Update

Hope y’all had a great Thanksgiving Holiday.

I type this as I finish up Auburn vs LSU, my 4th LSU game. I now have a firm grasp of… well… 2 LSU players. I feel very confident that I know Herman Johnson well. WRs are going to be a huge pain because I see maybe 10-15 plays a game of them, but I feel I know Demetrius Byrd well enough. I coud change his grade later. Curtis Taylor was the guy on LSU’s defense I wanted to grade, but he missed basically 2 games of the 4 I have done due to injury.

I’m going to beat up Herman Johnson. Well, no. He’s got 9 inches on me and is about 200lbs heavier. But I want to. I’ll say it right now: I’ve never felt as unsure about a player’s grade, even in year’s past when I didn’t assign them numerical grades, as I do Johnson’s. I understand Johnson perfectly – I can tell you his strengths and weaknesses and I feel positive about that. But projecting him to the NFL is killing me. He’s 6′7 360 but is best on the 2nd level. I think his athleticism is better than his strength! He’s pretty good in pass protection but I don’t know if I like him as a run-blocker. I question his aggressiveness, but then you see him running 10 yards downfield to make a block. He just made several key blocks for a crucial touchdown, but that isn’t consistent with his non-existant nasty streak, I just don’t get him. He could be a HOFer or he could never get off an NFL bench.

Anyways, I’ll have the reports up sometime next week. I’m trying to get some more LSU for Taylor, and maybe Byrd. It’ll be interesting to see what juniors declare because Scott (HB), Lafell (WR) Black (terrible OT) Jean-Francois (DT) all are really interesting prospects. Tyson Jackson I might grade but he makes no sense at Seattle since he’s a classic 34 end.

Big Updates

Salutations everyone!

Sorry for the long delay. Between my slightly existant social life, school, and scouting, I haven’t had time to update this in a while. That’ll change, I’m getting more comfortable with scouting and set aside 3 hours 5-6 days a week for scouting. I’m about to watch LSU’s Herman Johnson (OG), Curtis Taylor (S) and Demetrius Byrd (WR) after I finish this post.
The first change you’ll have noticed already is that we have a real banner. I’d like to thanks DTapp of Seahawks.Net for his work, it looks excellent.

The second change is that I’ve created a couple new pages: Quarterbacks and Outside Linebackers. Matthew Stafford (QB) and Dannell Ellerbe (OLB) of Georgia are both up with their full write ups. Unfortunately, WordPress wants to fight me every step of the way with formatting, so it took some 30 minutes just to create those pages and get working copies of Ellerbe and Stafford up. Stafford is a kid who I believe I murdered in my “Impressions” against Alabama but actually plays a bit better than that. On the downside, he hasn’t met a double-covered receiver who he doesn’t want to throw that 50 yard pass to. Ellerbe is frusterating because he has really bad technique – very high tackler. He also runs around blocks. That 6.1 grade could drop as I scout more linebackers – the hardest part for me is to give that final grade, especially since this is my first time writing these kinds of reports. I wasn’t terribly impressed with Ellerbe, to be honest, but I want to scout more guys before I kill him too badly. If he hasn’t dropped by my 5th or 6th linebacker, then he’s probably going to keep the grade.
Oh, yeah, speaking of 6.1, you’ll want to check out the newly updated “What I do” because I’ll be placing exactly what those grades mean in that page.

Thanks guys! Sorry for being so long in updating this. I’ll have CB Asher Allen and WR Mohamed Massaquoi (and that last name might be misspelled, he has it spelt every which way depending on the site) up in the next few days. I’m allowing Seahawks.Net to give their premium members a sneak peak on these reports. After a day or two I’ll put them up here, though.

Dannell Ellerbe, OLB, University of Georgia

Name: Dannell Ellerbe
Position: Outside Linebacker
School: Georgia
Height: 6007 E
Weight: 236 E
40 Time: 4.63 E

Athleticism: 6.5
Dannell is an athletic linebacker who displays very good quickness when he wants to. He has fluid hips, allowing him to change directions in run support. In zone coverage, he drops back quite well. Ellerbe’s balance and fluid hips enables him to have some success as a blitzer on the outside. (It is worth noting that only in 2 of the 4 games I have scouted has Ellerbe been fully healthy, and I am weighting what I saw in those games more heavily than I otherwise would.)
Quickness: 6.5
Balance: 6.0
Fluidity: 6.5

Physical Talents: 6.0
Ellerbe certainly looks the part of a physically imposing linebacker, actually looks bigger on film than his already stocky size. Despite his physique, his game strength is rarely shown. He has good explosion as a pass-rusher and closing on the ball carrier, but doesn’t use it in his tackling due to poor technique, not a lack of athletic ability.
Body Type: 6.5
Strength: 5.5
Explosion: 6.0

