On the Clock - Draft Simulator

I watched Barnett against Alabama and he fucking sucks. I wouldn't want to take him at the top of the second round, much less the first. He has the quickness of a 280 pound defensive end and the strength of a 250 pound defensive end. He is slow off the snap, failing to show any explosion out of his stance. After that he tends to let blockers get into his chest before trying to disengage rather than using his arms to keep separation (vs ALA 2Q 1:02), which means he can be effectively blocked by tight ends (vs ALA 1Q 11:40). If he can get the edge then he has a good lean that makes it difficult for tackles to cut him off (vs ALA 2Q 10:15). His lateral agility in open space is poor, allowing running backs to easily juke and elude him (vs ALA 2Q 3:05).

 

Wow, he couldn't have done less to contribute if would have been on the bench.

 

A line like this was probably the start of a hilarious bit of oneupsmanship between Peppers and Jenkins back in 2007

 

Myles Garrett also got held without a sack against Alabama. These are the two games in particular where Cam Robinson shined. I wouldn't discount Barnett based on one game. He has some athletic limitations sure, but so did Jared Allen. He's relentless much like Jared Allen was.

In 18 SEC games, Barnett has 21 sacks and 32.5 tackles for loss.

In 18 SEC games, Garrett has 11 sacks and 17 tackles for loss.

Garrett padded his stats against the likes of UT San Antonio. Barnett was much more consistent. According to Pro Football Focus, Garrett graded slightly below Barnett in 2015, losing out +54.0 to +52.8 overall, and +42.7 to +42.4 as a pass-rusher.

To infer Barnett's not even worth a second rounder is just silly.

 

DG sounds like he wants to draft himself.
He sounds like a snake-oil salesman.


Panthers GM Dave Gettleman: 'Character does win football games'
Mar 2, 2017
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The player had a questionable background -- he'd never been caught doing something wrong but was always there when incidents occurred -- and Carolina Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman wanted to see if this was enough to make him undraftable.

So Gettleman, director of player personnel Don Gregory and a few other members of the Carolina staff sat down with the player at the NFL combine in Indianapolis. Gettleman wouldn’t name the player or say what year this happened. All he would say is that after the 50-minute interview ended, the player walked out the door and Gettleman turned to Gregory and declared that the young man never would be with the Panthers “because you knew he was full of crap."

That’s instinct.

Forty times and other measurables will get a lot of headlines over the next week as the top draft prospects work out for NFL teams, but it’s what goes on behind closed doors that most interests Gettleman.

What matters to him is how a player responds in an interview.

“The biggest thing we’re looking for is we want guys that understand the game. We want guys that hate to lose and quality people," Gettleman said on Wednesday at the combine. “One of the biggest things I have to do as a general manager is eliminate distractions.

“We can’t bring players into our building and we’re worrying what they’re going to be about when the lights go down. We’re looking at character, because character does win football games."

That could elevate a player such as Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey over Florida State’s Dalvin Cook, who on paper is considered the better prospect. But Cook was involved in a battery case in 2015, and although he was found not guilty, that still could play a role in whether the Panthers consider him with the eighth overall pick.

The last time Carolina had a top-10 pick, by the way, it selected middle linebacker Luke Kuechly at No. 9. When Gettleman talks about instincts, he starts with Kuechly.

That was before Gettleman, but the fifth-year general manager drafted Daryl Worley in the third round last season even though the cornerback had pleaded no contest to a battery charge in 2014 while he was at West Virginia.

What’s important here is how the player addresses his past when talking to Gettleman. The one Gettleman passed on didn’t do well. “He couldn’t look me in the eye," Gettleman said. “We had information he was lying about. Some guys, you can tell. I’m a city kid. You can tell."

Instinct doesn’t help just with questionable backgrounds. It helps one decide if a small-school player can cut it in the NFL, as James Bradberry showed he could after Gettleman selected him in the second round out of Samford.

The best example Gettleman can recall was in 1996, while he was with the Denver Broncos. He recommended they use their first-round pick to select linebacker John Mobley out of tiny Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. Mobley was named All-Pro in 1997 after recording 132 tackles and four sacks. He helped the Broncos win two Super Bowls.

