QG? The Legendary Quarter Guard? I don't think the NFL has had one of those since the Gmen had the hefty lefty!
WW85, ---- by the way about Chase Thomas; http://www.rotoworld.com/articles/cfb/41934/321/chase-thomas-conundrum Chase Thomas, Conundrum Monday, November 19, 2012 Defensive End or Linebacker? The Chase Thomas Conundrum A lad with overgrown dark hair and a notebook sits in front of the tube, furiously writing one-liners about athletes with a cramped hand as the game clock ticks in the wee hours of the morning. He’s turned his focus to a Stanford student-athlete by the name of Chase Thomas, who is sporting the No. 44. He’s rather tall, possesses the kind of muscles that only show when he bundles his fingers up to make a fist and is relatively quick. He’s lined up all over the defensive formation – the 5-technique, 9-technique and the “ghost” 30 and 90-techniques – early into the game. From these alignments, he’s taking turns stunting like a kamikaze into the teeth of the defense and dropping back into coverage, covering zones and men. What position does he play? That’s the question NFL scouts are going to have to answer about “linebacker” (unofficial, as I see it) Chase Thomas when they sit at a grand roundtable in February at team headquarters and are forced to read their scouting reports in front of their bosses. I’ve studied plenty of Chase Thomas’ games, dating back to early last season, but I’m still admittedly unsure what position I see him playing in the pros. At times, I am reminded of Baltimore Ravens defensive end Paul Kruger when he was a defensive end-outside linebacker, like Thomas, at Utah. At other moments, I watch Thomas drop into the curl-flat area of coverage and I think to myself, “When did Hunter Hillenmeyer come back into football?” Interestingly enough, Kruger and Hillenmeyer play or played in the 3-4 and 4-3 schemes, respectively. Finding the ideal position for an athlete is one of the first things that should come to mind when studying him but it’s a tough task. There have been a plethora of talented players that have come into the NFL and had their careers ruined because they were honing the wrong craft. When it comes to Thomas, there are a few areas of his game that can be pinpointed as sure-fire things he’s good at: Stunting/Looping -- Chase Thomas is best getting after the quarterback when he doesn’t have to deal with blockades of offensive tackles; rather, he is quite dangerous as an inside rusher when he’s looping or stunting from an outside position. This allows him to use his quickness and closing speed against heavy-legged, waist-bending blockers. Facing the Play -- When it comes to pass coverage, he does a good job of reading the quarterback and mimicking with his hips and feet. Thomas is surprisingly light on his feet and shows the flexibility to flip his hips but questions remain about his ability to cover man-to-man. He spends a lot of time dropping to the hashes a la Cover 2 and 4 linebackers. Athleticism – He’s not going to beat blockers by flattening the edge with great knee-bend when rushing the passer, but he is going to cut through the grass with quick feet, a relentless motor and athleticism that will enable him to work around trash at his feet. If the three characteristics above have been identified correctly, they help clear up some things about Thomas. As a defensive end in a traditional alignment, Chase Thomas is probably not going to get the job done. He’s not explosive off the line of scrimmage, he lacks great strength and he is simply not going to win as a C-gap rusher because of his lack of straight-line speed. But he might be able to beat tight ends with quick hands and get after the quarterback like he did against Notre Dame when he disengaged the blocker from the 90-technique and slapped him off-balance to the right prior to rushing the passer. The characteristics also indicate that perhaps Thomas could thrive as a linebacker. As noted earlier, the Cardinal product has done extensive work as a (zone) defender, repeatedly dropping into coverage as a curl-flat or hook-curl defender and looking good doing so. If Chase Thomas is indeed a linebacker, what kind of linebacker is he? Is he a middle (“MIKE”) linebacker? Unlikely. A weak-side (“WILL”) linebacker? Perhaps. Maybe a strong-side (“SAM”) linebacker? Most likely. At SAM linebacker, he would spend more time on the line of scrimmage (in most cases) lined up over or just outside of tight ends. He’d also have more responsibility as a run defender, which he still needs to work on but has shown flashes of strong discipline and footwork, and pass defender because of dealings with tight ends. Although he has questions in the latter too, he could prove to be a good man-to-man defender by utilizing great technique and going to a scheme that plays plenty of zone coverage (e.g. NFC North teams). Moreover, he’d also have the opportunity to do damage as a pass rusher in specific situations that see him loop, stunt or twist into the gut of the trenches like he’s done at Stanford. Chase Thomas’ versatility has drawn comparisons to Chicago Bears’ 2012 first rounder Shea McClellin in recent time and although they both some similarities in their game, McClellin is a superior rusher. Thomas would be best fit on a team where he can play on and off the line of scrimmage as a strong-side (“SAM”) linebacker and attack the ball downhill frequently, such as the Chicago Bears.
