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Futures: Dorial Green-Beckham
Futures: Oklahoma WR Dorial Green-Beckham By Matt Waldman In the end, we’re going to overcomplicate the simple, and they’re likely to oversimplify what’s complicated. “We” are the media and fans, “they” are the NFL, and wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham embodies both “simple” and “complicated.” The ridiculously talented football player with a hyphenated last name (which…
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Futures at Football Outsiders: FSU TE Nick O’Leary
Need a player who will do the dirty work to keep your quarterback looking and playing clean like Heath Miller does for Roethlisberger? Nick O’Leary is your man. A pervasive theme of this year’s Futures is the profiling of football players who transcend the typical boundaries of their position. Hines Ward comes to mind as…
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Futures at Football Outsiders: Nebraska RB Ameer Abdullah
Abdullah could get lost in a strong class of running backs with size and speed, but good, all-round football players are just as hard to find. What is your favorite position to watch? I get this question a lot. Originally it was running back. It’s the most intuitive and improvisational role on a football field.…
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Futures at Football Outsiders: What’s After Clowney?
by Matt Waldman Jadeveon Clowney is one of the headliners of the 2014 NFL Draft, but defensive end is not this year’s marquee position. One of the predominant reasons is the current prevalence of the 3-4 scheme in the NFL. A true 4-3 end capable of stopping the run and pressuring the quarterback at an…
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Futures: Texas Tech TE Jace Amaro
Jace Amaro has the physical skills and baseline football acumen to generate talk that he’s a future Jason Witten Futures: Texas Tech TE Jace Amaro by Matt Waldman The best NFL teams possess three characteristics on the field: resiliency, intimidation, and explosiveness. Two are psychological and one is physical. All three are methods of managing…
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Futures: UNC TE Eric Ebron
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Futures: Florida State WR Rashad Greene
Futures: Florida State WR Rashad Greene By Matt Waldman When it comes to workouts, interviews, and background investigations, I have nothing on the NFL. I’m just like everyone else; I’m waiting to hear the outcomes of whatever the league shares with the public. But after speaking with former and current scouts, I can say with…
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Futures at Football Outsiders: Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel
Futures: Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel by Matt Waldman Management Style and Quarterbacking In last week’s Futures on Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray, I described quarterbacking styles within the context of task-oriented management and creative management. Be it a white-collar, blue-collar, or athletic career, these are two basic ends of the spectrum when talking about management styles. Task-oriented…
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Futures at Football Outsiders: Venric Mark, Offensive Weapon?
Venric Mark: Offensive Weapon? by Matt Waldman A couple of months ago, an employee from an NFL player-personnel department asked for preliminary input on a project he’s undertaking. He asked me to relay things I watch when I study offensive skill players that he could quantify. One of the things I shared pertains to running backs. What…
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Futures: Why Scouting Gets a Bum Rap – A Front Office Overhaul
Scouting gets a bum rap. “Of course Waldman would say this,” you proclaim. “He’s a scout!” I may perform the fundamental role of one, but I am not a scout. This elicits laughter from my friend Ryan Riddle. The Bleacher Report columnist who holds Cal’s single season sack record and played with the Raiders, Ravens,…