Reuben Foster, ILB, Bama

Originally posted by Tman:

Originally posted by Heroism:

the few times he has to take on a guard at the second level, this happens:

that lineman looks massive

Originally posted by 16_to_80:

Originally posted by Tman:

that lineman looks massive

Lol agreed I don't think anyone at the second level has any business taking him on.

That's the ILBs job.

And that guard is "small" by NFL standards. he's 6'4" 305. He's a smaller zone guard. Wait until you get to the NFL, and you have to take on blocks from guys like 335 lbs Keleche Osemele.

Originally posted by Heroism:

Myles Jack was exemplary in beating blocks at the second level. note the hip explosion and the jarring punch.

No I agree with you on Jack great analysis. It looked to me like both Willis and Foster were both out of position on those plays. Foster did not square up like Jack did instead was focused on the RB and was side stepping too much. I think he's capable of doing what Jack does but your right on talent in front it makes life easier. He got caught sleeping and also that lineman was massive as Tman posted lol.

Originally posted by Heroism:

Originally posted by shmuck:
I'll admit he is often coming off clean but that's not really his fault. You can't ding a player because his teammates are so good. Also he blows up plenty of plays in the backfield. This year he had 12 tackles for losses, in college Kuechly had 12 and Willis had 11.5. On top of that he had 4 sacks this season to Willis 3 and Keuchly 0. IDK where your not seeing the intincts, kids got it in spades. He flows to where the ball will be consistenly and at an elite level. In fact his intinct are one of his biggest strengths. . Watch Willis anf Kuechly college tape then watch his. Other then playing with better players in front of him they aren't that different.

How many first round talents did kuechly and Willis play with in front of them?

Once again does it matter? Who ever is in front of him doesn't effect his individual evaluation. Saying his teammates are too good is no excuse, that's like saying Dashuan Watsons reciever are to good you can't judge his accuracy or deep ball. Foster checks all the marks. Insticts: elite. Tackling: elite. atheletism: elite. Pass coverage: above average. Blitzing: elite(for a ILB). Special teams ace. Was on of the top recruits in the nation. If you have worries about his ability to stack and shed fine. I'd say it's more of an incomplete grade because I've seen him do it as well but hey it's not hard to cherry pick a bad play and say he does it everytime. The guy is a stud in every sense of the word and the only thing that worries me about him is the amount of concussions he sustained in college. Regardless he'll go top ten easily and is probably a top 3 prospect in this class.

Beating blocks is a big flaw, but I am more concerned with how he processes what he's seeing. I don't see a reactive, instinctive player. He should be in the backfield a lot more than he is with all the help around him.

Too often he fills the wrong gap.



I think he's a great athlete, but I don't think he has the cerebral makeup to be an elite ILB in the NFL. Maybe his best fit is as a Will in a 4-3.

I think he'll be god awful in Jim O'Neil's "guessing gap" scheme.

Originally posted by 16_to_80:

Originally posted by Heroism:

Myles Jack was exemplary in beating blocks at the second level. note the hip explosion and the jarring punch.

No I agree with you on Jack great analysis. It looked to me like both Willis and Foster were both out of position on those plays. Foster did not square up like Jack did instead was focused on the RB and was side stepping too much. I think he's capable of doing what Jack does but your right on talent in front it makes life easier. He got caught sleeping and also that lineman was massive as Tman posted lol.

Originally posted by shmuck:

Once again does it matter? Who ever is in front of him doesn't effect his individual evaluation. Saying his teammates are too good is no excuse, that's like saying Dashuan Watsons reciever are to good you can't judge his accuracy or deep ball. Foster checks all the marks. Insticts: elite. Tackling: elite. atheletism: elite. Pass coverage: above average. Blitzing: elite(for a ILB). Special teams ace. Was on of the top recruits in the nation. If you have worries about his ability to stack and shed fine. I'd say it's more of an incomplete grade because I've seen him do it as well but hey it's not hard to cherry pick a bad play and say he does it everytime. The guy is a stud in every sense of the word and the only thing that worries me about him is the amount of concussions he sustained in college. Regardless he'll go top ten easily and is probably a top 3 prospect in this class.

Originally posted by shmuck:

Once again does it matter? Who ever is in front of him doesn't effect his individual evaluation. Saying his teammates are too good is no excuse, that's like saying Dashuan Watsons reciever are to good you can't judge his accuracy or deep ball. Foster checks all the marks. Insticts: elite. Tackling: elite. atheletism: elite. Pass coverage: above average. Blitzing: elite(for a ILB). Special teams ace. Was on of the top recruits in the nation. If you have worries about his ability to stack and shed fine. I'd say it's more of an incomplete grade because I've seen him do it as well but hey it's not hard to cherry pick a bad play and say he does it everytime. The guy is a stud in every sense of the word and the only thing that worries me about him is the amount of concussions he sustained in college. Regardless he'll go top ten easily and is probably a top 3 prospect in this class.

