What’s in a name? Just as “Colt McCoy” was destined from birth to become a Texas Longhorn quarterback, so apparently when you receive the middle name “WarEagle” from your parents your destiny is to one day paint your wedding dress burnt orange and navy blue outside of Jordan-Hare Stadium on A-Day. As destinies go, that one’s pretty freaking awesome, I’d say.
Anyways, you may have already seen the above here at TWER, but I figured it was worth re-sharing, as a lot of recent content here has been: Thor’s draft recaps (one two three), a couple of recent entries to Bo Knows Blog, Ben’s meditation on A-Day and the Old 280 Boogie, the latter of which we have a remarkable set of photographs from. Click around.
You have chosen … poorly. I know I’m supposed to have come out of draft weekend feeling happier for Ben Tate (taken right where he was supposed to be taken, 2nd round to the Texans) and Walt McFadden (5th round to the Raiders, a hair higher than projected on average) than disappointed for Antonio Coleman … but dammit to hell, did the SEC’s leader in sacks and tackles-for-loss really just go undrafted? There were really that many more quality pass-rushers in college football last year? Sorry, not buying it.
What makes it worse is that Coleman might have gone as high as the second round last year. Instead he comes back to help the new staff, fights through that damn wrist injury, terrorizes Ole Miss in the most important win of the season, finishes the year as Auburn’s best defender by a mile, makes first-team All-SEC, and is rewarded with … a free agent contract to Buffalo. I know there’s no justice in this sporting world, but it sure sucks to be reminded of it like this. Prove ’em all wrong, Antonio. (Ben’s got a nice response here.)
As an aside, Auburn had as many players drafted as Vanderbilt and one fewer than Kentucky. Yes, I think it’s fair to say the talent level on the 2008 and 2009 squads was “down.”
As a second aside, did the Auburn fan’s new favorite NFL team really have to be the Raiders? Campbell, Groves, and McFadden couldn’t have convened in, say, Seattle?
Epic, epic win. OK, not the Auburn baseball series against Kentucky, which did indeed wind up as a two games to one win but a much closer one than most Auburn fans (yours truly included) envisioned. No, I’m referring to this beyond-brilliant PPL suggestion:
So imagine this: Auburn is at home and some unfortunate soul from the opposing team strikes out to end the inning. That, I think, is the best scenario. For a batter, strikeouts hurt the most. Striking out to end the inning? Even worse. Then to make matters worse, as the player is trotting back to the dugout, a little sullen, maybe a little depressed, who should greet him over the Video Screen?
YES YES A THOUSAND TIMES YES. I spent the weekend in Phoenix and caught the D-backs and Rays Sunday afternoon, and every time a batter struck out to end the inning, I was thinking “Keyboard Cat would be 300 percent perfect right here.” Make this happen, Auburn powers that be.
(Also: read Kevin’s thoughts on the Kentucky series.)
Etc. The Chattanooga paper recaps where all 12 SEC quarterback races stand after their spring games; thanks to Jordan Jefferson, Matt Simms, Aaron Murray, the Vandy QBs, etc., Cam Newton’s not the only guy whose stats didn’t look so hot (via GTP) … Gulf Shores All-State quarterback Logan Paul will walk on at Auburn … a member of the Thrashers pwned some n00bz in pickup game in Birmingham … and if you’re following the NBA playoffs at all, you’ve got to start following this site.
I disagree about Coleman going in the second round last year. His measurables would have been the same, and that is what tripped him up. Not his play. He would have been “Snead’d” last year.
I tend to think you’re right, Michael, that Coleman wouldn’t have gone THAT high even if those were the projections. But I don’t think he’d have gone undrafted by a long shot.
I love the Keyboard Aubie suggestion. I’m also a big fan of what some of the students do at GSU baseball games here in Statesboro. When a player strikes out, we all yell “Step! Step! Step!” with every step he takes back to the dugout, and when he walks into the dugout, we all yell “Sit down!!!”
So, its not clear to me why Coleman’s draft status dropped. Why would he have gone higher last year? Just the way the winds were blowing? In the same way turning Tate into a 2nd round draft prospect will help offensive recruiting, tanking Coleman will be used against us in defensive recruiting… fairly or not.
Yeah, the Auburn fan’s favorite NFL team definitely just became the Raiders. At least that’s true for this particular Auburn fan, anyway. I was kind of in the market for a new #1 team this offseason too. (To replace the Deadskins, who now I hope can just trade away Carlos Rogers so I won’t have to worry about them at all any more.)
Now if we could just get them to do something to get rid of Rolando McClain…
Man, I had totally forgot about Antonio’s senior season return in all of this. Thinking about that and the what-if possibilities and just the thought of him for just one second thinking about maybe regretting returning, that just stings. But he’ll make it. He’s too good a guy, and too hard a worker.