Rotoworld is getting in full draft mode!!! Very interesting stuff about Skov here and they are saying better value in 2nd as opposed to Te'o in 1st????!!!!! According to SI's Tony Pauline, many NFL scouts believe a second-round selection of Stanford senior ILB Shayne Skov "could be better value" than Notre Dame senior ILB Manti Te'o in the top-12 picks.After a knee injury in 2011, Skov finally appears back to full health and put on a great performance against Oregon. The senior has sevent tackles for loss, including 2.5 sacks, on the season. Expect Skov to be a second or early third day selection. Nov 19 - 3:07 PM Source: Sports Illustrated
WWS, thanks for the read. I think Thomas would be a solid OLB, in either a 3-4 or 4-3. He's not a pass rush specialist, but does pressure the backfield thru his relentless nature. I've seen Thomas make many plays for loss of yardage stopping the RB behind the line of scrimmage. FWIW, Rotoworld is just one person's opinion. Skov was no where near a 2nd Rd pick a few weeks back, and that Te'o deal is off the wall, don't ever underestimate Manti Te'o.
Thought you might like this http://www.footballsfuture.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=504958 Has us taking Glennon in the 1st round. Not totally inconceivable considering Tannehill was taken in the 1st this year. Overall, I think the mock draft might not be a very good one, but his explanation of Glennon to the Jets was pretty good to read
I'm starting to warm up to Mike Glennon but as a 2nd rounder or trade up into the 1st I want Jarvis Jones right now more than anything
Yeah, stupid laxinx57 got me into Glennon now. I have a couple of NC St games on DVD, so I'll be reviewing them this weekend while I have some time. Also, interesting to note that NC St chose Glennon over Russell Wilson after Wilson had been the starter for a couple of seasons which led Wilson to transfer to Wisconsin.
Haha I see Ive convinced you about Glennon? I would love him as a late round 1 or early round 2 selection. IMO he would be a great option to sit the bench his first year, work on his footwork and the mental aspects and then step in year two to take over. You can never tell what a person's stock is right now really... He could end up being the first QB drafted. He's got all the tools and I would without a doubt rather Glennon than Barkley. Draftbreakdown has 4 games of his and they were all impressive. Like I said, some of his throws just make you say wow to yourself. After watching Kaepernick play vs the Bears, it just shows what a great (offensively minded) coach and some time sitting on the bench can do. Kaepernick did everything great that everyone had questions about him- pocket awareness, decision making, reading a defense, ect. All of the mental aspects; and he passed with flying colors. Also as an aside for anyone who watched that game- some of the throws Kaepernick made were some of the best throws Ive seen all year. The touch, accuracy, timing, velocity... Just amazing. The pass where he dropped the ball in over two defenders and right into Vernon Davis' hands was absolutely amazing... Reminded me why I love football so much. Sadly, I havent seen that from Sanchez, pretty much at all. Back on track, Glennon is probably my favorite QB option this year and I love the tools he has to work with. He's joining the group of Gio Bernard, Anthony Barr, Manti and Jawan Jamison for me.
Another big day for WR Conner Vernon of Duke. The kid is legit. 2014 NFL draft is a full year away & a lot of shit can happen, but 1 QB I've been extremely intrigued by is North Carolina's Bryn Renner. Great arm, quick release, solid accuracy, and an impressive resume of work so far.
