Did Gerald McCoy Get Manhandled?

Soooooooo

This afternoon I was on with J.P. Peterson here locally on 1010 AM to talk about the Bucs. As we were discussing different situations and different players of course Gerald McCoy came up. I gave my opinion about how McCoy has been playing but then J.P. brought up the fact that McCoy didn't have a lot of reps on bench press at the combine (again) and said it looked like he was getting manhandled. I struggled to hold in a chuckle while I explained that McCoy hasn't been getting manhandled but that he does need to work on his technique and that if anyone has been getting pushed around it has been the starting nosetackle, Roy Miller.

Well J.P. brought up a play where he said McCoy got pancaked. It was the touchdown run by Larod Stephens-Howling in the second half of the Arizona game. I didn't have my notes in front of me and obviously I didn't have the game cued up so I wasn't sure about the particular play but I was sure that McCoy wasn't getting pushed around against the Cardinals. So we went back and forth about it and after the interview was over I decided to watch the play again on my DVR and go back over my notes. Before I could even watch it again or check my notes though, I got a message from a fan who basically repeated what J.P. had said word for word (with the added caveat that he thought it was McCoy's worst game and that he "gave up" in the second half")

Now I was really curious to see this play. So I pulled it up on the DVR and broke out my notes and...

Sure enough McCoy got pancaked.

And in my notes I even made a note that he got pancaked.

So was I wrong and J.P. and this other fan right?

Uhh, no.

Here is the thing about that particular play. Arizona was facing a 3rd and 1 from the Bucs 36 yard line and they lined up in shotgun with Stephens-Howling in the backfield. Its important to note here that LSH only had 9 carries total for the season going into our game. I'm not sure but it appears that the Bucs took all of that into account and instead of lining up defending the run, the defensive line was in pass rush mode.

Both McCoy and Miller lined up in three techniques with both A gaps open and the ends were in wide 5 techniques outside of the offensive tackles, getting up field on the snap of the ball. Now I personally didn't and don't believe that was a sound approach with a little over a minute to go in the 3rd quarter, but never the less it IS what the Bucs did.

So McCoy comes off the ball about to make a pass rush move and instead he gets double teamed by the guard and the tackle. And yes he gets crushed right onto his back. But it is what it is, the guy didn't know what hit him basically.

In the end it wouldn't have mattered because as I said both A gaps were open and had he stayed up LSH would have still had a hole big enough to drive a truck through to get the first down.

But more importantly than that, this one play was not close to being indicative of how McCoy played the rest of the game. And since everyone seems to have recorded the game and are now knowledgeable about defensive line play, let me give you a few other plays to take a look at so you can watch it for yourself and decide whether or not McCoy's low bench press numbers mean anything at this point.

11:03 in the 1st quarter: McCoy makes an inside move swatting the offensive guard to the side and ends up beating both the guard and the center to get a hit on the quarterback.

10:59 in the 2nd quarter: McCoy stands the guard up and pushes him back basically with one hand and uses his free hand to make the tackle. (By the way, that's six time All Pro and 9 time Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca just FYI)

5:30 and 4:52 in the 2nd quarter: On consecutive plays McCoy splits a double team and makes a tackle.

4:29 in the 3rd quarter: McCoy pushes the guard two yards back in the backfield and makes the running back cut back laterally.

2:15 in the 4th quarter: McCoy again swats the guard by and beats both the guard and the center to get a good rush on the play where Derek Anderson throws the interception to Aqib Talib that all but sealed the deal.

Now understand that these weren't the only plays where he did something good. These were just plays where he showed some strength and physicality. The truth is the Bucs ran at least 10 Pirate stunts so its not like McCoy was stationary all the time taking on double teams, and considering the fact that the Cardinals only ran the ball 21 times its not like he had a lot of opportunities to show his mettle against the run. But aside from that one play where he got caught slipping, McCoy played the run very well on Sunday. Any suggestion to the contrary simply isn't based in fact and just as I extended an invitation to J.P. if there is anybody who believes that McCoy has been getting pushed around based on that one play if you like we can sit back and watch the recording or the replay of the game together and I will point out just how wrong you are.

