According to the Dallas Morning News, the "entire Cowboys contingent perked up" when Idaho OG Mike Iupati weighed in Monday at the Senior Bowl.
A guard in college, Iupati could probably play as many as four positions on the offensive line at the next level because of his impressive build and incredibly long arms. The Cowboys are especially needy at the tackle spots. |
Oh please God no, this guy would anchor the Cowboy's Offensive Line for a Decade.
According to an ESPN report earlier this month, Alabama NT Terrence Cody weighed "right around" 355 pounds on January 5.
In other words, Cody appears to have gained 15 pounds (he measured 6'4/370 at the Senior Bowl) in the last 20 days. Cody's body appeared sloppy, to put it mildly, when he removed his shirt for Monday's weigh-in. While weight fluctuation is a routine concern for clogging, nose-tackle types, Cody is already resembling a late-career Ted Washington at age 21. |
Already weight issues with this guy and we havent even hit the Combine yet? Do you want this unmotivated beast on your team?
Wisconsin DE O'Brien Schofield tore his left ACL on the first day of Senior Bowl practices Monday.
The Defensive MVP of last week's East-West Shrine Game, Schofield ranked second in the nation in tackles for loss and second in the Big Ten in sacks as a fifth-year senior. He was a probable second- to third-round pick before the injury, but now may fall out of the draft altogether. Some team is still likely to sign and stash Schofield on I.R. for 2010 because of his upside. |
Promising top 4 round pick, now likely an undrafted FA...Giants better jump on the phone ASAP after the draft if the case...kid can play and can be stashed on our I.R.
From yesterday but for those who missed it an eye-opening look into the character of Mays...(Personality rubs me the wrong way with a lot of these arrogant USC guys)
USC S Taylor Mays reportedly drew the ire of an NFL pro personnel man when he leveled Citadel WR Andre Roberts on the first day of Senior Bowl practices.
NFL types want to see DBs make plays on the football in drills, not take out 5'11/192-pound return specialists in the open field. This is especially true in Mays' case. He only had five interceptions as a four-year starter at Southern Cal, with just two of the picks coming in his last three seasons. |
And Other Blurbs of interest...
| Kyle Wilson, the CB from Boise State was the biggest standout of the day. During the CB vs. WR drill, Wilson undercut an out route for an interception on his first rep and was an offensive pass interference away from another on a nine route. Wilson was a premier punt returner in college, which means he is dangerous after an interception. |
| Dan Williams had a good day stuffing the run, at least as good as possible without full pads. He didn't do well in pass rushing drills, however, which is a drill designed to favor the defensive player. I'm not particularly concerned if the DT Rick Smith drafts is an elite pass rusher as long as he can stuff the middle, so this development might actually be beneficial. |
| Myron Rolle is a popular story because of his year hiatus from football as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, but unfortunately that break has caused some rust. He has plenty of time before the Combine and his Pro Day, but even then he is considered more of a strong safety who lacks coverage skills. Probably not a consideration for the Texans. |
| Offensive Guard Vladimir Ducasse will be under the microscope this week. Ducasse moved to the States from Haiti when he was 14 and has only played football for six years, but he has enough raw talent that Mayock compared him to Jeff Otah. On his first pass rush drill the quicker O'Brien Schofield blew by him on the edge as Ducasse was playing LT. Before the analysts could even finish stating that Ducasse never saw speed like that at UMass, Ducasse went against Schofield again, anchored down and unfortunately injured Schofield when he fell on him. I mention all this because he is rated as a guard and could be a steal after the first couple of rounds. |
Credit Rotoworld & Battleredblog for the info, feel free to update & discuss as the day goes on about prospective Giants Draft Selections
I haven't been routinely impressed with Mays for two seasons now, and I've seen 15 or so USC games in that time.
I'm not sure what to make of him in the pros...he can be coached and put in a scheme that maximizes his talents...but his collegiate production points to a lot of risk.
Point is: if he wasn't an athletic freak, he would never come up in a draft discussion. And that troubles me.
