Fiu's
Stream of Consciousness Notes
2009
Senior Bowl
-
2007 Senior Bowl
Stream-of-Consciousness Notes
By Pete
Fiutak
Welcome again to my pretentious, goofy and self-serving
stream-of-consciousness thoughts and notes on the big games, the
broadcasts, the ads and the teams for the attention deficit
disordered. E-mail
me with your own thoughts and notes and what you'd like to see.
Pregame
It's the annual meat-market
evaluation game known as the Senior Bowl. The only aspect of this
whole process that matters is the practice time. The
game is simply a time to not to screw up, and most importantly, not get
injured. The fates of all these guys are almost already sealed in
the minds of the NFL types, but that doesn’t mean they can’t blow
it.
The rule of thumb is that you can’t really help yourself in the
game if you were a dog in practices, but you can certainly lose
ground if you look lost when the bullets start flying. However, an
unknown can make a huge name for himself with one big play or a few
big moments.
- Marvin Lewis and Jack Del Rio running
their respective squads ... welcome to the lame duck bowl.
- This is where the quarterbacks have to show something big.
Graham Harrell has to look like an NFL quarterback, because he's not
one according to most early reports. The same goes for Pat White,
who'll be far better served to make the switch to a
jack-of-all-trades type of player.
- I want to see the USC linebackers most of all. Rey Maualuga is
considered the better prospect than Brian Cushing, but Cushing had
the better week.
- I love my guys from the College Football Now show, Charles
Davis and Mike Mayock, but I'll rip on them anyway (because I'll rip
on them when I talk to them, too). "Stack and shed," and "loose
hips," and "short area burst" are terms they use in everyday
conversation and not just in football analysis.
First Quarter
South on its own 27
- John Parker Wilson is not a starting NFL quarterback.
If he's playing in a real, live NFL game, that team is in huge
trouble. However, he's heady enough, and has just enough skills, to
have a ten-year career as a Jim Sorgi-like backup.
- 3rd and 4. This is the money play for Wilson as he has to show
on the first drive that he can keep drives moving ...
- ... and he air mails his throw and Oregon's Eugene Chung
comes up with a huge pop to make sure the play isn't completed.
North on its own 35
- I'm really interested in seeing Graham Harrell under
center ... the first play was a disaster as he tripped and fell
down, but he did a good job of making something happen and almost
coming up with a play.
- After two plays, USC DT Fili Moala has made himself a ton
of money. That's all you need to see, and yes, it's just two plays.
He rushed the passer and made a play against the run on his second
play.
- Robert Ayers of Tennessee got a good pass rush, but Harrell
should've made the throw on the 15-yard out. He couldn't come up
with the throw.
South on its own 20
- Cheerleaders at the Senior Bowl?! "Go Under Armour! Yeah
spandex!"
- Neither offensive line has done anything on the first seven
plays from the game.
- Missouri's William Moore has to step up and show he's a
top first rounder. His stock is slipping big-time, but he's still a
25-30 pick.
- Michael Oher vs. Larry English. It's a good battle of
first round prospects. The South is going to run over the Ole Miss
star every chance he gets, while English, whose stock is emerging,
can show what he can do against a top ten talent.
- Moore missed a tackle and allowed a big run. He whiffed and
Liberty's Rashad Jennings came up with a big play.
- Wilson throws an NFL-caliber out pattern to Patrick Turner
for a first down. That throw right there will put him on the radar
because it shows he can really do it.
- Oher is handling English without a problem so far.
- Turner with two straight catches. He looks the part, but he
was a bit of a dog when it came to his USC production. He won't wow
anyone in his workouts, so he has to show he can produce in a game
like this.
- Wilson doesn't find his receiver in time and has to take off
for a first down. He makes something happen, but he needs to be able
to anticipate the throw.
- Iowa DT Mitch King is one of my favorite players. He's
not huge, but he's active and he's able to make things happen all
the time.
- Florida State's Greg Carr fought for the ball and got
popped, but he held on.
- King makes another play. He's way too small, but he's so
productive ... Mayock and Chuck D. just say the same thing.
- 3rd and goal and Wilson runs it in on a quarterback draw. Yeah,
nice call and Wilson did lead the team on a scoring drive, but it
would've been far better if he had been able to throw the touchdown
pass on the play before when he failed to hang it up high enough.
South 7 ... North 0
North on its own 25
- The PA announcer sounds like the guy introducing the bands in
Purple Rain. "Ladies and gentlemen ... The Revolution."
- Troy's Sherrod Martin is a great one. He's great in
coverage and should be a corner, but he'll be great in a Cover-2
scheme. He's not physical, but he just made a nice tackle on
Oregon's Jeremiah Johnson.
