Marvin had 2nd round grade on Frostee

[Kazkal]

Lewis hinted they had a second-round grade on him and they would have called “Frostee,” at No. 55 if LSU left tackle Andrew Whitworth and a few others hadn’t been hanging around. They called it late in the third round because of his production.

Frostee pick to ice 3-4?

By GEOFF HOBSON

April 29, 2006

MORE DRAFT NEWS: Bengals Draft Central 2006

Posted: 12:10 a.m.

Rucker will add to the mix on the Bengals defensive line. (Getty Images)

What’s in a name?

Maybe not the 3-4 defense Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis had in mind before Saturday’s NFL Draft. To end the first three rounds, the Bengals chose a 4-3 defensive end in USC’s Frostee Rucker with the 91st pick.

The 6-3, 267-pound Rucker had a fine career at USC on a big-time stage and while he may not be a big-time pass rusher, the Bengals feel he’s a solid two-way player that can play both ends.

“He plays on the edge and has an opportunity to rush the quarterback and has real good skills,” said head coach Marvin Lewis. “He’s got a strong lower body. A lot of the guys who are productive in the NFL are very similar to what he has in the lower body. I think he’s a guy who’s going to have an opportunity to grow and blossom as a big man in the NFL.”

Like Lewis said, Rucker can “lighten,” a room with his personality, which he did on his conference call with the Cincinnati media. He told Lewis he wanted to do back flips when he heard he’d been drafted.

“He told me, ‘Don’t,’” Rucker said.

Yes, “Frostee,” is his given name.

“Hopefully it will around in Cincinnati and people will like it and want to cheer for it and buy my jersey,” he said from his mother’s home in Irvine, Calif. “My father named me. He wanted a real unique name. It has nothing to do with ice cream. I was born in September. I’m a Virgo. It has nothing to do with Christmas. He just wanted a unique name that sticks out, and praise the Lord, he named me that. They called it on Draft Day.”

Lewis hinted they had a second-round grade on him and they would have called “Frostee,” at No. 55 if LSU left tackle Andrew Whitworth and a few others hadn’t been hanging around. They called it late in the third round because of his production.

“If Matt Leinart went 37-2,” said defensive line coach Jay Hayes of the USC quarterback, “so did Frostee Rucker.”

“He’s football sound and technique conscious,” said defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan. “He plays it physical. He’s got a little bit of a nasty streak.”

He’s been described as a Robert Geathers, a fine player in his own right heading into his third Bengals season at end, who might be a little stouter against the run than Geathers. Rucker played both sides at USC in coming up with 10.5 sacks in three seasons.

“He’s an all-around player. They put him in every situation,” Hayes said. “They dropped him (in pass coverage), he rushed the passer. He’s a good, solid player.”

Rucker, an Orange County product, admitted he had some problems when he began his career at Colorado State and said it was why he transferred back home to USC in 2002, but he wouldn’t elaborate.

“It’s a blessing in disguise. Good things happen to good people,” Rucker said. “I went to USC with a promise to work my tail off and do whatever I could do to get myself on the field, and it looks like it worked out for the Bengals.”

Rucker, who is represented by Carson Palmer agent David Dunn, had been told he would go anywhere between rounds three to five. He called some of his high school buddies over to throw around the football while they waited and, “I proved I wasn’t a quarterback because I was hitting people’s cars.”

But then as the day grew longer, his frustration grew shorter and he had to leave the house to take a walk and “I was talking to myself.” But then his cousin came running out and said the Bengals were on the phone.

“I’m so overjoyed. I’m sorry if this interview (stinks),” he said. “The names keep getting picked and Mel Kiper’s not talking about you, no one is saying anything. It’s frustrating, but then you realize it’s a business.”

But Kiper had this to say in his pre-draft book: “Rucker had a lot of tackles for loss and sacks and did a real nice job for Pete Carroll during his abbreviated career with USC. . .Rucker didn’t always play at an ‘A’ level while in college, but he did a pretty decent job overall, and comes into the draft with decent pro potential.”

He started all but one game the last two seasons, and believes you can see his aggressive, relentless style in the fact he was finished second on the team in tackles this past season.

Rucker is waiting to re-unite with another guy from the Carroll days at USC. He remembers when he transferred and he went up to Palmer to say hello. Palmer knew about him because both are from Orange County.

“I watched him play my high school in the championship and he torched us for some absurd numbers like he does every Sunday in the league,” Rucker said. “Carson is a good guy. I was happy to see him when he went there. Now I’m part of the whole thing, too, and I’m more than overjoyed to be there.”

[Stripes]

Imagine what this board would've been like had we taken Frostee in the 2nd!

Marvin knows what he's doing I suppose.

T-minus X minutes before the 3-4 talk erupts...

