BeastMode54 Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 per rotoworld California C Alex Mack was reportedly the only lineman who could contain Boston College DT B.J. Raji on the first day of Senior Bowl practices. Mack, who could probably play any line position except left tackle at 6'4/312, picked up Raji in one drill and drove him backwards off the football. Mack was allegedly more impressive than fellow highly touted C Max Unger of Oregon. many here want raji because he's a beast. this is ver impressive ews. we should draft him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew026 Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Pass rusher> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew026 Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 If hes there third round tho sure. 1.Brown 2.Coffman 3.Center Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartyBall4Buffalo Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 On the flip side The other BC dt Ron Brace owned Mack and Unger in individual drills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marauderswr80 Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Only if we didnt need a DE so bad. I do see Buffalo making a push for Matt Birk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeastMode54 Posted January 20, 2009 Author Share Posted January 20, 2009 Only if we didnt need a DE so bad. I do see Buffalo making a push for Matt Birk. I'm hoping we can get him in the 2nd round, and a DE in the first. I would also like to sign Matt Birk as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magox Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Mack will be a probowler!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stl Bills Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Football's Future Monday SB Recap football's future saw it a little different..... As the focus turned away from the outside to the big uglies, the real fun began. Alex Mack had a difficult day, but faced the best competition. He was beaten on several occasions by Ziggy Hood out of Missouri, but also held his own several times. The other center on the team, Max Unger was really humiliated several times. As many mentioned prior to the event, he’s needs add some weight to handle the larger tackles. He was bull rushed and abused by several players. He has the versatility to play on the outside so maybe he should be moved back there. Tackle Xavier Fulton and guard Ryan Shuman looked as if they didn’t belong. Fulton struggled with the speed rush, while Shuman was left helpless on the highlight of the day by Ziggy Hood. That will be explained a little later. William Beatty, the athletic tackle from Connecticut flashed some potential and proved why he’s considered to be a first/second round prospect. He slid well and handled the speed rushes, but struggled a little with the power moves. The two biggest winners on the day were Kraig Urbik and Phil Loadholt. Urbik showed good technique and knee bend standing up the best of bull rushes and moving his feet to neutralized double moves. Loadholt looked quick out of his stance and demonstrated once again that defenders don’t stand a chance once he locks onto the defender. He was moved to the right side and didn’t face a great speed rush all day. The biggest winner on the day was Missouri’s Ziggy Hood who may no longer fly under the radar after this week is done. Facing Ryan Shuman, he brilliantly set up the guard to execute a perfect and lightning-quick spin move. He went to that same spin move twice more with great success and also showed a variety of rips to be victorious on many occasions. Aside from Hood, BC’s defensive tackles also had good days. B.J. Raji measured in at 6’1 5/8, 334 pounds with only 31 ¼” arms, the second worst on the defensive line. However, he used his large body and moved impressively quickly. His counterpart, Ron Brace, looked like the better fit at nose tackle, pushing interior linemen backwards. At the same time, he was much slower than Raji. Mitch King also stood out for the entirety of practice. He was consistently around the ball, in the backfield, and beating offensive linemen. The only problem came earlier in the day when he measured in at 275 pounds with 31” arms. He’s an outstanding player and competitor with no true position. DE/OLB Tim Jamison displayed a good body, flashed good moves and impressed overall. He wasn’t especially quick off the snap, but he knew how to beat offensive tackles on the right side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lacoy38 Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 If hes there third round tho sure. 1.Brown 2.Coffman 3.Center hopefully at least one need is met through FA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Miner Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Football's Future Monday SB Recap football's future saw it a little different..... As the focus turned away from the outside to the big uglies, the real fun began. Alex Mack had a difficult day, but faced the best competition. He was beaten on several occasions by Ziggy Hood out of Missouri, but also held his own several times. The other center on the team, Max Unger was really humiliated several times. As many mentioned prior to the event, he’s needs add some weight to handle the larger tackles. He was bull rushed and abused by several players. He has the versatility to play on the outside so maybe he should be moved back there. Tackle Xavier Fulton and guard Ryan Shuman looked as if they didn’t belong. Fulton struggled with the speed rush, while Shuman was left helpless on the highlight of the day by Ziggy Hood. That will be explained a little later. William Beatty, the