It’s a good question, Marmot, and one I’m not sure of the answer to. It’s not like A.C. had a bad year his senior year–in fact, it was a sight better than the junior version, wasn’t it? My only guess is that scouts were expecting Coleman to grow out of “tweener” status and didn’t. It’s also true that the 3-4 is gaining NFL steam, which works against Coleman (who can’t play the line in it).
Whatever. Their loss.
And, yeah, I’m all for Aubie Cat. As long as the PA announcer says “Play em off, Aubie Cat” out loud, right before it.
And here’s a video interview with AC —
http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/sports/mobiles-coleman-signs-with-bills
This time, while still saying that he went over the depth charts and a chance at playing was a factor, he also mentions that “Buffalo put the best offer on the table” — money, money, money. He also says he has no regrets staying in school and getting his degree.
Coleman’s small but slow, and will have to play standing up in the NFL, where he doesn’t have a ton of experience. If you take off the orange and blue glasses, it’s not hard to see why he didn’t get picked. His size/speed ratio is just brutal.
A better metric of juding college stats (which are inherently worthless in judging players ability to play on the next level, in my opinion) is judging numbers against quality opposition.
(For example: look at McCalebb’s yards against SEC teams last year. Yikes.)
screw that hustlek…yeah AC doesn’t have great workout stats, but you can’t tell me that the guy that led the SEC in sacks should go undrafted when freaking D-II defensive ends are. i mean, in all the throw away picks in the last 2 rounds, i can’t believe nobody picked this guy up. i’m not saying he should have been drafted in the 1st or 2nd round, but for pete’s sake, he produced consistently for 3 years at a major school (albeit on some pretty bad teams). he has the attitude, drive, and, frankly, the ability to make something for himself in the nfl.
Fair enough, hustlek, how did Coleman do against quality competition? 1 sack vs. WVU, 1 vs. LSU, 2 vs. Ole Miss, 1 vs. UGA, 1.5 vs. ‘Bama, 1 vs. Northwestern. Only 2.5 of his 10 sacks came against La. Tech, Furman, and Ball St. As Harrison said: I didn’t expect him to go in the first three rounds, and yes, if he really can’t bulk up into an NFL-sized DE in a 4-3 (I’m skeptical), the transition to standing up makes him a risk. But I refuse to believe a guy that’s had as much success as A.C. has had at Auburn isn’t worth a sixth- or seventh-rounder.
(And as for McCalebb, dude was hurt. It was beyond obvious. Ask Tennessee about him when he’s feeling good.)
hustlek — He’s the exact same size as Derrick Morgan, the first DE taken in the draft.
Morgan is taller and faster and much more developed technique wise than Antonio Coleman (to a crazy degree, even). There’s not really any comparison there. Morgan is already about 270 pounds, and will play in the NFL probably in the 280’s for around 10 years and probably get anywhere from 8 to 12 sacks every year from a 4-3 end position. He’s going to be a rock solid defensive end.
Coleman will struggle to make a team because he’s not a tremendous athlete (and he’s playing a position that virtually demands you being a tremendous athlete) and will have to learn to play in coverage basically from scratch. He’s being signed as a rush backer in the 3-4- do you really think he’s a good enough athlete to make it at that position, running a 4.7/4.8? I don’t.
As far as him being a 4-3 DE, no, I don’t see that happening but it’s moot since the Bills are a 3-4 team now. You can’t really be much of a DE at 6’1″ 255, and he doesn’t really have the frame to get much bigger.
Wow, nothing you said there had any factual basis at all. It’s just a bunch of predictions and assumptions.
Coleman is a ‘tweener’. We could make a list a mile long of tweeners that both made it and didn’t make it. The list of ones that didn’t is probably longer and no one knows their names, but you look at the likes of doug flutie, zach thomas, london fletcher, shannon sharpe, darrell green, yada yada…all those guys were told they weren’t big or fast enough, but I’m pretty sure at least 2 of them will be or already are hall of famers (green and sharp). Someone had to take a chance on them. It would seem to me that coleman must not have done enough in his interviews to make them believe in taking a chance on him. Hopefully it will all work out in the end.
40 time has nothing to do with it. morgan, brandon graham and sergio kindle both ran in the 4.7s at the combine and they were the top ends/linebackers. if he’s 6’1″, it’s a tall 6’1″ because i’ve seen him around campus and he is easily as tall as me and i’m 6’3″. and i’m guessing hustlek is a former player or nfl scout to know what the hell a “more developed technique” is. all i know is the guy was consistently one of the top performers in the SEC and that has to count for something, at least more than any workout numbers and ambiguous musings about “technique”