In the end I am sure that this particular line of thinking won't go away any time soon. For some people McCoy's bench press numbers define who he is and will be as a player. As wrong headed as that is, I know that I won't be able to convince everyone that's hell bent on believing that, that it isn't true. But all I can do is inform people of the truth.  The reason behind the name of this blog is I feel compelled to share the information that I have with fans who may not know any better, particularly when they are hearing a lot of the wrong information from the media.  Its my intention to "pass on the game" that I have picked up over the years both playing and briefly coaching the game in hopes that not only will the people who read this blog be more knowledgeable, but that they will in turn be better able to teach the people they know about football as well.

So whether people ever drop this bullshit talking point about McCoy's bench press numbers or not, I feel good just knowing that at least the truth is out there if they ever want to find it.

It is what it is.

(P.S. Its generally accepted that Cardinals Pro Bowl defensive end Darnell Dockett is one of the stronger guys in the NFL. Just for shits and giggles watch the game again and focus on how many times James Lee put him on his back. I counted 3 times but I might have missed a few)

What Can Berry Do For You?

At this point it may seem like I am lobbying for Eric Berry and perhaps I am. But the thing of it is, I want the Bucs to be successful, and THAT'S why I would like to see him on the team. But regardless of whether he is a Buccaneer or not I think maybe fans out there would like to know why I am so high on him and what he can do for a defense.

The thing to know about Eric Berry is that he is very versatile. Last year at Tennessee he played almost every position on defense aside from defensive line. He is physical when he is in the box and he is fluid with good ball skills when he is covering the back line. He is also good covering tight ends and slot receivers in one on one situations. He also is one of the best blitzers from the secondary that I have seen coming out of college football in some time. So what does that translate into when he is on your defense?

First of all it means that you won't have to substitute as much. Many times offenses will use personnel as well as formations to try to dictate what the defense is going to do. When your safeties aren't good in coverage then you end up having to take out a linebacker and put in an extra corner when an offense goes to a three wide receiver set most of the time. That makes you a lot more vulnerable to that team running the ball against what essentially becomes only 6 people in the box. When you have a guy like Berry however you can match him up on the slot receiver, keep all three linebackers in the game and still be stout against the run with 7 in the box.

Second of all some teams will put in an extra tight end along with a fullback at times to give the appearance of running the ball down hill at the defense only to go play action pass. The Saints in particular use this set quite a bit and it has been very effective for them. Now a defense that doesn't have a physical safety may elect to take someone out of the back line and put in an extra defensive lineman to match up against the offense's heavy personnel. But if you have a guy like Eric Berry, again you can keep basically your regular personnel in the game and be more sound against both the run and the pass.

Third of all when your team is in a division where there are several talented tight ends, you are going to need to have a safety that matches up well with them or you end up having to double them lest they burn you up and down the field. Berry has been a corner early in his career at Tennessee and he still has corner's feet. You can single him up on most tight ends and he has enough size and quickness to cover them down the field and he is physical enough to tackle them should they actually make the catch. And if you aren't doubling the tight end then that free another guy up to cover underneath routes which makes your pass defense more fundamentally sound.

Fourth of all a lot of the better running teams nowadays set up their blocking schemes so that they double team the inside guys up front, get up on the linebackers late, and leave the free hitter, usually the safety, unblocked and tell the running back that the free hitter is his guy. What that means is they try to make sure that they get enough push up front without pentration (a philosophy that I happen to endorse) that the running back can get a full head of steam before he sees contact and when he does see contact its going to be one one one, him and the safety, and he either has to juke the guy and or run over him and if he can do that then he will get big yardage. Sometimes its not enough that your safety can get the guy down after a 5 or 6 yard gain in those situations. Sometimes you are going to need a thumper who actually punishes the running back for even considering trying to run them over. Eric Berry is the kind of safety who likes to thump people all over the field.

Now those are the kinds of things that you can do in terms of reacting (or not reacting) to what and offense is trying to do, but having a guy like Berry also opens up the playbook for the things a defensive coordinator might want to do to dictate to an offense.

If you want to have a defense that blitzes a lot then you are going to need to have corners and at least one safety who can cover. Having Berry on your team allows you to go with more man blitzes with confidence that you won't give up the big play because your safety ends up in a mismatch. Also because he is such a good blitzer you can use him to confuse the opposing quarterback on where to set the protection. Using the Bucs as an example for years and years we have almost exclusively used Ronde Barber to blitz on third down. Last season we saw that when the Bucs tried to use other DBs to blitz it didn't turn out so well. Now if you line up Ronde on one side and Berry on the other, the center can be sure which way to slide and that will open things up so that we can get pressure on the quarterback and force them into mistakes.

