Darius Leonard Analysis
 

Just read this article analyzing Darius Leonard's work against the Redskins:

https://thedraftnetwork.com/2018/09/...d-and-the-bad/

Says some nice stuff, but tempers it with a fair amount of negativity. For the technical experts here, is this just sour grapes or are his criticisms accurate?

I can't find any source on this guys back ground. Has he ever coached? Worked as an NFL scout? Is he doing his evals from side line shots or the all 22?

For all I know, he's an internet wannabe.

all 22 isn't out yet unless he has special access

i didn't read the whole thing but wtf is he talking about high hat low hat for run or pass?

i mean i get it in a traditional since but when smith is in shotgun or pistol, a draw is a common play. people run out of that formation all the time and the linemen would have a high hat always for that. i don't get that criticism there at all.

From his profile on the site he runs:

Jon Ledyard has been writing about the NFL draft for several years now, and is thrilled to be bringing creative content and analysis to ITP. He lives with his wife Brittany in mid-western Pennsylvania, where the couple await the arrival of baby #1 in November. Jon also coaches football at the high school level, and works as a strength and conditioning trainer with the local sports teams. Jesus, Ryan Reynolds, The Office, LOST, weightlifting, ultimate frisbee, Duke basketball, and all Pittsburgh pro sports teams are his greatest passions.

I'm guessing he stayed at a Holiday Inn. Beyond that, several posters on here could probably do what he does. His analysis seems a bit heavy-handed for a rookie who is basically the defensive captain now. Can't expect Leonard to be without room to improve parts of his play at this point in his career.

Dude says Leonard needs to show more to justify the 36th pick.

That’s horseshit. He’s shown that much already and he’s more than likely only going to get better.

Soooooooo.......long winded description, but he is a high school football coach that decided to start his own "blog" about NFL players.

Leonard is a great pick and will be the starter, barring injury, at that position for the next decade

Good to now know where Tom Simpson resurfaced after all these years.

That site made me realize I need more high hat, low hat analysis in the postgame threads.

His analysis seems pretty nitpicky outside of the one play where he bit on playaction badly. He's criticizing the LB for not beating the blocks of OL, but not criticizing the DL in front of him for not keeping the OL off of him, as they should be in this defense.

Leonard reminds me a lot of Navarro Bowman. Rangy and quick and uber athletic.

I need more cowbell.

Darius Leonard is leading the NFL in tackles after week 2.

He looks like a star in the making. Hopefully he lives up to that promise.

I don't get why so many people didn't like him? Did they just not know about him? I know he was a small school prospect, but he should have been playing at a big school. His measurables were solid, he produced, and LB's with speed usually project well to the NFL. Especially for this position and this defense. It is one of the easier positions to fill in this type of defense. While the tackle numbers are impressive, you have to remember that this is his job in this defense. He is the designated tackler and the dline is trying to keep him clean so they can funnel the action to him and he can get to it.

Anyway, the bad is expected, he is a rookie. The good is a surprise that he has adjusted so fast.

He tested slow and his competition level was low, so that probably brought out questions about how good he could be in the NFL.

Probably former college player small school. Coaches high school ball. Draftnik. A lot of these draft guys are strong on opinion, but like fans they just aren't privy to all the information on players. So a lot of educated guesses.

4.7 isn't bad for a LB, and he plays fast on his tape with the pads on, faster than his time would indicate. Happens sometimes. He wasn't top of the LB's but I don't think it was a glaring weakness. Not like he ran a 4.9. He dominated his competition too, which is what you want to see from a small school player. LB is usually one of the easier positions to project.

Per Chappell -

"Colts DC Matt Eberflus has been using his grading scale since 1995. Darius Leonard's game at Wash ranked 5th. Since 1995."

I tried to find the original source for this but no luck yet.

Great to hear. Upon reviewing the article again, and after reading all the comments here, I'm convinced this article is simply sour grapes by a guy who admits he didn't like Darius prior to the draft, and seems resistant to change this analysis. Even his positive comments are tinged with some sort of limitation - i.e. "I know Jordan Reed is a terrible blocker, but..." and "Yes, I know Smith telegraphed the throw, but...". The negative comments seem to have no such limitation - i.e. "I have rarely seen a linebacker bite on play-action fakes as hard as Leonard"

Scumbag.

All the stats in the world don't matter when you watch him play. He plays FAST. Anyone here had prior knowledge of Gary Brackett or Antoine Bethea? All they did was make plays, and they both had a high football IQ.

