A year ago when Florida State annihilated Clemson, Beasley’s performance ran parallel to the beating his team received as he tallied one solo tackle and was handled all game by Seminoles left tackle Cameron Erving. And while Clemson lost a close game in overtime this weekend, Beasley’s performance was brilliant compared to a year ago. The senior terrorized Florida State all night posting 2 sacks and 2 tackles for loss. It was obvious Florida State focused on Beasley as two blockers were assigned to him most of the night. The end result was Beasley breaking through blocks to make plays or the creation of opportunities for teammates. Most impressive was his ability rushing the passer out of a three point stance as well as standing up over tackle. This time around Erving looked intimidated and confused through much of the game.
I watch every Clemson game and always key in on Vic Beasley. So far this year he has been unspectacular except for in spurts. He seems to still struggle a little bit to anchor against the run, and they have been dropping him back in coverage more this year as well. He reminds me of Bruce Irvin at times in his pass rush, very fast, but can’t convert speed to power (Bruce so far this year is doing a better job of that however). With that said….he has a burst that is insane off the line. He flat blew by Irving and did a good job ripping, swimming and using his hands actively to run by hime on the outside.
Whoever drafts him will be getting what we got in Bruce Irvin, a pass rush specialist unless he’s paired with a stout DL or paired with somone that is dominant on the other side.
I agree about the converting speed to power; Aldon Smith, Bruce Irvin and Robert Quinn can all do this (and Avril is the best). Also, Beasley shows pretty good hand use to bend the edge but I want to see more counter moves to the inside from him as in order for him to be a premium prospect he needs to add more variety.
Depending on how Bruce Irvin plays (if he plays on the D line), I feel that we need to draft a LEO as I prefer Cassius Marsh rotating about. Bennet, Avril and Hill are applying pressure but not finishing with sacks often. Someone with Beasley’s quickness could help attacking the quaterback’s blindside.
I think they aren’t finished because the last 3 QBs (Rodgers, Rivers, Brady) all get the ball out quick. They’ve been able to apply really good pressure, but the ball is generally out before they can get home. Sacks should start piling up after the bye week one we start facing non top 5 QBs.
Good point
Rob, what are your thoughts on Josue Matias? Ive watched a lot of his tape from last year, and have been very impressed with him. He is outstanding at run blocking, seems he is almost always over powering the defender and driving them out of the play. He also pulls and moves pretty well for his size (6’6″ 330). Pass blocking is a little inconsistent, but I wouldnt call it a weakness in his game, just something he can work on. I understand the seahawks probably wont target a guard early in the upcoming draft, espescially with the current concerns at tackle, but if James Carpenter continues his level of play, he could be gone this offseason. Matias is definitely a guy to keep an eye on.
Grady Garrett (DT, Clemson) is another player that i like this year, but havent seen enough of to say much about him. He actually looked good against Matias a few times in the video above.