Mike Munchak was a guard. Matthews was all over the place, but I should have included him. When I was little I used to keep cards of Munchak, White, Givens, and Moon in my light blue velcro wallet.
For those who are interested in Kolb here is his Senior Bowl Practice evaluations. Updated: Jan. 26, 2007, 12:20 AM ET ESPN.com evaluation: QB Kevin KolbScouts Inc. Editor's note: Practice notes will be updated daily and a final report will be completed on Friday, Jan. 26. Competing in the C-USA, Kevin Kolb didn't consistently play against top competition in college. He also comes from a passer-friendly spread offense, which generates some legitimate concerns regarding his transition to the NFL game. However, he possesses a fine combination of size, arm strength and mobility. He has great experience as a four-year starter. Playing at the mid-major level in college, Kolb is arguably the quarterback that stands to prove the most during his week at the Senior Bowl. Height - 6-3 -- Adequate but not ideal height. Weight - 226 -- Good build. Has more room on his frame to add bulk. Speed - 4.85 -- Adequate. Much more mobile than his 40 time indicates. Intelligence - Picks up new schemes quickly. Showed good understanding of his offense. Decision making questioned throughout his career. Toughness - Takes viscous hits and keeps getting up. Nobody can question his toughness. Strength/Flex - Strong lower body but a bit soft in upper body and core. Durability - Four-year starter never missed a full game due to injury. Character - Good leader. No reports of character issues. Production - Became the school's all-time leader in total offense as a junior in 2005. Finished career with 85 passing, 21 rushing TDs. QB SPECIFICS Arm Strength B- Adequate-to-good arm strength but certainly not in the elite class. Escape Ability B Lacks great straight-line speed but displays quick feet and good mobility. Quick Set Up B Displays above average quickness in his set but lacks ideal experience in this regard. Accuracy Long C Deep ball has a tendency to flutter a bit. Gets too much air under his vertical throws. Accuracy Short B Much more accurate on shorter throws. Most college throws were short-to-intermediate. Locate 2nd Receiver B Still has room to improve but he does show the ability to check off his primary target. Running Ability B Won't be a huge threat to run in the NFL because his top-end speed is only adequate. Quickness Of Delivery C- Has a bit of a wind-up delivery and will need some mechanical work to speed up his release. Judgement C Inconsistent. Makes good decisions on one play but forces a throw into coverage the next. Poise B- A tough competitor that doesn't rattle easily. Tends to be impatient in the pocket. PRACTICE NOTES Monday (1/22/07): Saying Kolb got off to a slow start would be an understatement. On his first rep during seven-on-seven drills, he dropped the snap. After picking up the ball, he just flung it downfield, which resulted in a pick. He held onto the ball so long on his third rep that San Francisco offensive coordinator Norv Turner finally yelled "throw the ball." In fact, nothing seemed to go right for Kolb. Though he later dropped a pass over the linebacker and in front of the corner, DB Aaron Ross closed well and snatched the ball out of WR Dallas Baker's hands. Tuesday (1/23/07): Kolb bounced back on Tuesday after looking a bit overwhelmed on Monday. Kolb lacks elite speed, but his quickness and athletic ability can be seen on his drops and when he moves his feet to buy extra time in the pocket. Kolb made a couple of poor decisions in practice, but some of that can be chalked up to communication errors with his receivers in just the second day working with one another. Otherwise, Kolb was more decisive and he seemed to have more confidence in his throws. He displayed excellent touch on the deep ball today, including the last throw of practice when standout WR Dwayne Bowe misjudged it and came up empty. Wednesday (1/24/07): Kolb has improved each day, which is good to see. He still is a bit too erratic for our liking, but he has settled down considerably from earlier in the week. Kolb has adequate-to-good arm strength and flashes the ability to fit the ball into some tight spots. He was especially impressive during red-zone drills late in the practice session, as his ability to move outside the pocket, force the run-pass option and throw on the run were really highlighted. Kolb has established himself as the best quarterback prospect on the North squad, ahead of Chris Leak and Jordan Palmer. SUMMARY Kolb started the week slow but showed improvement in each practice. He displays developmental qualities, including adequate size and a good combination of arm strength and mobility. However, he can be too erratic in terms of his accuracy and decision making. Kolb comes from a spread system at the collegiate level and he will need some extra time to transition in the NFL. If anything, Kolb improved his draft stock slightly throughout the week-long process. Overall, he emerged as the best quarterback prospect on the South roster and the third best quarterback prospect in this year's Senior Bowl -- behind Drew Stanton (Michigan State) and Troy Smith (Ohio State).
