A "Scout's" take on the Senior Bowl

[Squintz]

I got this email from a friend with connections:

 

Our good friend Phillip Savage scouted the Senior Bowl this past week. Why? I don't know. Maybe he has a job with a team that I am not aware of. Anyway, here are his thoughts:

 

a. The senior quarterback group is not strong. Matt Stafford and Mark Sanchez [juniors from Georgia and USC, respectively] must have known if they came out, they'd go high. ... I liked the arm of Rhett Bomar, the Sam Houston State quarterback. He got a lot of exposure here and kept himself alive.

b. Alex Mack, the center from Cal, distanced himself from the pack at his position. He probably got himself into late in the first round.

c. Brian Cushing and Rey Maualuga get the attention as USC linebackers, and they're good. But Clay Matthews Jr. weighed in three pounds heavier than Cushing and showed he can play inside or outside linebacker. He went from being a mid-round guy in the fall to late in the first or the second round. He was a 175-pound kid in high school. He's 246 and instinctive, just like his dad. (Clay Matthews Sr. played 19 NFL seasons in Cleveland and Atlanta, and his 278 games played are third-most in history.)

d. Cushing looks like a pro, an outside 'backer, kind of like a Kevin Greene.

e. Brian Robiskie, the Ohio State wide receiver, has had his speed questioned, but you can tell this is a kid who'd been to NFL camps and worked with his dad, because in the one-on-ones, he was very prepared and competitive. He's probably still a mid-round pick, but he's a good third-receiver type, a possession type who will make some plays with his size and his hands.

f. Rey Maualuga is a first- and second-down run defender. Not sure if he's going to be a great third-down player.

g. Pat White's been at the center of a lot of debate about whether he can play quarterback in the NFL. It's probably a longshot at 6-foot and 190, but who knows? I'd love to see him play that WildDawg spot. We had Josh Cribbs do it in Cleveland because he could throw the ball. I would think Pat White's a receiver, probably, but he can be a third quarterback type and play the WildDawg. He adds a dimension to the WildDawg because he can throw.

h. Michael Oher, the tackle from Ole Miss, is shrouded in mystery. He's the kid [Michael Lewis] wrote the book on, who kind of went from poverty to a suburban life because of football. He had a solid week, put himself in position to be a top 10 pick. He's 6-5, 325, with long arms. He's athletic, and he should be able to play left tackle. The great thing about taking a left tackle is if he doesn't pan out, he'll be able to be a right tackle.

i. The best three players I saw, maybe, were Cushing, Oher and Brandon Pettigrew, a tight end from Oklahoma State who is probably the most complete tight end in the country. Very impressed with him. He could go at the bottom of the first round.

j. Not much of a surprise, but 46 juniors came out, and I've seen most of them now, and I think it could potentially be the biggest draft for juniors ever. There will be something between 12 and 20 juniors picked in the first round.

k. First pick in the draft? If it's Detroit, and Jim Schwartz is talking about Bobby Layne, and the offensive coordinator is Scott Linehan, who wants a big, strong-thrower, I'd say the big strong QB with a strong arm would be the pick. Matthew Stafford is big and throws the ball so well. It's a pretty easy guess.

[Mr. T]

This is going to be a draft deep with talent, I hope we can get some extra picks for DA.

[Flugel]

I got this email from a friend with connections:

 

Our good friend Phillip Savage scouted the Senior Bowl this past week. Why? I don't know. Maybe he has a job with a team that I am not aware of. Anyway, here are his thoughts:

 

a. The senior quarterback group is not strong. Matt Stafford and Mark Sanchez [juniors from Georgia and USC, respectively] must have known if they came out, they'd go high. ... I liked the arm of Rhett Bomar, the Sam Houston State quarterback. He got a lot of exposure here and kept himself alive.

 

 

Here's what Philip thought of QBs for Cleveland:

1) "I will autograph this town with TRENT DILFER and my boy Charlie Frye was MVP of the Senior Bowl so he's on deck."

2) "Derek Anderson is available at the price of a bag of Walmart Potato Chips so some day I can overpay his ass and start him over some first round QB Randy Lerner has asked us to make an effort for."

3) "My biggest wish for this franchise? Jamarcus Russell. There's a kid going places." Yes, he's gone to Oakland to learn how to play NFL QB from an owner with Alzheimers.

 

In Baltimore Phil was very fond of Kyle Boller who will ironically be batting DA in the hunt for a new home at the humble reality of friendlier wages. That said, Savage left us overpaying DA because he had 8 wonderful games in his career. I doubt anyone thinks DA's worth the fuss but I've been wrong before. I just don't cost our franchise valuable cap space and draft picks when I'm wrong. Savage left us without our first 3 draft picks in 2008 and I heard we're missing 3 picks in 2009 from his maneuvers.

 

Moral of the story? Mark Sanchez and Matt Stafford's stock just went up.

- Tom F.

[We need Tom Tupa]

That's part of Peter King's Tuesday article.