Lots of notes on Day 2. Here's everything I saw yesterday. I'm just about to head back out for Day 3, but again, you can follow me on twitter here.
- So far, I've seen Juan Castillo have a long conversation with LB Keenan Robinson from Texas, and Phil Savage talked with both DE Jake Bequette of Arkansas and DE Cam Johnson from Virginia. The Eagles are going to talk to everyone by the time the draft rolls around, but it interesting to see who they single out early in the process.
SOUTH PRACTICE
- Today's North Team practice was impressive, from a coaching standpoint. There was almost too much going on at one time to be able to watch everything. The Vikings staff did a really nice job keeping up the tempo and pace of practice. It was much more crisp than yesterday's South practice led by the Redskins' staff. In fairness, the South Team was practicing on a very wet surface at a high school stadium. Plus, it was their first practice, so it'll be interesting to see if the Skins' staff runs a more efficient practice today or not.
- In pass blocking drills for RBs and TEs, Michael Egnew looked good. A famed scout sitting next me remarked that Missouri TEs in recent years have been wussies, probably because they run the spread offense there, and aren't asked to do much in the way of in-line blocking. Egnew looks like he may be an exception.
- Meanwhile RB Chris Polk struggled mightily in pass protection. He's a big, tough kid at 5'10, 224, but looked overmatched.
WRs vs. DBs: 1 on 1′s
- Yesterday, the South corners did a nice job on the South receivers. This morning, the North receivers owned the North CBs.
- DeVier Posey juggles pass on a 10-yard stop route, but Asa Jackson is so far off him, he can't make a play on the double-catch.
- Marvin McNutt gets held by Leonard Johnson, but still gets wide open on a 10 yard stop route.
- Marvin Jones smokes Alfonso Dennard down the sideline on a deep ball. I read where a few people were questioning Dennard's ability to turn his hips and go, and it was very evident on this play.
* Quick note on Dennard. He has tree trunks for legs. Very powerful lower body.
- Gerell Robinson beats George Iloka on a deep post. Got wide open. Iloka is a big boy at safety at almost 6'4 and 222. Very big frame. He looks bigger than quite a few linebackers out here on both sides. That is a bad drill for him, as he's not going to match up well 1-on-1 against wide receivers.
(Much more after the jump)...
- A couple of little 5-yard quick hitters to Posey and Jones.
- McNutt runs a quick slant against Dennard and gets again again, then runs right past him.
- Asa Jackson is now playing way off the line of scrimmage. Gives up an extremely easy 10 yard stop.
- Robinson beats Iloka once again on a 10 yard out.
- Brian Quick slips coming out of a 10 yard hitch. Donnie Fletcher in coverage. Probably should have had a pick, but couldn't get a good enough break on the ball to pick it off.
- Asa Jackson gets beat again, this time by McNutt. McNutt is having a nice day so far. He'll have a couple drops later, but it seems like he has no trouble getting open against these North Team corners. Jackson, meanwhile, is struggling.
- There we go, Alfonso. Dennard makes a nice play on a deep ball.
- Fletcher on Robinson this tim. Robinson gets open, but drops the pass.
- Another drop. This time it's DeVier Posey. Bad one, too. Right in his hands, shoulder high.
- Jones beats Leonard Johnson on a quick slant. Jones (that's Marvin Jones, again), is the standout among the receivers so far here today, at least in 1-on-1′s. McNutt is right there too.
- Speaking of McNutt, he gets open again on a post. It's a bad throw by Russell Wilson, a little low and behind, but it's one that McNutt probably should have had anyway, but he can't bring it in.
7 on 7′s
- Kellen Moore with 3 consecutive nice balls to Emil Igwenagu, Marvin McNutt, and Gerell Robinson. Realizing that sentence would have been funnier if it 2 consecutive nice balls. Moore had a nice day today. That's how I'd classify it, personally... Nice, as opposed to some other reports I've been hearing about him today. He looked good throwing in the short-intermediate zones, but I can't recall him completing anything longer than 15 yards downfield.
- Michael Egnew with a drop from Kirk Cousins.
- I've been watching Lavonte David in coverage in these 7 on 7 drills. He looks great. On consecutive plays I watched him blanket DeVier Posey. David is a LB. Posey is a WR. David doesn't have good size at 6'0, 225, but he can certainly cover.
- Little checkdown to Isaiah Pead. Yesterday, in the North Team practices, the buzz was that Pead looked like the best RB. I didn't attend that practice. Personally, I liked what I saw from Vick Ballard today. More on him in a bit.
- Russell Wilson hits McNutt on 10 yard out. Nice zip on the throw. McNutt then catches another 10 yard hitch, followed by a deep ball from Kellen Moore that falls incomplete. McNutt just keeps getting open, and the North Team QBs are giving him a ton of targets.
