Funchess Rorschach Take, Fantasy Throwdown, Melvin Gordon, Body and Soul, and RSP Post-Draft
Listens – Tom Harrell, “Body and Soul”
If you don’t know anything about Harrell, this magazine story will blow you away regardless of your interest in jazz.
What is Reads Listens Views?
If you’re new to the Rookie Scouting Portfolio blog, welcome. I post links on Fridays to content I’m saving for later consumption or pieces that I found compelling. You may not like everything listed here, but you’re bound to like something.
RSP Rorschach: Devin Funchess (My Take)
While I’m reviewing games of prospects, I’ll come across a play where the root cause of its failure isn’t so clear. I draw a parallel between these plays and the Rorschach Test and I enjoy giving readers an opportunity to watch them and let them vote on what they think is the most important factor. Last week, I posted an RSP Rorschach that was a deep target to Michigan receiver Devin Funchess. Today I’ll give you make take on the play.
There were four options a reader could choose as the most important factor that contributed to this incomplete pass. I listed the percentage of readers who voted for each category in parenthesis.
- Funchess’ hand position as he extended for the football (33.75%).
- The trajectory of the throw (15%).
- The safety distracting Funchess (7.5%).
- Funchess fading away (43.75%).
Like the majority of your, I voted for No.4 – Fading away. While the trajectory of the throw could have been better, teaching a quarterback better timing and anticipation on deep routes is a long-term process and some quarterbacks never master it. Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith is a fine example of a pro quarterback with limited deep accuracy.
A coach may continuously be working with a quarterback to develop his skills in the vertical passing game, Funchess had room to break inside. If he did so, he would have had a better angle to attack the ball than the one he created when fading away. His hands and torso would have been in a better position, which is why the hand position answer doesn’t ring true to me.
I’ve seen Funchess catch enough passes that his hand position on this specific vertical route seems more like a result of his decision to fade away from the safety. In a sense, Funchess is created a situation that was more difficult for him to get his hands into proper position. If he broke inside he would not need to extend his arms across his body.
Although the safety’s presence forced Funchess to fade and ultimately got his hand into the catch zone, Funchess would have been in better position to avoid this if he broke inside. The receiver had room to break inside, turn towards the target, and generate some contact with the defender — possibly boxing out the safety — while attacking the football. Funchess then isn’t reacting to the safety as much as forcing the defender to react to him. He also raises the potential of the safety committing an interference foul on the play.
There is no definitive answer, but this is the reasoning behind my take. More of these to come.
Download the 2014 Rookie Scouting Portfolio + Post-Draft Update!
Friday’s are also my chance to thank you for reading my work, encourage you to follow the RSP blog, and download the Rookie Scouting Portfolio publication.
The 2014 Rookie Scouting Portfolio Post-Draft Add-On is ready for download. If you’re in a dynasty league, the combination of the 2014 RSP and the RSP Post-Draft will have you prepared for this year and beyond. Want details? Need details? I have ’em right here:
- 84 pages
- How to use the RSP and RSP-Post Draft together
- Overrated/Underrated
- Good/Bad post-draft fits
- UDFAs to watch
- Long-term dynasty waiver wire gems
- Strategic overview of 2014 rookie drafts
- Tiered Value Chart Cheat Sheet across all positions
- Post-Draft rankings analysis and commentary–including notes about impending contracts years of competition on the depth charts
- Average Draft Position (ADP) Data of 19 dynasty drafts
- RSP Ranking-to-ADP Value Data
- Raw Data Worksheets to continue calculating additional ADP data for future drafts
Hell, take a video tour of the 2013 post-draft to see what I mean:
Seriously, this analysis is worth the price of the 2014 RSP package alone, but you get this as a part of your purchase with the 2014 RSP. Remember 10 percent of each sale is donated to Darkness to Light to prevent sexual abuse in communities across the United States. While that alone should get you to download the RSP package, do it because you will be blown away with the detail and insight of the analysis and content. It’s why the RSP has grown so much in the past nine years.
Best yet, 10 percent of each RSP sale is donated to Darkness to Light, a non-profit devoted to preventing and addressing sexual abuse through community training in schools, religious groups, and a variety of civic groups across the U.S.
Download the 2014 RSP and RSP Post-Draft here
In Case You Missed It/Coming Soon
- Boiler Room: Wisconsin RB Melvin Gordon – The two plays I share reveal a lot about Gordon’s footwork, quickness, and vision.
- Ray Rice, Pink Cleats, Ice Buckets, and Baseball Bats – My take on the Ray Rice situation as it was evolving Tuesday morning.
- Under The Microscope: Ravens RB Lorenzo Taliaferro – His potential and my fantasy take.
- Futures: Nebraska RB Ameer Abdullah – Why you shouldn’t let him get lost in the fray of a strong RB class.
- Tipping Their Hand: WRs Jaelen Strong and Ty Montgomery – How these two physically adept receiver must learn to add more suddenness and savvy to their games.
- Boiler Room DeVante Parker – Why selling a vertical route begins with the first few steps off the line.
- Kasen Williams and The Gray Area Between Attacking and Protecting The Target
- The Boiler Room: Ameer Abdullah — The Difficulty of Judging Football Speed
Reads/Views (Football)
- Fantasy Throwdown – Looking to get into the daily games space. Fantasy Throwdown is a fine site where you can play head-to-head for free or for money.
- Roger Goodell Failed, Just LIke He Was Supposed To – Spencer Hall’s fine commentary on the Ray Rice suspension.
- Jerry Jones Accused of Sexual Assault in Lawsuit
- Word of Muth: Ravens’ New Scheme – the former pro lineman takes a look at Baltimore’s offense.
Views
More of Kevin Weir’s Gif-Archive Photo Art
Reads (Life In General)
- Good News: The Hole in The Ozone Layer is Finally Starting to Heal
- Yellowstone Supervolcano Eruption – What it means if there were an eruption – fascinating hypothetical.
- Basic Income Explained – A plan for ending poverty that has been discussed for decades in various forms. Article includes perspectives from the left, the right, and the libertarian.
- Henry Lee McCollum Cleared By DNA Evidence – I’m not a big fan of Antonin Scalia’s decisions, but I was more interested in the angle on McCollum (read this) than attacking the Supreme Court justice. That said, the exchanges with Scalia and Blackmun were interesting.
- How Stephen King Teaches Writing
- A Judge’s Status Robed In Silence – The lack of transparency during an investigation of charges that a judge was engaged in ethical misconduct.
- The Economist’s Review of a Book on Slavery and How (Some) White People Refuse to Believe Black People About Being Black – I can tell you from experience that it’s too easy to dismiss the black experience as a white person no truly familiar with it. You don’t want to believe there’s still a widespread difference.
Listens – Killer Mike on CNN
One thing that the general public often misses when they comment on interviews is that responding well to televised conversations with a broadcast commentator is a skill. Mike Render does a fantastic of job of answering questions that could easily type cast him. We all transcend labels and this rapper, business owner, and son of a police officer does a fantastic job of illustrating how not to get cornered by typical media assumptions.
Views – Pendulum Wave With Cackalacky Bowling Balls (Anything with bowling balls is cool). . .
Listens – Cotton Tail
Listens – Baby Metal
Deal with it, Lammey. More about this phenomenon here.