1^st quarter

14:55: Ball with a good explosive run, initial explosion and then runs through a guy for a gain of 8.

14:20: Ball finds a hole, converts 2^nd and 2.

13:31: Ball with a decent 4 yard run.

13:09: Ball with a big hole, nice cut back, doesn’t go down for first contact.

11:28: Ball with a powerful 7 yard 1^st down run.

10:28: Ball to the outside, waits for a block and then north to south for a decent pickups. Decent explosion and speed. 7 yards.

9:30: Ball up the middle against a stacked box, still able to get 4 yards somehow, though his offensive line had a lot to do with it.

8:29: Ball to the sideline, forced out of bounds after about 3.

7:42: Ball powers straight down the middle for a sizeable touchdown, 9 yards.

6:20: Cunningham goes up and gets one. Nice hands and vertical ability.

1:54: Ball up the middle on 3^rd and 4 on a draw, converts, explosive run.

0:25: Trenton Robinson, Michigan State safety, with an interception. Great ball skills, horrible ball skills by Wisconsin wide receiver Nick Toon on that one. Looked like a miscommunication between him and Russell Wilson, who made a poor decision throwing into to coverage and not the most accurate throw. Nice hustle by Wilson, however, to actual be the one to chase down Robinson and tackle for him for no gain. You don’t see quarterbacks do that very often.

2^nd quarter

13:56: Montee Ball with a run up the middle. Jerel Worthy, a non factor to this point, hits ball in the backfield. Ball is strong, but Worthy is stronger and had momentum. Tackle for loss. Worthy needs to make more like this to maintain his status as a mid first rounder. He had been dominated by Wisconsin’s awesome offensive line to this point.

12:59: Cunningham with a 9 yard gain on a short, quick slant. Kirk Cousins was not accurate, but Cunningham bails him back with nice hands to catch a ball behind him.

10:39: Ball up the middle against a stacked box for 4.

10:05: 2^nd bad mistake of the game by Nick Toon. False start as a receiver. Bad. Bad bad bad.

7:50: Poor blitz pickup by Ball.

7:34: Ball cuts, nice patience between the tackles, cutting in and out a few times to make something out of nothing. He does leave with a head injury, though.

1:20: Cousins over the middle to Cunningham, awesome route run, nice hands and an even better run after the catch to break free for a 35 yard touchdown with several defenders in the area when he caught it.

 

3^rd quarter

10:21: Ball wide open out of the backfield for a sizable gain on the outside. 22 yards, forced out of bounds eventually.

9:43: Trenton Robinson, a former cornerback and a rising prospect at free safety for Michigan State, gets a nice tackle for loss on a Russell Wilson outside run.

9:03: Ball, back in the game, up the middle against a blitz, a lot of space, but only 4 yards. Good closing speed by Michigan State’s defense.

8:33: Ball on a nice chip block.

7:33: One play after recording a sack, Wisconsin middle linebacker Chris Borland has a tackle for a loss. The sophomore is having a huge day after 15 tackles last week. He’s really coming into his own and is someone to look out for down the road.

4:24: Ball with a short inside run.

2:03: Cunningham with another 3^rd down catch, nice hands to catch it in a tight window.

1:33: Cunningham on a quick slant, able to get a few yards after the catch. 8 yards on 1^st down.

4^th quarter

14:55: Cunningham with a nice run block on an inside run. He’s had a few nice run blocks tonight and has shown a good willingness to block on the outside, which is half the battle with receivers.

12:15: Aaron Henry, one of the top safety prospects this year, with a tackle for loss.

10:58: Cunningham blanketed, but makes an awesome catch in the corner of the end zone for a 2 point conversion. Awesome leaping catch.

10:00: Ball targeted, but inaccurate under pressure. Ball could have made a better play on the ball.

8:31: Ball with a ton of space, explosive 21 yard run.

7:59: Cunningham targeted, but he wasn’t open. Not a good throw either. Cunningham did the best he could.

6:54: Ball with an excellent block in the backfield to give Wilson time to throw.

4:23: Ball takes a ton of room to the inside and turns it into 11 yards. Nice cut back, but this was almost all on the line.

