The CFL has their own youtube channel and posts game highlights from each team, I went back and watched both seasons of BC Lions games while Cam Wake was there and saw him quite a bit. This game from 2007 sort of highlights the hill Wake will climb this year in the NFL: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAFKwi5AGTI&eurl"]YouTube - CFL BC at CGY- August 17, 2007[/ame] At 2:22 and 3:10 some of his issues show up. At 2:22 Wake is influenced out of the play, he blows containment and tries to do it all himself and leaves the backside of the play wide open for the Qb to simply walk through the area that Wake will be charged with in the NFL At 3:10, Cam Wake is caught in no man's land, the Rb releases, Wake heads upfield, the Rb catches the ball in stride and walks into the endzone, Wake will have to make a decision much more quickly in the NFL, and he also must jam the running back releasing from the line of scrimmage and either maintain containment on the Qb and try to tip the pass, or simply trust his speed and head upfield for the sack. The CFL is a offense driven league, the Wr hit the line of scrimmage at a full sprint and the Qb's take three step drops and the ball is owt, for Wake to have 39 sacks in 2 years is quite an accomplishment and he is an explosive athlete, he does need to learn the nuances of playing OLB though, things like play recognition, lane discipline all matter much more in the NFL then the CFL. He also occasionally flops on the ground he loses his balance more then he probably should.
I had deja vu reading this Andrew... if I had ever been here before I would probably know just what to do.. don't you?
it's not big enough issues for me to worry yet. as you said the guy is a tremendous athlete that now in the nfl will have better coaching to help address some of those issues also he is behind a great in joey porter so i don't think he will be on the field all the time this yr which should help his transition unless he is to take roth's place on the other side even still i see him there this yr in situations rather than full time this yr. i am pumped to see what kind of player he has the potential to become in this league. thnx for the find!!
Here is one good example of what Cam Wake does right, the Montreal LT is 320 pds (#54 Jeff Perret) [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTLSKaAVmZQ&feature=channel_page"]YouTube - CFL MTL at BC- July 25, 2008[/ame] Right around the 3:10 mark.
he will be coached up big time. the man is a beast. the BookEnds (Porter/Wake) will raise havoc in the NFL this year
If there were any doubt about Cameron Wake in the FrontOffice, our draft would have been different & JT would be on board by now. I've got to go with the guys in the loop. Parcells has built a career on LB's.thirty years in the 3-4, the Tuna knows OLB's.
Which is a part of the reason for clip #2, Wake was single blocked by a veteran T, the guy was is listed at 320 but he's heavier then that, and Wake at 240ish just ragdolled Parret in 3 steps, he knocked him on his heels and went right by him. That's impressive, to give up 80pds and the tackle can come set and waiting, and Wake just strikes a blow and moves him out of the way..in a stride and a half...
this might be true. however, the phins wern't the only team wanting to bite to grab the guy. 17 teams were looking to get a hold of him. the dolphins were the ones that signed him. also, as the 23rd says parcells knows linebackers. he was a linebacker, was a linebackers coach and head coached possibly the greatest linebacker of all time in LT. if wake isn't what he, ireland and sparano want at the NFL level i have no doubt that parcells will have a few words of wisdom in regards to playing to make it just that much better. his measurements are good - 6'2 240ish ran a 4.3 40 and is only 27 years old - and 23 (39 in two years) sacks is nothing to turn your head at regardless of what level of play you're at. 5 or 6 i could see; but 23? that shows some kind of talent. and remember: the giants drafted him years ago (yeah I know he was cut) so they originally saw something in him as well. low risk, high reward. you gotta believe in that at least.
That was impressive, but again it's the CFL. I believe that he'll get a chance to earn a spot, nothing more and nothing less. Parcells isn't infallible, he's prone to making mistakes and picking the wrong players just like any other NFL executive. Wake is a wait and see, penciling him into the starting lineup, or as some were saying, that he is going to run wild is clouded optimism. He has alot to prove on the NFL level, until he does he's just another prospect who could shine or fizzle.
i'm not saying parcells is infallible just that if he knows any position it's linebackers. if anyone can get the most out of him at that spot it would be parcells. dick lebeau maybe. maybe rex ryan.
