The Rookie Scouting Portfolio (RSP)

Tag: college football scouting

  • Emerging NFL Talents: RB James Starks

    Although my takes on the players in the next series of posts might be useful to fantasy owners, these aren’t fantasy football articles. I’m not projecting stats. I’m writing about talented players whose portfolio of work reveals techniques and behaviors that I think translate well to the NFL game. At the end of the year,…

  • Execution

    While researching YouTube highlights for my last blog post, I came across a series of short videos on fundamentals for wide receiver and tight end. One set of these videos features former Packers, Chiefs, and Vikings tight end Paul Coffman, who does a fantastic job of demonstrating fundamental techniques for blocking, releases, routes, and pass catching.…

  • YouTube Chalkboard: Six WRs Who Will School You

    Wide receiver can be a difficult position to evaluate because there are three general factors that contribute to a player’s success in the NFL: Athleticism, technique, and the mesh of his skills within the team’s offensive system. Here are six NFL WRs with lessons to share through the lens of YouTube highlights.  Welcome to a…

  • YouTube Chalkboard: Three `90s RBs to Learn From

    Walking into the lobby of the Pro Football Hall of Fame a couple of weeks ago, the banner of 2011 inductee Marshall Faulk got me thinking about the runners who came into the league in the mid-to-late `90s. Runners who had hall of fame ability but aren’t likely to be first-ballot inductees, if enshrined at…

  • Grinding Tape: Chad Spann – Stiff arms and Green Dogs

    NIU RB Chad Spann led the NCAA Divison I-A with 22 rushing touchdowns in 2010. That’s one more than LaMichael James and two more than Colin Kaepernick and Cam Newton. Recently, I had the chance to watch tape with the 2010 MAC MVP. This week we discuss two plays where there are problems with the…

  • Remove The Beer Goggles (A Sober Look at Terrelle Pryor)

    I’m going to give you a ton of analysis on Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor. But if you subscribe to the “Keep It Simple Stupid,” approach, here’s an executive summary: All NFL prospects have physical talent. All NFL starters have technical skill. However, few NFL prospects in a given year become NFL starters because they…

  • Grinding Tape Part III – NIU RB Chad Spann

    In Part I of the Grinding Tape Series, Mid American Conference MVP Chad Spann explained the concepts behind plays that require a running back to understand blocking schemes, defensive tendencies, and reading keys. In Part II, he revealed how quickly a runner needs to be able to process information to choose a hole, ball security…

  • Grinding Tape: NIU RB Chad Spann Part II

    In Part I of the Grinding Tape Series, Mid American Conference MVP Chad Spann explained the concepts behind plays that require a running back to understand blocking schemes, defensive tendencies, and reading keys. This week, he reveals how quickly a runner needs to be able to process information to choose a hole, ball security protocol,…

  • Losing Your Football Innocence

    Losing Your Football Innocence

    Readers often ask me for advice on how to watch football with a more critical eye. My answers are below, but if you take my advice you’ll lose your football innocence. Let’s dispense with the obvious: You love football. I love football. We wouldn’t be interacting on this blog if we didn’t. I’m stating these…