3:12: Ball stuffed in the backfield on an outside run. Excellent penetration by Michigan State.

3:07: Ricky Wagner with a poorly timed and costly holding penalty.

1:39: Nick Toon hasn’t done much tonight, at least not much positive, but he does an excellent job to come back to his quarterback on a deep go route and catch it for 43 yards. Also, great job by Wilson of surviving under pressure and still making an awesome deep throw, right on the money.

1:26: Wilson dumps it off to Ball, who runs in untouched for a 2 yard touchdown.

0:36: Cunningham catches underneath for about 13 yards.

0:04: Aaron Henry with a clutch coverage to force an incompletion with 4 seconds left in the game.

0:00: Montee Ball finished with 115 yards and a score on 18 carries with 2 catches for 22 yards and another score in this game, which is very impressive considering how good Michigan State’s run defense is, even without William Gholston, who was suspended for this contest after trying to rip Denard Robinson’s head off against Michigan. Wisconsin’s offensive line certainly helped, as the stud inside duo of Kevin Zietler at guard and Peter Konz at center absolutely dominated potential first round pick Jerel Worthy, with the exception of a few plays. Konz and Zietler are both rising prospects and are in the discussion to be among the first interior linemen off the board.

Back to Ball, as good as his line was, when Ball left the game a little bit with a concussion, their offense really sputtered. Ball’s backup James White, a talented back in his own right, was only able to rush for 42 yards on 11 carries, which helps Ball’s stock. Ball runs bigger than the 5-11 215 he is and he has decent, but not great breakaway speed. He can pass block and pass catch and figures to compete with Lamar Miller and Chris Polk to be the first back off the board after Trent Richardson.

Now back to Jerel Worthy, this game certainly didn’t help his stock. He was a non factor for most of the game and while Wisconsin’s offensive line is very, very good, so are most of the lines in the NFL. Worthy finished the game with 4 tackles, 2 for loss, but really didn’t make an impact with Zietler and Konz able to double team him with Gholston out. This game won’t hurt his stock too much, but he still looks like just a bottom half of the first round type guy, even in a weak defensive tackle class.

Russell Wilson had his first bad game of the season going 14 for 21 for 223 yards, 2 touchdowns, but 2 costly picks. At 5-11, he isn’t a prototypical quarterback, but he’s a leader and he throws the ball at a good angle. He also has a good arm, especially for his size and he’s mobile. I think he’s got a lot of developmental tools and looks like a mid rounder, a la Troy Smith, a very similar player also out of the Big 10, but this wasn’t his best game. He gets a bit of a pass because Michigan State has an awesome defense, but he remains a 4^th rounder or so in my book.

Speaking of Michigan State’s awesome defense, safety Trenton Robinson had yet another good game for Michigan State and is rising up into the day 2 range possibly in a weak safety class. In 7 games, he has 32 tackles, 2 picks, 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack, and 1 pass deflection. Wilson’s top receiver, Nick Toon didn’t help his stock either. He had two really bad plays, a miscommunication and a lack of awareness on Russell Wilson’s pick and a false start. He also only caught 2 balls, but had a very nice 43 yard catch in the 4^th quarter. He’s a rising prospect who could be in the round 2 range now, but this game at least halted his rise.

As for BJ Cunningham, he looked very good on short, intermediate and deep routes. He has very nice hands and bailed out his quarterback on a couple occasions. He had 6 catches for 106 yards and a touchdown, not including an awesome catch for a two point conversion. He’s got solid breakaway speed and nice size at 6-2 210. In 7 games, he already has 48 catches for a career high 723 yards and 3 touchdowns. He looks like a potential day 2 prospect and could find himself in the first 2 or 3 rounds if he keeps this up.

Cunningham’s quarterback, Kirk Cousins, had yet another solid game. He went 22 for 31 for 290 yards and 3 touchdowns with no picks. He led an awesome game winning drive, Hail Mary touchdown and all. Cunningham bailed him out on a few plays and he still isn’t the most consistent, accurate, or dominant player, but he still is a solid day 2 pick because of his leadership, his arm strength, his experience, and his flashes of brilliance. All the tools are there, but he’s not the most consistent player and he doesn’t stand out on tape.

