2009 Senior Bowl: Thursday North Recap

By: Roshan Bhagat | Updated: 1/22

With the last official practice before the big game on Saturday, the North team moved back into the shorts. They practiced a series of red zone, two-minute, and other execution-oriented drills. Without a full contact practice, it was difficult to maintain the same in-depth analysis in the trenches and at various other positions. Today was, however, the best day to take an extensive look at the quarterbacks.

After a rough week with footwork, arm strength, and ball placement, all three of our North team quarterbacks looked good in today’s practice. They all did a good job conducting the offense and efficiently moving the team down the field. After a long week, Nathan Brown finally turned things around. Brown looks much better and more comfortable when he has his offensive line, a full set of receivers and backs facing a defense. He has great touch to loft the ball over defenders placing it only where his receivers can make a play on it. I feel comfortable in saying Brown outperformed his two teammates, facing more game-like situations today. It wasn’t a spectacular day by any means, but compared to what we’ve seen this week from Brown, this was surely impressive. Rhett Bomar also showed good command of the offense at the beginning of practice. Towards the end of practice, Bomar threw an interception to Macho Harris in the red zone. One thing I’ve noticed all week with Bomar is his unorthodox throwing motion. It’s not much of a problem for now, but it could be a reason why his accuracy has always been so sporadic. If he can be coached to fix it at the next level, he does have the most potential of the North bunch. Graham Harrell continued his consistent week. He made good decisions in practice and delivered accurate balls.

Aside from the team portions of practice, which dominated Thursday, the best drill on the day allowed the backs and tight ends to showcase their ability catching the ball. The running back that impressed me most was Jeremiah Johnson. He’s probably the most natural pass catcher out of the backfield at the Senior Bowl. He only had eight receptions his senior season, but something tells me that he’ll be involved a lot more in the passing game in the NFL. He’s a good route runner and a very natural catcher. Based on what he showed me this week, Johnson should be one of the best 3rd down/change of pace backs in the draft. After him, Tony Fiammetta, the fullback from Syracuse also impressed me. In addition to being a blocker, Fiammetta showed me that he can be a dependable outlet from the backfield. Cedric Peerman also performed well running tough up the middle and catching out of the backfield. I still haven’t seen Kory Sheets make many mistakes at the Senior Bowl.

With Ramses Barden and Brandon Gibson sitting out practice with injuries, we saw some of the other receivers forced into more practice time. Derrick Williams once again looked good coming in and out of cuts. He worked well in the red zone running the underneath routes that teams like the Green Bay Packers capitalize on near the goal line. He catches everything with his hands and drops close to nothing. Brian Robiskie used his size very well going up for grabs in the back of the end zone. Manuel Johnson also made some nice plays today.

In those drills I mentioned earlier where tight ends and backs were covered by backers, Connor Barwin was actually fairly successful. He operated well out of cuts and showed some very nice hands. He even ran a nice seam route where he caught the ball over his shoulder and beat Tyrone McKenzie for six. Switching back to offense for the Senior Bowl hasn’t been all that bad for him. His value is still on the defensive side of the ball, but he’s shown some add value as a potential goal line target. Brandon Pettigrew did a nice job of using his large frame to shield defenders from the ball, but he didn’t really separate much today. I think he feels much better when everyone is wearing pads. John Phillips used his size and good route running over the middle to make some difficult grabs.

Because of the style of practice, I didn’t make it a high priority to keep a close eye on the trenches. If I came away with only one thing from the linemen today, it was that William Beatty’s feet are quick. Even if mental images of his footwork weren’t engraved in my mind, I would remember it because it was written down in my notes with several exclamation points. Xavier Fulton also had another bad day oversetting his initial slide out of his stance, leaving a gaping hole to the inside.

Will Davis had another outstanding day in the one-on-ones showing an explosive first step and quickness around the edge to the quarterback. B.J. Raji was another name that impressed, but that’s not news. I can’t help but fall in love with all that he can do. Larry English worked out as a linebacker today, which was probably the best treat of the day. Mike Mayock has previously called him the next DeMarcus Ware with a question mark. He looked pretty good standing up today so that should pique the interest of several 3-4 teams. Look for scouts to ask him to work out heavily as a linebacker at the Combine. Still, he looked a little stiff in coverage, but that could change with repetition and practice.

Of the linebackers today, without pads, their coverage ability was put to the test. Of the pack, Marcus Freeman came out victorious. Whenever I saw him line up against a running back or a linebacker, he was consistently in tight coverage. He allowed only one catch that I saw and that one would have netted only a couple yards had it been a game. Freeman was a player that has exceeded my expectations thus far. On the opposite end was Tyrone McKenzie, South Florida’s standout linebacker. He was very tight in the hips and couldn’t turn to run with anyone today. He missed severely on a jam then let Connor Barwin, a defensive end this past year, take him deep. I can’t see McKenzie as more than a Special Teams player in the NFL without development. The big name at linebacker, Clint Sintim continued to disappoint me. He’s badly needs to be in a 3-4 defense to mask his inadequacies in coverage. If he goes to a 4-3 team, he’ll more than likely be a two down linebacker who has to come off the field in obvious passing situations. Neither Zack Follett nor Scott McKillop looked natural in coverage. They both have some tightness in the hips and are also two down linebackers. Nic Harris wasn’t as impressive covering backs and tight ends as I thought he’d be, but he did a serviceable job nonetheless.

Patrick Chung has consistently been the best safety in Mobile this week, edging out Louis Delmas who sat out today’s practice with an injury. Chung is aggressive at the line of scrimmage and has looked fantastic in coverage this week. He capped a great practice with an interception in the red zone. Darius Butler had an up and down day. He got his hands on several balls, but was also beat for a couple long catches. Butler has the potential to be a great corner in the league, but every day this week he has been inconsistent allowing several catches a day. Inconsistency has also been a theme for Cincinnati’s “other” corner, DeAngelo Smith. I’ve noticed him grab receivers a little downfield, allow some catches, but also stick pretty tight to his assignment. By jumping routes and contesting passes, Macho Harris was once again one of the better corners today.

You could tell that things were winding down today inside Ladd-Peebles Stadium as the players went back to shorts in their last real practice before the big game. Many scouts were out of town and the stands pretty empty with the exception of some dedicated fans. The Marvin Lewis’ North team will face Jack Del Rio’s South team on Saturday. The NFL Network’s coverage of the game begins at 6:30PM (ET) with a special pre-game edition of NFL Total Access. The game will be brought to you live from Mobile, Alabama at 7:00PM (ET).