Who Don't you want the Cards to take in the draft?

[Zeno]

More Cody stuff...

USA Today...

"When you have someone that big blocking, sometimes you lose sight of Ro, and I think that has allowed Ro to have so much success," McElroy says. "He just sneaks up on you. You don't even see him, and that's amazing at 6-4, 260."

Cody smiles as much as McClain broods. His dreadlocks dance from side to side when he runs. He's known as "TC," and his laugh is almost as big as his 6-5, 354-pound frame. His giddiness even rubs off on Saban. Between drills near the end of almost every practice, Saban channels his inner TC and challenges his nose guard to a race.

"He claims he wins all the time, but I haven't seen him win yet," Cody says.

Nicknamed "Mount Cody," he has become the Tide's most popular player because of his outsized personality and body.

"TC really is a character," McElroy says. "He's an enjoyable person to have on our team, have in the locker room, and (he) has great charisma. He has fun when he plays the game, and that's a big reason why he's so popular."

Says Cody: "I wake up happy every day. Everyone knows me around here because I smile a lot."

...On the field, he regularly devours double-teams.

"He's like a semi-truck out there. Guys can't block him," cornerback Javier Arenas says.

Says Tebow: "He's someone who disrupts a lot of what offenses try to do. He's just big. You can't move him."

With Cody stopping the run, the Tide rank second nationally in rushing defense (77.08 yards a game). Since Cody has been in the starting lineup, no opposing player has rushed for 100 yards. (Alabama is the only team in the country to not allow a 100-yard rusher in 2008 and 2009.) Cody also occasionally plays fullback on short-yardage plays and continues to lobby Saban for the chance to carry the ball.

 

[Zeno]

Have you people ever actually watched Cody play before or are you just judging him from one picture?

I really don't know how anyone can watch him play without coming away impressed. If I just judged by what he looked like with a shirt off or his 40 time I'd probably not want him either.

 

[ryanshaug]

The only player right now that would send me looking for the nearest cliff is Tebow.

Beyond that, we really need to focus on defense...so I don't feel like any offensive player should be considered at the pick (even a tackle).

 

[Monty]

From Miami Herald...
Quote:
Cody enters Saturday's game with 24 tackles, including five tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Statistically, the Floridian's impact on No. 2 Alabama's defense is directly correlated with a large number of stops by Crimson Tide junior inside linebacker Rolando McClain.
With opponents forced to double team Cody, McClain has roamed freely this season and flourished despite the loss of fellow inside linebacker Dont'a Hightower

A bit of topic but watch out for this kid he is gonna be an amazing talent when he becomes eligible for the draft next year and is considered by many to be even better then McClain. Whilst trawling through some Alabama footage looking for stuff on Cody and McClain i just kept seeing this kid (Dont'a Hightower and his immense range and athleticism. at 6'4 and 255lb he has great body type for ILB as well.

In regard to NT though this exactly what im talking about. Cody would allow the likes of Campbell, Porter, Dockett, Brown, Davis, Hayes etc to shine by eating up space and taking up double and triple teams. We would have so many gaps to shoot and you know that Bill Davis will take advantage of that.

 

[MadCardDisease]

I really don't know how anyone can watch him play without coming away impressed. If I just judged by what he looked like with a shirt off or his 40 time I'd probably not want him either.

You can watch Cody right here against Tennessee:

http://www.finalmockdraft.com/2010NFLDraft-01Video-DTTerrance Cody.html

Too me it looks like a 6'1" 270lb white guy at center held his own against Mount Cody. Then go watch Cody look completely average at the Senior Bowl.

One thing is for sure. McClain is the man.

 

[splitsecond]

clausen. that dude is going to be an abysmal failure.

 

[Hypothesis]

Brandon Spikes. Sure he has top instincts and awareness and very quick reaction time. He has a good short shuttle and can play downhill, but he has a lot of short comings I don't like.