 

Spotlight #1: Nebraska CB Alfonzo Dennard 

Spotlight #2: Michigan State S Trenton Robinson 

1st quarter

12:58: Cousins throws into double coverage. Dennard in there. Good recovery speed to make a play on the ball.

12:01: Cousins throws into tight coverage. Cunningham is beat to the ball by a linebacker, picked.

11:07: Robinson does a good job of finding the ball. Good speed and wrap up on a tackle.

10:20: Robinson with a solid tackle on a quarterback run.

8:12: Dennard knocked off the play well on a screen.

7:12: Robinson takes a poor angle to the ball, shoved off the play easily.

0:41: Dennard beats Cunningham to the ball on a slant. Deflection.

2^nd quarter

12:17: Dennard with a tackle for no gain on an outside run.

12:01: Cousins throws to Cunningham into double coverage, Dennard with a play on the ball. Pass deflected.

11:00: Dennard gets into the backfield on an outside run. Pushed off the play well by a blocker.

9:38: Robinson in on a pile near the line of scrimmage.

6:55: Cousins takes a coverage sack from Baker Steinkuhler, a talented junior defensive tackle who probably won’t come out this year.

5:39: Dennard almost has in pick in double coverage. He hasn’t done a lot of one on one covering tonight, but he has 4 pass deflections in almost a half in double coverage. He’s the one making all the plays. Meanwhile, Kirk Cousins keeps throwing deep into double coverage. Very poor decision making.

4:33: Dennard blocked off on an outside run.

1:43: Cousins has a pick dropped. He’s having a terrible game.

 

3^rd quarter

14:49: Robinson in on a short tackle.

10:24: Robinson pancaked on a reverse.

9:36: Robinson run over.

8:18: Dennard on Cunningham again, he almost gets his 5 pass deflection, but instead it’s just incomplete. Kirk Cousins is 4 of 16 so far tonight.

6:10: Coverage sack by Nebraska again.

5:58: Robinson with a tackle for a gain of 3.

3:02: Robinson in on a tackle on the outside.

1:38: Robinson brings the ball carrier down from behind after a big gain. Play called back after a penalty.

1:19: Robinson whiffs on a tackle for loss.

4^th

13:12: Dennard with a nice open field tackle.

12:11: Dennard and Lavonte David doubling a receiver. This time David almost picks it off. Pass deflection.

12:02: Coverage sack for Nebraska.

11:16: Dennard allows a short catch on 4^th and 13. He kept the play in front of him in coverage. That’s what he was supposed to do, but he missed the tackle. First down.

9:59: Dennard blocked with an excellent block on a reverse.

8:23: Lavonte David with a tackle for a loss.

4:45: Another coverage sack.

2:46: Robinson in on a short tackle.

1:46: Robinson with a tackle for loss.

0:00: Nebraska had a very simple game plan. Take away DJ Cunningham. In 7 games coming in, Cunningham caught 48 balls for 723 yards and 3 scores. He’s by far his team’s leading receiver and Kirk Cousins loves throwing to him. They had double coverage on him all night. Alfonzo Dennard, once a consensus first round pick who has been slowed by injuries this season, was the cornerback on him on almost every play. In addition, Nebraska always put a safety or a linebacker on him as well. Lavonte David, a day 2 prospect and one of the best cover linebackers in college football, was that linebacker on several occasions. That game plan worked. BJ Cunningham didn’t have a catch.

Kirk Cousins seemed completely lost without Cunningham. I noted earlier this season that Cunningham often would try to force things to Cunningham, his favorite target. It had been working to this point. Cunningham was one of the Big 10’s leading receivers and Cousins looked like a day 2 prospect going 136 of 204 (66.7%) for 1707 yards (8.4 YPA), 11 touchdowns, and 4 picks in 7 games. However, tonight Cousins went a miserable 11 of 27 for 86 yards and a pick in a 24-3 loss.