athletic tackle from Connecticut flashed some potential and proved why he’s considered to be a first/second round prospect. He slid well and handled the speed rushes, but struggled a little with the power moves. The two biggest winners on the day were Kraig Urbik and Phil Loadholt. Urbik showed good technique and knee bend standing up the best of bull rushes and moving his feet to neutralized double moves. Loadholt looked quick out of his stance and demonstrated once again that defenders don’t stand a chance once he locks onto the defender. He was moved to the right side and didn’t face a great speed rush all day. The biggest winner on the day was Missouri’s Ziggy Hood who may no longer fly under the radar after this week is done. Facing Ryan Shuman, he brilliantly set up the guard to execute a perfect and lightning-quick spin move. He went to that same spin move twice more with great success and also showed a variety of rips to be victorious on many occasions. Aside from Hood, BC’s defensive tackles also had good days. B.J. Raji measured in at 6’1 5/8, 334 pounds with only 31 ¼” arms, the second worst on the defensive line. However, he used his large body and moved impressively quickly. His counterpart, Ron Brace, looked like the better fit at nose tackle, pushing interior linemen backwards. At the same time, he was much slower than Raji. Mitch King also stood out for the entirety of practice. He was consistently around the ball, in the backfield, and beating offensive linemen. The only problem came earlier in the day when he measured in at 275 pounds with 31” arms. He’s an outstanding player and competitor with no true position. DE/OLB Tim Jamison displayed a good body, flashed good moves and impressed overall. He wasn’t especially quick off the snap, but he knew how to beat offensive tackles on the right side. I would have absolutely no problem picking up Hood in the 3rd or 4th round if he's still there. I'd love a Coffman 3rd and a Hood 4th draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stl Bills Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 I would have absolutely no problem picking up Hood in the 3rd or 4th round if he's still there. I'd love a Coffman 3rd and a Hood 4th draft. Sounds like Hood going to be a fast riser on draft boards...I think they'll probably both go in Rd 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebandit27 Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 I would have absolutely no problem picking up Hood in the 3rd or 4th round if he's still there. I'd love a Coffman 3rd and a Hood 4th draft. yeah and I'd like an Aaron Curry 2nd and Aaron Maybin 3rd, but you can't take a guy if he's already gone. no way either of those guys gets past round 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Something to remember about the senior bowl and the drills- linemen don't line up one-on-one in games as they do in drills. Not to mention that in most games, they are familiar with the lineup around them. Also, playing for a win during the season is much different than playing for scouts in a senior bowl game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 many here want raji because he's a beast. this is ver impressive ews. we should draft dabotadem him more better good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lets_go_bills Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 We need a center and Mack is very good. But let's not kid ourselves, defensive end and tight end need to be addressed first. I think a good center can rather easily be had in free agency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fewell733 Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 the reports I read on nfldraftcountdown said that Mack struggled with Raaji, but that wasn't anything to be ashamed of necessarily and they still rate him the top center. Also they said Max Unger was the only center to shut Raaji down, even pancaking him during one drill. The dude, Unger, must be an absolute technician cause watching him play he doesn't look like that special of an athlete - but he does it all successfully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stl Bills Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 footballsfuture.com Tuesday Report South Team As the South Team practiced in Ladd-Peebles Stadium for the first time this week, we got to see some real stars play well. They also battled the wind later in the day, which created a bit of a struggle. Unlike the North Team, I saw several players really flash some dominance here, though none like Sedrick Ellis a year ago. It was the most physical practice all week and coincidentally, the most fun. The quarterbacks on the whole don’t look a whole lot better than they do on the North team. This just goes to show that the senior quarterback class is really not very good and reinforces the good decisions of four juniors to declare, who sit one through four respectively in my rankings. I never thought I would have found myself saying this, but just as I was ready to move Pat White to my wide receiver rankings, he puts together a solid practice like today. His footwork may have been the best of the bunch and he threw like a man with something to prove. He fired a laser downfield splitting defenders and several other solid throws as well. The quarterback I thought would have been doing well this week was John Parker Wilson, my top senior. His arm strength was very poor as he struggled to hit open receivers downfield and failed to get any velocity behind his passes. Sadly, Cullen Harper didn’t do much better either. He had no zip on the football, his accuracy downfield was off, and he doesn’t have a great release. At this point it’s tough to rank