SpeedBack ~ Tevin Coleman ~ Indiana Hoosiers 5112/207
Regarding SpeedBacks
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
Tevin Coleman Scouting Report
Power: Superior. He's a bit lanky and a bit tall, which makes him a relatively large target, but his Core Power is impressive. He's not gonna drag too many piles, but he's not gonna get ragdolled too often, either.
Agility: Formidable. Coleman's Launch Velocity is terrific, and while his Ricochet out'f'is Breaks is vaguely evocative of FrankenStein, his Fluidity is actually tremendous in a bizarre and subtly serpentine way. He slips through.
Field Vision: Excellent. There were occasional lapses, but Coleman generally displayed an outstanding combination of Patience, Timing, and Field Vision. He was most of the Offense in Indy, so the going wasn't easy, as he saw a lot of stacked boxes and got stuffed alarmingly often. But when there was DayLight, he got there. Quickly.
Blocking: Competitive. His Combat Skills need Work, but the Motor is there.
Receiving: Outstanding. Coleman is demonstrably comfortable in the Passing Game, running Routes crisply and fluidly, working the Field effectively, showing exceptional Catch Point Tracking & Timing, and displaying terrific Hands.
Agility: Formidable. Coleman's Launch Velocity is terrific, and while his Ricochet out'f'is Breaks is vaguely evocative of FrankenStein, his Fluidity is actually tremendous in a bizarre and subtly serpentine way. He slips through.
Field Vision: Excellent. There were occasional lapses, but Coleman generally displayed an outstanding combination of Patience, Timing, and Field Vision. He was most of the Offense in Indy, so the going wasn't easy, as he saw a lot of stacked boxes and got stuffed alarmingly often. But when there was DayLight, he got there. Quickly.
Blocking: Competitive. His Combat Skills need Work, but the Motor is there.
Receiving: Outstanding. Coleman is demonstrably comfortable in the Passing Game, running Routes crisply and fluidly, working the Field effectively, showing exceptional Catch Point Tracking & Timing, and displaying terrific Hands.
Tevin Coleman Prospectus
Honestly, you could make an Argument for Coleman as either a PowerBack or a Speed Back. He's one of those guys who's got traits of both. But this is a guy who's best in Space, so it was ultimately an easy decision.
Tevin Coleman runs with that striding, gliding Gait that is reminiscent of the likes of Darren McFadden and DeMarco Murray and which drives me absolutely BatShit. These guys all look like they're running way too tall and're just aching to get knocked on their asses, but they possess a subtly serpentine Fluidity that works, somehow.
What makes Coleman dangerous, I believe, is where he weds that excellent Field Vision with that strange brand of Fluidity and that terrific Launch Velocity: He reads the Tactical LandScape rapidly, he cuts quickly, he surges rapidly through the hole, and he slips through the Tackles. He does this over and over and over again, and it's clear that this is neither Coincidence or dumb luck: When you watch the Tape, you can see that he sees it before it happens.
I believe that Tevin Coleman is an excellent Bet to rack up miles and miles of Yards at the next level. As with the remarkable DeMarco Murray, he'll run too tall, and I'll constantly be bracing for an Hit that ends his Season.
But when I watch Murray on Tape, he keeps slipping through cracks, time and time and time again.
Just like Coleman.
Coleman is also an incredibly impressive Receiver. Indeed, he's built much like a Flanker, and watching him run Routes is actually startling as much as it is a Pleasure, so evocative of a WideOut is his smooth, instinctive Style.
He'll be an enormous Weapon in the Passing Game, I believe.
All told, I believe Tevin Coleman is poised to be an Impact Player at the next level, and on all 3 Downs.
Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!
Tevin Coleman runs with that striding, gliding Gait that is reminiscent of the likes of Darren McFadden and DeMarco Murray and which drives me absolutely BatShit. These guys all look like they're running way too tall and're just aching to get knocked on their asses, but they possess a subtly serpentine Fluidity that works, somehow.
What makes Coleman dangerous, I believe, is where he weds that excellent Field Vision with that strange brand of Fluidity and that terrific Launch Velocity: He reads the Tactical LandScape rapidly, he cuts quickly, he surges rapidly through the hole, and he slips through the Tackles. He does this over and over and over again, and it's clear that this is neither Coincidence or dumb luck: When you watch the Tape, you can see that he sees it before it happens.
I believe that Tevin Coleman is an excellent Bet to rack up miles and miles of Yards at the next level. As with the remarkable DeMarco Murray, he'll run too tall, and I'll constantly be bracing for an Hit that ends his Season.
But when I watch Murray on Tape, he keeps slipping through cracks, time and time and time again.
Just like Coleman.
Coleman is also an incredibly impressive Receiver. Indeed, he's built much like a Flanker, and watching him run Routes is actually startling as much as it is a Pleasure, so evocative of a WideOut is his smooth, instinctive Style.
He'll be an enormous Weapon in the Passing Game, I believe.
All told, I believe Tevin Coleman is poised to be an Impact Player at the next level, and on all 3 Downs.
Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!
Yank Rank: Warrior ~ Par Value!!
| Market Value 2nd Round | 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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