Meet The Cubs: Jason Fox Scouting Report

4.30, 128: Jason Fox, Miami OT:
When the Lions tendered RFA offers to guard Manny Ramirez, guard/center Dylan Gandy, and tackle/guard Daniel Loper, I was surprised.  Surely, I figured, with the addition of Rob Sims, and the healthy return of Stephen Peterman, one of those three would be let go.  All three had a chance to prove their worth as a starter last season—and none have such unknown upside that they must be kept around, regardless of production.  I named a tackle to groom behind Backus, and a center to groom behind Raiola, as two of the Lions' draft needs; I figured either one or the other would be addressed.

We got a sneak preview as to which it would be when the Lions released Loper.  As a swing guard/tackle, and no spot for him at guard, he’d have to make the roster as a tackle.  Since he didn’t, that left only aging Jon Jansen as a viable OT backup, and his pass protection—never excellent—has degraded to where he can’t start at right tackle anymore.  I immediately Tweeted that there was a roster space being carved out for a left tackle.  @Reckoner67 asked if I meant Okung, and I replied, quote, “More like a 3rd/4th rndr.”  Yeah, Twitter is literate like that.

Sure enough, when the Lions—finally—got back on the clock in the fourth round, they took their developmental tackle; Jason Fox of Miami.   Fox is an interesting prospect.  He has the prototypical LT frame: 6’-6 7/8”, 303 pounds, and 34.4” arms.  He’s got plenty of experience, having started 47 games in 4 years at Miami, third-most in school history.  Depending on who you ask, he’s either got very good, or average NFL-level lateral agility (keeping in mind that “average NFL-level” is “very good”).  So, with that frame, that athleticism, and that pedigree, why was he there at the bottom of the fourth round?

Jason Fox didn’t start out as a left tackle; in fact, like a lot of premier pass protectors, he started as a tight end prospect.  Coming out of North Crowley high school in Forth Worth, TX, Fox had played at tight end until switching to tackle his senior year.  Measuring 6’-6 1/2”, and a probably-lanky 255 pounds, Jason Fox was Scout.com’s 25th-best offensive tackle in 2006.  Interestingly, Rivals.com had Fox as the #16 tight end in his class; both considered him a four-star prospect.  To the University of Miami, though, Fox was strictly a tackle, and he immediately proved them right.

He started the first three games of his true freshman year at right tackle, but switched to left in the third game due to an injury.  He spent the rest of the season bouncing between the right and left sides.  He was knocked out of the final game of the season with a dislocated elbow, but returned in time to start the MPC Computers Bowl [sheesh].  The coaches graded Fox out at 83%, second-highest on the team, and he was given the team’s highest effort grade.  After not allowing a sack from either side all year, he was named first team Freshman All-America by CollegeFootallNews.com, and second team by Rivals.com and The Sporting News.

In 2007's spring practices, Fox was permanently switched from the right side to the left, and he started there for the remainder of his career.  He graded out at 96%, notching five pancakes along the way.  In 2008, he was named a team captain, and started 12 of 13 games on the left side.  A sprained right ankle broke his career-long starting streak, but Fox still graded out at 97% for the season.  He drastically upped his pancake count, to sixteen—including three each against Texas A&M, UNC and Cal.  Fox scored his first, and only, career touchdown on a five-yard tackle throwback play against Florida State.

Fox’s senior season went almost—but not quite—according to plan.  After starting the first 11 games, Fox missed the final regular-season game of the year with an irregular heartbeat.  Fox also missed Miami's Champs Sports Bowl loss to Wisconsin, when an irritating knee injury finally got too painful to ignore—he and the coaches agreed it was more important that he get the surgery to fix it, so he could prepare for the draft.  Still, Fox racked up 20 pancakes, allowed just one sack, and was first team All-ACC; there are no doubts about his production on the college level.

Of course, any time a player finishes his season with an injury, there are questions about whether he'll be back in time.  The knee injury shouldn’t pose a problem; Fox participated in individual drills during rookie orientation.  The irregular hearbeat, though, is more concerning.  Fox was grilled about it in his post-draft con call, and got a little irked by the hubbub:

I would really prefer not to get into that if that’s okay . . . It was just a fluke thing. I’ve been totally cleared. I’ve been back for several stress tests. They just said it was a one-day thing and I passed all the tests with flying colors and told it will never happen again.

Okay, so the proof of the pudding is in the eating, right?  It’s time for everyone’s favorite part, the only real tool anyone has for prognosticating NFL success: YouTube highlight reels!

I saw a lot to like on that clip.  Fox shows really nice ability to trap and pull; what I like his how he pulls and then hits; there’s a nice pop when he reaches his target.  He shows decent footwork and hands, in most cases locking on to his man and keeping said man in front of him.  Fox is  beaten a couple of times, and (from what I can tell) misses an assignment or two, but overall we see very smart, steady play.