- Wilson is hardly Peyton Manning, but he's at least looking the
part. Harrell isn't so far.
- Another three and out.
- Mayock is rolling. He's firing on Juaquin Iglesias,
Harrell, everyone. That's him.
South on its own 15
- And here we go with Pat White. White's one of my
favorite college players in the last decade, but he's not an NFL
quarterback unless someone is willing to get really creative.
However, Seneca Wallace isn't an NFL passer either, and he has made
a nice career for himself.
- Pitt's Scott McKillop is like Mitch King. He's not
going to impress anyone with the measurables, but he makes play
after play after play.
- White's first drive is a three and out.
North on its own 45
- Rhett Bomar is in. He's the best pro quarterback
prospect in this game by a long shot. He has the arm, the size, and
the talent, and he shows off the gun on the first throw to Brian
Robiskie.
- Play it straight, coaches. It's not about winning the game;
it's about seeing what these guys really can do on a pro level. The
North runs an end around to Penn State's Derrick Williams. Of
course that'll work in an all-star game.
- Bomar operating in the shotgun on 3rd and four. He HAS to make
this play because it's the offense he ran in Sam Houston State out
of the shotgun.
- He doesn't make a great throw, but he gets the first down.
Mayock fires on Bomar for the not-that-accurate pass. Mayock would
fire on chocolate chip cookies and Christmas if he's on his game.
First Quarter Score: South 7 - North 0
Second Quarter
- Ooooooh. Ellis Lankster from West Virginia makes a
fantastic open field tackle on Purdue's Kory Sheets. The
second day prospects can only dream about getting a shot like that.
- Sheets isn't a starting NFL running back. He'll have to make his
impact on special teams if he can't find a role as a third down
change-of-pace back right away. He's a specialist.
- Bomar stared down his receiver, Oklahoma's Iglesias, and LSU's
Darry Beckwith read it perfectly.
- Utah's Louie Sakoda from 38 ... this is automatic.
- Yup, nails it. He'll be a 15-year career man.
South 7 ... North 3
South on its own 32
- Pat White is in. He needs to throw an out pattern on this
drive just to show he can.
- The running games aren't doing anything. Neither defense is giving
two hoots about any of the QB's passing ability.
- Now that's where White can be a next-level quarterback. He got
outside the pocket and made a throw on the run for a first down to
Quan Cosby.
- Nice throw from White. He overthrew Cosby on a deep ball, but he
put good air under it and it was a nice throw. He also looked off
his receiver and took the safety away. In a case like this, White
just missing his target by showing too much arm is a good thing.
- NC State RB Andre Brown got room to move on a pass from
White and made things happen. Brown has had an impressive week and
came up with a 33-yard play.
- White makes it look easy on a run for 13 yards. While John Parker
Wilson running the ball isn't any big deal, White on this play comes
up with a walk-in-the-park first down that could be a designed play.
- If I'm White, I'm lobbying for a fade pattern to make the throw
that Wilson didn't.
- Boston College's B.J. Raji has been the star of the week,
but his Eagle teammate Ron Brace has first day draft pick
skills, too.
- LSU FB Quinn Johnson barrels it in for a touchdown.
South 14 ... North 3
North on its own 30
- William Moore is out with an ankle injury. And thus ends a
horrendous week for the former Mizzou star as he goes from a first
rounder to a mid-second rounder.
- Ole Miss's Ashlee Palmer looks like he was shot out of a
cannon into the backfield, but he didn't get the sack on Bomar.
- Brian Cushing didn't get the play on Virginia's Cedric
Peerman, but he missed partly because he blasted the guard.
- I'm not a fan of Bomar's delivery, but it works.
- Bomar is panicking too quickly. There was a little bit of a pass
rush, but not a lot of one, and he took off when he didn't find his
No. 2 or 3 receiver.
- Rey Maualuga missed a tackle on Peerman, and then Cushing
missed him. Peerman is making some nice runs on plays that aren't
there.
- Bomar had Juaquin Iglesias open for a deep play and he threw a
duck. He needed to use his arm and fire it, but he aired it out when
it didn't need touch.
- Bomar is showing that he has the skills, but he needs the coaching
and he needs seasoning.
- All the good things Peerman has done so far are now erased as he
gets stripped by Maualuga and loses the ball. You can NOT turn the
ball over in a game like this.
South on its own 41
- And here's Clemson's Cullen Harper. He was one of
the top quarterback prospects going into this year, and now he'll be
lucky to be a fourth rounder.
- Harper makes the throw that no one else has tried so far. He drove
his pass to Arizona's Mike Thomas, UConn's Darius Butler
misses the tackle, and it's a big play. It was a decisive pass.
