He said that the consensus from the scouts that phillips motor doesn't always run is overblown, they said that playing in that conference Phillips faced a lot of spread offenses, and if he had played against offenses that were more balanced like the pro offenses, he would of been more consistent in his dominance. this confirms my suspicions as well, Ive watched enough reps on the guy and have stated that I don't see him slacking off either, there are times where he conserves some energy when he knows he's out of a play, times where he will take and sustain the double team while his teammates rush the passer after multiple passes in a row, but absolutely not blatantly lack motivation on the field.. watch out for this dude..he controls the center of the line of scrimmage like no'ones business, and thats exactly what his coaches wanted him to do, now that he's playing next to two all pro d lineman and will be able to showcase his sick agility and quickness at that size..freakin qbs better watch out...all he's missing is a mean streak, and Kong just might be the trick for that.
I'm really excited about him from what I've seen. Very powerful and and pretty sure there's room for more strength. Needs to learn more technique obviously, but I think we are going to be very happy w/ him. I think he's going to abuse Pouncey in the trenches as well.
Pounce is gonna have his hands full, not just dealing with JP and Suh but also dealing with two very inexperienced guards playing next to him.
Great post DJ, I wasn't a fan of the pick just from a terms of needs but looking at what this pick can do for our defense I think he will end up being a steal. In terms of J. Phillips, I don't worry about his motor as much as some do. To me the D Line is one position on our team I doubt there to be a effort issue. Depth has been our problem there and again like every year it will be tested. I feel a lot better about our DT group after this offseason. We know what and who Suh is and it's fantastic to add that. But, the Lions did something similar a few years back by selecting Nick Fairley. Similar to Phillips he had questions about his effort and for Fairley his weight. Phillips will have to be motivated in a competitive group and Suh/Wake will push him. I think the dynamic he brings will allow Suh to be more of a menace than imagined. Mitchell will still rotate but I view Phillips ability to be far superior than his and JP should end up the starter by mid season if healthy. I've come to terms with Misi more than likely being ILB again this year. It is what it is but playing behind these DT's if healthy he should be productive. What I want to see from there is McCain given the opportunity at SLB, with Jenkins at WLB. Suh/Phillips/Mitchell man the inside and Wake/Vernon/Shelby DE. On down and distance I'd like to see McCain as a speed rusher and allow Vernon/Shelby to move inside to rush. Phillips I think over time could become a true 3 down player, but as of now he is more a pocket collapser and run stuffer. Out of the defensive rookies, I think Phillips will have the most opportunity year 1 to make an impact. I think from there Bobby McCain could work his way into some nickel situations and could be successor there in year 2. Thompson to me has athletic ability but can he read and diagnose from the center field FS position? UDFA: I think two of the LB's could make rthe 53 in that being Jeff Luc, Zach Vigil, or Mike Hull. My pick out of the bunch would for sure Vigil. I do like Ray Drew too and with DJ out for the year, he could be a rotational backend guy. Promising prospects on defense but none more so than Phillips.
What is concerning was listening to his mini camp interview and when reporters asked what he needed to work on he said his motivation and effort level. That's kind of odd to hear from a player when asked about his weaknesses.
He's heard those areas as being mentioned as weaknesses for him by teams , scouts , so I don't find it odd .
Yeah I get that but find it odd that he would acknowledge that as his weakness when asked. You would think he wouldn't admit that he has been accused of being lazy, kinda makes you look bad. Maybe him acknowledging it is a good thing and he turns it around.
Not what I am saying. For him to say he needs to work on his foot work, technique, strength etc is normal but to say he needs to work on his effort or "motor" seems odd. That's something that should come with the territory of being an athlete of his caliber.
I thought it odd as well, but figured he was just parroting what he has been told by coaches or scouts. I have to counsel and provide performance feedback on junior staff. It's common for someone junior who has been told their areas of improvements to turn around list those same items as personal weaknesses when asked. I took it as a personal sign that he wasn't arrogant and was an eager and humble kid... YMMV.
I think just how bad our run defense was gets overlooked sometimes. I know we gave out a big contract (understatement) to Suh but we still needed some depth/talent on the line. We have a chance to be special on defense if no one can run on us. This will let our pass rush guys unload on long yardage downs and cause a lot of disruption/turnovers. The combination of an improved offense that should put us up early a lot and a defense that can't be run on could really improve the team. We still have some holes to fill but our Dline has a chance to be among the very best in the league and that should help improve the linebackers and secondary play too.
It was all over the scouting reports everywhere. He couldn't deny it without coming off like an ***. He was basically just owning up to it so the reporters will stop making a big deal of it and move on. He fights it and those vultures there will keep harping it.