Polish: 5.5
Ellerbe looks to have a good grasp of his responsibilities versus the run, but struggles somewhat against the option and his tendency to tackle high negates his impressive athleticism. His run play and zone coverage show marginal instincts, as he can be tricked into abandoning his zone and does not diagnose the play very quickly in run support.
Understands Playbook: 6.0
Proper Technique: 5.5
Instincts: 5.5

Competitiveness: 5.5
Dannell is frustrating to grade in regards to his effort because he shows all of the hallmarks of an aggressive, big-time linebacker. I have noted him at times playing astounding intense football, sometimes in key situations, but I also have caught him loafing on plays on more than one occassion, and it is apparent when he is trying vs when he is just going through the motions. Ellerbe was injured early in the Alabama game I graded (sprained MCL), but came back in a limited roll before he was fully recovered vs Florida, and made a few big plays. If Ellerbe can consistently play with aggression, he can really improve his grade here.
Toughness: 6.0
Consistency: 5.5
Clutch Play: 6.5
Effort: 5.5

Football Character: 6.5 Ellerbe is described as being a team leader late in his Georgia career.
Personal Character: 5.0 Ellerbe had serious legal trouble early in his Georgia career, including a 3-game suspension for crashing a teammate’s car into a tree, but has kept his nose clean since that 2006 incident and has been described as proof of players learning their lesson.
Durability: 6.0 Over his career he has been very durable, but had the misfortune to injury himself early against Alabama. While he will probably not contend for the Iron Man award, he is unlikely to be an injury concern in the NFL.

Linebacker Specific Skills
Read & React: 6.0 Ellerbe could improve this if he made his reads quicker, but he rarely over pursues.
Initial Quicks: 6.0 Ellerbe does not diagnose the play quickly, but he does have a quick first step in coverage and while blitzing.
Hit Power: 5.5 Ellerbe should be a much more explosive hitter, but has poor tackling form which negates his ability to make hits. This could improve.
Block Shedding: 5.0 Too easily engulfed by the OL. Protects his legs well against cut blocks. Prefers to run around blocks.
Tackling: 5.5 Gets the job done due to natural athleticism, but could do much more with better technique. Tackles high sometimes.
Range: 6.0 For such a good athlete he is involved in surprisingly few outside runs, but takes good angles when not running around blockers.
Man Coverage: 6.0 Rarely utilized in man coverage, but showed an ability to stick with even very athletic TEs.
Zone Coverage: 5.5 Rarely drops back far, and probably cannot perform the deep drops required of middle linebackers in Tampa-2 schemes. Instincts in this category are suspect.
Pass-Rush: 6.0 Ellerbe is a 6.5 if graded simply for edge rushes, which is what he should do if moved to WLB. But he is unable to create pressure rushing up the middle. Few moves but natural athleticism serves him well.
Errors: 6.0 Ellerbe is not a perfect linebacker and can improve, but is rarely flagged and does not overpursue.

Summary: Ellerbe is a frustrating player to grade because his poor form negates a lot of his natural athleticism. I expect him to be drafted earlier than his college production warrants because he will perform well in offseason workouts. Georgia subbed him out quite a bit after he returned from injury because LB Darryl Gamble performed so well in Ellerbe’s absence. When he was on the field, however, Georgia’s defense played significantly better than when he was on the bench. He missed his best chance to show off his value to the NFL against a traditional run-oriented offense when he was injured against Alabama, as he is a poor fit against spread offenses. Ellerbe’s best suited for a 43 defense as a weakside linebacker, because his limited deep zone coverage will not hurt him too badly and his ability as an edge-rusher will be an immediate asset to whatever team selects him. If a team is patient and coaches him up, they could end up with a very athletic outside linebacker without spending a premium pick. If Ellerbe fails to reach his potential, he likely still has enough athleticism to serve as a decent starter in the NFL. I believe that Ellerbe will achieve enough of his potential to start in this league but is unlikely to correct his tackling to the degree that it becomes a strength, despite his physical ability to so do.

Final Grade: 6.1 I CR

Note: Due to the still-ongoing nature of the college football season, it is very possible, even likely, that I will evaluate Georgia in games that haven’t occured yet. for this reason, I retain the right to change any of these reports up until the day of the draft.

