Saturday Jan, 2016 10:23 PM | by admin | NO COMMENTS

FBGP’s 2016 College Gridiron Showcase Preview

Friday Jan, 2016 6:26 PM | by admin | NO COMMENTS

FBGP’s 2016 NFL Mock Draft – January

Tuesday Nov, 2015 8:42 PM | by admin | NO COMMENTS

FBGP’s 2016 NFL Midseason Mock Draft

Thursday Aug, 2015 6:18 PM | by admin | NO COMMENTS

FBGP’s 2016 Prospect Preview: DT Andrew Billings, Baylor

A lot of attention is being paid to Baylor defensive end Shawn Oakman. There is no doubt that his play has allowed him to be mentioned as one of the better defensive players. Oakman is a quite a prospect himself, but there is another player on Baylor’s defensive line that brings it also. Defensive tackle Andrew Billings anchors the middle of the defensive line. He faces constant double teams and still makes plays. The plays don’t always show up in the stat book but those who watch film closely will see that plenty of the plays that other Baylor defenders make are because of how Billings occupies two gaps or pushes the pocket into the quarterback’s lap.

Billings is a preseason All American candidate. The junior has appeared on both the Chuck Bednarik and Bronko Nagurski Award watch list. Both awards honor the best college defensive player in the nation. The videos below are examples of why Billings is more than worthy of these awards.

Teams will try to design cutback lanes for running backs. West Virginia relied on their center to make an angle block on Billings which is supposed to open up a cutback lane. Billings gets off the ball quickly and gets his hands on the center first. He sees where the running back is trying to go and sheds the center’s block to make the tackle as the runner tries to cut back.

Premier players make others around them better. Teams run a lot of two gapping defensive schemes up front. This requires a defensive tackle that can own a double team. The defensive tackle has to sacrifice himself to allow linebackers to attack the gaps on blitzes. Billings occupies the blockers and gives the blitzing linebacker a free lane to rush the quarterback.

This play is effort personified. That’s a 300 pound man running tracking down Trevone Boykin, one of the elite playmakers in college football. This is a good time to mention that Billings has been clocked at 4.94 seconds in the 40 yard dash.

One of the most effective ways to rattle a quarterback is to push the pocket back into his lap. The site of seeing one of their personal protectors getting walked back into their private space sickens quarterbacks. At times, they may short arm a throw or not step into the throw fearing that they can bang their hand on the backpedaling lineman’s helmet as they follow through. That can cause them to lose velocity. In this case, if the outside blitzer could flatten out, he would get the easy sack as the quarterback tried to flee.

Defenses have gotten more sophisticated. Coaches rely on players to fulfill roles that they traditionally are not required to. An athlete like Billings can move in space despite his size. Here he drops back into coverage and actually takes away the quarterback’s first read, the wide receiver on the slant route. There isn’t much not to like about Billings. He gives everything he has on every snap. Billings can rush the passer and is dominant against the run. He will draw double teams most of the time but when he doesn’t, it often leads to a loss of yards for the offense. Billings definitely has the nasty streak that most top defenders possess:

Questions? Comments?
Tweet: TDavenport_NFL
Email: turron@footballgameplan.com

Thursday Jul, 2015 11:09 AM | by admin | NO COMMENTS

FBGP’s 2016 NFL Draft Prospect Preview: QB Cody Kessler, USC

Turron Davenport, FBGP Analyst

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The quarterback position is one that always garners the most attention in the college ranks. That being said, it’s very interesting that a lot of attention was not being paid to USC quarterback Cody Kessler last year. The 2015 season will be a very successful one for Kessler and his numerous weapons on offense. Kessler is an impressive player that can make all of the throws. He will only continue to benefit from playing in his second year for head coach Steve Sarkisian.
Playing in Sarkisian’s offense gives Kessler the chance showcase his throwing ability by making touch throws down the field and strikes to the deep in breaking routes. Having big time playmakers like JuJu Smith and Adoree Jackson allows Kessler to show the timing that is required to get the ball to his receivers in stride, allowing them to get chunks of yards after the catch. Kessler is really good at fitting the ball into tight spots.
Here is an example of how Kessler hits his receivers in stride:

Kessler steps up in the pocket and throws a dart to his receiver running the slant route. The pass has the right zip on it and hits the receiver right along the waistline which allows him to catch the ball in stride and not lose any speed in the process.

The throw results in an extra ten yards gained after the catch but there where many times when a money throw like that results in the receiver taking it to the house.

This clip shows Kessler making a tremendous throw to Adoree Jackson for a touchdown. Notice how he placed the ball perfectly in between two defenders. Things tend to tighten up in the red zone which makes the windows to throw into much smaller. Kessler steps into the throw perfectly and delivers the ball to his receiver.

Playing quarterback requires a lot of guts and poise. Here you see Kessler make a perfect throw to his tight end despite the pressure bearing down on him. The oncoming defender had no effect on him. The ball placement is perfect. This is a testament to how accurate of a passer Kessler can be at times.

There are times when he needs to trust what he sees and make the throw. This play is an example of that. The receiver was open as soon as he crossed the hash marks. Kessler should have made the throw right before he broke to the inside. That would give the receiver a chance to catch the ball and get up field. Instead, he leads the receiver to the other safety and throws the ball high. Fortunately, the receiver is able to avoid the big hit.

Kessler is a quarterback that can develop into a solid NFL prospect. He is primed for a big season this year. USC is a team on the rise now that they don’t have any sanctions placed upon them any longer.

