East-West Shrine Game Thread, 1/21 at 4 PM ET (NFLN)

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
One more day two notes (day three notes coming shortly):

Quote:

The west offensive line as a whole did a slightly better job Tuesday and I thought Texas OL David Snow was much improved. Snow displays the ability to bend, move his feet laterally in pass protection and has sneaky heavy hands once engaged. Now, he does have a tendency to get a bit upright and overextend through contact. But, overall in a weak center class, I think Snow is an intriguing later round flyer.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Shrine-Practice-Notes-West-Day-2.html

I think Snow is a consideration for us if we wait til the later rounds to pick up an interior OL.

Glad to see another one of the late round guys I like is holding his own. Really do hope we land him.

Boise State DE Tyrone Crawford had possibly his best performance of the week today. He showcased the ability to win at the point of attack in the run game, as he overpower opposing tackles during 9 on 7. But also was able to win consistently off the edge as a pass rusher during both team and 1on1 drills. He did a nice job turning speed into power as a pass rusher creating the needed leverage to overwhelm and was sudden enough to slip blocks when opposing tackles wanted to get physical. Looks like at worst a rotational defensive end who has the skill set to start as a base 43 lineman.

Crawford's counterpart inside was Missouri DT Dominique Hamilton who not only displayed "plus" power for a 6-5, 320-pound defender as a bull rusher, but was also very disruptive knifing his way into the backfield today during the team session. When he keeps his pad level down the guy has the skill to routinely win on contact and looks like a potential starting caliber 34 five-technique in the NFL.

On the other side of the ball, Miami (OH) OG Brandon Brooks continues to improve his balance and footwork in pass protection. He was routinely able to mirror through contact, lock out his arms and keep his back flat. He's a heavy-handed player with strong lower half and looks like a capable starting NFL guard prospect. It's key to evaluate how a quarterback prospect is able to spin the football in wet conditions, and Wednesday's weather were ideal for this evaluation.

Northern Illinois QB Chandler Harnish is a shorter prospect with a smaller set of hands and seemed to have a tough time gripping the football and cleanly spinning throws on all levels of the field. Too often his passes came out with a bit of a tail and overall he had a tough time being real effective trying to throw the ball down the field in driving rains.

Despite the wet field conditions, Fresno State wide out Devon Wylie still was able to run routes at full speed, generate a burst and play fast. He does a nice job keeping his feet under him, showcases good knee bend and even with most of the prospects on skates trying to get out of their breaks today, Wylie was still very sudden and explosive. He's one of the top slot receivers in the class and if he checks out medically, I wouldn't have any qualms using a mid-round pick on him.

South Dakota OT Tom Compton displayed a little more snap through the hips as a run blocker than I gave him credit for on tape. Now, he still looks tight in pass protection and lacks ideal range toward the edge, as he was worked over a couple times today. But he's got a stronger lower half and looks like a guy who should get a shot as a later round/free agent developmental right tackle in camp.

Finally, BYU OT Matt Reynolds has really had a tough week. He lost some weight in order to improve athleticism (weighing in at only 310-pounds at the weigh-in) and has struggled with anchor strength as a pass blocker. He's not a natural bender either, gets doubled over the waist too often and plays straight-legged when trying to hold the point of attack. Those tendencies take away from his balance through contact and allow defenders to easily shed his block through the play.

It looked like there was going to be the possibility of a breakthrough for UT Chattanooga QB B.J. Coleman today, as he seemed much more comfortable working from under center, balancing his feet and maintaining a more efficient base. Plus, he was more natural moving his feet in line with secondary targets early on and letting go of the football on time. However, as soon as the live bullets starting flying he had a tendency to fall off throws and would get narrow/upright in the lower half, limiting his accuracy.

Southern Miss QB Austin Davis has some savvy to his game; he sells the play fake hard and displays nice touch between the numbers. However, his arm is limited, he gets lost once the pocket starts to close in on him and isn't real impressive spinning the football on the move. A guy like him is a dime a dozen in my mind and doesn't warrant more than free agent grade.

It was a bit of a coming out party for Notre Dame CB Robert Blanton Wednesday. The taller, physical corner has had his fair share of struggles in off coverage this week. However, in press man this afternoon he did a nice job shooting his hand into contact, maintaining his footing and getting his head around quickly in order to locate the football. He did get a bit grabby at times, but he possesses the balance to create a burst out of his breaks and was tough to separate from in press coverage.

