Big Blue Huddle

Wes Bunting on Prince:

Impression: A fluid, balanced corner who possesses only average deep speed, but looks like a guy capable of starting at a number of spots in an NFL secondary. However, I don't think he will ever be a real blue-chip corner.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/college_player_scouting_report.html&player=66949

Pro Football Weekly draft analyst Nolan Nawrocki: Amukamara slid in large part because of concerns teams had about his perceived quirky personality and questions about how well he would fit into an NFL locker room. Many teams shy away from cornerbacks without interceptions, but the Giants, a value-driven team, recognized his worth and added depth to a battered secondary. He lacks ideal downfield ball skills, but he excels in short areas and could be a solid press corner for the Giants' aggressive defense.


http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/draft;_ylt=AmP1BxPKRRuEgAx0nCvaGbVDubYF

TheBlueScreen Ralph Vacchiano
Ross: "We never thought this kid would still be on the board at 19. ... I just assumed somebody would have taken him." #NYG
1 minute ago Favorite Retweet Reply

TheBlueScreen Ralph Vacchiano
Marc Ross, #NYG scouting director: "Shock. It was a shock. This one was just completely out of left field. ..."

Quote from: TDToomer on April 28, 2011, 10:23:57 PM
I hope you guys are right.  I think CB was not a day 1-2 need position and that we should have taken Ingrim or an OL.  It seems like Reese loads up at some positions (DE, DB, WR) but lets others go thin (LB, RB).  Maybe I have more faith in TT than others.  We needed to address our aging OL, not a position that is relatively young by NFL standards.

The Giants have to face the Eagles WRs and Dez Bryant twice a year.  That alone is a good excuse to have top notch corner.  Hopefully the Giants will be able to pick up O-line tomorrow night.

TheBlueScreen Ralph Vacchiano
Jerry Reese: "Really surprised that he was there when we picked. We thought he

Russ Lande's summary:


Prince is a very good athlete. He has good size, strength and a musulcar build which allows him to match up against any receiver in the country. He shows great toughness to jam receivers off the line and redirect there route pattern with ease. He also uses his toughness and size to attack downhill against the run and force the ball back inside to other defenders. When tackling ball carriers he shows a physicality that most corners lack and wraps up well to be a sure tackler. He will need to fine tune some technique issues with his backpedal, which should help him to turn and run better with receiver and to transition and close quicker out of his pedal - He has the hips, foot quicks and athleticism to be very good in these areas if he improves his technique. Overall, Prince Amukamara is a sure fire late 1st / high 2nd round selection and if he can become more consistent with his backpedal and improve vs double moves he could become a very good starting CB in the NFL. In the end, I think he will turn out to be a good, solid CB, but will never become an elite, all pro.

Nolan from PFW:

Sculpted, Instinctive, well-coached cover man with the speed, twitch, instincts and takling ability desired in a number 1 cornerback at the next level.  Lacks elite defensive play making skills but should be good for a long time.  TOP 15

NFL write up:

OVERVIEW
Amukamara has the size, speed and awareness to start from day one and turn into one of the league's finer players at the cornerback position. Takes advantage of his instincts and smarts in zone coverage but also has the ability to hold up when asked to cover on an island. Possesses good overall ball skills and hands. Will help out and support the run. Durable, aggressive, competitive and hard-working. No major weaknesses in his game, but isn't a true burner in terms of straight-line speed. Amukamara will likely be selected early in the first round, possibly in the top 10.

UK Giant's write up

Prince Amukamara (Nebraska) is 6', 206lb

Mike,

Regardless of WHY Auburn decided to create a simplistic system for him, it doesn't change the FACT that he was in a simplistic system.  You read far too much into the post to try and make a contrary point. 

Mike,
Look at the title of the thread.  I am pretty sure Grudem didn't discover what school he went through.  Rather he exposed the fact that Cam knows next to nothing about football

Thanks Mike, this is exactly what the point of this thread was:

"I'll tell you what scares me and what should scare Carolina," said one coach Sunday evening, "and that's that (Newton) never really developed past the 'JC' (junior college) level in terms of football knowledge. At Auburn, they let him do what he wanted to do. And that's because, athletically, the guy is a Hall of Famer. But in terms of what he knows about the game and how he plays it he's still at a junior-college level."


I appreciate that you posted it.  It took character to do that.

Here is an interesting follow up from former NFL defensive tackle Chris Hovan, who played for the Bucs during Gruden

Mike,

I think what Reese is saying supports what I have been saying.  The Spread offense is very different than NFL football and it makes it very difficult to evaluate people.  He also discussed the mental aspect of the game and that was the main point raised in this thread.

Brian Billick sums it up nicely:

QuoteIn all fairness to Cam Newton, he has better throwing action than both Young and Tim Tebow and he is much more NFL ready than both prospects were in their respective draft years.  As I mentioned when analyzing Blaine Gabbert, the college spread offense makes it very difficult to estimate how ones games with translate into the NFL, and with Newton it is even more difficult.  He has only 292 passing attempts on his resume, and as one quarterback coach recently told me, only about 10% of throws in a spread offense are comparable to NFL style routes.  That means that we are asking a club to play this young man almost 50 million dollars based off game analysis of just 30 throws.

Finally, as has been discussed over and over, Newton

Mike,

I think it's also important to mention that all college programs are constrained by the 20 hour a week rule.   Any college football program can only spend 20 hours a week practicing and preparing.

Mike,

You could also say from the QB's point of view Auburn's offense is also less complicated than the average college offense.  I also wouldn't say that the offense is "far more" complicated than the average high school offense.  

I also think you are taking a flawed approach by looking at the current roster, as that doesn't take into account the numbers of QBs coming from the various college systems.  If you want to convince me of your point, a good statistical study of the number of drafted QBs from simplified offenses like Auburns vs more complicated college offenses would be far more telling.

I will continue to voice my opinions and counter opinions and statements that I feel are wrong or I don't agree with.  

In the end college drafting is about three aspects:

1)  Physical ability
2) Mental makeup
3) On the field production


Now the thing with Cam Newton is that his on the field production is clearly not a good an indicator than what you see with your average college QB.   In fact while I haven't mentioned it, one of the after the fact reasons given for bust QBs is that their college coaches will often dummy down their offenses to take advantage of their QB's natural talents and ability.   Even in the pro style offenses, there have been many successful QBs who never had to look at more than one side of the field on a given play.   In the end the college game is different with much lower levels of competition and simpler defenses.  At the college level a player can out talent and ability his competition.  At the NFL level that simply doesn't happen.

In the end we have Cam Newton

1)  Great Physical ability
2) Questionable mental makeup
3) incomplete or unknown on the productivity indicator owing to the extreme simplicity of the offense he ran.  Compounding that problem was his single year at Auburn.

So you have a great number one and 2 question marks for the other 2.  That doesn't mean he will be a bust at the next level, but he is a huge gamble owing to the unknowns.  

In many ways Cam is like our own JPP in that he is long on ability short on experience and proven track record.  The difference is that JPP didn't have the character questions that Cam has.