He sounds kinda dickish doesn't he. Everyone is wrong on draft picks. If you make 50% you are a hell of a scout.


His read and reaction skills are very good. Hooker's is too. When that fumble happened that Hooker grabbed, he saw it and had it in his hands before anyone else even reacted. Between the two of them, there should be a lot of turnovers. Leonard seems a great scheme fit for this D. Yeah he has some weaknesses, but those should improve with time, especially the biting on play action. He will get burned on that pretty soon and it will be a good lesson.

So when Darius Leonard gets some experience and stops biting on play action fakes, he will be good for 21 tackles per game and a few passes defensed or intercepted?

I think I'll take that.

DD had him on his show today....it was a good interview, check the podcast if you want to hear it. He was well spoken and comes off as grateful and very humble. He was recruited by Clemson, though he went to South Carolina....something to do with some test results and a missed deadline........didn't really catch the details as I was driving in a monsoon at the time. He's always been fast....he said he grew up on a farm and alot of his early "workouts" were doing work on the farm. DD played an interview w/his college coach from May and he said his biggest challenge w/Darius was getting his weight up....came to him very rangy and fast but strong (185) but they had to work at getting his weight over 200. He couldn't speak more highly of a prospect. Said alot of teams expressed interest in Darius, though the Colts did not tip their hand at all that they would take him as high as they did.......Anyway, seems like a well spoken and very together person......the kind of person that seems prepared to make the most out of an opportunity.

I always find it funny when white people call black dudes well spoken. You never hear white people called well spoken

Because if they’re not well spoken we referred to them as a rednecks

especially Peyton Manning

That is so not true.

I was just at a college recruiting fair at Purdue University where I got to talk to a couple dozen soon to be college STEM graduates.

There was a WORLD of difference between those cacuasian folks who were well-spoken and who could barely string a coherent sentence together or look me in the eye. I just went back and looked and saw that I had written "well-spoken' on some of the resumes of those who I know were cacuasian.

Sorry, don't agree with you on this one.

Walk Worthy,

Fair enough

But I never hear it unless it is describing a black dude.

I'd say there's more ageism to it than racism. How often do you hear a 45 year-old being described as well-spoken? With everyone being down on younger generations for being drones to their technology, it's more of a description used when someone in school has an above average range to their vocabulary.

I heard people say Josh Rosen (white QB from UCLA) was well-spoken. Plenty of white OL prospects too.

However I'd say the bar is lower for white people to call black people, and especially young black males, well-spoken. Stemming from a general place of surprise that a black person would be easily understood and able to communicate using standard white bread English.

To me it is relatively harmless compared to overt racism, or even passive racism, but points out an presumption that many people hold without even thinking of it.

And I'd also agree there is an age/generation aspect to it at times as well.

I can't speak for anyone else's life experiences but my own. I spent a career evaluating and selecting leadership talent. The ability to communicate effectively is a key element in generating followership and transcends age, race, gender, etc. I get why Leonard was selected to captain the defense. Besides his obvious athletic talents the dude shows up like a leader.

God help us if we're to the point where we have to villainize people for saying something nice about someone else. Here's an article referring to Andrew Luck as "well-spoken":

https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...-ads/91486374/

And here's an internet post calling Matt Hasselback "well spoken":

https://www.reddit.com/r/Colts/comme...ame_interview/

They are easy to find - just type your favorite player's name into Google with the term "well spoken" and you'll find that nearly everyone has been called this at some point in their career. People are sometimes also called "articulate" or "eloquent", they mean pretty much the same thing and they are all compliments.

Maybe its more noticeable with football players because of the stereotype of the "big dumb jock" - I don't know - or maybe it's used with young players because fans don't know much about them yet and they are thirsty for info - any info - to justify their fanship. But this is a silly discussion.

Nobody was villianized.

Perhaps that was a bit of an overstatement, but what was the point of your original comment on this subject?

It’s an observation I found funny. To me it is an odd comment and I hear people say it about black dudes a lot.

I would venture to guess that they would all prefer to be thought of as "well spoken of" than just "well spoken"

Have you ever been told that you are well spoken?

nope

your mom told me i was well hung though

Back ob topic. Darius Leonard named AFC defensive player of the week per Colts.com:

Hopefully he turns out a whole lot better than both of those ass clowns listed above.