Tivo Scouting Report East-West Shrine Game

[Box_O_Rocks]

Rather then doing my worst to be detail oriented on the formation etc. I’m just going to highlight individuals who seemed to do well or badly within the limits of the camera and my patience to sift through it all from a TV angle. I also will be ignoring QB/RB/FS and assorted ad hoc individual selections because I want to and it’s my time to waste. Well, okay, because I have no interest in QB or RB before the 5th round, and probably not even then.

I'm also going to not dwell on false starts and stuff that a well practiced team will get straight in time given these guys are playing with only a week or two together and using a pretty basic playbook.

East 1st Offensive series:

1st play: Screen pass

77 Rob Sims OT/OG Ohio State - drove 97 DT Johnny Jolly Tx Tech off the line playing inside at LG.

93 Chris Gocong RDE Cal-Poly sniffed out a swing pass to the RB and tackled him for a loss. Played like he was using two gap technique. Very impressive for the 1st play and a 1AA player.

2nd play: Run

97 Johnny Jolly fought off a double team and pursued laterally down the line to get a part of the tackle. Beat Sims and the C that time, great pursuit for a 309 lb DT.

47 Kevin Schimmelmann OLB Stanford was juked out of his socks in the middle of a large hole in the line. Slow reading the play and filling the hole.

93 Gocong was blocked outside where he should have been to set the edge, and showed good hustle coming around the blocker and getting up the field after the runner. He also had a nice jam on the TE releasing off the line.

66 Le Kevin Smith DT Neb was manhandled by 74 ROT Dan Stevenson Notre Dame, Stevenson stayed with that block driving him laterally to open the hole, then downfield (he also played off the block well on the first play to be part of the screen).

3rd play: Pass

Gocong rushing against Stevenson, decent rush and good blocking, closest thing to pressure on the QB. Jolly ran a twist on the other side with the DE and neither got anywhere. LOT is Whitworth from LSU, he’s easily handled his counterparts on defense so far - the announcer claims he’s on everybody’s draft board.

Rashad Butler on the O-line is someone the scouts liked in practice per the amouncer.

TE from Auburn with a nice catch on a seam route against the zone, broke some tackles on a big rumble. 9 WR Jonathan Orr Wisconsin was blocking upfield, so the tackler had to come in from behind. Schimmelmann was with the TE until he dropped off in his underneath zone.

4th play: Toss

84 TE Matt Henshaw FSU blocked Gocong inside to seal the edge.

47 Schimmelmann came up and took on the FB, but let the RB get outside him for an easy TD.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

West 1st Offensive series:

1st play: Naked bootleg incomplete, nobody stood out.

2nd play: Pass

85 TE Tim Day Oregon stretched tall to bring down a high pass underneath, took a big hit being sandwhiched by the LBs and held on for a modest gain - not afraid to expose himself for the ball.

94 DE Jason Hall Tennessee was horribly slow off the snap - must have thought it was still the Tennessee regular season and was playing down to standards.

3rd play: Pass, QB scramble for 1st.

50 OLB Rocky McIntosh Miami had good coverage on Day - a little light for a Pat LB at 231.

52 MLB Oliver Hoyte NC State did a nice job getting out in the flat to cover the RB. He and McIntosh combined for the sandwhich on Day on the first pass.

4th play: Run

41 MLB Tim McGarigle Northwestern took on a 300 lb OG who came upfield to block him and beat him head to head. Not bad for a 235 lb LB. He was dropping back like he was reading a pass instead of filling the hole, I’m not sure if this is a coaching thing or one of those bowl game rules like not rushing the punter. None of the LBs filled the holes, the West’s didn’t really fill either now that I think of it. (That changed later, so it may have been a defensive call.)

5th play: Pass, QB scramble for 1st.

McGarigle did a nice job on his angle against a fast (4.37 40) and shifty running QB to make the tackle.

6th play: Run

McGarigle filled the hole only to be sealed inside by the pulling RT.

99 DT Antwon Burton Temple is drawing double teams - there was a write-up on GBN that reported he looked unathletic in individual drills but was a different cat in team drills playing his responsibility.

