The Lion Prince? Amukamara Works His Tail Off

This, if you can get it to load and run to completion (I can’t, in any browser), is a video about Prince Amukamara’s intense efforts to minimize his 40 time. Few thought during his senior season as the consensus at-least-second-best cornerback in America, he’d be spending this time trying to quiet those doubting his ability. But, partly on advice from Ndamukong Suh, Amukamara will do all the drills at this year’s NFL Combine, looking to prove he’s as good as everyone thinks he is . . . or isn’t . . . or something.

It’s an odd cause-and-effect cycle like this. People watch Amukamara play, they see he’s awesome, they make him Preseason All-America, etc. Then evaluators like Wes Bunting watch film, and say Amukamara’s not worth a Top 10 pick because his straight-line speed is “lacking.” So, in order to answer the questions about his straight-line speed, Amukamara is training to learn how to run really fast in a straight line, in shorts, on a track. Supposing he goes out and cuts a 4.20, what changes about the game tape he laid down? What does that prove about his ability to play in the NFL?

The Combine has gone from a convenient way for scouts to get independent apples-to-apples information on prospects, to a cottage industry with millions of dollars flowing in a circle. Players hire agents, agents pay for training, the trainers boost the players’ draft stock, the player gets paid more, the agent gets paid more, the trainers get more agents referring clients their way . . . everybody wins.

This process bears many strange fruits. There are Darius Heyward-Beys, guys whose eye-popping 40 time causes team to shell out big dough for a guy who can’t play. On the other hand, there are Chris Johnsons whose blazing track times clued teams in to real talent. On the other other hand, there are Joe Hadens, whose lackluster 40 times belie elite on-field ability. On the other other other hand, there are Derrick Williamses, whose slow 40 times reveal a missing top gear.

Let’s be real: Amukamara can play. He’s proven with his play that he can play at the NFL level. The question is, does he possess the extra burst, the elite athletic ability, the splash of habanero required to lock down a Jennings, a Rice, or a theoretical top Chicago receiver? I don’t think his 40 time will prove he does or doesn’t—and even if he does have that potential, cornerback is a position that usually requires development. If Amukamara does fall to the Lions at 13—and many suggest he will—counting on him to shut down his half of the field from day one will be folly.

Last year, Taylor Mays’ “official” 40 time was mysteriously adjusted to be .19 seconds slower than cameras showed, for no apparent reason. There’s never been an explanation for this, and the NFL Network’s frame-by-frame overlap replay proved something was seriously rotten with the NFL’s official times. At this point, what a fast 40 time proves is not that you have elite recovery speed, or can rush the passer, or can beat the fullback to the hole—it proves you either have ridiculous God-given wheels, or you care enough about your career to put your nose to the grindstone and get the very best out of your body. 

So, if you’re watching the NFL Combine this weekend—and after all this, I suggest you do—watch the 40 for fun and oohs and aahs . . . but watch the drills if you want to know what’s really up.

Technorati Tags: nfl,nfl draft,nfl combine,prince amukamara

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Senior Bowl Bullet Points

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All last week, I combed through available Senior Bowl information.  After highlighting some potential targets the Lions might be looking at, I compiled notes from all practice reports I could find, sat down in a comfy chair, and watched the first half or so with a careful eye and a ready spreadsheet.  The results?

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN:

• Brandon Graham, DE, Michigan: I’ll cut right to the chase: dude's a beast, period.  He completely outclassed every other player on the field.  He’s not the right size/frame for this defense, and he won’t be there at the top of the second, but it’s worth mentioning that he’s a hell of a pass rusher.
• Geno Atkins, DT, Georgia: The 6'-1", 286-pound Atkins flashed incredible speed and penetration all week in practice, and looked dominant in the game itself.  Blowing back several different guards, and getting good push against double-teams, too, Atkins really caught my eye—as anyone who was reading my Twitter feed knows.  Obviously, at 286, Atkins doesn’t have the size Schwartz and Cunningham want—but he doesn’t look flabby and maxed-out like last year’s Senior Bowl darling, Peria Jerry, did.

