I was a little surprised that Blue got drafted. His build and injury in college are similar to Arian Foster (Texans #1 RB), although Foster went undrafted due to the timing of his injury. Blue kind of got lost in the RB shuffle at times although had that stretch before the injury (2012) that made him look like a potential NFL RB. Some of those injuries can take two years to fully recover. I'm curious to see if Blue will get playing time this year, make a practice roster, or get cut. The new coach said he likes to have RBs that bring different things to the table (i.e. every down back, 3rd down back, goal-line). Foster has a back injury that he's getting over and Blue could be another option as an every down back if Foster's health fails him. I also remember before this past season that he had some controversial comments about gay football players. I thought it was somewhat notable that both he and James Wright (who were both backups and played sparingly) went ahead of the SEC Defensive Player of the Year.
They really scored, I hate that he went to the Dolphins, hopefully they can grow from a pretty good season last year.
Congrats BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/houston-texans/alfred-blue/
Mettenberger zips it through strong wind May, 16, 2014 May 16 3:57 PM ET By Paul Kuharsky | ESPN.com NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Coach Ken Whisenhunt rated it at least a two-club wind at the Tennessee Titans' practice fields on Friday. [+] Enlarge Mark Humphrey/AP PhotoQB Zach Mettenberger warms up prior to throwing drills during the Titans' rookie minicamp on Friday. Quarterback Zach Mettenberger, the Titans' sixth-round pick, still lacks strength in his surgically repaired knee and will throw better when's he's all the way back. Still, his throws cut easily through the crosswind in the first of three days of rookie minicamp practices. We knew Mettenberger would enter the NFL as a big pocket passer with a big arm. But this was the first time we got to see him with a Titans logo on his helmet slinging it in Nashville. "I did a lot of good things," he said. "I'm still not moving as fluidly as I have in the past, but I am working every day to get back there." Among the good things: A first-play completion of a bomb. He said he doesn't have any limitations, but that the training staff is working to modify his workload to prevent any further issues with his knee. Whisenhunt spoke of Mettenberger needing to continue to rebuild strength. Said Mettenberger: "It's not (all the way) there. Being in a brace for two months, trying to learn how to walk, you lose a lot of muscle down in the thigh. ...You throw with your feet first and foremost, if you're under good balance and can (transfer) weight and do that efficiently, it makes the ball come out a lot better. I did OK today throwing, but as my leg gets better I fully expect to throw better." As for the steady wind, he said it was nothing like the wind in Kansas, "but it was pretty bad today." Whisenhunt complimented Mettenberger's command of the huddle and said things were not too big for the rookie. First-round pick Taylor Lewan, a left tackle who also got a bit of work on the right, is fired up to be working with Mettenberger. "He's an absolute stud," Lewan said.
Titans Coach Ken Whisenhunt's 2014 Rookie Minicamp Report Posted 3 hours ago (on any players standing out in the first practice) View Gallery | 70 Photos Titans Rookies Hit Field for 2014 Minicamp The first play of practice today Zach (Mettenberger) threw one deep and we caught it, so that’s what you like to see out of your quarterback. (Taylor) Lewan looked good. He moved around well. I thought he did some good things out there, but it’s one practice. At times everybody looked good, and at times they all looked pretty bad, too. It’s one of those things, good and bad. (on his expectations for Zach Mettenberger for this rookie minicamp) He’s been in the building with the veterans, so this is not like he just came in last night. He handled himself well today. What you want to see out of him is how he manages the huddle, how he calls the plays, how he interacts with the team. I thought he was in command in the huddle. You can tell that he’s done this and it wasn’t too big for him. He handled the plays well. A lot of the details, as far as his footwork, some of the little technique things, we have to work on, but he had a good start. (on Zach Mettenberger’s health, particularly his knee) I wouldn’t say he’s 100 percent healthy. I’d still say he has some limitations and we’re trying to manage the different types of plays that he’ll have, not to put him in a bad situation. You get a little worried when you have guys flying around like they were today that someone may fall on him or nix him. His knee is stable, I just think he needs some more strength and he’ll continue to work. (on restoring Zach Mettenberger’s confidence on the field) He’s always been a guy that stands in the pocket. That’s one of the things that was impressive about him in college. He doesn’t seem like that’s (his injury) affected him. He probably knows he’s not going to get hit out here without pads on, but that will definitely be a progression for him. I think the biggest thing is getting strength back in his leg. They did a great job of rehabbing him at LSU. He’s way ahead of where you would think he would be. We just have to get the finishing strength back in it. He’s been working hard. He put in a good week of work last week, so we feel good about that.
