Weekend preview

On my schedule this weekend are the following games:

Alabama vs LSU
Arkansas vs South Carolina
Arizona vs Stanford
Washington vs Oregon

The key match-up with regard to next April’s draft is Julio Jones (WR, Alabama) vs Patrick Peterson (CB, LSU) which I wrote about in a little more detail here.

It’s also another opportunity to see Ryan Mallett in a tough environment against good opposition. Mallett has made significant strides this year, but following Arkansas’ defeat to Alabama that hasn’t been discussed much. Character issues could keep Mallett out of the first round, but he’s improved enough to justify his decision not to declare for the 2010 draft.

Stanford should defeat Arizona despite only a two-place difference in the rankings. I had a chance to watch Andrew Luck in last week’s blow-out against Washington. He’s moved on from a slightly erratic performance against UCLA and is starting to look a lot more assured. I’ll be looking to see if that continues on Saturday.

Washington vs Oregon has the makings of a one-sided affair and the Huskies made the right decision to hold out Jake Locker. It does make the game a little less intriguing from a draft prospective, but LaMichael James (BR, Oregon) is back on the Heisman radar after news broke yesterday about an investigation involving Cam Newton. He could be a second-round pick if he opts to declare.

Are you watching a game this weekend? Let me know what you’re looking out for in the comments section or email rob@seahawksdraftblog.com

4 Comments

  1. Matt

    And McShay wrote an article comparing Andrew Luck to Peyton Manning…wow. Very nice QB who is game managing in college to a guy who may go down as the greatest QB of all time, who single handedly runs an NFL offense. Yikes.

  2. 1sthill

    A few games a players I’ll be watching this week;

    Central Florida vs Houson – DE Bruce Miller a player who could be a good fit as the LEO.

    Baylor vs Oklahoma St – Baylor DT Phil Taylor : Taylor is 6-4 330 lbs while he is not good at taking on double teams as a DT, he could be a good fit at the 5-technique on our defense. Similar build to Red Bryant (top heavy).

    Washington vs Oregon – I’m a u-dub fan and will casually be watching this game, not scouting anyone in this game.

    Hawaii vs Boise St – Hawaii WR Greg Salas / Boise St WR Titus Young

    Oklahoma vs Texas A&M -Oklahoma WR Ryan Broyles / DE Jeremy Beal / Texas A&M DE Von Miller

    Arizona vs Stanford – Arizona DE Ricky Elmore / Arizona DE Brooks Reed / Stanford DT Sione Fua

    • Rob

      Some interesting match-ups there 1sthill. Let me know your thoughts – who disappointed/impressed… who to keep an eye on etc.

  3. alex

    considering that I have an exam on Monday, I’ll only watch the Huskies vs. Ducks game (I’ll shut it off it gets out of hand too quickly) and Arizona vs. Stanford. I’ll keep my full attention on Luck this time. Arizona’s defense should be a decent bar as to how good Luck is.

    And yeah, I’m pretty shocked to hear Peyton and Luck in the same sentence. It’s something that I just can’t see. I agree Luck is a first rounder in any draft for playing in a pro system, staying in pocket, having good mobility, a NFL arm (though average), decent accuracy in the short range, great mechanics, good footwork, and a good release. The problem is whether he can command an offense. Great QBs command offenses. Brees and Manning last year in the SB were great examples. At the college rank, Mark Sanchez’s Rose Bowl performance was a great example. As I’ve and some of the others here have seen, he mostly manages the game where he has the power run game set up his passes. And I’m hoping the Arizona DL can disrupt Stanford OL. I haven’t seen Luck under pressure yet whole a game. I’m curious how he performs when the chaos is happening all around him.

    Alex

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