Troy Smith measured in at 6'0 and not 5'11 or 5'10 like projected. I hope the Texans get him in the 2nd. ------------------------------------------ http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft07/insider/news/story?id=2737549 Few prospects in the 2007 NFL draft class improved their stock as much as Troy Smith did during his senior season. He refined his passing skills and improved his overall decision making as a quarterback. However, his marginal height, long-delivery and past character issues still serve as red flags. Although he can't change those weaknesses with a strong showing at the Senior Bowl, Smith can help erase the bad memories of his most recent collegiate appearance, a 27-point drubbing by Florida in the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game. Height - 5-11 -- Marginal height is single biggest flaw as a prospect. Weight - 220 -- Thickly built. Looks more like a RB than a QB. Speed - 4.62 -- Has outstanding speed and agility for the position. Consistently buys extra time and is a threat to run. Intelligence - Has a history of making intelligent decisions on the field, but questionable decisions off. Toughness - Arguably the toughest quarterback in the 2007 NFL draft class. Strength/Flex - Squatty build, but he's an extremely strong and flexible athlete. Durability - Outstanding. He never missed a game due to injury in college. Character - Past issues are still a concern. Suspended twice (illegal benefits and after found guilty of disorderly conduct charge) at OSU. Production - Exceptional. Threw for 16 TDs, rushed for 11 in 2005. Won the Heisman in '06, throwing 30 TD passes and only six INTs. QB SPECIFICS Arm Strength B+ Above average arm strength. Good zip on deep-out routes and can fit the ball into tight spots. Escape Ability A Outstanding athlete. Has good pocket presence, great quickness and the agility to buy time. Quick Set Up A- Short strides on drop but makes up for it with very quick feet. Accuracy Long C Adequate but not great. His intermediate-to-deep throws will occasionally sail high. Accuracy Short B+ Much better accuracy on shorter routes. Shows consistent ability to lead his receivers. Locate 2nd Receiver B- Poised in the pocket. Doesn't lock on to his primary target. Lack of height hurts field vision. Running Ability A Most athletic quarterback prospect at the Senior Bowl and in the entire 2007 draft. Quickness of Delivery D Area of weakness. He has a wind-up delivery and takes too long to get from point A to point B. Judgement B Generally he makes very good decisions, but he has a tendency to get impatient at times. Poise B+ Very poised athlete. Displayed very good confidence and leadership this week. PRACTICE NOTES Monday (1/22/07): Smith had a good opening day at the Senior Bowl. For starters, he can breathe a sigh of relief after measuring in at 6-foot even during the morning weigh-in process. While he is still considered short by NFL standards, there was speculation that Smith was closer to 5-11. Believe it or not, that inch is a big deal from a scouting perspective. As for practice, Smith showed good accuracy and velocity on his throws. He seemed to have lots of confidence in his ability and his quick feet were evident when he was working with the other quarterbacks on drop-back drills. However, Smith's wind-up delivery was extremely evident when he was throwing alongside Michigan State QB Drew Stanton, who has a much more compact release. Tuesday (1/23/07): Smith continued to shine during Tuesday's practice. His release is not as compact as scouts would like to see, but that's not going to change much moving forward. Otherwise, Smith is doing an excellent job of moving his feet to find passing windows, which allows him to overcome his marginal height. He is showing more confidence in his reads and throws than all the other quarterbacks here. Smith also displays as good -- if not better -- arm strength, touch, timing and accuracy as Drew Stanton. Wednesday (1/24/07): Smith had his most complete day of practice on Wednesday. He shows a good understanding of coach Jon Gruden's scheme and seems to be ahead of most the North players in that regard. He continues to display a strong arm and above average accuracy as a passer. The only time Smith has struggled is when he can't seem to find a passing window in time and tries to throw over his offensive linemen. In those instances, Smith's ball has had a tendency to sail high. That's a direct byproduct of his marginal height. SUMMARY When Smith misses, the ball tends to sail high. While he was off target a few times this week, it's safe to say he was the most consistently accurate passer throughout the entire process. Smith lacks adequate height, but he displayed very good arm strength and decision making skills throughout the week of practice. Coach Jon Gruden seemed extremely pleased with Smith's ability to quickly digest his offensive scheme. Overall, Smith had a very positive week at the Senior Bowl, which helped his draft stock that had been slipping a bit following the disappointing performance in the BCS National Championship Game earlier this month.
