Offensive Center ~ Brian Allen ~ Michigan State Spartans ~ 6010/299
The Gutters are riddled with the Corpses of Teams that were built around so-called "skill" Players ~ teams that delighted their Fantasy FootBall Fans every Year, all the way until January...until The Only Games That Really Matter.
It is then, of course, that the Capacity ~ or lack thereof ~ to Move The Chains and protect the QuarterBack against PlayOff Caliber Defenses rears its ugly head. And another Team built for Fantasy FootBall bites the dust.
Having said that...Centers often find themselves in support rolls in Pass Blocking, rather than helping tear open holes up the middle or out to the flanks in the Run Game, because of the league's general persistence, in the 21st Century, in heavily accentuating the Passing Game. As such, the impact that Centers make on their team's fortunes seems destined to be considerably less than their potential. But my focus is on intrinsic value, even where that potential goes untapped.
This is how I break things down, when I'm evaluating Centers:
Power: Above all: Core Power. Torso Power is important, but Core Power, from the Knees to the Ribs, is absolutely crucial. All the upper body Strength in the world will still fail if you simply can't dig in your Heels. But Core Power enables an Offensive Lineman to project Power in the Running Game and to reject Power in the Passing Game.
Agility: Launch Velocity, Acceleration, and above all: Fluidity or Core Agility. Core Agility is even more essential to sustained good Health ~ and to sustained good FootBall ~ than Core Power. The ability to react with Serpentine smoothness is a tremendous Asset in all Aspects of the Game, and certainly in the Hand to Hand Combat that characterizes Trench Warfare. All the Power in the World goes only so far if you're lurching around like FrankenStein.
Frame: Vertical Leverage, Hands, Arm Length, and WingSpan.
Combat Skills: Horizontal Leverage, Paw Positioning, Paw Persistence, and FootWork.
Processing Speed: How quickly and effectively one Reads & Reacts to the Rapidly Roiling Tactical LandScape!!
Motor: Endurance and Drive: How much Work has been put into Conditioning, and how it manifests itself.
Run Blocking: Applying it all: Power, Agility, Frame, Combat Skills, Processing Speed, and Motor.
Pass Blocking: Power, Agility, Frame, Combat Skills, Processing Speed, and Motor.
Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:
Power
* Core Power ~ lower body Power. Core Power trumps Torso Power. Tyrannosaurus Rex had exceptional Core Power.
* Torso Power ~ upper Body Power. Important, but not crucial. T Rex had lousy Torso Power...yet was King.
* Anchoring Strength in the Passing Game. The capacity to Stand One's Ground.
* Drive Power in the Running Game. The capacity to drive your man back.
Agility
* Fluidity, above all things: Core Agility & Flexibility makes everything possible.
* Launch Velocity ~ Speed into Contact off the Snap.
* Acceleration ~ Short Speed or Quickness.
Frame
* Vertical Leverage. Height is crucial, but it's actually better, I believe, to be an Inch shorter than an Inch Taller.
* Hands. The larger the better, generally, but compact is never a bad Attribute in The Trenches.
* Arm Length. Absolutely crucial. He who boasts the longer Arms initiates Combat.
* WingSpan. Arm Length + Torso Width. A more complete Measurement.
Combat Skills
* Lateral Leverage. Angles. Getting Square or better with the Target.
* Paw Positioning ~ It's all about Angles & Leverage.
* Paw Persistence ~ RPMs: Activity & Persistence.
* FootWork ~ RPMs: Activity & Persistence.
Processing Speed
* Reading & Reacting to Defensive Schemes & Stunts quickly and effectively.
* Field Vision: Finding Targets & approaching them effectively.
Motor
* Intensity.
* Stamina.
Run Blocking
* Power ~ Drive Power to project Power in the Running Game.
* Agility ~ especially Acceleration DownField or to the Flank.
* Frame ~ especially Vertical Leverage.
* Combat Skills.
* Processing Speed.
* Motor.
Pass Blocking
* Power ~ Anchoring Strength to reject Power in the Passing Game.
* Agility ~ especially Fluidity to Mirror the Pass Rusher.
* Frame ~ especially WingSpan.
* Combat Skills.
* Processing Speed.
* Motor.
Power: 66. Short, but not small. Extremely compact and with a truckload of Core Power.
Agility: 40. I'm gonna walk this way back from my original CyberScouting Report on Allen from last year. He simply doesn't seem to be anywhere near as Slippery or Fast. His Fluidity is adequate, but his Launch Velocity is mediocre and his Acceleration is marginal. He can mirror effectively enough in Pass Protection, but is sluggish on the run.
Frame: 33. His Height is actually all right because of Vertical Leverage, but his short WingSpan is a distinct Liability.
Combat Skills: 80. Impressive Paw Positioning, and awesome Lateral Leverage, FootWork, and Paw Persistence.
Processing Speed: 100. Absolutely masterful command of Blocking Schemes and defensive deception.
Motor: 100. Ferocious and absolutely relentless.
Run Blocking: 75 on a Power Scheme Team, but 40 on a Zone Scheme Team.
Pass Blocking: 60. Can be beat by Speed, Size, or Length, but rarely will be.
Mind you, he may never get the chance to do so, and, given the chance and having won the job, will always hold onto it, and his spot on the roster, for that matter, only by the skin'f'is teeth!! But he's a natural born Leader who's whole will very likely vastly outperform the sum of his parts, and whose prospective impact, not only on the Offensive Line itself, but on the collective attitude of the Offense as a whole and indeed the Locker Room cannot be easily calculated.
Thank you so very much, Draft BreakDown, without whom my Work would be virtually impossible.
Market Value #111 | Yankee Grade 3rd/4th |
Please also note, Fellow FootBall Fiends: These CyberScouting Reports are not intended as predictions of success or failure, but as assessments ~ ludicrously amateurish assessments ~ of potential success. FootBall is a rough and often unfair business, and many a worthy Prospect has fallen far short of his potential, sometimes not because of his own failings, but because of those of coaching, scheme, timing...or because huge investments were made on other Prospects.
In other words: If any of my Super Dooper Deeper Sleepers ever fail to fulfill their vast potential, I’m confident that it goes without saying that it wasn’t their fault…or mine!!...Yes, I think that I'm being funny.
In other words: Caveat Emptor, Fellow FootBall Fiends!!
Enter at your own risk!!