- Clemson's James Davis has a hole and makes a nice run, but
he didn't blow through for a home run.
- Harper is having a nice, nice drive. Unlike Harrell who didn't put
the ball in places for his receivers to do something with it, the
yards after the catch are coming from Harper.
- Eugene Chung and Scott McKillop do a great job of
stopping Davis from scoring. If Davis isn't punching it in on the
goal line, he's struggling. He's a closer.
- B.J. Raji gets shoved by Louisville C Eric Wood, and
Andre Brown scores without much of a problem.
South 21 ... North 3
North on its own 49
- Derrick Williams comes up with a great kickoff
return as he slips by, slips by, and slips by, and then he's at
midfield. He'll be a strong No. 2 receiver and could be a dangerous
all-around playmaker.
- Oregon's Jeremiah Johnson gets the ball in space and is
able to work the ball down the field on a short pass.
- Central Arkansas QB Nathan Brown is lucky, but he gets to
run a two-minute drill. All these quarterbacks would love to be in a
hurry-up attack and in the shotgun.
- I'm not quite sure what Juaquin Iglesias does in the NFL.
He's nowhere near a No. 1 target, and I'm not sure he's a two.
- Brown isn't all that big, so he has to show he can be a lights out
passer. He hasn't been that on this drive.
- Cal C Alex Mack opened up a huge hole and Johnson ripped
off a big run on fourth down.
- Brown rolls out, hits Johnson, and comes up with a touchdown.
- Jeremiah Johnson will slip in the draft, but he's going to
make some team very, very happy in the late second or early third
round. He's a bigger, not-as-fast Chris Johnson.
South 21 ... North 10
South on its own 30
- Just :41 to play, any points generated here from Harper
would be impressive.
- Harper is showing a live arm. The O might not be clicking, but his
workouts will wow someone.
- Nice, nice tackle from Western Michigan S Louis Delmas. It
was a one-on-one chance for a first down, and Delmas brought it to
force a punt.
- The South is going for it on 4th and 1 with Pat White coming in.
- Michael Oher gets nailed for a holding call on an obvious
tackle to screw up the fourth down play.
North on its own 30
- Iglesias should've had a touchdown. He blew past the South
secondary and Nathan Brown missed him. Iglesias looked like
he quit on the rout.
Second Quarter Score: South 21 ... North 10
Third Quarter
North on its own 20
- Tennessee's Robert Ayers sacks Nathan Brown,
who doesn't read the play and tucks it instead of dumping the ball
off.
- And there's Rey Maualuga. On a short dump off play,
Maualuga reads the screen instantly and jacks up the play big time
making it 3rd and 19.
- Brian Cushing stops Purdue's Kory Sheets on third
down with a nice wrap up tackle.
South on its own 42
- John Parker Wilson is back in.
- Ole Miss WR Mike Wallace had a shot at a big play and
didn't take off up the field after a short catch. He danced to try
to make something happen that he didn't need to do.
- The South offensive line is dominating the North defensive front.
LSU's Herman Johnson is erasing linemen.
North on its own 9
- If you're Derrick Williams, why fair catch it? Give
it a shot just to see if you can break it.
- Graham Harrell is having a killer of a time. He's not doing
anything to show he deserves a longer look.
- Ashlee Palmer is all over the field.
- Harrell's nightmare continues. He should've been picked off by
Wake Forest's Alphonso Smith for a touchdown, but Smith
dropped. The play was read all the way.
South on its own 43
- White is making things happen. He's not an NFL passer, but
he's a weapon and someone is going to fall madly in love with the
idea of what he might be able to do.
- And then he does that do earn the MVP honor for this game. He
throws a 39-yard touchdown pass to Mike Wallace, who blows by
Cincinnati's DeAngelo Smith, who didn't read the rout
correctly. White put the ball where it needed to be ... he just
makes things happen.
South 28 ... North 10
North on its own 20
- Harrell is back in. Jeremiah Johnson makes another
nice play. He's been one of the most impressive players in this
game.
- Mayock has now compared Pat White to Rich Gannon twice. Uhhhhhh.
- Harrell finally makes a nice throw and gets the first down.
- And then he does that. Harrell had Brian Robiskie with a
deeper throw, he finesses the ball up in the air, and it gets picked
off.
South on its own 6
- Harper is in.
- The South offensive line is doing a great job so far, but it
hasn't been able to blast its way out of trouble here.
- Three and out. Harper wasn't able to get the offense moving as
Macho Harris never let the pass happen.
North on the South 49
- Derrick Williams puts on a few nifty moves to make
something out of nothing to get the ball past midfield on the punt
return.
