SB Nation User Blog: Doug Farrar

Aaron Curry? It's an A+

Doug Farrar — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 20:45:07 -0000

Obviously, I could not possibly be any happier about this pick. When you're interviewing people, you're supposed to be objective. Usually, it's pretty easy. But when I interviewed Curry for this two-parter (here and here), I was ready to break into the VMAC and draft him myself. There is nobody with a better mixture of talent, versatility, and character in this draft class. He will blast the backside in running plays, can edge-rush in 3-4 sets (he did it at Wake once in a while), can diagnose a screen and cover a tight end. He has come up from some really hard times and all it's done is toughen him up. I've made the Derrick Brooks comparison before, and I think it stands. This is a special, special player who won't just do amazing things on the field -- he'll perpetuate the "character-first" idea that the Seahawks put forth.

Curry is a high-ceiling guy, which makes him different than other "safe picks" Ruskell has made in the past. Beyond that, I'm gonna need a while before I can really be analytical about this. This is a great person who is getting what he deserves, and he will bust his mortal ass to make sure the Seahawks get a guy who's worth every penny of what they're about to pay him.

I'm off to sing the "Happy Happy Joy Joy" song now...

Doug's Mock -- And in the seventh round (Pt. 2)...

Doug Farrar — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 19:13:42 -0000

Okay -- time for the Lightning Round. Gotta get some lunch and get ready to chat here, at FO, and at Falcon Insider. Coffee RULES!

The last three sevenths:

Bear Pascoe, TE, Fresno State. As much as you'll see spread offense tight ends who block about as well as Deion Sanders tackled, Pascoe is the polar opposite. Pascoe is 6-5, 251, and about 95 percent of that is whupass. The other five percent is Double Whupass. I want Owen Schmitt, Zack Follett, and Bear Pascoe on my special teams. AYIEEE!!! (CRASH)

Garrett Reynolds, T, North Carolina. 6-8, 309. 19 starts at right tackle. Not a lot of lateral quickness or other "nimbility", but could be an interesting project guy. Plays with a wide base, could put on a bit more weight, and though he doesn't fit a zone thing per se, he did grade out as NC's top lineman last year, according to NFLDraftScout.com.

Jake Ingram, LS, Hawaii. I want Tim Ruskell to be the first GM in NFL history to have two kickers and two long-snappers on his 53-man roster. C'mon, Timmy -- you can do it!

Doug’s Mock -- And in the seventh round (Pt. 1)...

Doug Farrar — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 18:20:43 -0000

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For the final round, I'm sticking the last three picks on one post. However, the first seventh-rounder deserves a bit more detail.

Mike Reilly, QB, Central Washington

This is the guy who broke most of Jon Kitna's records at Central. I'll link to the WaPo article I did on him this week and direct you to two quotes -- the first made the article, and the second didn't. While Reilly's projected as a 7/UDFA, the high side could have a team using a sixth on him.

Greg Cosell of NFL Films and State Farm NFL Matchup:

"I think that as a pro prospect, (Reilly is) the fourth-best quarterback in this draft, after (Josh) Freeman, who has a ton of skills but is very raw and unrefined. But after that, Mike Reilly -- and I've watched him on film, and I've seen his only game against a Division I opponent in Montana, in addition to some other games -- I think he shows NFL attributes. I love when I read stuff that says, 'Well, the guy has an average arm.' When you watch him on film, he doesn't have an average arm. He actually has a pretty good arm. And he does the things ... I understand that it's not against top competition, but that's not the point, He's also not playing with great competition. He's playing with the same (level of) guys he's playing against. So, you look for NFL attributes, and he's got them.

"We all know he's not going to be drafted in the first two rounds, but there's a quarterback from two years ago that I really liked, named Matt Moore, who came out of Oregon State, who's now with Carolina, and I can tell you that (Panthers head coach) John Fox thinks he's going to be a starting quarterback in this league."

Reilly, on his most ardent suitor:

"The Seattle Seahawks have shown quite a bit of interest, in comparison with other teams. When I met with Coach Knapp and Coach Lazor down at the Combine, I spent a good deal of time with them -- actually before that as well, at the East-West game. I spent a good half-hour, forty-five minutes interviewing with them in a room -- it was like an office suite, and it was all Seahawks personnel.