Cousins seemed determined to force it to Cunningham even though Nebraska was focused on stopping him. He refused to check down, in favor of forcing it to his favorite receiver deep against double coverage. He may have only had 1 pick, but Nebraska’s defenders got their hands on at least a half dozen balls, probably around in the 7-8 deflections range. He really displayed poor decision making and it should drop his stock into the early day 3 range.

Cunningham should also see his stock fall a bit. Cunningham looked like a breakout star coming into this game, but he couldn’t do anything against double coverage even though he was targeted so many times. He was getting beat to the ball by linebackers and cornerbacks alike and Alfonzo Dennard flat out outplayed him.

Dennard had the type of awesome game we were expecting him to have coming into the season. He had 4 pass deflections and only allowed one catch, a short catch on 4^th and 13, though he did whiff on the tackle and allow the first down. Yes, he did have help all game, but he was the one making all the plays and he really showed everything you like out of a cornerback in coverage. Not only did he have 4 deflections, his tough coverage helped force at least 3 or 4 coverage sacks against Kirk Cousins.

He struggled a bit against the run, but if he keeps playing like this, he’ll move himself back into the top 15 range. He finally looks healthy after struggling with injuries to start the season and now has half a season to prove himself as the #1 cornerback. Remember, he was the #2 guy last year to Prince Amukamara, though Dennard played very well in that role.

The other spotlight in this game was Trenton Robinson. The former cornerback looks finally healthy after a history of leg injuries. He had 8 tackles in this game and looked sharp in coverage, though he is only 5-10 195 and it showed against the run. He had a good number of tackles, but he didn’t look like a strong tackler and he did miss a few tackles. Unless he can convert back to cornerback, he won’t be anything higher than a late round pick. On the season, he has 39 tackles and 2 picks.

 

 

Did the Eagles overpay Vick? 100 million dollars over 6 years with 40 million guaranteed is a little much for him. The only quarterbacks making more than him are Tom Brady and Peyton Manning and he’s not on that level. He’s on roughly the same level as Philip Rivers and Ben Roethisberger, both of whom are making noticeably more than him. He’s won 2 career playoff games and no Super Bowls. He’s injury prone and teams were able to slow him down late last season as the once dominant Eagles lost in the first round of the playoffs to Green Bay and lost week 16 to Minnesota.

He’ll be 37 at the end of this deal and won’t have the same speed he has now then. This deal also limits what they can do with DeSean Jackson as it looks like he’ll have to be franchised after the season and a deal will have to be worked out with him then. Considering how much money they have given to outside players this offseason, he can’t be too happy about that and that’s never a good thing. Also, in order to resign Jackson at the end of the season, they’d probably have to move Asante Samuel. However, that shouldn’t matter to them much now since they’re going all in this season and if Michael Vick wins one Super Bowl over the course of this contract, he’s worth this deal and I think that’s certainly possible.

Grade: B

 

My name is Michael Morris and I am currently going to school at Sacramento City College. I was given the chance to write for sacramentopress.com through a teacher I took in the latter part of last year.  She informed me they were looking for writers so I sent in some work and now have the chance to cover NBA and Minor League baseball games in Sacramento for Sac Press. 

I played baseball and a little football in High School and realized early on that I wouldn’t be playing sports much further past High School.  And since I won’t be able to play on the court or on the field the next best thing for me would be to cover the players and teams that do.  I’m thankful for the opportunities that I have been given and hope you enjoy reading about what I love doing.

I plan on attending San Diego State in the fall of 2011 and look to gain experience in Sports Journalism before that time comes.

You can follow me on twitter at Mr_MJMorris and check out my blog/archives at http://michaeljmorris.wordpress.com.

Questions and comments are always welcome! Go Niners, Kings, Athletics and Giants!!!

 

Michael Huff had a very good year last year, but he’s that was his first season like that and it just so happens it was in a contract year. Even if he keeps up the way he played last year, 8 million dollars per year for a safety is too much for someone like Huff and I doubt he keeps it up for the entirety of his 4 year contract. Stupid contracts like this one, Stanford Routt’s (3 years 31.5 million), Richard Seymour’s (2 years 30 million), and Kamerion Wimbley’s (5 years 48 million) are the reason this team couldn’t resign Nnamdi Asomugha or Zach Miller and is still over 10 million over the cap.