- Nathan Brown fumbled the snap. The North quarterbacks have
been awful.
- Ole Miss DT Peria Jerry bursts through and blows up the
play. Brown hasn't been able to show he can get the offense moving
when he's under center, but ...
- ... he makes a nice throw and Cal Poly Ramses Barden makes
a good catch for a first down. Barden had a nightmare of a week, but
I really, really like him. He has the size and the potential, but
he'll have to come up with a few tremendous workouts.
- Jerry does it again. He's too quick for the North interior.
- Hawaii's
David Veikune
looks like he belongs. He's ruining offensive plays and looks like
an NFL producer.
- Brown and Iglesias hook up on a really nice timing pattern for a
first down. Brown is getting hit by adversity on this drive, and
hasn't looked great, but he's moving the ball.
- Brown needs far better mechanics to overcome the size issues.
- Kory Sheets reads the blocks well and bursts through for a
touchdown, but it gets called back on a questionable holding call.
- San Jose State CB Coye Francies is getting punished by the
linemen getting down the field, but he's coming up with his share of
plays.
- Brown and Iglesias hook up again for a first down.
- Troy's Sherrod Martin is my guy, but if you can't get
Juaquin Iglesias down, you're in trouble. Iglesias works his way
down to the one.
Third Quarter Score: South 28 ... North 10
Fourth Quarter
- Ooooh. LSU's Darry Beckwith held tough on the Kory
Sheets goal line carry and stuffs the play.
- Navy's Eric Kettani barrels in for the touchdown ...
- ... and Jeremiah Johnson uses his speed and open-field
ability to get around the end for a two-point conversion.
South 28 ... North 18
South on its own 13
- John Parker Wilson is back in.
- He gets on the move, makes a good throw for the first down. Again,
he's not special, but he's just good enough to be a backup for a
long, long time.
- Mayock makes a great point. The North defensive tackles who were
so good all week aren't doing much.
- Wilson is getting the offense moving. Again, though, his mobility
is nice, but the scouts want to see if he can find the right
receiver for a first down pass.
- Wilson doesn't feel the pressure, hangs on to the ball and gets
hit on third down.
North on its own 13
- Rhett Bomar is back in, and he doesn't have a
chance on his first play taking a big sack.
- And then he gets sacked again, loses the ball, and the South gets
a touchdown. Robert Ayers
blows around the edge, Bomar does a horrible job of not getting rid
of the ball, and Peria Jerry gets the touchdown.
South 35 ... North 18
North on the South 29
- Kory Sheets showed his versatility. I don't like
him as a running back, but he'll be a playmaker on special teams and
he'll be a good receiver on third downs.
- Graham Harrell is back in. He hasn't done anything yet.
- Harrell just doesn't have the arm to make a throw on the move with
Brian Robiskie open. It's almost like Harrell is too
tentative and isn't letting it rip. He's trying to not make
mistakes.
- And then he doesn't fire it in to Ramses Barden who has a
step on a slant pattern in the end zone.
- The North goes for it on fourth down, Harrell fires the ball in to
Barden, who isn't open, and Coye Francies makes the play.
- Barden is 6-6 ... put it up for him.
South on its own 12
- Pat White is in.
- The running backs have struggled to see much room to move, but
they're playing better than the stats might show. James Davis
makes a nice four-yard run when nothing was there.
- There's my guy. Mitch King works his way past Antoine
Caldwell and hits White.
- "Heavy legged waist bender." I love this time of year.
- When all breaks down, go with the designed run with White who
easily gets a first down and forces the North to take a time out by
sliding before getting out of bounds.
- Andre Brown forces his way through for a first down run on
fourth down. The South is just trying to bleed the clock and get
this game over with. He's looking good, but his talent isn't a
question. He has to prove he can be durable. He'll be one of the
first players taken on the second day.
- The drive finally ends as Mike Wallace drops the third down
pass. White didn't throw a great pass, but it should've been caught.
North on its own 27
- Rhett Bomar gets a chance to let it rip. With less
than three minutes to play, he gets to go into a shotgun, hurry-up
mode.
- He's not reading the plays. He's not finding his second receiver
quickly enough and he's taking off too early.
- Kory Sheets is having a nice game. He's making things
happen, finding his way into the clear for a first down on 4th and
4.
- Sherrod Martin gets beat by Iglesias for a deep play.
Martin is having a rough night, getting beat on a double move on
this last play. Bomar didn't throw a great pass, trying to finesse
the ball when he should he drove it.
- Iglesias gets has come up with 90 yards.
- Darry Beckwith makes a nice stop on Sheets to all but end
the game.
South on its own 9
- Victory formation.
- Pat White is the MVP.
South 35 ... North 18