Rules Of Thumb From The Shrine Game

The 90th annual East-West Shrine Game is in the books. The game itself wasn’t much to look at, a sloppy 20-3 win by the East team. Practice sessions throughout the week and interviewing players and scouts at the hotels and surrounding restaurants was much more valuable, and it was a great time covering the action for the fourth consecutive year.

In light of winners/losers or top prospects, here are the Rules of Thumb on the week’s action.

Thumbs Up

To Tre McBride. The wide receiver from William & Mary was somewhat of an unknown commodity heading to St. Pete. While the CAA is highly respected, it’s still FCS-level. There was a question if the prolific receiver could step up and hang with the higher level of competition.

Mission accomplished. McBride wasn’t perfect in the East practices. He’s not a great leaper and lacks elite burst off the line. Yet no other receiver on either roster was better at creating space for himself with crisp feet, savvy set-up of moves and changing of speeds to make his top gear appear faster. He looks like a 4^th round pick.

To Damian Swann. Georgia’s aggressive cornerback had a great week in practices, showing stickiness in coverage and a real passion for going after the ball in the air. Just as importantly, he fared well in jam drills and team session against the run. That’s imperative for smaller corners.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Swann can play the ball. Opportunistic DB RT <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffRisdon">@JeffRisdon</a>: Damian Swann with a plucky INT on Deon Long, outfought him on the contested ball</p>— Justin Higdon (@afc2nfc) <a href="https://twitter.com/afc2nfc/status/555382335290744832">January 14, 2015</a></blockquote>

Two scouts I talked with brought his name up unprompted when I asked them on Wednesday who was impressing them this week. Both of their teams are CB-needy. Good job, Mr. Swann.

To B.J. Finney. I’ll freely admit to having a predisposed liking to the Kansas State center. I watched nine Wildcats games this fall and Finney was at least good in every one of them. In a few he was fantastic.

That was kind of his story on the West practice field, too. He’s not the most athletic pivot, but he’s got no real holes to his game either. His versatility shined, as he played both guard spots as well as center in both practices and the game itself. Finney is a player who can be a capable starter but not a star at the next level, and he proved that beyond any doubt.

Others who did well for themselves:

Louisville G John Miller, the most technically competent of the East OL as well as the strongest blocker.

Kentucky DE Za’Darius Smith, a natural leader and savvy pass rusher who earned a call-up to the Senior Bowl. He’s a decent bet to be the first Shrine Game player drafted, perhaps as high as the late 3^rd round.

South Dakota State RB Zach Zenner, who proved he’s got the speed, interior niftiness and vision to play at the next level.

Michigan State LB Taiwan Jones, who excelled in every drill and helped disprove the “too stiff” label he got from folks watching his Spartans tape. The MSU defensive scheme limited him, not athleticism.

LSU RB Terrence Magee, strong and fast through the hole and solid in the pas protection drills.

Kentucky T/G Darrian Miller, quite clearly the most technically sound and athletically gifted tackle on either team…except he’s definitely a guard in the NFL.

North Dakota State RB John Crockett, easily the most fun prospect to cover this week.

Florida Atlantic safety Damian Parms, who picked off two passes in the game. He consistently demonstrated great coverage instincts and reactions.

Colorado CB Greg Henderson, technically savvy and quick, he was the toughest corner on either squad to get open against. Like Texas State CB Craig Mager on the East, he proved being more slightly built doesn’t necessarily rule them out from playing outside at the next level.

Thumbs Down

The goal for players is to raise their profiles or prove they have both the athletic prowess and technical mastery to merit investment from NFL teams. These players either didn’t make much of a notable impact or showed they just aren’t cut out for the next level.

Baylor LB Bryce Hager, who was the weakest (literally) West backer. He couldn’t cover. He couldn’t blitz. He couldn’t shed blocks in team sessions. Hager looks like a productive college linebacker who just doesn’t have the size or strength to make it at the next level.

South Carolina QB Dylan Thompson. It was a surprise to see Thompson on the roster ahead of more tantalizing prospects like Marshall’s Rakeem Cato or CSU-Pueblo’s Chris Bonner. Instead of capitalizing on his good fortune, Thompson wilted. He was easily the most inaccurate of the QBs here, which is sort of like being the St. Bernard that drools the most.

That’s a fairly typical set of reps for Thompson, who just isn’t cut out to be an NFL quarterback.

Colorado State CB Bernard Blake, who was injured early in Tuesday’s session and did not return. That doesn’t help the durability concerns for a player who is a string bean at 6’ and maybe 175 pounds after a day at the Golden Corral buffet.

Toledo center Greg Mancz, who looked decent in limited practice before injuring his shoulder and leaving on Tuesday. His physical strength is already his biggest detriment, so a bum shoulder could really hurt him going forward in the draft process. I’m still a big fan of Mancz regardless.

