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Reads Listens Views 1/4/2013
Now Accepting Prepayment for the 2013 RSP I’m spending the weekend with a bunch of Footballguys watching the playoffs and talking shop. Meanwhile here’s some welcome news for those of you who have asked me when you can prepay for the 2013 RSP. The answer is now: If you wish to prepay for the April 1 download…
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Reads Listens Views 4/13/2012
For Maximum Effect: Mute the sound on this Cliff Branch highlight and open a second window on your browser and check out my link to the Gap Band’s “You Dropped a Bomb On Me,” later in this post. Thank you The response to the publication of the 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio has been great. I…
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Reader Email Bag
This email bag includes topics pertaining to Robert Turbin, Blaine Gabbert, physical skills and techniques I value from players at each skill position, and of course, Mario Manningham. (From Alexandra): When evaluating a player entering the draft, what are the positives of his skills that make a difference once in the NFL, and what are…
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Revolutionary
We fear what we don’t understand. And what we do understand is often rooted in the past. Statistics are a record of the past. Conventional thinking is also rooted in the past. But what is conventional today was revolutionary yesterday. And what was revolutionary yesterday was often met with skepticism, fear, and scorn. The round…
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Talent and Production: The Great Emotional Divide
This is my seventh year studying the on-field performance of football players. I can say unequivocally that I know more about the techniques and strategy of the game than I knew when I began. I’m also beginning to realize that I have learned just as much about player evaluation during the four months I have…
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Suggested Reading
In recent weeks there have been a lot of new readers to the Rookie Scouting Portfolio. This site is constantly evolving and one of the things I intend to do during the next few weeks is to add a page that categorizes links to every article on the blog for easier navigation. Whether you’re new…
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Dan Shonka Part III: Positional School
Dan Shonka explains why former Arkansas safety Steve Atwater is a great example of how technique that was once lacking can be honed to a point that it brings forth other great skills lying beneath the surface. I think it’s accurate to describe Ourlads’ Dan Shonka as one of the ultimate practitioners of football evaluation.…
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Dan Shonka Part I: Confidence and Competitiveness
Theory and practice, the ivory tower and the battleground. People will tell you that one is more beneficial than the other. I believe there’s not only a place for both, but they complement each other. I think NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell is one of the preeminent theorists of player evaluation. I call him…
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Reads, Listens, Views (and Post-Game Thoughts) 9/9
You knew I had to…
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Greg Cosell Part VI: Favorites
Parts I, II, and III of my talk with NFL Films senior Producer Greg Cosell – co-author of The Games That Changed the Game were portions of a recent conversation. Part IV and Part V about what goes into evaluating certain positions on the football field are from 2008. The final installment of this series…