In addition to all those things Eric Berry has a ton of range and great ball skills, exactly what you need in a safety if you play a lot of Tampa 2. He just ran a could of mid 4.4s at the combine which shows you he has track speed. But he is also a very instinctive player and if you watch him on film you can see him breaking on balls almost before the quarterback even begins to throw it. Considering how many times our corners got beat on deep balls last year, getting a guy who can help over the top you would think would be a high priority.

Of course if one of the big defensive tackles are still on the board I expect the Bucs will have to take them, but even then I am not so sure that it would be the right move. I know a lot of analysts aren't saying this but both Ndamukong Suh and Gerald McCoy running mid to high 4.9s in the 40 is underwhelming compared to how they have both been sold. Don't get me wrong, there is no discounting what both guys did on the field this year, but if you are going to tell me that a guy is going to be the best defensive lineman in the last 20 years or so then Im going to need for him to run at least a 4.8 if not better. Big Daddy Dan Wilkenson who really WAS a freak of nature ran a 4.7 back in the day. Our very own Warren Sapp was also a freak of nature who ran a 4.6. A 4.9 isn't terrible but it isn't earth shattering either. And when you get down to it, while both guys will help whichever teams they go to, how much will a defensive coordinator be able to add to their playbook just because they have them on their team?

I can tell you right now, not much.

Now I don't want to make it seem like Eric Berry is the second coming, but the guy is a damned good football player and having him on your team allows you to do a lot more things than normal. Just look at the Steelers with Troy Polomalu. When he got hurt their defensive coordinator was limited in what he could call. But when he was able to play you saw how much more aggressive they could play as a defense. I truly believe that while Berry and Polomalu are some what different kinds of players, he could have a similar impact on any defense that he plays on.

And I for one continue to hope that that team is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Combine Bench Press

One of the top prospect for this year's NFL draft, Gerald McCoy had a disappointing day in the weight room yesterday. While his main competition for the top spot, Ndamukong Suh, was busy tossing up 225 pounds 32 times, McCoy only manged to get the same weight up 23 times (a report on NFL.com's blog of 26 reps was evidently erroneous). Of course this has sent all of the draftniks into a tizzy and now people are openly questioning McCoy's work ethic.

Well I don't know if McCoy has been sitting on a beach every day sipping pina coladas or if he has been locked up somewhere with dumbells and hot sauce all day. What I do know from personal experience is that the combine bench press can be deceiver, both on the positive and negative side. If you google "Gerald McCoy" and "work ethic" you get tons of articles about people raving about how hard he works. But with one bad showing on his bench press he has opened himself up to people questioning what had been one of his biggest selling points.

McCoy wasn't the only highly rated prospect to fall short in the bench press either. USF's Jason Paul-Pierre, a guy some think may go as high as 3 to the Bucs (which I already thought was crazy) only managed to get the weight up 19 times. Now its a kind of unwritten rule for defensive linemen. You want to get the weight up 25 times or more so you can be one of the leaders in that categor, but to not be seen as too weak to play in the NFL you want to at least get the weight up 20 times so as to not raise any red flags. For a guy like JPP whose rise up the draft boards has been driven more by potential than production, only putting the weight up 19 times may have some serious consequences.

I am a long time proponent of film over workouts anyway. I think that you will always have guys who look average on film who put up great numbers at the combine. But being a great athlete doesn't always equal being a great football player and coaches and GMs should always be aware of that. I will say however that plenty of teams use the combine numbers for question marks. What I mean is if a guy looks good on film but there are some nagging questions about them, many times teams will use combine numbers to answer them. If a guy looks good but might be a tad slow then the 40 numbers are brought into play. If a guy looks fast in a straight line but maybe not very quick in changing directions that's when the cone drill numbers come into play. And if a guy looks good but maybe gets pushed around a bit, that's when the bench press numbers get pulled.

Now I don't know for sure if teams have questions about McCoy's or Paul-Pierre's strength, but if they did before the combine, its going to be even worse now.