He runs very flat footed. Doesn't play with very good leverage. Doesn't sift through traffic very well. When he runs, he is very straight legged, as in he doesn't pick his knees up, almost like watching a man trying to run on stilts. Doesn't use his hands particularly well. Is not a sure tackler, preferring to make a big hit or try to arm tackle far too often. He seems very awkward and clumsy at times when watching game film on him.

All of the above may be correctable, I just question his motivation, work ethic and overall willingness to put in the time and effort to improve.

 

[Indiana Hoosier]

Tebow and Clausen!

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

McClain round 1, trade up for Cody at the top of round 2. What did we give to move up to the top of round 2 for Branch? Do something similar for Cody.

 

[kerouac9]

You can watch Cody right here against Tennessee:

http://www.finalmockdraft.com/2010NFLDraft-01Video-DTTerrance Cody.html

Too me it looks like a 6'1" 270lb white guy at center held his own against Mount Cody. Then go watch Cody look completely average at the Senior Bowl.

One thing is for sure. McClain is the man.

Then you're not seeing what is actually there. Cody was regularly drawing double and triple team assignments and Lane Kiffin was calling running plays specifically away from Cody.

On the QB sneak, Crompton had to go over left tackle, because there were no gaps between the center and guards where the play usually goes.

You can believe that NTs aren't essential players in a 3-4 scheme; just understand that is a fringe opinion against most evidence.

 

[Duckjake]

How about that the NFL figured out whatever scheme Davis was running to stop the run, and then countered it? It's like how Clancy Pendergast's pass rush schemes were effective for eight weeks, but then he ran out of of rush packages, and the Cards started hemorrhaging points.

Scheme can be used when talent isn't there, but scheme only lasts so long. If the Cards believe that just something happened and they couldn't stop the run anymore, then we're going to be a good defense for six weeks and then fall apart.

What scheme would that be? How did the NFL counter it and why were the Cardinals unable to do anything about it with the exception of the Vikings game where they held Peterson to 19 yards on 13 carries? How did it involve the Cards NTs? Why were the same guys able to put together a solid run defense for most of 2008? That's what I want to know.

 

[kerouac9]

What scheme would that be? How did the NFL counter it and why were the Cardinals unable to do anything about it with the exception of the Vikings game where they held Peterson to 19 yards on 13 carries? How did it involve the Cards NTs? Why were the same guys able to put together a solid run defense for most of 2008? That's what I want to know.

I don't know; that's why I'm not coaching in the NFL. The personnel is the same, but the results are different. Do you think that the players just stopped playing hard, or the coaching staff just stopped doing what was working?

The bolded word is the key one. If you're covering up for shoddy talent (as Davis was with Robinson and Watson in run defense), you can do it for a while, but the NFL catches on. They'll figure out your stunt or your gap control scheme and find a way to counter it. The only solution is BETTER TALENT.

I think that a Cody/Watson rotation, with Branch moving inside on passing downs, could be effective in stopping the run. You can't scheme around 330 lbs of meat in the middle of the line like you can with Bryan Robinson techniquing around his 290.

 

[JeffGollin]

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First, I just lost all my appetite for lunch today.

Second, some of the (other) guys I hope we pass on -

Colt McCoy QB

Anthony Davis OT

Syd Quan Thompson CB

Trevard Lindley CB

I'm also leery of TE's Gresham and Gronkowski because they haven't been cleared medically yet. Ditto Bradford (that scout on the previous thread points out that he hurt his shoulder two out of his two last times he was hit).

These are a few of those "nothing succeeds like success" deals. If any or all of these kids get healthy and become superstars, the guys who drafted them will look like geniuses. But the team who drafts any of these guys high runs the risk of setting back their franchise if they stay injured.

 

[CaptTurbo]

Me.

Well me and Tim Tebow.

 

[Gee!]

Tim Tebow anywhere in the draft.. No thanks..

 

[cardsfanmd]

Anthony Davis, Charles Brown, Campbell.

 

[MadCardDisease]

Then you're not seeing what is actually there. Cody was regularly drawing double and triple team assignments and Lane Kiffin was calling running plays specifically away from Cody.

