Tuesday, May 18, 2010

New Addition

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The Eagles added a rookie FA on Monday. They signed DT Boo Robinson from Wake Forest. Here is the PE.com blurb:

Robinson, a rookie free agent, was signed to a three-year deal today. The 6-1, 295-pound Robinson had 145 tackles and 12.5 sacks in his college career. A three-year starter, Robinson earned All-ACC honorable mention accolades following his junior year in 2008 after amassing six sacks.

A native of Monroe, La., Robinson was a three-year All-American scholar at Richwood HS and was a member of the National Society of High School scholars.

I watched Boo in several games this year. He didn't particularly impress me. There are reports that a back issue hindered his performance. With that in mind, I popped in a 2008 game tape to re-check him.

Boo might be the most unique DT in the draft class. He generally plays NT. He gets down in a 4-point stance. At the snap he comes off the ball, but very much under control. He uses his hands to engage the blocker and then Boo stops. He starts looking for the football and then takes off in pursuit. Essentially, it was like watching a LB play NT. Very odd. Boo has a medium athletic build. Heck, he almost looks skinny. He lacks the lower body size or power to effectively push the pocket. He does have a strong upper body and uses his hands well. He did 33 reps at his Pro Day, according to Gil Brandt's report. Boo has some quickness off the ball, but he really needs to time the snap right to be disruptive. He does play with good leverage. He has a good motor.

Boo is in no-man's land. He lacks the size to be a 2-gap player, but also lacks the athleticism to be an upfield, disruptive force. The Eagles likely were interested because of the way he uses his hands and shows potential at shedding blocks. I see him as a camp body with limited potential. I am curious to see how he fares in a more conventional style of DT play. It could be that he was miscast in the way that Wake Forest used him.


NEW COLUMN

Last week I wrote about Sean McDermott and the 3-4. I revisited that topic and expanded my thoughts for PE.com.

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10 comments:

Ben Hessel said...

Sounds like a typical longshot/camp body. But hey, anything to add to the competition.

I haven't been following the PE site (this is basically my Eagles update), but how's Nate Allen recovering?

Tommy Lawlor said...

Haven't heard much on Nate. His injury just needed time to heal. He worked out for teams prior to the draft and never gave the leg time to rest and get right. If he's not good by now, he will be by Training Camp.

Unknown said...

Adding more depth at DT for TC is always a plus. Lord knows we don't want those guys getting beat up.

Unknown said...

Hey Tommy, this comment has nothing to do with this blog and everything to do with Scouts Notebook. With the new format (which I like) scrolling down even slightly with a mouse-wheel causes the page to move down in huge chunks at once, do you have any way of tweaking that?

Prem Prakash said...

@Tommy,

Regarding the previous post about Tom's book and your comment about my being Dad. Thanks, my friend, means a lot.

TC starts in about 2 months. It's a long time in Eagle-fan years. Glad to have this blog.

Tommy Lawlor said...

@ Kevin...

I'm also happy for extra depth at DT for practices and TC. I should have mentioned that in the write-up. Thanks for bringing the point up.


@ David...

I'll check on that.

Unknown said...

I thought this post was about the R & B group from the 80's...color me disappointed. :)

Is it possible that the team is looking at Robinson to be a nickel DT?

Unknown said...

Do you think Shawn Springs would provide a good Veteran backup at CB? Would he expect to start and ruin the dynamic?

Ryan said...

Springs failed a physical and is 35. He's done.

So Cal EaglesFan said...

Spings is def done. But I am interested in the possibility of Chester Pitts. We could probably sign him to a 2 yr. prove it incentive deal and could be good insurance at guard.

Tommy,
Could Pitts be used at center as well as guard or just guard.