all of these quarterbacks this week. Of the running backs, Andre Brown and Arian Foster emerged as the talented backs they really are. Brown had some nice runs, also a product of the offensive line, but showed great speed for a back his size. Foster did a good job running up the middle and turning it outside once he moved to the second level. He doesn’t have the breakaway speed, but he displayed some wiggle and shiftiness. Rashad Jennings was one of the players I was excited to see this week. He was relatively quiet today, but had a couple nice blocks in the team portion of the practice. Mohamed Massaquoi looked like the cream of the crop at wide receiver for the South team. He accelerated well off the line of scrimmage and managed to get good separation. At times, he looked great catching the ball with his hands, but like usual, he was plagued with a couple drops. I’m finally starting to look at him as more than a mid-round prospect. Kenny McKinley wasn’t very far behind either. He’s probably the fastest receiver on his team and has good control on the deep ball. For 5’8, 187 pounds, Arizona’s Mike Thomas is awfully tough and physical. He does a good job competing for the ball in traffic and uses his hands to catch balls away from his body. I’m not sure what kind of speed he has, but he could legitimately be the next small wideout to make an impact in the NFL. Both Quan Cosby and Patrick Turner had some trouble getting separation from defensive backs, but caught the balls when they were open. Over the two day stretch, Southern Mississippi’s Shawn Nelson may be helping his stock the most. Depending on what he runs at the Combine and how he measures as an athlete, he could be one of the first several tight ends selected. He can run up and down the field, separate, and catch the ball. His best play on the day might have been his pancake of Rey Maualuga. How’s that for a weakness? His teammates at tight end, Anthony Hill and Travis McCall struggled the entire afternoon. McCall struggled mightily as he dropped and bobbled several passes that hit him directly in the hands. The big name on the offensive line was Michael Oher and his performance today was a microcosm of his season. He was initially beat by David Veikune of Hawaii, but came back and rebounded nicely. He split several other battles throughout the day as well. Oher has very nice feet, but sometimes tends to get a little lazy giving up the inside edge or the corner. He has shown me enough to believe he can play on the left side. Center Antoine Caldwell may be playing the best of the talented center class this week. Unlike Unger and Mack on the North team, Caldwell has the strength to play in the middle, as witnessed by his standing up of Georgia defensive tackle Corey Irvin. The rest of the offensive line fared no better than these two. Eric Wood struggled to play one-on-one in open space, but looked better with guys next to him. Troy Kropog, the raw left tackle from Tulane was also plagued by inconsistency. He flashed athletic ability with a nice kick slide to cut off the edge, but was absolutely mauled by a bull rush. Kropog is still a bit of a project at this point. Herman Johnson surprised everyone by measuring in at 6’7, 382 pounds. On the field, he looked every bit of those 382 pounds. He barely moved well and was easily beaten by speed moves. As a run blocker, he was unable to get a push on Peria Jerry. Anthony Parker had a dismal day showing a complete lack of balance, falling over, and playing without his feet under him. My big winner on the day, between both teams, was Ole Miss’s defensive tackle, Peria Jerry. At 6’2, 290 pounds, he looks very well built and at a playing weight where he can play both the run and pass effectively. He was constantly getting penetration, beating blocks, and holding his own in the run game. If there were any doubts before, Jerry is a first round prospect now. The USC guys on the line also played really well. Fila Moala was extremely impressive in one-on-one drills as he flashed a variety of moves using his strength and quickness to beat the linemen. Keep in mind that pass rushing was never a problem for Moala, but rather his run stopping ability was consistently questioned. DE Kyle Moore used great hand placement to beat tackles on the edge. Tennessee’s Robert Ayers was another defensive end that had a good day. He showed a nasty side to him, toughness, and a strong motor finishing off plays. I tried to catch a glimpse of Richmond’s Lawrence Sidbury, but he was too fast of the edge to even get a good look at. Just as the tackle got out of his Sidbury already had the angle around him and to the dummy quarterback. He’s an incredible athlete who beat Jason Watkins handily two plays in a row. I’ll try and keep a closer eye on him the rest of the week. The linebacking crew for the South team was headed by three USC linebackers. Of the three, Clay Matthews had the best day. He looked quick off the edge and displayed some nice pass rush moves to beat tight ends in a blitzing drill. After starting off with a great blitz, setting up an inside alley to the quarterback, Rey Maualuga’s day went downhill. He seemed always a step behind in pass coverage and was a fairly easy pickup as a blitzer on several occasions. Brian Cushing was somewhat forgettable, but made several nice plays in the team portion of practice. He was one of few all day to look comfortable dropping back into coverage. Even at 5’9, Alphonso Smith might be a borderline first round pick. It’s about the only thing that is preventing him from being one of the most talked about players in Mobile. He played very fast, physical and instinctive all day. Though bigger receivers like Randy Moss may trouble