http://www.nfl.com/draft/profiles/2007/bain_travarous
Positives: Has a lean, but muscular frame with tapered thighs and calves (built more in the line of a sprinter) … Solid coverage defender with the quickness, loose hips and mirror agility to stay with his man throughout the route … Efficient in press coverage, keeping his arms extended in attempts to reroute … Highly competitive in man coverage, as he takes pride in his ability to stay tight on the receiver and run stride-for-stride with the target in the open field … Shows good field vision and alertness, as he is not the type who will bite on pump fakes and misdirection … Has a good feel for route progression and will diagnose the play with no hesitation … Has outstanding acceleration and the closing burst to recover on extended routes … Smooth in his movements and has the ability to plant-and-drive without having to gather or take false steps … Shows good hip snap in his backpedal, but needs to improve his stance, as he sometimes takes too long coming out of his breaks … Still, he is fluid in transition … His plant-and-drive agility is evident by the way he cuts back on hooks and slants, as he shows good flexibility getting in front of the receiver to break up the pass … Has the natural anticipation skills to make plays in front of him … Shows very good body flexibility extending for the ball at its highest point and has no problems running with the receiver or playing in a trail technique … Can snatch or pluck the high tosses and shows adequate ability to secure the ball on the interception … Shows good explosion coming out of his breaks and the range to chase down balls at the opposite end of the field … With his speed, he could be a decent emergency fill-in as a kickoff returner.
Negatives: Has a lean frame with marginal strength, evident by his inability to lend any type of run support … Gets pushed around too much when playing inside the box and is a marginal tackler who will duck his head or throw a shoulder, but fails to wrap and secure (only 50 tackles in four seasons) … Adequate at fielding the ball and is not a natural hands catcher, as he lets the ball absorb into his frame (has the leaping ability to compete for the ball at its high point, but does not extend and grab with his fingers well) … His backpedal needs restructuring, as he either takes a staggered stance or will revert to bailing and shuffling with a tilted stance, getting his base too wide to recover at times … Has a much better feel for the ball in flight in man coverage than when playing the zone … Goes low too often and misses with too many of his lunges when asked to make open-field tackles … He is simply not a big contact type, and is more of a marginal striker who hangs on for dear life until help arrives … Seems passive at times delivering the hit and while he likes to play the press, he lacks any hand strength to impede the route's progression … When playing in the box, he is quickly absorbed by the bigger blockers due to his inability to use his hands in attempts to shed … Had five interceptions in 2006, but five more of his pass deflections were certain interceptions if he did not try to double catch the ball.
Compares To: Antonio Cromartie, San Diego Chargers … Like Cromartie, there is no questioning Bain's ability to cover the receiver … What he lacks is hitting ability, as he tends to shy away from contact and prefers to play the ball more than the man … Since he lacks natural hands, he might find limited opportunities to get to the ball at the next level … But, unless he improves his strength, refines his backpedal and starts showing some courage as a tackler, it is boom or bust for Bain.
