Gryphon ~ Matthew Milano ~ Boston College Eagles ~ 6003/224
Old Roles are getting dramatically transformed, and virtually every Front 7 ~ or Front 6!! ~ Defensive Job Description is transitioning into an Hybrid Role where the Defender is asked to excel in multiple Roles and in multiple Fronts.
For that reason, and in order to offer NomenClature that speaks not to archaic, obsolete "Positions", but rather to Skill Sets that accurately reflect the dynamic Changes of the 21st Century Game and the Roles they have spawned, I have undertaken to craft Terminology that is designed to break Skill Sets down as they really are.
Defensive Coordinators have, since Time Immemorial, employed highly creative terminology in devising Defenses and in designating Assignments. In that Spirit, I have admittedly indulged myself considerably in devising the following NomenClature. It is undeniably colorful, but I like to think that there's an underlying Logic, as well:
Gryphons ~ The Gryphon of ancient Egyptian Lore is an Hybrid of a Lion and an Eagle, and thus I believe an utterly perfect term for an emerging Role ~ and the attendant Skill Set ~ that I believe is going to become of enormous Importance in the Decades to come: The Hybrid MidFielder/RoverBack ~ that's "LineBacker/Strong Safety" to you Earthlings. The Base Formation is rapidly approaching Extinction: The Sub Package Is The New Base, Ladies & Laddies!! The next Development in the Eternal War between Offense and Defense may very well be an 11th Player ~ that same MidFielder/RoverBack Hybrid ~ playing Full Time!! The Prototype would be about 6000/225, I'd say.
The Gryphon would optimally be able to play RoverBack in "Base" Formations, and drop down to MidFielder for Big Nickel.
Gryphons could thus quite conceivably emerge as the Field Generals of the Defense in the Years to come.
When evaluating Gryphons, this is how I break things down:
Agility: Acceleration, Ricochet, Fluidity, and Verticity ~ that's Turn & Burn Acuity, to you Earthlings!!
Processing Speed: How quickly and effectively one Reads & Reacts to the developing Play.
Run Defense: Power, Agility, Combat Skills, Navigating Traffic, Processing Speed, Motor, and Tackling.
Pass Coverage: Agility, Processing Speed, and Catch Point Capacity.
Pass Rush: Power, Agility, Processing Speed, and Combat Skills.
Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:
Agility
* Fluidity, above all things: Core Agility & Flexibility makes everything possible.
* Ricochet ~ How crisply and how rapidly one breaks in a new direction.
* Acceleration ~ Short Speed or Quickness. Closing Speed.
* Verticity ~ The Ability ~ or lack thereof ~ to Flips Hips and Turn & Burn in Pass Coverage.
Processing Speed
* How quickly and effectively one Reads & Reacts to the developing Play.
Run Defense
* Power
* Agility
* Combat Skills
* Navigating Traffic
* Processing Speed
* Motor
* Tackling
Pass Coverage
* Agility
* Processing Speed
* Catch Point Capacity
Pass Rush
* Power
* Agility
* Processing Speed
* Combat Skills
Processing Speed: Impressive. Mediocre Field Vision but exceptional Read & React Speed & Efficacy.
Run Defense: Effective. Exceptional Power. Competitive Agility. Impressive Combat Skills and Processing Speed. Excellent at the Point of Attack. Competitive In Pursuit. Impressive Tools. Fluidity inhibits his Range. Awesome Motor.
Pass Coverage: Competitive. Poor Fluidity. Impressive Speed and Field Vision.
Pass Rush: Effective. Mediocre WingSpan, but impressive Speed and Snap Count Anticipation.
As a MidFielder, Milano is indeed a Special Teamer, as all the Reports say.
As a Gryphon ~ a Hybrid who plays as often in Pass Coverage as against the Run, and therefore as often In Space as in The Trenches ~ Milano has the Power, Speed, Intelligence, and Drive to compete and possibly to excel.
The 21st Century has arrived.
Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!
Market Value #163 | Yankee Grade 3rd/4th Round |
This is not is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning: Caveat Emptor!!