Vontaze Burfict, ILB, Arizona St.

[fenikz]

your link isn't working for me but I agree that his best position is SILB in a 3-4

[FUNBUNCHER]

If Hightower can return to his 2008 form, he could work his way into first round consideration too.

If the top guys come out, assuming they test well, specifically the 40, I could easily see Teo/Kuechly/Burfict all going in the first.

[LickaMahfeetz]

Originally Posted by fenikz

Guarantee you if someone actually took the time to count each tackle Burfict had would be ahead of Kurecky as i said before against Zona he was only credited for 7 and he had about 20, I'd estimate he is in on at least 12 tackles a game


not all the plays but there is def more than 7 tackles on there

Yes sir. I counted I think 11 on there in that video alone with one real questionable one. Definitely more than 7 but not quite 20.

[LickaMahfeetz]

One thing I know about Burfict is he plays too emotionally. So much so that it always gets him in trouble. I'm an SC guy in the Pac-10. They recruited Burfict hard. I think part of the reason he chose Arizona St. over USC was because they already had a few guys at MLB over there and he didn't like the competition. That prompted Devon Kennard to be moved from DE to ILB but that's another story.

Let me go back to USC vs Arizona St. 2010 now. Kiffin knows this guy well, really well and USC used what they knew about Burfict to basically get them a win. When they played last year USC needed to a FG to put them up by one point on their final drive to win the game. Kiffin put out a hit on Burfict, he knew what kind of explosive personality he has. The goal was to goad him into a 15 yard unsportsmanlike. Play after play went right at Burfict. After every play somebody made sure to give Burfict a little something extra after the whistle. Burfict was real good at keeping himself in check for a little while. I believe they even knocked him over after one play, Tyron Smith maybe? Eventually he did lose it though and he retaliated and that penalty actually put USC in FG range. They played him like a muppet.

I have to say as a Pac-10 guy who gets to see all the games, I have to agree with fenikz here. He's getting a little overrated in this thread. Nice prospect though.

[Rosebud]

Originally Posted by FUNBUNCHER

If Hightower can return to his 2008 form, he could work his way into first round consideration too.

If the top guys come out, assuming they test well, specifically the 40, I could easily see Teo/Kuechly/Burfict all going in the first.

I doubt it. Hightower is Rey Rey stiff. A sweet run thumper for a 3-4 team looking for one, but that's a positiong that doesn't get drafted in the first round, he's like Rey Rey or Spikes, not a 3 down ILB like Willis, Mayo or Burflict.

[fenikz]

Originally Posted by LickaMahfeetz

One thing I know about Burfict is he plays too emotionally. So much so that it always gets him in trouble. I'm an SC guy in the Pac-10. They recruited Burfict hard. I think part of the reason he chose Arizona St. over USC was because they already had a few guys at MLB over there and he didn't like the competition. That prompted Devon Kennard to be moved from DE to ILB but that's another story.

Let me go back to USC vs Arizona St. 2010 now. Kiffin knows this guy well, really well and USC used what they knew about Burfict to basically get them a win. When they played last year USC needed to a FG to put them up by one point on their final drive to win the game. Kiffin put out a hit on Burfict, he knew what kind of explosive personality he has. The goal was to goad him into a 15 yard unsportsmanlike. Play after play went right at Burfict. After every play somebody made sure to give Burfict a little something extra after the whistle. Burfict was real good at keeping himself in check for a little while. I believe they even knocked him over after one play, Tyron Smith maybe? Eventually he did lose it though and he retaliated and that penalty actually put USC in FG range. They played him like a muppet.

I have to say as a Pac-10 guy who gets to see all the games, I have to agree with fenikz here. He's getting a little overrated in this thread. Nice prospect though.

ya that was ********, a USC guy on the sideline pushed Burfict and Burfict got the penalty, Refs are ********

and I never said Burfict was overrated, he is a top 5 prospect and one of the best ILB prospects of all time

and he selected ASU cus all of his friends went there, the entire LB core is from the same HS I believe

[LickaMahfeetz]

Originally Posted by fenikz

ya that was ********, a USC guy on the sideline pushed Burfict and Burfict got the penalty, Refs are ********

and I never said Burfict was overrated, he is a top 5 prospect and one of the best ILB prospects of all time

and he selected ASU cus all of his friends went there, the entire LB core is from the same HS I believe

My bad. That was supposed to say BigBanger, not you. I just got your name caught up after replying to your other post minutes before.