On the QB sneak, Crompton had to go over left tackle, because there were no gaps between the center and guards where the play usually goes.

You can believe that NTs aren't essential players in a 3-4 scheme; just understand that is a fringe opinion against most evidence.

I'm not saying that NT's aren't important. They are the corner stone of the 3-4. I'm just saying that Cody is a reach as a first rounder.

Yes Cody did make a few good plays against Tenn (On the QB sneak which force the play outside, The two blocked field goals) However for the most part he was handled quite effectively by one guy in this game. He looked slow off the snap an the O-Lineman were able to get position on him which for the most part removed him from the play.

Now there were the rare plays where when he had good leverage and he got a good push. It didn't happen very often but it did show that he has potential. However IMO it wasn't enough to warrant taking him in the 1st round.

To top it off his performance at the Senior Bowl still is in the back of my mind. It was a horrible performance amoung his peers.

 

[joeshmo]

To top it off his performance at the Senior Bowl still is in the back of my mind. It was a horrible performance amoung his peers.

Dont know about the game becuase its useless and I dont watch it, if the scouts dont bother to stay to watch it why should I bother with it. Its like the pro bowl, there are just to many rules to take it for real, cant blitz, cant zone blitz, and a lot of other rules to protect the plaeyrs.

But he got a lot of praise for the week of practices. Reuter and Rang of draftscout called him an immovable force during the practices. Got praise from the NFL Network guys as well for his practices.

 

[kerouac9]

I'm not saying that NT's aren't important. They are the corner stone of the 3-4. I'm just saying that Cody is a reach as a first rounder.

Yes Cody did make a few good plays against Tenn (On the QB sneak which force the play outside, The two blocked field goals) However for the most part he was handled quite effectively by one guy in this game. He looked slow off the snap an the O-Lineman were able to get position on him which for the most part removed him from the play.

Now there were the rare plays where when he had good leverage and he got a good push. It didn't happen very often but it did show that he has potential. However IMO it wasn't enough to warrant taking him in the 1st round.

To top it off his performance at the Senior Bowl still is in the back of my mind. It was a horrible performance amoung his peers.

I'm not going to argue with you about the tape. Watch again, and Cody is getting double teamed on at least 2/3 of the plays.

Don't you mean that you don't believe any NT is worth a first round selection? If Williams fell to us, you'd still be against the selection, wouldn't you?

 

[Unsterblich856]

The only two I would not want are Tim Tebow and Jason Paul-Pierre.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I'm not saying that NT's aren't important. They are the corner stone of the 3-4. I'm just saying that Cody is a reach as a first rounder.

Yes Cody did make a few good plays against Tenn (On the QB sneak which force the play outside, The two blocked field goals) However for the most part he was handled quite effectively by one guy in this game. He looked slow off the snap an the O-Lineman were able to get position on him which for the most part removed him from the play.

Now there were the rare plays where when he had good leverage and he got a good push. It didn't happen very often but it did show that he has potential. However IMO it wasn't enough to warrant taking him in the 1st round.

To top it off his performance at the Senior Bowl still is in the back of my mind. It was a horrible performance amoung his peers.

Did you see the whole game, or just that clip? In that clip, I think there was only one or two plays where he was only single covered. The rest of the time he was double covered and at least one time he was tripled covered.

 

[Chopper0080]

How about that the NFL figured out whatever scheme Davis was running to stop the run, and then countered it? It's like how Clancy Pendergast's pass rush schemes were effective for eight weeks, but then he ran out of of rush packages, and the Cards started hemorrhaging points.

Scheme can be used when talent isn't there, but scheme only lasts so long. If the Cards believe that just something happened and they couldn't stop the run anymore, then we're going to be a good defense for six weeks and then fall apart.

The reason that our run defense went to crap is because of the decline in play from our inside linebackers. Hayes and Dansby were both dinged up which slowed their pursuit, and got them hung upon guards and tackles. This was the reason that we had so many big runs against us like Chris Johnson & DeAngelo Williams turned out. We had good outside contain, but our inside backers were so slow in backside pursuit that they couldn't fill the cutback lanes, and so we gave up a couple really big runs.

