Oregon, Auburn, Luck & Logic...

[Flugel]

I'll begin with a positive here. Soph Cliff Harris was very impressive on a night there wasn't alot to be impressed with by his surrounding defense. Considering the lack of a pass rush Oregon got from it's front 7, Cliff Harris displayed stunning closing speed.

While I'm impressed with Oregon's offense - you get that team on the right field on a rainy afternoon and thir front 7 on D gets exposed REAL fast. If they played Alabama, I don't see them stopping their running game and handlign the frustrating pace changes Saban would dictate.

I'm not saying I wasn't impresserd by their offense though. WOW! They're fun to watch. At some point, their offense won't have its A game. To remain undefeated, their defense is going to have to prove it deserves to be unbeaten too. There's a couple defensive guys I like such as Cliff Harris and Casey matthews; but their dline looks average at best.

A VERY similar team to Oregon is Auburn. Their defense and tackling from week to week isn't on an elite level at all. Just check out some final scores to see what I'm saying. I've got a feeling they're heading for the same buzzsaw Michigan State ran into yesterday. That buzzsaw seems like it will be Alabama. I REALLY hope I'm wrong but I think they have the right chemistry to buffer Auburn's strengths and attack their weaknesses.

I realize last week #90 for Auburn showed up HUGE but that doesn't happen every week in the shootouts they have to win. Either way, you'd be hard pressed to show me better feel good stories than what has come out of Oregon, Auburn and Stanford in 2010.

Andrew Luck seems like he's transcended that Stanford program as far or further than even John Elway was capable of. Buffalo might have themselves a QB competition between Stanford and Harvard next year. Then again, they had that this year with Trent Edwards and it wasn't much of a competition. I think Luck has alot more than Edwards has, including an extensive training from a former NFL QB. Luck might even end up at Carolina where their passing game has little luck. Jimmy Clausen might be the next Bruce Gradkowski or Charlie Frye the Raiders can rent for a few starts down the road.

Hey, stay tuned...
- Tom F.

[Alo]

I didn't see the Auburn/Ole Miss game, but Nick Fairley (#90) has been consistently productive.

Tackles For Loss:

vs Arkansas St. -- 1.5
@ Mississippi St. -- 2.5
vs Clemson -- 3.0
vs South Carolina -- 1.5
vs La.-Monroe -- 3.0
@ Kentucky -- 1.0
vs Arkansas -- 1.0
vs LSU -- 3.5

But you're right that the guys around him aren't all that great.

[Flugel]

Originally Posted by Alo

I didn't see the Auburn/Ole Miss game, but Nick Fairley (#90) has been consistently productive.

Tackles For Loss:

vs Arkansas St. -- 1.5
@ Mississippi St. -- 2.5
vs Clemson -- 3.0
vs South Carolina -- 1.5
vs La.-Monroe -- 3.0
@ Kentucky -- 1.0
vs Arkansas -- 1.0
vs LSU -- 3.5

But you're right that the guys around him aren't all that great.

No, he was PART of the front 7 that couldn't stop the run in many games. Multiple sacks against La Monroe is nice but the level of competition invites multiple sacks. That defense stays on the field alot longer than they should in many of these matchups. He also has more opportunities against teams racing the clock predictably passing the ball so he gets into a sprinters stance at the line of scrimmage with only 1 thing on his mind. He's got alot of Synderic Marks parallels in him, which means possibly good for 4-3 if he improves vrs the run. We run a 3-4 so I don't think he'd be considered here.

If you saw the game they played vrs LSU, I think the commentators quoted Fairley that he needed to play much better than he had in recent weeks; because his teammates need this from him. It was commendable that he wants to lead by example and step-up - but he needs to be more consistent against the run too. Just because there's plays he can get sacks here and there doesn't mean he's complete or overhwelming like a man named Suh per say. Not only that, if he's commanding double teams - it shoould help the other dlinemen the way Suh's attention helped others. Last but not least, haven't we learned via Kam Wimbley there's more to it than just sacks?