I like Burfict too but he's not perfect. He's definitely one of the top 5 ILB's in college this year. All time? We'll see.

[bullg8rdaddy]

Originally Posted by fenikz

and he selected ASU cus all of his friends went there, the entire LB core is from the same HS I believe

6 Lyons, Shelly 74 6-2 230 Linebacker 7 SR Corona, Calif./Centennial
7 Burfict, Vontaze 75 6-3 252 Linebacker 5 JR Corona, Calif./Centennial
8 Magee, Brandon 71 5-11 230 Linebacker 7 SR Corona, Calif./Centennial

Not to mention a RS JR WR, Soph DT, and Frosh QB. lol

LINK

BTW, I live 30 minutes away from their HS.

[amdahlj]

Originally Posted by LickaMahfeetz

Yes sir. I counted I think 11 on there in that video alone with one real questionable one. Definitely more than 7 but not quite 20.

I wouldn't give him credit for any more than 8 tackles (and at least two of those are shared with other defenders). In getting 11, you really must have counted either whiffs that looked like tackles or plays where Burfict makes slight contact but doesn't actually contribute much of anything to bringing the runner down.

After watching the video, I a LOT of the negative things that BigBaner cited previously. Burfict missed a lot of tackles. He went for big hits when he really ought to have wrapped up. He prematurely abandoned zone coverage at least once. Here's my detailed breakdown of the video:

0:13 WR on end around breaks Burfict's attempt at a tackle and is tackled by someone else. Burfict shows great pursuit here but his technique on the tackle was atrocious and the play would have resulted in a big gain if there rest of the defense hadn't read the play as well.
0:55 RB falls at Burfict's feet after being tripped up by another defender. Looks like a tackle but Burfict played no role. If the tackle would have gone the exact same way without him being there, it isn't a tackle.
1:32 Burfict delivers a pretty weak hit to a WR already wrapped up by another defender. Burfict plays very little role in the tackle but you could generously credit him with an assist here.
1:50 Burfict's first real tackle come here against a scrambling QB.
2:30 Burfict tries for an ankle tackle on a WR screen and fails. No tackle or assist here. Looks like an O-Lineman may have tripped him from behind, but definitely not an impressive play.
3:00 Burfict's second real tackle again comes against a scrambling QB. Afterwards he looks absolutely winded when he comes off field.
3:40 Burfict whiffs running back on inside run. No tackle.
3:53 Burfict gets a tackle by knocking a RB out of bounds, gets up, then falls on the ref. I'm not sure which showed better technique.
4:31 Burfict is in the vacinity of a gang tackle and makes some contact with the runner, but all the credit goes to the two DTs here. The play goes the exact same way even if Burfict isn't involved. Again, you can give Burfict an assist here if you are feeling really generous.
4:58 Burfict aims low on RB, but makes no visible contact because #2 gets there first and RB flies right over Burfict. No tackle, no assist.
5:35 Burfict's tackle broken by RB. Burfict made a good read here, gets past a lineman but makes another poor attempt to bring the runner down. No tackle, no assist.
5:45 Burfict makes a genuinely good tackle on RB and strips ball. Well done!
6:46 Burfict whiffs RB on counter play. Makes only the slightest contact with runner and plays no real role in tackle. Burfict helps re-reroute the play at least, but only because RB chooses wrong hole. If he doesn't cut this one inside, the pulling guard has a shot at Burfict and he can follow the FB's lead block.
6:56 Burfict makes a good sideline tackle.
7:26 Burfict comes out of zone coverage to go after QB and is at least partially responsible for allowing a TD pass.
7:34 Burfict makes solid tackle on RB.
7:48 Burfict ties to make a big hit on a WR who has already been wrapped up and is going to ground. Burfict largely whiffs but makes a little bit of contact. You can call this an assist if you are feeling really generous.
7:53 Burfict makes a good tackle here, but the first angle show makes it look much better than it was. Replay at 8:10 shows that runners feet have already been wrapped up by another defender, making it easies for Burfict to really drive him back with a good hit. Nice play by Burfict, but not really deserving of the "Wow" I gave it on first viewing. It's fair to call this a full tackle.
8:26 Burfict again makes a nice hit to bring down a runner already wrapped up by a team mate. Again, I'll could this as a full tackle.
8:53 Nice ankle tackle that potentially stops a big play.