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN:

• Mike Iupati, OG, Idaho: The virtues of the 6’-5”, 325-pound left guard had been extolled by all, including Mlive.com's Phil Zaroo, all week long.  Talk of his size, athleticism, strength, and total domination of drillwork had spread far and wide.  In the game, however, Iupati really struggled—especially when they moved him out of usual left guard spot. NFLN's Mike Mayock was the color man, and pointed out that Iupati was “grabbing” instead of “punching”.  That is, slowing down his man by bear hugging him and hoping to control him, rather than driving his hands into the other guy’s chest and pushing him around.  Iupati went back to left guard and looked better, but there’s no question that he had a terrible performance to cap a week of hype.
• Ciron Black, OT/OG, LSU: Black stands an impressive 6’-5”, 331.  He played both guard and tackle, and showed excellent athleticism for his size.  At tackle, Black struggled against Brandon Graham—but then, so did everyone else.  During practice, however, Black showed equal adeptness in handling both speed and power rushers.  Coming into this week, he was a mid-round guard, but if he performs at the combine looking like a legit LT, his stock will rise significantly.  I'm hoping for somewhere in the middle . . .
• Mike Johnson, OG, Alabama: according to SI, the 6'-5", 306-pound cut an imposing figure at the weigh-in, and played up to his stature doing the first day of practice.  In the game, I was really impressed at his power, feet, and control; he drove guys back.  Chad Reuter of NFLDraftScout.com noted that Johnson had no problem with “Mount Cody” during practice. 
• John Jerry, OT/OG, Ole Miss: Jerry, the brother of Peria, weighed in at a whopping 6’-5 1/2”, 332.  Absolutely built like a tackle, Jerry has played both RG and RT for Mississippi, and excelled in the first two practices at both of those spots.  However, they tried him at LT and he really struggled.  I didn’t see much of him during the game, but he’s a prospect I’m going to watch very carefully at the combine.

DEFENSIVE BACKS:

• Kyle Wilson, CB, Boise State: the 5’-10” cornerback got Jim Schwartz' attention with an enormous custom-painted RV in the parking lot—and mine with some good coverage and strong tackling.  Word was that he flashed outstanding ball skills in drills all week long.  According to Bill Huber of Scout.com, his best performance was on a one-on-one coverage drill. ($)
• Taylor Mays, S, USC:  Mays is well known amongst Lions fans, having garnered a little hype as a candidate to be their #1 overall pick last year.  Mays went back to USC and had a okay-but-not-great senior season.  Reasons for his relative anonymity have varied from “teams now scheme away from him” to “he’s better off as a linebacker”—but it’s clear that Mays is nowhere near a #2 overall pick.  During practice, he dominated on Monday, then was invisible the rest of the week.  During the game, he whiffed on several tackles, but did have a very nice interception.  Mays remains a head-scratcher: a prospect with Top 10 size and speed, but wild inconsistency.

If you're wondering where your favorite prospect is, don't worry. This wasn't meant to be a complete list--just players at positions of need who established a rep during practice week, who stood out to me during the game, or both.  If you’re wondering where the complete three-down backs with blazing speed are, they weren’t at the Senior Bowl trying to improve their stock.  Same goes for wideouts who can draw coverage away from Megatron, cornerbacks who can step in as our #1 starter, “franchise left tackles”, etc.

I've been getting draft questions non-stop for weeks now, and I’ve kept replying: “too early, too early, too early”.  There’s a rhythm to this pre-draft dance.  The college All-Star games are just the first step.  Watching them, and keeping tabs on the practice reports, gives me an idea of who to pay special attention to at the combine—which is when we really learn what’s going on.

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meet the cubs: louis delmas

When Tom Kowalski told the world that he thought the Lions might draft a safety, USC's Taylor Mays, with the #1 overall pick, I laughed. When he suggested that the Lions might draft a local boy, Western Michigan's Louis Delmas, with the #33 overall pick, I pooh-poohed it. When he insisted that what the Lions defense--statistically, one of the worst ever assembled--needed was a playmaking two-way safety, I scoffed. Given how the Lions' front four were shredded to tatters by every running back they faced, given how awful the Lions' corners were at containing wideouts, and given how impotent the Lions' defense was on third down, how could they invest so much in a player lined up too deep to solve any of those problems?

Kowalski explained it like this:

"I understand that a great safety on a horse crap defense isn't going to get you very far, But that's one of the pieces of the puzzle: if you can get that guy who can blitz, who can play the run, who can play short zones, who can play centerfield."

Okay, I thought at the time, a Reed or a Polamalu is one of the pieces of the puzzle--but shouldn't that be one of the last pieces of the puzzle put in place? It seems to make no sense; the Lions are supposed to be building a defense from the trenches out, right? Why start with the last line of defense?

