E-W Shrine Game
St. Petersburg, Florida
I guess the first thing to note about
this year's game is that I don't think much anybody of note came out
of last year's game. Marvin Austin was the best player in the game,
and was drafted by the Giants in the second round, but blew out his
knee in training camp. The Titans took Iowa DE Karl Klug
in the 5th round and got 7 sacks from him. Delone Carter was game MVP, was a 4th-round
pick of the Colts, and ran for just 377 yards and 2 TDs for a team
that didn't have a go-to tailback. After them....
I'm open to argument, but nobody. One of my favorite players from the
game, Richmond DT Martin Parker, didn't make it out of training camp
with the Giants and didn't get picked up by anybody else. Another,
Florida DE Justin Trattou, is on the Giants' roster now after being
on their practice squad most of this season. I'm guessing he's mainly
played on special teams. So, unless there's a rare exception like
Austin, most of the players in this game are third-day picks at best.
Well, we know the Giants are watching.
The question for this game: is there anybody worth the Rams and Jeff
Fisher watching? Less-than-professional scouting notes by position:
QB: The West team won a
less-than-electrifying 24-17 game. Tyler Hansen (Colorado) looked
like the best QB to me. He seemed to have the strongest arm. He made
one of the game's nicer long throws and ran well. Made some of the
tough sideline throws as well. Has a nasty pump fake. Also liked B.J.
Coleman (UTC). Solid WCO QB who made a couple of excellent deep
throws to his TE. Good play fake. Needs better timing on his slant
passes. Would have liked to see more of Austin Davis (USM).
Definitely has the arm to make all the throws and gets the ball out
quickly. John Brantley (Florida) unimpressive, Dan Persa
(Northwestern) terrible-looking in very limited action.
RB: Marc Tyler (USC, son of Wendell),
Lennon Creer (La Tech), Taurin Poole (Tennessee) all solid interior
runners. Creer probably the best of the three, though he had a brutal
dropped pass. No elite speed, so I didn't see any improvements on
Cadillac Williams here. Alfred Morris (Fla. Atlantic) ran like a
mini-Steven Jackson. Could not be arm-tackled. Excellent yards after contact. Bobby
Rainey (WKU) got off to a rough start with a dropped pass and showed
no instinctive running, but he settled down in the 2nd
half and took advantage of some big holes. Dave Meggett's son Davin
(Maryland) very unimpressive. Indecisiveness made him look slow.
WR: Jarious Wright (Arkansas) made at
least one deep catch and was the best deep threat in this game.
Disappointed A.J. Jenkins (Illinois), who I consider a poor man's
Brandon Lloyd, didn't get more action. Wasn't thrown to until after
halftime, just one catch on a pretty comeback route. If he wasn't
getting open in this game (no press coverage), there may not be a lot
of pro hope for him. No way for me to know if that was the case or if
he just wasn't getting on the field. Tim Benford (TN Tech) showed
some ability to break big plays, but he carries the ball less
securely than a loaf of bread. LaRon Byrd (Miami) made good catches
as a possession receiver but I have serious questions about his
speed. Adjusts very well to the ball, though. Thomas Mayo (Cal-Penn)
had several catches on Shaun Prater, considered the best DB there.
TE: If the Rams draft only one player
out of this game, I want it to be UCLA tight end Cory Harkey. And I
don't think they even threw him the ball. Kid blocks like nobody's
business, though. He was the engine that made the West running game
go, to the point it was noticeable when he was off the field. If a
blocking TE could be MVP of a game, this was the game. The Rams
desperately need guys who can play like Harkey did today. Several
catches for George Bryan (NC State). Looks like a reliable release
valve. Chase Ford (The U) is the most intriguing TE prospect. Jimmy
Graham-like body. Made a sweet catch in traffic early in the game and
ran through some pathetic tackling for a 64-yard gain. That may have
been his only catch. He dropped a similar pass later. Mike Mayock
said he wants to hold judgment on Ford until he see how well he
blocks. Yeah, Mayock, Hurricane TEs are so well-known for their
blocking.
