Sure Watt can be successful at 2-gap DE, but success in a 2-gap system means he won't be getting to the QB or making tackles. It would be a waste for someone with his skillset. http://sports.stackexchange.com/que...-and-two-gap-techniques-for-defensive-linemen
Richard Seymour averaged around 50 tackles a year and had two 8 sac seasons in New England. That's really good and Richard Seymour is no where near the player J.J. is. And plus teams didn't throw as much as they do now so Romeo will probably play a lot of nickel with 4 men down anyway especially if they draft Clowney. So I don't think there should be a concern about J.J... If J.J. can bust through the line Romeo will let him. Most big boy defensive ends in a 2 gap 3-4 system are not athletic enough to do it on a consistent basis and that's probably why they just occupy blockers.
Richard Seymour was for a short time considered he pace setter at the DE position, many considered him the best in the league.
Another thing about JJ Watt "occupying blockers" is that if the Texans get Clowney and a legit NT if they send doubles at him, it could mean a fast OLB like Williams or an ILB like Cushing running free at the QB. They'll have to scale back how often they can double those guys.
Clowney can't even outrun high schoolers. His speed is so overrated. Evidently the other kid, Brandon Sanders, runs in the 4.3's 40 time. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/JAO7m1IfoDQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Bro, can you show me any other DE running the anchor leg in a 4x4 relay video? Clowney is a friggin' Defensive End. I think that it is pretty friggin' spectacular that he was in the state finals as the anchor. Sorry, if I come across as Dr. Evil. That impressed me. I think that I'll go back and compare it to the JJ Watt anchor video and see which one looks better. Oh, wait...
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap20...el-the-next-tony-romo-matching-prospects-pros Jadeveon Clowney Tale of the tape: Defensive end, South Carolina, 6-6, 274, 4.5 40. Pro comparison: Mario Williams, Buffalo Bills, 6-7, 295, 4.71 40. The word "freak" gets thrown around quite often in the scouting community. Sometimes it's warranted, sometimes it's misused, but when it comes to Clowney and Williams, it's a very accurate descriptor. Both guys have a rare combination of height, length, power and explosiveness. Both guys received some flak for taking plays off in their final collegiate seasons, but both guys ultimately put together enough dominant performances to quiet their critics. Williams was selected No. 1 overall by the Houston Texans in the 2006 NFL Draft, chosen ahead of several marquee skill position players, including a prolific dual-threat quarterback from the Houston area in Vince Young. It's very possible that this year, the Texans could make a similar move with the first overall pick in the draft, once again selecting a dominant defender instead of an accomplished signal-caller with Texas ties.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap20...s-case-to-be-top-pick?campaign=Twitter_nfl_cb Is one dominant defensive end enough for an NFL team? Jadeveon Clowney doesn't think so, and he intends to convince the Houston Texans of the same. The former South Carolina defensive end spoke in-depth Wednesday with College Football 24/7 about his push to be drafted first overall by the Texans, who already have one of the NFL's dominant ends in J.J. Watt, and how he intends to do it. Clowney said he has been running 40-yard dashes as fast as the 4.45-range in pre-combine workouts, albeit with hand-timed results, and has a goal of running 4.46 to 4.48 at the NFL Scouting Combine later this month. That would be faster than some wide receivers will run, for a 6-foot-6, 275-pound lineman. Clowney believes the double-teaming Watt drew in collecting 10.5 sacks last season for the Texans could help him in the same way that the double-teaming Clowney drew at South Carolina helped Gamecocks defensive tackle Kelcy Quarles. "I love his game," Clowney said of Watt. "He can help me, and I can help him, hopefully. I've watched his game, in situations he gets double teams, triple teams on him, too. That could help me be a bigger factor on that defense." If Houston indeed makes Clowney the first pick of the draft, expect Clowney's locker to be awfully close to Watt's. Texans owner Bob McNair said last month that Watt could make an ideal mentor for the draft's most promising defensive player. Clowney has said he believes he should be the top overall pick. Asked why, he was blunt: "I feel like I have a lot to offer a team. I've got the size, the ability, I'm a great teammate," he said. "I'm bringing a lot to help a team out, and I feel like I should be that guy, hopefully." Physically, there is little question that Clowney is a rare specimen. It's his mental makeup that NFL scouts have repeatedly said requires further examination. Among the questions Texans and other clubs will have for Clowney: His lack of sack production last season (three, down from 13.5 the previous year), and the criticism he absorbed for a perceived lack of effort at times as a junior. "I know some teams will be asking about that. I'll answer it. Going into the season, I had a lot of high expectations of myself, more than anyone. I was trying to break the sack record. And I wanted to put it up there so high to where the next guy to come into South Carolina would be like 'Wow, this guy did this?' I wanted to put the bar high for the next guy," Clowney said. "Then we get into the season, and teams started playing me differently, double-teaming me, running away to the other side. You've got to deal with that. I still think I put my team in a lot of situations to win a lot of football games. We finished No. 4 in the country. It was a great season, and I was proud we finished No. 4, and that's what I'm going to tell them." Last fall, Clowney conceded that he didn't work as hard as he should have during the first two years of his college career, but that he had found the proper work ethic by the time he was a junior. The absence of former Gamecocks defensive line coach Brad Lawing, Clowney said, spurred his maturity in that regard. "He was on me so hard my first two years before he left. So hard, I would say 'Coach, why are you always on me so hard?' He'd say 'I get on guys that (aren't) doing anything. Do you want to be great?' I'd say 'You know I want to be great.' He'd say, 'Well I'm here to help you be great, but I've got to push you,'" Clowney said. "When he left, going into that next (junior) season, I was like, 'Well, coach Lawing is gone, I've got nobody to push me now.' So I pushed myself to be great, I had to learn to push myself for the first time. When he was there, I hated him for it, but when he left, I missed it. And I appreciate every bit of it." Clowney, former Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray and Eric Ebron, one of the draft's elite tight end prospects, will be featured beginning Wednesday night in "Pressure Points", an NFL Films eight-part web series chronicling their preparation for the NFL draft and the combine, sponsored by Gillette deodorant. "People are going to get a good look at what we've been going through," Clowney said.
South Carolina has a history of very good DE's to come out to the NFL. Clowney is just going to continue the tradition. Clowney was happy to stay in college but only if he got paid. I find it's excellent that he has come out, as the NFL is a greater challenge for him and he will definitely have more than 3 sacks his first season (just see the lesser SC defensive ends perform at NFL level). He should have a right to earn money, he's made SC so much money just selling those jerseys alone.
Sounds good. Game tape doesn't lie and combine #'s may seal the deal. There are other pass rushers in this draft but McNair may not be able to not draft Clowney.
Wants to run a 4.4 at the combine. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...for-a-4-4-second-40-yard-dash-at-the-combine/
I would be impressed if he ran a 4-5 at that size... I'm more interested in what he does on the bench to demonstrate strength and his vertical to demonstrate his explosion. Pass rushers don't line up and run 40 yards down field so that 40 time isn't always a good indicator. J.J. ran a 4.8 40 but tested well in the other areas.
Yeah, the 40 is just one way to show off his freak athleticism. He'll need to do well in other areas as well. I expect the QB desperation crowd to go nuts if Clowney blows away the events at the combine.
