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- - Alfred Fincher (https://blackandgold.com/saints/8758-alfred-fincher.html)

Finally, a LB! An interesting one at that.

From NFL.com:

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ANALYSIS

While Fincher seems to have "flown under the radar" during his first three years at Connecticut, scouts took notice of his ability in 2004. This is an athlete with excellent body control and hand usage. He uses his compact frame with force and is very active with his hands to stun and jolt. He sees the ball immediately and gets to the point of attack with good urgency.

Fincher has fluid hips and a smooth running motion to squeeze through trash and make negative-yardage tackles in the backfield. He has very good field vision, quickly making reads and reacting to the play. Fincher has the ability to distinguish between running and passing plays quickly and has the ability to sift through traffic to make the tackle.

Fincher is very effective making plays on the move and has enough short-area burst to reach and explode into ball carriers on the corner. He gets good depth in his pass drops and can mirror and re-route tight ends in the short area, but does not have the sustained speed to stay with receivers on deep routes. His lateral range makes him appear faster than his timed speed. He has a good flow to the ball and displays the ability to squeeze through tight quarters and sift through trash to make the play.

Fincher shows good zone awareness and can cover runners coming out of the backfield. He is a good take-on type who is very physical around the ball. He does a very good job of protecting his feet against cut blocks and can separate from offensive linemen with his hand punch. He is not used much as a pass rusher, but has good acceleration to collapse the pocket. He will generally stay low in his pads, and even when he gets high in his stance, he rarely struggles to disengage. His strong hand usage upon contact allows him to stun, jolt and stack at the point of attack.

His tackling skills and lateral agility make him a very interesting prospect. While some teams project him as a mid-rounder, there are very few middle linebackers in this draft with his upside. He has very good body control in the open and excellent hip snap to explode into ball carriers. His quickness to the edge lets him force the action back inside and he shows good awareness, handling the switch-off in zone coverage. In a 3-4 defense, he could be just as effective as Pittsburgh's Kendrell Bell or Baltimore's Ed Hartwell, two players that quietly go about their job but make the players around them look better.

While I am still perplexed by the Bullocks pick, this I feel alright about. Too bad Crowder didn't make it down to us.

Wait a minute. Is Blackstock still on the board?

FINALLY.
OK Which one of you guys went to their war room and put the gun to their head?

I just saw highlights of this kid and Kiper was praising the pick quite a bit. He looked explosive and tenacious.

Does Watson now move to WLB? Or does this Fincher kid challenge for the SLB?

Can anybody tell me why the hell we didn\'t take Blackstock?!?!?!?!?!

6-1, 240lbs. 4.8 in forty...

Athletic ability: Above average athlete. Long arms. Bench presses 400 lbs. 32 in. Vert. leap. Plays faster than he times.

Positional skills: Instinctive, quick to read and react. tough and competitive. Uses his hands well to play off blocks. Able to gt through traffic. Reliable tackler, will wrap up ball carrier. Agile, able to run with back and TE\'s in coverage. Smooth change of direction. Gets good, deep drops in zone coverage. Good range, plays sideline to sideline. Takes good agnles in pursuit. Decent hands for interception. Effective on the blitz.. Effective against run and pass. Tough and competitive. Disciplined, plays within the scheme.

Character: Quality person, hard worker, studies fil mand prepares well.

Summary: One of the most underrated defensive prospects in the draft!

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Does Watson now move to WLB? Or does this Fincher kid challenge for the SLB?

No to both questions. Most experts predicted this guy to be a 4th to 5th round selection with only \"marginal upside in the NFL.\" I don\'t believe he\'ll ever be true starting material in his career. But I do believe that he\'ll get some playing time, be it minimal at best.

Fincher looks to be a good run-stuffer, a guy who will go in on obvious running plays, but I don\'t believe that he\'ll be a good pass defender.

My overall opinion: he shouldn\'t be with the Saints. Darryl Blackstock should.

