cowboyjoe
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 28,433
- Reaction score
- 753
NFL Draft/Scouting Combine 2010: The Defensive Ends/Linebackers
March 9, 2:13 AMIndianapolis Colts ExaminerJohn OehserPrevious
Next
Comment Print
Email
RSS Subscribe
Subscribe
Get alerts when there is a new article from the Indianapolis Colts Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use. Email Address
http://www.examiner.com/x-4450-Indi...ng-Combine-2010-The-Defensive-EndsLinebackers
Include other special offers from Examiner.com
Terms of Use
Clemson LB Ricky Sapp (Darron Cummings/AP Photo)With the 2010 NFL Draft still many weeks away, Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser takes a look at the NFL Scouting Combine, held in late February and early March at Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis. Oehser spent four days at the combine, and in the coming days will continue a position-by-position look at the combine and the NFL Draft . . .
The defensive line group is a deep group in the NFL 2010 NFL Draft class. On that, there was something close to a consensus at the 2010 NFL Scouting Combine.
Where will the players on the end of the line play in the NFL?
There were several big-picture questions earlier this month at the combine at Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis, but without question one of them was that: considering the recent return to popularity of the 3-4 defense, just what will that mean for rookie defensive ends?
“It looks like half the league is employing some 3-4 type of configuration,” New England Patriots Director of Player Personnel Nick Caserio said. “It kind of evolves.”
With that evolution this year came a new combine buzzword:
“Conversion player.”
Not that the word never has been used in NFL circles, but it certainly was thrown around more matter-of-factly by personnel types when discussing ends in this year's class.
The conversion guys, players who can play either end or linebacker, were a hot topic at the combine, with Dallas Morning News NFL writer Rick Gosselin – whose draft coverage consistently has been among the nation's best in recent years – summing up the end/linebacker “conversion” landscape succinctly this past Sunday:
“In 2006, only six teams in the NFL lined up in a 3-4 scheme,” Gosselin wrote, “but four of them qualified for the playoffs, three won division titles, Baltimore led the NFL in defense and San Diego led in sacks. So the pendulum started swinging back from the 4-3 to the 3-4 defensive scheme.
"In 2010, 14 teams will be using a 3-4. Denver, Green Bay, Kansas City and San Francisco switched from a 4-3 to a 3-4 in 2009, and Buffalo and Washington will join the parade in 2010.
"A 3-4 team has finished No. 1 in the NFL in defense for four consecutive seasons: the Jets in 2009, the Steelers in 2007-08 and the Ravens in 2006. A 3-4 team also has led the NFL in takeaways the last three seasons: Green Bay in 2009, Baltimore in 2008 and San Diego in 2007. The Cowboys led the NFL in sacks in 2008 in their 3-4.
"The success of the scheme has driven up the stock of all the undersized college pass rushers because more and more teams are searching for them.”
Gosselin cited Jerry Hughes of Texas Christian and Sergio Kindle of Texas as ends who likely will switch to linebacker in an NFL 3-4, and according to Tony Pauline of TFYDraft.com Thadeus Gibson of Ohio State, Arthur Moats of James Madison and Ricky Sapp of Clemson were among the rising players at the position coming out of the combine.
Almost all will be judged primarily on one aspect of their game.
“The first and foremost thing is, 'Can he get to the quarterback and go from there?''' San Francisco 49ers General Manager Scot McLoughan said.
Paulin also noted, “Of the 39 defensive ends invited to the combine, all but five were asked to participate in linebacker drills.”
“This is indicative of not only the changing defenses around the league which has been employing more zone blitzes besides 3-4 alignments, but also of the talent in this year's group of ends.” Paulin writes. “Most of the prospects are undersized college pass rushers likely to stand up over tackle in the NFL.”
“It's a very good group,” Cleveland Browns General Manager Tom Heckert, Jr. said of this years end/linebacker class.
NFL DRAFT SCOUT'S TOP 10 DEFENSIVE ENDS
1, 8, *Derrick Morgan, Georgia Tech, 1
2, 14, *Carlos Dunlap, Florida, 1
3, 17, *Everson Griffen, Southern Cal, 1
4, 25, *Jason Pierre-Paul, South Florida, 1-2
5, 28, Brandon Graham, Michigan, 1-2
6, 37, Corey Wootton, Northwestern, 1-2
7, 60, *Jason Worilds, Virginia Tech, 2
8, 75, Austen Lane, Murray State, 2-3
9, 77, Jermaine Cunningham, Florida, 2-3
10, 96, Greg Hardy, Mississippi, 3
NFL DRAFT SCOUT'S TOP 10 OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS
1, 20, Ricky Sapp, Clemson, 1
2, 22, Sergio Kindle, Texas, 1-2
3, 38, Sean Weatherspoon, Missouri, 1-2
4, 50, *Navorro Bowman, Penn State, 2
5, 53, Jerry Hughes, TCU, 2
6, 62, Koa Misi, Utah, 2-3
7, 89, *Thaddeus Gibson, Ohio State, 3
8, 91, Eric Norwood, South Carolina, 3
9, 106, *Rennie Curran, Georgia, 3-4
10, 111, Dekoda Watson, Florida State, 3-4
BRACKETT. "WE HAVE UNFINISHED BUSINESS. HERE.