Grade: D

 

 

Wide receiver

Notre Dame

6-3 220

Draft board overall prospect rank: #10

Draft board overall wide receiver rank: #2

Overall rating: 89 (Solid 1st round pick)

40 time: 4.47

Games watched: Notre Dame/Michigan, Notre Dame/Wake Forest

Positives

·         Great size (6-3 220)

·         Excellent 40 for his size (4.47)

·         Experienced 4 year starter

·         Incredibly productive college player who improved every season (48/719/7, 44/795/5, 79/1025/12, 100/1147/9)

·         Excellent body control

·         End zone threat

·         Wide catch radius

·         Big bodied possession receiver

·         Produced in spite of inconsistent quarterbacking

·         Tough to tackle in the open field

·         Makes tough catches against tough coverage

·         Big, reliable hands

·         Pro-Style experience

·         Great route runner

·         Intelligent player

·         In excellent shape

·         Hard working player who turned his life around

·         Physical and beats jams at the line of scrimmage

Negatives

·         Not as fast as his 40 time

·         Struggles to separate at times

·         Not much of a deep threat

·         Might not be fast enough to be a #1 receiver at the next level

·         Past legal troubles

·         Past issues with durability, though he’s been healthy for 2 years

NFL Comparison: Dwayne Bowe

As a prospect, I compare Michael Floyd to Dwayne Bowe. Bowe was a first round pick in 2007, but there were questions about whether or not he had the speed and deep ability to be a legitimate #1 receiver. There were some of those questions with Floyd too, but he answered some of those questions with a solid 40 time at The Combine, but that doesn’t erase that he looks like a 4.5 or 4.6 player on tape.

He makes up for that with great size (6-3 220) and physicality. He goes over the middle and uses his body well to post up defenders like a power forward. He’s got vertical leaping ability and is also an end zone threat. He’s incredibly smart and productive in his college career, despite working with an inconsistent batch of quarterbacks. He’s also tough to tackle in the open field and a great blocker. In this way, he’s a lot like Dwayne Bowe. Bowe doesn’t have top level speed, but he’s still emerged as a solid #1 wide receiver.

There are some concerns about Michael Floyd’s off the field activity. He’s had 3 alcohol related arrests at his time in Notre Dame and was temporarily kicked off the team last spring. However, those aren’t a major concern for me. Notre Dame isn’t the type of school that just lets you back on the football team just because you’re talented. He had to earn his way back onto the football field and he did so by cleaning up his life, changing his diet, his activities, and getting in great shape. That proves his love of football and he responded by having the best season of his career. If I were an NFL team, I would not worry about the character stuff with him unless something startling came out in an interview.

Compared to Justin Blackmon, Floyd has better size and strength, but Blackmon has more speed. The best way to describe it is to say that Floyd has elite size and strength and average speed and Blackmon has above average size and speed. Neither are going to be elite wide receiver at the next level, but both should be solid to low end #1 wide receivers. They’re not Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson, Calvin Johnson, etc, but rather Steve Johnson (Blackmon) and Dwayne Bowe (Floyd). They’ll probably be top 15 at their positions, but not top 5 or anything.

Both are borderline top 10 prospects. I have Blackmon rated as 90 and Floyd as 89, meaning they’re both on the cusp of being top 10 prospects. In reality, Blackmon will almost definitely come off the board first. Floyd’s stock starts as soon as Blackmon is off the board. He should come off the board anywhere from 7 on. Miami and Buffalo at 8 and 10 will both give him long looks, as will Arizona at 13. The Jets at 16 seems like the bottom of his stock and a team might trade up for him before then.

 

 

I never thought Bush was a starting caliber back. Remember, he averaged just 3.8 yards per carry and less than 4 yards per carry in 7 of his last 8 starts last season in his only season as a starter with Darren McFadden hurt. So I’m glad no one signed him as a starter and no one paid him as a starter. He’s getting good #2 back money, 14 million over 4 years with 7 million guaranteed, which is very reasonable for him.

