PowerBack ~ DeVontae Booker ~ Utah Utes
5106/220
Regarding PowerBacks
A couple Years ago, I dropped the term "FlexBack" and divided all HalfBacks into PowerBacks & SpeedBacks.
I've come to believe that any HalfBack that doesn't bring a Passing Game element to the BattleField is...incomplete.
Hence, the term "FlexBack" ~ although quite cool, I believe!! ~ short-circuits the Evaluation Process.
As to how I break them down, I expect that the terms are pretty self-explanatory:
PowerBacks ~ HalfBacks who do their best Work between the Tackles..
SpeedBacks ~ HalfBacks who do their best Work outside the Tackles.
The PowerBack prototype would be about 5115/220 or so.
The SpeedBack prototype would be about 5010/200 or so.
Those are gross oversimplifications, of course, and many HalfBacks will manifest Attributes of both styles. Indeed, Power and Speed ~ better yet: Agility ~ are crucial to the Success of either kind of HalfBack. But I believe that it advances the discussion and better serves my Fellow FootBall Fanatics if I make an effort to distinguish between types.
This is how I break things down, when evaluating all HalfBacks:
Power: Above all: Core Power. Upper body Power is important, but lower body Power, from the Knees to the Ribs, is absolutely crucial. An HalfBack's Capacity to break Tackles is more about Core Power than anything else.
Agility: Launch Velocity, Fluidity, Acceleration, and Ricochet. Long Speed is all well and good, but at the end of the day, it is Gravy. What wins Championships is Moving The Chains. And Moving The Chains is accomplished far more consistently by the guys who exhibit the Agility ~ and the Focus ~ to consistently pick up 5 and sometimes 10 Yards at a time.
Processing Speed: Diagnostic Velocity. Field Vision. That ethereal Capacity to Rapidly Read & React to the Rapidly Roiling & Boiling Tactical LandScape...and to foresee and envision Lanes developing before they actually do.
Blocking: Having an HalfBack who doesn't Block effectively is like having 10 Men on the Field of Battle. Most HalfBacks just coming out'f College are mediocre Blockers, but this is a crucial Aspect of the Game that they'll need to master.
Receiving: Whether he be a PowerBack or a SpeedBack, an HalfBack that can effectively present a genuine Threat in the Passing Game dramatically increases his Team's Options on any given Play. The more dynamic the Threat, the more valuable to'is Team on the Field of Battle, whether he's just slipping out'f the BackField or splitting out Wide.
Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:
Power
* Core Power is most of it. Tyrannosaurus Rex would've made an Hell of an HalfBack.
* Torso Power doesn't hurt, though.
Agility
* Launch Velocity
* Fluidity
* Acceleration
* Ricochet
* Long Speed
Processing Speed
* That ethereal Capacity to foresee and envision Lanes developing before they actually do.
Blocking
* Power
* Agility
* Combat Skills
* Processing Speed
* Motor
Receiving
* Separation
* Catch Point Capacity
* Navigation
I've come to believe that any HalfBack that doesn't bring a Passing Game element to the BattleField is...incomplete.
Hence, the term "FlexBack" ~ although quite cool, I believe!! ~ short-circuits the Evaluation Process.
As to how I break them down, I expect that the terms are pretty self-explanatory:
PowerBacks ~ HalfBacks who do their best Work between the Tackles..
SpeedBacks ~ HalfBacks who do their best Work outside the Tackles.
The PowerBack prototype would be about 5115/220 or so.
The SpeedBack prototype would be about 5010/200 or so.
Those are gross oversimplifications, of course, and many HalfBacks will manifest Attributes of both styles. Indeed, Power and Speed ~ better yet: Agility ~ are crucial to the Success of either kind of HalfBack. But I believe that it advances the discussion and better serves my Fellow FootBall Fanatics if I make an effort to distinguish between types.
This is how I break things down, when evaluating all HalfBacks:
Power: Above all: Core Power. Upper body Power is important, but lower body Power, from the Knees to the Ribs, is absolutely crucial. An HalfBack's Capacity to break Tackles is more about Core Power than anything else.
Agility: Launch Velocity, Fluidity, Acceleration, and Ricochet. Long Speed is all well and good, but at the end of the day, it is Gravy. What wins Championships is Moving The Chains. And Moving The Chains is accomplished far more consistently by the guys who exhibit the Agility ~ and the Focus ~ to consistently pick up 5 and sometimes 10 Yards at a time.
Processing Speed: Diagnostic Velocity. Field Vision. That ethereal Capacity to Rapidly Read & React to the Rapidly Roiling & Boiling Tactical LandScape...and to foresee and envision Lanes developing before they actually do.
Blocking: Having an HalfBack who doesn't Block effectively is like having 10 Men on the Field of Battle. Most HalfBacks just coming out'f College are mediocre Blockers, but this is a crucial Aspect of the Game that they'll need to master.