Louisville tackle Jamon Brown, an athletic guy with some truly terrible habits that were repeatedly exposed in drills and team sessions. Watching Anthony Chickillo, Za’Darius Smith and even his Cardinals teammate B.J. Dubose flummox him with pretty simple pass rush moves was difficult, because it’s easy to see his potential when watching him move. But he doesn’t move well when the bullets are flying, and his hands. My God, the slow hands and short-arming of so many blocks…

Thumbs Twiddling

To Taylor Heinicke. Old Dominion’s quarterback was handily the most impressive throughout the week. He has the best short and intermediate accuracy, is the most comfortable throwing on the run and was the only QB on either roster to consistently climb the ladder in the pocket without panicky feet or eyes. When the East went up-tempo in team drills, he dramatically outshined Anthony Boone and Hutson Mason, looking better making decisions and reads on the fly.

Comparative analysis made Heinicke look great. A broader look is needed, however, and that waters down the enthusiasm. He’s smallish at 6’1” and doesn’t have more than an average NFL arm. His deeper throws have decent velocity but his accuracy wanes more than most QBs the further he throws down the field. He played in a Monarchs system completely tailored to his skills.

I came to St. Pete with a 6^th round grade on Heinicke but was optimistic I’d see enough to move him up a round or two. He did nothing to hurt his stock, but I’m not sure he did anything to move up either. I’m still pulling for him.

To Jake Ryan. The Michigan linebacker had a strong campaign last fall in Ann Arbor, looking fully recovered from a knee injury and showing he could control the game between the tackles. Scouts I talked with at Michigan games were impressed with his tackling and nose for the ball.

He showed that in drills…mostly. There were a few occasions where he hid behind the blocking too long and was late to fill the hole when decisive LSU RB Terrence Magee sprinted through. But by and large he quickly diagnosed the play and flowed to the point of attack against the run. Ryan also won the Pat Tillman Award for the player who best exemplifies leadership, sportsmanship and service. In watching him all week, he deserved the prestigious award.

Then there’s the passing and blitzing drills. Oy. Shakira famously sang about hips not lying, and Ryan’s hips are truly stiff. He was beaten like a proverbial rented mule in every single rep of coverage, even by plodding Bowie St. tight end Khari Lee. Ryan also stunk in blitz drills, showing zero creativity and a complete inability to use his hands. Granted the Wolverines never used him that way, but NFL teams interested in Ryan will be dismayed to see he’s strictly a two-down inside linebacker. That holds back his draft value to nothing higher than the 5^tor 6^th round…and that’s if he tests well athletically at the Combine.

Other players with mixed bags of a week:

Arizona WR Austin Hill, who caught everything near him but showed little wiggle or open-field speed.

Oklahoma State DT James Castleman, a tough bull inside but really not a pass rusher on tape. He wasn’t in drills either, and that’s what sells in practices. Castleman did enough to merit a call-up to the Senior Bowl, but I’m afraid he might not fare too well with the next step up in opposing offensive linemen.

Navy safety Parrish Gaines, a converted 6’2”, 215 cornerback. He needs to move back to his old position. He was fantastic during jam drills, controlling the release and sticking on the receiver in the short range. When playing safety he was often a step late and slower to pick up the play coming at him than his East peers, notably Damian Parms.

South Florida kicker Marvin Kloss, the MVP of the actual game but rather pedestrian in practice compared to recent kickers here. He was Money (his nickname) when it counted, so the thumbs here are twiddling up.

Kansas LB Ben Heeney, who like Hager lacks power but showed better instincts and fluidity moving in space. He has the makings of a coverage-oriented 4-3 outside linebacker like Shrine Game alum Preston Brown plays in Buffalo. He really did look small and untoned compared to his peers, however, and I’m not sure his frame allows for much more bulk.

Miami DE Anthony Chickillo, dominant at times but passive and invisible at others, which is pretty much what his Hurricanes career looked like. The physical ability is there, he just needs to show it every single snap.

West Virginia guard Mark Glowinski. He was handily the worst lineman at either practice on both Monday and Tuesday, demonstrating sloppy technique, slow hands and poor footwork. But in the final two practices for the East he was a different guy. His hand placement was quicker and on target, and he was following it up with core power thanks to good bend and foot placement. That Glowinski has a decent NFL future. The one from the first two days made me wonder how he started in college.

Thumb Sucking

To Mike Singletary. The East coach was a running joke all week for the media, coaches and scouts. It was not a funny one.

Singletary proved why the 49ers parted with him and immediately rocketed upward in the win column. He’s completely clueless how to run a simple practice, let alone create a game plan or help his players improve. The East sessions were plodding, without much direction and almost useless for prolonged stretches for scouting purposes. Compared to Jim Zorn on the West, or past coaches at affairs like this including Jerry Glanville, Marvin Lewis and Gus Bradley, it was embarrassing to watch him operate.

Want proof? I took this picture as Thursday’s practice was about five minutes old.

Those of us in attendance heard the constant grumbling about his purposeless drills, wasted time and utter disdain for even interacting with any offensive players. If he ever wanted to get back into the NFL as a head coach (he’s been the LB coach--and a good one--in Minnesota), he bombed this audition.