The only problem is that the Bears have Matt Forte and they don’t really need a good #2 back so I don’t understand paying one, even if they are getting a bargain. 3.5 million per year for 5-7 carries per game, barring injury, doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, nor does it make a whole lot of sense to significantly cut into Matt Forte’s carries for an inferior option. I guess this gives them leverage in contract negotiations with Matt Forte, but this deal still doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. If signing Bush is the reason they eventually decide not to pay Forte what he’s worth long term, this deal makes even less sense.

Update: This signing seems to have pissed Matt Forte off. He tweeted “there’s only so many times a man that has done everything he’s been asked to do can be disrespected!” and his agent said “to sign yet another running back, prior to completing a contract with Matt suggests disregard for Matt and his contribution to the Bears.” Forte could now hold out into training camp or longer. He’s outperformed his contract for 4 years and deserves to be paid as much as he’s worth. He has every right to be pissed off and pissing off your best player is never a good thing.

Grade: F

 

 

Middle Linebacker 

Kentucky

6-2 256

40 time: 4.84

Draft board overall prospect rank: #116

Draft board middle linebacker rank: #10

Overall rating: 66*

3/1/10: He hurt his knee late last season, but chose to run the 40, which appears to be a mistake after he ran a 4.99. He can make that up with his Pro Day, but questions about the health of that knee are going to be there, which hurts him a lot because he’s a mid round prospect and, as a mid round prospect, you’re one flaw away from going in the 6^th or 7^th or even undrafted. For what it’s worth, 31 reps on the bench press showed his strength and what kind of player he can be when healthy.

1/23/10: He could have gone in the 2^nd round, because of his size, 6-2 258, experience in a 3-4 at Kentucky, and the fact that he was coming off of an amazing season for a 3-4 middle linebacker with 105 tackles and a sack, but then he got hurt in his bowl game and may miss both the combine and his pro day. How teams view his injured knee could determine if he gets drafted in the 2^nd or 3^rd round or the 4^th or 5^th. He’s a prototypical 3-4 middle linebacker, but his agility and timed speed aren’t good, projected 4.74-4.78 40, so I’m not sure what other positions he’ll be able to play or if he’ll fit a 4-3 at all.

            7/28/09: Micah Johnson is a very physical middle linebacker who is the prototypical 3-4 in terms of size. He’s very strong and has a great initial burst and both of those make him a great run stopping middle linebacker. He doesn’t have good sideline to sideline or chase speed, but he can plug up holes as a 3-4 middle linebacker and stuff running backs. His lack of timed speed will hurt him. A 40 in the 4.7s isn’t good at 255 pounds. He doesn’t have a lot of pass rushing abilities. He’s a very intense player and great leader, but he can be overaggressive and over pursue which gets him in trouble. He can keep up with tight ends in pass coverage and is a very tough physical matchup for even some of the biggest tight ends. He has trouble picking up faster running backs out of the backfield. He isn’t versatile. He’ll probably only be able to play 3-4 middle linebacker in the NFL. He’s not fast enough to play in a 4-3 or a cover 2. He’s not a good enough pass rusher. to play 3-4 rush linebacker or 4-3 end. His strength and burst make him a very good 3-4 run stuffing middle linebacker, but his lack of timed speed and versatility makes him a 3^rd round prospect at best. He projects as a good 3-4 depth guy in the next level with borderline starter potential. 

NFL Comparison: Takeo Spikes 

*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here

Spotlight #1: Virginia Tech CB Jayron Hosley 

Spotlight #2: Miami OLB Sean Spence 

1^st quarter

14:55: Jayron Hosley blankets a short curl route.

14:09: Miami quarterback looks Hosley’s way, nothing open, keeps it for a small gain.

13:23: Hosley outmuscled on a run play by a blocking receiver.

12:46: Hosley finishes off a receiver with a tackle after a big catch. The receiver was not Hosley’s responsibility.