Seeing as we dont need a JJ Watt type player(it would be nice if Q can develop). Who is this years Aldon Smith or JPP? At this point if Jones or Te'O dont look like the real deal I am still drafting Star if he is still there. Lets say we draft Te'O who is the odd man out? Not Harris so what do we do with Davis? Can he play OLB at his size but he does have raw speed so that can help.
Dion Jordan is this years JPP or Aldon Smith, in a sense that he is extremely raw but has a ton of potential, keep in mind he came into Oregon as a tight end. He's 6'7 241 pounds and has excellent burst off the edge. He plays very well in coverage and is one of the most athletic OLBs in the country. He has 5 sacks on the season (dont be too discouraged with that number, he's dropped back in coverage a ton this year. Plus, JPP and Aldon Smith only had around 6 a piece in their final seasons). If not Jordan, another prospect similar to the description of a "raw but high potential player" would be, my avatar, Anthony Barr. He, like Jordan, was an offensive player coming into college, but in his first season as an OLB he has totaled 12 sacks this year (pretty damn impressive). He needs to add a few pounds to his frame but if he can, while not losing any of his dynamic burst (which I dont think he will), then he becomes one of the top pass rushing prospects (If he comes out this year). And If we drafted Te'o, Davis just becomes a solid backup. He cant exactly play 3-4 OLB.
Demario Davis would be the odd man out. I'm hoping our linebackers for next season will be Manti Te'o, Chase Thomas and David Harris. wishful thinking.
JTJ, Thanks for the answer, so do we pass on Te'O if he is still on the board due to him not filling a need or do we go BPA? Is he the next Ray Lewis in all reality, a talent that can not be passed up? We still need that OLB so do we take Te'O in the first and an OLB in the 2nd? Or go with someone like Austin in the 2nd, Barner in the 3rd or Ball?
Let's put it this way, I see no scenario where we don't take him if he falls to our pick. But Te'o, with the lack of QB talent, should go in the top 5. Is he the next Ray Lewis? I'm not too sure about that but he's certainly one of the best if not the best talent in this draft. He's perfect for this defense and next to Harris, he could be one of the best in the NFL. And the only OLB I'd take over Te'o is Jarvis Jones, and if he's not available then it's Te'o. If neither are available, I've been suggesting, and I'd like to, trade down to acquire another 2nd rounder ( possibly go from 11 to 25).
I think if you talking raw with shit tons of potential, you have to include Ezekiel Ansah from BYU in that list. Was a track star from Ghana before picking up football in 2010. He's really come on in his senior season and should be at the senior bowl and combine for teams to get a good look. He has be rushing both witH his hand on the ground and as a stand up pass rusher. If Rex is around you know he likes bigger prospects for his front 7 and he also likes guys he feels still need coached up because they have more potential. I could see us taking a long look at Ansah this off season.
I think many of us would like a trade down at this point, but with the lack of QB and top end receiver talent I think trading out of the top half of this draft may not be all that easy this year.
[YOUTUBE]JxQlaxBHU[/YOUTUBE] Found this vid of him. #47. Souls good power at the point and the awareness to get his hands up when not getting into the backfield quickly. For a very raw kid he makes a ton of plays.
I like Te'o, i think he can be a very good pro but his team needs two OLB and this is the year to get at least one. Jones, Moore, Mingo, Werner, Montgomery, Jordan, Lemionier. You have to get one of these guys. All would give the Jet's flexibility to go between 3-4 and 4-3.
I love Barr soooo much more than Dion Jordan. I pray he comes out this year haha, even though it would probably be beneficial for him to go back for his senior season. Honestly, after TeO and Jarvis Jones I dont think there's a player that I would prefer out of this entire draft. I would honestly be okay with spending a top 10 draft pick on him. He could easily add 10 pounds by the tim the combine rolls around and absolutely dominate. He ran with Ertz yesterday pretty effortlessly. His play might benefit from another year, but next years class is so much more top heavy than this year and I think that he has the potential to go very high this year. I could even see him challenging Jarvis Jones... He is that good and has that much potential. I wanted to include him in my mock draft, but I couldnt because who knows the likelihood of him coming out. Give me Barr in the first and Jamison in the 2nd and Im a happy man haha.