Receiving: Whether he be a PowerBack or a SpeedBack, an HalfBack that can effectively present a genuine Threat in the Passing Game dramatically increases his Team's Options on any given Play. The more dynamic the Threat, the more valuable to'is Team on the Field of Battle, whether he's just slipping out'f the BackField or splitting out Wide.
Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:
Power
* Core Power is most of it. Tyrannosaurus Rex would've made an Hell of an HalfBack.
* Torso Power doesn't hurt, though.
Agility
* Launch Velocity
* Fluidity
* Acceleration
* Ricochet
* Long Speed
Processing Speed
* That ethereal Capacity to foresee and envision Lanes developing before they actually do.
Blocking
* Power
* Agility
* Combat Skills
* Processing Speed
* Motor
Receiving
* Separation
* Catch Point Capacity
* Navigation
DeVontae Booker Scouting Report
Power: Competitive. Not a PushOver, but by no means a Mauler, either.
Agility: Effective. Terrific Fluidity. Moderate Ricochet out'f'is Breaks. Impressive Launch Velocity. Mediocre Acceleration.
Field Vision: Impressive. Usually decisive and usually correct. Occasionally impatient. Occasionally too patient.
Blocking: Competitive. Mediocre Core Power and Combat Skills but a good Motor.
Receiving: Excellent. Decent Routing and excellent Hands.
Demerit: Fumbling Issues. Bad Habits.
Agility: Effective. Terrific Fluidity. Moderate Ricochet out'f'is Breaks. Impressive Launch Velocity. Mediocre Acceleration.
Field Vision: Impressive. Usually decisive and usually correct. Occasionally impatient. Occasionally too patient.
Blocking: Competitive. Mediocre Core Power and Combat Skills but a good Motor.
Receiving: Excellent. Decent Routing and excellent Hands.
Demerit: Fumbling Issues. Bad Habits.
DeVontae Booker Prospectus
DeVontae Booker was a challenging Prospect to evaluate. All Scouting Reports are made through a Projection Prism, but some are more challenging to extrapolate than others. Joshua Norris of RotoWorld makes the Argument that Booker's Success at Utah might be somewhat attributable to his being, at 23 last Year ~ another Factor ~ considerably more physically mature than virtually all of his Competition...and I believe that he makes a damned good point.
So I squinted even harder than I usually do when I wrote this.
I believe that Booker brings a fairly well-rounded Game, but not an especially dynamic one, to the Field of Battle.
He's not Powerful, but neither is he Weak. He's not Fast, but neither is he fatally Slow.
I'm very impressed by his advanced capacity as a Receiver, and his Motor and Conditioning are outstanding.
His Fumbling Issues terrify me, though: His Form needs Work, and I fear that his Bad Habits will prove fatal at the next level, where he'll face far, far smarter, stronger, and faster Competition than he's used to.
And his Age, too, is a Factor detrimental to his Stock, as he's 24 ~ ancient, in Rookie Terms!!
As I see it, Booker projects as a very good Reserve who can also compete as a Collaborator on a Team smart enough to go with a Committee, which is of course becoming more and more common, these Days.
Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!
So I squinted even harder than I usually do when I wrote this.
I believe that Booker brings a fairly well-rounded Game, but not an especially dynamic one, to the Field of Battle.
He's not Powerful, but neither is he Weak. He's not Fast, but neither is he fatally Slow.
I'm very impressed by his advanced capacity as a Receiver, and his Motor and Conditioning are outstanding.
His Fumbling Issues terrify me, though: His Form needs Work, and I fear that his Bad Habits will prove fatal at the next level, where he'll face far, far smarter, stronger, and faster Competition than he's used to.
And his Age, too, is a Factor detrimental to his Stock, as he's 24 ~ ancient, in Rookie Terms!!
As I see it, Booker projects as a very good Reserve who can also compete as a Collaborator on a Team smart enough to go with a Committee, which is of course becoming more and more common, these Days.
Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!
Yank Rank: Scrapper ~ SemiOverRated
| Market Value #136 | Yankee Grade 5th/6th Round |
Please do Note: This and all Evaluations issued by this Site are produced by a ludicrously unqualified Amateur, privy to not even the tiniest fraction of Coach's Tape, Scouting Expertise, Face to Face Interviewing, Experience, or Inside Information enjoyed by the Professionals. As such, anything put forth is certainly misinformed, euphonious, derivative Tripe, and should be rejected out'f hand and indeed shunned by all men and women of Good Will!! I'm trying to discern Power, Agility, Combat Skills, and far more abstract, esoteric Concepts such as Processing Speed and Motor, and I'm trying to do so based almost entirely on a fascinating fusion of Tape, Combine Numbers, and Pro Days, while trying to attenuate my findings based on Allowances for Competition Level, Scheme, Concept, Context, and, above all: Trajectory!!
None of this is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning!! Caveat Emptor!!
None of this is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning!! Caveat Emptor!!
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