 

[MadCardDisease]

Don't you mean that you don't believe any NT is worth a first round selection? If Williams fell to us, you'd still be against the selection, wouldn't you?

Williams played in that game also. I don't think he had a very good game that day. However that is the only game I've seen him play in. Based off what I saw in that one game, I think he should land somewhere in the early-to-mid second round. That doesn't mean some team won't try and snag him earlier. IMO if the Cards selected Williams, they would be drafting to fill a need and not the BPA.

I still think these guys are not much different from Gabe Watson. Watson was a 4th rounder who every said was a sure fire 1st rounder or maybe 2nd rounder at the latest in their mock drafts.

These are just my opinions on guys that I see maybe once or twice a year. I could very well be totally wrong about Cody or Williams. In reality no one knows what any of these guys will do in the NFL.

 

[CardLogic]

Yes Cody did make a few good plays against Tenn (On the QB sneak which force the play outside, The two blocked field goals) However for the most part he was handled quite effectively by one guy in this game. He looked slow off the snap an the O-Lineman were able to get position on him which for the most part removed him from the play.

Now there were the rare plays where when he had good leverage and he got a good push. It didn't happen very often but it did show that he has potential. However IMO it wasn't enough to warrant taking him in the 1st round.

I'm not going to argue with you about the tape. Watch again, and Cody is getting double teamed on at least 2/3 of the plays.

Did you see the whole game, or just that clip? In that clip, I think there was only one or two plays where he was only single covered. The rest of the time he was double covered and at least one time he was tripled covered.

I have changed my mind about Cody.

When I first saw that shirtless photo I thought NO WAY would I want this guy. But ironically the more I have seen it and learned about Cody, I have gained a different perspective about the photo. First, this is a big person. Second, regarding the MOOBS: when a person has lost a good deal of weight, which Cody has done; he was reported over 400 at one time; there will remain rolls of excess skin and tissue that doesn't automatically shrink back. Most large persons which have under gone a weight loss transformation require surgery to remove the excessive skin rolls. (I know, more than anyone wants to know. )


I am going to side with k9 and dcr regarding Cody's play vs. Tennessee. MCD posted a link to a clip as evidence that Cody was not effective in the game, but when I viewed the clip I saw a guy that was controlling the line of scrimmage. Cody was in fact double-teamed nearly all plays. I recall one play where he was singled and ironically it was perhaps the best Tenn. handled Cody out of the entire clip. Even being doubled and at times tripled Cody was still influencing the play. He was not getting blown back off the line of scrimmage, he was basically holding ground and occupying at least two OL. That's the role of a NT. Most of the plays on the clip were not successful plays for Tennessee, some of the credit for that goes to Cody's play.

As I said, I have changed my mind about Cody. Initially I had a negative impression of him. But I think with the right coaching (John Lott) and system, that he is going to be a good player in the NFL.

I still prefer that a quality ILB is available for the Cardinals #26 pick, and would love getting Cody at #58. But if the Cards war room does the reverse, Cody at #26 and an ILB at #58, well that's alright too.

 

[Duckjake]

The reason that our run defense went to crap is because of the decline in play from our inside linebackers. Hayes and Dansby were both dinged up which slowed their pursuit, and got them hung upon guards and tackles. This was the reason that we had so many big runs against us like Chris Johnson & DeAngelo Williams turned out. We had good outside contain, but our inside backers were so slow in backside pursuit that they couldn't fill the cutback lanes, and so we gave up a couple really big runs.

I like to see posts like this. K9 admits he doesn't really know what happened and neither do I so no one can just say it was because Davis was having to scheme around the lack of talent at NT. It could very well have been the linebackers as you say or the fact that teams simply realized all they had to do was run away from wherever Wilson was because the other 3 guys in the secondary couldn't tackle my grandmother.

Great to see some ideas on what went south with the Cards run defense after being solid for over a season and a half stuffing some of the best RBs in the NFL.