oregonpackfan
04-28-2006, 12:06 PM
Please find attached an interesting article appearing today in The Oregonian.
The young man is carrying an emotional burden caring for his 4 younger siblings as his mother died this past January. His father died in a car crash several years ago.
What troubles me as a Packer fan is Ngata's inconsistent effort. This view is shared by the Ducks Defensive Coordinator and a number of NFL scouts. I still believe Ngata is a high risk as a number 1 draft pick.
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For UO's Ngata, motivation hits close to home
He is inspired by the memory of his parents and the responsibility of watching over his brothers and sister
Friday, April 28, 2006
AARON FENTRESS
Repeated thuds synchronized with forceful grunts from Haloti Ngata echoed within Oregon's Moshofsky Center while the defensive tackle went through a drill smacking down pop-up practice dummies.
Ngata, from a three-point stance, launched toward the first 6-foot padded dummy and whacked it with his right arm as he moved to his right. He accelerated to the second dummy about five yards away, smacked it with his left hand as he moved to his left, and so on, until the five dummies that once stood before him swayed back and forth from the force of the 6-foot-4, 338-pound Ngata's hand slaps.
The audible display of Ngata's force and speed captivated the 15 or so NFL scouts on hand, as well as the 25 or so Oregon players there to watch Ngata and other former teammates work out during the Ducks' pro day last month.
Ngata's showing revealed a glimpse of the talent that has made him one of the top prospects in this weekend's NFL draft, one who probably will be selected in the first 15 picks.
Ngata's selection should mean a seven-figure signing bonus and a multimillion dollar contract that would allow him to take care of his family, which has experienced much hardship the last several years. Ngata's father, Solomone, was killed in a car accident in 2002, and his mother, Olga, died of cardiac arrest on Jan. 13 at a hospital in Phoenix, where she was undergoing kidney dialysis.
"I know my parents are both watching me now," Ngata said.
And now he'll watch over his four siblings.
Preparing for the draft while recovering from a slight knee ligament injury suffered in the Holiday Bowl and dealing with mounting family tragedy haven't been easy for Ngata.
He already had begun to ready himself for the NFL scouting process in Houston when his mother passed. She was buried in Salt Lake City on Jan. 16, and Ngata returned to Houston the next day.
The next day, Ngata called his uncle, Olga Ngata's brother, Haloti Moala.
"He said he was struggling," Moala said.
So Moala flew to Houston to be with his nephew and stayed a month. He said Ngata never allowed his grief to disrupt his workouts in advance of the February NFL scouting combine.
"Considering the circumstances and what has happened to him, he's taken it very well," Moala said.
Ngata had been projected as a high first-round pick before last season. His performance at the combine only reaffirmed what many observers had thought: Ngata's combination of size, strength, speed, versatility and power is rare.
He could be an attractive prospect to play on the line in many defensive schemes.
In the 3-4, which uses four linebackers to create multiple blitzing possibilities and is employed by teams such as Cleveland, Pittsburgh and New England, Ngata would be a nose tackle and could give opposing centers fits while the guards worry about accounting for the linebackers.
In a 4-3, Ngata could operate as a large gap stuffer, freeing, say, Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis to roam as he did during the Ravens' Super Bowl season of 2000 when 335-pound Sam Adams and 340-pound Tony Siragusa occupied blockers up front.
Or, because of Ngata's quickness, he could be used as a penetrating defensive tackle in the 3 technique, lined up outside a guard, a style that has helped Warren Sapp record 84.5 career sacks, most with Tampa Bay.
Rob Rang, a senior draft analyst for NFLDraftScout.com, said Ngata is a definite a top-15 pick whom he couldn't imagine falling past Cleveland at No. 12 or Baltimore at No. 13.
"Either team, in my mind, would be nuts to let him go by," Rang said.
Ngata's agent, Mike McCartney of Chicago-based Priority Sports, said his client has received high interest from the Browns and the Ravens as well as Buffalo at No. 8, Arizona at No. 10 and Philadelphia at No. 14.
"Anyone looking for a big-bodied defensive tackle is certainly interested," McCartney said.
The New York Jets, who hold the No. 4 pick, also are interested, McCartney said, but only in a trade-down scenario.
"It all depends on a team's needs," said Ngata, the Ducks' first consensus defensive All-American since cornerback Mel Renfro in 1962.
It also depends on which teams look past the alleged negative in Ngata's game. Ngata, Rang said, takes plays off and doesn't always go 100 percent, a criticism common for 300-plus-pound defensive linemen.
Near the middle of last season, Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti gave Ngata a "C" grade for his play, saying Ngata wasn't always as focused and dominant as he should be. Ngata responded by raising his level of play the rest of the season and was selected Pacific-10 Conference co-defensive player of the year.
Rang said complacency is a concern with Ngata, but not much of one.
"Ngata at 50 percent is better than most defensive linemen, certainly in this draft," Rang said. "He has a chance to be a special, special guy."
Ngata said scouts pressed him about his inconsistency.
"They want me to play to the best of my ability all of the time," said Ngata, who, while at Highland High School in Salt Lake City, was rated the No. 1 defensive tackle in the nation by Rivals.com in the signing class of 2002.
Sometime Saturday, Ngata will have heard his name called by NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, donned the hat of the team that selected him and be off to catch a plane to that team's city to meet team officials.
"Then he can take a deep breath and just relax a little bit," McCartney said.
Surely, his parents will be on his mind.
"They inspire everything I do," Ngata said.
Ultimately, that could mean trouble for opposing NFL offenses.
Aaron Fentress: 503-221-8211; aaronfentress@news.oregonian.com To read his "Behind the Beat" blog, go to www.oregonlive.com/ weblogs/ducksoregonian
Fellow Packer fans, do you want the Packers to draft his guy?
