Steeler Shooting Party Under Fire

[NYbucsfanNY]

Kevin Boothe Cornell G 6046 316 5.41 5.45

Rashad Butler Miami-Fl T 6045 293 NR

Brad Butler Virginia T 6071 310 INJ

Chris Chester Oklahoma C 6033 303 4.87 4.9

Jeromey Clary Kansas State T 6061 309 5.25 5.3

Daryn Colledge Boise State T 6043 299 5.09 5

Ryan Cook New Mexico C 6065 318 5.5 5.52

Mike Degory Florida C 6054 305 5.44 5.39

Greg Eslinger Minnesota C 6031 292 5.19 5.19

Jahri Evans Bloomsburg State T 6044 316 5.31 5.26

D'Brickashaw Ferguson Virginia T 6060 312 NR

Max Jean-Gilles Georgia G 6036 355 5.47 5.51

Davin Joseph Oklahoma G 6025 311 5.1 5.17

Winston Justice USC T 6061 319 NR

Chris Kuper North Dakota G 6043 301 5.09 5.05

Taitusi Lutui USC T 6035 334 5.53 5.37

Nick Mangold Ohio State C 6035 300 5.05 5.07

Jimmy Martin Virginia Tech T 6050 303 5.29 5.26

Fred Matua USC G 6023 306 NR

Marcus McNeill Auburn T 6075 336 5.02 5.08

Paul McQuistan Weber State T 6061 312 5.04 5.1

Robin Meadow Washington T 6047 324 5.34 5.39

Will Montgomery Virginia Tech C 6030 312 5.09 5

Ryan O'Callaghan California T 6065 344 5.41 5.35

Quinn Ojinnaka Syracuse T 6045 309 5.4 5.46

Donald Penn Utah State G 6042 317 INJ

Terrence Pennington New Mexico T 6072 345 5.4 5.42

Marvin Philip California C 6010 307 5.3 5.33

Donovan Raiola Wisconsin C 6021 300 5.63 5.55

Troy Reddick Auburn T 6047 334 5.69 5.65

Dennis Roland Georgia T 6095 328 5.3 5.34

Pat Ross Boston College C 6034 301 5.02 5.02

Jonathan Scott Texas T 6063 316 5.31 5.35

Mark Setterstrom Minnesota G 6036 314 5.41 5.47

Rob Sims Ohio State G 6026 307 INJ

Isaac Sowells Indiana T 6034 344 5.13 5.2

Charles Spencer Pittsburgh G 6046 352 5.28 5.3

Jason Spitz Louisville G 6034 313 5.38 5.42

Adam Stenavich Michigan G 6040 310 INJ

Dan Stevenson Notre Dame G 6051 300 5.4 5.39

Zach Strief Northwestern T 6075 330 5.46 5.43

Tony Tella Miami-Fl G 6040 307 INJ

Joe Toledo Washington T 6054 337 5.09 INJ

Michael Toudouze TCU T 6056 303 5.21 5.14

Jeremy Trueblood Boston College T 6080 316 5.27 5.31

Stefon Wheeler Michigan State T 6045 339 5.72 5.84

Guy Whimper East Carolina T 6046 304 4.97 4.97

E.J. Whitley Texas Tech T 6050 309 5.41 5.4

Andrew Whitworth LSU T 6070 334 5.16 5.16

Eric Winston Miami-Fl T 6065 310 4.99 5.01

Practice Notes: Four of the linemen really looked great in practice with some significantly elevating their draft stock.

Chris Chester of Oklahoma was easily the top athlete on the turf. He was fast and fluid as well as very explosive. Chester also caught passes at tight end (his original college position) afterwards and did well. He does need to fine tune some fundamentals but Chester cemented a top 75-selection for himself.

The title of second best athlete goes to another former tight end. Guy Whimper of East Carolina has been building steam since late in the year when he really started to come on at offensive tackle and looked great today. Whimper was fluid and very quick. He definitely elevated his stock today.

Winston Justice elevated his stock. After a slow start his footwork was exceptional late in the session. Most impressive was the was the big tackle slid off the edge when used at left tackle drills.

Continuing to improve upon his tremendous performance at the Senior Bowl, Nick Mangold may have just moved into round one with his showing today.