I said the same, and I was hoping for him to suck it up in the championship. Which he did. And a lot of experts are saying late 3rd/early 4th now. If we could hold out till the 4th and still pick him up..that'd be amazing. Earliest 3rd though.
Sure. -------------------------------- There is little question that a disappointing senior season in which Drew Stanton made more than a few questionable decisions has hurt his draft value. Add his extensive injury history to the mix and some begin to wonder why his stock hasn't plummeted. Well, the biggest reason is his natural ability, as he moves well for his size and he has a strong arm. If the controversy surrounding the head coaching position and poor pass protection played big roles in Stanton's dissatisfying senior season, this should be his opportunity to prove it. If he takes advantage of the situation, Stanton could be the third quarterback taken off the board. Height - 6-3 -- Is tall enough to scan the field from within the pocket. Weight - 235 -- Good build for a quarterback. Speed - 4.80 -- Lacks elite speed, but is quick enough to scramble for a few yards. Intelligence - Flashes the ability to move the offense efficiently, but decision making is inconsistent. Doesn't always take care of the ball. Toughness - Bounces back from vicious hits and covered punts for the Spartans during the 2003 season. Strength/Flex - Powerful open-field runner who can break tackles. Flashes the ability to make the first defender miss. Durability - Area of concern. Tore anterior cruciate ligament in 2003, separated shoulder in 2004, injured his throwing hand in 2005 and had problems staying healthy during senior season. Character - Presses too much, but is a leader on the field. Production - Though numbers dipped dramatically in 2006, threw for 22 TDs and over 3,000 yards during an impressive junior season. QB SPECIFICS Arm Strength B Above-average arm strength. Puts good zip on downfield passes. Can throw into tight spaces. Escape Ability B Athletic and can buy himself time, but he lacks ideal pocket awareness. Quick Set Up B Footwork is adequate and gets set fairly quickly. Accuracy Long C+ Throws fades well but can put too much air under passes thrown over the middle. Accuracy Short B- Puts adequate touch on passes and can lead receivers but somewhat inconsistent. Locate 2nd Receiver C+ Tall enough to scan the field from the pocket, but doesn't always go through progressions. Running Ability B Flashes the ability to make the first defender miss. Can gain yards when contain breaks down. Quickness of Delivery B- Has an over-the-top release and can get rid of the ball with adequate but not elite quickness. Judgement C Throws the ball into coverage too much. Takes too many hits fighting for yards on the ground. Poise C Makes poor decisions in the face of pressure and can try to make too much happen at times. PRACTICE NOTES Monday (1/22/07): Stanton has shed nearly 10 pounds from last spring, but he looks to be in very good shape at nearly 6-foot-3 and 226 pounds. As far as practice is concerned, Stanton stood out above Troy Smith and Tyler Palko as the clear-cut top quarterback prospect on the North roster. In all reality, he seemed to be one of the best overall players on the field. Stanton displayed quick feet, a strong arm, a quick release and better accuracy than anticipated. Despite the rainy conditions, he showed impressive control of the ball. If Stanton continues to stand out the rest of the week, he will solidify himself as the third quarterback in the 2007 class and could re-emerge as a first-round prospect. Tuesday (1/23/07): Stanton fell to the ground after getting his feet tangled during the team drill and he threw behind Notre Dame WR Rhema McKnight during the 7-on-7 portion of practice. Other than that, he had one of the crispest practices of the six quarterbacks at this year's Senior Bowl. He continues to display a great over-the-top release and above-average zip on his passes. He also showed good touch when throwing downfield and, other than the one pass to McKnight, showed above-average accuracy when dumping the ball underneath. In other words, he looked like a professional quarterback out there. Wednesday (1/24/07): One concern emerging from Wednesday's practice is Stanton locking onto receivers at times. He won't be able to get away with that at the next level and must do a better job of looking defenders off more consistently. That said, Stanton is still having a strong week. He arguably looked his best during the team's red-zone drill. He made sound decisions and put the ball where only his receiver had a chance to come down with it. Overall, Stanton had the best practice of any of the quarterbacks at the Senior Bowl today. SUMMARY Ohio State's Troy Smith and Stanton clearly had the best weeks amongst all the quarterbacks here, but it's clear that neither is an elite prospect. Stanton shows adequate quickness in his release, puts good zip on his passes and has the mobility to buy time when the protection breaks down. He made sound decisions and did a good job of finding the open man. However, Stanton's performance has not been impressive enough to warrant him shooting up draft boards. His accuracy has simply been too inconsistent. Stanton lost the strike zone when throwing underneath and didn't always put great touch on his downfield passes.
