Senior Bowl: South Team Practice Report Day Three
Another good practice from the South team coached by the Washington Redskins staff. Lets get right to my notes from what I saw on NFL Network on day three of practice for the South team.
- There were some really good and interesting battles going on between the corners and wide receivers in one on one drills. First guy I took note of was corner Janoris Jenkins of North Alabama (after transferring from Florida). Jenkins reminded me a lot of DeAngelo Hall. He was constantly looking to break on the ball, and initially against Texas A&M receiver Jeff Fuller, he looked good. But then they started running post and go routes at him. Dwight Jones of North Carolina ran a post which Jenkins squatted on - meaning he waited for the receiver to make his break so he could then jump it. Jones made a cut, but it was to the post and ran right past him. Jenkins got lucky it was overthrown. Jenkins then squatted on Fuller on a go route, Fuller ran past him and beat him deep (about the only play Fuller made all day).
- Dwight "Bill" Bentley, the small school corner from Louisiana-Lafayette who we commented on yesterday continued to impress. He looked solid in press-man coverage getting physical at the line of scrimmage, but had the ability to flip his hips and run with the receiver as well. They ran a double move at him, he nearly got his feet tied up, but managed to recover and kept up with the receiver.
- Sticking with corners, Brandon Boykin from Georgia looked very good. He was all over Fuller when matched up against him, and managed to break up a pass to Jones on a quick comeback where it looked like Jones had boxed him out of it.
- Dwight Jones had a few up and down plays today. He's a slow accelerator, but if you let him get to speed he can run past you, just ask Jenkins.
- Juron Criner had another good day. He had one particular deep route where he shielded the defender away from the ball allowing it to drop over his shoulder without the defender being able to make a play, unfortunately the ball was overthrown.
Now once again I'll throw it over to Steve, in Mobile, for his take on what he saw during the South team practice (remember you can see his full report on his site here)
-QB Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State: Weeden continued to separate himself from the other South quarterbacks. He’s not perfect out there, but his instincts appear to be the best. I also get the sense that he has the best internal clock of getting rid of the ball.
-QB Nick Foles, Arizona: I thought Foles was better today, but still not as good as Monday’s practice. He threw behind receivers on a couple of occasions and continues to struggle at throwing to a spot as opposed to an open receiver.
-QB Ryan Lindley, San Diego State: Lindley’s cannon is unquestionable, but at times it seems like his nickname should be ‘Wild Thing’. The ball sails a lot on him.
-WR Joe Adams, Arkansas: Adams is lightening fast and changes direction really well. He ran some nice crisp routes I thought, and had a strong practice overall.
-RB Vic Ballard, Miss. State: Ballard showcases a real nice burst and hits the hole hard. He’s always keeping his legs churning. I was really impressed with his form in blitz pick-up drills. He stonewalled a number of top LB’s.
-RB Terrance Ganaway, Baylor: Runs really well, but was completely lost in blitz pick-up. He did everything wrong, lunged, lowered his head, didn’t set his feet, etc.
-C Ben Jones, Georgia: Jones is really struggling at both guard and center, not impressed with his anchor at all. He was allowing pressure in under 2 seconds at times. He also missed an assignment badly in team drills.
-T/G Jeff Allen, Illinois: Allen looked really good today, especially when asked to play inside. He could still be a RT long term, but versatility is huge for his draft status. He finished a number of blocks and pancaked Coples at one point.
-T Matt McCants, UAB: McCants gets better with every practice, but he still loses too many battles to the South’s pass rushers.
-DE Melvin Ingram, South Carolina: His quickness off the snap is apparent on every play, and it really causes a number of linemen to struggle to contain him.
-DE Malik Jackson, Tennessee: Jackson was a late add, but he is making the most of his opportunity. He generated a number of pressures today, and looked nearly as good as the ‘big 3′ at the defensive end position. Also showed a real good work ethic and was complimented at least once by the D-line coach.
As I said, don't forget to check out Steve's full report here, and continue to check back in with his site Fanspeak.com for more Senior Bowl updates. Also you can check out his NFL Draft Page for more details and updates throughout the draft season.
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Truth is I'm not sure.
