

 

[mmasterkillah]

Anyone who thinks Brinkley will last past 3 or 4 rounds is crazy after the way he played today.

Aaron Curry lived up to the billing.

I have always loved the intensity and passion of McRath, it's too bad he is so slight.

I wouldn't mind Laurinaitis at around 58 or later.

Maulauga would have run about a 4.8 regardless of the injury.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Curry looked like a BEAST. Both in the drills and the 40. He solidified himself as the top linebacker in this draft.

 

[mayoclinic]

Man, those drills really separated the wheat from the chaff. There was a clear line between guys who could open their hips and change directions, and move laterally while staying balanced, and the rest who struggled with anything but straight line speed. Moise Fokou, in particular, looked like he just took himself from a borderline prospect to an undrafted player. He ended up on the ground in half those drills. Guys who moved well were Curry (duh), Sintim, Matthews and Maiava on the outside, and Brinkley (my new official binkie), Phillips and Worrell Williams on the inside. McKillop looks like a stiff, which runs totally counter to his production, Beckwith looked awful, doubly so for a guy who supposedly was athletic and fast but lacking size, and Cushing didn't stand out in any way. Very interesting day of linebacker drills.

I would say that this is pretty darn accurate as to what I saw, with a few minor quibbles. Laurinaitis looked smooth and good in the drills compared to how he ran (and for the record, I am NOT a Laurinaitis fan). I'm not sure I liked Worrell Williams as much as you, and Phillips looked ok but not great. Gerald McRath looked very smooth but he's too light to be of interest to us.

The most interesting thing I saw was the old film of Mayo from last year. He looked even better than Curry, albeit for only 1 drill. And faster too, though not as big or powerful.

 

[mayoclinic]

Sorry, forgot to add, but again I was impressed after seeing some of the LBs flounder in these drills how smooth some of the potential DE/LB conversions looked. Aaron Maybin and Michael Johnson looked better in space than half the LBs out there. Definitely gave me something to think about.