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RSP Boiler Room No.58: RB Joseph Yearby, Miami
Most likely back to be underrated in the NFL Draft? Miami’s former 5-star recruit could be the one. Joseph Yearby is a lot of things on a football field that I like. This is a partial list. He frustrates defensive linemen. Penetration into the backfield? Yearby spots it and turns likely losses into quality gains.…
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RSP Boiler Room: No.57 – Running Back Leonard Fournette (LSU) and Pacing
When the brakes go out on the dump truck rolling down a mountainside is bearing down on you, the slightest change in movement will create a reaction. Fournette’s best fit is a gap-heavy scheme that creates a downhill exit ramp for him to do his best rendition of a runaway dump truck. And Fournette knows how to…
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RSP Boiler Room No.55 RB Matthew Dayes & The Context of Decision-Making
When evaluating an RB’s decision-making be careful you’re not applying an inappropriate perspective on the runner. The first tip I would give anyone evaluating a football player is to make sure you’re not confusing your vantage point with the player’s. With all the different broadcast angles we have available to watch the game, we can…
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NFL Lens: Reading Blocks (And People) w/David Johnson
A vivid illustration of what a running back should use to guide his decisions between the tackles. Not until he was well into his tenure as a starter with the Green Bay Packers did Brett Favre even know what a nickel defense was. Jon Gruden credits Favre with inventing the RPO. If there was a…
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RSP Boiler Room No.54: RB Leonard Fournette (LSU)
One thing is indisputable about Fournette: He wants to impose his will on every opponent in his path. When I get lost in a daydream, and that daydream is about football, one of my football fantasies is to accelerate through an opponent and leave him in my wake like a stray bowling pin flying from…
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NFL Lens: Quiet Plays With David Johnson
What type of displays should set off fireworks in the minds of talent evaluators? David Johnson’s touchdown catch against Atlanta is one of them. Repeat after me: There is no magic moment without layers and layers of data processed beneath the surface. Try to remember this in light of the moments below: Bo Jackson running up…
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RSP Boiler Room No.53: Terrell Newby, Balance-Touch
What is a balance-touch? Terrell Newby demonstrates. Football fans seen the balance-touch technique all the time, but don’t know the term for it. Here’s a quick visual explanation and what it says about Nebraska’s Terrell Newby. For analysis of skill players in the 2017 draft class, pre-order a login for the 2017 Rookie Scouting Portfolio –…
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The NFL Lens: Agility and Flexibilty w/LeGarrette Blount
It’s always in the hips, folks. This dude is how most football fans I know react to speed. But if you want to see me act like this guy over a player, show me a prospect with great hips. If a football player is capable of doing a deep squat—especially in the context of his job—I’m…
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The NFL Lens: Balance With Jay Ajayi
Jay Ajayi’s impressive display of balance against Pro-Bowl caliber defensive end Kyle Williams. Define “balance” and “power.” Ask two talent analysts to do this and it’s one of the easier ways to take a conversation about football into the weeds. There’s enough overlap between the two concepts that it can spawn debates about what belongs…
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RSP Film Room: RBs Donnel Pumphrey & Darren Sproles w/Eric Stoner
Eric Stoner and I study Darren Sproles, but first, we study a player who Emory Hunt says is used like Sproles in terms of system. Donnel Pumphrey is the latest of a long string of players earning direct comparisons to Darren Sproles. The most sensible of these comparisons comes from Emory Hunt, who shared that…