Tennessee Tech wideout Tim Benford has had a solid week. He's a decent sized kid with some suddenness to his game out of his breaks, can be sharp when asked to change directions and locates the football well. However, he put the ball on the ground twice today and despite being one of the better route runners down here, he's not dynamic enough to not overlook his inconsistencies catching the football. Nevertheless, he gave himself chance to be in an NFL camp with his strong week and fight for a roster spot.

The standout again on Wednesday was Coastal Carolina CB Josh Norman. Norman finished the day with three picks and again showed off his impressive click and close ability, body control and feel in coverage. He was also very physical in pressman as well. Now, he did have a tendency to step into the press and will get caught with all his weight on his front foot, causing him to struggle to regain balance quickly. However, overall the guy has helped himself as much as anyone down here and looks like a potential starting NFL corner and top-100 pick.

Presbyterian DB Justin Bethel has also had a very solid week. He's another long armed kid who is fluid, can run and be physical off the line. However, too often this week he allows himself to pop upright when he looks for the football and doesn't generate the type of closing burst then to go make a play on the throw. He's close to really taking his game to another level, but needs to do a better job keeping his pad level once he snaps his head around to find the football.

This was the best day of practice for Temple OG Derek Dennis. When he doesn't have to handle the bull rush he showcases natural foot quickness for this size and can slide his feet laterally. It's when he's forced to sit down, gain proper hand placement and anchor where he get himself into trouble. The athleticism is there, he just needs to improve pad level off the snap.

It was good to see Pittsburgh OLB Brandon Lindsey rush a little off the edge Wednesday during 1 on 1 drills. He showcased a good first step and even after one day looks the most natural of the group of pass rushers so far this week. He displays the ability to cleanly change directions off his speed rush and keep tackles off balance with the spin as well. However, he's still not dynamic enough in any area of the game to warrant much more than mid-round pick.

Finally, South Carolina DT Travian Robertson has shown flashes all week of creating havoc behind the line of scrimmage. He possesses a good first step, can make himself small when shooting gaps and fight his way through contact. He also displays the ability to gain leverage and get his hands inside on contact when working the bull rush. However, he's limited laterally, doesn't use his hands well to shed when engaged and looks more like a one-gap type only who is worth a flyer late on day three.

Things have sorted out this week at practice, and I think we are starting to get a good idea on second round targets the team may put a gigantic bullseye on:

1) If the team wants to go interior line, the top guy this week by all accounts was Miami (OH) Brandon Brooks, who is a 354 pound giant, who held together well. he has Pittsburgh Steelers' lineman written all over him, but may be avaliable at the end of the second round.

2) If the team is looking at CB, then the man of the week was small schooler, Josh Norman of Coastal Carolina, who has good size (6', 203), long arms (77" reach) and pretty much dominated the WR's all week long. Bullseye.

3) If WR is the target, Arkansas Jarius Wright is the man. Probably will be a top 3 speed guy at the combine, he has a LOT of DeSean Jackson in him. A burner, tiny, at 176 pounds, and a guy who will be a nightmare for DB's to cover at the next level. Blowing by CB's in practice. He is a borderline second/third rounder to me, so the team may have a shot. Graded as the top player this week in practice by Wes Bunting of National Football Post

Don't sleep on my Vol RB Tauren Poole. When you see him run, you're going to think, "I've seen this guy before, and I think he wears #21."

Miami TE Chase Ford is also someone to keep an eye on if we're looking at a late-round development kid with size (6, 6" 250) and speed.

ummmm....is Brock Oswieler in this game?

According to ESPN he is:
http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post?id=33504

Not only that, they are saying based on his performance he will challenge to be the #3 QB off the board, possibly a late 1st rounder. WTF?!?

Originally posted by SunDevilNiner79:
ummmm....is Brock Oswieler in this game?

According to ESPN he is:
http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post?id=33504

Not only that, they are saying based on his performance he will challenge to be the #3 QB off the board, possibly a late 1st rounder. WTF?!?

