Senior Bowl: Who Impressed in the First Half, Who Didn’t
Well my T.V. cut out after the first half unfortunately, so I’ll just be posting this first half critique. It was a fairly quiet half, though in the middle of the second quarter there were a lot more big plays showing up. Here’s my notes from the first half:
Jamell Flemmings, CB Oklahoma
Flemmings started off the game strong with a forced fumble from Joe Adams. I wasn’t able to pick up much more on him other than that. I spent most of my time watching the DE/OLB’s performances.
Chris Polk, RB Washington
He showed a lot of determination to move the ball forward, fighting for the extra yard. The biggest knocks on him so far have been a lack of vision on the field and that was somewhat noticeable in the first half, though good blocking helped cover it up.
Courtney Upshaw, OLB/DE Alabama
Upshaw had a pretty disappointing first half. He was a terror this week in practices but didn’t really have any big plays. Early in the game he got caught coming inside and lost his contain. Later he did a better job of covering the roll out. He reached up and appeared to have gotten a slight tip on the pass but it was still completed for the first and only touchdown of the first half. Upshaw had a solid enough week of practice and show show well at the combine, which should take a lot of weight off of how much this game means to his stock.
Vick Ballard, RB Mississippi St.
Another running back who displayed power, Ballard pushed hard against tacklers and showed good power. He had some solid carries for positive yards. He has decent size, weighing in at 217. He didn’t get many carries in the first half so it was hard to make a good read, but when he did get the ball he seemed to be pretty good at making the push against defenders to get the positive yards.
Vinny Curry, DE Marshall
Showed good awareness at getting his hands up early and tipped a short pass to the side, intended for the South’s RB. He made good reads on movement and didn’t lose his edge coverage. Great pressure. Marshall should see his stock increase if he keeps the performance up in the second half. The Titans could very well be eyeing him.
Brandon Weeden, QB Oklahoma St.
Weeden was so-so. He started off with good accuracy and putting his receivers in good positions with his passes. Towards the end of his playing time he threw a pick and his play fell off. He could be a pretty solid mid-draft pick. Being 28 years old definitely takes a toll on his stock. Teams don’t draft 28 year old players to be franchise QB’s.
5-8 58 yds, INT
Russell Wilson, QB Wisconsin
Wilson had to work his butt off this game and his centers certainly didn’t do him any favors with snaps going all over the place. He reminds me a lot of Jake Locker. A baseball player who makes good throws outside of the pocket. Very mobile and fast and has a very similar throwing motion. His height is a big problem, being shorter than 5’11.” He was late on throws from within the pocket but excelled outside of it.
4-7 for 45 yds, TD, INT
Bobby Wagner, LB Utah St.
Wagner had a first half, recording an interception and a 3rd down tip in the red zone during the 2nd quarter. He should continue to see his stock rise. He had a great career at Utah and could sneak into the back end of the first round, though he’ll probably be a 2nd rounder.
Quinton Coples, DE North Carolina
He was pretty quiet until game until late in the 2nd quarter. Coples sacked North QB Kellen Moore after going around Washinton’s OL Kelemente, as he tried to cut block Coples. Coples also got his hand up for a tip on the play before. Two plays after his sack he was in the backfield disrupting the play.
Kellen Moore, QB Boise
He doesn’t have a huge arm by any means but has great anticipation and accuracy. He had two passes in a row in the second quarter that should have been touchdowns but were dropped by his receivers. Moore’s lack of arm strength and small frame are the two big things being held against him which will make him a late round pick in the draft.