And yet, when the first pick in the second round was called, the Lions owned the rights to Western Michigan safety Louis Delmas. At just a hair over 5'-11", and just a hair under 200 pounds, Delmas possesses typical--not prototypical, typical--NFL safety size, combined with prototypical speed (4.53), and extraordinary playmaking instincts.

Hailing from North Miami Beach, in high school Delmas played all defensive back positions, wide receiver, kick returner, and long snapper (!). His senior year, there was an 8-game stretch where he never left the field. Still, neither Scout nor Rivals ranked him with any stars, and Western was the only DI scholarship offer Delmas had. Why? Well, Delmas has an extraordinary past I won't retell here. Simply read this jaw-dropping article by GrenadierSports.com, and return here. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Speechless, eh? Yeah, so am I.

So once in Kalamazoo (official bio), Delmas immediately made an impact. As a true freshman, Delmas started all 11 games, earning him second-team Freshman All-America honors. He racked up 82 tackles (54 solo), 4 TFLs, 1.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries, three interceptions, eight pass breakups, and 11 passes defended. Let me begin that sentence again: "As a true freshman,". WMU's official site is a little hazy on individual season totals after that, but suffice to say his production only increased from there, becoming captain, handling kick returns, and making play after play after play. Let's go to the tape:

Draft Preview: Louis Delmas - The best free videos are right here

What we see here is exactly as Killer described: a two-way, playmaking safety.  He flies upfield and lights up ballcarriers, he can man up on a receiver (he played a little corner at Western, too), he can play centerfield and haul in interceptions.   In these clips, we see him take down a ballcarrier almost every conceivable way.  He hits them high, he hits them low, he wraps them up and brings them down.  He's sudden and explosive, and frequently looks like the best athlete on the field.  Of course, this is the MAC--he won't be the best athlete on the field in the NFL.  Still, this footage "pops".

In the controversial ESPN TV series "Playmakers", there was a scene where the veteran running back is watching as a rookie RB--a first-round pick--during a scrimmage.  Over a montage of runs by the young tailback, we hear the voice of the veteran.  He says something close to (sorry, don't have the video to reference): "You can see it.  It's not a movement--it's a way of moving.  Greatness."  That's the exact vibe I get when I see these clips of Delmas.  It's not any one thing that I see--its seeing him cover ground in a breath, fly right to the ball like it has its own gravity, slice right past his own teammates to stop ball carriers in their tracks.

It's funny, because I've always thought of a safety as a guy who cleans up messes; the last line of defense.  Sure, guys like Brian Dawkins and Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu can come up with big open-field hits or key interceptions, but isn't that really just the cherry on top?  I'm starting to wonder if I had it all wrong.  In watching these Western clips, you can see how Delmas would blow past his own men to come up and stuff the run.  You can see how he'd read the quarterbacks eyes, cut in front of an opposing receiver--currently being covered by another Bronco--and make the interception.  Then of course, there's the classic tale of Bob Sanders and the 2006 Colts: when he was healthy, their defense allowed less than 75 yards rushing per game--and without him, they allowed over 100 yards rushing every single game.  That's right, the Colts were by far the worst rushing defense in the NFL during the 2006 regular season--when Sanders only played the first four games--yet were the second-best rushing defense in the playoffs, when he was healthy.  One player, a safety, a 5'-8"-on-a-tall-day-safety, singlehandedly turned one of the worst rushing defenses into one of the best.

What do you think, Lions fans--should we add a similar player to our defense?

Heh, it's okay.  The boos will become cheers soon enough.  The proof of the pudding is in the eating, and there has already been some eating going on down in Allen Park.  Jim Schwartz on whether or not Delmas stood out at the rookie-only minicamp:

"Yeah, he stood out. I think that's obvious to you, me and the American people," Lions coach Jim Schwartz said.

If you click on and read that excellent article (thanks to Tom Kowalski at mlive.com), you'll see how Delmas is already taking the reigns, standing out, chattering, leading, involving his teammates, and winning them over.  One of several college team captains the Lions drafted, I believe Delmas is the most gifted natural leader.  If Foote and Peterson and Jackson are the veteran leadership Band-Aids, then Delmas is the guy who will be the leader of this defense for the next ten years.  Morever, if he's even 3/4ths of the players he's been compared to (Reed, Polamalu, Sanders, Sean Taylor), he'll be the greatest Lions safety since Bennie Blades--and a far more complete player than Blades was.  I really, truly believe the Lions hit a home run with this pick, and I think we'll know right away if I'm right.

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