Evening folks, I'm sure a lot of you guys saw the Senior Bowl yesterday and have your own thoughts but here are a few of mine. Just a few short snippets from what was (in my opinion) a pretty entertaining game with plenty of talent on show and a lot of players that the Jets may have interest in.
First of all, this was one game. You can't put too much stock in just one game so take what you will from this and your own observations. There were some players who really impressed me, some that I thought looked out of their depth and some that I found really disappointing from a Jets perspective; again it was one game.
Impressive
Quinton Couples- I thought Couples had a fantastic game. His athleticism is off the charts and he was a match-up nightmare all night. He put pressure after pressure on the QB, used a variety of pass rushing moves to break through the line and looked to have a very high motor. He has the speed/power combination that would have scouts drooling and it's easy to see why his ceiling is so high. He has a long wingspan and looked motivated (biggest question mark?).
Doug Martin/Isaish Pead- Did Doug Martin's style remind anyone else of Kevinl Faulk? I loved this combination of runners, Martin the more physical back picking up the pass protection throwing blocks and grinding out some tough yards. Pead with the quick feet, quick cuts making people miss. Also the return attributes that Pead has. He is the perfect example of what the Senior Bowl can do to your stock. I don't think anyone raised their stock like Pead.
Mike Adams- Has Upshaw in his pocket most of the night. Definitely the best tackle on show for either team. He has great feet, plays with good pad level and has excellent size and strength. I think Adams cemented his first round stock with this weeks practise and the game. At the same time he may have really hurt Upshaw who tried everything and just got stone walled by the big Ohio Prospect.
Vinny Curry- I wrote about him yesterday and it was great to see him put some work in during the game last night. A very nice sack on Weeden and a sack on Nick Foles in the 3rd, he was putting pressure on the QB and getting into the backfield at will, he brought Gannaway down for a loss of 4 yards and forced Weeden into the Interception he threw. His timing on the snap counts was questioned but he jumped a few last night which helped him burst over the LOS. He took on big offensive lineman and came out on top. A great week for the Marshall prospect. 2 sacks, 1 tackle for loss, multiple pressures and a forced interception. Not much else the guy could have done.
Bobby Wagner- The Utah State Prospect had a great game, 7 tackles and an interception and the North's MVP. He has great open field tackling technique, very active in coverage. Got through for a tackle behind the line, batted down a ball at the line. A lot of good things from a small school guy like Wagner
Others- Harrison Smith, showed nice range across the field. Audie Cole had a good game, showed off his speed and power, sideline to sideline. Alameda Ta'amu plays with great passion and level, impressive. Joe Adams had some good catches and yards after the catch. Brandon Weeden, he had the interception but he shows good poise, has the arm and accuracy.
Disappointing
Courtney Upshaw- He has a lot of fans here but in this game he was well forgettable. Again it is just one game but to me he looked pretty slow off the snap. He did get a sack but Wilson held onto that ball 2 secounds too long which is a lifetime. It was more a QB/Coverage sack than anything Upshaw did. A sack is a sack though but I expected more.
DeVier Posey- I'm putting this here for the fact he dropped a couple balls and one was a touchdown. I don't want to judge the WR's too much on this game as the QB play was highly inconsistent and there were some times when the WR's were open only for the QB to miss the target.
Donnie Fletcher- I didn't rate many of the defensive backs in this game but I think Fletcher may have been the worst of the bunch. Missed tackles were the name of the game for defensive backs in this game. Fletcher let a lot of players get by him, he bit on several play-action passes and was exposed on all sorts of routes.
Chris Rainey- Was expecting a lot from Rainey as he looked lightning in shorts in practise. However I thought he played pretty stiff and didn't really show that burst or speed that he likely will need. Before the game I thought Percy Harvin, but I wasn't really impressed with anything that Rainey offered in this game.
Others- Kellen Moore, his arm strength or lack there of is a problem. Dwight Jones's route running was questionable at best and didn't look to be giving it much effort. Zebrie Sanders doesn't have the strength needed at the next level.