Its at this point that I want to make an observation about the process and also to give a personal anecdote.

First, I think its ludicrous that defensive linemen and offensive lineman are still being made to life 225 pounds for reps. It makes sense for the smaller guys because by and in large they probably rep out with 225 on a regular basis. However for most big guys this is some thing that they rarely if ever do aside from at the combine or at their pro day at their school. To be honest with you doing 225 for reps is more about endurance than strength anyway. There are some guys who can do 225 pounds 30 times or more but couldn't shed a blocker to save their life. There are other guys who can barely get it up 20 times but can rag doll an offensive lineman. That's because there is never going to be a time in any game where a guy has to do 30 bench presses in a row but there WILL be a time when a 325 plus pounder will try to lock on to them and they need to be able to get that guy up off of them.



For most big guys this means that you train with heavier weights for lower reps most of the time. I for one would much rather see an offensive or defensive lineman rep out with 275 pounds than 225. For one 275 pounds is closer to the weight they will have to push around when they face off with an opponent in football, and for two you would get to see how well they handle heavier weight consistently. I would be much more impressed with seeing guys do 275 15 or 20 times than watching them do 225 25 times or more.

But hey, that's just me.

As for my story....

I was a guy who played for a high school team that didn't have a weight lifting program to speak of. For that reason when I got to college at UT I was behind most of the guys in my class. I worked my butt off in the weight room the whole time I was there but even though I got stronger every year it seemed like I could never catch up to some of those guys. I believe I ended my career at UT having maxed out with heavy weight for reps that was the equivalent of a little over 400 pounds. Not bad, but certainly not as good as some of my classmates who had maxed out at 450 and above.

Well thankfully for me I hooked up with a guy by the name of Dean Lotz (rest in peace) who had formerly been the strength coach at several colleges, most recently at that time the University of Memphis. The one thing he did in training me to get ready for our pro day at UT (I wasn't fortunate enough to get invited to the combine even though I had 9 sacks as a senior in the SEC, go figure) was to explain to me the why we needed to train certain ways for the testing that were different from how I had trained at Tennessee. Specifically while we would be working on trying to build up my strength for sure, he was more concerned with building up my endurance for the bench press test.

At first I have to admit that I wasn't convinced. Instead of doing 225 on a regular basis, instead every week he would have me max out at least once with 185, a 90 pound difference. He explained to me that I would be plenty strong enough to lift the 225, but I had to get used to the breathing and timing of doing a lot of reps. The most we used to do with heavy weights at Tennessee, like I imagine it is at most schools, was 10 reps and that was just every blue moon. The scouts, as I said before, want to see you do 20. So the first day I was with him I tried to max out with 225 and I ended up getting in about 14 or 15 reps. After that I didn't max out with 225 again for two months. Instead we worked really heavy weight for low reps most of the week and then every Friday I maxed out with 185. It got to the point where I could easily do 30 reps with 185 so I started feeling somewhat confident. Finally a week before it was time to go do my pro day we tested again with 225. This time I got it up 26 times with relative ease and I have to say I shocked myself. I should note that while we were still lifting heavy most of the week, my low rep bench max hadn't gone up more than 10 pounds.

So off I went to my Pro Day and many of my classmates were there as well. I ended up doing 24 reps that day which was less than I hoped for but still pretty good for me. By contrast some of my teammates who had always been stronger than me through out our time at UT ended up with several reps less than me. I don't doubt that they could still bench more than me if we had gone to a higher weight, but what was apparent to me is that they didn't have someone training them properly to get ready for the endurance part of repping 225.

I say all that to say this, a guy not putting up big numbers on the bench press COULD be a sign that they haven't been working out, but it COULD have also been that they weren't trained properly. I can't say which is which quite honestly and I wouldn't want to unless I was sure. But I will say that the way to try to decide on something like that is to watch the rest of their workout. Guys who haven't been training will end up gassing out when its time for position drills. In most of the timed drills their second time will always be slower than their first time. And the last thing to look for is pulled muscles as that is usually a sign that either a guy isn't flexible, and or they aren't in good enough shape to finish all the drills.

And for any future NFL prospects, please be sure to train properly for the combine bench press. If you don't you might be one of the strongest prospects there but end up having folks question your strength and work ethic. And trust me, nobody wants to have that happen to them.