Rookie minicamp preview: Lamin Barrow May, 15, 2014 May 15 7:30 AM ET By Jeff Legwold | ESPN.com The Denver Broncos will bring their draft class into their Dove Valley complex this coming weekend for a three-day, welcome-to-the-show rookie minicamp. All of the first-year players will get their indoctrination into the Broncos’ way on all things football. So, at Step 1 in their quest to earn a roster spot to go with some playing time in the regular season, it’s a good time to look at the prospects for each of those players in the six-player draft class. Today: Fifth-round pick: Lamin Barrow What does he bring to the table: At 6-foot-1 3/8-inches tall and 237 pounds with 4.59 speed in the 40-yard dash (on the electronic clock) at the scouting combine, Barrow fits the profile of what the Broncos want at middle linebacker. Though he played the weakside linebacker spot in LSU’s defense for much of his career in Baton Rouge, his game video shows a player who moves well laterally, who finds the ball quickly and sheds blockers better than he’s been given credit for in some of the pre-draft evaluations. Barrow also showed the ability to smoothly drop into coverage with precision, his drops were consistent in zone coverages, and he didn’t waver from the assignment so was usually where he was supposed to be. Barrow is also a former team captain with football character and is expected to arrive with a quality work ethic. "I definitely came into the fold -- came up as an inside linebacker," Barrow said of his career at LSU. "But then LSU and their coach, (defensive coordinator John) Chavis he had me on the left side and then the middle, but it’s definitely something I’m looking forward to (playing in the middle). I feel like I’m going to work really hard, and whatever they need me to play, I’ll play it." Prospects for playing time: That is up to Barrow, but if he shows enough in the coming weeks and months the Broncos would be inclined to get him in the lineup. Nate Irving, by all accounts, has done well in conditioning work in recent weeks and looks as if he senses an opportunity for some potential playing time in the middle of the defense. That said, the Broncos have tried Irving in the middle before and moved on to other options each time. Whether it’s Barrow or Irving or anyone else who steps up, the key will be squaring up blocks, shedding and making plays in the run game. With what Barrow has shown in his collegiate career, he has more potential as a three-down option because of his coverage ability. The Broncos see Irving as a two-down option that would then force some adjustments on third down, including dropping safety T.J. Ward into the box as a linebacker in the nickel package. Biggest hurdle to playing time: Barrow’s skills should translate fairly quickly into pass defense. He moves well and showed quality straight-line speed in his pre-draft work, perhaps even a little more than some scouts expected before he ran at the combine. But playing the middle is a physical job. Though the Broncos use their mammoth defensive tackles to try to keep the blockers off the middle linebacker, the job still requires plenty of taking on blocks without surrendering a run lane, shedding those blocks and making tackles. Because of his athleticism, Barrow ran around blocks at times and was still able to run himself back into the play. That doesn’t work so well in the NFL, and how he plays that part of the game will be the biggest factor in how much playing time he earns. He projects quickly into the nickel package, but if he shows those skills in run defense, he would be exactly the kind of three-down option John Elway covets at linebacker. The bottom line: In many ways Barrow was the pick the Broncos’ brass sweated the most during the three-day draft. They stayed put in the fifth round and hoped he would be there, but Elway joked that head coach John Fox did "18 laps" around the war room until the Broncos could select Barrow. They have high hopes for him at a need position, and if he shows himself to be ready, he would find himself in the lineup quickly -- much the way a sixth-round pick in the 2012 draft did as a rookie, a guy named Danny Trevathan.
Bears eye big changes on D May, 16, 2014 May 16 6:34 PM ET By Michael C. Wright | ESPN.com LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Former Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith helped the club achieve sustained success over the years on defense with his Tampa-2 scheme, but it appears that system will undergo significant alterations in 2014. Bears defensive coordinator Mel Tucker admitted as much Friday at the conclusion of Day 1 of the team's three-day rookie minicamp at Halas Hall. [+] Enlarge Stacy Revere/Getty ImagesBears second-round pick Ego Ferguson, an LSU product, is adjusting to the NFL's pace at this weekend's minicamp. "There are some significant changes in terms of techniques that we're going to play; how we're going to fit the run, some of our alignments," Tucker said. "We'll have some alternative fronts that we'll play. I'm not sure how much of a difference you'll see during the OTAs and things like that because we're going to work to lay the foundation on our base principles and techniques, which will allow us to do pretty much anything we want down the road." While that doesn't necessarily mean the Bears plan to play multiple fronts or an exotic defense, the changes in scheme, not to mention the defensive coaching staff with the additions of defensive line coach Paul Pasqualoni and linebackers coach Reggie Herring, certainly give Chicago the flexibility to do so. Tucker, Pasqualoni and Herring possess backgrounds in both 4-3 and 3-4 fronts. During Tucker's time in Jacksonville, the Jaguars played a 4-3 front. But many of the techniques used in Jacksonville's system during Tucker's time there employed principles of 3-4 defense, especially with regard to how the Jaguars were coached to fit the run. Apparently, those principles now make their way to Chicago. "There are some changes. Some of the stuff that we have is going to be based upon personnel," Tucker explained. "A lot of the packages you have, you want to build them around the guys that you have and what they do well. We have it all on paper and we just have to wait and see which ones we're going to use based on what we see guys do on the field." The rookie minicamp, which kicked off Friday with two new defensive tackles in second-round pick Ego Ferguson and third rounder Will Sutton, provide the opportunity for the coaching staff to do that. "It was new to me. Just like I told people, it's like the first day of high school," Ferguson said. "First day is rough but you learn. Just like in college. So it's a new beginning for me. Can't wait for tomorrow. It's definitely unreal right now. I still wake up every morning thinking this is a dream, but at the end of the day, I'm here man. And I'm happy to be here." According to Pasqualoni, Ferguson and Sutton are learning multiple positions for a variety of reasons. The plan is to cross train all of the defensive linemen for flexibility within the scheme based on several factors ranging from opponent, to how the opposition has schemed to handle the Bears in any given week. "The benefit of that is that if you get into the season and there is a reason why they have to play another technique, if the offense shifts the formation, or if they scheme you and they catch you on a player where now, they've got you left-handed, there won't be a such thing as left-handed," Pasqualoni explained. "We're going to be able to handle both and handle both efficiently. And we did that today. There were situations that came up today, and they had to adjust and they had to play. I'm going to go up and watch the film, and I'm going to grade the film. But from what I saw on the field, it was encouraging."