Then, at the Combine, they interviewed me again. And they had the opportunity to see me play a couple of times over the last four years. I've had some really good talks with them. Without any guarantees, they basically said, 'Hey, we're very interested in picking up a quarterback this year. We like your style of play, and we tend to like people from the Northwest, and you fit that criteria. We're possibly looking at spending a mid-to-late round pick on a quarterback, and we're not sure when that would be, but you're definitely on our list."

Doug’s Mock -- And in the sixth round...

Doug Farrar — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 12:38:35 -0000

In the late rounds, due diligence may be enough. Not every team is going to watch all the grainy film on all the sub-division players -- the Bengals, with their two or three scouts, won't be looking under the cushions for change. In the late rounds, when searching for hidden value, there are two obvious ways to go -- the underrated big-school guy, or the diamond in the rough. When it comes to late-round value, Tim Ruskell's idea of a small school is San Diego State, so you know where he generally stands in that argument.

Still, two teams have worked out Norfolk State cornerback Don Carey, and the Seahawks are one of them. Actually, Seattle has done the visit AND workout, which means that Carey's probably been to the VMAC, and someone from the organization has seen him on his home turf. Based on all evidence, he's a smart, hard-working, versatile player who excelled at the Shrine Game and at the Combine. The Dolphins have also displayed specific interest, which gives me additional confidence in the idea of Carey -- Bill Parcells tends to hire scouts and execs who know defense. The Steelers, who have also shown interest, know a thing or two about drafting guys on that side of the ball.

The question is, how much do the four years of starts, and the 43 games, and the 10 interceptions, mean to this front office when they happened against Bethune-Cookman, Delaware State, and Florida A & M? Parcells drafted Hampton DE Kendall Langford in the third round last year, and was rewarded with a great rookie season from the unheralded player.

Ruskell's big-school bias is understandable, as is his preference for players who are as fully-formed as possible. But at some point, if you want to get the most out of it, the draft needs to be about the ability to see specific attributes in players who did things you like in situations you don't find favorable. Carey, with his personal and professional characteristics, might be the tipping point.

The Story So Far...

Doug Farrar — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 03:57:50 -0000

The Dueling Mocks -- updated feverishly for your edification!

John

Doug

Doug’s Mock -- And in the fifth round...

Doug Farrar — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 23:50:47 -0000

When I came home from this year's Combine, I started putting together my list of players to interview. From Curry and Sanchez to a certain quarterback you'll hear more about very soon, I got just about everyone I wanted. The guy I wanted to talk to as much as anyone, based on his Combine press conference, was a fifth-round prospect who looks like a linebacker backup/special teams hybrid. Why?

A few fast facts about Cal linebacker Zack Follett:

His hero is Terry Tate, Office Linebacker. "I get real pumped up for games. This is something I love to do, and to do it in front of 70,000 fans, plus people watching at home on an ESPN game, that gets me even more juiced. To go out and have a chance to be on ESPN like that, I think they had me miked up for the game and I was talking about the Pain Train. And growing up, Terry Tate, No. 56, the Office Linebacker, he was my hero watching those commercials. I tried to emulate him when I was out there."

He makes life-size wood carvings of himself and teammates, and hopes to market them as 3-D FatHeads. "My dad taught me when I was little. He made Christmas cutouts of Santa Claus, Mickey Mouse and stuff like that. When I was a senior, I took it to the next level. I started making wood cutouts. I did one of myself, kind of experimenting. My other linebacker partner painted it. It was a life-size replica. It's like a FatHead in an artistic style way. It came out pretty sweet. Hopefully, from an investment standpoint I'm going to open a little woodshop wherever I move and I'll make them of teammates because I know they have a lot of money to waste."

He's worked out with (and made a wood Fathead of) Ravens fullback Lorenzo Neal. "The first time I met him was my sophomore year and we had the same trainer in Fresno, and I was doing one-on-ones. He was the fullback out of the backfield, and I'd go to check him up and I'd bounce off his body. I never met somebody like that who was a human muscle, pretty much. He's an animated guy as well. He just told me to hit it at full speed. He's seen me play, and he said I wouldn't have a problem. He said hopefully we'll meet up in the hole one of these days."

