Earl Mitchell: What Arizona Fans Are Saying
by Tim on Apr 28, 2010 3:05 PM CDT
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PrintYou saw what our colleagues over at Roll Bama Roll had to say about Kareem Jackson; now, let's shift the focus to one of the more polarizing picks of your Houston Texans' 2010 NFL Draft--Earl Mitchell (BFD's initial thoughts on the pick can be found here). The chief of SB Nation's tremendous blog for all things Arizona Wildcat, joenewby4040, offers his thoughts on Earl Mitchell after the jump.
Take it away, Joe:
Earl Mitchell started off the year on the Lombardi Watch List and anchored the Cats' defensive interior line. The first couple of games of the year didn't give any Arizona fans the real perception of where the team was going. We played Central Michigan and lowly Northern Arizona University. The real test came at Iowa where our other DT, Donald Horton, was absolutely destroyed on every play. Mitchell, on the other hand, handled their massive offensive line great. He had 2.5 TFL and 0.5 sacks. He only got better from there.
Mitchell used his low center of gravity to bull rush the biggest of offensive linemen in the Pac-10. He disrupted plays time and time again and was a solid force all season long. His best game of the year was against Cal, one we lost, but he dominated. He was in the backfield all night. This is one guy that you truly can't just look at a box score and rate his play. Although, in the Cal game, he did have 9 tackles, 1 sack, and 2 TFLs. He was literally in the backfield all night.
That's about all I can come up with. The guy is a badass.
My sincere thanks to Joe for taking the time to give us his thoughts on Mitchell. Feel any better about the pick, BRB?
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"Feel any better about the pick, BRB?"
No.
And thanks for playing today’s game of Simple Answers to Simple Questions.
A Texans fan. Really. No, I'm not kidding.
http://www.battleredblog.com
I don't get all the negativity, BFD
I mean, if we just go get a monster NT to put next to this guy, then he could penetrate the pocket (heh) on every play.
/sarcasm
//sends BFD $1.50 over Paypal so that he can buy a new bottle of bleach
If the Treasury Secretary doesn't have to pay taxes, then why do I?
well its the PAC 10
but at least he didn’t say he sucked in said PAC 10, cuz that woulda been bad.
Dunta's weightspeed was too low
by texanphil on Apr 28, 2010 3:07 PM CDT reply actions 2 recs
I feel slightly better
but he’s going to have to earn the love on the field.
Low center of gravity is interesting, having a good game against Iowa is also a nice little notch, but I won’t get excited….resisting excitement…..will not be sucked in his 4.75 40….or his TFLs…..or his boyish good looks….or anything. Earn it, Earl.
"Lord, beer me strength."
I take offense
to lowly nau reference being a current lumberjack
"Your mother is a hamster and your father smells of elderberries! Now Go away or I shall taunt you a second time!"
Go Texans!
My official stance on Earl Mitchell
He’s gonna be awesome!
I suppose if all of the stars, moons and planets align it could be possible, but what are the chances of that?
I feel a little better than I did about the Jackson fan reaction
but I still dont agree with Bill Kollar’s tatics. It better work this season or he should be up on the block next year.
Be judgmental about the actions of the past, be hopeful about the actions of the future. -The Homers Creed
it's gonna be crazy
i can’t wait to see the defence in OTA and training camp.. think they will be a very good group this year.. GO GO GO
Die hard Texan fan from the heart of Denmark!
Sure hope this pick ends up working out.
Confucius say "man who enter door sideways going to Bangkok".
If he packs on at least 20 Lbs, I'll be more comfortable with this pick
I would challenge you to a battle of wits, but you appear to be unarmed.
If he gains too much
He’ll probably lose his explosiveness. It would be nice if one of the big tackles we DO have would step up, but that’s not likely to happen. I would have liked to see Okam get more playing time last year, for instance.
Re: Okam
I sometimes wonder (and I know it’s a ridiculous thought) if Okam soured Smithiak on nose tackles forever.
Looking forward to a day when being a Texans fan doesn't mean that April is the highlight of my season...
It's not ridiculous
Ahman Green (rightfully) scared them off big contracts to broken down RBs.
There could be some kernel of truth to that statement…
"Lord, beer me strength."
