The Rookie Scouting Portfolio (RSP)

Month: February 2012

  • WRs Stephen Hill and Marvin Jones: Going Deep

    This week I have been spotlighting the craft of playing receiver and using plays from the careers of Georgia Tech’s Stephen Hill and Cal’s Marvin Jones as examples. Yesterday, I profiled two crossing routes that couldn’t have been run more different from each other. Today, I’m going deep and examining a vertical play from both…

  • WRs Stephen Hill and Marvin Jones: Managing Physical Play (Short)

    Greatness lies not in being strong, but in the right use of strength. – Henry Ward Beecher Georgia Tech wide receiver Stephen Hill is tall, fast, and has a frame that will likely support another 10-15 pounds of muscle without sacrificing his 4.36-40 speed. Cal wide receiver Marvin Jones is a shade under 6’2″ and…

  • Georgia Tech WR Stephen Hill: Speed Kills – Now Learn How To Aim!

    The late, great Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis coined the phrase “speed kills.”  There was a time Davis prized speed the way a trained gun enthusiast prized a competition model Glock. But late in his career, Davis’ love for fast-moving players seemed more like a warning for addiction. If Davis were alive to see Stephen Hill’s…

  • Wake Up Call: Notable 40 Times

    Riddles for you. What do you call a wide receiver that runs in the 4.61-4.72 range in the 40 at the NFL Combine or Pro Day? What about a running back that runs 4.66-4.69? A bust? Yeah, in February. Maybe in April. But you better try on some different labels for the guy come September.…

  • Reads Listens Views 2/24/2012

    Lot’s happening right now. Here’s a partial list: 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio News April 1 is just around the corner, and I’m still studying film for the 2012 publication. So far I have evaluated 144 prospects at QB, RB, WR, and TE. I’m expecting to watch another 10-20 players before I publish. The 2012 RSP…

  • Temple RB Bernard Pierce: All About The Angles

    Temple RB Bernard Pierce: All About The Angles

    Author’s Note: If you haven’t entered the RSP Guess the 40 Contest for a chance to win a free past issue of the Rookie Scouting Portfolio, details here. Alshon Jeffrey still hasn’t run, so there’s time. Wednesday night, I Tweeted that there’s little better than watching a good angle blocking scheme in action. It’s like…

  • RSP Combine Contest: Guess the 40 Times

    RSP Combine Contest: Guess the 40 Times

    I’m not big proponent of 40 times. They have their place, but I’ll take a 4.6 RB with great vision, good initial acceleration and balance any day over a 4.3 guy with a lot less of those other three qualities. So to make the 2012 NFL Combine more interesting, I’m holding another contest. Your job…

  • N.C. State TE George Bryan: Great Hands

    [Author’s Note: Click the photos and they will enlarge in a separate window.] N.C. State tight end George Bryan was second in career touchdowns (17) among active FBS tight ends in 2011. If you’ve watched Bryan play you know that he’s an in-line tight end personified. Somewhere in the range of 6’4″, 265 pounds, Bryan…

  • Rueben Randle: Why The Sideline Arm Matters

    The little things matter – especially in a sport known for being a game of inches. Most people think of those valuable inches as every blade of grass ahead of a runner or defender in a north south direction. East west inches matter, too. So do the small techniques that players often forsake. Techniques we…

  • Oklahoma State QB Brandon Weeden: Less Tarrantino, More Gump

    Jason Bailey of Flavorpill wrote a piece this month in Atlantic Online that bemoans the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences selection of Forrest Gump over Pulp Fiction for its Best Picture award in 1994. He characterizes the choice as one of the worst decisions in the history of the Academy Awards. I love…