him at the next level, he should be able to compete with most of the guys. Coye Francies from San Jose State is a corner that won’t have trouble competing with bigger receivers. He had some nice hits in practice, but more importantly showed good ball skills that scouts adore. Dominique Johnson, the next so-called Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, isn’t having a memorable week. This was his chance to shine, but he’s just blending in with the rest of the group. West Virginia’s Ellis Lankster looked remarkable in one-on-one drills by not biting on double moves and blanketing receivers. With my first look at the South team, I really like the talent on this side of the roster. They have some of the bigger names such as Oher and Maualuga, but may not have the depth of the North team where there are very few players that will likely go undrafted. After comparing the two teams now, I like how physical the South team is playing and so I’ll say they’re better as of now. We’ll see how that changes tomorrow. The NFL Network will cover the South team practice from 5:00PM-7:00PM (ET). North Report As the North team took the field for the second time inside Ladd-Peebles stadium, you could really see the players looking more comfortable. The temperature dipped a bit and the wind picked up, making for difficult connections between the quarterbacks and receivers. One key note to make was that Cincinnati cornerback Mike Mickens wisely withdrew from the Senior Bowl which opened up a spot for DT Alex Magee. Again, the quarterbacks for the North roster looked very average. There really appear to be no starters in the bunch, all with average arm strength. Both Graham Harrell and Nathan Brown failed to cut the ball through the wind with enough velocity. While Harrell still has some work left to be done, surprisingly, he had the best footwork of the bunch, though all three quarterbacks come from spread offenses. He is having some issues handling the ball under center though. Rhett Bomar, along with the other two quarterbacks struggled to throw accurate balls, but unlike the other two, he’s had career-long problems with this. Brown looked terrible on the day and just hasn’t looked like an NFL quarterback. He changes his throwing motion to a sidearm for deeper passes, as witnessed by his attempted deep outs, and even struggles to get the ball to his target. His footwork was sloppy, taking extra hitches after his dropback. None of these three quarterbacks belong in the first three rounds of the draft. The running backs were put to the test today as they were asked to take on blitzing linebackers. Of the bunch, Kory Sheets showed pure toughness and determination in taking on California’s Zack Follett head-on. He may easily be the best blocking back in the draft, which is a huge asset that will allow him to see playing time as a rookie. In that blitz pick-up drill, Navy’s fullback, Eric Kettani, made the biggest noise when he destroyed Ohio State’s Marcus Freeman, revving the coaches up. Jeremiah Johnson, though, is the best pure runner on the North team. He showed good speed in turning the corner and vision getting through the middle. He also displayed good hands out of the backfield. On the outside, Derrick Williams and Brandon Gibson tied as the best receivers on the day. I’m truly impressed with Williams’ ability to get in and out of cuts and continually find ways to get open. He understands how to eat up cushion and possesses the elite speed to still run by defensive backs. Also when shown off-man coverage he understands how to set up the underneath route and secure the football quickly. He’s making a strong case to be considered a first round prospect here in Mobile. Equally impressive, Gibson was catching everything thrown in his direction. For the second day in a row, he made a nice effort going deep. Ramses Barden is certainly played like a day one selection as well. Not only does he appear to be a natural athlete with great size, but he also has natural hands and a feel for what he needs to do. He uses his large frame well to create good angles to the quarterback. Brian Robiskie had another up and down day making some nice plays, but also dropping a ball. Brandon Pettigrew is the only name that needs to be heard from the North squad at tight end. It’s becoming rare to see the top tight ends in the mold of Pettigrew. He’s a great blocker that has learned the proper technique. On his best play today, he locked onto a linebacker right of the snap, extended his arms and drove him towards the sideline. He’s smooth getting into his routes and makes up for a lack of killer speed with his frame and hands. Pettigrew is a first round lock and will likely be gone by the middle of the first round. The player that jumped out in the one-on-one drills in the trenches was Oregon’s Max Unger. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in a good way. He’s too easily overpowered by defensive tackles, which makes me wonder. Might he be a better fit at left tackle, a position he also has experience playing? In the team drills, he looked okay, but also stumbled trying to get out for a screen. Phil Loadholt is biggest unknown lineman at the Senior Bowl. He’s not unknown as in name recognition, but does he have the tools to succeed at the next level. You know he has the size and talent, but will he really be able to handle edge rushers? His footwork isn’t that bad for a man his size, but he plays too upright rather than bending his knees. William Beatty from Connecticut is nearly the opposite prospect. He has a good frame, but doesn’t have the weight to fill it out yet. He’s a great fit on the left side because of his excellent footwork. Back-to-back fights with