Chris "Goal Line" Brown
was probably the last straw in the “broken down RBs” phase.
by leacheatsbabies on Apr 28, 2010 9:22 PM CDT up reply actions
I really think Okoye and Mitchell can play next to eachother
yeah of course John Henderson or someone would look great next to Okoye (or Mitchell for that matter) for the simple fact that he’ll command attention from the center and guard on every play. However, both Okoye and Mitchell are quick, powerful and use leverage and a low center of gravity to drive through the gaps. Having 2 guys breaching the backfield can cause that same type of havoc for the Oline.
I worry more about the run then the pass rushing. Smaller faster guys will undoubtedly overpursue at times and being undersized, they’ll easily be driven away from the ball if they’re not precise.
I think this year he’ll come in only on 3rd downs, and with him and Antonio Smith inside and Mario and Barwin on the edges, it should be a formidable 3rd down pass rush.
by leacheatsbabies on Apr 28, 2010 9:41 PM CDT reply actions
in the rotation
in our division, there will be plenty of downs where Amobi and Mitchell can play next to each other.
For instance, every down in each game v. the Colts.
Dunta's weightspeed was too low
It's going to be awesome
Watching the linemen peel ignore both of them to double team Mario, you’re right.
Obviously I'm on record...
…a million times saying I really like the Mitchell pick. From the 3rd round, that’s pretty stellar.
Maybe someone should explain which great big defensive tacke they would have preferred we take…or would they rather we take a risk on Dan Williams, who could take a while to perform to potential, and head into the 2010 with Glover Quinn and Jacques Reeves/Brice McCain starting at corner?
by SpecialKCL66 on Apr 29, 2010 1:46 AM CDT up reply actions
First of all
If you swapped Dan Williams/Brandon Ghee for Kareem Jackson/Earl Mitchell, I think that would’ve made most of the NT lovers happy. Tate probably was too good to let go from where he was, especially considering how fast Hardesty followed him off the board, but Amari Spievey would also have been a fine corner there.
Secondly, we passed on Cam Thomas 3 times on Day 3.
Thirdly, John Henderson.
There are many different answers to this question. I would have preferred the first round nose, but there are ways to address this besides “putting your fingers in your ears and saying lalalalalalaalala”.. Which is apparently our strategy.
Also how in the hell is a rookie NT riskier than a rookie CB? I grant that Jackson might be the most NFL ready of all the corners in this draft, but rookie corners as a group are horrendous right off the bat.
- Rivers McCown, From Mom's Basement | Twitter
by riversmccown on Apr 29, 2010 5:27 AM CDT up reply actions
agreed rookie CB us much risker than a NT
If a rookie NT can just hold his ground and kinda get in the way he’s done most of what we are asking for. He can start dominating and eating planets a few years later.
"Well, at least our players kept their helmets on, so that showed some intelligence"-Bob McNair
"but rookie corners as a group are horrendous right off the bat."
Still an improvement over 2009.
"Lord, beer me strength."
True that
Kareem might actually….try.
A Texans fan. Really. No, I'm not kidding.
http://www.battleredblog.com
by bigfatdrunk on Apr 29, 2010 11:13 AM CDT up reply actions
Do or do not
There is no try.
Dunta chose to do not.
Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.
Chose not to be there for starters in preseason/OTAs
Then mouth off.
then not show up on Sunday.
Gone.
I suppose if all of the stars, moons and planets align it could be possible, but what are the chances of that?
On people ragging on Okoye...
I was researching the 2007 NFL Draft to study just how atrocious the 2007 quarterback class has actually been. I’ve concluded…yes, without a doubt. Led by Jamarcus Russell, the soon to be crowned biggest bust ever, it doesn’t get much bette from there. The competition for best QB from 2007 is between Trent Edwards and Matt Moore, who wasn’t even drafted. Maybe Kevin Kolb will play enough to show something this year…representing H-Town.
However…while checking that out I noticed something. Everyone always complains about Amobi being a disappointment, which he sort of has been, but hey it could get better. It always seems to take longer for defensive tackles to develop into dominators (see Haynesworth).
