Doomsday101
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By Pat Kirwan
NFL.com Senior Analyst
Plenty to see and hear at the Senior Bowl
(Jan. 27, 2005) -- This is an exciting time of the year for me in a world where the football season never ends. I spent the weekend in Pittsburgh for the AFC Championship Game and was able to watch it from the field, then I headed to Mobile, Ala., for the Senior Bowl to study the best the senior class for the NFL draft has to offer and from there it's over to Jacksonville for a week of preparation for the Super Bowl. It doesn't get any better than this for a football person.
My reports on the Super Bowl contenders will be filed regularly over the next week or so, but now it is time to share some notes from the Senior Bowl practices.
To set the stage for the evaluation process, I made a list of the top 10 teams that at this point have the most to gain or lose by the level of talent that will be available in the draft:
1. San Francisco (No. 1 overall draft pick): The 49ers just hired Mike Nolan as their new head coach and he's busy hiring staff members down in Mobile. The next step is to hire a general manager/personnel director and that process takes place this weekend.
2. Cleveland (No. 3): Waiting on the outcome of the Super Bowl to announce their new head coach, but brand new GM Phil Savage is down at the Senior Bowl evaluating talent. During his tenure in Baltimore, he helped find nine first-round picks in that eventually made the Pro Bowl.
3. Tennessee (No. 6): They have their front office and head coach back in tact but an offensive coordinator is needed.
4. Miami (No. 2): Nick Saban takes over as head coach and he's putting his staff together down in Mobile. Two great hires in offensive coordinator Scott Linehan and offensive line coach Hudson Houck are in place, so the evaluation of talent is on.
5. Chicago (No. 4): Everyone is in place from last year and they can actually dedicate all of their time to evaluating talent in Mobile.
6. Arizona (No. 8): Dennis Green just redid his offensive staff in the past week.
7. Washington (No. 9): Everyone is in place and Joe Gibbs and his coaches are hard at work looking at the Senior Bowl practices. I ran into owner Dan Snyder in Mobile and I have to give him credit for his enthusiasm and burning desire to win a championship. Not many owners in the NFL would be at Senior Bowl practices.
8. Tampa Bay (No. 5): The Bucs staff is coaching the South squad and gaining valuable information about the quality of the players in the game. General manager Bruce Allen roams the sidelines of practice getting an up-close view of the team as the other staffs sit in the stands.
9. N.Y. Giants (no first-round picks): They don't have a first-round pick, but it will be critical to do well later in the draft. My impression after a few days at the Senior Bowl is that the draft will be loaded with solid second-, third- and fourth-round picks.
10. Oakland (No. 7): The Raiders staff is coaching the North team and, like the Bucs, is getting inside information about the players they are working with this week. GM Mike Lombardi roams the sidelines of the practices while the rest of the league is watching from a few hundred yards away.
And now, here are my early impressions of some of the offensive players on display at the Senior Bowl:
QUARTERBACKS
My first stop is always at the quarterback position, and since at least three or four of the above-mentioned teams will be in the market for a signal-caller, it's a good place to start. After two days of practice and sitting with two different NFL quarterback coaches, Kyle Orton of Purdue seems to be the best prospect on the field. He had velocity on his ball, moved well in the pocket and overshadowed Charlie Frye (Akron) and Dan Orlovsky (Connecticut) at least in the eyes of the coaches I was with and I agreed after three practices.
There's still the late-week practices and the game for someone to impress, but it doesn't look like any of the Senior Bowl quarterbacks are the answer at the top of the first round. The underclassmen may move ahead of this group.
RUNNING BACKS
Next stop was the running backs and there were some very interesting prospects on the field for both teams. Cadillac Williams (Auburn) looked terrific on Monday catching punts and passes and demonstrating vision and change of direction. He's a player teams in the top-10 that need a running back will study closely. Miami, Chicago, Arizona, Tampa Bay and Oakland were watching his every move and I'm sure they liked what they saw. As one scout said to me, "He is a complete back who showed me a lot by playing in this game." He showed me plenty of talent on the field.
Two other running backs who jumped out at me at practice were Kay-Jay Harris (West Virginia) and Darren Sproles (Kansas State). Harris was very physical in the contact drills and flashed a Jamal Lewis-type style. Sproles is tiny, but behind the massive offensive line of the North team, he showed he can be effective. Some teams will shy away from him because he is just under 5-foot-6, but he can play.
WIDE RECEIVERS
The wide receivers are always a big group at the Senior Bowl, and between the two teams, there were 12 wideouts to look at in limited practice time. An acrobatic catch can catch the eye of a thousand coaches and scouts in the stands and a guy can be the talk of that day all over Mobile. That was the case Wednesday morning for Matt Jones of Arkansas, a 6-foot-6 quarterback who came to the Senior Bowl to show NFL people he could make a team at another position. On Tuesday, he demonstrated some athletic ability as a route runner and on Wednesday morning he made what one personnel director described to me as a "Michael Jordan-type play" when he caught a ball one-handed over his head after he left his feet. The Senior Bowl is really helping this kid.
