- Joined
- May 16, 2019
- Messages
- 5,388
Yeah, it does when I read or hear "pundits" say this or that defensive player is a fit for the Rams. WTF? Don't they know there is a new DC? No one knows what kind of defense he will run. As a first time DC I don't think Shula is sure because I think it's going to be a hybrid of different schemes. So no particular "combine" warrior is likely to be a "fit".
The reason the Rams place little emphasis on the Combine is that the drills are the same every year and the players specifically train for them. That's why the Rams rely upon game film analytics to get things like actual game speed, i.e. how fast is a player in games. They are looking at toughness which isn't tested at the Combine. That is why the Rams took Puka. He plays faster than timed, and he's a tough MF who can break tackles and block. In other words those kind of guys are gamers, i.e. ballers.
It's why the Senior Bowl means more than the Combine to the Rams. At the Senior Bowl they can see how coachable or not a player is. They get to see him in actual game action facing top competition. It's one thing to say an offensive player is a fit because we have seen Sean's latest iteration of his offense and can extrapolate from that.
Case in point are WRs. The extending of Robinson is a big tell. Kupp, Nacua and now Robinson are big WRs. They have good hands, run in the 4.5-4.6 range, can make contested catches, block and most of all run crisp routes. They understand route concepts, i.e. they can read the coverage by how the DBs are positioned and know how to make their breaks accordingly. That is the issue that Atwell still struggles with and why I see him as trade bait or gone after this year.
So yeah I laugh at the so called experts who say a certain defensive player is a fit when they have no way of knowing because Shula's defense has yet to be seen.
The reason the Rams place little emphasis on the Combine is that the drills are the same every year and the players specifically train for them. That's why the Rams rely upon game film analytics to get things like actual game speed, i.e. how fast is a player in games. They are looking at toughness which isn't tested at the Combine. That is why the Rams took Puka. He plays faster than timed, and he's a tough MF who can break tackles and block. In other words those kind of guys are gamers, i.e. ballers.
It's why the Senior Bowl means more than the Combine to the Rams. At the Senior Bowl they can see how coachable or not a player is. They get to see him in actual game action facing top competition. It's one thing to say an offensive player is a fit because we have seen Sean's latest iteration of his offense and can extrapolate from that.
Case in point are WRs. The extending of Robinson is a big tell. Kupp, Nacua and now Robinson are big WRs. They have good hands, run in the 4.5-4.6 range, can make contested catches, block and most of all run crisp routes. They understand route concepts, i.e. they can read the coverage by how the DBs are positioned and know how to make their breaks accordingly. That is the issue that Atwell still struggles with and why I see him as trade bait or gone after this year.
So yeah I laugh at the so called experts who say a certain defensive player is a fit when they have no way of knowing because Shula's defense has yet to be seen.