But if you look at the rest of the top 10 draft picks from that year, it sure could have been a lot worse. Here’s how I would rank them so far:
1. Adrian Peterson
2. Joe Thomas
3. Calvin Johnson
4. Laron Landry
5. Amobi Okoye
6. Levi Brown
7. Ted Ginn
8. Gaines Adams (R.I.P)
9. Jamaal Anderson
10. Jamarcus Russell
I suppose people could argue slightly about a couple of those, but not much, especially given that Okoye is still just 22 whereas equal or bigger disappointments Levi Brown and Ted Ginn are 25…and Gaines Adams is dead…not really living up to his potential if you ask me.
So even if anyone’s inclined to call Okoye a bust already (I don’t think we can quite yet), he’s still in the top half of the top 10 from 2007.
Of course the bad news is that Patrick Willis and Darrelle Revis were drafted in the next 5 picks…I did kind of want Willis that year.
See, there's the contradiction
I believe Mitchell is there to replace Okoye, not line up next to him. So if you don’t believe Okoye is a bust, then the Mitchell pick is redundant, and we still haven’t done anything about NT.
In a classic 4-3 under, which is what Bush claims we are running, it’s up to the NT and LE to control the run to the strong side. The DT has gap responsibilities (which I think Okoye did OK at last year), and the RE is your superman off the right side.
So, once again, this is the disconnect between our personnel and what their job responsibilities are supposed to be. Mitchell at NT is a poor fit, and I tend to believe that Okoye’s heading to the bench.
A Texans fan. Really. No, I'm not kidding.
http://www.battleredblog.com
BFD
I really can’t see them benching Okoye over Cody. And since Bush claims to run a classic 4-3 but runs some sort of hybrid version then no logic should be assumed in the decisions made by the DC and his coaching staff.
Confucius say "man who enter door sideways going to Bangkok".
Agree
So, you really have one of two options remaining: we either have the wrong personal, or we don’t have a plan. Neither option is attractive.
I haven’t even touched FS, yet.
A Texans fan. Really. No, I'm not kidding.
http://www.battleredblog.com
That's not necessarily true
We might have a plan….it’s just a bad one.
Seriously if Bush thinks he can put his own twist on a 4-3 under and improve it that’s fine. I would like to know exactly what that plan is, but more importantly he has to prove it works.
"Well, at least our players kept their helmets on, so that showed some intelligence"-Bob McNair
Check out
the tape on Nolan our (7th round?) draft pick from last year. I really like what I’ve seen and think you might be impressed. He is definitely one of our more intriguing options back there. I wish the draft for us had gone a completely different way but it didn’t and I don’t expect us to make any more moves this offseason other than maybe resign Pitts.
I think Bush hasn’t exactly figured out what scheme he wants to run so therfore I’m not sure he has all the correct personnel. I like the LB’s (minus WLB), DE’s, SS we have but I’m unsure about CB’s and the interior dline. We have half a bad ass defense and are almost there and I would have like to try and complete it in this past draft. It’s kind of like dropping out of school the week before graduation. Almost there but not quite and should have just finsihed it off.
Confucius say "man who enter door sideways going to Bangkok".
Well said
A Texans fan. Really. No, I'm not kidding.
http://www.battleredblog.com
by bigfatdrunk on Apr 29, 2010 10:40 AM CDT up reply actions
Didn't the giants and titans back when they had dominating lines
do a lot of rotating to keep their tackles fresh throughout the game? Perhaps this is their strategy here?
Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.
True
Depth is a good thing, but look who they were rotating. There wasn’t a single black hole among them, and they both had dominating interior line play (Haynesworth, Tuck).
A Texans fan. Really. No, I'm not kidding.
http://www.battleredblog.com
by bigfatdrunk on Apr 29, 2010 10:55 AM CDT up reply actions
Well Tuck weighs less then 300 I believe
What we need is our own Fred Robbins. I still think we need to upgrade over Cody and should have done so before we start looking for depth behind or a replacement for Okoye.
Rudimentary creatures of flesh and blood, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding.
Tuck needs more assmass
Height: 6-5 Weight: 274 and listed as a DE. FWIW.
"380 pounds of pure pirogi" ~ Cush
He does
go inside on passing down just like Antonio Smith does for us.
by theaxeeffect4311 on Apr 30, 2010 9:26 AM CDT up reply actions
sounds good
Does this guy have any pass rush moves other than bull rush? Sounds good to me though. Get him on the field.
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