Sheldon Richardson - another 'ideal pick' candidate

[theENGLISHseahawk]

This guy would take the defense to the next level. Here's why...

LINK: http://seahawksdraftblog.com/sheldon-ri ... -2013-pick

If you’re wondering just how well he fits a defense heavily influenced by Monte Kiffin, consider that he originally committed to USC in 2010. He failed to qualify at Missouri academically and spent two summers at the College of Sequoias in California. It’s during that time he decided to play for the Trojans. The reason? According to reports, he believed Kiffin’s guidance and the system at Southern Cal would best prepare him for the NFL. Eventually he reneged on that decision and chose Missouri. However, having played JUCO football in the state Pete Carroll coached and as a former 5-star recruit, he’s probably a player Seattle’s Head Coach has the inside track on. And if Carroll wants any further advice, I’m sure he’ll be on the phone to Monte Kiffin – who many are touting for a role with the Seahawks following his resignation at USC.

Tape included in the piece vs Florida.

 

[SEC FAN]

LMAO this guy. Sheldon don't like Old Man Football. Down here in the south we reminded him its called Grown Man Football. He may be talented but he's a dumb ass.

 

[kearly]

I'm not a fan. After QBs I would say that pass rush DTs are the most over-rated position in the draft. Seemingly every year you have DTs that get talked into the first round and go on to have nothing careers. A guy like Suh is one thing- he was a generational talent, but seemingly every year you have guys like Alualu or Liuget who have 3rd round tape but go in the high to mid first round.

Richardson is the same thing. His tape doesn't wow me, and his tools don't wow me. I don't get it. And that's not even addressing the character concerns. Some team is going to make a mistake drafting him. I hope it's not us.

 

[hawksfan515]

LMAO this guy. Sheldon don't like Old Man Football. Down here in the south we reminded him its called Grown Man Football. He may be talented but he's a dumb ass.

Read somewhere that he said old man football to say that the tape from a game before didn't help his team at all because it was very vanilla, AKA "old man football". I don't get why it was so bad?

 

[hawksfan515]

I'm not a fan. After QBs I would say that pass rush DTs are the most over-rated position in the draft. Seemingly every year you have DTs that get talked into the first round and go on to have nothing careers. A guy like Suh is one thing- he was a generational talent, but seemingly every year you have guys like Alualu or Liuget who have 3rd round tape but go in the high to mid first round.

Richardson is the same thing. His tape doesn't wow me, and his tools don't wow me. I don't get it. And that's not even addressing the character concerns. Some team is going to make a mistake drafting him. I hope it's not us.

Is Star Lotulei a generational talent?

 

[kearly]

I haven't watched him yet. That said, you didn't even need to watch Suh to know how rare and special he was. He left Nebraska a legend. And if Lotuleilei is an amazing talent, then how are we going to get him while picking in the 20s or 30s? Suh would have gone #1 overall if not for the Rams being QB desperate in a thin QB class.

The only DT I've seen so far that I like is Ansah. But he's really similar to Jason Jones, so he wouldn't present a likely upgrade (although he would cost less).

To be honest, I just don't get the urgency surrounding DT. Our current DT group is actually pretty good.

The idea that you fix a pass rush through getting an elite DT is a near myth. Either you get lucky with a 4th rounder like Geno Atkins or you get lucky by owning a very high pick when the next Suh/Sapp enters the draft. And so far, I'm not seeing that elite DT. I'm seeing run of the mill types who get overdrafted, not a missing piece of a championship team.

I think a more practical solution is just to move on from Red Bryant, or to move on from the idea of a 4 man pass rush. Carroll is trying to build a 3-4 type front with 4-3 type pass rush tendencies. That's a bad idea. If he's going to use so much 3-4 type personnel on the line, then he needs to blitz five regularly just like a 3-4 defense would.

 

[theENGLISHseahawk]

I agree that DT's generally get over rated and I think that'll be the case with guys like Johnathan Hankins at Ohio State. However, Richardson is the real deal. And he fits this defense like a glove.

 

[ImTheScientist]

I hate 1st round DT's....SOOO OVERRATED.

 

[MontanaHawk05]

To be honest, I just don't get the urgency surrounding DT. Our current DT group is actually pretty good.

I don't see how you can say that after the Chicago game. Worst pass rush I've seen since 2009.

I agree that Pete could drop the pretenses and flat-out go 3-4, because a 4-3 with 3-4 tendencies is still nothing but a 4-3 despite what he hopes it is. But Pete's a 4-3 guy, has been all his career. If he drops any pretenses, it'll be the 4-3 he reverts to. And in that scheme, you need a dominant 4-3 that provides more pass pressure than the 2% it got against Chicago.

 

[theENGLISHseahawk]

It's not even just that the pass rush isn't good enough right now. You're wasting the reason you paid for Clemons and drafted Irvin. This team needs a penetrative three technique to max out the potential. And Branch - as solid as he is - cannot rush the passer.

 

[pehawk]

English, do you have a player comparison for this fella?

 

[cover-2]

I agree that DT's generally get over rated and I think that'll be the case with guys like Johnathan Hankins at Ohio State. However, Richardson is the real deal. And he fits this defense like a glove.