330 is 330 l2g, and it was one of my largest concerns with Wake, that he was in essence a speed rusher beating up on slower tackles. After watching him in the actual games, he is going to be fine IMO. But there will be growing pains, and today he goes up against Gardner who is a quality LT prospect in mini camp, we'll see what he has in the quickness department. Every player is a wait and see.
except tom brady whom a lot of anylists and fans are expecting to come back and automatically start throwing touchdowns. i know this isn't you per se but
I think with Porter, our defense getting better, and our coaching staff, Wake has gone to a team that can make it easier for him to make the necessary adjustments to be successful in the NFL.
anlgp, I'm not sure how much CFL you may have watched, but the ball comes out...quickly..I'd be impressed with a guy who had 10 sacks in that league, there really isn't such a call as holding in the CFL, the Qb takes three step drops, and some of the Qb's we've all heard of, Mike Bishop, Akili Smith, Kingsbury from Tx Tech, Javarrious Jackson from Notre Dame, and there is no such animal as a "coverage sack" in the CFL. A pass rusher pretty much has to beat his oponnent(s) quickly and then have the speed to sack the Qb, no easy feat.
Not really. Strength, leverage, foot work, use of hands, etc all are more important that actual weight IMO. Wake could have been throwing around a 330 pound marshmallow with poor mechanics. Even if the guy was a good T, he's still a CFL quality player and the difference between the two leagues is miles apart.
Disagree, in the CFL with the 1 yard neutral zone at the los, tackles can set their feet and balance themselves forcing the pass rusher to engage them. Perret played at Tulsa and made a 2nd team all SWC teams and Tulsa is pass happy to begin with, the man would know how to pass block and was a part of a Allouette line that set a CFL record for the fewest sacks allowed and Wake ragdolled him. Take from that what one will L2G.
As for Cam Wake with the minicamp now behind him: That was "sort" of his issue in that 07 video at 3:12, but with more reps, he will improve in his reactions to plays. Sparano also mentioned in his presser that Wake is ahead of the curve, but not there yet, and the Tuna spent a large amount of time watching Wake move around today, that could mean almost anything though.
That was an awful job by the left tackle. He let Wake right into his chest. All Wake had to do was place his hands on the breast pads and drive. Color me surprised if he gets many of those chances in the NFL.
I think you've got Bill Parcells all wrong. He is the number one football mind in the NFL & one of the greats of all time. Parcells makes relatively few mistakes & has walked on water so far for Miami. Kudos to the Tuna& his helpers!
The CFL 1 yd neutral zone cuts both ways Alen, Wake did show he can push around a 330 pd tackle, but as Sparano said in today's presser "He's faced powerful Left and Right tackles, but the level of athleticism he will face in the NFL he will have to adjust to.." (BTW Alen, are chaning your avatar? I sort of miss the Joey P one)
Correct but he's going to be facing Tackles that play at a higher level than the ones in Canada, no disrespect. The ones in the NFL aren't likely to leave there chest open, allowing them to be susceptible to a bulrush. Or the starting blockers probably won't be caught lunging, etc. Nah, I just took it down for a short time.
Ahh, but Wake is being fitted to compete with Roth on the SOLB spot, for that job, he that some Te or Rb won't overpower him, on the strongside he could do just fine as he still will have that space to operate in or face a much smaller blocker. What do you think of the first youtube vid?
He's still going to see RT's on the strong side. If he's an effective rusher, he'll see both the tight end and right tackle. Difficult to see anything in that first video but he's got good athletic ability clearly and seems to have good lateral speed, which makes you wonder how well he would do covering the flats. Difficult to project off a You Tube video but he doesn't appear to be stiff when changing directions and I believe the responsibilities of the strong side linebacker in a Quarters coverage is to cover the flats on occasions but I could be wrong.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-383102u45k&feature=channel_page"]YouTube - CFL BC at CGY- November 1, 2008[/ame] About 2:40, the Qb leaves Wake grasping at air, Wake's mistake was not playing under control when he headed upfield, and he knows it, he's literally hoping mad for letting the Qb juke him like that..
this is just 2 plays in this man's career. i need more evidence. i can find 2 bad plays in anyone's career.
I wouldn't call them bad plays, I'd say Wake was just going through the learning curve and the CFL is a pass happy, offensively driven league. When 4 or 6 Wr can sprint towards the line of scrimmage in time with the snap of the ball, sacks are hard to come by, add in the wider field and the lack of holding calls and Wake's numbers in the CFL are amazing. He still needs some work though on play recognition and playing under control.