44 OLB Brandon Hoyte Notre Dame came over, fended off the LG releasing off the double team and ran down the RB. Another guy too small for the Pats at 235, but I remember his name a lot watching Charlie’s boys.

7th play: Pass, QB scramble

90 DE James Wyche Syracuse put pressure on the QB and flushed him.

51 MLB Anthony Schlegel Ohio State ran him out of bounds.

8th play: Run, no gain, couldn’t see who the DT was.

9th play: Pass, another Qb scramble for a 1st. Coverage was good, so was blocking, O-line R-L 67 Joe Toledo Washington, 75 E.J. Whitley Tx Tech, 52 Jasper Harvey San Diego State, 78 Aaron Merz California, 72 Michael Toudouze. Harvey looks good at C on previous plays as does Whitley at RG.

The East has been in Man-to-Man coverage on this drive which is why the QB is able to get out and run because the backers are coving RB/TEs.

10th play: Reverse, 2 yds, nobody looked good on this cluster fudge.

11th play: Run

52 MLB Oliver Hoyte NC State filled the hole and made the stop for a short gain.

12th play: Play action, naked bootleg, incomplete

56 DE Eric Henderson Georgia Tech, nice outside containment, kept pressure on the QB to force him to throw the pass away - this is the 4.37 40 speed QB still.

13th play: Pass

85 TE Tim Day with another good grab underneath, hit immediately but got the 1st.

Same o-line as above, nice pocket for QB against a D-line swap - East has been rotating LB groups and D-lines (don't know about DBs) to keep them fresh.

14th play: Run

95 DT Barry Cofield Northwestern fought off the block to make a nice tackle and save a TD after the LBs all got sucked outside on the cutback.

41 McCarigle was the MLB again, he got sucked outside by the FB’s lead and was sealed outside by the LG releasing off the double team. LG Merz 340 lbs.

99 Burton drew another double team, he needs to work on making a play once the second blocker releases for the LB, but he may be a nice late round gamble to train up behind Vince the way they want to double him so much.

15th play: Run - D isn’t allowed to use a goal line formation - standard 4-3 from the 1.

95 Cofield fought off the block and stuffed the RB. Burton drew another double team freeing up Cofield and the MLB McCarigle.

90 Wyche also did a nice job of getting off a cut block and getting a piece of the RB.

16th play: Pass,

51 Schlegel blitzed and chased the QB all over the backfield.

85 Day made himself big for the QB who threw an ill-advised pass that Day grabbed for a TD. The announcers credited Day with bailing out the offense three times on that drive - he made two really good catches, the last at the back of the end zone.

50 McIntosh had Day covered pretty well during the scramble, but right at the end drew a PI grabbing Day when Day stopped short to create a throwing lane for the QB). Still pretty decent coverage by a LB.

56 DE Henderson showed great speed running down the QB from behind, almost caught him before he got the ball away.

The QB for this series was McNeal of Tx Tech, 4.37 speed, ran early and often in the Vick mold, may make a late round gamble for a WR conversion.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

East 2nd Offensive series:

1st play: Run

84 TE Matt Henshaw did a nice job blocking 96 DE Daniel Federkeil Calgary away from the play - Federkeil showed good hustle chasing the play upfield and didn’t over commit off the snap.

92 DE Devan Long set outside containment, but was blocked enough by the RT 73 Randy Hand Florida, he also showed good hustle chasing down the play from behind to get in on the pile. He showed good change of direction quickness at the line, if he had played the RT with power like Rosie has learned to do he might have kept him in the hole.

94 DT Steve Fifita was double teamed, he beat the C’s block once he was released by the RG, but lost sight of the ball and grabbed the FB who was blocking the ROLB 37 Jon Alston Stanford who met him in the hole.

75 RG Kevin Boothe Cornell did the best job of blocking on the play, double teaming the RDT and releasing to seal the MLB inside.

3 S Dwayne Slay TX Tech made the tackle upfield, his name kept coming up during the game as I remember.

2nd play: pass, incomplete

92 Long beat the RT Hand inside and hurried the throw for a near interception.

59 LB Fredricc Brock TX Southern had a shot at the ball when the FB fell down and dropped it.

The announcers are reporting 10 DB Danieal Manning Abilene Christian was the most versatile and interesting DB in practice - DBs are lined up at Corner and Safety to see what they can do at each position.