6:05: Virginia Tech senior receiver Jarrett Boykin with his 3^rd catch of the game. He’s Virginia Tech’s all time leading receiver and having a nice game so far.

5:48: Spence fills a gap well, great vision and speed, combines for tackle for loss of 5, not a strong tackle though, needed help.

2:17: Hosley in a zone, reads quarterback’s eyes, jumps the route, almost picks it off, but drops it. It went right through his hands. Excellent job to make a play on the ball, but he needs to come up with that.

2:06: Hosley with a nice 18 yard punt return, shifty in the open field.

1:02: On a pass play, Spence drops into coverage, comes back to ball after quarterback decides to run with it and puts a big hit on a bigger quarterback. Logan Thomas, Virginia Tech’s quarterback, is a 6-6 245 former tight end, whereas Spencer is undersized at 6-0 225, but you have to like the instincts, hustle and fearlessness on this play.

0:36: Spence in on another tackle.

2^nd quarter

7:42: Spence with great closing speed, angle, and vision on a tackle either for a loss or no gain, it was close.

6:31: Hosley in on a tackle near the line of a bigger back, not a strong tackle, but a solid effort.

4:03: Hosley’s side targeted, very inaccurate, closer to him than any receiver, but still far out of his reach. Nice effort to try for the pick anyway.

2:10: Spence looks very smooth dropping into coverage, he has all night.

1:51: Spence with nice hustle, as soon as the ball is in the air, he hustles over to the area of the receiver, even though it’s not his responsibility. Still a completion, but a nice effort, excellent motor.

1:43: Spence on a sideline tackle.

1:14: Spence around the ball all night, fights off blocks, big hit, very impressive player. He didn’t look 6-0 225 on that play.

 

3^rd quarter

13:27: Spence drops into coverage and there’s a fumble recovered by an offensive lineman. Spence does an excellent job to come back to the ball and make the tackle on an offensive lineman who probably has about 80-90 pounds on him. Fearless, great instincts once again.

12:47: Spence does a great job in coverage tackling a ball carrier on a screen for a loss.

11:10: Kyle Fuller with a tackle on a run. Fuller is Virginia Tech’s “other” cornerback and he’s had several impressive plays tonight, especially against the run. Fuller is only a sophomore and could be a high pick in 2013 or 2014.

9:01: Spence in on another tackle, great angle to ball.

7:01: Spence muscled off a run play with good run blocking.

5:42: Spence blocked inside early, disengages, bounces to the outside and chases down the ball carrier from behind.

2:42: Hosley is timid on a run play.

0:34: Hosley has a pass completed in his area and is content to let the other 2 guys tackle, not willing to stick his nose in there to make sure he’s down.

4^th quarter

14:23: Hosley again won’t stick his nose in on a running play, jumps over a guy trying to bring a ball carrier down. He needs to be in there to support his teammate. Terrible effort and hustle.

13:35: Hosley against a 6-5 receiver, can’t defend the fade in the end zone. Nothing he can do there at 5-10 175.

13:05: Jarrett Boykin with a 60 yard touchdown. He’s having a huge game, abusing Miami’s young secondary.

11:50: Hosley with an absolutely dreadful effort on a tackle of a ball carrier on a long run, could have stopped it 10-15 yards earlier.

9:14: Hosley in on a tackle on a long run again, weak tackle, but Miami’s Lamar Miller, the ball carrier, is tough to bring down. Miller, a redshirt sophomore, is on fire now after getting just 6 carries in the first half.

8:08: Spence pancaked. His lack of size was noticeable there.

6:14: Spence locks down underneath man, forces quarterback to flush the pocket past the line of scrimmage and then just a boneheaded decision by Logan Thomas with an illegal forward pass.

5:55: Hosley disengages from wide receiver, gets a tackle on Lamar Miller, not the strongest tackle, but better than his other ones. Again Lamar Miller is tough to bring down.

5:23: Kyle Fuller with a huge big play saving tackle on the running back. He’s just a sophomore, but he’s been Hosley’s antithesis tonight. He’ll be worth a look in a year or two.