So, he's a character. I finally got to talk to him late last week, and will hope to talk to him again after he's drafted, since time constraints have prevented me from writing the feature (plus, I'm still waiting for the pictures of the wood FatHeads, dude!)

He's also an extreme hitter, projected as an outside linebacker in a 4-3 (though he's played 4-3 and 3-4 in college, and the Bengals coaching staff moved him inside at the Senior Bowl), and he will overreach tackles on occasion. See, the strategy is to draft Louis Delmas and Zack Follett, and give Tim Ruskell enough kamikaze tackling that he won't notice when we sell B-Russ to the Broncos for a bag of Twizzlers.

Follett is a no-fear motorhead with phasers set to "stun". Watching him play beings to mind Randy Cross' famous quite about Ronnie Lott: "He doesn't care about his own body, so why should he care about yours?" There's a little pass rush there, some power in run support, and a guy who will look for people to hit on special teams. And fans will fall in love with him in the same way they did with Owen Schmitt last year.

Doug’s Mock -- And in the fourth round...

Doug Farrar — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 19:17:05 -0000

For all the Ruskell-bashing that may happen, and valid or not as it may be, it's important to note that every general manager in every sport makes mistakes. There isn't a big brain that isn't debacled once in a while if he's been at the job longer than a year. In the words of Earl Weaver, "Stick around long enough, and you'll see everything. That's why you shouldn't stick around too long."

The key to great personnel acumen isn't handling success -- it's learning from failure. At this point, Tim Ruskell's first Seattle draft pick tends to look more failure-esque. Chris Spencer has had two terms tied to his four-year career: "oft-injured" and "disappointing". At the 2005 Combine, Spencer himself said that he probably had a second-round grade projection, but Seattle pulled the trigger in the first.

Four years, a boatload of injuries, and a lot of flummoxed line calls later, it's time to see how Tim Ruskell recovers from his first mistake in Seattle. Spencer is a free agent in 2010, so consider him "on loan" for sixteen games. He won't be back. Steve Vallos is an interesting project who looked completely overmatched last year. And if you think that all seventh-round centers are clueless in their inaugural campaigns, take another look at Indy's Jamey Richard against Shaun Rogers last year.

Who's the fix?

Fourth Round (105) - A.Q. Shipley, C, Penn State

First of all, Mike Mayock and Rob Rang LOVE Shipley -- Rob named him to his "Rang's Gang" team of under-the-radar players who shouldn't be. You can pretty much stop right there and avoid my blah-blah-blah if you'd like. Good enough for them, good enough for me.

That said, center is a weird position. It may be the only position in the game of football besides quarterback where intelligence is not a, but THE, primary necessary attribute. We learned this from Spencer, who could drive any defender into next Tuesday when he was healthy, but struggled enough with line calls to force the Seahawks to retain the fossilized version of Chris Gray at least one season too long. Bad for Gray's legacy (which is a pretty interesting one), bad for the Seahawks. It is a position where the list of true greats is as populated with undrafted afterthoughts as it is first-round knockouts. If I asked you whether you'd rather have Spencer as is, or the "10 holding penalties in one season" version of Robbie Tobeck, I don't think I'd have to wait too long for your answer.

On to Shipley. He's a slight reach at 105 (the dreaded short arms), and he fits every other characteristic of the "Ruskell guy". 39 starts at the position, plus a history at defensive tackle that speaks to an attacking style. Projected as a zone-blocking player only in the NFL, where his strengths will shine and his weaknesses will be hidden. Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year. Rimington Trophy winner. Team captain.

He's good at the second level, will get caught up in short areas (they'd need slightly larger guards in general -- bye-bye, Mr. Wahle), and plays with a fire and intelligence that will transfer to an offensive line that is not only changing schemes, but most positions in the next year or so. Put Shipley in the hopper for a year, let him learn, let him get reps based on Spencer's performance in the walk year, and this reach pick with physical debits (Zing!) will make it happen in 2010 and beyond. I think he'd be a great fit in the power-zone scheme the Seahawks look to be running now and in the future.

Doug's Mock -- And in the third round...

Doug Farrar — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:59:32 -0000

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Never mind the bollocks -- here's the offense!