teammate Cody Brown really captured his biggest strengths and weaknesses. On the first play, he allowed Brown to get to his body and was pushed backwards into the direction of the quarterback. The next play, he slid well and cut off the edge. He has great potential and will only improve with coaching. On the interior, Trevor Canfield, one of my favorite offensive line prospects really dominated. He’s a nasty guard that plays to the whistle, sometimes even beyond that. Today he showed the ability to anchor a bull rush and defeat everyone he faced in the one-on-ones. On the defensive line, I was surprised at how quiet Mitch King was today and how quiet Larry English has been this week. King didn’t repeat from a year ago looking like he tried to focus a little more on power moves today. It’s interesting he tried that because of his lack of a true position, but it didn’t go as according to plan. On the other hand, I was fully expecting English to be a terror off the edge, but he’s been anything but. He’s won a couple battles in one-on-ones but hasn’t done much aside from that. No matter what they had done today, it would have still been overshadowed by B.J. Raji’s dominant performance. He’s a well-built nose tackle who moves well. He showed off his bull rush, rip, and a variety of other power moves to collapse the pocket in the one-on-one drills. He then translated his work to the team drills where he blew up several plays in the backfield. He is easily the most NFL-ready defensive linemen this year. Missouri’s Ziggy Hood also had another great day demonstrating several more perfectly-executed spin moves. Ron Brace on the other hand wasn’t quite as spectacular as a day ago. His bull rushes worked with less success and he looked very sloppy moving. He’ll only be a one-dimensional space eater until he shows something else not in his repertoire. None of the North team linebackers really brought their A-games today. Clint Sintim showed some improvement, but switching from the 3-4 to the 4-3 defense may be impacting his play. He’ll be playing the SAM linebacker should he be drafted by a 4-3 team, but he’ll need to show improved footwork to be able to hang with backs and tight ends in coverage. Nic Harris might be having the best week of any linebackers. He hasn’t really had to shed many blocks and has struggled a bit when asked to do so. In coverage, he looks alert and does a good job clinging to his man. Linebackers Zack Follett and Marcus Freeman were both blown up today as they were blocked by backs, but had good days otherwise. Both Scott McKillop and Tyrone McKenzie struggled to get off blocks all day. McKillop didn’t read and react very well in team drills either. The secondary showed much improvement from Monday all the way down the roster. Macho Harris had the best day showcasing his press man coverage that he learned at Virginia Tech. He stuck close to the receiver and didn’t bit on double moves. He finished plays tough by knocking the ball out of the air, or even once stripping the receiver after the catch, showing some hustle. In the box safeties Patrick Chung and Louis Delmas also had great days. Chung has flashed an ability to come down compete opposite receivers play after play. He could easily be overtaking William Moore as the top safety, who has been nothing but stiff this entire week. Delmas played incredibly physical in practice even laying a good hit on Ramses Barden as he caught a slant route. He’s the most aggressive safety here in Mobile and has looked great as a result. Keenan Lewis improved mightily from a day ago where he looked very slow to drive on routes. Today, he looked comfortable playing press coverage, blanketing receivers from the get go. Darius Butler, one of my favorite cornerbacks looked like the most natural cornerback on the field, but was a little inconsistent. He was beat deep on one play, but came back and didn’t allow the receiver to get off the line of scrimmage on the next. The second day of practice ran much smoother than the first. The players knew their assignments better and they competed harder. Several players already improved their play with a day of coaching, while others looked a little tired from yesterday. It was a much better practice from the North side who will look to execute even better tomorrow. The NFL Network will cover the North team practice from 10:30AM-12:00PM (ET) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 footballsfuture.com Tuesday Report South Team As the South Team practiced in So much for the fair use of copyrighted material... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bills_fan Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Over the two day stretch, Southern Mississippi’s Shawn Nelson may be helping his stock the most. Depending on what he runs at the Combine and how he measures as an athlete, he could be one of the first several tight ends selected. He can run up and down the field, separate, and catch the ball. His best play on the day might have been his pancake of Rey Maualuga. How’s that for a weakness? His teammates at tight end, Anthony Hill and Travis McCall struggled the entire afternoon. McCall struggled mightily as he dropped and bobbled several passes that hit him directly in the hands. Anyone know anything about this guy? First I've really heard of him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PastaJoe Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Stop talking about players you think the Bills should take. They always go for some guy that wasn't talked about until right before the draft. You're going to jinx the possibilites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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