“The biggest thing about small-school guys is you have to picture them," Gettleman said. “Say I’m at Kutztown, Pennsylvania. I’ve got to picture that guy playing at Penn State. If I’m at Kent State, I’ve got to picture this guy starting at Ohio State.

“They have to be man among boys."

Gettleman has shown good instincts for most of his time at Carolina, drafting players and making free agent moves. He was instrumental in creating the 2015 team that went 15-1 during the regular season and reached the Super Bowl.

“What happened in ’15 in our locker room was real," Gettleman said. “That was 63 guys committed to doing the right thing every day all day long. That was real, and you need that. That’s what we’re looking for."

For Gettleman, it all comes down to instinct.

“At the end of the day, if I make a whole lot more right moves than wrong moves, you might say I’ve got some instincts," he said.

His instincts apparently were spot on regarding the player he wouldn't name. “He’s in the league," Gettleman said. “But the team’s had all kinds of problems."

 

Barnett's stats are great but I'm just telling you what I see from watching his tape. Most of the time he is the last of the Tennessee defensive linemen to react to the snap (@ UGA 1Q 7:05, @ UGA 3Q 8:09, @ UGA 4Q 3:43, @ UGA 4Q 3:03), and when he does react he does not show any initial burst. He's more a lumbering type who builds speed gradually. He did have a sack against Robinson on the play I mentioned regarding his good lean (vs ALA 2Q 10:15), but I was alarmed by the rest of his performance. He is good at shedding blockers with his hands (@ UGA 4Q 7:44) when he actually extends them, but he needs to do that much more often and engage them at arms' length instead of letting them get into his body.

I'm watching his Georgia game right now and seeing the same things as I did against Alabama. I sure hope the scheme asked him to slant inside and he wasn't just doing that on his own because he did it a lot and was routinely washed out of the play (@ UGA 1Q 10:43, @ UGA 2Q 3:49). Against the run he has a bad habit of turning his shoulder into the contact and thus giving up outside containment (@ UGA 1Q 7:05, @ UGA 1Q 3:05). From watching two full games of him, it appears that Barnett only has two pass rush moves. The first is dipping his left shoulder and getting under the reach of the tackle if he manages to get the edge on the snap (@ UGA 3Q 7:27), and if he doesn't get the edge then he is skilled at slapping away the tackle's arms to disengage (@ UGA 3Q 7:20). But on both he's always going to the outside, which means that a tackle who isn't extremely slow to backpeddle can wash him out of the play consistently. It would be nice to see Barnett mix it up by spinning back to the inside when the tackle reacts to the outside movement. Actually, after I wrote that he tried one later in the game but was slow and clumsy in the attempt (@ UGA 4Q 2:45). It should be noted that Barnett had a huge fumble forcing sack in this game, but it came because Georgia inexplicably tried to block him with a tight end and a running back chip.

KP, if you want to explain why I'm wrong then feel free but I think I've been pretty fair about explaining exactly what problems I have with Barnett and giving you specific plays that show why I'm concerned. I don't think this guy is going to be very good in the NFL. He's obviously been successful at the college level, I just don't see traits that make me believe he will impact games as a professional. Honestly, I'm not even seeing the great hustle I keep reading about. I did mention the good punch, so if someone can train Barnett to consistently extend his arms and jab blockers then he can use his strength to be disruptive. That's where his upside will be. He doesn't have the mental or physical quickness to beat NFL tackles to the edge, which is what makes his obsession with the outside speed rush so disappointing. To be effective as a professional he's going to need to engage and shed. Right now he's nowhere near consistent enough on that either as a pass rusher or a run defender. I don't blame you for being skeptical, but I'm dead serious when I say that I would not take this guy at #40. I just wouldn't.

 

says the guy that thought having Steve Smith on the team was a problem

 

And who franchise tagged Greg Hardy.

 

rumors about Jonathan Allen slipping in the draft because of some medical concerns and just an ok workout. If he's there at eight, gotta wonder if DG pulls the trigger as on oversized de who kicks inside with short on 3rd down. Would add some versatility to the line with him and Ealy both being able to play in and out somewhat.

More I think about it, the more I see getts taking OJ Howard. To be honest I might be okay with that.

 

I'm worried about the anointment of Worley. From training camp to Week 17, he was probably our most improved played, but I don't feel comfortable handing him the job.