BRACKETT: REPORT: COLTS TO MAKE BRACKETT AMONG HIGHEST-PAID LINEBACKERS. HERE
COLTS ADDING TURNER AS ASSISTANT COACH. HERE.
COLTS FREE AGENCY: PLAYER BY PLAYER BREAKDOWN. HERE.
DEPARTURE OF BROCK, JACKSON SHOWS REALITY OF NFL. HERE.
NEWS: RAHEEM BROCK TWEETS THAT COLTS CAREER IS OVER. HERE
NFL SCOUTING COMBINE
THE QUARTERBACKS. HERE.
THE RUNNING BACKS. HERE
THE WIDE RECEIVERS. HERE.
THE TIGHT ENDS. HERE.
THE OFFENSIVE LINE. HERE
DAILY DIGESTS:
COLTS C JEFF SATURDAY ON COLTS PRESIDENT BILL POLIAN'S POST-SUPER BOWL OL COMMENTS. HERE
BILL POLIAN WEIGHS IN ON NFL DRAFT. HERE
SUNDAY DIGEST: TOM MOORE. HERE.
WRAPPING UP POST-SUPER BOWL TALK: HERE
A REFRESHINGLY ACCURATE READ ON PEYTON MANNING. HERE
ON TEAM OF DECADE AND ED JOHNSON. HERE
A LOOK AT THE GARY BRACKETT NEGOTIATIONS. HERE.
ON THE DOUBLE-AGENT THEORY. HERE
TAG OR NO TAG, SIGNING BRACKETT RIGHT MOVE. HERE
THURSDAY SCOUTING COMBINE. HERE
CASSERLY: BEST DRAFT CLASS IN 30 YEARS. HERE
OFFSEASON PRIMERS:
THE QUARTERBACKS. HERE.
THE RUNNING BACKS. HERE.
THE WIDE RECEIVERS. HERE.
THE TIGHT ENDS. HERE.
THE OFFENSIVE TACKLES. HERE
THE OFFENSIVE GUARDS. HERE
THE CENTERS. HERE
MORE COLTS NEWS
POLIAN: THE PAST IS PROLOGUE. HERE.
March 9, 2:13 AMIndianapolis Colts ExaminerJohn OehserPrevious
Next
Comment Print
RSS Subscribe
Subscribe
Get alerts when there is a new article from the Indianapolis Colts Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use. Email Address
http://www.examiner.com/x-4450-Indi...ng-Combine-2010-The-Defensive-EndsLinebackers
Include other special offers from Examiner.com
Terms of Use
Clemson LB Ricky Sapp (Darron Cummings/AP Photo)With the 2010 NFL Draft still many weeks away, Indy Football Report Editor John Oehser takes a look at the NFL Scouting Combine, held in late February and early March at Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis. Oehser spent four days at the combine, and in the coming days will continue a position-by-position look at the combine and the NFL Draft . . .
The defensive line group is a deep group in the NFL 2010 NFL Draft class. On that, there was something close to a consensus at the 2010 NFL Scouting Combine.
Where will the players on the end of the line play in the NFL?
There were several big-picture questions earlier this month at the combine at Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis, but without question one of them was that: considering the recent return to popularity of the 3-4 defense, just what will that mean for rookie defensive ends?
“It looks like half the league is employing some 3-4 type of configuration,” New England Patriots Director of Player Personnel Nick Caserio said. “It kind of evolves.”
With that evolution this year came a new combine buzzword:
“Conversion player.”
Not that the word never has been used in NFL circles, but it certainly was thrown around more matter-of-factly by personnel types when discussing ends in this year's class.
The conversion guys, players who can play either end or linebacker, were a hot topic at the combine, with Dallas Morning News NFL writer Rick Gosselin – whose draft coverage consistently has been among the nation's best in recent years – summing up the end/linebacker “conversion” landscape succinctly this past Sunday:
“In 2006, only six teams in the NFL lined up in a 3-4 scheme,” Gosselin wrote, “but four of them qualified for the playoffs, three won division titles, Baltimore led the NFL in defense and San Diego led in sacks. So the pendulum started swinging back from the 4-3 to the 3-4 defensive scheme.
"In 2010, 14 teams will be using a 3-4. Denver, Green Bay, Kansas City and San Francisco switched from a 4-3 to a 3-4 in 2009, and Buffalo and Washington will join the parade in 2010.
