2008 Senior Bowl Report

The 2008 Senior Bowl came and went without much fan-fair from the masses. But if you are reading this you are not the average football fan, you are a draftnik, so set back and enjoy the ride. No one really cares who won or lost the game, but if you stayed until the very end you were rewarded, as the last two minutes were actually pretty exciting. For the record, the South won the game 17-16 on Florida's Andre Caldwell end around (reverse) on the final play of the game, oh, except for Georgia kicker Brandon Coutu kicking the game winning extra point. Which by the way, was no certainty as he had already missed an easy 33 yarder earlier in the game.

Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge was impressive directing the South on a 14-play, 86-yard drive in the game's final 2:48 to give the South its first win in four years. Ainge was a replacement for Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, who was still suffering from a leg injury (supposedly) he sustained during the season. Ainge finished the 2007 season strong also, he was 25 of 43 passing for 365 yards and two touchdowns in Tennessee's win over Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl. Tulane's Matt Forte was the game's leading rusher with 59 yards, he also caught four passes for 38 yards, including a sweet 13-yard reception on the game's winning drive to win the overall Most Valuable Player award.  Forte finished with an impressive 7.4 yards per carry average.

See the Senior Bowl Roster here.

I wasn’t able to attend the game or the practices this year, but I watched every single practice and the entire game on the NFL Network. I recorded everything and went back and broke down the film. When I broke down the film I watched it with the volume off because I didn’t want to hear what the announcers were saying. Most game analysis that I have read were only a repeat of what Mike Mayock was saying. Nothing against Mayock, he is pretty knowledgeable, but I don’t agree with everything he says. So here are some random analysis of the practice sessions and the game:

One thing I do agree with Mayock about is most of the players that practiced well also looked the best at the game. The two players that probably made the most money for themselves were quarterbacks Chad Henne and Joe Flacco. Both entered the game as possible mid round picks and now look to be day one picks. Remember the schedule for the NFL Draft has changed, so being a day one pick is a big deal now. Both quarterbacks displayed very powerful arms and decent accuracy. Flacco especially, he is a big man at 6’ 6” 232 pounds and has a cannon for an arm. I wouldn’t even be overly surprised to see the Bears draft him in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft.

Penn State LB Dan Connor played a very good game. He weighed in a little on the small side (6' 2.5" 233 lbs) and he doesn't look intimidating, but he just makes plays. He diagnoses the action very quickly, he finished the game as the North's leading tackler with nine tackles and an interception.

USC defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis (photo left) was probably the most dominate player throughout the week of practice and at the game. None of the interior offensive linemen that he went against him could block him all week in practice; at the game he finished with 2 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss and 1 quarterback hurry. The other defensive tackle that stood out was Trevor Laws from Notre Dame, right now laws has moved up on the draft boards more than anyone. Like Ellis he was un-blockable all week in practice and finished the game with 6 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss and 1 fumble recovery. Laws and Ellis measured in at exactly the same height at 6’ 0.7”, Laws weighed 297 pounds and Ellis weighed 308. Neither player is overly huge, but they both play with great leverage and use their hands well.

A couple small school prospects really made a name for themselves in this game, most notable was Dominque Rogers-Cromartie (Division 1AA Tennessee State). Cromartie is tall and thin at 6’ 1” 183 pounds, but he has world class speed and for a small school player plays with good technique. He stays low in his back pedal and explodes on the ball, he jumps to catch the ball at its highest point and gets his long arms in there to break up a lot of passes. He played mostly free safety and didn’t look out of place. Cromartie was named the South's defensive MVP. I am currently giving Cromartie a first round grade in the 2008 NFL Draft. He will probably slip into the second round due to his small school pedigree, but he has first round talent. Eastern Michigan’s Jason Jones was another stand out. He had an up and down week of practice, but this kid is a gamer, in the game he finished with 3 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss and 1 forced fumble. Jones has nice size at 6’ 5” 274 pounds and he also had the longest arms of all the defensive linemen at 34^7/8 inches.

Let me get the inevitable conversation about Hawaii QB Colt Brennan out of the way. I have been a staunch supporter of Colt Brennan all season, even after the Georgia loss, he didn’t get to showcase his arm because his offensive line forgot how to block. But after the Senior Bowl the real Colt Brennan bashing began, I am not going to jump on the bashing band wagon. Yes I admit he probably isn’t the prospect that I thought he was at one point earlier in the season, but he isn’t the quarterback ant-christ like most are saying. Brennan is Tony Romo four years ago, you give Brennan three years with excellent NFL coaching and plenty of patience and you will probably get a Star NFL quarterback.

Ye Brennan does have weaknesses, he needs to work on his footwork, learn how to read defenses better, get bigger and stronger and not stare down receivers, but his arm strength is much better than what people are saying, his quick release gives him an advantage over a lot of the big quarterbacks and while his accuracy was only average at the Senior Bowl, if you look at all his game film you will see he is one of the most accurate quarterbacks in college football. If you watch film of the Senior Bowl, that interception he threw early in the game bounced off of tight end Jacob Tamme’s chest and into Dan Connors hands. Yes he forced the ball into tight coverage, but it should have been caught by Tamme.

The other prospect that has been routinely bashed in the media is Oklahoma State’s WR Adarius Bowman. He had a few drops early in the week of practice, but came on nicely on day three catching some nice balls and consistently getting open. Bowman recently recovered from a serious knee injury, he had 61 receptions for 932 yards and seven touchdowns this past season, but due to his knee injury he only played in 10 games. Most players coming off of an injury like that wouldn’t have even bothered playing, see Limas Sweed and Early Doucet below. This draft is very weak at the wide receiver position and Bowman might end up as the steal of the draft. At the Senior Bowl itself Bowman caught 2 passes for 22 yards, but he had a nice touchdown pass (completion) called incomplete by incompetent referees. Even by NFL standards it would have been a touchdown. During an interview Joe Flacco and Chad Henne were asked who the best player on the field was and both said Adarius Bowman. At 6’ 3” 225 pounds Bowman is a big, talented receiver that has legitimate NFL skills.

Here are a few prospects that either hurt or helped themselves at the 2008 Senior Bowl by either not playing or by playing poorly:

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