DJ vs. Finch - a comparison
 

i was looking at profootballweekly.com and came across their draft reports for all the teams. of course i looked at the saints first and i read about their top 3 picks. after i read Finch's report, i decided to check out DJ's report....


here is what i found:


Alfred Fincher - New Orleans Saints

Positives: Great production from MLB position. Good athlete. Tough overachiever. Instinctive. Always around the ball. Very good tackler. Keys and diagnoses quickly and plays downhill. Makes a lot of plays behind the line of scrimmage. Very good playing speed. Has strength to shed. Active motor. Very good quickness and closing speed. Controls blockers. Scrapes off tackle and can cross face of blockers. Sifts through traffic and stays on his feet. Can play man coverage and get depth in zone drops. Ultracompetitive. Plays with a sense of urgency. Vocal leader. Great work habits. Opportunistic and makes things happen.

Negatives: Not explosive. Freelances too much and plays outside the framework of the defense instead of making sure he takes care of his responsibilities.



Derrick Johnson - Kansas City Chiefs

Positives: Terrific athlete. Outstanding production. Great size and growth potential. Has a nose for the ball. Effective blitzer who can get to an edge and knife through the backfield. Outstanding closing speed to the ball. Very fluid hips. Keys and diagnoses and shows good instincts. Can come off spots in coverage and close very quickly. Shows great awareness in coverage. Light on his feet. Explosive hitter. Clears his feet through trash. Moves as well going backward as he does going forward. Makes plays all over the field. Great flexibility. Shows excellent anticipation in coverage and has the athletic ability to run with receivers. Moves very well laterally. Team leader with solid character.

Negatives: Misses too many tackles. Really struggles with and avoids taking on blocks. Ducks out of the way from lead blockers and takes on blocks with his back. Freelances too much and will miss responsibilities trying to do too much. Lacks great playing strength and needs to spend more time in the weightroom. Overruns the ball at times.


sounds like we got a pretty good football player to me


for the rest of the saints draft report, click here:

http://profootballweekly.com/PFW/NFL...raftReview.htm

[Edited on 4/30/2005 by pakowitz]

DJ vs. Finch - a comparison
 

Thanks Pak. I Agree that we may have found the proverbial \"Diamond in the Rough\".

That being said, I have always been a defender of \"Big Conference\" players. The level of competition in the SEC, Big 12, Big Ten and ACC is stiffer. I think few could argue with that.

I have been rethinking that stance lately. We all know the stories of players coming from schools not noted as football powerhouses. Jerry Rice from Mississippi Valley State would have to be the most dramatic example.

I believe many prospects from \"big\" schools were a product of a strong team with big recruiting behind it. They play on complete college teams. Their weaknesses aren\'t exposed because of the talent all around them.

Some players weren\'t as highly touted coming out of high school that were just as talented as your Mr. Football players. Maybe they weren\'t as well coached or as in my case I was surrounded by talent and was good but nothing special (I played at John Curtis). The less heralded can blossom at small schools. That shouldn\'t be held against them.

[Edited on 30/4/2005 by RockyMountainSaint]

DJ vs. Finch - a comparison
 

Alfred Fincher - New Orleans Saints
Tough overachiever.
Instinctive.
Always around the ball.
Very good tackler.
Makes a lot of plays behind the line of scrimmage.
Very good playing speed.
Very good quickness and closing speed.
Controls blockers.
Scrapes off tackle and can cross face of blockers.
Sifts through traffic and stays on his feet.
Can play man coverage and get depth in zone drops.
Vocal leader.
Great work habits.
Makes things happen.
Negatives:
Not explosive.
Freelances too much (Of course, he played at UCONN)
Plays outside the framework of the defense (Of course, he played at UCONN).

Thats it? Thats all his negatives? Freelancing? He played at UCONN, where I\'d assume he was a man among boys. Of course he\'s gonna freelance, he\'s their best player.



Derrick Johnson - Kansas City Chiefs
Negatives:
Misses too many tackles.
Really struggles with and avoids taking on blocks.
Ducks out of the way from lead blockers and takes on blocks with his back.
Freelances too much
Will miss responsibilities trying to do too much.
Lacks great playing strength
Needs to spend more time in the weightroom.
Overruns the ball at times.


Hmmm, sounds like we did get a good one doesn\'t it Pak?

DJ vs. Finch - a comparison
 

I think DJ will be a playmaker at LB. I\'m just not sure, though. He\'s tall and lanky and doesn\'t appear to be very physical. I think his speed will allow him to chase down plays from sideline to sideline, but I think he will struggle taking on blocks in the NFL.

DJ needs to be on a defense that has big dominant defensive tackles who can shield him from blockers.

I think Fincher won\'t need quiite as much help from the defensive tackles. I think he\'ll be able to shed blockers and clog up the running lanes. I can\'t see DJ doing that.

But, it remains to be seen how BOTH handle the NFL game.



[Edited on 30/4/2005 by GumboBC]

DJ vs. Finch - a comparison
 

I agree AF sounds pretty good and i never was high on DJ.
Could you imagine if AF was on the Texas team.
I dont think DJ will be much against the run, and i think AF will. And thats what we needed a run stuffing LB
Love some of the stuff he said, like he\'s coming to NO with a mission, and he\'s going to come in and take the D over like it was his. I think that\'s the kind of attitude M Mickinzie came in here with and you see the differance he made.
That kinda attitude could rub off on the other\'s.

DJ vs. Finch - a comparison
 

i was thinking the same thing danno, i was like, thats it? thats all the negative things they have to say about him.... thats what made me go check DJ out. i wanted to see what they had to say on him..... i couldnt believe the difference....

DJ vs. Finch - a comparison
 

There are some noteable differences in the positives though; you\'ll notice that DJ seems to come with a \"has a high upside\" like review and that AF seems to come with \"is good, but upside isn\'t really mentioned\" like review.

Comments that make DJ stand out over fincher include these: Light on his feet, Explosive hitter, Great flexibility, Very fluid hips.

Sometimes it is what it doesn\'t say that matters more than what it does say.

That said, we got a damn fine player in Fincher. I am very excited about him. I just thought I\'d point out the main difference between the two is this: how much better can they be than they already are.

DJ vs. Finch - a comparison
 

Let\'s take a look at Courtney Watson\'s draft profile:

What his \"profile\" suggests to me is that Waton isn\'t a \"physical\" MLB. And his play on the field suggest that too.

Here\'s one more thing from the same profile:

DJ vs. Finch - a comparison
 

Here are some things I saw, maybe we disagree on what they mean:
1. Will step up and take on the offensive guard or lead back with force to stack the inside run,
2. Uses his hands well to play off blocks,
3. Hard hitter who is better as a drag-down tackler than one who wraps,
4. Easily moves through trash and traffic to get outside.

The best reason to move him to WLB is this: WLB is the playmaker and stud position of the LBs, and Watson is a stud LB.

Notice in your own quote the reasons to move him to WLB are ASSETS (like quickness and range) and not deficiencies (like lack of toughness or strength).

I guess, from what you have written here Gumbo, I don\'t see anything that indicates he isn\'t physical. Maybe if we contrasted his profile with a LB who is considered physical, we\'d see something missing from Watson\'s?

[Edited on 30/4/2005 by JKool]

DJ vs. Finch - a comparison
 

Guess who this is a description of, and tell if you think he sounds \"not so tough\":

Source: http://archive.profootballweekly.com...coutingreports