Fox seems to have a special knack for trap and seal blocks in the running game; we see him spring Graig Cooper for long runs with a few of them—as an aside, how about that Graig Cooper, eh?  One thing that concerned me: Fox rarely dominated in one-on-one pass protection; we didn’t see much in the way of driving into defenders, or pushing them to the ground.  He was also overwhelmed on a bullrush a couple of times.  It’s clear that he needs to add bulk and strength to that 6’-6 7/8”, 303-pound frame.

What do the experts think?

From Fox's NFL.com's draft profile page:

While Fox has been a starter for four years at both right and left tackle his foot agility and lateral range may be on the marginal side for a left tackle in the NFL.  He is a tough athlete that has proven his willingness to play with pain.  He still needs improvement in his temperament on the field. He does not always finish blocks off or look to punish opponents as often as he could.  Fox’s status may drop some in the draft as he will need rehab on an injured knee that he was playing with during his senior season. He is not a natural knee bender and will play with his pads too high at times.

The National Football Post, via Yahoo!

A smooth, good-looking left tackle prospect who displays great flexibility out of his stance, Fox has the athleticism to consistently reach the corner. He does a good job sliding his feet and redirecting in pass protection. He isn't a Velcro player and struggles locking onto defenders at the point of attack. He does a nice job extending his arms into blocks but isn't heavy-handed. Fox is more of a finesse run blocker who uses his footwork to angle defenders away from the play. However, he's explosive off the snap and does a great job reaching the second level and hitting a moving target. He is one of the most fluid offensive tackles in space I've seen and is an ideal zone-blocking scheme candidate.

NFL Draft Scout, via CBS:

Rarely does a player from "The U" rank among the more underrated senior prospects among his position, but entering his senior season that is precisely what left tackle Jason Fox was. A highly-touted prep prospect who emerged as an immediate starter for the Hurricanes as a freshman, Fox began his career at right tackle, but started the final three years manning the blind side. He'll need to prove his health after missing the final two games, including the Champs Sports Bowl loss to Wisconsin, after undergoing surgery on his lower left leg. Not as blessed athletically as some of the more highly-touted offensive tackles who will be drafted ahead of him, Fox's size, consistency and durability shouldn't be overlooked.

SI.com grades Fox out as a 2.59, a "future starter". Additionally, SI's Peter King said "Down the line, some league people I talked to like the developmental potential of Miami tackle Jason Fox to be a long-term tackle."

Fox offers a solid combination of football instincts and mechanics to get the job done. He's not the greatest of athletes, yet he has an understanding for the position, which will help him eventually develop into a productive player at the next level.

So where does this all leave Fox?  Per logic, per Tom Kowalski, and per George Yarno, it leaves him as the favorite to back up both tackle positions, and eventually push Gosder Cherilus for the right tackle spot, while preparing to take over for Jeff Backus.

I know some people are going to scream when I point this out, but do you see a pattern emerging? "Tough.” “Smart.” “Solid.” “Instincts and mechanics,” “not blessed athletically,” “consistent and durable.”  Yup, you can see where I’m going here.  To quote my attempt to satisfy the Lions' draft shopping list:

I know he's not the elite ÜBERTAKKEL that everyone has been screaming for since Lomas Brown, but to be brutally, brutally honest, folks, I think the Lions would be happy to replace Jeff Backus with Next Jeff Backus.

I said that about Bryan Bulaga—and Fox is not the prospect Bulaga is, especially in the strength department—but that quote rings true for Fox, too.  If he can stay healthy, and develop his body over the next season or two, “the Next Jeff Backus” could indeed be the best way to describe Jason Fox.

Technorati Tags: nfl,detroit lions,nfl draft,jason fox,miami,scouting reports

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old mother hubbard: the guards

The combine is upon us.  All the prospects are in Indianapolis right now, getting injected, inspected, detected, infected, neglected and--in April, with luck--selected.  For maniacs such as myself who want to see a bunch of as-of-last-month college kids run around pylons in shorts and pretend it means anything, the coverage of linemen starts at 2:00 pm EST Saturday and rolls on from there.

