Some friends and I have started an NFL draft blog. Most of us are either Texan or Viking fans. Although some of the content will be geared to those two teams, most of the stuff will be league wide general draft info and observations. We are amateurs and we definitely aren't insiders, but we feel the info is pretty good. What the hell? It's fun. I hope you check it out. Let me know what you think. http://texsotadraft.blogspot.com/
Thanks for the feedback. I am sure we will continue up through the draft. It is actually a lot of fun.
Good stuff, but where are you getting this information? From everything I've heard/read, Harrell has been struggling through practice, particularly with making reads while dropping back. Also, good to read about Moala, hopefully he'll be there in the 3rd because I wouldn't mind picking up a big DT if one is worth it.
From watching the NFL channel broadcast of the practices. In the drills they have shown, he has looked really good in my opinion. He has looked comfortable running the show during the team sessions. He has definitely been the best QB on the North squad. Also the NFL channel broadcast analysts, Mike Mayock and Charles Davis, named him as one of the players who definitely helped himself out this week by looking comfortable under center. They were both impressed with his poise and surprised that he showed more arm strength than expected. This is all subjective. There might be some out there who have been disappointed in his practices. I know I am, in part, comparing him to how Colt Brennan fared last year. They came from similar "systems." Brennan looked extremely uncomfortable. his drops were terrible, and he looked like he had never taken a snap before in his life. Many predicted Harrell would struggle in the same. From what I have seen, that has not been the case.
It his hard for me to say much about his reads. First of all, the camera angles during team and group sometimes aren't that great. They throw in too many close-ups. Also, I don't know the read structures behind some of their plays. I don't know what is being taught. They are running some route combos that are basic universal schemes. For instance, they have worked a post/dig combo off a playaction drop several times with each QB throughout the week. It is a simple high/low read off the free. Every time Harrell has run this combo the free has stayed high. Harrell has looked good hitting the dig each time. One time, he released the ball immediately when he hit his plant foot at the top of his drop. He hit the dig almost right out of his break through the will/mike window before the wr crossed the Mike. The next time he sat on his back foot and clicked his heels into the throw hitting the dig on the other side of the mike between he and the sam. This is more than just making the right read (free low go post, free high go dig). He is also showing he understands the underneath structure of the coverage which means he gets the full concept of the play beyond the simple read. This can be tougher than it sounds, just ask Sage Rosenfels. Now, he did on one play in team hit his back foot and never release the ball. He just stood there and tuned to the coaches shaking his head. I don't know if he was confused, if a wr fell down, or if one of his guys ran the wrong route. Other than that, he has looked decisive and the ball is consitently getting out of his hand early.
Harrell looks terrible out there right now. He's already thrown an INT and really should have had a pick 6 as well. His arm strength is really lacking, and he's also missed his target a number of times. His stock has probabably taken a huge hit tonight.
Yeah. Game speed is making a big difference. It is quite a bit different than practice. Have you noticed the shots of his face. He doesn't look very confident. I wish the kid well, but he does not look good tonight.
The rest of the story.... didn't Brennan turn out to be quite the surprise for a (?) sixth round pick? Maybe Harrell's fate will be the same? That's a great read. Thanks. I'm a draft-fiend, myself. It's my absolute favorite sporting event. Bar None.
Probably so. He did looks good in the practices and maybe he was like 3rd-4th rounder but after his play in the game, he's 6th rounder to undrafted. Like Mayock said (and i went back to the UT and OKLA games) he doesn't pass very much in the 11+ yd range and higher. I was impress with Brennan this past preseason when I went to Canton to watch him play against the colts. I think he can be a solid backup QB. Brennan and Harrell are really best suited for west-coast offense in the NFL. Also Rhett Bomar just sucks imo. People think he's like a 3rd or 4th rounder, i think he should be in the same league as Harrell