From Detillie:
Fincher really emerged as a top inside force on the defensive side as a Junior and especially as a Senior. Alfred is a tough, hard-nosed performer in the middle and he is a top flight run-stopper. He fills in the gaps extremely well and he does a first rate job of shedding and playing off blocks at the point of attack. Very intense player who has a red-hot motor and he gives great effort on every snap. He displays good range and he covers the field extremely well from side to side. Alfred has above average foot speed and quickness. Very physical player, who is also a sure open-field tackler. He has upgraded his pass coverage skills and techniques, but still needs work with his footwork and his play recognition skills vs. the pass. Outstanding leader, both on and off the field. Young player who will not turn 22 until August 15th. Fincher is not super fast or a super quick athlete, but he makes up for it with taking very few false steps towards the football. Alfred needs to learn how to use his arms and hands in a more effective manner when trying to shed off blockers. He is also taking a big step up on the competition ladder, but he does have the smarts and football instincts to excel in this league. Fincher is a blue-collar, \"just get it done\" type LB, who has excellent football instincts and he keeps going until the whistle blows on defense.

Fincher ran a 4.7 40-yard das time and did 25 reps with 225lb. at the combine.

I like this fincher, but i also liked Cie Grant! :casstet:

From all I gather this guy is a solid run stuffer who is fast instinctive and never quits getting after it. He\'s also an extremely hard hitter, he comes off blocks extremely well, and diagnoses plays fast. Kiper had him rated ahead of Crowder. Whats not to like?

I\'m still scratching my head on the Bullocks pick though. He is a great FS prospect (#2 rated FS on the board), but we already have a solid FS. Typical 2nd round head scratcher for us again.

But I really like this Fincher kid alot.

[Edited on 24/4/2005 by Danno]

OK this guy is a little too wired.
Listen to what he said in his interview...

How you gonna celebrate Alfred?

Fincher: \"I\'m gonna go out tonight and run some stadiums and get ready to go to work\"

OMG, He\'s the anti-Sullivan!

Also...

\"I am going to go down there and take care of that defense and I am going to take it over like it is mine. I am going there with a mission.\"

OK, you guys all know I\'m a little LB over-obsessed. But this kid looks for real to me.

[Edited on 24/4/2005 by Danno]

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I like this fincher, but i also liked Cie Grant!

I still like cie and can understand why he was drafted. I don\'t believe anyone could have predicted his ailments. It\'s just a shame.

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I like this fincher, but i also liked Cie Grant!

I still like cie and can understand why he was drafted. I don\'t believe anyone could have predicted his ailments. It\'s just a shame.

..everyone knew of his ailments...

GEAUX FINCHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!..........
looks like Watson will make captain(on knees with hopeful look in eyes)

[Edited on 24/4/2005 by CHACHING]

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I like this fincher, but i also liked Cie Grant!

I still like cie and can understand why he was drafted. I don\'t believe anyone could have predicted his ailments. It\'s just a shame.

..everyone knew of his ailments...

??? Both of his knee injuries occurred after we drafted him.

Fincher sounds like the kind of player the Patriots have. Maybe he\'ll be our version of Bruschi. And maybe with our new O-line, Brooks will look more like Brady. OK, maybe not. But Fincher seems like a good pick to me. If he has brains and determination, I\'ll be a fan of his.

Should have got crowder. It really doesn\'t even matter with Brooks still there.

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I like this fincher, but i also liked Cie Grant!

I still like cie and can understand why he was drafted. I don\'t believe anyone could have predicted his ailments. It\'s just a shame.

..yeah, just like Ki-Jana\'s in Cinci, right?

..everyone knew of his ailments...

??? Both of his knee injuries occurred after we drafted him.

Do you guys think Fincher can start this year?

I think he should start on from day one, he seems like a leader and if he can \"take over the defense like it is his\", then i think we have found a real gem.

He once had 17 tackles in a college game(senior season), and gets the job done on the field, if he can fire up the defense (like Mike Mckenzie did last year) our defense might be a little scary.

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I like this fincher, but i also liked Cie Grant! :casstet:

I haven\'t seen any injury history reports. Grant\'s most significant problem is his apparently degenerative knee injuries.

While I still would have liked to have seen a dominating playmaker in the LB position, at least the Saints picked a LB, and a LB that most scouts rate as underrated.

Every report seems to indicate that the kid has the will and character to be succesful in this league. I think we\'re learning that characteristic is as equally important as talent, especially with the Saints.

SFIAH