Burns v Little... Mixed emotions.

[Woodie]

Technique can be taught, athleticism and physical traits cannot.  

I'd be worried if Little was getting beat because he didn't have the physical ability to stop Burns, but that's not the case.  The problem here is that Little is losing the battle because of his technique.  So, as long as he's willing to put in the work to improve that technique (and from all indications, he is), I'm not worried.  

[saints4lifeagain]

That’s absolutely awful footwork. Completely stopped his feet and leaned forward. Bad rep there. 

That inside swim was nasty. 

[ncfan]

 

 

[ImaginaryKev]

Both guys have ideal traits. As long as Little is more motivated than Jeff Otah, and it seems he does, I'm going to be patient with him. 

Also, that speed and bend around the edge is reason to be excited about Burns, regardless of his present size

[LinvilleGorge]

23 minutes ago, ImaginaryKev said:

Both guys have ideal traits. As long as Little is more motivated than Jeff Otah, and it seems he does, I'm going to be patient with him. 

Also, that speed and bend around the edge is reason to be excited about Burns, regardless of his present size

Point to the ideal traits, please. He has 35"+ arms and 10"+ hands, that's pretty much the end of the "ideal traits". He tested well below average athletically and declined to participate in the bench.

[Xtreme]

Little still shaking off the cobwebs. 

[DaveThePanther2008]

13 hours ago, Navy_football said:

Competing against these freak athletes in practice everyday will only make Little a better player. Humble and hungry. Or he could puss out and become a huge bust. 

I will take Little's rookie statement as he'll protect Cam's blindside for years to come. 

If Burns is as freakish as everyone seems to say than we'll end up with two great picks. I have no doubt that he will only make Little better.

[TheRumGone]

2 hours ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Point to the ideal traits, please. He has 35"+ arms and 10"+ hands, that's pretty much the end of the "ideal traits". He tested well below average athletically and declined to participate in the bench.

Here are some from the same site you used, unless you know more than scouts, I don’t. 

Strengths

• Football bloodlines with his father
• Loose lower body and natural bender
• Athletic ability prevents scheme limitations
• Initial quickness and movement skill to get cut-off blocks if asked
• Ability to adjust blocks to moving linebackers
• Lateral quickness to gain interior block positioning
• Plenty of pass-slide quickness to handle edge runners
• Punch-ready with his hands
• Rapid right-left-right combinations to dissuade hand fighters
• Wide base and basketball feet to sustain his mirror
• Captures and runs B-gap slants/blitzes out of the picture
• Above-average agility for recovery blocks in the pocket

I share concerns about Little as well. Mainly his demeanor. I think we were better off with Moton at left and drafting another RT to back up Daryl in case his knee doesn’t hold up. But throwing up his arm and hand size isn’t the end all be all. He’s a quality football player. He can be groomed. 

[LinvilleGorge]

20 minutes ago, TheRumGone said:

Here are some from the same site you used, unless you know more than scouts, I don’t. 

Strengths

• Football bloodlines with his father
• Loose lower body and natural bender
• Athletic ability prevents scheme limitations
• Initial quickness and movement skill to get cut-off blocks if asked
• Ability to adjust blocks to moving linebackers
• Lateral quickness to gain interior block positioning
• Plenty of pass-slide quickness to handle edge runners
• Punch-ready with his hands
• Rapid right-left-right combinations to dissuade hand fighters
• Wide base and basketball feet to sustain his mirror
• Captures and runs B-gap slants/blitzes out of the picture
• Above-average agility for recovery blocks in the pocket

I share concerns about Little as well. Mainly his demeanor. I think we were better off with Moton at left and drafting another RT to back up Daryl in case his knee doesn’t hold up. But throwing up his arm and hand size isn’t the end all be all. He’s a quality football player. He can be groomed. 

Those are observations, not traits. Little tested as a below average athlete in the drills. There's a reason why those drills have become the standard bearers for evaluating guys for NFL athleticism. It's just not very common to see guys succeed at a high level when they don't measure up in them. Sure, you can find examples here and there, but the majority of top NFL players are also top NFL athletes.

 I really hope Little locks down the LT for the next decade, but I didn't want the guy. I for sure didn't want to trade up for the guy. Now I just hope that I'm wrong about him and he's one of the outliers, but make no mistake about it. We're counting on him being an outlier.

[PantherPhann89]

Iron sharpens Iron...

[Jeremy Igo]

18 minutes ago, PantherPhann89 said:

Iron sharpens Iron...

What does iron do to pudding?

[Puresteel55]

I wanted Hakeem Butler with that pick, no trade up! 

But what do I know.

[TheRumGone]

6 hours ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Those are observations, not traits. Little tested as a below average athlete in the drills. There's a reason why those drills have become the standard bearers for evaluating guys for NFL athleticism. It's just not very common to see guys succeed at a high level when they don't measure up in them. Sure, you can find examples here and there, but the majority of top NFL players are also top NFL athletes.

 I really hope Little locks down the LT for the next decade, but I didn't want the guy. I for sure didn't want to trade up for the guy. Now I just hope that I'm wrong about him and he's one of the outliers, but make no mistake about it. We're counting on him being an outlier.

Those are observations OF his traits. At least that’s what it means to me.  

[ncfan]

6 hours ago, TheRumGone said:

 

I share concerns about Little as well. Mainly his demeanor. I think we were better off with Moton at left and drafting another RT to back up Daryl in case his knee doesn’t hold up. But throwing up his arm and hand size isn’t the end all be all. He’s a quality football player. He can be groomed. 

This

I was wishing we got Dalton Risner instead and had Moton at LT.  Risner was one of my favorite OL in the class and could have started at LG or RT if Williams got hurt.

Plus we wouldnt have traded that 3rd (would have cost a Whole lot less to move for him)