SpeedBack Marion Grice ~ Arizona State
Sun Devils ~ 6000/208
Sun Devils ~ 6000/208
Regarding HalfBacks
Change of NomenClature: I'm dropping the term "FlexBack" and dividing 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
Marion Grice Scouting Report
Power ~ Exceptional. One of the many ways in which Matt Waldman's writing has elevated and enhanced my knowledge of this Great Game and of the Attributes that distinguish its Players is in a greatly improved appreciation for the distinction between Pile Pushing Power, Tackle Breaking Power, and PinBall Power. Grice possesses the latter in abundance.
Agility ~ Impressive. That Rating will appall anyone who considers the 40 to be the Definitive Measure of Football Player's Agility, of course, but I am far less interested in the capacity to break off an 80 Yarder that gets on ESPN than I am in the capacity to Move The Chains consistently, especially during the PlayOffs ~ The Only Games That Really Matter ~ and against the League's nastiest Defenses. That calls for Acceleration to the Hole or the Edge, Fluidity to navigate a congested Field, and Ricochet to burst out'f Breaks. And Grice is impressive in all three Aspects.
Processing Speed ~ Extraordinary. Grice reads the Field of Battle like a General, and consistently reacts both decisively and wisely. He consistently anticipates Seams before they appear and is often already bursting towards them.
Blocking ~ Bad!! But with tremendous Potential. Grice's Combat Skills are raw as Hell, but his Field Vision and Capacity to rapidly read the Field of Battle and anticipate the correct Target and the correct Angle and Speed is extraordinary.
Receiving ~ Phenomenal. Grice boasts an extraordinary fusion of remarkably refined Route Running, explosive Ricochet out'f'is Cuts, exceptionally reliable Hands, and tremendous Vertical Agility. He doesn't strike me as any more of an HighLight Reel Threat as a Receiver than as a Runner, but 10 Yards at a time he will demolish Defenses.
Agility ~ Impressive. That Rating will appall anyone who considers the 40 to be the Definitive Measure of Football Player's Agility, of course, but I am far less interested in the capacity to break off an 80 Yarder that gets on ESPN than I am in the capacity to Move The Chains consistently, especially during the PlayOffs ~ The Only Games That Really Matter ~ and against the League's nastiest Defenses. That calls for Acceleration to the Hole or the Edge, Fluidity to navigate a congested Field, and Ricochet to burst out'f Breaks. And Grice is impressive in all three Aspects.
Processing Speed ~ Extraordinary. Grice reads the Field of Battle like a General, and consistently reacts both decisively and wisely. He consistently anticipates Seams before they appear and is often already bursting towards them.
Blocking ~ Bad!! But with tremendous Potential. Grice's Combat Skills are raw as Hell, but his Field Vision and Capacity to rapidly read the Field of Battle and anticipate the correct Target and the correct Angle and Speed is extraordinary.
Receiving ~ Phenomenal. Grice boasts an extraordinary fusion of remarkably refined Route Running, explosive Ricochet out'f'is Cuts, exceptionally reliable Hands, and tremendous Vertical Agility. He doesn't strike me as any more of an HighLight Reel Threat as a Receiver than as a Runner, but 10 Yards at a time he will demolish Defenses.
Marion Grice Prospectus
It's absolutely stunning, how low this guy's Market Value is, evidently based entirely on his 40 Time!!
Mind you: What I call Market Value is but an Educated Guess, and none of us out here really know what Teams think.
But the Spy NetWork is evidently pretty damned effective, because the vast majority of Prospects tend to get drafted remarkably close to where they're generally expected to get drafted, Year after Year after Year.
This will be an interesting test case, because Marion Grice is a magnificent Prospect.
Combining Grice's impressive Power and Agility with his extraordinary Processing Speed give him the Potential to become a devastating Runner. But fusing that destructive Capacity with his phenomenal Receiving skills render him the kind of Hybrid Dual Threat that could terrify Defenses for the next Decade: They simply won't know which way he's coming.
Whether or not he gets a chance to unleash his Capacities...is of course another matter, all together.
Thanks, as always, to the extraordinary Work by the men of Draft BreakDown!!
Mind you: What I call Market Value is but an Educated Guess, and none of us out here really know what Teams think.
But the Spy NetWork is evidently pretty damned effective, because the vast majority of Prospects tend to get drafted remarkably close to where they're generally expected to get drafted, Year after Year after Year.
This will be an interesting test case, because Marion Grice is a magnificent Prospect.
Combining Grice's impressive Power and Agility with his extraordinary Processing Speed give him the Potential to become a devastating Runner. But fusing that destructive Capacity with his phenomenal Receiving skills render him the kind of Hybrid Dual Threat that could terrify Defenses for the next Decade: They simply won't know which way he's coming.
Whether or not he gets a chance to unleash his Capacities...is of course another matter, all together.
Thanks, as always, to the extraordinary Work by the men of Draft BreakDown!!
Yank Rank: Beast ~ SuperStar
SuperSleeper!!
SuperSleeper!!
| Consensus Market Value 7th Round | Yankee Grade 1st Round!! |
Please 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 of Good Will!!
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