No, the original post says:

The practice week leading up to the East-West Shrine Game has given us a better look at many under-the-radar NFL prospects, but we've also spent our evenings breaking down tape on plenty of other players, including our first in-depth study of some underclassmen.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/blog?name=nfl_draft&id=7484069&_slug_=2012-nfl-draft-brock-osweiler-become-first-rounder&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnfl%2fblog%3fname%3dnfl_draft%26id%3d7484069%26_slug_%3d2012-nfl-draft-brock-osweiler-become-first-rounder

So it sounds like the the guy linking to the original post got it tangled up a bit.

Originally posted by MadDog49er:
Things have sorted out this week at practice, and I think we are starting to get a good idea on second round targets the team may put a gigantic bullseye on:

1) If the team wants to go interior line, the top guy this week by all accounts was Miami (OH) Brandon Brooks, who is a 354 pound giant, who held together well. he has Pittsburgh Steelers' lineman written all over him, but may be avaliable at the end of the second round.

2) If the team is looking at CB, then the man of the week was small schooler, Josh Norman of Coastal Carolina, who has good size (6', 203), long arms (77" reach) and pretty much dominated the WR's all week long. Bullseye.

3) If WR is the target, Arkansas Jarius Wright is the man. Probably will be a top 3 speed guy at the combine, he has a LOT of DeSean Jackson in him. A burner, tiny, at 176 pounds, and a guy who will be a nightmare for DB's to cover at the next level. Blowing by CB's in practice. He is a borderline second/third rounder to me, so the team may have a shot. Graded as the top player this week in practice by Wes Bunting of National Football Post

I like what I'm hearing about Josh Norman.

Originally posted by SunDevilNiner79:
ummmm....is Brock Oswieler in this game?

According to ESPN he is:
http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post?id=33504

Not only that, they are saying based on his performance he will challenge to be the #3 QB off the board, possibly a late 1st rounder. WTF?!?

heard one of McShay/Kiper is talking about him as a possible 1st rounder while the other is not

if I had to guess I bet Kiper's senile ass is the one saying such dumbass s**t

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:

Originally posted by SunDevilNiner79:
ummmm....is Brock Oswieler in this game?

According to ESPN he is:
http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post?id=33504

Not only that, they are saying based on his performance he will challenge to be the #3 QB off the board, possibly a late 1st rounder. WTF?!?

No, the original post says:

The practice week leading up to the East-West Shrine Game has given us a better look at many under-the-radar NFL prospects, but we've also spent our evenings breaking down tape on plenty of other players, including our first in-depth study of some underclassmen.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/blog?name=nfl_draft&id=7484069&_slug_=2012-nfl-draft-brock-osweiler-become-first-rounder&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnfl%2fblog%3fname%3dnfl_draft%26id%3d7484069%26_slug_%3d2012-nfl-draft-brock-osweiler-become-first-rounder

So it sounds like the the guy linking to the original post got it tangled up a bit.

That makes more sense, good thing Ted Miller isn't a big time journalist working for a major sports media company

^^ Would be even funnier of they actually worked for the same company. Oh wait...

Originally posted by vrabbit:

Originally posted by SunDevilNiner79:
ummmm....is Brock Oswieler in this game?

According to ESPN he is:
http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post?id=33504

Not only that, they are saying based on his performance he will challenge to be the #3 QB off the board, possibly a late 1st rounder. WTF?!?

heard one of McShay/Kiper is talking about him as a possible 1st rounder while the other is not

if I had to guess I bet Kiper's senile ass is the one saying such dumbass s**t

That sounds more like McShay. He had RG3 as a 2nd rd pick, and as a WR during season, and then when the bandwagon began, he hoped on it.

I think West Virginia's Julian Miller is a guy to also keep an eye on as a possible 5th-6th round development-type 3-4 OLB. He's got Ahmad Brooks size (6'3", 256) and toughness (played DT for most of 2011), is very solid at the point of attack and he's a playmaker (42.5 TFL and 27.5 sacks for his career). Big, tough, athletic playmaker off the edge...sounds perfect for Fangio's defense if you ask me.

Aldon Smith's teammate from Missouri, Dominique Hamilton looks interesting as well as a 3-4 DE (6'5", 320).

So far I'm liking BJ Coleman(UT Chattanooga QB) and Tuaren Poole(Tennessee RB) for the East squad

Had this game on but I've been cleaning and not really paying attention.

Any WRs standing out?