3rd play: run

96 Federkeil beat the TE’s block, forcing one of the pulling OLs to block him and turning the run back inside.

56 DT Manase Hopoi Washington fought off the block of the LOT 78 Jabari Levey South Carolina blocking down on him and made the first hit at the line.

94 Fifita beat a cut block by 75 Boothe to clean up the tackle.

92 Long set backside contain then pursued, only to miss his hit when the 5’9†RB ducked under his arms.

78 Jabari Levey has been unimpressive on the running plays, but did control Federkeil on the pass play.

4th play: Pass, QB scramble no gain

92 Long beat 73 Hand inside again and drew a double team from the RB to keep him off the QB.

78 Levey was very impressive pass blocking against a stunt by Federkeil who started outside, came back in and cleaned the LG off 56 Hopoi who stunted outside only to be picked up and pushed past the QB by Levey.

75 Boothe did a sweet job on Fifita who started inside, came back outside behind Long’s inside move, then Boothe pancaked Fifita and blocked 37 Alston’s delayed blitz with the same move.

East forced to punt.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

West 2nd Offensive series

1st play: pass (West is using the same QB and same O-line as the 1st series - R-L 67 Joe Toledo Washington, 75 E.J. Whitley Tx Tech, 52 Jasper Harvey San Diego State, 78 Aaron Merz California, 72 Michael Toudouze)

Defense started with the 56 Henderson - 95 Cofield - 99 Burton - 90 Wyche line.

Good blocking, nice pocket.

12 WR Jason Carter TX A&M made a nice hands grab sitting in the seam of the zone.

2nd play: pass, good blocking, dump off to FB in flat.

3rd play: run

99 Burton continues to draw double teams.

44 Hoyt filled the hole, evaded the FB, but was too off balance to make a lunge for the RB before he cut to the other hole.

Both DEs penetrated thinking run.

4th play: Defense is pushing the DEs upfield quickly, possibly to contain the QB.

Pocket broke down from push by Burton and Cofield.

95 Cofield got pressue on the QB forcing him out of the pocket after beating the C 52 Harvey.

90 Wyche drew a chip from the RB to slow him and help the 72 LT Toudouze.

28 WR Mike Hass Oregon State was wide open in the zone seam midfield at the East 23 and was tackled at the 9 for 14 yds after catch.

2 WR Todd Watkins BYU made a sweet block upfield, he gave a pursuing S a lick and stayed with the block through the whistle.

5th play: run, O-line made the hole, good production from the RB.

D-line changed, L-R, 94 Hall - 58 DT Tommy Jackson - 97 DT Kedric Golston - 93 DE Rob Ninkovich.

O-line dominated D-line and RB waltzed in for TD on the last two plays once Burton and Cofield were out.

 

[bosfan]

Why don't you want a RB before the 5th round? I believe RB is a serious weakness on the Pats as was shown last season and after CD and Kevin we have zilch. Think one of the best moves we could make for next year is to strengthen ourselves at RB - first with an impact guy (trade/FA?) and second with a developmental draft pick on day one. Appreciate the scouting report - I like our draft situation, we can do some good things......

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Why don't you want a RB before the 5th round? I believe RB is a serious weakness on the Pats as was shown last season and after CD and Kevin we have zilch. Think one of the best moves we could make for next year is to strengthen ourselves at RB - first with an impact guy (trade/FA?) and second with a developmental draft pick on day one. Appreciate the scouting report - I like our draft situation, we can do some good things......

Howdy Bos,

We disagree, I just don't see RB as a serious need.

I think Cory has more tread than nay sayers believe.
I think Faulk would turn into a feature back if he could learn to carry the ball like Tiki Barber has been doing.
I think Patrick Pass, other then the hamstring fumble against Buffalo, showed a nice mix of Dillon hammer and Faulk scoot.
I think Evans, if he could learn to block and pick-up the blitz, is an excellent hybrid back who can run with power and receive out of the backfield.
I like what I've read about Earl Charles, he was a 1,000 yard rusher who came back the next year and gained 800 on a bum knee.