2:54: Hosley poor angle on a long run for touchdown. He could have stopped the touchdown had he filled the gap instead of whatever he decided to do. 34-31 Miami now late. If Virginia Tech loses, this play is why. Lazy. Poor motor.

1:43: Spence pancaked again, unfortunately.

1:37: Spence in on a tackle on a quarterback keeper near the line.

0:30: Hosley allows short catch and then a nice force out of bounds, smart prevent play to avoid big play up 3 under 30 seconds left.

0:00: Jayron Hosley definitely showed his ball hawking abilities on a near pick, though I would have preferred him to come down with the ball. He also was rarely thrown on and when he was, he played well, with the exception of the fade in the end zone. There wasn’t much he could have done there against someone with 7 inches on him, but that’s to be expected of a 5-10 cornerback.

What was particularly bad was his piss poor effort in run stuffing. I know he’s small at 5-10 175, but not only is he a poor tackler, he gives poor effort. I’m not expecting him to tackle like a 6-2 225 pound safety, but give some effort. He’s very timid and lazy against the run and I think it’s a sign of immaturity. I know they won, but if they don’t get that last touchdown, they lose and the reason why is because Hosley gave no effort to fill a gap on a long run. It’s like he doesn’t understand the importance. I know Virginia Tech’s defensive line needed to play better and I know Lamar Miller is a tough man to bring down, but Hosley is largely at fault for Miller’s huge day on the ground.

All in all, I compare Hosley to DeAngelo Hall. I hate comparing players to other players who came from the same school, but Frank Beamer likes a particularly kind of defensive back and Hosley and Hall fit that to a tee. Hosley is going to give up a few big plays, but he’s also going to make a few big plays in coverage, particularly interceptions. He’s great at jumping routes, but he often goes for the big play instead of making the sure, safe play. He’s also terrible and lazy in run defense, like Hall. Also like Hall, he’s a bit undersized, 5-10 175, Hall was around 5-10 185 coming out of Virginia Tech.

As for Miller, this was my 2^nd game watching him (Ohio State), but I haven’t spotlighted him yet. He’s a redshirt sophomore, but I may have to spotlight him just in case. I think he’s the 3^rd best runner in college football after Marcus Lattimore and Trent Richardson, 2^nd among draft eligible running backs. He could go somewhere around where Ryan Williams went last year as a redshirt sophomore after Mark Ingram went in the first (Williams went early 2^nd).

Despite getting only 6 carries in the first half, Miller rushed for 166 yards and a score on 18 carries. Miami’s comeback coincided with Miami giving Miller the ball more as he scored twice in the 2^nd half, once through the air, once on the ground, and he picked up big chunks of yardage on almost every play totaling 189 yards on 21 total touches. On the season, he has 677 yards and 5 scores on 94 carries in 5 games, along with 9 receptions for another 35 and another score.

Sean Spence was the opposite of Jayron Hosley tonight. He was fearless, relentless, high motor, high effort, all around the ball, someone I’d want to have on my team. He didn’t look like a 6-0 225 pound linebacker, with a few exceptions. He officially had 12 tackles in the game, but it seemed like he had a tackle on every other play. Official scorers often are wrong with tackle totals, on the side of crediting the defender with too few.

He also looked awesome in coverage, a bust for a 6-0 225 pound linebacker who might end up at safety at the next level. I’d keep him at linebacker because he does so well there now, at least at first, but his motor, instincts, and fearlessness are going to be an asset at whatever position he plays, even if it’s special teams. He got pancaked on a few plays, but he didn’t have a tackle broken all game. What he lacks in strength, he makes up for in technique in tackling and of course, his heart.

I would have no problem drafting this kid as a 4-3 linebacker (inside/outside, he lined up at both) in the 2^nd round of the 2012 NFL Draft, provided I needed a linebacker. I said similar things about Casey Matthews out of Oregon last year (6-1 230). I gave him a 2^nd round grade and when the Eagles took him in the 4^th, it was considered a reach. However, he’s already a starter for them and doing a very good job as a rookie. Spence can be a similar player. I compare him more to Sean Weatherspoon (Spoon is a little bigger), but he has some of Matthews in him too.