RoverBack ~ Terrell Edmunds ~ Virginia Tech Hokies ~ 6004/216
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:
Rovers ~ RoverBack is my term for what Earthlings refer to as "Strong Safeties". I don't find the employment of "Safety" as a moniker for a Position to be nearly as demeaning as "LineBacker", mind you, but it's still a pretty lame term for a Gladiator, if you ask me. The Prototype would be somewhere around 6000/210, or thereabouts.
Rovers are of course Hybrids, in that they are tasked equally with Run Defense and Pass Defense.
When evaluating RoverBacks, this is how I break things down:
Power: Above all: Core Power. Torso Power is important, but Core Power, from the Knees to the Ribs, is absolutely crucial.
Agility: Acceleration, Ricochet, Fluidity, and Verticity ~ that's Turn & Burn Acuity, to you Earthlings!!
Processing Speed: How quickly and effectively one Reads & Reacts to the developing Play.
Tackling: Thunderous Booms are all very well, but I'm more interested in form and efficiency!!
Run Defense: Power, Agility, Combat Skills, Processing Speed, Motor, Navigating Traffic, 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:
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.
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.
Processing Speed
* How quickly and effectively one Reads & Reacts to the developing Play.
Tackling
* Impact
* Form
* Efficiency
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 Offensive Tactics.
* Field Vision ~ Processing Speed with an emphasis on the Tactical LandScape.
CatchPoint Capacity
* Tracking
* Timing
* Combat Skills
* WingSpan
* Vertical Agility
Power: 66. Exceptional all-around Power.
Agility: 40. Impressive Speed, but mediocre Acceleration and Ricochet, and marginal Fluidity and Verticity.
Processing Speed: 33. Disciplined, but absolutely glacial speed and efficacy in reading and reacting.
Tackling: 33. Terrific Impact, but awful Form and Efficiency.
Run Defense: 40. Impressive Intensity, but marginal Range and marginal Tackling.
Pass Coverage: 33. Lacks both the Verticity and the Processing Speed to hold up.
CatchPoint Capacity: 60. Impressive, actually. Tremendous WingSpan and outstanding Vertical Agility.
And Terrell Edmunds racks it up in all of those categories.
Note: The Intelligence part is Reputation, not Tape.
And that's why I'm not going "UFA" on'm.
But what I see is a guy with tremendous Power and Straight Line Speed who's apt to snap an ankle or two if he's asked to cover anyone, who's Processing Speed on the Field of Battle is glacial, and who, despite Power, WingSpan, and an aggressive nature, sucks at Tackling. That is not a formula for first-ballot Hall of Fame success.
But there is raw physical talent, there is Pedigree, and there is by all accounts Intelligence and Drive.
And those matter to me.
So I'll grade accordingly.
But I sure's Hell ~ even if it burns me, and it wouldn't be the first time ~ ain't going along with The Market on this one.
Sell.
Thank you so very much, Draft BreakDown, without whom my Work would be virtually impossible.
Market Value #28 | Yankee Grade 5th 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!!