Making my decisions based on that perspective, I would rather look for a back late in the draft, preferably a UDFA after the draft.

That said, if the Pats don't re-sign Evans, drafting a RB to compete in TC moves up the priority list, I just haven't determined where and probably won't much before April after we see how some of the Free Agent signings are going.

As long as your looking for a RB, this kid did an excellent job in the game: De'Arrius Howard, 6' 236. Arkansas - good speed, quick into the hole, good vision, ran with power.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

Notes from the East/West Game

There are acouple of players that we've talked about that had monster games.

1.) Wyche of Syracuse. DE in the game, but he projects at OLD for us. He had two speed sacks off the edge and on an early goal line play, he blew up the FB in the backfield and caused the play to stop dead short of the goal line. He made himself a lot of money in that game. Coverage skills are the only thing he lacks and if Willie could learn, he could learn.

2.) Whitworth. When he was in the game, the East scored. (except for the last series.) When he wasn't the east did nothing. The DE's across from him generally gave up rushing and resorted to jumping with their arms up. His feet looked very good. After watching how the Steeler OL, manhandled the Denver pass rush and blitz, I'm convinced, we need this guy in the first round.

Others that impressed me. Slay of TT, Lentz of Michigan, OT Clary, and QB Grabkowski.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

East 3rd Offensive series:

1st play: pass, naked bootleg, nobody stood out.

2nd play: run

93 DE Chris Gocong was unblocked and blew the play up in the backfield.

5 OLB Keith Ellison could be seen fighting through the line into the backfield. Decent penetration for someone his size.

3rd play: pass, incomplete

93 Gocong was triple teamed as 97 Jolly stunted outside behind him.

Couldn’t make out the DE next to Le Kevin Smith on the right side, he beat the TE outside to get up in the QB’s face.

East punted.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

West 3rd Offensive series

1st play: run, horrendous blocking

2nd play: pass, nobody stood out

3rd play: pass, incomplete

58 DT Tommy Jackson Auburn penetrated and force a hurried throw.

53 ROT Jeromey Clary Kansas State has been keeping 93 DE Rob Ninkovich Purdue at bay, Ninkovich is trying to beat him outside and Clary is just to fast for him. I’d like to see him try cutting back inside and try some power and swim moves on him.

4th play: pass

56 DE Eric Henderson Georgia Tech plays on the Wyche, Burton, Cofield line so I think that is who I’m seeing beating up on LOT 76 Paul McQuistan, if it hadn’t been a quick pass he’d have had the QB. Good hustle chasing the play upfield from Burton and Cofield. They kept a back in to help Cary against Wyche, but didn’t need him.

5th play: pass, incomplete

Cofield had a good bullrush driving the RG 65 Nick Mihlhauser back into the QB’s face and got a hand up.

6th play: pass, incomplete,

PI 26 S Charlie Peprah Alabama

7th play: pass, incomplete, nobody stood out.

8th play: run

doubleteam on Burton again.

9th play: pass, naked bootleg

16 TE David Thomas Texas ran a nice pattern and found the hole in the coverage for an easy catch and TD.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

East 4th Offensive series

1st play: pass

96 DE Daniel Federkeil showed good power verses the LOT 72 Andrew Whitworth LSU

89 WR Marques Colston settled in the seam of the zone and made a nice catch.

2nd play: screen

Well executed by the O-line.

56 DT Manase Hopoi smelled it just a step late and had a chance at the RB until 3 Leon Washington Florida State hit the jets.

84 TE Matt Henshaw Florida State was called for holding on a block upfield.

3rd play: pass

Federkeil drove hard against Whitworth who just controlled him enough to get him past the QB.

15 WR Greg Jennings Western Michigan showed great body control adjusting to an underthrown ball and making the catch behind the DB. He beat 18 DB Willie Andrews Baylor who stayed with him, but was unable to turn back for the underthrown ball.

4th play: run

Federkeil fought off Whitworth’s block to make the tackle - Whitworth seemed to be trying to pass block.

Great blocking in the interior line, 53 Donovan Raiola pancaked 56 Hopoi and 75 Boothe drove 94 Fifita off the line.