[Rosebud]

^ lulz, dude, do you know how most college Tackles #s are counted? If you're going to be that harsh on assigning tackles you should just completely ignore every prospect's tackle stats since every prospect has a lot of tackles where the didn't actually change the result of the play at all, in which case quit bitching about Burfict's tackle numbers.

[LickaMahfeetz]

Originally Posted by amdahlj

I wouldn't give him credit for any more than 8 tackles (and at least two of those are shared with other defenders). In getting 11, you really must have counted either whiffs that looked like tackles or plays where Burfict makes slight contact but doesn't actually contribute much of anything to bringing the runner down.

After watching the video, I a LOT of the negative things that BigBaner cited previously. Burfict missed a lot of tackles. He went for big hits when he really ought to have wrapped up. He prematurely abandoned zone coverage at least once. Here's my detailed breakdown of the video:

I don't count whiffs or tackles that never happened. I'm insulted you'd insinuate that. I think what happened here is you didn't give him credit where credit was due by inaccurately stating he whiffed on a guy he didn't. I'm not going back to recount my 10 to 11 to see which ones we're going to have to agree to disagree about. It's not that serious. But you should know that assisted tackles still count as tackles, no matter who made contact first. He can share all of them with other defenders if that was the case.

[ElectricEye]

I'm honestly surprised people care this much about tackle numbers. It's a good stat when it's extreme one way or the other, like with Keuchly, but in that ASU defense there's lot of guys who get to the ball in a hurry.

[Saints-Tigers]

YOu can find plenty of guys that pile up tackles anyway, Burfict is disruptive and physically imposing to everyone he gets near.

[FUNBUNCHER]

Originally Posted by Rosebud

I doubt it. Hightower is Rey Rey stiff. A sweet run thumper for a 3-4 team looking for one, but that's a positiong that doesn't get drafted in the first round, he's like Rey Rey or Spikes, not a 3 down ILB like Willis, Mayo or Burflict.

As a true freshman, Hightower was the most physically gifted LB on Alabama's football team. He had the size, range and a knack for making the huge hit.

That's why I say if Hightower can get near 90% back of who he was as a frosh, the guy people were comparing to Keith McCants/Cornelius Bennett/Derrick Thomas, he would have a real chance at working his way into the 1st round.

2012 is huge for him. If Hightower indeed regains his former athletic prowess, it will be quite obvious in the first couple of defensive series of their SEC season.

I think Hightower player last season well over 270#. He's just not that explosive at that weight.

At 255-260# Hightower is a sideline to sideline ILB.

[bullg8rdaddy]

Originally Posted by ElectricEye

I'm honestly surprised people care this much about tackle numbers. It's a good stat when it's extreme one way or the other, like with Keuchly, but in that ASU defense there's lot of guys who get to the ball in a hurry.

Ruud has a ton of tackles......

/giggles.

[Rabscuttle]

I heard a rumour that Vontaze Burfict just took a day trip to Pakistan as part of a Geography course.

[bullg8rdaddy]

Originally Posted by Rabscuttle

I heard a rumour that Vontaze Burfict just took a day trip to Pakistan as part of a Geography course.

lolz

1ochar

[roscoesdad27]

Vontaze Burfict is like a deranged hybrid between Ray Lewis and Night Train Lane. Don't like his fit as a classic 4-3 mlb unless in a giants/saints scheme, could struggle as a 3-4 weak/feature backer BUT I'M GONNA GO HEAD AND DECLARE HIM THE BEST 3-4 thumper/silb/ted PROSPECT EVER. Won't put up big tackle #'s but will make an all pro out of his wilb partner, bring an intimdating presence and just has that invaluable Ray Lewis esq. contagious intensity.

I hope he somehow gets over analysed and falls to my beloved ravens....wow.

[b316]

He looks like a sure 1st round pick to me.