Fairley had a great game vrs LSU and I know you pumped him after it. That was a good catch on your part but I think he can easily get overrated if people just look at sacks when oppoennts can't keepo up with Auburn's scorign pace. I'll be curious to see how he measures up vrs Bama. Let's revisit this Alo.
- Tom F.

[Alo]

I've watched five Auburn games; the stats accurately reflect how well he's played.

[Alo]

I don't mean that to be at all dismissive, Tom. It's just that one of the most impressive things about Fairley is how consistently dominant he's been.

He's no Suh, but he manages to keep his pads low and uses his hands very well. Maybe he wasn't as impressive vs Ole Miss, but he's looked to me like a top 10-15 guy.

[Flugel]

Originally Posted by Alo

I don't mean that to be at all dismissive, Tom. It's just that one of the most impressive things about Fairley is how consistently dominant he's been.

He's no Suh, but he manages to keep his pads low and uses his hands very well. Maybe he wasn't as impressive vs Ole Miss, but he's looked to me like a top 10-15 guy.

Don't worry about it - you have a strong arguement showing numbers against a stubborn person. I just think he plays kind of streaky and when the going is good he beats up the candyasses from weaker conferences at Clemson, La Monroe and Ark State. I realize he had his best day vrs LSU though. Other times, he disappears when teams are running at will through them. 9.5 of those tackles for losses are against 3 teams. One can have a bad game against Kentucky and Arkansas but still collect a tackle for a loss. In 1 gap schemes between the tackles - ALOT of these tackles for losses take place when dlinemen line up across from a pulling/trapping guard or tackle vacating an area and; consequently, they go unblocked and unhibited to a ballcarrier at the location of a handoff. That's not somebody kicking the guys ass in front of him. That's somebody showing the opponent if you're gonna trap or pull - I got this utopian experience all day. I believe Miss State likes to run misdirection counter traps and move their linemen around - that was 2.5 tfl day.

I didn't mean for this whole take to turn into me shooting down a player you like. There's a really positive article about him online by Scott Wright that shares your perceptions of him. It even brings up that it would be unfair to compare him to Suh. That said, if he's gonna escalate to upper round 1 - I think people have to weigh the pros and cons with a comparrison of some sort. For every Suh up that high there's also a Sally named Garrard Warren that ran hot and cold in college. Making this pertinent to us, he's a 4-3 prototype made for 1 gap penetration. Cleveland runs a 3-4 with 2 gap scheme unless they're deciding to slant toward power or wide side of the field. That's more of a wrinkle though.

I'm looking forward to seeing what he does vrs Bama. They're gonna test that defensive front 7 to see if it can stop their run. There's too much film out there for them not to. Like Oregon, their offense is a blast to watch. Also like Oregon, they have couple good defensive players that will play in the NFL. To win a National Championship, both teams have to get their defenses playing alot better IMO.
- Tom F.

[Alo]

Scouts from Colts, Pats, Jets, Ravens, Chiefs, Cowboys, Lions, Browns, Jaguars, Eagles, Dolphins, Cardinals, Broncos...been in AU this week.

via here.

[Flugel]

Originally Posted by Alo

via here.

And scouts also visited Broderick Bunkley, Glen Dorsey, Gaines Adams and Big Daddy Wilkinson late in their college seasons as well.

I remembered the BIG debate about 5 years ago when Heckofajobbrownie loved him some Broderick Bunkley. That was a 1 gapper that finished strong even though he didn't have an enormous body of heroics extending over 4 years at FSU. BUT, the scheme got him the glamourous tackles for a loss at just the right time in his final year. In the process, he got more highlight reels than your blue collar types playing 2 gap football. Numbers wise, Haloti Ngata wasn't nearly as eye catchy to the fan ONLY looking at sacks or tackles for losses. I actually swam against the currents of popularity in saying I thought Ngata was going to be a better dlineman in the pros. I didn't want a dlinemen in the upper half of round 1, which was why I made that point.

