combine thread

[Waldo]

Don't want Brown at #9, haven't done much scouting though... Raji and Orakpo are the only guys I've given the green light to.

Unless Brown shows at his pro day that the 31.5" vertical leap was an anomaly, I don't think anybody is seriously considering him as a top ten pick. I think more people are considering him as Jamal Reynolds 2.0 at this point.

The combine demonstrated what we all feared about Brown, he's fast and he has a very quick step, but he has no power and he's the sort of guy who will get blocked by TEs, since his only pass rushing move is "run around you".

If I'm Thompson, I take Brown off my board for the first entirely.

Man I hope TT takes him off the board, dude has bust written all over him.

What do you think of Maybin? His frame, mass, explosion, and change of direction ability is on par with Demarcus Ware, but his long speed isn't in the ballpark, more like Parys Haralson (49er's starting SOLB). He has freaky long arms - 35 1/4" (almost a full inch longer than 6'7" Michal Johnson's), the DE's TT has drafted (Thompson & Monty) both have freaky long arms. His arms are longer than all the OT's in the draft but Loadholt and big Andre.

[Lurker64]

What do you think of Maybin? His frame, mass, explosion, and change of direction ability is on par with Demarcus Ware, but his long speed isn't in the ballpark, more like Parys Haralson (49er's starting SOLB). He has freaky long arms - 35 1/4" (almost a full inch longer than 6'7" Michal Johnson's), the DE's TT has drafted (Thompson & Monty) both have freaky long arms. His arms are longer than all the OT's in the draft but Loadholt and big Andre.

I love Maybin's upside, I think he has more upside as a pass rusher than anybody in this draft except Michael Johnson (who is a headcase); but I don't think he's a player that would make an impact immediately. He's going to take some seasoning, and he's only going to turn 21 in April so he's got a lot of growing to do to fill out that (very impressive) frame.

He's a guy you don't really hesitate too much to pick if he's there at 16, say, but for a top ten pick? It's worrisome. I liken it sort of to the Okoye pick in 2007 by Houston. Everybody know that Okoye wasn't going to be ready to play in the NFL yet, but you pick him up on upside alone. Maybin's in sort of the "you love what this kid could do/but you fear what this kid might do" camp, so that means that I really have to put my faith in professional talent evaluators to make this call.

But if we picked Maybin, it would be sort of a letdown since this kid won't do much in the 2009 season, but he could be absolutely a terror a few years down the line. A definite thing to consider if we end up trading down at 9 so someone else can get a QB.

[3irty1]

Kiper seems to really like Maybin. He might not be any worse than Orakpo.

[bigcoz75]

great

cushing came off as a giant duoche to me while watching the combine

I agree 100%.

I think Matthews will be the best LBer out of the three USC guys, but want none of them at 9.

Red - I've heard whispers that Cushing's sudden weight gain is suspect - he may be a combine hero but a football bust - but I wonder what you saw as his douche-esque qualities. I didn't watch any of the combine stuff or interviews, so I'd be curious to know more about why you think Cushing's douchability is off the charts.

he was like one of the main featured guys for the nfl network. they did a lot of interviews and segments with him. and just the way he looked acted talked, well just about everything about him made me think, major asshole douchebag

and thats the first i heard about him and roids, i gotta say, that doesn't make me like him anymore

http://grg51.typepad.com/steroid_nation/2006/07/trojan_horse.html

[Fritz]

[quote="Lurker64"]

Don't want Brown at #9, haven't done much scouting though... Raji and Orakpo are the only guys I've given the green light to.

Unless Brown shows at his pro day that the 31.5" vertical leap was an anomaly, I don't think anybody is seriously considering him as a top ten pick. I think more people are considering him as Jamal Reynolds 2.0 at this point.

The combine demonstrated what we all feared about Brown, he's fast and he has a very quick step, but he has no power and he's the sort of guy who will get blocked by TEs, since his only pass rushing move is "run around you".

If I'm Thompson, I take Brown off my board for the first entirely.[/

quote]

I'm a bit less sophisticated than Lurker and Waldo. If I'm TT, watching film on defensive ends, and I see a defensive end in a Florida State uniform, I turn to my board, pick up my eraser, and rub that guy's name right off. Period.

[TennesseePackerBacker]

SEC offensively challenged?

What the hell?

It ain't the Pac-10 KY. I did watch the entirety of the 3-2 Auburn Ole Miss game this year... .

You won't see a 63-0 game in the SEC either. The defenses in the SEC are the best in the nation hands down. Just because they make the offenses seem bad don't think they actually are. The worst SEC team could give the 3rd best Pac-10 team a run for their money.

