Mo Claiborne Scouting Report

[Afigueroa22]

I can't get over Mo and I'm constantly looking for more info on him. I found this article that says he has elite speed and is a good tackler. Found it interesting.

Morris Claiborne Scouting Report
By Charlie Campbell

Strengths: Elite speed
Cover corner; rarely allows separation
Can run with receivers in and out of breaks
Phenomenal ball skills
Capacity to make clutch game-changing plays
Excellent hands
Fast feet
Can quickly flip his hips to turn and run
Very athletic
Extremely agile
Can play bump-and-run
Body control
Can turn and run with receivers on deep routes
Intelligent about when he initiates contact
Good tackler
Quality height
Has some physicality with receivers
Not a gambler
Can play well in zone
Solid contributor against the run

 

[MOZONE]

I can't get over Mo and I'm constantly looking for more info on him. I found this article that says he has elite speed and is a good tackler. Found it interesting.

Morris Claiborne Scouting Report
By Charlie Campbell

Strengths: Elite speed
Cover corner; rarely allows separation
Can run with receivers in and out of breaks
Phenomenal ball skills
Capacity to make clutch game-changing plays
Excellent hands
Fast feet
Can quickly flip his hips to turn and run
Very athletic
Extremely agile
Can play bump-and-run
Body control
Can turn and run with receivers on deep routes
Intelligent about when he initiates contact
Good tackler
Quality height
Has some physicality with receivers
Not a gambler
Can play well in zone
Solid contributor against the run

I love me some Mo but if theres anything he doesnt do well its TACKLE .
He does NOT have elite speed either .
He has good speed good awareness and elite ball skills .
Excels man 2 man but is good in zone .
He will be a great player but dont expect him to be making open field tackles on rbs .

 

[fishspill]

He's still a rookie. They're going to run at him and hit him with quick outs all day until he proves he can handle it. He'll get plenty of practice.

 

[Eskimo]

I love me some Mo but if theres anything he doesnt do well its TACKLE .
He does NOT have elite speed either .
He has good speed good awareness and elite ball skills .
Excels man 2 man but is good in zone .
He will be a great player but dont expect him to be making open field tackles on rbs .

Some of the tackling issues may have been due to torn ligaments in his wrist that he was playing through. He wasn't reporting it because he knew it would take him off the field. No one knew about it until the Combine when he finally reported it.

This injury is incredibly painful and would have affected his tackling and ability to bump receivers.

 

[Afigueroa22]

Some of the tackling issues may have been due to torn ligaments in his wrist that he was playing through. He wasn't reporting it because he knew it would take him off the field. No one knew about it until the Combine when he finally reported it.

This injury is incredibly painful and would have affected his tackling and ability to bump receivers.

You know what, I never thought about it like that. You could be right Eskimo.

 

[MOZONE]

Some of the tackling issues may have been due to torn ligaments in his wrist that he was playing through. He wasn't reporting it because he knew it would take him off the field. No one knew about it until the Combine when he finally reported it.

This injury is incredibly painful and would have affected his tackling and ability to bump receivers.

No .
Not going to start making excuses .
He is an UNWILLING tackler .
He is a GREAT player but everyone has a flaw and his is tackling .
Ive watched college games for a long time Ive seen him play alot and he has never been a good tackler .
Doesn't mean he cant improve but his technique is terrible and he is borderline timid when it comes to contact .
In fact a good example of polar opposite would be Kirkpatrick from ALA .
He is a very physical tackler but not even close in coverage to what Mo is and can become .

 

[speedkilz88]

No .
Not going to start making excuses .
He is an UNWILLING tackler .
He is a GREAT player but everyone has a flaw and his is tackling .
Ive watched college games for a long time Ive seen him play alot and he has never been a good tackler .
Doesn't mean he cant improve but his technique is terrible and he is borderline timid when it comes to contact .
In fact a good example of polar opposite would be Kirkpatrick from ALA .
He is a very physical tackler but not even close in coverage to what Mo is and can become .

That is a lie. There is nothing on him that shows he is unwilling.

 

[CATCH17]

That is a lie. There is nothing on him that shows he is unwilling.

Maybe he's not unwilling but tackling is something he has to get a lot better at for sure.

 

[nathanlt]

No .
Not going to start making excuses .
He is an UNWILLING tackler .
He is a GREAT player but everyone has a flaw and his is tackling .
Ive watched college games for a long time Ive seen him play alot and he has never been a good tackler .
Doesn't mean he cant improve but his technique is terrible and he is borderline timid when it comes to contact .
In fact a good example of polar opposite would be Kirkpatrick from ALA .
He is a very physical tackler but not even close in coverage to what Mo is and can become .

No, he has steadily increased his tackles over 3 years, starting with an average of 1 a game his freshman year and last year averaged 3.5 tackles per game. The trend is good.

 

[MOZONE]

No, he has steadily increased his tackles over 3 years, starting with an average of 1 a game his freshman year and last year averaged 3.5 tackles per game. The trend is good.

I dont need a tackle stat .
I watch the games .
Not to say others dont but if you do you will know he shys from contact and has poor technique which to me says hes not a tackling machine by any means .

Im not being over critical just want my fellow cowboy fans to be REALISTIC about what he is/isnt .

Remember that cruz play in the 4th that killed us last year ,
You may see a few of those unless his tackling improves because teams will test us !

