Washington NT Alameda Ta'amu

[TheFinisher]

6'3 337lb monster in the middle of Washington's defense, playing now on ESPN against Nebraska. Has a little Haloti Ngata in him.

 

[realtick]

Not really overly by Ta'aamu at all.

 

[jblaze2004]

Not really overly by Ta'aamu at all.

huh????

 

[realtick]

My bad, I left out the word impressed, as in I'm not overly impressed with Ta'aamu.

 

[realtick]

Ngata is a freakish athlete for someone his size. I don't see anywhere near that type of athleticism Ta'aamu.

 

[The Realist]

Huge, Pacific Islander that plays in the Pac Northwest.

The comparisons end there.

 

[UnoDallas]

could not even get a good push up field

 

[The Realist]

Reminds me of the NT the Chiefs took high in 2 that ended up being our backup NT before Brent.

 

[realtick]

Reminds me of the NT the Chiefs took high in 2 that ended up being our backup NT before Brent.

Siaivi (sp?)

 

[BigWillie]

I heard alot of hype about Ta'amu going into the game this week. But yet in the game, I rarely heard his name and I don't think I even remember him involved in the play that much.

Going up against 275lbs center, and two walk-on guards with a combined 2 starts between them going into this game, I would have figured he would dominate. Was not the case however.

 

[Baileyneverfailey]

Are you guys telling me that just being 330 pounds doesn't automatically make you a monster in the middle?

 

[Chocolate Lab]

How did the Aggies miss out on this guy...

 

[TheFinisher]

this is what anchoring the middle of a defense is supposed to look like...

[youtube]yWOOA2V1k1k[/youtube]

 

[supercowboy8]

this is what anchoring the middle of a defense is supposed to look like...

good game vs WSU,who?
I like Kawann Short who has played very good vs better competetion.

Short doesn't wiegh as much but he can add some weight, he also has great agility to even be a 3-4 DE.

Some stats for SHort vs quality players
vs Penn St he had 5 tackles
vs Illinois he had 6 tackles and 2 sacks
vs Michigan he had 5 tackles
vs Wisconsin he had only 2 tackles
vs Ohio St. he had 6 tackles and 3 sacks.

This season SHort has 53 tackles, 6.5 sacks, and 14 Tackles for loss

 

[TheFinisher]

good game vs WSU,who?
I like Kawann Short who has played very good vs better competetion.

Short doesn't wiegh as much but he can add some weight, he also has great agility to even be a 3-4 DE.

Some stats for SHort vs quality players
vs Penn St he had 5 tackles
vs Illinois he had 6 tackles and 2 sacks
vs Michigan he had 5 tackles
vs Wisconsin he had only 2 tackles
vs Ohio St. he had 6 tackles and 3 sacks.

This season SHort has 53 tackles, 6.5 sacks, and 14 Tackles for loss

You can't judge the play of a NT off stats, Ta'amu was physically imposing his will on those lineman the entire game. He's 340 and can make plays down the line of scrimmage, that's rare ability.

Short's not a bad player but he doesn't come close to anchoring as well as Ta'amu.

 

[realtick]

Not impressed with Ta'amu that much, especially early in the draft.

Folks need to realize Washington State's offensive line is small. Ta'amu was playing against a 270 lb center (Goetz) and a 290 lb left gaurd (Fullington).

There's another extended clip of him somewhere (I can't find it, but I believe I posted it before) of him playing against Arizona (?) and Ta'amu wasn't nearly as disruptive and was being driven backwards.

 

[supercowboy8]

You can't judge the play of a NT off stats, Ta'amu was physically imposing his will on those lineman the entire game. He's 340 and can make plays down the line of scrimmage, that's rare ability.

Short's not a bad player but he doesn't come close to anchoring as well as Ta'amu.

have you seen him play vs an actual football school? He played good vs a bad team and a weak bad OL, big whoop.

Have you seen Kawann Short play? If you can watch him vs Ohio St and how he handles Michael Brewster a future NFL center.

 

[Eskimo]

The only problem is I don't know what kind of instincts the kid has. He is a load going straight ahead though. He seemed to play with a good pad level much of the time and he really was collapsing the pocket the whole game.

I can easily see someone reaching for him in the first. I wouldn't mind thinking about him in the second if he is on the board. I like the raw material but I think he needs a lot of coaching.

 

[BAT]

Ta'amu is more Paul Soliai than Haloti Ngata.

 

[TheCount]

Ta'amu is more Paul Soliai than Haloti Ngata.

Agreed, but I wanted Soliai if the Dolphins let him go as a FA, so I ain't mad at that.