This is just me. I've really only seen 1 Bruce Smith pick a side and dominate the majority of his opponents using olay, swim and spin. We picked Courtney Brown because we envisioned he'd be the second coming of Bruce Smith. The ONLY time I think I saw multiple sacks from Courtney was when he faced Pitt's backup OT on a day QB Kent Graham was holding onto the ball too long. NOW, understand we're talking about DTs inside and you gotta be careful with this Alo. Remember a guy named Corey Williams who thrived in a 4 man line with 1 gap schemes? He wasn't exactly LOVING 2 gap football in Cleveland and his level of stoutness against the run was in question more than it wasn't. Come to think of it, how much does Albert Haynesworth prefer the 2 gaps schemes in Washington to the 1 gap schemes in Tennessee?

Michael Dean Perry SUCKED against the run. Bob Golic was excellent vrs the run. Courtney Brown and Kam Wimbley types stunk against the run too. On the other hand, Matt Roth is very good against the run even while he's coming on a pass rush because he plays through the OT controlling both sides of the tackle. Dop you know when Courtney brown was BEST against the run? When it went AWAY from his side of the field. Thatr's actually when he was toughest to block so why run away from him when he'll take himself out of the play running at him?

From all my years back in the stone age, when we did Okie drills - guys that picked a side with quickness often lost the drill. That's what set me in my way. Teams are moving the ball effectively and consistently on Auburn this year and it's not always away from Fairley.
- Tom F.

[Alo]

I believe it was Shep who loved Bunkley; Heck loved Ngata. No biggie either way.

Also, I get the concerns about projecting Fairley to a two gap 3-4, but I wouldn't be too scared about him being the next Corey Williams. Williams was an especially bad fit: he wasn't particularly strong at the point (especially when he was playing with a bum shoulder), had trouble moving flat down the line, and wasn't a guy who could play every down without getting worn out.

Fairley, on the other hand, is strong, moves fairly well (not Gerald McCoy-esque but good), and plays with a very good motor. I'm not saying we need to draft him, but I do think the hype is warranted.

In other news, Andrew Luck is legit franchise QB material. Hopefully, Colt is the guy, but I'd love to have Luck.

[DaBrowns41]

Fairley has really made a name for himself and has established himself as a Top 20 pick, in my eyes. He's got an excellent motor, doesn't take plays off, stays low, and gets a very good push. He's also moved well laterally. The Auburn defense hasn't been great, but they haven't been terrible either.

They're getting better each game as a unit.

As for Oregon, I think they'd be exposed if they played a team with a real defense. The Pac-10 is just a joke this year in terms of defense. A lot of people thought USC could stop them, when they don't realize that USC's biggest problem is defense.

Oregon and Auburn are scoring a lot of points, and have talented players, however. But many of them are guys that are strictly college athletes and won't make a big splash in the NFL.

[DaBrowns41]

Yeah, and I watched Luck even more today, and I just keep falling more and more in love with the guy. His footwork, his delivery, and his ability to stand tall and take the rush in the pocket, is all just great.

I still am a fan of Nick Foles, however. He didn't have the greatest game, but he was also victimized by drops quite a bit. He just needs to put a bit more zip on the ball and lead his receivers. But he definitely has the talent.

Ryan Mallett really had an exceptional game as well. He really displayed how accurate he can be and helped erase the Derek Anderson comparisons.

[King of Kings]

Originally Posted by DaBrowns41

Yeah, and I watched Luck even more today, and I just keep falling more and more in love with the guy. His footwork, his delivery, and his ability to stand tall and take the rush in the pocket, is all just great.

I still am a fan of Nick Foles, however. He didn't have the greatest game, but he was also victimized by drops quite a bit. He just needs to put a bit more zip on the ball and lead his receivers. But he definitely has the talent.

Ryan Mallett really had an exceptional game as well. He really displayed how accurate he can be and helped erase the Derek Anderson comparisons.

Foles will be a good one if he can land on a team where he can sit and learn for a season or two.