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The Ultimate Source for your Ph.D. in Pigskin |
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2008 East – West Shrine Game Notes Houston, Texas The East-West Shrine game is always exciting for me. Like spring training arouses baseball fans, it is truly the kickoff to the evaluation process for this year's draft. Of course, it tends to be the most busy time of year, but it certainly is a labor of love. OK, OK, enough of the romantic crap. After watching practices and the game, there was no doubt that the talent level at this year's game was significantly stronger than last year's. In addition, the East team was being coached by Dick Vermeil, one of my favorite people in the game. His passion and civility to fans and players is unmatched by most coaches who view both as nuisance (even though they say the contrary) that should be a part of their job description. Anyway, without further adieu, here are my key thoughts on what I saw this week: As everyone's been saying, this is the deepest crop of running backs I've ever seen. Outside of Darren McFadden, I don't think there's another game-changer, but the quality is unprecedented. On the other hand, with the exception of one, the quarterbacks were disappointing at best. Here are the six players that improved their stock the most: 1. Josh Johnson, 6'3", 205 lbs. - QB, San Diego: this guy is the small school version of Vince Young, but with a better arm. Having not seen him during the year, I went in with an open mind, but it was difficult from what I'd heard from the scouts. And trust me, he delivered. He's a dual threat with a good arm and terrific accuracy. And no this is not a typo - he completed 68% of his passes for 43 touchdowns and only one interception! Obviously, with numbers like that, he understands the game and is an excellent runner to boot. The only possible issue is that I would like to see him add some weight for the combine, as well as his NFL career. It would let me know he would be capable and not lose some of his athletic ability. 2. BenJarvis Green-Ellis, 5'10", 225 lbs. - RB, Ole Miss: he's one of a rare breed that comes out of college as a full package. In other words, in addition to running the football, he understands his responsibility in protecting the quarterback as well. He was a physical guy, who simply ran people over every time he touched the ball. I heard a story this week that is proof of the guy's toughness and love of the game. During his junior season, both of his front teeth were know out in a game. After getting patched up quickly, he returned to the game and was quite effective. However, later on, when the official saw the blood gushing from his mouth, he kicked him out for his own safety. How many teams are going to not love this kid? 3. Thomas Brown, 5'8", 200 lbs. - RB, Georgia: Brown showed great burst and displayed skills sought after by the zone-blocking teams: he made simply one cut and hit the hole - no dancing. He reminded me a lot of Mike Hart, in that he simply would not go down, and Ahmad Bradshaw, because of his strength while running up the gut. Like Bradshaw, though, what will hurt him most is his size (which is why I ranked him slightly below Ellis). Many scouts remarked that they weren't sure he could carry a full load. 4. Jaime Silva, 5'11", 208 lbs. - SS, Boston College: he may have been the least athletic guy on the field, but he made up for it with great instincts and motivation. Whether it was in practice or the game, he was always around the ball. Also, his technique was unparalleled. Once he had his hands on you, it was over. 5. Dexter Jackson, 5'10", 180 lbs. - WR, Appalachian State: his speed was unquestionable in that he was the fastest player in Houston. He clearly outran everyone and would have scored a couple times in the game had he not been so horribly underthrown. Once again, size could be a problem, but his kick return prowess could land him a spot on most teams. It also helps that he had his best games in the biggest ones. He single-handedly made the Michigan secondary look stationary and he played very well in the I-AA championship. 6. Allen Patrick, 6'1", 196 lbs. - RB, Oklahoma: like Brown, he showed power in a small frame and hit the hole quickly. Surprisingly, in what is always a knock on running backs from Oklahoma, he looked very natural catching the ball out of the backfield. Unfortunately, he tweaked his MCL on one of the first plays of the game and did not return. Here are the three players that should have stayed home: 1. Anthony Morelli, 6'4", 232 lbs. - QB, Penn State: simply put, he was a trainwreck. What hurt him in school, killed him this week. He made bad decisions and stared down receivers. He has a big arm, but it gets him into trouble when he tries to make throws very few NFL quarterbacks could. 2. Sam Keller, 6'4", 230 lbs. - QB, Nebraska: because of his unorthodox, and mostly poor delivery, he was extremely inaccurate and had little zip on his throws. He had several passes batted down as well. This was not a good showing for a guy that already had durability issues raising a red flag. 3. JoLonn Dunbar, 6'0", 233 lbs. - LB, Boston College: it wasn't that he was bad, as much as it was surprising how ordinary he looked. I expected much more athletic and playmaking ability coming into the week, but it just wasn't there. |