Completely agree checks all the boxes regardless of whose in front of him.May have to work on technique at the next level as Heroism was showing

Originally posted by Heroism:
Beating blocks is a big flaw, but I am more concerned with how he processes what he's seeing. I don't see a reactive, instinctive player. He should be in the backfield a lot more than he is with all the help around him.

Too often he fills the wrong gap.



I think he's a great athlete, but I don't think he has the cerebral makeup to be an elite ILB in the NFL. Maybe his best fit is as a Will in a 4-3.

I think he'll be god awful in Jim O'Neil's "guessing gap" scheme.

Looks to me he filled the right gap and the running back was forced outside. In that play he's the MLB so his assignment would be to fill up both the A gaps. He does that, hits the center and forces the running back to bounce to the edge. He did his job just fine. I don't see what else he was supposed to do

its a 2 way go behind the 1 technique. he's supposed to scrape over the top. failure.

If he's there at 2 we need him. He'd be the centerpiece to build around. I live in Alabama and I know this kid personally. High character guy with ALL THE TOOLS

There are plenty of GIFs showing his instinct:







https://youtu.be/dkg1f3ZFGo8?t=1h10m20s

I know it's been a while, but I do believe we will see an inside linebacker land in the top 10 this spring. Alabama senior Reuben Foster is a one-man wrecking machine on tape. He is so explosive and instinctive. Every NFL team I've talked to loves his game and has him rated extremely high. I've seen him play live several times and I've studied his tape -- he's the real deal. I'll be shocked if he doesn't come off the board within the first 10 selections in the 2017 draft. He's a difference maker. -- Daniel Jeremiah

Foster shows acute diagnosis skills. He takes sharp angles to the ball, often beating blockers to the action and surprising ballcarriers with his closing speed.- Rob Rang

...

I think he's a great player and a nice prospect, but I simply don't see what I saw with guys like kuechly and Willis. Hell, I wouldn't take him over a healthy Myles jack or Jaylon smith let alone the aforementioned.

I didn't even touch on the concussions or the knee issues he was experiencing, which he himself alluded to as the reason for losing 15 lbs in the off-season.

show me these plays on reuben foster's tape. this is what a top 5 draft pick at ILB looks like. you don't have to look for him, he just jumps off the screen more than anyone else. One-man wrecking crew.


feet heat from the second the ball is snapped. textbook technique on taking on the center. uses his hips and hands to stand up the center and keeps his eyes in the backfield. beats the block and makes the tackle. amazing technique, even better athlete.




this is what elite instinct look like. gets downhill the second the ball is snapped. Absolutely no hesitation or wasted steps. blows up the puller in the hole and makes the tackle himself. Special player. It's a shame he blew up his knee.

Dude is trash

Originally posted by Heroism:

I think he's a great player and a nice prospect, but I simply don't see what I saw with guys like kuechly and Willis. Hell, I wouldn't take him over a healthy Myles jack or Jaylon smith let alone the aforementioned.

I didn't even touch on the concussions or the knee issues he was experiencing, which he himself alluded to as the reason for losing 15 lbs in the off-season.

show me these plays on reuben foster's tape. this is what a top 5 draft pick at ILB looks like. you don't have to look for him, he just jumps off the screen more than anyone else. One-man wrecking crew.


feet heat from the second the ball is snapped. textbook technique on taking on the center. uses his hips and hands to stand up the center and keeps his eyes in the backfield. beats the block and makes the tackle. amazing technique, even better athlete.




this is what elite instinct look like. gets downhill the second the ball is snapped. Absolutely no hesitation or wasted steps. blows up the puller in the hole and makes the tackle himself. Special player. It's a shame he blew up his knee.

Great analysis! This is why I love the zone. I'm always learning something

Originally posted by Heroism:

its a 2 way go behind the 1 technique. he's supposed to scrape over the top. failure.

Nono your right actually. He should have had the A and the B gap on that side. Regardless his instincts are still the best of any linebacker in college right now.

Foster's one of the best ILB's in this draft...that said, IMHO it's harder to judge potential NFL success with 'Bama players than most teams, if for no other reason than their entire defense was so dominating. One guy nobody's talking much about is Zach Cunningham from Vanderbilt. He had 104 tackles, 15.5 TFL and has shown very good pass defense along with his run-stuffing abilities. He may be the most NFL-ready among this ILB draft class.