I watched Georgia receiver Reggie Brown come across the middle of the field with a cornerback all over him go up and snatch a ball with his hands and just separate from the defender. It was an NFL play and he did it right in front of Bucs GM Bruce Allen at the South practice. Over at the North practice, Mark Clayton from Oklahoma just looked like the best athlete on the field. One personnel director I watched the Tuesday morning practice with said, "I have to evaluate the receivers today and I already think Clayton is the best player out there." We were at practice 10 minutes when he made that comment.
TIGHT ENDS
Tight end is fast becoming a very important position in the NFL with the emphasis on the rules about defensive holding and pass interference. The Chiefs' Tony Gonzalez became the first tight to catch 100 balls in a season and he's not the starter in the Pro Bowl because of Antonio Gates from San Diego, who found the end zone 13 times this year. So a lot of teams were interested in the Senior Bowl tight ends and Alex Smith of Stanford caught my eye for his route running, hands, size and desire to block. He's 6-foot-4 and 255 pounds. but he runs like he's a wide receiver. Vincent Jackson from Northern Colorado was working with the wide receivers but may become a hybrid tight end/wide receiver. At 6-foot-5, 223 pounds, he wasn't the quickest wide receiver on the North team, but he is put together and is much more intriguing as a tight end prospect.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
There are 18 offensive linemen working down in Mobile. This is usually the group that is most important to study in Mobile because it will not be drastically interrupted by underclassmen declaring for the draft. In fact, of the 49 players who declared early for the draft, only two of them are offensive linemen. If your team needs offensive linemen -- and most teams -- do this is a must stop in the evaluation process.
I asked the defensive linemen on both squads which lineman after three days gave them the most trouble and came back with real high grades for Marcus Johnson (Mississippi) and center David Baas (Michigan). Johnson is 6-foot-6, 315 pounds, can play guard or tackle and moved well. He has very good technique and has a desire to finish his blocks. Baas only played a few games at center while at Michigan but he really looks natural over the ball and is smart enough to make the line calls. During the one-on-one pass-rush drills, which most offensive linemen will lose to the defensive linemen, both Johnson and Bass performed well enough to up their stock. They can sink their weight, lockout on a bull rusher and have good enough feet to recover if the defender was beating them on the edge. I ran their two names by two line coaches after practice and both coaches smiled like I just offered them a free steak dinner.
Stay tuned for my sneak peak look at the defensive players down in Mobile.
NFL.com Senior Analyst
Plenty to see and hear at the Senior Bowl
(Jan. 27, 2005) -- This is an exciting time of the year for me in a world where the football season never ends. I spent the weekend in Pittsburgh for the AFC Championship Game and was able to watch it from the field, then I headed to Mobile, Ala., for the Senior Bowl to study the best the senior class for the NFL draft has to offer and from there it's over to Jacksonville for a week of preparation for the Super Bowl. It doesn't get any better than this for a football person.
My reports on the Super Bowl contenders will be filed regularly over the next week or so, but now it is time to share some notes from the Senior Bowl practices.
To set the stage for the evaluation process, I made a list of the top 10 teams that at this point have the most to gain or lose by the level of talent that will be available in the draft:
1. San Francisco (No. 1 overall draft pick): The 49ers just hired Mike Nolan as their new head coach and he's busy hiring staff members down in Mobile. The next step is to hire a general manager/personnel director and that process takes place this weekend.
2. Cleveland (No. 3): Waiting on the outcome of the Super Bowl to announce their new head coach, but brand new GM Phil Savage is down at the Senior Bowl evaluating talent. During his tenure in Baltimore, he helped find nine first-round picks in that eventually made the Pro Bowl.
3. Tennessee (No. 6): They have their front office and head coach back in tact but an offensive coordinator is needed.
4. Miami (No. 2): Nick Saban takes over as head coach and he's putting his staff together down in Mobile. Two great hires in offensive coordinator Scott Linehan and offensive line coach Hudson Houck are in place, so the evaluation of talent is on.
5. Chicago (No. 4): Everyone is in place from last year and they can actually dedicate all of their time to evaluating talent in Mobile.
6. Arizona (No. 8): Dennis Green just redid his offensive staff in the past week.
7. Washington (No. 9): Everyone is in place and Joe Gibbs and his coaches are hard at work looking at the Senior Bowl practices. I ran into owner Dan Snyder in Mobile and I have to give him credit for his enthusiasm and burning desire to win a championship. Not many owners in the NFL would be at Senior Bowl practices.
8. Tampa Bay (No. 5): The Bucs staff is coaching the South squad and gaining valuable information about the quality of the players in the game. General manager Bruce Allen roams the sidelines of practice getting an up-close view of the team as the other staffs sit in the stands.
9. N.Y. Giants (no first-round picks): They don't have a first-round pick, but it will be critical to do well later in the draft. My impression after a few days at the Senior Bowl is that the draft will be loaded with solid second-, third- and fourth-round picks.