- Really nice pass from Kellen Moore to Brian Quick. His best ball of the day. The big questions about Moore are his size, which is obvious in person, and his arm strength. This was a legitimate pro throw. He put it high where the 6'4 Quick could go get it. Crisp throw down the seam. Well done.
- Another nice pass from Moore to Igwenagu. Drop. That's his 2nd drop of the day.
- Russell Wilson with a 5 yard stop to Quick. Slow decision making here by Wilson. Stared Quick down, took a beat, then decided to throw. Release was pretty slow as well. That's a completion in 7 on 7 drills at the Senior Bowl. It'll be a lot uglier in the NFL.
- Wilson with a better pass this time. Hits a wide open Posey over the middle.
11 on 11′s:
- Great penetration by Kendall Reyes from the DT position. Split two offensive linemen and blew up the play. Kirk Cousins was immediately flushed from the pocket.
- Diving interception by George Iloka. Cousins faced immediate pressure again, tried to roll right and fit one in near the sideline, but Iloka dove in front and made the pick. Really well done. I talked about Iloka earlier. He struggled a bit in 1-on-1′s against receivers, but he's a big boy at 6'4, 222. Showed some nice awareness here.
- Kevin Zeitler is in at center. He's typically a guard. Zeitler had a low snap in shotgun, and Kellen Moore had to throw the ball away, and later there was another mishandled snap. I didn't see if the 2nd mishandled snap was on Zeitler or the QB, but it certainly looks like Zeitler isn't particularly comfortable as a center. But again, it's not his normal position.
- After a generally very good day, McNutt drops a deep ball from Kirk Cousins. Really good throw from Cousins. 50 yards into the wind, and it was on the mark. Cousins is pretty clearly the best North Team QB, and I'd put him 2nd among all the QBs here behind Brandon Weeden.
LUNCH TIME: Went to lunch with Tommy Lawlor from IgglesBlitz after practice. We were followed in by Juan Castillo and Sean McDermott, who dined together.
NORTH PRACTICE
- Zach Brown is excelling in pass coverage in RB vs LB 1-on-1 drills. The NFL has seen an influx of stellar tight ends that make plays. Jimmy Graham in New Orleans. Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez in New England. Vernon Davis in San Francisco. Jason Witten in Dallas. And on and on. Guys that can cover these elite tight ends are going to become more important players to defenses around the league. Are linebackers going to stop these guys? Safeties? Could the Eagles be interested at 15? Maybe Brown slips all the way down to the Giants at 31 or 32? Intriguing player. There's no tackling here at Senior Bowl practices, so I won't get to see any of that here. And that's going to be the big question with Brown. Will he be a liability in the run game? Maybe, maybe not. But the kid can cover.
- Dwight Bentley makes a really nice interception on a drop by Jeff Fuller. Bentley was beaten on the play, but on the drop he stays with it and made a diving catch.
- I haven't talked a lot about him yet, but Melvin Ingram has played very well so far. Solid tackle on one of the running backs. Threw him to the ground emphatically. Collected a round of head slaps from his defensive teammates.
- Play of the week so far: Juron Criner makes an absolutely gorgeous one handed grab. "Oooohs and ahhhhs" from the scouts/media in the stands. I'm hoping the NFL Network filmed it. Looking forward to seeing that one on tape. The Redskins spoke with Criner after practice as well.
- Markelle Martin with a nice undercut of a pass intended for Ladarius Green. Nice breakup.
- Joe Adams with a leaping grab in heavy traffic. Terrific play. Gets a few more "ooohs and ahhhs" from the media. Adams has become one of my favorite prospects here. He may find his name coming off the board in the 2nd round. Someone is going to fall in love with this kid. I wonder if Joe Adams smells nice. I bet he smells like heaven.
- Jeff Fuller makes a catch with Vandy's Casey Hayward draped all over him. If he's going to make it in the NFL, Fuller may have to consistently outmuscle corners, because he simply isn't geting much separation. Looks very slow. I'll be shocked if he runs better than a 4.6 at the Combine.
- Weird decision by Ryan Lindley on 7 on 7′s. He tries to force a pass in to Fuller, who has 2 defenders draped all over him. In 7 on 7′s, there isn't exactly much to to understand in reading the defense, and yet he threw to the only guy that was (A) covered well, an (B) covered by two guys. Not good.
- Brandon Weeden with a nice ball to the sidelines to Criner, who is actually covered very well by Janoris Jenkins. Great zip on the ball. Weeden is clearly the best QB down here, and it's not close.
- Nobody on the South team is blocking anyone, by the way. The South's DL is completely overmatching the South OL. Jaye Howard and Melvin Ingram combine on a sack.
- Keenan Robinson with a nice pop on Vick Ballard near the sidelines.
- A couple nice runs by Chris Rainey and Vick Ballard. Rainey got about 15 on a LeSean-esque cutback, and then Ballard hit a hole, got the second level, and put it into an extra gear for a run to the house. Very impressive burst by Ballard.