MOCK DRAFT: Mel Kiper's Initial First-Round Projection | Jan. 25 This initial projection is based on what I've identified as key need areas for each team. There are 17 underclassmen among my projections for the first 32 picks of the 2007 NFL draft, including two of the top three. LSU junior quarterback JaMarcuss Russell gets the nod as the first overall pick, and North Carolina State defensive tackle Tank Tyler rounds out my first-round projections as the No. 32 overall selection to Indianapolis. 1. Oakland Raiders: *JaMarcus Russell, QB, LSU 2. Detroit Lions: Joe Thomas, OT, Wisconsin 3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: *Calvin Johnson, WR, Georgia Tech 4. Cleveland Browns: Brady Quinn, QB, Notre Dame 5. Arizona Cardinals: *Jamaal Anderson, DE, Arkansas 6. Washington Redskins: *Alan Branch, DT, Michigan 7. Minnesota Vikings: Gaines Adams, DE, Clemson 8. Houston Texans: *Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma 9. Miami Dolphins: *Ted Ginn, Jr., WR, Ohio St. 10. Atlanta Falcons: LaRon Landry, S, LSU 11. San Francisco 49ers: *Reggie Nelson, DB, Florida 12. Buffalo Bills: Leon Hall, CB, Michigan 13. St. Louis Rams: *Charles Johnson, DE, Georgia 14. Carolina Panthers: Levi Brown, OT, Penn St. 15. Pittsburgh Steelers: *Jarvis Moss, DE, Florida 16. Green Bay Packers: *Marshawn Lynch, RB, California 17. Jacksonville Jaguars: *Sidney Rice, WR, South Carolina 18. Cincinnati Bengals: Amobi Okoye, DT, Louisville 19. Tennessee Titans: *Dwayne Jarrett, WR, USC 20. New York Giants: *Lawrence Timmons, LB, Florida St. 21. Denver Broncos: Adam Carriker, DE, Nebraska 22. Dallas Cowboys: *Robert Meachem, WR, Tennessee 23. Kansas City Chiefs: Tony Ugoh, OT, Arkansas 24. New England Patriots (from Seattle): *Darrelle Revis, CB, Pittsburgh 25. New York Jets: Dwayne Bowe, WR, LSU 26. Philadelphia Eagles: Aaron Ross, CB, Texas 27. New Orleans Saints: Daymeion Hughes, CB, California 28. New England Patriots: *Anthony Gonzalez, WR, Ohio St. 29. Baltimore Ravens: Anthony Spencer, DE, Purdue 30. San Diego Chargers: Patrick Willis, LB, Mississippi 31. Chicago Bears: *Greg Olsen, TE, Miami (Fla) 32. Indianapolis Colts: Tank Tyler, DT, NC St.
It's interesting that in Kiper's mock the two first round safeties are right behind Peterson. As a position of need safety is probably ahead of running back on the Texans chart....could be another Mario type pick.
The Senior Bowl is coming up on NFL network. Levi Brown (OT) seems to be moving up, according to some of the guys there.
Both Landry and Nelson would be good picks IMO, I do feel we could get a good safety in the 2nd or 3rd however. Okoye has become my front runner at #8.
Me too. I think we should trade down a few spots and pick up Okoye and an extra pick. Especially if Peterson or Branch is sitting there, we should get an extra third, possibly second to move down. Only two other players I am intrigued with at 8 would be Branch or Thomas. I don't think either one will be there. I think we should continue to build both of our lines until we have monsters on both sides. Then upgrade skill positions. The real skill positions are them hosses up front.
This is where conventional wisdom is wrong, because it uses the same value system from when most passing was vertical and safeties weren't very important. One hallmark of most of the teams with success in the playoffs is great Safeties. In fact, I would argue that the biggest difference maker in the playoffs this year has been Bob Sanders. When your biggest weakness on the field is at safety, and two studs are available when you draft, it seems like a no-brainer.
well, the bears made the SB with their best safety on IR.... but it's really a matter of #s. every college team starts 2 Ss and likely plays a nickel and possibly even a dime safety. conversely, there's only one starting RB and at most, 2 will play. so given the pool, you're far more likely to find a productive safety later in the draft than a RB, and given you have to pay two safeties (plus two CBs, plus nickel and dime guys), it's far less cost-prohibitive.
