Thanks for posting...Didn't see this one.
Feel even better about him now. Mayock talked a little about this one. Don't forget people...He won't be a one gap penetrator. He will be on the nose, a zero technique, and read through the block. What I saw when he lined up inside is a space eater. He was disruptive and required double teams. In the backfield alot. You could see he was less comfortable in space on the edge and putting him further from the play sometimes elimanted him from it. Everything negative being said is coachable. His hand placment will be the key to how fast he comes through the rotation. Being that Smith's dominance was because of how well he used his hands...I feel real good that coach is on the staff. Taking plays off...I saw that too. So condition on the NFL level will be introduced to him. This isn't a big story any draft for big men. Someone watching this would have noticed part of the gameplan was the tempo of the offense to use against the big men. Putting Poe in the 5 tech was poor coaching against a fast tempo team who liked to pass.
Let you in on something that most of you missed being a DL/OL guy myself. Poe was obviously part of the gameplan for the DC. Everyone at the combine talked about who played around Poe in Memephis. Big part of production. When you watch the tape, you could see the help in pass pro with RB. You could see push wherever he lined up. You could see the double teams up front. You could see the single block cuts which is part of the gameplan. Keeping OL off your legs is part of coaching at the next level. The most that stuck out is understanding the pulling of OG. Onside plays that weren't double were fold & combinations. They couldn't pull backside G to trap effectively inside A & B gap. The biggest evidence was the influence pulls I saw by the G's that the OC put in his gameplan. For those of you that don't know...You use an influence when you have a DL who reads the pulling G and follows the plan down the line & you can't cut him off. When you are having a guy beat you like that and you can't block him when he reads...Your G pulls backside to trap (influence), The DL reads and follows the play but the play goes away. You do that in a game to slow him down in his reads. You block him by his read and the influence. It was gameplanned because they couldn't block him.
What I see is the RAW that is talked about. The ingredients are there to make an elite player. He has no limitations based upon his athleticism and position. What I see is a cog in a defense at teh next level. A kid that will make the system work and allow your LBs to shine. A piece to the puzzle like this doesn't come along often. Id there a risk? Of course, there is always a risk in the draft. But the ceiling on this kid could be something better than Hampton. You could say "but what if"...But you could say that for anyone else you want to use to fill in the blanks. Hightower's head isn't far from the ceiling. His upside will vary depending where he goes. Stick him in a DL defense....Solid ILB. Will he ever be a Willis, Lewis, Johnson, or Timmons? No...He just doesn't have the skill set or athleticism. Can Poe hit the elite like Ngata, Wilfork, Hampton, & Seymour? Ingredients are there....He has no limitations if he is coachable. But he needs to realize his potential.
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Originally Posted by JUST-PLAIN-NASTY
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