 

[Afigueroa22]

teams will test us !

Good, I hope they do. I hope their gameplan is to test this kid because they will fail horribly.
If Mo intercepts a ball from Eli I will jump up while pounding my chest and let out a battlecry for the whole neighborhood to hear. Then they will know, we are back.


:starspin

 

[MOZONE]

Good, I hope they do. I hope their gameplan is to test this kid because they will fail horribly.
If Mo intercepts a ball from Eli I will jump up while pounding my chest and let out a battlecry for the whole neighborhood to hear. Then they will know, we are back.


:starspin

I hope so too !
I think hes going to be great i just hope he improves his tackling and sky's the limit !!
:starspin

 

[Vintage]

Every year, there are scouts who get quoted in JSOnline.com articles about draft prospects...

Does anyone have that information as to what they were saying about Claiborne?

 

[wittenacious]

Concerns about Mo Claiborne's tackling abilities are out there, for sure. Though he may not be a prolific tackler, I don't think it's an issue of him being unwilling to tackle or in any way afraid of making the effort. I trust Secondary Coach Henderson will coach him up in that department.

Here's a Highlights Video that shows a few really good tackles. I like the one at the 1:37 mark. Mo displays some solid ability. Good, quick wrap up and drive-through to the ground. I've gotta believe his wrist injury DID play a negative part in his tackling efforts, as Eskimo suggested.

[youtube]2gR7kLkUlqk[/youtube]​

 

[Frozen700]

No .
Not going to start making excuses .
He is an UNWILLING tackler .
He is a GREAT player but everyone has a flaw and his is tackling .
Ive watched college games for a long time Ive seen him play alot and he has never been a good tackler .
Doesn't mean he cant improve but his technique is terrible and he is borderline timid when it comes to contact .
In fact a good example of polar opposite would be Kirkpatrick from ALA .
He is a very physical tackler but not even close in coverage to what Mo is and can become .

Just pipe down...

You obviously, don't know what you are talking about. Stay off the Highlight tubes

 

[wittenacious]

Just pipe down...

You obviously, don't know what you are talking about. Stay off the Highlight tubes

LOL! Preach it, 700. I know many have questioned Mo's tackling ... so-called experts included ... but as I said before, I really do NOT believe it has anything to do with Claiborne being an unwilling tackler, as some have suggested.

Yeah, maybe he's got a few tackling lowlights out there to be seen on YouTube, but I think there's some credence to the notion Eskimo first offered up in this thread:

Some of the tackling issues may have been due to torn ligaments in his wrist that he was playing through. He wasn't reporting it because he knew it would take him off the field. No one knew about it until the Combine when he finally reported it.

This injury is incredibly painful and would have affected his tackling and ability to bump receivers.

Mo will do what it takes to be the best he can be. It's in his DNA. He'll do what it takes to be a decent tackler as a quality CB in the NFL ... both because he will want to and because Secondary Coach Jerome Henderson will coach him up to be good at it. Just my opinion.

 

[TonyRomoRules]

Good, I hope they do. I hope their gameplan is to test this kid because they will fail horribly.
If Mo intercepts a ball from Eli I will jump up while pounding my chest and let out a battlecry for the whole neighborhood to hear. Then they will know, we are back.


:starspin[/QUOTE



I know right!!! Exactly what i will be doing too!:starspin

 

[Doomsday101]

Mo is not a big time hitter and so what. Can he tackle and his ability to cover and make plays is outstanding.

I can understand a person being reluctant to give up a 2nd rd pick in the process but this kid is an outstanding ball player and I think he will be a big part of this team for a good while.

 

[Verdict]

I love me some Mo but if theres anything he doesnt do well its TACKLE .
He does NOT have elite speed either .
He has good speed good awareness and elite ball skills .
Excels man 2 man but is good in zone .
He will be a great player but dont expect him to be making open field tackles on rbs .

I can't see him being the best player since Deion Sanders and not have elite speed!

 

[perrykemp]

Every year, there are scouts who get quoted in JSOnline.com articles about draft prospects...

Does anyone have that information as to what they were saying about Claiborne?

Here is what JSOnline (specifically McGinn who is the best connected NFL writer to the NFL scouting community had on Claiborne:

Claiborne -> Third-year junior. "Pure cover corner with great ball skills," Philadelphia GM Howie Roseman said. "They're so hard to find." Went to LSU as a WR but moved to CB in 2009, serving as a deep reserve, before teaming with Patrick Peterson in 2010 and then Tyrann Mathieu in '11. "The only thing that would stop him from being great is that he doesn't have a special catch-up gear," one scout said. "In terms of smoothness, athleticism, ball skills, hands, anticipation - he's really good." Started 26 of 33 games, finishing with 11 interceptions and 12 PBUs (passes broken up). Scored just four on the 12-minute, 50-question Wonderlic intelligence test but scouts say he has a reading disability and learns well in other settings. "He can pick it up," another scout said. "Great kid. Can't read very well. He doesn't take timed tests." Peterson, who had a superb rookie season for Arizona, scored nine the year before. Hails from Shreveport, La. "When I think of guys like Deion Sanders and Charles Woodson and Chris McAlister and Champ Bailey, those guys were a league above this guy," a third scout said. "He's not Patrick Peterson, either. He ends up on the ground some, and I've always been afraid of corners that fell out in space for no reason. But he's a solid cornerback in the NFL."