"A 3-4 team has finished No. 1 in the NFL in defense for four consecutive seasons: the Jets in 2009, the Steelers in 2007-08 and the Ravens in 2006. A 3-4 team also has led the NFL in takeaways the last three seasons: Green Bay in 2009, Baltimore in 2008 and San Diego in 2007. The Cowboys led the NFL in sacks in 2008 in their 3-4.
"The success of the scheme has driven up the stock of all the undersized college pass rushers because more and more teams are searching for them.”
Gosselin cited Jerry Hughes of Texas Christian and Sergio Kindle of Texas as ends who likely will switch to linebacker in an NFL 3-4, and according to Tony Pauline of TFYDraft.com Thadeus Gibson of Ohio State, Arthur Moats of James Madison and Ricky Sapp of Clemson were among the rising players at the position coming out of the combine.
Almost all will be judged primarily on one aspect of their game.
“The first and foremost thing is, 'Can he get to the quarterback and go from there?''' San Francisco 49ers General Manager Scot McLoughan said.
Paulin also noted, “Of the 39 defensive ends invited to the combine, all but five were asked to participate in linebacker drills.”
“This is indicative of not only the changing defenses around the league which has been employing more zone blitzes besides 3-4 alignments, but also of the talent in this year's group of ends.” Paulin writes. “Most of the prospects are undersized college pass rushers likely to stand up over tackle in the NFL.”
“It's a very good group,” Cleveland Browns General Manager Tom Heckert, Jr. said of this years end/linebacker class.
NFL DRAFT SCOUT'S TOP 10 DEFENSIVE ENDS
1, 8, *Derrick Morgan, Georgia Tech, 1
2, 14, *Carlos Dunlap, Florida, 1
3, 17, *Everson Griffen, Southern Cal, 1
4, 25, *Jason Pierre-Paul, South Florida, 1-2
5, 28, Brandon Graham, Michigan, 1-2
6, 37, Corey Wootton, Northwestern, 1-2
7, 60, *Jason Worilds, Virginia Tech, 2
8, 75, Austen Lane, Murray State, 2-3
9, 77, Jermaine Cunningham, Florida, 2-3
10, 96, Greg Hardy, Mississippi, 3
NFL DRAFT SCOUT'S TOP 10 OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS
1, 20, Ricky Sapp, Clemson, 1
2, 22, Sergio Kindle, Texas, 1-2
3, 38, Sean Weatherspoon, Missouri, 1-2
4, 50, *Navorro Bowman, Penn State, 2
5, 53, Jerry Hughes, TCU, 2
6, 62, Koa Misi, Utah, 2-3
7, 89, *Thaddeus Gibson, Ohio State, 3
8, 91, Eric Norwood, South Carolina, 3
9, 106, *Rennie Curran, Georgia, 3-4
10, 111, Dekoda Watson, Florida State, 3-4
BRACKETT. "WE HAVE UNFINISHED BUSINESS. HERE.
BRACKETT: REPORT: COLTS TO MAKE BRACKETT AMONG HIGHEST-PAID LINEBACKERS. HERE
COLTS ADDING TURNER AS ASSISTANT COACH. HERE.
COLTS FREE AGENCY: PLAYER BY PLAYER BREAKDOWN. HERE.
DEPARTURE OF BROCK, JACKSON SHOWS REALITY OF NFL. HERE.
NEWS: RAHEEM BROCK TWEETS THAT COLTS CAREER IS OVER. HERE
NFL SCOUTING COMBINE
THE QUARTERBACKS. HERE.
THE RUNNING BACKS. HERE
THE WIDE RECEIVERS. HERE.
THE TIGHT ENDS. HERE.
THE OFFENSIVE LINE. HERE
DAILY DIGESTS:
COLTS C JEFF SATURDAY ON COLTS PRESIDENT BILL POLIAN'S POST-SUPER BOWL OL COMMENTS. HERE
BILL POLIAN WEIGHS IN ON NFL DRAFT. HERE
SUNDAY DIGEST: TOM MOORE. HERE.
WRAPPING UP POST-SUPER BOWL TALK: HERE
A REFRESHINGLY ACCURATE READ ON PEYTON MANNING. HERE
ON TEAM OF DECADE AND ED JOHNSON. HERE
A LOOK AT THE GARY BRACKETT NEGOTIATIONS. HERE.
ON THE DOUBLE-AGENT THEORY. HERE
TAG OR NO TAG, SIGNING BRACKETT RIGHT MOVE. HERE
THURSDAY SCOUTING COMBINE. HERE
CASSERLY: BEST DRAFT CLASS IN 30 YEARS. HERE
OFFSEASON PRIMERS:
THE QUARTERBACKS. HERE.
THE RUNNING BACKS. HERE.
THE WIDE RECEIVERS. HERE.
THE TIGHT ENDS. HERE.
THE OFFENSIVE TACKLES. HERE
THE OFFENSIVE GUARDS. HERE
THE CENTERS. HERE
MORE COLTS NEWS
POLIAN: THE PAST IS PROLOGUE. HERE.