Who is watching practice this week?

For those that didn't already know, NFL Network is covering practice all week leading up to the Saturday game.

I didn't know that, thanks for the heads up.

Watching offensive linemen vs. defensive linemen drills, Quinn Pitcock just blew up an offensive lineman. QB would have been crushed.

Mike, how is Smith looking, read elsewhere (nfldraftcountdown) that he is looking great and making all the throws. Speculation is he is making up for the NC debacle and moving back to the #3 QB in the draft. How's he looking?

Heard Pitcock was looking good, Paterson on the other hand is looking slow and soft from what i read real quick.

Mike, is the game on NFL network as well?

I don't know what channel the game will be on. I will look though. Haven't seen Troy Smith (Showing South practice today), but heard good from him. Kolb from Houston looks good to, as does Kenny Irons (both running and blocking)

Aaron Ross looking good, but did line up and get schooled by Dwayne Bowe once. Bowe is looking exceptional.

Really hard to get a feeling for the quarterbacks and running backs during the practices though. The quarterbacks are not getting hit, and you expect all of them to throw well when they know that. What I like watching with Kolb (From Houston) is his ability to pick up on NFL style plays, something he wasn't used to in Houston.

AS for running backs, you can get good ideas of their blocking ability during pracitice but that is it because they aren't getting tackled. Same for receivers running across the middle during these plays. Sure, they can catch them during practice, but what will they do when they know they are about to get jacked up?

I like watching the linemen during these practices. It's the real thing for them, running drilles with single and double coverage.

Ryan Kalil - This guy has been outstanding. One on one drills favor the defender, but not NOBODY got past this guy.

awesome Mike, keep us nonNFLnetwork guys advised.

Tank Tyler made the Clemson center (Fry) his bitch just now. Fry was laying face down on the ground in about a half second.

Sears (Tennessee) and Blalock (Texas) look like they have played on the right side of the line together before. Nobody getting near the quarterback.

yep.

Get the dish!

lame.

For those that were unable to watch anything.

bonstonker and the football factory

Of the two main quarterbacks featured in this game, Troy Smith and Chris Leak, they both better be hoping for good performances in the combine, because neither did well in this game.

Mike, I watched the game yesterday (good excuse to go to the bar), and while Smith was not outstanding, I think he did some things well at the same time. He showed good escapability and the ability to keep the play alive. It looked to me like he was trying to overthrow everything, which impacted his accuracy, which wasn't good. Definatly not a great performance, but I'd say more of an average performance. Also of note ,when he was in there, the team scored points! I'd grade him at a B- to C+.

I loved what I saw out of Patrick Willis! Kid was all around the ball and looked very good. He's a guy I wouldn't mind at all if he turns up on Cincy's radar.

For Smith, overthrowing was his ultimate problem. He did capitalize on a drive though after Leak screwed up. To me he simply looked like the pressure was once again bothering him, much like the bowl game, which led to overthrowing the ball.
Overall though, this game itself it not very important in terms of the NFL Draft. Most of the scouts already have the information they came to get from the week of practice and have already graded out the players. The game itself will have a little bit of an impact (particualry with small school players), but that is about it.

I ultimately agree with you on Smith though, although not quite as optimistic. I would say an average performance at best. Leak, on the other hand, looked like the Leak we all know and love....horrible.

Willis was all over the field making plays.

Yeah Leak at this point is a 5th-7th rounder.

Smith I'd say heading to the combine is in the 2nd-4th range depending on what he shows there.

Yeah, I would imagine that Troy Smith is safely a first day pick, as the combine will focus on athletic ability, which is where Smith excels.

I disagree, Smith looked horrible in the game and has limited NFL skills. I would say 5th or 6th round pick.

I am curious as to how you project Troy Smith as a 5th or 6th round pick.

I agree, that is where he "should" be going, but at this point, most are projecting him to go on day 1, most in the 2nd round. There is some lobbying by Smith for the Browns to take him. While I don't think they could be stupid enough to draft him in the first round, it wouldn't surprise me to see them take him in the second round.

Senior Bowl - His overall game performance wasn't good, but his practices were outstanding. Gruden raved about his athletic ability. More emphasis is placed by the scouts on the week of practice than on the game, with most scouts already having their information on the player and leaving before the actual game is played. I think it is safe to say that anything that Smith did bad in the game, will be balanced out by a week of very good practices.

The Combine - This will once again be nothing but a display of athletic ability, not what the player can do on the field in a real, high pressure, environment. This will once again benefit Troy Smith, and should solidify him for a day 1 pick, most likely 2nd round.

I think he is headed for failure in the NFL, but the NFL Draft will be a good day for him.