Certainly interesting that all four picks in our back-and-forth have been defensive players, but I'd imagine that John and I are both under the impression that Ruskell isn't looking to build the 2007 Patriots here -- he'd much rather have the 2002 Bucs he helped create. A dominant defense, and an offense good enough to win. So, let's talk about the aerial component of that offense. Last year's faceplant was led by two unbelievable injury waves -- an offensive line in which all five starters wound up on injured reserve, and a receiver corps that was down to nothing seemingly before the season even started.

Through the era of greatness, Seattle's air attack was defined by Bobby Engram. In the Super Bowl year, he was the team's leading receiver. He was always Matt Hasselbeck's optimal bailout guy, the one he could count on among the surface-talented, ball-dropping blockheads and 12^th-round SEC projects. But Mr. Third Down is gone. The cupboard seems to be stacked in Engram's absence, but that's only without the microscope. Nate Burleson is just as capable of inconsistent route-running as he is the highlight touchdown catch. Deion Branch is a 2-to-1 bet to lose a season after blowing a knee tripping over a blade of grass. T.J. Whosyourmama is an outstanding flanker/slot hybrid who can make the tough catch over the middle and is just as good blocking down the seam. That slot position, so crucial to whatever brand of the West Coast Offense Seattle's running these days, remains undefined.

Until now.

Third Round (68) - Juaquin Iglesias, WR, Oklahoma

It's fairly common for offenses (especially college offenses) to be tailored to the skills of one player, but the change seen in Norman, Oklahoma over the last three years has been nothing short of galvanic. In transitioning from Adrian Peterson to Sam Bradford as the face of the offense, the Sooners went from 2,682 passing yards in 2006, to 3,615 in 2007, to 4,891 in 2008 -- from 340 to 401 to 517 attempts. This ain't no Bud Wilkinson three-yards-and-a-cloud offense -- the new Okies are just as prone to go five-wide on your ass and score 60+ points in game after game. And the root of all that dynamism, aside from Bradford and the best offensive line in college football, has been Juaquin Iglesias -- the 6-1, 210-pound Texas native who led the team in receptions and receiving yards in 2007 and 2008.

He's seen as a third-round prospect for a few reasons. There are serious questions about his straight-line speed, and whether he can beat press coverage without the benefit of a system that forced defenses to bail out all the time. But there are two things that caught my eye. First, his ability to get the first move at the snap -- he's very quick off the line, and he's great at using angles to avoid the press altogether. Second, when you watch his YouTubeage, check out how he beats first contact and picks up extra yards. These are the things that separate real slot specialists from guys with good hands who just can't run a 4.3-40. An impressive route-runner with the ability to fill a role sooner than later in the pros, Iglesias would find himself climbing the depth chart in Seattle as the glue over the middle.

Oh -- and in 2008, he converted 19 of the 22 third downs in which he was the target. Sound familiar?

Doug's Mock -- And in the second round...

Doug Farrar — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:18:39 -0000

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FILE - In these university handouts and file photos top college football prospects for the 2009 NFL Draft are shown. Center: Western Michigan's Louis "I Ain't No #$%^&*( Brian Russell" Delmas.(AP Photo)

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The idea behind these dueling mocks is obviously to take who we think Tim Ruskell would take, but I'm somewhat conflicted with my second-round selection. There are two safeties I'm looking at. One is a 51-game college starter with ninja aggressiveness, dynamic hitting skills, and some coverage ability. He's also from a big school. The other is a 44-game starter (33 at free safety, 11 at left cornerback) with the best coverage ability in this draft class among all the safeties. He fits the notion of interchangeable safeties that the Seahawks want and currently don't have because of the obvious Vortex of Suck. On the downside, he shares a little bit of that's Vortex's predilection for iffy tackling (he's a kamikaze), and he's from the MAC.

Contestant #1 is Patrick Chung, and Contestant #2 is Louis Delmas. I have had the good fortune to interview both of them in the last month (links on their names), and I would have no problem recommending either one from a character and intensity perspective. I think that Ruskell would prefer Chung because of specific attributes he's tended to prefer, but I'm going to write up Delmas because the pick simply makes more sense.

