Offensive Guard ~ Collin Buchanan ~ Miami RedHawks ~ 6045/315
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.
This is how I break things down, when I'm evaluating Offensive Guards:
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: Lateral 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.
* Duration.
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: Competitive. Impressive Anchoring Strength in Pass Protection. Mediocre Drive Power in the Running Game.
Agility: Competitive. Sufficient Launch Velocity. Marginal Acceleration and Speed, but effective Fluidity.
Frame: Mediocre. Very good Height for Vertical Leverage, but a marginal WingSpan.
Combat Skills: Impressive, and in every aspect: Lateral Leverage, Positioning, FootWork, and Persistence.
Processing Speed: Impressive, both deciphering Schemes in Pass Protection and finding Targets in the Running Game.
Motor: Effective Intensity and Stamina.
Run Blocking: Mediocre, due to sluggish Acceleration and Speed as well as mediocre Drive Power. He does compensate well enough to compete, though, with Effort and Intelligence, and he is also Scheme Flexible.
Pass Blocking: Exceptional. His WingSpan is a big Liability, but his Fluidity to Mirror, his Processing Speed in deciphering Defensive HornSwoggling, his Combat Skills, and his Motor are all Strengths that more than compensate.
But on Film, that's a very different Story.
Buchanan exhibits a startlingly well-developed Game for someone playing Division 47 FootBall, enhancing a very average Skill Set with a remarkably combination of Combat Skills and Processing Speed, a level of Refinement and of Development that I did not expect to find...and which speaks very highly of his Intelligence and Drive.
Collin Buchanan has a few Scraps of Talent and a WingSpan Liability, but a disproportionately large helping of Intelligence and Drive, which tells me that, despite his obscure Division 64 Pedigree, he has a much stronger Chance not only to survive at the next level, but to succeed than his Pedigree and his horrific Work Out Numbers suggest!!
Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!
Market Value UFA | Yankee Grade 3rd/4th Round |
This is not is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning: Caveat Emptor!!