2012 NFL Draft
Senior Bowl Storylines, Part 1
-
2011's Top Ten Senior
Bowl Storylines
-
2010's Top Ten Senior
Bowl Storylines
-
2007's Senior Bowl
Stream-of-Consciousness Notes
- 2009s Senior Bowl
Stream-of-Consciousness Notes
-
2010's Senior Bowl
Stream-of-Consciousness Notes
-
2011's Senior Bowl
Stream-of-Consciousness Notes
- 2012 NFL Draft -
Senior Bowl Roster - North
- 2012 NFL Draft -
Senior Bowl Roster - South
E-mail
Pete Fiutak
Follow us ...
#ColFootballNews
If you’re a good person and lead a fulfilling life, you have interesting and entertaining plans on Saturday afternoon when the annual Senior Bowl takes place in Mobile, Alabama. Not being one of those people, I will not only be into the all-star/NFL draft showcase, but I’ll actually care about what happens.
I’ll care so you don’t have to.
However, you’re a football fan and you want to at least know what the pro deal is with some of the top college players over the last few seasons, so here’s basically what you need to know and care about before the game kicks off with the big storylines that the scouting types are buzzing about.
1. Short quarterbacks are evil.
Drew Brees is barely – and it’s by the most microscopic of margins – six-feet tall. Why he’s a Hall-of-Fame-caliber passer at six-even and would’ve been knocked down three pegs at 5’11” ¾ is part of the strange world of the NFL scouting system. But that’s the deal for NFL quarterbacks now.
Just like a left tackle has to be special to get a look at 275 pounds, a quarterback has to be elite to get any sort of a nod by measuring in under six-feet.
Brees might be the patron saint of short quarterbacks, but using him as an example for why a prospect doesn’t have to be 6’4” is the same as giving sixth round draft picks hope that they can be somebody because of Tom Brady – it’s a blip. And Brees doesn’t play short, straining on his toes and release to get every millimeter out of his body.
So that’s why the big disappointment came - but it was hardly a shock – when Wisconsin’s Russell Wilson checked in at a whisker over 5’10”. He might have one of the strongest arms of any quarterback in the draft, and his accuracy isn’t a question mark, but he simply can’t see over his linemen and has to be moved around to find a throwing lane.
Boise State’s Kellen More is almost six-even, but still, it’s an issue when prospects like Nick Foles, Ryan Lindley, and Brandon Weeden have the right body types and also practice well – at least in the case of Weeden and Lindley this week.
However, Wilson and Moore are proving that they’re about to have long and glorious careers as ideal backup options. Both quarterbacks are smart, extremely accurate – either a quarterback has that or he doesn’t – and will be the type of No. 2s who can fill in and keep a team’s season alive.
Neither one will be a franchise quarterback, but the Chicago Bears would’ve stayed in the playoff hunt with either one as the backup behind Jay Cutler, and both are proving to be better prospects than T.J. Yates was.
These two have been under intense scrutiny at Senior Bowl practices because …
2. Lots and LOTS of teams need a quarterback.
With Matt Barkley, Landry Jones, and Tyler Wilson staying put for one more season, it’s looking more and more like Robert Griffin will be a slam-dunk at No. 4 to Cleveland after Indianapolis takes Andrew Luck with the first overall selection.
Who’s the third quarterback in the mix? Wilson, Moore, Brandon Weeden, Kirk Cousins, and Nick Foles are all auditioning for the spot this week.
There are six teams other than Indianapolis and Cleveland – Washington, Miami, Kansas City, Seattle, NY Jets, and Denver– that desperately need to address their respective quarterback situations, and four teams – Minnesota, Buffalo, Oakland, and Philadelphia – have to upgrade their quarterbacks and won’t because of major investments in their current starters.
Who’ll be desperate enough to go goofy and overdraft a quarterback like Minnesota did taking Christian Ponder at the 12?
It might be Texas A&M’s Ryan Tannehill who’ll benefit the most, but he’s not playing in the Senior Bowl after suffering a broken foot. He was a mediocre college player, and that’s going to become more and more apparent as teams start to overscrutinize their first round prospects. The door for the No. 3 quarterback spot is open this week.
Foles has the best chance to move way, way up the draft charts by looking good in the game, but he hasn’t been sharp in practices. Lindley, Cousins, and Weeden can all assure themselves of top 100 draft slots by continuing to practice well.
Weeden is doing the most to help himself this week, showing off a huge arm and great command, while Lindley and Cousins aren’t hurting themselves. But Moore and Wilson have been strong, too, and they could parlay a great showing in the game into a few draft slots.
Take it all with a grain of salt, though.
Ponder was terrific in last year’s Senior Bowl and rocketed up the charts. Dan LeFevour was phenomenal in the 2010 game, but he wasn’t taken until the sixth round and can’t play. Pat White was unstoppable in the 2009 game and was taken in the second round. Now he’s out of the league.
3. Will the safeties ever be good again?
In Bill Belichick’s NFL, the tight ends are becoming more dangerous and more explosive than ever. Now, more than ever before, defenses are in desperate need of smart, do-it-all safeties who can both pop in run support and stay with the new breed of Gronkowskis in pass coverage.
But those safeties are few and far between.
How many safeties made Pro Football Weekly’s list of the top 50 players? Two. Troy Polamalu at No. 43, and San Francisco playmaker Dashon Goldson at No. 49. Pro Bowler Earl Thomas was an honorable mention, while Eric Weddle and Ed Reed didn’t make the list.
Safety was a wasteland in last year’s draft, and while this year looks better, it’s still a weak position after Alabama’s Mark Barron likely goes in the first round.
The Senior Bowl is a huge opportunity for prospects like Notre Dame’s Harrison Smith – a projected third rounder – and he’s making the most of it showing a bit more range and suddenness than expected. He could move up, as could Boise State’s George Iloka, who measured in at almost 6’4” and 222 pounds, but doesn’t run like it. Oklahoma State’s Markelle Martin came into this week expected to be the second safety off the board after Barron, and he hasn’t disappointed after a little bit of a rough start.
But that’s about it.
There’s a chance no more than five safeties are taken in the first 100 picks – Barron, Martin, Smith, Iloka, and South Carolina’s Antonio Allen – and they’ll likely move up a few spots because they’re at a premium.
4. Running back might be back.
Running back, schmunning back.
New Orleans and Green Bay won Super Bowls with no-namers, and New England might win yet another title without a premium back to carry the load.
However, while the day of having one feature-back carry the entire workload might be fading, this year’s draft might not reflect that with at least eight backs likely to go within the top 100 picks after Trent Richardson goes early in the first round and with five possibly going in the first two rounds. There might not be much in the way of star power in Mobile, but a few prospects are solidifying their spots up high.
Doug Martin showed off speed at Boise State, but he was at his best when he was able to power through defenders. In Senior Bowl practices he’s looking like a natural NFL receiver and a possible three-down back who can do a little bit of everything well.
Cincinnati’s Isaiah Pead is second behind Martin in terms of generating a running back buzz. He’s not built like a power back at a thinnish 193 pounds on a 5’10” frame, but he can pop, as can Washington’s Chris Polk. The former Husky star is looking like a between-the-tackles runner who can soften up defenses.
Also looking strong has been Louisiana Tech’s Lennon Creer, who’s making the most of the opportunity running every carry like it’s his last, while Ohio State’s Dan Herron has showed off nice power and pop. Neither one will be taken before the fourth round, but they’re each solidifying their places in the middle of the draft.