Second Round (37) - Louis Delmas, FS, Western Michigan

So, about the whole small-school thing. It's not really defensible in this case. In 2008, Delmas racked up 11 tackles, a pick, and a deflected pass against Nebraska, eight tackles and a pick against Buffalo (and if you follow college ball even at a surface level, you know that Buffalo's no joke), further excelling against Illinois and Ball State, and against Rice in the Texas Bowl, and then at the Senior Bowl and the Combine. He's not intimidated by the big time. What I really like about him is that he understands the concept of formation diversity, and his role in different schemes.

"In the defenses we ran, I was usually directed to cover, because my coaches felt that I was a playmaker," he remembered. "No matter where the ball went, I was in the play. I was maybe 20 percent in the box in any given game. We'd run halves, thirds, hard Cover-2, a man Cover-2, we'd run a lot of Fire Zone (the zone blitz concept explained very well here), and three-man deep."

Four-year starter, second-team All-MAC as a true freshman, a guy who's going to go balls-out on every play. He will, on the other hand, be prone to some pretty enormous whiffs, and he can get turned around when run-tackling in space. But he can cover, and he won't pick off Trufant when he's covering Ted Ginn because he has to be in on the action.

If Ruskell passes because he needs a deep threat at receiver, fine. If he passes because Delmas didn't go to Auburn or because he isn't sufficiently "gritty", we have ourselves a problem. Delmas would go a long way towards making the safety position a plus, as opposed to the howling minus it has become. Right now, you take the talent and work on the discipline, to fill a hole currently occupied by a player who possesses neither. And you have Deon Grant to help with the latter.

Doug's Mock -- And in the first round...

Doug Farrar — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:24:15 -0000

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

2 months ago: FILE - In this Feb. 23, 2009 file photo, Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis. Curry is a top prospect in the 2009 NFL Draft. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)

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I'm going to do a Seahawks mock in stages over the next day or so between projects as time permits. When it comes to the later rounds, I might list 2 or 3 guys I think might be in the wheelhouse, and pick a winner at the end. But in the first round, I think there will be a veritable tornado (or, in Dennis Miller's words, a "torcano") of activity around Seattle's fourth pick, and I think this activity will lead to an inevitability.

This is the highest draft pick Tim Ruskell hopes he ever has, and it's his legacy on the line now. He's into safety - he traded for Deion Branch because he was concerned about the bust rate for receivers. His love of multi-year starters from big schools is well-known. In his heart, Ruskell has to know that when it comes to player eval, he's operating at a deficit on the offensive side of the ball. What he needs with that fourth overall pick is a guy at a position he evaluates very well, with no real downside, that everyone in Seattle will fall in love with at first sight.

First Round (4) - Aaron Curry, SLB, Wake Forest.

If there's one thing we know about Tim Ruskell, it's that he doesn't appreciate protracted contract issues, especially when they're made public. When Darrell Jackson and Bobby Engram voiced displeasure with their financial situations, they were unceremoniously dumped. Leroy Hill's a slightly different breed of cat, being a Ruskell pick and in his prime and all, but that fact that he turned down a (six-year, $36 million) deal on top of his "Asleep at the Wheel" episode has me thinking that the Seahawks might be seriously looking at moving Hill in a draft day trade. I have absolutely nothing to base this on, and I want to make that abundantly clear, but I think that Ruskell could be moved with the right offer on a Hill departure.

Curry will be there at 4 for one reason - because the Chiefs are moving to a 3-4. Admittedly, it's a very creative 3-4 with Clancy Pendergast in charge, but I find it tough to believe that Scott Pioli would pull the trigger on a guy who would probably play ILB in his defense. What the Chiefs want is DeMarcus Ware, but he isn't in this draft. What they REALLY want is to trade down, and they might be able to do so if they hold something shiny up long enough to distract Dan Snyder. And if Snyder does move up to 3, he ain't taking Aaron Curry. He's taking Mark Sanchez and trading Jason Campbell.

Curry will fit the new Alleged West Coast Defense like a glove. He's a menace in any direction, and he is absolutely as advertised when it comes to character. He played 98 percent SLB at Wake, but can make the occasional move as a rush end in a 3-man front. He might be Julian Peterson. The Seahawks would "settle" for Derrick Brooks.