I agree with you on Hankins; I scouted three of his games and based on those games I would take Hankins in the first three rounds of the draft.

 

[theENGLISHseahawk]

English, do you have a player comparison for this fella?

Dockett. Seriously.

 

[pehawk]

English, do you have a player comparison for this fella?

Dockett. Seriously.

Wow, that's high praise. Maybe like Dockett he slips a bit.

 

[SEC FAN]

LMAO this guy. Sheldon don't like Old Man Football. Down here in the south we reminded him its called Grown Man Football. He may be talented but he's a dumb ass.

Read somewhere that he said old man football to say that the tape from a game before didn't help his team at all because it was very vanilla, AKA "old man football". I don't get why it was so bad?

Yeah I remember that too. He said it, looked like an ass, and apologized to Richt. It doesn't matter, he just gave up bulletin board materiel, and then went out and got destroyed.

For anyone interested go watch his youtube video against Alabama, which is about as close as you will find to an NFL offensive line. Supposedly he was the one bright spot, but all I see is a guy making most of his plays 5+ yards down the field or not at all. When he did get pressure it was on delayed screens or when plays were going away from him. And he wasn't always doubled, many times he was getting played 1 on 1. I guess his bright spot was the sack he made when he went untouched because the right tackle was late or confusion on assignment. As you will notice he almost immediately stands straight up and does like a read and react type of thing. I think we can find that same kind of guy in later rounds.

 

[kearly]

To be honest, I just don't get the urgency surrounding DT. Our current DT group is actually pretty good.

I don't see how you can say that after the Chicago game. Worst pass rush I've seen since 2009.

I agree that Pete could drop the pretenses and flat-out go 3-4, because a 4-3 with 3-4 tendencies is still nothing but a 4-3 despite what he hopes it is. But Pete's a 4-3 guy, has been all his career. If he drops any pretenses, it'll be the 4-3 he reverts to. And in that scheme, you need a dominant 4-3 that provides more pass pressure than the 2% it got against Chicago.

Chicago kept extra blockers on most plays. And like I said before, this pass rush has never worked as a pure base pass rush. It's always required blitzing to be effective. Pete has pretty much canned the blitz while going to more zone coverage in the last 2 weeks. It's no surprise then that the defense has turned into complete shit during that time. I REALLY hope he's figured this out by now and the last two weeks were just a failed experiment. I have a ton of respect for Carroll, but we just don't have the kind of personnel to be the 2002 Bucs so it's best we not try until the roster more closely resembles that kind of defense.

 

[kearly]

It's not even just that the pass rush isn't good enough right now. You're wasting the reason you paid for Clemons and drafted Irvin. This team needs a penetrative three technique to max out the potential. And Branch - as solid as he is - cannot rush the passer.

I do think that a Darnell Dockett type would do wonders for our defense.

I'm just not seeing anything close to that good when I watch Richardson. He's very run of the mill to me. I'd give him a 3rd round grade from what I've seen so far. He's not consistently explosive off the line, he can shed blocks but rarely does it quickly, he's not great in pursuit, and generally felt like a non-factor in the games I've seen on him.

I'll grant you that he does shed blocks well and he doesn't embarrass himself against the run, but the elite DTs of the league are almost always physical bullies, and Richardson is a finesse pass rusher that gets stonewalled if he's unable to swim by. Obviously, lines will be even better at the pro level. The thing about Dockett is that he will literally kick your ass and shove you into your own QB on some plays. Richardson will never be that guy. With his athleticism and hand use I'd be a little intrigued to see what he could do in a Red Bryant role, but as a 3 tech I'm just not interested.

I'll watch more since DTs can be inconsistent, but what I've seen so far he looks alright but I don't think he'd be an upgrade over Jones/Branch much less someone to get excited about.

He's also got entitlement/attitude problems too. I could see Pete overlooking one time mistakes or doobies, but attitude problems are a kiss of death for him. I'd be surprised if the Seahawks drafted him.

 

[kearly]

Although there is one thing I like a lot about Richardson- he lets the F-bombs fly. I've already heard two of them and I'm not even finished with the Alabama compilation on youtube. Gotta love directional mics on live television and broadcast technical directors with slow fingers.

 

[JKent82]

I think a more practical solution is just to move on from Red Bryant, or to move on from the idea of a 4 man pass rush. Carroll is trying to build a 3-4 type front with 4-3 type pass rush tendencies. That's a bad idea. If he's going to use so much 3-4 type personnel on the line, then he needs to blitz five regularly just like a 3-4 defense would.

Great bit right there.

I hadn't thought of it that way.

 

[cover-2]

Although there is one thing I like a lot about Richardson- he lets the F-bombs fly. I've already heard two of them and I'm not even finished with the Alabama compilation on youtube. Gotta love directional mics on live television and broadcast technical directors with slow fingers.

Richardson does seem to have a bit of a crazy/unstable personality, in my opinion it's good to have one player like that on the defensive side of the ball. I like English's comparison of Richardson to Dockett; similar size, motor, quickness, and on field temperament.