But saying "he couldn't cover anyone in college" is just silly. Mays was defending the deep half of the field on virtually every play and almost never got challenged deep. When he did get beaten, it was by a whisker-- the perfect throw from Clausen to Tate for a TD, this year, for example. Mays was a heartbeat late on that play. He wasn't late on plays like that last year (gee, maybe the knee injury DID make a difference)-- ask the Cal WR's who kept getting separated from the ball as it arrived on about a half-dozen occasions.
I'm not saying Mays is a great cover guy, I actually agree with Amtoft that his position in the NFL is strong safety, where he can creep up to the LOS and throw that big body around. But the picture being painted here is laughable, as if Mays has been burned over and over again in his college career. False, if you actually bothered watching the kid play.
I mean we have a SS already. His name is Kenny Phillps
And I still think that the idea of moving him to OLB (WLB) has some merit.
Link - ( New Window )
Part of me does worry that if we pass up on him he'll end up being a 9-time Pro Bowler for someone else. Especially if Kenny never returns 100% from his injury. But looking at Mays objectively, I don't think he's the right fit here. He'd be better off starting from day one as a strong safety for a team that uses him to blitz and wreak havoc.
Wellll...ok!
Link - ( New Window )
The key is that Mays is going to be playing an entirely different role in the pros than he did in his senior season at USC. He is not a prototypical ballhawking FS, that description fits prospects such as Eric Berry or Earl Thomas. As you just mentioned, if he is placed in a role where he can be utilized similar to how the Cardinals use Adrian Wilson it will cater to his strengths. Mays has the ability to be a difference maker as an in-the-box defender with coverage responsibilities that don't expose his weaknesses. But he has also shown that he can execute his assignment in deep coverage if asked to prevent the big play and his impeccable sideline-to-sideline range is invaluable in this capacity.
Allow him to play downhill and closer to the line of scrimmage as opposed to playing deep centerfield and he is going to make far more of an impact and be a much more productive contributor. The argument was over the comment about Mays being unable to cover anyone and how he is weak in man coverage when primarily his assignment revolved around ensuring that no opposing receiver get behind him over the top. Implying that he was exposed consistently in man-to-man coverage is absurd and off-base since he served as a deep cover safety in zone throughout his senior season (obviously, you didn't make this claim).
Strengths
Manages to wear helmet and other equipment correctly
Always on time for team travel arrangements
Excellent athleticism
Forceful hitter who intimidates opponents
Sexy physique and winsome smile
Rarely lines up in the neutral zone
Weaknesses
Exploited in coverage
Poor tackler
Routinely tries to decapitate receivers (legal ramifications?)
Struggles playing the ball in the air
Half black
Half jewish
NFL Comparison
CC Brown
According to ESPN, Tebow still plans on playing in the Senior Bowl. The illness may buy him a mulligan on Monday's struggles, but he's still going to have to show that he can play under center.
Undoubtedly, this drives the draftniks crazy, because it is irrational -- and because it makes their opinion about the most intriguing prospect in NFL Draft history irrelevant.
Draftniks have two choices: Bash Tebow and look like fools when he goes in the 1st round, or abandon their analysis and reflect more accurate "reality" in their mock draft. Either way, the only mockery is the draftnik-industrial complex.
That logic is entirely absurd. The Jaguars would draft him for financial reasons as much as anything else. And regardless: a shitty workout is not automatically vindicated by a team taking a flyer on Tebow. The fact remains: he is a spread QB with a weird release who is having trouble under center. If a team wants to take a gamble, fine, but that doesn't mean that the "draftniks" are incorrect in their assessment.
Link - ( New Window )
BTW, I'm not being rhetorical.
All of these blurbs were from TFY's site.
Washington is one of my favorites. I see he's becoming a BBI fav, too. Kiss of death.
Weird on Weatherspoon...McShay was giving him some love.
Some more (contradictory?) updates via twitter:
[quote]Cardinals scouts saying some good things about S Taylor Mays
Alex Carrington getting love.
Link - ( New Window )
Link - ( New Window )