Scouting Report: Bobby Carpenter
Carpenter is
struggling to make the 53 man roster.
By Bill Smith
Third Preseason Game
Bobby
Carpenter is struggling and is serious jeopardy of not making the final cut
next week. In preseason game 3 against
the Texans, Carpenter played the second half.
This is a game that is critical in the NFL. The teams use this game to set the final
starting roster and firm up the second team.
He did not look good at all against the Texans.
As you
watch him play, far too often he is standing beside the pile rather than
getting up after making a tackle. He did
not blitz except on goal line defense.
That takes away from one of his greatest
assets and hasn't helped him to contribute. When he is in on the tackle, it is too far
down field. He is tentative and does not
attack the run like he did at OSU.
He
struggles to get away from blockers. Too
often he is unable to fight through the block and make the hit. On runs to his
side, he takes bad angles and is too far up field or down field to make the
tackle.
Coverage Skills
He does a
nice job covering receivers in the short zone or man to man inside 10
yards. But his weaknesses against the
run are likely to cost him his roster spot.
Overall Grade
His
instincts seem to be off. It seems he
delays not trusting what he sees. That
delay costs him plays that in that inside position he must make. He may be pressing because he feels the job
slipping away. But he has one more game
to make up ground or he will be cut. He
scored only 2 points in a half which is a grade of F.
Bill Smith is a
former coach of several semi-pro teams and has scouted talent. He is a senior writer for http://BrutusReport.com. He has
also published several novels on http://ebooks-library.com/index.cfm and edits http://fryingpanpolitics.blog.com