Yeti Tackle ~ Vita Vea ~ Washington Huskies
6040/348
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:
Yetii ~ Yetis have the Size of Nose Tackles but the WingSpan of Defensive Ends. As such, they are genuine Hybrids, and can conceivably line up anywhere from Tackle to Tackle, across from the Offensive Line.
The Prototype would be somewhere around 6050/325 or so.
Of course, where and how any given Coach chooses to deploy his Players is his Business. Players that I characterize as Yetis may often or even routinely do line up anywhere, on any given Down. My only purpose is simply to identify what I perceive as Skill Sets, to distinguish types, if you will, and perhaps create a universal Point of Reference.
When evaluating Yetii, this is how I break down the Attributes to which I pay most particular attention:
Power: Above all: Core Power. Torso Power is important, but Core Power, from the Knees to the Ribs, is absolutely crucial. All the Torso Power in the world will still fail if you simply can't dig in your Heels. But Core Power enables an Offensive Lineman to project Power in the Running Game and to reject Power in the Passing Game.
Agility: Launch Velocity, Acceleration, and, above all: Fluidity or Core Agility, which, I believe, is even more essential to sustained good Health ~ and to sustained good FootBall ~ than Core Power. The ability to react with Serpentine smoothness is a tremendous Asset in all Aspects of the Game, and certainly in the Hand to Hand Combat that characterizes Trench Warfare. All the Power in the World goes only so far if you're lurching around like FrankenStein.
Frame: Vertical Leverage, Hands, Arm Length, and WingSpan.
Combat Skills: Vertical Leverage, Paw Positioning, Paw Persistence, and FootWork. Above all: Pass Rush Repertoire.
Processing Speed: How quickly and effectively one Reads & Reacts to the Rapidly Roiling Tactical LandScape!!
Motor: Intensity and Stamina: How much Work has been put into Conditioning, and how it manifests itself.
Run Defense: All the Above, applied.
Pass Rush: Ditto.
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.
* Anchoring Strength against the Run.
* Drive Power, Rushing the Passer.
Agility
* Fluidity, above all things: Core Agility & Flexibility makes everything possible.
* Launch Velocity ~ Speed into Contact off the Snap.
* Acceleration ~ Short Speed or Quickness.
Frame
* Vertical Leverage. Height is crucial, but it's actually better, I believe, to be an Inch shorter than an Inch Taller.
* Hands. The larger the better, generally, but compact is never a bad Attribute in The Trenches.
* Arm Length. Absolutely crucial. He who boasts the longer Arms initiates Combat.
* WingSpan. Arm Length + Torso Width. A more complete Measurement.
Combat Skills
* Lateral Leverage. Angles. Getting Square or better with the Target.
* Paw Positioning ~ It's all about Angles & Leverage.
* Paw Persistence ~ RPMs: Activity & Persistence.
* FootWork ~ RPMs: Activity & Persistence.
* Pass Rush Repertoire: Variety.
Processing Speed
* Reading & Reacting to Offensive Blocking Schemes with Speed & Precision.
* Field Vision: Finding Targets & approaching them effectively.
Motor
* Intensity.
* Stamina.
Power: 100. 1000, really. Absolutely freakish Core Power. Built to last.
Agility: 66. Outrageously Fast for 340 Poundage, but his Launch Velocity is actually pretty average, even considering that Poundage. His Acceleration is exceptional, though, and his Fluidity is just tremendous.
Frame: 50. Good Height for the Flanks, and adequate Height for the Interior. Mediocre WingSpan.
Combat Skills: 25. Raw as dirt, here. Lots of work to be done.
Processing Speed: 50. Inconsistent.
Motor: 50. I've read all sorts of reports questioning his Motor. I didn't see any glaring issues. The Intensity is usually very good. The Stamina, not so much, thus the inconsistency you read about. His conditioning could improve.
Run Defense: 100. Thou Shalt Not Run. Absolutely terrorizing at the Point of Attack...and dangerous, too, In Pursuit!!
Pass Rush: 25. Potential? 75. Vea lacks Launch Velocity, Combat Skills, and WingSpan, but his Fluidity is tremendous, and his Power is absolutely majestic. If he learns some Combat Skills, he could be terrifying.
I'm all about Trajectory, as my Fellow FootBall Fiends know ~ Talent x Intelligence x Drive = Reward/Risk ~ and Vea's torpor with those Combat Skills casts a little doubt upon my expectorations of his becoming All That He Can Be.
But I'm not quite raising a Red Flag, here. Many motivated Prospects simply haven't gotten the right guidance, even at this point, or've failed to focus on the right things due to simple inexperience, rather'n a lack of Drive.
Vita Vea is already ready to dominate against The Run, right in the middle of the Line, if that's where his Coaches want'm to be, and that, all in itself, brings an enormous tactical advantage to his team, even in the 21st Century, by dramatically reducing the Offense's options. And if he develops what I believe to be considerable pass-rushing potential, between overwhelming Power and tremendous Fluidity, he could indeed become the 2nd coming of Haloti Ngata.
And while the league has, shamefully, not found a way, after all these decades of great FootBall, found a way either to tally or, failing that, to at least show proper admiration and awe for what Trench Gorillas accomplish in rendering this the greatest game on the planet...let the record show that Haloti Ngata is one of the greatest of all Players...of all time.
Thank you so very much, Draft BreakDown, without whom my Work would be virtually impossible.
Bargain!!
Market Value #12 | Yankee Grade Top 5!! |
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!!