Cooper vs DeCastro

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Common sense typically translates to 'anyone who agrees with me.'

Bluster aside, Cooper doesn't do a very good job with his hands. Watch the MD game and at certain points they start slanting on him and he cannot get his hands on people to save his life.

DeCastro --same as Warmack-- are a much more polished product. The coaching at Stanford and Alabama was very, very good. OTOH, Cooper's floor is not far off and his ceiling is much much higher.

 

[SportsGuru80]

Personally, I think DeCastro is the better prospect. With his athleticism and size (6'5), I think he could become the best guard in the league. He does need to add some strength to become a better in line blocker, but as a rookie, his struggles aren't that big of a deal.

Cooper, doesn't have the same long term potential that DeCastro does, but I think he'll have better immediate success. He's built like an NFL guard right now, and due to him being 6'2, he likely won't have the in line problems DeCastro did. But I really don't see as much upside with Cooper.

Guards don't need to be 6'5.. Cooper is actually the perfect height to play guard.

 

[jterrell]

Isn't being short to a certain extent and having a low centre of gravity a good thing for an OL? Harder to push you off your feet. And if you have long arms too you can still hold bigger guys off.

Yes, it can be. Also is a factor if you want to bring in 6'2" or so QBs as has become a new norm.

A QB that is Russell Wilson sized can't very well step up into a pocket with 6'5" interior OL there.

 

[CyberB0b]

I would prefer a smaller guard. It makes it easier for Romo to see the middle of the field.

 

[Rack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jterrell

DeCastro tested well in the bench but that can be very misleading. There really needs to be a metric that ties bench press to arm length and grades along that curve.

Yes, my unofficial and unscientific adjustment is 2 reps per inch of arm length.

Example:
Tyron Smith did 31 reps at 36+ arm length.

DeCastro did 34 reps at 32+ arm length.

Adjusted:
TS: 31 reps
DD: 26 reps

 

[jterrell]

Not sure exactly why you are laughing.

Scouts do this very thing. There is a modifier for arm length even if it is more mental than stated for most scouts.

I do my warm up reps with 225 pounds. (15-20)
I am old and smallish (205),

Part of the reason I can easily pop out reps is I am not 6'4" with long arms. I am just under 6' with a barrel chest.

The best thing about this board is it can be educational.
The worst thing is when uneducated and clueless people (which surely applies to us all at times) ignore those opportunities.

My own modifier would be bases on 33" inch arms. And it wouldn't be reps per inch but it would instead be a scale that makes 30" arms worth about 10 less reps than 33". Why such a drastic penalty? Because you need much more strength to overcome short arms. And an extra 3 inches per lift is certainly taxing for those with longer arms.