5th play: pass, incomplete

92 DE Devan Long of Oregon beat the RT inside forcing the QB to pull it down and scramble.

97 DT Johnny Jolly Texas A&M beat a double team up the middle and would have had a sack except for running into the RT as he chased Long across the pocket..

75 OG Kevin Boothe Cornell did a great job against 94 DT Steve Fifita Utah standing him up and chasing him all around the pocket.

96 DE Daniel Federkeil Calgary started a rush against Whitworth, saw Long’s disruption of the pocket and circled around to come up the middle and just miss on the sack - he needs to be a little more controlled and come in with his hands up for a possible block.

84 TE Matt Henshaw Florida State was called for offensive pass interference, he was hand fighting with 59 OLB Fredricc Brock TX Southern I couldn’t see why.

6th play: pass

59 LG Jason Spitz Louisville made a nice exchange with LT 72 Whitworth who picked up 96 Federkeil then handed him off to Raiola as he went inside and picked up 97 Jolly stunting around the outside.

66 DT Le Kevin Smith Nebraska was double teamed by the 53 C Donovan Raiola Wisconsin and 75 Boothe.

73 RT Randy Hand rode Long downfield and stayed with the block well.

15 WR Greg Jennings Western Michigan made another nice catch coming back to his QB. 9 S Darrell Brooks was covering man to man.

7th play: run

45MLB Trent Bray Oregon State shot the hole and made the tackle for a loss.

96 Federkeil set outside contain and hand fought 72 Whitworth to hold his position, if the MLB hadn’t come through the center to make the tackle Federkeil was in a good position to make a tackle.

18 DB Willie Andrews Baylor fought off the WR’s block to stay on the line and be in position for run support. 1 WR Brandon Williams was blocking, but needs work.

75 Boothe did a nice job of taking 66 Le Kevin Smith outside away from the play.

8th play: pass, jump ball

96 Federkeil started his rush then stopped and jumped up when he saw the QB **** his arm.

89 WR Marques Colston Hofstra made a juggling catch over the DB Andrews and came down in the end zone - TD.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

I've gone through my notes, including the posts above and put them in the same format Darren used in his article to make it easier to review. A reminder, I haven't put much effort into QBs or RBs, I don't see them as a 'need' area, you may complain bitterly, but it's my time to waste as I see fit.

Quarterback:

Reggie McNeal (Texas A&M) is very mobile, has a good arm, is pretty accurate, and takes some risks. He also was playing for his college coach, for what that may ell you. He wasn’t too bad, reportedly 4.37 speed, someone will take him. None of the rest made strong impressions.

Runningback:

Leon Washington (Florida State) is a shorter Kevin Faulk, caught a couple passes, his blocking will need work. De'Arrius Howard (Arkansas) has speed and power, decent vision. Cory Ross (Nebraska) another Sproles for size and quickness, don’t know about his hands. Taurean Henderson (Texas Tech) showed some ability to stick it inside, reportedly worked out of a shotgun so may have receiver skills.

Wide Receiver:

Todd Watkins (BYU) made one great catch along the side line that stands out. David Anderson (Colorado State) wasn’t really used, couldn’t say if he didn’t get open or the QBs couldn’t find him. Jason Carter (Texas A&M) looked good stretching the field working with 'his' QB. Mike Hass (Oregon State) got open and caught the ball, he also blocked. Marques Colston (Hofstra) is a big possession receiver who overmatched smaller CBs and made some clutch catches. Andy Fantuz (Western Ontario) made one nice catch across the middle, otherwise was invisible. Greg Jennings (Western Michigan) got open and made catches with one drop. Jonathan Orr (Wisconsin) made a nice block upfield.

Tight End:

Cooper Wallace (Auburn) made one nice catch and run on a seam route and had a couple good blocks. Tim Day (Oregon) made some nice clutch catches in the middle to move the chains and made himself a big target at the back of the end zone to help his QB. Matt Henshaw (Florida State) made some good blocks and got called for a couple penalties, he wasn’t used much in the passing game by the East. David Thomas (Texas) made one wide open catch for a TD.