Charles Spencer, Fred Matua, Max Jean-Gilles, Davin Joseph, Jonathan Scott and Andrew Whitworth also did a solid job this morning.

Stefon Wheeler probably lost what little chance he had of being drafted based on today's results while Zach Strief, Donovan Raiola and Troy Reddick also struggled.

[amcoolio]

40 times for OL are worthless. An OL probably only runs 40 yards a handful of times in a season. Maybe a couple of times to celebrate a long TD and maybe a time or two in a vain attempt to run down a guy returning an INT. My point is that if most anytime an OL runs 40 yards, he's not really going to accomplish much of anything.

Much more important for OL is the bench press, the shuttle, and the vertical leap.

[atj00]

Their speed is a major factor on screens, draws, play fakes, rolling pockets, the running game and in gadget plays. There's not much substitute for it in many systems.

[sulo]

any three hundred pound linemen that can run under 5.00sec in the forty, is an impressive athlete

[amcoolio]

The shuttle run more accurately reflects the speed OL actually use in the game. Even when pulling, an OL will never run 40 yards. Quickness and explosiveness are much more important. The vertical leap is the most accurate indicator of explosiveness. The shuttle run is the most accurate indicator of quickness. The 3 cone drill also shows quickness and agility. You need OL that are quick, agile, explosive, and strong - not fast. There's a big difference between being explosive/quick and being fast. Straight line speed is just not an important factor in being a good OL. IMHO

[NYbucsfanNY]

40 times for OL are worthless. An OL probably only runs 40 yards a handful of times in a season. Maybe a couple of times to celebrate a long TD and maybe a time or two in a vain attempt to run down a guy returning an INT. My point is that if most anytime an OL runs 40 yards, he's not really going to accomplish much of anything.

Much more important for OL is the bench press, the shuttle, and the vertical leap.

I'll pretend that you were joking.

[kalap]

The 40 gives a general idea of how much of an athlete a player is. If you can run a sub 5 second 40 at 300 pounds, you are an athlete. When I think about players, I like to look at their strength and agility more so. If a player runs a fast 40 but is slow on the other drills, I discount them a lot. If a player run faster in the agility drills, then you know you're dealing with someone who has a lot of ability. I know the drills are both different, but they give good indicitators as to how well they will do at their position.

[amcoolio]

I wasn't joking at all. I don't care how fast an OL can run 40 yards. I care about how quickly he can get out of his stance and smack a DL in the face! I care about how quickly he can get out of his stance and pull to lead block - which is shown in the shuttle run. The average person is probably at top speed by 20-25 yards or so, which means for close to 50% of the 40 yard dash, the player is at top speed. I don't care about an OL's top speed. I care about his initial quickness and speed in short (10-15 yard) ranges. If an OL runs a sub 5 40, yes that's impressive and it sure as heck isn't a BAD thing, but it doesn't mean he's the next great NFL OL. I bet Larry Allen can't hardly run 40 yards, but he's been one of the most dominate guards in the NFL for a while because he's extremely strong and gets out of his stance well.

[SpinningPerfect]

The only time an OL is going to run 40 yards is when the QB throws a pick......so I'm sure Maser and Henning put great value into these times lol .

Seriously though, it's the 10 yard dash, the cone drills, the bench press and the position drills that are more important for OL prospects. A quick 40 time is nice, but realistically they'd have to blow scouts away in the aforementioned disciplines to really move up draft boards.

[amcoolio]

^^^^

yep

[KristenisHot]

Speedy litlle fugers arent they?

[SpinningPerfect]

Speedy litlle f*ckers arent they?

I'd easily outrun them - I'd have to though 'cos they're about 6 inches and 100lbs + heavier than me lol

[Johnny Rockets]

Happened a couple of years ago but in the news now.....I don't really see the big deal but the picture is kind of funny.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/20090812_TARGETS_OF_CRITICISM.html

AT LEAST 14 Pittsburgh Steelers participated in a shooting party with Pennsylvania State Police troopers at the Greensburg barracks, using state police ammunition and illegal assault weapons from the evidence room, sources say.

[Fireball77]

***wonders if Plax did this course when he was there. Probably not. LOL***