QBREES9

LSU CB Chevis Jackson continues to impress. He is consistently in the hip pocket of the South wide receivers, and he has a thicker body with good strength to battle through the routes or to come up and play the run. Jackson is aggressive and will hit. Even Avery, possibly the fastest prospect in the 2008 class, was not able to escape Jackson today. These Senior Bowl practices have been great for Jackson's stock.

Would be a perfect fit for the Saints because he does come from a man scheme and has always played well.

SapperSaint

I watched that as well yeaterday. I for one was very impressed with Rodgers-Cormartie. Speed, INTS, reads the QB, Reads the WR. I was just very impressed with him. If they show a replay from yesterday, watch him. Hope we pick him up.

To avoid any conflict I won't even talk about what the NFLN guys said about Jackson. Because, you know..I'm dumb for even considering wanting to draft a "Big School" Player.

papz

January 24, 2008
Senior Bowl - Thursday North Practice
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Scott Wright
President, NFL Draft Countdown


For the first time this week the weather became an issue today and it was cold, rainy and pretty much miserable. Practice must go on though and despite coming out in just helmets there was actually a decent amount of contact. While it's always better to see the guys go through a practice in full pads there was still plenty of information to glean from today's session and a few guys definitely stood out from the pack. Here's a breakdown of all the day's action:

• Michigan quarterback Chad Henne had another strong day and it's safe to say that he's been the most consistently impressive signal caller in Mobile this week. Henne's arm strength is excellent and he's also been very accurate. A couple of plays that stood out today: 1) Dropped a beautiful touch pass to Dorien Bryant right over the head of DeJuan Tribble. 2) Gunned a frozen rope to Jordy Nelson who then slipped into the endzone. In my mind Henne is now a solid second round pick.

• USC offensive tackle Sam Baker has nice feet and balance. Today in 1-on-1's he was real calm and in control and basically made it look easy.

• Michigan St. tight end Kellen Davis is undeniably a great athlete and an outstanding physical specimen but is he a football player? Davis struggles with his footwork and doesn't have great hands which makes him more of a late round developmental type in my mind but he will probably be taken in the middle rounds based on his physical tools and potential.

• There were a lot of mishandled snaps this week. Obviously that is to be expected with quarterbacks and centers who aren't used to working together but it sure seems like there were more this year than usual.

• Virginia Tech wide receiver Eddie Royal continues to have a very solid week and it seems like every time you turn around he is making a catch. He may never be a star but he could be a nice #2 or #3 target and return man at the next level.

• Purdue's Cliff Avril has had some trouble with Carl Nicks this week but today he was finally able to beat him for a would-be sack.

• Defensive backs Tracy Porter of Indiana and Tim Zbikowski of Notre Dame displayed terrific hands and ball skills in drills today.

• Kansas St. wideout Jordy Nelson adjusts to the ball well and once again showcased his great hands with a nice finger-tip catch in drills.

• It wasn't nearly as bad as earlier this week but Oklahoma St. wideout Adarius Bowman did have another drop today. New Mexico's Marcus Smith is catching the ball better lately.

• USC running back Chauncey Washington doesn't appear to have much quickness or wiggle and he dropped a pass in 7-on-7's today.

• Purdue's wide receiver Dorien Bryant is still doing much better than I expected. His speed, quickness and hands have all stood out.

• Cal's Lavelle Hawkins showed good hands and doesn't let the ball get into his body.

• USC defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis just continues to dominate. Ellis uses his hands well and then today in 11-on-11's he got great penetration on a goaline play.

• Eastern Michigan defensive lineman Jason Jones is still acclimating himself quite well and today he beat Drew Radovich with a nice little swim move. He also had a sack in 7-on-7's.

• Iowa's Bryan Mattison was neutralized by Arizona St. center Mike Pollak today, although it's unfair to judge Mattison because he is playing out of position at defensive tackle.

• Southern Cal linebacker Keith Rivers has outstanding sideline-to-sideline range.

• Northern Iowa offensive lineman Chad Rinhart struggled early in the week but has played much better the past couple of days. Even though he played left tackle in college his future is definitely inside at the next level.

• Colorado cornerback Terrence Wheatley made a couple of nice plays in 7-on-7's down on the goaline today. He's a poor-man's DeJuan tribble.

• Oklahoma St. running back Dantrell Savage finally flashed a little today, putting a nice move on Terrell Thomas on a sweep that got him into the endzone.

• Delaware quarterback Joe Flacco has a tendency to stare down his targets.

This was basically the last real practice for the North and despite the less than ideal weather it was a good workout. The guys who really stood out for me today were Chad Henne and Eddie Royal, although Sedrick Ellis always stands out as well. If the old adage about everything starting up front holds true the North should have an advantage over the South on Saturday because they are superior along both the offensive and defensive lines. Tomorrow is the walk-through and even though those are usually pretty uneventful I will nevertheless be covering it so be sure to check back for that.

Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.

All little common sense goes a long way.

papz

January 24, 2008
Senior Bowl - Thursday South Practice
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Scott Wright
President, NFL Draft Countdown


For most of the week we had decent weather but this morning was cold and this afternoon was even worse. Fortunately it did warm up a little for the second half of the session but nevertheless it was pretty miserable for a while. Like their North counterparts the South practiced in just helmets today but that doesn't mean there weren't observations and evaluations to be made. Even though they have some talented players in the trenches the South squad's calling card is skill position talent and just like the rest of the week that showed today.

• Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge throws some real ugly balls. I mean real ugly. At one point I swear I saw one of his throws almost go end over end like a punt. To call it a duck would have been an insult to ducks. Get the picture? Ainge has probably been the least impressive quarterback at this game and while coming into this week I felt he was a little underrated my opinion has now definitely changed.

• Appalachian St. wide receiver Jackson received some instruction from the coaching staff on his route running and he needs work in that department but he's also very quick off the line and his pure speed is evident.

• Kentucky quarterback Andre Woodson probably looked as good as he has all week and he also showed some mobility. However, Woodson looks real mechanical and all of his throws come out going in a downward angle and something just doesn't look right there. I still think he'll be a first round pick when all is said and done but he's probably not quite the prospect I and many others thought he was.

• Pittsburgh offensive lineman Mike McGlynn may not be a great athlete or have all the physical tools you look for but his intangibles are top-notch. The guy has a motor that runs non-stop and his middle name should be hustle.

• Florida St. defensive tackle Andre Fluellen drew the ire of his coach at one point and was reamed out pretty good, although I couldn't quite hear exactly what his offense was. Despite battling a minor injury Fluellen did show off that great quickness again today though.

• For the most part Kentucky outside linebacker Wesley Woodyard hasn't really stood out much this week but he flashed two times in a row during today's practice, making a couple of tackles behind the line of scrimmage in 11-on-11's.

• Iowa St. defensive tackle Athyba Rubin is stout at the point and doesn't get pushed back but he doesn't offer much as a pass rusher either. He also had some trouble getting off blocks.

• Vandy offensive tackle Chris Williams continues to impress, showing nice feet and doing a solid job versus Wallace Gilberry. Williams should absolutely be in the late first round conversation, if he wasn't already.

• Wake Forest defensive end Jeremy Thompson showed some speed off the edge but he also got a little out of control at times.

• Texas A&M defensive tackle Red Bryant had some trouble with his focus, jumping off sides a few times in drills. Later he was a little slow off the ball, possibly because he was trying to make sure he wasn't early again.

• Georgia Tech linebacker Philip Wheeler is still having a great week. Today he sniffed out a screen pass and was singled out by the coaches for his effort. Wheeler has made some money in Mobile.

• Kentucky running back Rafael Little beat Gary Guyton on a swing pass for a big gain down the sideline.

• Georgia Tech running back Tashard Choice had a very good day, displaying excellent patience and breaking a couple of long runs in 11-on-11's. I like what I have seen from this guy.

• Kentucky tight end Jacob Tamme may not have the size / bulk that you'd prefer but he's extremely smart and a hard worker who can help a team in one capacity or another. Today Tamme fought for the ball and made a nice catch with a defender draped on his back.

• Alabama wide receiver D.J. Hall was sick and did not practice today.

• Auburn's Patrick Lee made a big play toward the end of the day, blocking a Brandon Coutu field goal attempt.

Once again the South quarterbacks continued to disappoint and in my opinion none of them have lived up to the hype. Woodson looked a little better today but he certainly hasn't played like an elite prospect this week and even Colt Brennan struggled a bit this afternoon. It will be interesting to see if these guys can get the ball to the South playmakers in the game on Saturday. Other than that it was a pretty good day and some guys who hadn't done much the rest of the week flashed and made some plays, which was nice to see. All of the real practices are finished now with only the walk-through and the game left but while most have gone home I am still in Mobile and will continue providing you with the best coverage of the 2008 Senior Bowl out there, all 100% FREE.

Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.

All little common sense goes a long way.

papz

Ellis, Rivers, Royal, Wheeler, and Hawkins continue to stand out. I've seen quite a few mocks circulating with Rivers being a late first or second round pick.... that's not going to happen.

SapperSaint

I like Ellis, He would be my 1st rounder pick.

Supersaint19

Ellis in the first and Wheeler in the 2 would be nice or lofton

Boogro

I agree on Ellis, we need a DT to be disruptive at the line of scrimmage. We are weak at DT and if we don't start getting pressure with our front 4, it's going to be another long year.

TheDeuce

I would love to see an impact DT on this team, but is Ellis big enough to play DT in the NFL? I may be wrong, but I thought the knock on him was that he was undersized as a DT. If that's the case, I guess he could be a nice complement to Hollis, but we couldn't play him alongside BY because that'd be two smaller DTs.