Slot Corner ~ Michael Joseph ~ Dubuque Spartans ~ 6006/186
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:
Slot Corners ~ Upon Further Review, I confess that I believe that I went A Bridge Too Far with this Business of rebranding NickelBacks as CenterFielders. CenterFielders ~ "Free Safeties" to you Earthlings!! ~ are optimally Hybrids capable of Direct Coverage, anyway, and my premise that NickelBacks ought to be able to manifest the Processing Speed that CenterFielders need, as well as the Run Defense Aspect of a CenterFielder was pushing Evolution too far, too fast!!
It would be terrific for Defenses if NickelBacks were all spry yet beefy 5090/210 Pounders whose Frames could stand up to the rigors of the Run Defense that is an important Aspect of a CenterFielder's Game.
But even then, their Height would be a Liability in surveying the Tactical LandScape.
NickelBacks are of course Pass Defense Specialists, but I will include Run Defense in my Evaluations. But I will note, of course, that as with Blocking as it pertains to WideOuts, it is desirable, yes, but its absence is no Red Flag.
This is how I break down Slot Corners:
Agility: Acceleration, Ricochet, Fluidity, Verticity ~ that's Turn & Burn Acuity, to you Earthlings!! ~ and Speed!!
Processing Speed: How quickly and effectively one Reads & Reacts to the developing Play.
Run Defense: Power, Agility, Combat Skills, Processing Speed, Motor, and Tackling.
Pass Coverage: Agility, Processing Speed, and Field Vision.
CatchPoint Capacity: Tracking, Timing, Combat Skills, and WingSpan.
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.
* Speed ~ Corner and WideOut are really the only Roles where 40 Times matter.
Processing Speed
* How quickly and effectively one Reads & Reacts to the developing Play: Run/Pass, Routes, Picks, and such.
Run Defense
* Power
* Agility
* Combat Skills
* Processing Speed
* Motor
* Tackling
Pass Coverage
* Agility ~ Fluidity, Ricochet, Acceleration, and Speed, baby!!
* Processing Speed ~ Reading and Reacting with Speed & Precision to Routes and WideOuts.
* Field Vision ~ Processing Speed with an emphasis on the Tactical LandScape.
CatchPoint Capacity
* Tracking
* Timing
* Combat Skills
* WingSpan
* Vertical Agility
He didn't even get decent Snaps in High School, much less start.
He was a Zero Star "recruit" who didn't get recruited.
He walked on at Division 847 Dubuque.
And he had to wait two entire Campaigns to even glimpse the Field on Game Day.
And yet: Here he is.
Agility: 50. Excellent Fluidity. Impressive Ricochet. Mediocre Acceleration. Marginal Speed. Ah.
Processing Speed: 80. This kid has studied. Excellent Route Reading and reaction speed and efficacy.
Run Defense: 33. Marginal Power and mediocre Combat Skills.
Pass Coverage: 66. He can and will be burned by Power in Press Coverage or Speed in any Coverage, so you have to match'm up carefully, but he matches up nicely indeed against those deadly Spry Flies.
CatchPoint Capacity: 60. He lacks Power and he lacks WingSpan, but he's tall enough to extend, and his Timing and Trajectory are excellent, his Vertical Agility is excellent, and his Hands are tremendous.
Ceiling? Warrior. 2nd Round. Despite substantial Power and Speed Liabilities, to say nothing of being mechanically raw in Pass Coverage, Joseph has the Fluidity and Field Vision to become a Pro Bowl Slot Corner.
Floor? Reserve. 6th/7th Round. He can be beat by Power or Speed, and he's got a ton to learn before he'll be ready to convert that Fluidity and Field Vision ~ and that impressive CatchPoint Capacity ~ into reliable performance.
Risk/Reward Ratio? Impressive. His Liabilities are enormous, and his Learning Curve is steep...But Michael Joseph, erstwhile mop up man on a random High School Team, unrecruited "recruit", and Division 689 Walk On who waited 3 Years to play Division 689 FootBall, commands Oceans of Intelligence and Drive. He will become All That He Can Be.
Thank you so very much, Draft BreakDown, without whom my Work would be virtually impossible.
Deeper Sleeper!!
Market Value UFA | Yankee Grade 3rd Round!! |
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!!