1/26 Senior Bowl Practice Day 2 Rumblings

That has to be so embarrassing. Parading your fat ass up there for everyone to gawk at.

My biggest concerns with Mays are his ball skills (he goes for the kill shot instead of playing the ball), poor angles and lateral agility (will be interesting to see how he performs throughout the pre-draft process without the lingering knee injury that hampered him all season).

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

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MLB Darryl Sharpton dropped an interception during drills, but bounced back with two nice picks. Then, as if he needed to balance things out, Sharpton drops an easy one. (Sharpton is rated as being in the upper portion of a solid inside linebacker class.

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Ole Miss WR Dexter McCluster was handling punt returns and made good adjustments while the wind tried to make a few catches more difficult.

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Miami TE Jimmy Graham looks fluid while running routes, but he dropped a couple of passes during receiver drills, including a short pass thrown right to his belly.

Is he a reliable enough tackler as an in the box safety?

that steadily rises throughout this process. He could break the back end of the first.

Currently? No. But being in the box will prevent him from trying too often for the knock out blow (not as much space to move), so maybe it will force him to settle down and establish himself. That said, watching him try and stop some RBs near the line this year was not a pretty sight. But again, it's about minimizing weaknesses.

IMO yes, his problem as a tackler is that he occasionally sacrifices technique to go for the kill shot. Keep in mind that he had 90+ tackles as a senior despite playing 20 yards off the LOS predominantly, he has shown quality tackling ability when he doesn't get reckless.

Give me a break.

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Ole Miss WRs Shay Hodge and Dexter McCluster looking very good at Senior Bowl today. Dexter's quickness is ridiculous.

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Former #UGA DT Geno Atkins looking mighty quick in 1-on-1 pass pro drill at Senior Bowl practice.

a "strep arm"? Because a strep throat has nothing to do with how awful he's throwing the ball.

Affects the center exchange.

very erratic with tackles because he'd try to use that big body as a missile instead of wrapping the ballcarrier up. Even as a freshman he tackled that way. I never understood why Pete Carroll (a former DB himself) tolerated that. I'm sure Mays will the basics of "wrapping up" in the NFL; he's a bright kid.

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Commensurate with his status as the Senior Bowl's -- and college football's -- biggest rock star, there is a strong chance that he could have mediocre workouts yet still go in the Draft's Top 10, to the Jaguars. 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.
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you think its a safe bet to assume that someone who has made it to through 4 years of football at the top football university in the country without learning the fundamentals will learn them in the pros because he's bright? Where was the intelligence at USC?

BTW, I'm not being rhetorical.

On a few BBI favorites from this morning's session...

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Sean Weatherspoon’s play was poor today. He is a quick, nifty athlete that was able to immediately alter his angle of attack to make plays. He also flows well laterally to the play and shows a good amount of speed. Problem is he could not tackle anyone and Weatherspoon’s tackles were almost always broken, which resulted in gains for ball carriers.

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Daryl Washington is a nice athlete and did an effective job in coverage. He got depth on drops and easily ran downfield with tight ends.

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Vladimir Ducasse did see limited action at guard. His footwork and agility has yet to be an issue. His problems continue manifest from problems in his technique up top. Ducasse can be terribly inconsistent with his punch and aiming point. He is aggressive and quick off the snap in the run game.

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Tuesday Practice Notes: Finally, Iupati saw a few repetitions at left tackle in pass rush drills The guard by trade was beat badly on those few occasions. His feet and hands were not in sync…getting too wide with his handplay and too narrow in his footwork. As a result defensive end prospect Alex Carrington was able to beat Iupati easily, with one particularly spectacular encounter ending with the offensive lineman lying on his backside. Inside, his technique also remains inconsistent. Hands continue to be wide, though powerful when grasping a defender. He will overset initially, but has the athleticism to recover. A redeeming quality is his work ethic and consistent effort throughout the practice.

All of these blurbs were from TFY's site.

I thought he might be projected on the inside in a 4-3.

His value would go up if he's a consistent tackle but I like the idea of a mauler at guard.

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:

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NFL teams looking for a center should check out USC's Jeff Byers or NC State's Ted Larsen. Both looking good today.

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OK, so Terrence Cody won't win any bodybuilding contests but he just bullrushed NC State's center back five yards in a heartbeat.

to our 2nd, I want him in Blue badddd

USC produces good tacklers in general-- see for reference Brian Cushing, Clay Matthews, Kaluka Maiava, Rey Maulaluga, Cary Harris, and Kevin Ellison (all starters as rookies). I think the USC coaches gave Mays a pass because his tackling style DID result (in general) in taking people down. But in the NFL, he won't be able to get away with that. He won't be dwarfing RB's and WR's like he did in college, so he'll have to wrap people up and drag them down.

165 lbs is not going to cut it. Are there any 165 lb players in the NFL? That's tiny.

From what little I've seen of Washington, he strikes me as a good athlete and great football player. Do you know where he is projected to play in the NFL? MLB? Also, early projections on what round he where he will drafted? I'd guess 2nd or 3rd but I really have no idea.

Washington is most likely going to be a weakside backer in a 4-3. Should be a 2nd rounder.

The LB prospects are doomed!

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Former Giants D-Coordinator Bill Sheridan coaching up the linebackers

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Dexter McCluster burns Javier Arenas and makes a diving catch on 50 yard bomb by Tebow

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Taylor Mays missed a jam at the LOS on Riley Cooper in 1-on-1's.

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Dan Williams getting grilled for handle the double team poorly

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Annnnnd there is Tebows first fumbled snap in team drill[quote] [quote]Cardinals scouts saying some good things about S Taylor Mays

But I wouldn't completely rule out Washington staying inside in a 4-3 if he can add a bit more bulk to his frame.

Kyle Wilson, good. Brandon Ghee, bad.

Alex Carrington getting love.
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Just read on down
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