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Thanks to our readers!
So it's May 6th and we've taken as more hits in the first week of May than we took in May, June, July and August combined last year. Um, thanks....
Keep stopping by, tell your friends and again, big thanks to our loyal readers.
- The Staff -
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Football Notes
*** NFL blog is below ***
by Tommy Lawlor
scoutsnotebook@gmail.com
5-15-08
* One group that appears to be very weak at this point is the RB class. There are some good players, but no one looks like a 1st round player right now. Marlon Lucky of Nebraska, James Davis of Clemson, and Arian Foster of Tennessee are probably the top trio right now. Each has potential, but also limitations.
The one player I am most interested in is Andre Brown of NC State. Because of injuries and sharing the ball with Toney Baker, Andre only has 348 carries in 3 years. That total would take Ray Rice about 12 games. I remember Brown as a Freshman running for over 175 on Florida State. He looked awesome that day. He's been up and down since, but a big time Senior season could really push him up the rankings.
* The two top TEs for me right now are Brandon Pettigrew of Oklahoma State and Travis Beckum of Wisconsin.
Pettigrew is 6'6, 260. He's athletic. He can run, catch, and block. Brandon is a really talented prospect. His production has been solid, but not spectacular with 70 catches and 9 TDs in 3 years. The bright spot is that his numbers have gone up each season. And last year he did average 15.4 ypc. That shows you he's more than just a "move the chains" guy. He considered coming out early, but I'm glad he stayed. A big year and good showing at the Senior Bowl could get Pettigrew into the top 40, if not make him a 1st round pick.
Beckum lists at 6'4, 223. Clearly, that is an issue. He needs to bulk up to the 235 range before the Combine or it will really hurt his value. Travis has an interesting background. He played LB in HS and went to UW to play defense. They switched him to TE in 2006 and he took to it like a fish to water. In two seasons, he has 136 catches and 11 TDs. Watch him play and you'll see this kid has terrific hands. He can make special catches. He was born to catch the ball. Blocking...that needs some work.
Travis is a good athlete. There is some thought that he could just play WR. I like him at TE, but he will need to get bigger and stronger. His value will be largely determined by his size.
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5-12-08
The 2008 Draft is in the books and it is time to start looking ahead to 2009.
Matt and I are making lists and doing researach on the players. We've seen a lot of these kids play while studying game tape, but we didn't pay them a lot of attention because they weren't Seniors. Here are some random thoughts:
* The Safety class looks really good. I don't know if any of these players will develop into top 20 type of prospects, but there is tremendous depth. The '08 class was incredibly weak at Safety, both in terms of quantity and quality. Here's a quick list of some top Senior Safeties (in alphabetical order)...
David Bruton - Notre Dame
Patrick Chung - Oregon
Kevin Ellison - USC
Courtney Greene - Rutgers
Michael Hamlin - Clemson
Nic Harris - Oklahoma
Rashad Johnson - Alabama
Reshard Langford - Vanderbilt
William Moore - Missouri
* Both Florida State and Miami lack top flight talent. I went through each group of Seniors and came away very unimpressed. WR Greg Carr is probably the Noles best Senior prospect. I'm not sure who the Canes top Senior is. Saftey Randy Phillips might be. I need to watch the tape, but going off just numbers there isn't one guy for them that jumps out at you.
* The Center group looks much better this year. There are 4 guys with a lot of potential...
Antoine Caldwell - Alabama
Alex Mack - Cal
Jonathan Luigs - Arkansas
Max Unger - Oregon
* On paper the QB class is less than inspiring. Hunter Cantwell of Lousiville and Curtis Painter of Purdue are the two names who get the most attention. Cantwell played behind Brohm, but started in the past and played quite well.
The guy who interests me is Cullen Harper of Clemson. He put up terrific numbers last season. I'm excited to see if that was more about the system and surrounding talent or if this kid is for real. Those numbers...2991 passing yards, 27 TDs, and only 6 INTs.
* The two schools who seem to have the most talent are USC and Ohio State. The Trojans have some impact players. If Rey Maualuga plays like he did in the Rose Bowl, he should be a top 15 pick. He could be the #1 ILB. Brian Cushing could be the #1 OLB. Junior Safety Taylor Mays has 1st round size and ability. Fili Moala might be the #1 DT. Guys like Jeff Byers, Josh Pinkard, and Patrick Turner all have the size and ability to be very good prospects if they play well as Seniors.
The Buckeyes have Malcolm Jenkins, arguably the top Senior DB. They have James Laurinaitis, who could be the #1 ILB. Brian Robiskie is a very good WR. LT Alex Boone has a big reputation, but didn't stand out when I watched tape of him last week. Junior Chris Wells could be the top RB in the whole country.
* I can't say much about the LT class quite yet. You really have to study those guys to even have a guess who the good ones are. Michael Oher has a lot of potential. I'm looking forward to watching Andrew Gardner of Ga Tech and Eugene Monroe of Virginia. Junior Andre Smith of Alabama has stood out to me in casually watching him in the past.
We'll be posting notes and info throughout the summer. Be sure to stop by every couple of days so you don't miss any of our legendary nuggets of wisdom.
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Around the NFL
by Tommy Lawlor
Kansas City could be an interesting team this year. I'm not a big
believer in Brodie Croyle at this point, but right or wrong the Chiefs
have decided to stick with him. There were reports that Tyler Thigpen
looked really good in the mini-camp, but he's got a long way to go to
steal the QB job.
Croyle didn't have a lot to work with last
year. The players around him look better this season. Larry Johnson
isn't coming off a holdout. He'll be ready to go from day one. WR
Dwayne Bowe is in his 2nd year and should be a better player. Tony
Gonzalez remains a top flight TE. The OL should be improved. Free agent
WR Devard Darling could be a good role player. They also added some
depth in the draft.
The big questions to me are QB and OL. If
Croyle proves to be starter material, that will solve one problem. The
OL is being slowly rebuilt. The hope this year has to be that the new
guys pan out.
This roster is being rebuilt and is clearly a
work in progress. When you saw the Chiefs last summer on Hard Knocks
they looked like the worst team in the NFL. I don't see them contending
for a playoff spot in 2008, but I do feel like they are headed in the
right direction.
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