Offensive Tackle:

Andrew Whitworth (LSU) was a balanced pass/run blocker with a nasty attitude. He never gave up a sack, but had some trouble with both speed rushers and power rushers with one batted ball and some hurries. He took reps at both tackle positions. Jabari Levey (South Carolina) was an excellent pass blocker at LT, but is a suspect run blocker. Speed rushers gave him the most trouble. Michael Toudouze (TCU) had a lot of help from a scrambling QB. He was decent at LT, giving up one sack to Wyche who was the best pass rusher in the game. Paul McQuistan (Weber State) was overwhelmed pass blocking at LT, he may make a decent RT or move inside to G. Joe Toledo (Washington) was decent at RT, but helped by a fast, mobile QB. Jeromey Clary (Kansas State) was also decent at RT with some balance between his pass and run blocking. Randy Hand (Florida) struggled against the pass rush at RT but was okay run blocking. Rashad Butler (Miami) was supposed to be someone the scouts liked in practice per the announcers, but my notes show him toasted by speed rushers. Dan Stevenson (Notre Dame) earned a note for good run blocking, but didn’t catch my eye otherwise. Isaac Sowells (Indiana) is too slow at RT, he did okay inside. Chris Chester (Oklahoma) had trouble with a power rusher and otherwise didn’t catch my eye.

Offensive Guard:

Rob Sims (Ohio State) played at both G spots, pulled well and blocked inside with power. He has started at LT while at Ohio State. Kevin Boothe (Cornell) played RG and was dominating inside with quick feet to pass block. He also is reported to have played some tackle. E.J. Whitley (Texas Tech) and Aaron Merz (California) was part of the West’s most dominate line. Jason Spitz (Louisville) had a nice pass block hand-off with Whitworth.

Center:

Jasper Harvey (San Diego State) was the center who caught my attention working in the center of the West’s most dominate line. Donovan Raiola (Wisconsin) has a note on a pancake block and a nice exchange with Spitz while pass blocking.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Defensive End:

James Wyche (Syracuse) was the most dominate DE in the game, playing with both a power and a speed rush game. I consider him a candidate for OLB conversion. Eric Henderson (Georgia Tech) was very fast and showed some good gap discipline preventing QBs from rolling outside him. He is primarily a speed rusher and could be an OLB conversion. Chris Gocong (Cal Poly) showed up well as a speed rusher. He was very good at locating the ball reacting quickly to bootlegs and misdirection efforts. He was very fast getting upfield and taking angles that would let him get back in the action. I’d consider him an ILB conversion who could do well on Special Teams as he learns. Daniel Federkeil (Calgary, 6’7†275) was a power rusher with some speed. He is raw, but gave Whitworth of LSU trouble in the pass rush. He made one nice run stop and was one of the 4 DLs chosen for the goal line stand that kept the East out of the end zone at the end of the game and won it for the West; I assume his D-line coach had a lot of respect for his run stopping. I was just fascinated by this kids potential with some good coaching and strength training. He had great hustle and was fast like Willie with long strides that cut off QBs rolling out. Frostee Rucker (USC) made some nice plays and disappeared for short periods. Devan Long (Oregon) got some pressure on the QB, showed some strength at the point of attack, and had some nice hustle. He also made some gap discipline mistakes that gave me some pause as the game wore on.

Defensive Tackle:

Antwon Burton (Temple) consistently drew double teams and was a solid run stopper. A second day option for a reserve NT. Barry Cofield (Northwestern) was a good run stopper and drew double teams inside with his pass rush. A good second day option for a reserve DE. Steve Fifita (Utah) was difficult to block, but really struggled to locate the ball. Johnny Jolly (Texas A&M) had a good pass rush, but didn’t always play his gaps against the run. He was one of the goal line stand crew who helped win it for the West. Le Kevin Smith (Nebraska) was decent against the run and part of the goal line stand crew. He didn’t have a strong pass rush. Manase Hopoi (Washington) was the best all around DT with a really good pass rush, he was also in on the goal line stand. A good prospect for the Pats at DE, he could be another Jarvis Green quality player.