O-line:
I apologize that I did not get a very good read on the East's
offensive line. The West's, though, was dominant. That unit, along
with Harney, was the best unit in this year's game. BYU left tackle
Matt Reynolds pushed guys around for yards when run-blocking. He can
handle big bull-rush pass rushers, but showed serious problems with
speed a couple of times. But he looked as good as Adam Goldberg ever
does, with apologies for the faint praise. At a minimum you could
move him inside. Huge guard Brandon Brooks (Miami OH) and center Moe
Petrus (UConn) just bulldozed the East line at times. Ryan Miller
(Colorado) looked terrific at RT. Punishing, dominating run-blocker,
looked good in pass pro to boot. They even had a ringer from Canada,
guard Ben (The Brain) Heenan, who looked good in pass pro and really
locked onto guys run-blocking. These five blew open monster holes for
the RBs and almost always gave their QB a solid pocket. The Rams
would do well to acquire as many of them as possible. And if they're
still looking for an o-line coach, I recommend West coach Mark
Mangino. That line was a well-oiled machine.
D-line:
The East had two defensive ends, Kyle Wilber (Wake Forest) and Julian
Miller (West Virginia), who gave as good as they got. Wilber, who
looks like a 3-4 OLB, gave Reynolds serious trouble with his speed,
and also showed a nice punch, using each to blow up a couple of
plays. Miller got good pressure on the QB, came in unblocked for a
sack, stuffed a run play and nearly picked off a screen pass with a
leaping effort. DE Tyrone Crawford (Boise State) got decent pressure
on most plays for the West and stuffed a couple of runs to boot. That
40 jersey was confusing; he looked quick enough at times to be a
safety. DT Dajohn Harris (USC) was a pretty good presence in the
middle. Had a tackle-for-loss but also really lacked any push at
times. Obviously he's a guy you had to see practice; his game play
didn't match the pre-game hype from the broadcast booth. Jabaree
Tuani (Navy) was the best defensive tackle in the game. Blew up a run
with a great jump off the snap and also deflected a pass. Military
commitment makes it difficult to draft him, though.
LB:
Josh Kaddu (Oregon) got a heap of pre-game hype from Charles Davis
and then looked AWFUL early, missing tackles and overrunning plays
badly. He settled down in the 2nd
half, though, after making a big hit on a punt. He blew up a sweep
for a big loss and looked good staying with TEs on long routes. Jerry
Franklin (Arkansas) and Tank Carder (TCU) did solid work early,
stuffing several runs. Shawn Loiseau (Merrimack) showed excellent
sideline-to-sideline speed, made nice open-field tackles and had a
TFL. Fast enough to run down receivers!
DB:
Charles Brown (UNC) looked like the best corner in the game. Hard for
a press corner to show well in this game, but he did. Also a good
kick returner. Shaun Prater got a lot of good reviews, and looks the
part, but got beat by Mayo a lot. Again, hard for a press corner to
show well here. West defense did some poor tackling early, but safety
Blake Gideon (Texas) took the cake. He made Craig Dahl look like Troy
Polamalu. Terrible missed tackle on the long Ford catch followed a
play where he wussed out on a sideline tackle and let the RB run
through him. Justin Bethel (Presbyterian) closed quickly and tackled
well in the open field. Aaron Henry (Wisconsin) brought some lumber
and supported the run well.
Special
teams: The Rams are in no position to do this, and I NEVER recommend
to do this, but punter Bryan Anger (Cal) looks like a draftable
talent, hitting two absolute moonshots. (Must have been three. I see from the box score that he averaged 60 on three attempts: 59, 60 and 61 yards.) Punt returner Devin Wylie
(Fresno) looked like a smaller Danny Amendola. Got a couple of nice
long returns.
Takeaway: Loved the West offensive line, Harkey, Julian Miller, Crawford and Loiseau. Any of them would be good late-round additions for the Rams.
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