PowerBack ~ Dwayne Washington ~ Washington
Huskies ~ 6010/224
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
Dwayne Washington Scouting Report
Power: Mediocre, but with considerable Potential. Washington only recently converted from WideOut to HalfBack, hasn't gotten a load of Work at HalfBack since doing so, 3 or 4 Years ago, and scored extraordinarily well on both the Vertical Jump and the Broad Jump, Numbers I pay attention to. My sense is that we're looking at remarkable Intrinsic Power, needing Time & Training to develop into Functional Power that will make an Impact on The Field of Battle.
Agility: Excellent. Merely impressive Long Speed, but outstanding Acceleration. Extraordinary Fluidity. Exceptional Ricochet. Washington lacks polish at this early juncture, but his raw Explosiveness is clearly evident.
Field Vision: Marginal. As noted, he's only been doing this for a few Years. It shows.
Blocking: Marginal but with Potential. Good Motor. Marginal Combat Skills. Mediocre but intriguing Intrinsic Power.
Receiving: Stunning. Stunning. Outstanding Hands, tremendous Tracking & Timing...and explosive.
Agility: Excellent. Merely impressive Long Speed, but outstanding Acceleration. Extraordinary Fluidity. Exceptional Ricochet. Washington lacks polish at this early juncture, but his raw Explosiveness is clearly evident.
Field Vision: Marginal. As noted, he's only been doing this for a few Years. It shows.
Blocking: Marginal but with Potential. Good Motor. Marginal Combat Skills. Mediocre but intriguing Intrinsic Power.
Receiving: Stunning. Stunning. Outstanding Hands, tremendous Tracking & Timing...and explosive.
Dwayne Washington Prospectus
Whoa.
There is plenty of opportunity for Failure, here: Dwayne Washington only converted from WideOut to HalfBack a few Years ago, and it's evident in his lack of Functional Power, in his Field Vision, and in his Blocking.
But Scouting is all about Potential and the Chances of realizing that Potential, of course. If Washington had been playing HalfBack his whole Life and was still this raw, I'd be seeing Red Flags everywhere...But when a Convertible like Washington, with only 13 Starts under his belt, looks this good on Film, I am riveted.
And when he combines those Flashes of Brilliance with spectacular Fluidity, Power, and Ricochet Numbers at his Pro Day, explosive Acceleration out'f the BackField, and some flat out phenomenal Work as a Receiver...I get all giddy.
Dwayne Washington's got plenty of Work to do before he can unleash all that Talent, because he has indeed only been doing this for a few short Years, and'as only gotten a share of the Snaps in that time.
He's raw. And there's no Certainty that he's going to succeed.
But his raw Potential is absolutely sensational. And it says here that that is worth a few Chips.
Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!
There is plenty of opportunity for Failure, here: Dwayne Washington only converted from WideOut to HalfBack a few Years ago, and it's evident in his lack of Functional Power, in his Field Vision, and in his Blocking.
But Scouting is all about Potential and the Chances of realizing that Potential, of course. If Washington had been playing HalfBack his whole Life and was still this raw, I'd be seeing Red Flags everywhere...But when a Convertible like Washington, with only 13 Starts under his belt, looks this good on Film, I am riveted.
And when he combines those Flashes of Brilliance with spectacular Fluidity, Power, and Ricochet Numbers at his Pro Day, explosive Acceleration out'f the BackField, and some flat out phenomenal Work as a Receiver...I get all giddy.
Dwayne Washington's got plenty of Work to do before he can unleash all that Talent, because he has indeed only been doing this for a few short Years, and'as only gotten a share of the Snaps in that time.
He's raw. And there's no Certainty that he's going to succeed.
But his raw Potential is absolutely sensational. And it says here that that is worth a few Chips.
Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!
Yank Rank: Warrior ~ Super Sleeper!!
| Market Value #236 | Yankee Grade 2nd/3rd 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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