Oregonpackfan
The young man is carrying an emotional burden caring for his 4 younger siblings as his mother died this past January. His father died in a car crash several years ago.
What troubles me as a Packer fan is Ngata's inconsistent effort. This view is shared by the Ducks Defensive Coordinator and a number of NFL scouts. I still believe Ngata is a high risk as a number 1 draft pick.
More From The Oregonian | Subscribe To The Oregonian
For UO's Ngata, motivation hits close to home
He is inspired by the memory of his parents and the responsibility of watching over his brothers and sister
Friday, April 28, 2006
AARON FENTRESS
Repeated thuds synchronized with forceful grunts from Haloti Ngata echoed within Oregon's Moshofsky Center while the defensive tackle went through a drill smacking down pop-up practice dummies.
Ngata, from a three-point stance, launched toward the first 6-foot padded dummy and whacked it with his right arm as he moved to his right. He accelerated to the second dummy about five yards away, smacked it with his left hand as he moved to his left, and so on, until the five dummies that once stood before him swayed back and forth from the force of the 6-foot-4, 338-pound Ngata's hand slaps.
The audible display of Ngata's force and speed captivated the 15 or so NFL scouts on hand, as well as the 25 or so Oregon players there to watch Ngata and other former teammates work out during the Ducks' pro day last month.
Ngata's showing revealed a glimpse of the talent that has made him one of the top prospects in this weekend's NFL draft, one who probably will be selected in the first 15 picks.
Ngata's selection should mean a seven-figure signing bonus and a multimillion dollar contract that would allow him to take care of his family, which has experienced much hardship the last several years. Ngata's father, Solomone, was killed in a car accident in 2002, and his mother, Olga, died of cardiac arrest on Jan. 13 at a hospital in Phoenix, where she was undergoing kidney dialysis.
"I know my parents are both watching me now," Ngata said.
And now he'll watch over his four siblings.
Preparing for the draft while recovering from a slight knee ligament injury suffered in the Holiday Bowl and dealing with mounting family tragedy haven't been easy for Ngata.
He already had begun to ready himself for the NFL scouting process in Houston when his mother passed. She was buried in Salt Lake City on Jan. 16, and Ngata returned to Houston the next day.
The next day, Ngata called his uncle, Olga Ngata's brother, Haloti Moala.
"He said he was struggling," Moala said.
So Moala flew to Houston to be with his nephew and stayed a month. He said Ngata never allowed his grief to disrupt his workouts in advance of the February NFL scouting combine.
"Considering the circumstances and what has happened to him, he's taken it very well," Moala said.
Ngata had been projected as a high first-round pick before last season. His performance at the combine only reaffirmed what many observers had thought: Ngata's combination of size, strength, speed, versatility and power is rare.
He could be an attractive prospect to play on the line in many defensive schemes.
In the 3-4, which uses four linebackers to create multiple blitzing possibilities and is employed by teams such as Cleveland, Pittsburgh and New England, Ngata would be a nose tackle and could give opposing centers fits while the guards worry about accounting for the linebackers.
In a 4-3, Ngata could operate as a large gap stuffer, freeing, say, Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis to roam as he did during the Ravens' Super Bowl season of 2000 when 335-pound Sam Adams and 340-pound Tony Siragusa occupied blockers up front.
Or, because of Ngata's quickness, he could be used as a penetrating defensive tackle in the 3 technique, lined up outside a guard, a style that has helped Warren Sapp record 84.5 career sacks, most with Tampa Bay.
Rob Rang, a senior draft analyst for NFLDraftScout.com, said Ngata is a definite a top-15 pick whom he couldn't imagine falling past Cleveland at No. 12 or Baltimore at No. 13.
"Either team, in my mind, would be nuts to let him go by," Rang said.
Ngata's agent, Mike McCartney of Chicago-based Priority Sports, said his client has received high interest from the Browns and the Ravens as well as Buffalo at No. 8, Arizona at No. 10 and Philadelphia at No. 14.
"Anyone looking for a big-bodied defensive tackle is certainly interested," McCartney said.
The New York Jets, who hold the No. 4 pick, also are interested, McCartney said, but only in a trade-down scenario.
"It all depends on a team's needs," said Ngata, the Ducks' first consensus defensive All-American since cornerback Mel Renfro in 1962.
It also depends on which teams look past the alleged negative in Ngata's game. Ngata, Rang said, takes plays off and doesn't always go 100 percent, a criticism common for 300-plus-pound defensive linemen.
Near the middle of last season, Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti gave Ngata a "C" grade for his play, saying Ngata wasn't always as focused and dominant as he should be. Ngata responded by raising his level of play the rest of the season and was selected Pacific-10 Conference co-defensive player of the year.
Rang said complacency is a concern with Ngata, but not much of one.
"Ngata at 50 percent is better than most defensive linemen, certainly in this draft," Rang said. "He has a chance to be a special, special guy."
Ngata said scouts pressed him about his inconsistency.
"They want me to play to the best of my ability all of the time," said Ngata, who, while at Highland High School in Salt Lake City, was rated the No. 1 defensive tackle in the nation by Rivals.com in the signing class of 2002.
Sometime Saturday, Ngata will have heard his name called by NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, donned the hat of the team that selected him and be off to catch a plane to that team's city to meet team officials.
"Then he can take a deep breath and just relax a little bit," McCartney said.
Surely, his parents will be on his mind.
"They inspire everything I do," Ngata said.
Ultimately, that could mean trouble for opposing NFL offenses.
Aaron Fentress: 503-221-8211; aaronfentress@news.oregonian.com To read his "Behind the Beat" blog, go to www.oregonlive.com/ weblogs/ducksoregonian
Fellow Packer fans, do you want the Packers to draft his guy?
Oregonpackfan