Tag: Senior Bowl Practice Reports

  • Matt Waldman’s RSP Cast Ep.47: Senior Bowl South Practice Recap – Day Two

    Matt Waldman’s RSP Cast Ep.47: Senior Bowl South Practice Recap – Day Two

    Matt Waldman shares his notes from the film room of the South roster’s second practice at the 2019 Senior Bowl in this RSP Cast.  Due to time constraints, I’m experimenting with doing a podcast recap of my film notes. I organized this mostly by drills as opposed to the players. Let me know what you think…

  • Matt Waldman’s RSP Senior Bowl North Practice: Day 2

    Matt Waldman’s RSP Senior Bowl North Practice: Day 2

      Matt Waldman compared his notes from the North practice with the tape he reviewed of the session late last night and provides some clarity to the first session of the Senior Bowl Week. I’m Watching the Practice Tape This Year Readers of the Rookie Scouting Portfolio publication have afforded me this luxury. I’m betting…

  • Senior Bowl Practice Wrap: Defense – 2017 NFL Draft Prospects

    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 Practice Wrap: Offense – 2017 NFL Draft Prospects

    Senior Bowl Practice Wrap: Offense – 2017 NFL Draft Prospects

    Conclusions from this week of practices. As someone who studies film yearlong, the Senior Bowl has a different purpose for me than those in the media who are just getting acquainted with prospects. While I haven’t studied every player before traveling to Mobile, I’ve usually seen 85-95 percent of them. The Senior Bowl offers a…

  • A Senior Bowl Practice FAQ

    A Senior Bowl Practice FAQ

    Matt Waldman answers common questions posed to him by writers and readers about the practices and player development.  At the tail end of practice, a draft writer approached me with questions about the sessions, player performance, and player development. He wanted my thoughts on what he observed. His observations and subsequent questions were similar to…

  • Senior Bowl Day 1: First Impressions, Defense

    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…

  • Senior Bowl Day 1: First Impressions, Offense

    Senior Bowl Day 1: First Impressions, Offense

    Matt Waldman shares his notebook on the weigh-in and Day 1 of practice.  Prologue The first day of practice is both the most and least important of the week. It’s the least important when considering the results. Day 1 winners and losers are for pop media consumption and as forgettable as a sugary snack that…

  • Senior Bowl Offensive Wrap

    Senior Bowl Offensive Wrap

    What Waldman learned about each offensive skill player after three Senior Bowl practices.  The Mobile Mardi Gras parade derailed our opportunity to reveal the tape for extra nuggets to share with you, but missing out on practice tape is far from a devastating development. The takeaways I seek from the Senior Bowl practices are basic:…

  • Senior Bowl Defensive Wrap

    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

    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…