[packrulz]

great

cushing came off as a giant duoche to me while watching the combine

I agree 100%.

I think Matthews will be the best LBer out of the three USC guys, but want none of them at 9.

Red - I've heard whispers that Cushing's sudden weight gain is suspect - he may be a combine hero but a football bust - but I wonder what you saw as his douche-esque qualities. I didn't watch any of the combine stuff or interviews, so I'd be curious to know more about why you think Cushing's douchability is off the charts.

Douchability ranking is just as important as the 40 times.

[KYPack]

SEC offensively challenged?

What the hell?

It ain't the Pac-10 KY. I did watch the entirety of the 3-2 Auburn Ole Miss game this year... .

You won't see a 63-0 game in the SEC either. The defenses in the SEC are the best in the nation hands down. Just because they make the offenses seem bad don't think they actually are. The worst SEC team could give the 3rd best Pac-10 team a run for their money.

Better yield to the Senator from Tennessee, Lurk.

Actually the SEC is a bitch. I am laughing at myself because my post sounds like the locals around here. Cut down the SEC and these guys start loading weapons.

The speed and athleticsm is real impressive top to bottom in the SEC. The Pac 10 bottom feeders are a pretty sorry lot. Even Vandy produces Pro studs from the SEC.

[Lurker64]

The analogy I was really making was:

The Pac-Ten is a league in which the sorry defenses make all of the offenses look good.

The SEC is a league in which the great defenses make the average offenses look bad.

There's a mixture of "truly great defense" and the occasional "truly woeful offense" in that league. Watch the Auburn Ole Miss game last year and tell me that it was just two really good defenses. It was two really good defenses, pitted against two really bad offenses. It's a good brand of football, and I like watching it. But when Kentucky held Mississippi state to 13, it does sort of raise questions in your mind as to how much of that was due to the Bulldogs and not the Wildcats.

That being said, I like watching 14-13 football.

[rbaloha1]

Surprised no one is mentioning the Cincy de/olb converted te (name escapes me). The dude is being compared to Vrabel which imo is not a stretch.

Watched this dude play and he is a stud. Physical and athletic with good pass rushing skills. Posted good combine numbers.

What does the board think?

[Waldo]

Connor Barwin. Best OLB prospect athletically in the draft, physically perfect for it. Very raw though. Very raw. Absolutely stud athlete though, probably on par with Curry and Gilbert in raw athletic ability. If we don't take a pass rusher in the first, there is no guy I want more.

[oregonpackfan]

SEC offensively challenged?

What the hell?

It ain't the Pac-10 KY. I did watch the entirety of the 3-2 Auburn Ole Miss game this year... .

You won't see a 63-0 game in the SEC either. The defenses in the SEC are the best in the nation hands down. Just because they make the offenses seem bad don't think they actually are. The worst SEC team could give the 3rd best Pac-10 team a run for their money.

Keep in mind the Pac-10 went 5-0 in their Bowl games last season. They easily had the best bowl record of any other conference.

[Joemailman]

Connor Barwin. Best OLB prospect athletically in the draft, physically perfect for it. Very raw though. Very raw. Absolutely stud athlete though, probably on par with Curry and Gilbert in raw athletic ability. If we don't take a pass rusher in the first, there is no guy I want more.

Definitely could be a project since he's only played defense for one year. Considered to be very coachable though.

By the way, latest Sporting News Mock has Pack taking Larry English at #9. First time I've seen English going that high. Did he have a great Combine?

[Waldo]

Connor Barwin. Best OLB prospect athletically in the draft, physically perfect for it. Very raw though. Very raw. Absolutely stud athlete though, probably on par with Curry and Gilbert in raw athletic ability. If we don't take a pass rusher in the first, there is no guy I want more.

Definitely could be a project since he's only played defense for one year. Considered to be very coachable though.

By the way, latest Sporting News Mock has Pack taking Larry English at #9. First time I've seen English going that high. Did he have a great Combine?

No. Mediocre. Maybin's was better.

[Partial]

Ho hum looks like that dumbass Partial was pretty dead on balls accurate yet again (as usual) about Everette Brown being small, slow, and easily blocked by a TE.

Maualuga hurt himself by pulling up in the 40, but some team is going to get an absolute steal. Both he and Curry look like animals, but I'm still not confident that Curry will ever be a good pass rushing/blitzing linebacker.

Best player in the draft is Crabtree by far, then probably Maualuga imo.

Jenkins is going to be a heck of a corner in the NFL. As Teets said (paraphrase), "steer clear of the girls with the pretty curls". Jenkins is a football player and he is a heck of a DB.