Tag Archive for Arizona

Juron Criner Scouting Report

November 22, 2011 No comments

Position

WR

Height

6’4

School

Arizona

Weight

215

Class

Senior

40 Time

4.55

Grade

3rd Round

Athleticism:

May not time well but he plays fast on the field. Has the 2nd gear to pull away from defenders in the open field and he has impressive acceleration and agility. Despite his size he can make guys miss in space and make some really nice cuts. That said, he doesn’t play as big as his 6’4 215 pound frame would suggest.

Grade: 3.5

Hands:

Possess very inconsistent hands. Has great plucking ability and can snag balls away from his frame. However, he lets balls get into his pads quite a bit. His biggest issue however is concentration. He drops wide open routine catches because he looks up-field before securing the ball. This will drive coaches nuts. Doesn’t consistently attack the ball and waits for the ball to get to him, especially on deep balls. This allows defenders to close in and break up the pass. Struggles to adjust to poor passes and lacks elite body control and tracking ability.

Grade: 2.5

After Catch:

Dangerous with the ball in his hands because of his burst and agility. Used on a variety of screen plays at Arizona because of his play-making ability. Can be tough to tackle because of his size but not overly physical. Is more likely to make guys miss rather than running them over. Needs to do a better job of securing the ball in space.

Grade: 3.5

Route Running:

Average route runner who still gets lazy on his cuts. Capable of being an excellent route runner though because of his burst in and out of breaks. Shows some savvy as he can vary his route speed and has some very impressive double moves to get behind the coverage. Needs to do a better job of coming back towards the ball. Runs a lot of hooks at Arizona but will rarely come back to get the ball instead waiting out of his break for the ball to come to him. Can struggle to beat the jam against stronger and physical corners. Can be a good route runner but needs to be coached up.

Grade: 2.5

Blocking:

Poor blocker considering his size. Is more of a finesse receiver and shows in his blocking. Has the quickness to hit his target but lacks strength to really drive them off the ball. Also needs to work on staying engaged on his target as he usually just gets in a shot and hopes it does enough to get the defender out of the play. Willing blocker however who needs to touch up his technique. Actually used in an H-Back role in certain packages at Arizona.

Grade: 2.0

Intangibles:

Nearly missed the 2011 season due to serious medical conditions that was not disclosed right away leading to some uncertainty about his health. He underwent brain testing in the off-season and also dealt with an ill family member. No one knows exactly how serious this was and no doubt he will have to check out medically at the combine. He did end up ready to go for the 2011 season but still missed time after undergoing an appendectomy. Clearly did not look 100% after he returned from all of this and it has affected his game but has seen steady improvement. Not known to have any character concerns otherwise. Plays in a pass-happy offense that has inflated his numbers a little bit.

Grade: TBD

Outlook:

Criner is very talented and I really like his combination of size, speed and catching ability. However, he’s very inconsistent and it limits his upside to be a #1 receiver in the NFL. At best I can see him being a solid #2 option who can make plays with the ball in his hands. Not a true possession receiver yet not a burner either. Kind of in the middle with no true elite ability in any one area. I really like his game however and with some coaching he can be a much better player. Will not be sure about his success until we get some confirmation about what went down over the summer that had many thinking he wouldn’t play at all this season.

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Nick Foles Scouting Report

October 13, 2011 No comments

Position

QB

Height

6’5

School

Arizona

Weight

240

Class

Senior

40 Time

4.95

Grade

5th round

Arm Strength:

Without question Nick Foles has a strong arm. It’s not elite but he has more than enough arm strength necessary to be an NFL quarterback. He shows the ability to rifle passes between defenders with ease. He also does a good job of taking a bit off of it when throwing to the flats. His passes rarely float, although they have on occasion but it’s more of a mental thing rather than physical.

Grade: 4.0

Accuracy:

Foles can be pretty inconsistent with his accuracy. At times he will thread the needle between defenders and other times he throws a screen pass off target. It’s really frustrating to watch. It doesn’t help that his offense usually has at least 1 wide open guy on every play so rarely does he actually have to fit the ball into tight spaces. He usually struggles when he has to though. He throws a pretty deep ball but he’s inconsistent with that as well. His accuracy when throwing on the run is also poor as he fails to lead receivers consistently. Overall, his accuracy just isn’t impressive.

Grade: 2.5

Mobility:

Foles is a big guy but he’s quite mobile for his size. He routinely shows that he can move outside of the pocket and extend the play. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still very much a pocket passer, and he will rarely actually take off and run. He does a pretty good job of avoiding the rush and can move around quite well.

Grade: 3.0

Decision Making:

This is an area where Foles really struggles. His offense takes a lot of the pressure off of him as most of the time he has a set receiver to go to pre-snap. Early in his career he was a stare-down machine, and while he has improved on going through his progressions he still struggles with it. His mental clock is slow and he takes a while to go through his progressions. Only when he has a nice clean pocket with ample time will he actually go through his 3rd or maybe 4th read. Most of the time he’ll hesitate on throwing to his first read and then quickly try to find his checkdown. It just doesn’t look natural and you get the sense he’s panicking trying to do the right thing. He lacks anticipation and usually makes the throw after the receiver has come open and he’s just playing pitch and catch. He also just simply makes some bad decisions. He’ll throw into coverage and it’s usually when he gets pressured. Again, I get the sense that he panics and doesn’t really know what to do. Rarely does he throw the ball away.

Grade: 2.0

Mechanics:

Foles has a nice release, although he can get sloppy with it, but overall it’s rather slow. He almost never takes a drop back from under center without utilizing play action, so he’ll have to work on his footwork a lot. He doesn’t usually throw off-balance but you can tell his footwork isn’t crisp. He’ll need to work on this in the NFL.

Grade: 2.0

Pocket Awareness:

Foles does a good job of sensing pressure. He will hold onto the ball when given time but he also knows when to get out of the pocket. He’s good at extending plays and will always keep his eyes down-field when moving around in the pocket. He can be guilty of holding onto the ball for too long at times, but it doesn’t happen too often.

Grade: 3.0

Intangibles:

Foles doesn’t come across as a guy with elite intangibles. As it’s so important when pertaining to quarterbacks, Foles lacks the “it” factor. While he has matured and grown as a leader I just don’t see it on game-days. He suffered a knee injury last year but should be ok going forward. He plays top competition and has posted solid numbers for his career. He isn’t asked to operate a complex offense and his football IQ can be questioned.

Grade: 2.0

Outlook:

While Nick Foles has prototypical size, a strong arm, and decent mobility, he just doesn’t project to a great NFL quarterback. He’s a project. He lacks the intangibles to ever be an elite NFL quarterback and the offense he runs is rather simple. Combine that with his inability to make snap decisions under pressure and his NFL outlook isn’t great. He has the potential to be a starter in this league, a good one at that, but he will need a lot of work. I wouldn’t be surprised if it just never clicks for him and he remains a back-up his whole career.

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