He is a potential Heisman candidate this year. He will put up huge numbers but if he wants to ascend to the top of the quarterback rankings, he will need to keep making the types of throws that we showed earlier. He will also need to improve his play on the road as well as against top competition. The spotlight will be on Kessler and USC. The question is, can he handle it?

Wednesday Jul, 2015 11:39 AM | by admin | NO COMMENTS

FBGP’s 2016 NFL Draft Prospect Preview: RB Devontae Booker, Utah

2016 NFL Draft Prospect Preview: RB Devontae Booker, Utah Utes

Turron Davenport, FBGP Analyst

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Many say that the running back position is becoming devalued in the NFL. That may be the case to an extent but the same can’t be said for college football. A running back being on the Heisman Trophy watch list has become an annual occurrence. One of the backs that are on the watch list this year is University of Utah running back Devontae Booker. He has drawn comparisons to Marshawn Lynch and has been referred to as “Baby Beast Mode.” The question is, are those comparisons accurate?

Booker has the ability to break tackles and can gain yards with a sharp cut back. He is a tough runner that is hard to bring down. While Booker is pretty adept at running between the tackles, he is not as good of a runner when it comes to running outside the tackles.

Here is an example of a where there is room for improvement for Booker:

The play is designed to get Booker outside. The first thing that he has to do is beat the defensive end to the outside where the receivers are blocking for him. The defensive end is left unblocked as it’s an expectation for Booker to be able to get past him. Booker has the defensive end beat but hesitates slightly which allows the linebacker to track him down. Booker has to trust his speed to get outside rather than hesitate. The split second cost him here.

This play shows Booker at his best. He sees that the inside running lanes are stuffed. He instinctively cuts it back where there is space to run. Booker is a strong running back that will run through arm tackles. A weak attempt by the defensive back results in a broken tackle by Booker on his way to the end zone.

It takes an elite back to be worthy of a Heisman trophy mention. One of the traits of a top notch back is the ability to make a defender miss. Here you see Booker run outside with no hesitation and he beats the outside contain of the defense. The safety (#38) comes down to make the tackle and Booker doesn’t give him any kind of move to make him miss. This tackle by the safety can be used in a coach’s tackling video. If Booker makes him miss, there is a strong possibility that he scores the touchdown. This is what makes the difference between a short gain and a long touchdown run, making a defender miss.

There is no doubt that Booker is a tough runner. He definitely breaks his share of tackles. This is one of those runs that led to some of the Marshawn Lynch comparisons. He jumps into the hole and breaks three tackles.

Booker rushed for over 1,500 yards last year. His coaching staff has not hesitated to say that they could envision him rushing for 2,000 yards this year. Booker will get a very high amount of carries and produce a lot of what we call volume yards. In order for him to rush for that many yards, it will be important for him to develop a better ability to turn long runs into touchdown runs. There were quite a few runs in which he got tracked down from behind. It will be interesting seeing if he could finish more runs in the same fashion as he did below against Washington State.

Questions? Comments?

Tweet: @TDavenport_NFL

Email: turron@footballgameplan.com

Wednesday Jul, 2015 1:17 PM | by admin | NO COMMENTS

2016 NFL Draft Prospect Preview: LB Jaylon Smith, Notre Dame

2016 Prospect Preview: LB Jaylon Smith, Notre Dame

Turron Davenport, FBGP Analyst

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More and more athletes are playing positions other than just the skill positions. Linebackers are required to take on 300 pound offensive linemen and still be able to carry a wide receiver down the seam or on a crossing route. Notre Dame’s Jaylon Smith is one of the more impressive linebacker prospects in college football this season.

Smith anchored the 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams while in high school. He also threw the shotput. Make no mistake, he is quite the athlete. The thing that is most impressive about Jaylon Smith is his lateral quickness and burst to the football. He is also powerful enough to blow up most lead blockers when they meet in any gap.
The best way to categorize Smith’s ability is to call him the total package. There isn’t much that he can’t do on the football field. Let’s take a look at some of the things that he does very well.

Here is a running play that is flowing to the opposite side of the field. The right tackle (71) is assigned to cutoff Smith on the backside of the play but Smith is too fast. Smith shows a great amount of quickness and makes the tackle behind the line of scrimmage for a loss.

Notice the burst to the ball carrier in this clip against Florida State.

Jaylon Smith is also outstanding when it comes to taking on blocks and still making the tackle. Notice how he makes the first punch against the offensive lineman. Smith gives up plenty of pounds to the lineman but takes him on and makes the tackle.

Defensive coordinators will take advantage of Smith’s athleticism by sending him on the blitz from the outside at times. He is an instinctive player. Here he does a very good job of recognizing what is happening. He times his jump and knocks the ball down, preventing a completion to the receiver in the flats.

Smith can also blitz the interior gaps with success. Here he is sent on a cross dog blitz and it is timed to perfection. Smith loops inside but hugs the outside hip of his fellow linebacker and has a free path to the quarterback. The result is a rushed throw and an incompletion in the red zone.

Running with a receiver is no real problem for Jaylon Smith. Here the receiver is running a crossing route and Smith stays with him stride for stride. The quarterback tries to squeeze it in to the receiver but Smith does a great job of getting himself in position to break up the pass with his left hand.

The above videos are only a few of the many that make Jaylon Smith one of the best linebacker prospects. He is capable of playing in either a 4-3 or 3-4 scheme and would be a Navarro Bowman like inside linebacker in an NFL 3-4 scheme.