10. Oakland (No. 7): The Raiders staff is coaching the North team and, like the Bucs, is getting inside information about the players they are working with this week. GM Mike Lombardi roams the sidelines of the practices while the rest of the league is watching from a few hundred yards away.
And now, here are my early impressions of some of the offensive players on display at the Senior Bowl:
QUARTERBACKS
My first stop is always at the quarterback position, and since at least three or four of the above-mentioned teams will be in the market for a signal-caller, it's a good place to start. After two days of practice and sitting with two different NFL quarterback coaches, Kyle Orton of Purdue seems to be the best prospect on the field. He had velocity on his ball, moved well in the pocket and overshadowed Charlie Frye (Akron) and Dan Orlovsky (Connecticut) at least in the eyes of the coaches I was with and I agreed after three practices.
There's still the late-week practices and the game for someone to impress, but it doesn't look like any of the Senior Bowl quarterbacks are the answer at the top of the first round. The underclassmen may move ahead of this group.
RUNNING BACKS
Next stop was the running backs and there were some very interesting prospects on the field for both teams. Cadillac Williams (Auburn) looked terrific on Monday catching punts and passes and demonstrating vision and change of direction. He's a player teams in the top-10 that need a running back will study closely. Miami, Chicago, Arizona, Tampa Bay and Oakland were watching his every move and I'm sure they liked what they saw. As one scout said to me, "He is a complete back who showed me a lot by playing in this game." He showed me plenty of talent on the field.
Two other running backs who jumped out at me at practice were Kay-Jay Harris (West Virginia) and Darren Sproles (Kansas State). Harris was very physical in the contact drills and flashed a Jamal Lewis-type style. Sproles is tiny, but behind the massive offensive line of the North team, he showed he can be effective. Some teams will shy away from him because he is just under 5-foot-6, but he can play.
WIDE RECEIVERS
The wide receivers are always a big group at the Senior Bowl, and between the two teams, there were 12 wideouts to look at in limited practice time. An acrobatic catch can catch the eye of a thousand coaches and scouts in the stands and a guy can be the talk of that day all over Mobile. That was the case Wednesday morning for Matt Jones of Arkansas, a 6-foot-6 quarterback who came to the Senior Bowl to show NFL people he could make a team at another position. On Tuesday, he demonstrated some athletic ability as a route runner and on Wednesday morning he made what one personnel director described to me as a "Michael Jordan-type play" when he caught a ball one-handed over his head after he left his feet. The Senior Bowl is really helping this kid.
I watched Georgia receiver Reggie Brown come across the middle of the field with a cornerback all over him go up and snatch a ball with his hands and just separate from the defender. It was an NFL play and he did it right in front of Bucs GM Bruce Allen at the South practice. Over at the North practice, Mark Clayton from Oklahoma just looked like the best athlete on the field. One personnel director I watched the Tuesday morning practice with said, "I have to evaluate the receivers today and I already think Clayton is the best player out there." We were at practice 10 minutes when he made that comment.
TIGHT ENDS
Tight end is fast becoming a very important position in the NFL with the emphasis on the rules about defensive holding and pass interference. The Chiefs' Tony Gonzalez became the first tight to catch 100 balls in a season and he's not the starter in the Pro Bowl because of Antonio Gates from San Diego, who found the end zone 13 times this year. So a lot of teams were interested in the Senior Bowl tight ends and Alex Smith of Stanford caught my eye for his route running, hands, size and desire to block. He's 6-foot-4 and 255 pounds. but he runs like he's a wide receiver. Vincent Jackson from Northern Colorado was working with the wide receivers but may become a hybrid tight end/wide receiver. At 6-foot-5, 223 pounds, he wasn't the quickest wide receiver on the North team, but he is put together and is much more intriguing as a tight end prospect.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
There are 18 offensive linemen working down in Mobile. This is usually the group that is most important to study in Mobile because it will not be drastically interrupted by underclassmen declaring for the draft. In fact, of the 49 players who declared early for the draft, only two of them are offensive linemen. If your team needs offensive linemen -- and most teams -- do this is a must stop in the evaluation process.
I asked the defensive linemen on both squads which lineman after three days gave them the most trouble and came back with real high grades for Marcus Johnson (Mississippi) and center David Baas (Michigan). Johnson is 6-foot-6, 315 pounds, can play guard or tackle and moved well. He has very good technique and has a desire to finish his blocks. Baas only played a few games at center while at Michigan but he really looks natural over the ball and is smart enough to make the line calls. During the one-on-one pass-rush drills, which most offensive linemen will lose to the defensive linemen, both Johnson and Bass performed well enough to up their stock. They can sink their weight, lockout on a bull rusher and have good enough feet to recover if the defender was beating them on the edge. I ran their two names by two line coaches after practice and both coaches smiled like I just offered them a free steak dinner.
Stay tuned for my sneak peak look at the defensive players down in Mobile.
