-
Senior Bowl Practice Wrap: Defense – 2017 NFL Draft Prospects
The week of Senior Bowl practices is a worthwhile evaluation period. NFL coaches take teaching drills seriously and are encouraging but demand improvement. Many of these players are facing the best competition they’ve seen all season. However, it’s important to understand the limitations of the week. Practices are non-contact and repetitions are limited. This year’s…
-
Senior Bowl Day 2: Defensive Practice Report – 2017 NFL Draft Prospects
The second day of Senior Bowl practice confirms first impressions and highlights the players who quickly grow comfortable with newer concepts and better competition. We’re still seeing limited repetitions in non-contact situations but, many players take a day to understand a drill they haven’t seen in college or fully assimilate the alignments and schemes they’ll…
-
Senior Bowl Day 1: First Impressions, Defense
Prologue In reality, college players turned aspiring NFL athletes get many chances to make a positive impression. Teams evaluate multiple games on film and get access to players for interviews here in Mobile, at the combine, and at Pro Days. But Senior Bowl Week is the first time the NFL calendar and news cycle turns…
-
The NFL Lens: T.J. Ward Is The Outfielder, Tarik Cohen’s Knee Is The Ball
Matt Waldman’s Rookie Scouting Portfolio examines T.J. Ward’s pursuit and tackle of Tarik Cohen in The NFL Lens. Watching a defensive back tackle a runner in the open space of the perimeter is a lot like watching an outfielder sprint and making a leaping catch of a screaming line drive. The difference is that the…
-
Sr. Bowl Stories and Kicking Off “Mobile 2017”
Waldman shares a variety of memories about his annual trip to Mobile and what’s in store for this week’s event. Everything about Mobile, Alabama was new during my first few years as an attendee of the Senior Bowl. I wanted to soak up as much knowledge as I could from the field, the stands, the media…
-
RSP Film Room No.82: LB Darron Lee w/Jene Bramel
Jene Bramel returns to the film room and shows his chops on the defensive side of the ball. Darron Lee has been the most requested player for the film room episodes of the 2016 season. The Buckeyes’ outside linebacker is an athlete, but Bramel shows us why Lee is a solid prospect with room to…
-
Devonta Freeman & Tevin Coleman: Two Pairs of Runs
Why is Devonta Freeman the starter and Tevin Coleman the backup? Two pairs of runs tell the story. Coleman is a stronger and faster player. When he earns big gains, the runs are often more exciting because they are displays of his superior strength and long speed. They also require more physical labor that’s unnecessary. Freeman is…
-
Senior Bowl Defensive Wrap
There’s really no sugar coating it; it was a weird Senior Bowl week. The North practices were strong, but there weren’t any clear difference makers among the front seven prospects. The South roster was strong, but their practice sessions were light on full speed drills. And it didn’t help that there were 17 front seven…
-
Rod Marinelli: Mickey Goldmill and the Physics of Defensive Line Play
Widely recognized as one of the best teachers in the game, Rod Marinelli’s direct, passionate, encouraging, and personable demeanor was on display throughout practice. As I stalked Rod Marinelli from one end of Ladd-Peebles Stadium today, I kept hearing Mickey Goldmill and Richard Feynman in my head. Stay with me. The parallels to Rocky Balboa’s…
-
The Senior Bowl Weigh-In: Where Size No Longer Matters
Many of the best NFL schematic trends are born and developed in college. The Miami 4-3 front of Jimmy Johnson spurred the development of smaller, speedier players at every front seven position. Johnson couldn’t successfully recruit five star players with an elite combination of size and talent at Oklahoma State. So he recruited smaller players…