Matthew Stafford, QB, UGA

Name: Matthew Stafford
Position: Quarterback
School: Georgia
Height: 6027 E
Weight: 236 E
40 Time: 4.75 E

Athleticism: 6.0
Matthew is a surprisingly athletic quarterback considering he still has some baby fat. He could improve his quickness if he lost a few pounds, as he still appears slow when running bootleg plays, but is surprisingly quick when he tucks it in and runs. Will never be confused with Michael Vick, but can catch a defense napping and pick up the first down. He shows good knee bend and maintains proper balance throughout his throwing motion. He does not change directions easily while running the ball, limiting him somewhat in the open field.
Quickness: 6.0
Balance: 6.5
Fluidity: 6.0

Physical Talents: 7.0
Stafford is an immensely talented quarterback. He is a shade under 6′3 but is a stocky guy with the build to withstand punishment. That he can improve his build should aid his future performance, as he could only benefit from more time in the weight room. As a runner he shows no explosion, but the ball jumps out of his hand when he throws the ball and hits the reciever extremely quickly.
Body Type: 6.5
Strength: 6.0
Explosion: 7.0

Polish: 6.5
Stafford is a very polished quarterback when it comes to his passing technique – as a quarterback coach, you don’t have to worry about his mechanics at all. He has a quick delivery and strides into his throws to get maximum explosion. He might need a little more work on touch passes but shows potential there. He has a strong understanding of the playbook and is trusted to audible out of a play if he sees something in the defense. He directs an offense that uses a fair bit of motion and the team generally makes few mistakes prior to the snap. He has solid instincts for feeling pressure, but he does not get down as a runner and has some trouble sensing cornerback blitzes.
Understands Playbook: 6.5
Proper Technique: 7.0
Instincts: 6.0

Competitiveness: 7.0
Stafford is going to be one of those players who will drive fans of the other 31 teams crazy with how often he is praised for his heart. He took a huge beating against Florida, hurt his elbow, but continued to play hard until the game was out of reach. He tends to have his worst performances against the best teams, which is concerning, but against Florida he suffered an injury which seemed to hurt his arm strength (funnybone injury) and against Alabama he had early jitters but settled down in the second half. He consistently makes big throw after big throw and seems to thrive under pressure most of the time, but does turn a little too gunslinger when trailing by a lot. However, I believe that these traits are pluses as they show guts and fire, essential for a field general and the bad habits can be worked out.
Toughness: 7.0
Consistency: 6.0
Clutch Play: 7.0
Effort: 7.0

Football Character: 6.5 I’m always a little hesitant of pudgy players, but Stafford has lost weight since last season and seems willing to work hard.
Personal Character: 6.5 No blemishes that I am aware of. Quiet off-field life.
Durability: 7.0 He has a good frame to withstand big injuries, and the toughness to play through mild ones.

Release: 7.0 Quick release that gets the ball away fairly high. Very few passes batted down at LOS.
Dropback: 6.5 Stafford has a standard dropback that does not need major refining. He takes his share of shotgun snaps but does pass in under-center formations as well.
Arm Strength: 7.5 He throws with a ton of zip and his deep passes are ropes.
3rd Down Conversions: 7.5 He converted on 12 of 17 conversion attempts, which is great, and was rarely asked to convert the easier 3rd and 2… Mostly third and long.
Short Accuracy in Pocket 7.0 He can sometimes throw a little behind his target over the middle, but not to the point where the ball is uncatchable. Most passes are exact and get to their target quickly.
Long Accuracy in Pocket: 7.0 He is streaky, but a deep accuracy of almost 50% is nothing to sneeze at. Throws deep corner route with touch.
Accuracy while moving: 6.5 He is a little less accurate on the move but generally retains good accuracy.
Big Plays: 7.0 Stafford is not a spread quarterback who rarely throws downfield. Lots of downfield passes and when he is on, it is almost unstoppable.
Poise in Pocket: 6.0 Stafford can be jittery at times, but generally does a good job stepping up or scrambling out when pressured. Takes hits to make the throw.
Escapes from Pocket: 6.0 Stafford sometimes leaves a little too soon, and can’t outrun a quick defender, but he can escape and buy himself a bit of time.
Leadership: 6.5 Not a rah-rah type, but leads by example with his grit.
Reading Defenses: 6.0 His biggest flaw is that he is terrible throwing deep. Over 70% of his deep passes are thrown into double coverage. In short range, he makes good decisions. Makes his reads but sometimes misses open man and could improve.
Big Errors: 6.0 Sometimes gets gunslinger syndrome and tries to do too much when down by a lot, but otherwise takes great care of the football. Would like to see smarter play in bad situations, however.

Summary: Stafford is a quarterback who grows on you because of his toughness and clutch play. The dynamite arm strength is readily apparent, and even if he does not improve at all he will have one of the stronger arms in the NFL. He has a ton of potential, and whoever drafts him will be taking a gamble that he achieves his potential. My projection is based on the assumption that he heads to a situation where he is groomed responsibly and fulfills his potential, as his flaws – deep reads, gunslinger mentality, and jitters – stand a good chance of being worked out by a quality quarterback teacher. It may take him a year or two to confirm my assessment, but I expect that Stafford will join the ranks of the “not quite Brady or Manning” quarterbacks by the end of his third season.

Final Grade: 6.9 I

Note: Due to the still-ongoing nature of the college football season, it is very possible, even likely, that I will evaluate Georgia in games that haven’t occurred yet. for this reason, I retain the right to change any of these reports up until the day of the draft.