It looks like both teams are running some sort of west coast offense system. There was plenty of bootlegs and play-action in the offense v defense. On defense it looks like a generic 4-3 base scheme, as defenses aren’t allowed to blitz, so I’d assume both the offenses are pretty similar as well.
according to Mike Shanahan its basically a watered down Zone system, and it looks to be true for his passing offense as well
you see some more rollouts and boots, with WC principals. I’d say there is a good mix of both long and intermediate throws as well.
Steveospeak - Content Manager of Fanspeak.com
Have the Redskins been interacting with any of the North players in particular?
Or are they even aloud too?
Redskins @RGIII - 2012
They are allowed to yeah.
Its not like the coaches are going to be stealing game plans for a senior bowl. You’d have to ask the guys who are there if they’ve seen any Redskins guys talking to people. All I can tell you is what JimmyK told me and put on his blog.
honestly I've seen them with multiple players, but really havent taken notice
these teams are meeting with every single player (usually multiple times) some might be for a smoke screen, but really it is just due diligence.
Steveospeak - Content Manager of Fanspeak.com
Focus Steve!
You’re the only set of boots on the ground. We need your best sir.
Redskins @RGIII - 2012
by Copious 1 on Jan 25, 2012 9:37 PM EST via Android app up reply actions
haha
i know fans love to see it but i promise you it’s maybe the most hyped up thing here. Honestly the only thing newsworthy would be a list of guys that a team didn’t meet with, since that would mean they were black balled early.
Steveospeak - Content Manager of Fanspeak.com
Loving this stuff. Thanks again guys for the descriptions on all the players and their progress. It will be extremely interesting how these things play out on draft day. I’m keeping notes and we’ll compare them to our draft to see how things pan out. How do Hayward do today?
I thought Hayward had another strong day, in fact all the corners on the South team did
there’s a LOT of mid-round talent at both the CB and WR positions that I really like
Steveospeak - Content Manager of Fanspeak.com
Which is why it would be so nice to trade back and acquire a bunch of extra mid-round picks
See what I did there?
by StephanHart on Jan 26, 2012 11:10 AM EST up reply actions
haha GET OUT OF MY HEAD
morning practice got rained out and the afternoon one will probably be as well i’ll try to get some more content from my notes up, and give some more general draft strategies.
Steveospeak - Content Manager of Fanspeak.com
by Steve Shoup on Jan 26, 2012 11:36 AM EST up reply actions
Senior bowl question...Sorta?
Anyone, help me understand the draft grading when it comes to Weeden
If his skills and talent places him as a first round player than why is he spoken of as a 3 or 4th round player. It seems he should be listed as a 1st round player with his age dropping his standing like any other player who is a first round player whose injury history, off field issues etc. has dropped them to lower rounds…But some team is always willing to take a chance.
Seems to be backwards with age and not sure why?
The main worry is that
most quarterbacks take anywhere between a year and 3 years to get fully accustomed to the NFL. By that point, Weeden could be between 30 and 32, meaning he probably only has 5 years left max, with his play likely to start declining after about 34/5. So hypothetically you could only have 2/3 years of good production from Weeden, meaning he will fall behind less talented guys because they have long term potential to be developed.
But Weeden will be arguing that because of his age and maturity, he will be able to transition to the NFL quicker than that. He’ll be hoping that he can have an Andy Dalton like transition. It will certainly be interesting to monitor as the pre-draft process goes on.
haha and that is exactly what Weeden is saying
and FWIW i’m in that camp for Weeden. I don’t see a 2-4 year transition period. Year one might not be perfect, but i think it will be playable.
Steveospeak - Content Manager of Fanspeak.com
+1
I don’t care about his age. I think the path he has followed has made him more “transition-proof” if you get me. Having played baseball at a high level, he should understand the work ethic involved to succeed at the next level.
And I don’t have any disillusionment about him being our franchise guy for the next decade. I just see him as an immediate upgrade at the QB position that should have a good ROI.
agreed
even Shanny said in his presser last night about how long the average guy plays (4-6 years) and if a guy can help you win for that length of time whats the issue.
Steveospeak - Content Manager of Fanspeak.com
I think the other difference between the two age vs injury/off field is that the age can't change
injury and off the field issues can. Look at Janoris Jenkins, off the field issues will have likely dropped him some, but if a team believes that is all behind him, then its worth the risk for them. Same with guys with injuries. If their medical staff clears them then it really isn’t a huge deal.
Steveospeak - Content Manager of Fanspeak.com

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