Coverage Linebacker:

The West team used a nickel package in the Shrine game, which allowed an opportunity to focus on Patriots’-style role players and LB to SS conversion options. Keith Ellison (Oregon State) was reported talking with Pats’ scouts during the week. In the game he was used in the nickel package to cover the RB. I have notes showing his willingness to get into the trench and battle with the big guys; he sniffed out a screen at one point and it took two lineman to keep him off the RB; he was beaten to the corner by a scrambling Bruce Gradkowski (Toledo) who runs in roughly the same range as Ellison, and used a pump fake to slow Ellison a step; he ran down De'Arrius Howard (Arkansas) from behind on a play where he had backside pursuit; he covered 5’6†Leon Washington out of the backfield, Washington had a serious case of the quicks; covering the RBs could be said to have been the more difficult assignment for the nickel linebackers. Kevin Schimmelmann (Stanford) was the other nickel linebacker and responsible for the TEs. He didn’t show up as often in my notes being off camera with the TE on passing plays - but the East didn’t use the TE’s as much in the passing game so he may have been responsible for taking that away from them; on Cooper Wallace’s (Auburn) long catch and run on a seam route, Schimmelmann was in zone and had been a burr on Wallace until he released him to the next zone, Wallace was hit in stride in that transition area just after Schimmelmann could be seen turning away and before the CB came up; Schimmelmann took on the FB’s block four times, winning 50% of those battles; he showed up strong in crunch time making a nice pass defense covering Henshaw of Florida State on a crossing route during the East’s final drive, and meeting the FB for the second time on the goal line and fighting off the block to get the first hit on the RB and hold him up for the pursuit. He needs better technique and strength fighting off the blocks, but was noted as a former S on one web site. Jon Alston (Stanford) showed up early and was aggressive in the line taking on the FB and blitzing, but disappeared as the game ran on.

Linebacker:

Rocky McIntosh (Miami) showed up around the ball a lot, he was pretty good in coverage though he drew an interference penalty in the end zone against Tim Day of Oregon as Day was juking around to get open for his scrambling QB. He also picked off a pass knocked up by a CB and made a good return. Tim McGarigle (Northwestern) immediately caught my eye when he took on 340 pound Aaron Merz (California) and won the head to head. McGarigle is Vilma-size, a little small for a 3-4 ILB, but he was a ball magnet and unafraid of engaging the big boys in the trenches. The next MLB who stood out was Trent Bray (Oregon State) who was another ball magnet filling holes and making tackles. Brandon Hoyte (Notre Dame) showed up early in the game then disappeared. Oliver Hoyte (NC State) was Pats’ ILB size and did a decent job, he wasn’t as instinctive as McIntosh, McGarigal and Bray, but he could be a second day pick to compete in Training Camp. Anthony Schlegel (Ohio State) was another big MLB who did okay, but never seemed to have the ball awareness. Fredricc Brock (Texas Southern) was the biggest OLB, he played well and is worth second day consideration, but again disappointed only in comparison to McIntosh, McGarigal, and Bray.

Cornerbacks:

DBs were rarely onscreen to make an evaluation. Willie Andrews (Baylor) and Quincy Butler (TCU) both appeared to be picked on, they seemed to have good position most of the time, but got burned by great catches or great throws. Andrews also did a nice job of fighting off a good blocking effort by the WR to hold his position in run support. Danieal Manning (Abilene Christian) was a favorite of the announcers and reportedly the scouts, but I have nothing in my notes on his play. Gerrick McPhearson (Maryland) had a hamstring injury and never played. Dion Byrum (Ohio State) made the strongest impression with a pass deflection that LB Rocky McIntosh interecepted. He was also picked on, but didn’t play badly overall.

Safety:

Dawan Landry (Georgia Tech) ran stride for stride with David Anderson (Colorado State) in one of my notes, Anderson was working out of the slot and Landry came up from S to cover. Charlie Peprah (Alabama) got called for interference, though it didn’t seem much of a foul to me. Dwayne Slay (Texas Tech) was compared to Rodney as a secondary quarterback and an intimidator. He was juked out of his socks on one running play, but showed up with a couple big hits and frequently getting his named called (which may not mean anything with this announcing crew).