How are things going Tigerfever? Nice to actually get some time to post on an message board again. I am busy all the time constantly watching film of games and writing reports.
I am watching a number of Tigers this season, but of course none of them stand out like Justin Smith did. The best chance to make an NFL club from this year's group is #85 Dwayne Blakley, the tight end. His speed is marginal for the next level, but there are many slower TE's in the league right now. Tight End is a hard position to fill and I hope this guy buckles down and works on his weaknesses because he could easily play the game. I like him for a West Coast team because he can settle down underneath zone coverage and exploit the seams. His hands look good, but I only have notes from two games on this guy and he did muff an on-target throw. They don't seem to throw to him alot, but that's not really a problem. One area he needs to work on, and I hope he does is his overall play strength. His in-line blocking (run block) suffers because of his lack of strength and he has trouble fighting off an initial jolt from a linebacker. I think he does have a chance to stick somewhere.
I have also have #2 Zain Gilmore down as a possibility, he's got nice size, but is too inconsistent as far as his skills are concerned. I liked what he showed earlier in is career, and he seemed to have taken a step backward in 2000. Even so, he's a possibility. He'll still make a tackler miss, but showed little elusiveness in 2000.
I'm also watching #55 Jamonte Robinson, #72 Justin Bland and a few more guys.
Julian Jones was a nice surprise in camp.
I am watching a number of Tigers this season, but of course none of them stand out like Justin Smith did. The best chance to make an NFL club from this year's group is #85 Dwayne Blakley, the tight end. His speed is marginal for the next level, but there are many slower TE's in the league right now. Tight End is a hard position to fill and I hope this guy buckles down and works on his weaknesses because he could easily play the game. I like him for a West Coast team because he can settle down underneath zone coverage and exploit the seams. His hands look good, but I only have notes from two games on this guy and he did muff an on-target throw. They don't seem to throw to him alot, but that's not really a problem. One area he needs to work on, and I hope he does is his overall play strength. His in-line blocking (run block) suffers because of his lack of strength and he has trouble fighting off an initial jolt from a linebacker. I think he does have a chance to stick somewhere.
I have also have #2 Zain Gilmore down as a possibility, he's got nice size, but is too inconsistent as far as his skills are concerned. I liked what he showed earlier in is career, and he seemed to have taken a step backward in 2000. Even so, he's a possibility. He'll still make a tackler miss, but showed little elusiveness in 2000.
I'm also watching #55 Jamonte Robinson, #72 Justin Bland and a few more guys.
Julian Jones was a nice surprise in camp.