Stephen Peterman:  brought in with little fanfare but lots of curiosity, Stephen Peterman was a former third-round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys.  Drafted out of LSU by Bill Parcells, Peterman blew out his knee in the last preseason game of his rookie season; he was IR'd and didn't see the field that year, or most of the following year.  The 6'-4", 323 pounder made it back in time to make some special teams appearances in the last few games of 2005, but the Cowboys cut him in training camp the following year.  It's rumored that the injury and his long recovery put him permanently in Parcells' doghouse . . . unable to catch on with another team before the season started, Peterman languished until the Lions' OL situation got (even more) desperate.  In mid-October, Peterman signed with the Lions, and was placed on the practice squad to learn the offense.  In December, he began to contribute, and was soon inserted as the starter.   He capped the year by playing extremely well in a massive upset of his former team, the Cowboys.  Peterman spent 2007 in a duel for playing time with Damien Woody, and eventually won it.  He entered the 2008 season as the starter for the first time in his career, and promptly broke his hand in Week 3.  After the bye and two weeks off, Peterman came back in Week 7 and really helped solidify the line.  I've commented before that for this window--from Peterman's return in Week 7 to the loss of Raiola in Week 11--the Lions' offensive line looked to finally be 'jelling', to becoming something more than the sum of its mediocre parts.  However, even though pass protection really became an issue after Raiola went out, with a line of Backus/Cook/McCollum/Peterman/Cherilus the run game finally had some size and grit up front.  From week 10 on, Kevin Smith's rushing numbers look really, really good.  Excepting for a moment the Tennesee and Minnesota games (because nobody ran on those guys), Smith carred 135 times for 585 yards, which works out to a 4.33 ypc average.  If that was the baseline for next season, this team would be in worlds better shape.  

Peterman is a grinder, a smart and tough guy with decent size; at 323 he's slightly lean for his height and frame.  Depending on what you read, he either lacks athleticism or technique, and from what I've seen it's more like his lack of technique inhibits his athleticism.  I think he doesn't quite know how to apply his agility to get lower, to use his leverage.  It seems like he has two settings, "pull" and "maul", and he doesn't know that if he was as quick and smart while power blocking as he is in space, he wouldn't have to try and maul everybody.  With the hiring of his old OL coach at LSU, George Yarno, as the Lions' new OL coach, Peterman will have every opportunity toacheive his remarkable potential over the five year, $15M extension the Lions just signed him to.  Bottom line: Peterman has the size, grit, and smarts to be a great run blocker.  He just needs to stay healthy and improve his footwork and technique.

Manny Ramirez: at 6'-3", 335#, Manny Ramirez cuts an imposing figure.  A huge, big-bodied guy with tremendous upper-body strength, Ramirez was pigeonholed by all the pre-draft analysis stuff as a raw drive blocker with no pass protection technique or footwoork.  However, Ramirez played at Texas Tech, where they pass sixty times a game, so it seemed like that couldn't possibly be true.  He called the protections at TTU for both his junior and senior seasons, and was known for his intelligence and leadership on the field.  When the Lions got him with their second fourth-round pick in the '07 draft, it seemed like a steal.  A big mean road-grader with many years' experience in a pass-first, pass-second, pass-third offense, plus a thorough knowledge of protections and reading defenses?  Awesome. 

He barely got on the field in 2007, and played only when Stephen Peterman got hurt in 2008.  What the deal with this guy is, I do not know, but he has all the indicators of success, and cannot get on the field on a team absolutely desperate for young, big, talented linemen.  I would love for him to step right in and start for the departed Ed Mulitalo, but it doesn't look like that will happen, possibly ever.  Bottom line: practically limitless potential languishing on the bench while street free agents are signed to start ahead of him.  No idea what the problem is.

Damion Cook:  A street free agent in his eighth year out of Bethune-Cookman; originally signed as a UFA by the Ravens in 2001.   When he got the call for the Lions, Cook had most recently thrown his 6'-5", 330# frame around in the CFL.  He'd last seen an NFL action in 2004--yet when Mulitalo went down, he ended up as the starter.  Cook finished the season atop the depth chart at left guard.  Bottom line: this dude has no business starting in the NFL.  He played commendably, considering, but if he didn't have a relationship with Colletto, he would never have gotten on the roster to begin with.

Junius Coston: A 6'-3", 315#, 2005 fifth-round draft pick of the Packers, the Lions are Coston's third team in as many seasons.  SUMMARY: fungible dude who doesn't even have a bio on the official site.

OVERVIEW:  The guard position is yet another of urgent need.  Peterman is currently a decent NFL starter with the potential to be really, truly good; he will almost assuredly enter the season as our right guard of the forseeable future.  Ramirez has the body and resume of an All-Pro, but can't get off the bench.  Nobody else is anyone we want seeing significant time.  The Lions must acquire a starter at left guard--the current thinking is that the Lions will either draft an LT-of-the-future and shift Backus over to guard, or draft an LT-of-the-future and start that player at guard.  However, don't rule out a mid-level free agent, even if the LT-of-the-future comes to town; the Lions are thin enough inside they could use a third guy who could start.  My current dream scenario is "one of the four LTs" at 1.1, and then Cal's Alex Mack at 2.1, letting Backus and OT handle the right side, Mack back up all three interior positions, and then Peterman and Cherilus hold down the right side.

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