[derekshank]

I doubt very much that anything could have broken down for him to be taken at 55. I'm still surprised that we took him in the 3rd... but I'm not complaining. Marvin's surprised us before. Still, I think the whole "2nd round grade" is just to calm us down.

[Kazkal]

I doubt very much that anything could have broken down for him to be taken at 55. I'm still surprised that we took him in the 3rd... but I'm not complaining. Marvin's surprised us before. Still, I think the whole "2nd round grade" is just to calm us down.

Shhhh won't work if you tell the screamers thats what its suppossed to do

[Spain]

I was watching his film on yahoo. He looks like Pollak. He has the size to play tweener. The eal ? is how long will he take to get on the field? Your not going to change your whole scheme for one guy are we?

[WhoDey42]

I was very surprised when we took him, but I'm still going to trust Marvin and the staff. I'm sure they know more than us and they have good reasons to pick him. They wouldn't just pick someone they didn't think was a good player.

[BigBenBlows]

He sounds like an Ice Cream flavor to me. UHH yeah can I get 2 scoops of the new Frostee Rucker on a sugar cone please?

[schweinhart]

I'm not sure how much comfort should be had about this Rucker pick if Marvin had a 2nd round grade on him. Apparently no one else did or else he wouldn't have last until the 3rd.

I do like the fact that they took a DE in round 3. Rather it was Gocong but he was gone-gone already. There were a couple other DEs left that I would have been happier had they drafted, but ultimately Marvin has proven enough already with Day 1 picks -- except for maybe Keiwan and Caleb Miller -- to believe he can mold Frostee Freakin Mother Rucker into something worthwhile on the field.

[BengalPappaw]

I'm not sure how much comfort should be had about this Rucker pick if Marvin had a 2nd round grade on him. Apparently no one else did or else he wouldn't have last until the 3rd.

I do like the fact that they took a DE in round 3. Rather it was Gocong but he was gone-gone already. There were a couple other DEs left that I would have been happier had they drafted, but ultimately Marvin has proven enough already with Day 1 picks -- except for maybe Keiwan and Caleb Miller -- to believe he can mold Frostee Freakin Mother Rucker into something worthwhile on the field.

I hope you are right about shaping FROSTEE into a worthy football player -- because he isn't there now.

Rucker is VERY disappointing on tape!!

I still wonder what was wrong with Ko Simpson in the 3rd round. Has anyone heard what the major problem is?

[schweinhart]

I still wonder what was wrong with Ko Simpson in the 3rd round. Has anyone heard what the major problem is?

Not sure why the Ko freefall but here's the latest lack of info about it:

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtl...es/14463801.htm

Maybe he shoulda got a different agent.

[derekshank]

It is more surprising to me that Bing wasn't drafted than Ko. I read a report that predicted he'd fall to the 2nd day because no one liked him as much as Kiper. As for Bing... I guess it would have to be the same sort of deal... but I would have thought he'd be gone by now.

[Folz]

Everyone keeps talking about how marvin is making these decisions. The whole coaching staff and scouting staff is involved. If they all had him ranked well, then i believe them.

[BengalPappaw]

I'm surprised that Marvin didn't say that Rucker was a 1st round talent, and when he was there in round 3 we had to grab him.

Great value -- best player available -- true high quality person -- capable of leaping tall building with a single bound.

What else was ML going to say -- "Ahh, we liked Ko Simpson -- but decided to take Frostee Rucker, because we need a replacement for Robert Geathers."

If Marvin or his staff can say that they really believe that Frostee Rucker was the Best PLayer Available at 91, then I, for one, have lost faith in their ability to judge talent.

I'm not saying that I am right or they are wrong, BUT there is a lot more doubt in my mind about our ability to pick a good DE. yea -- so what

"Trust" is a terrible thing to waste.

I feel better now that I've gotten that off my chest -- WHO DEY!!!!!

[HoosierCat]

I'm not saying that I am right or they are wrong, BUT there is a lot more doubt in my mind about our ability to pick a good DE.

I do agree that the Bengals pre-draft grading system seems to work better at some positions than others.

For example, they seem to have the WR thing down pretty well. Chad, TJ, Perry, Henry, Walters (now a Texan), even Mann, snared off the PS at one point by Miami. Washington has been the only real disappointment, and even he really isn't bad, he just got overtaken by others on the roster. Put him in a WR-poor setup and he could do very well.

OTOH they can't seem to draft a TE to save their lives. Matt Schobel? Sean Brewer??? Probably just as well they didn't pick one this year.

OL they seem to have gotten into a groove with, which makes me feel better about Whitworth. RB they have down pretty well, too, IMHO. Even with all of Perry's injury problems he is clearly a threat when healthy.

But yeah, DE? And for that matter, DT. Part of that, I think, is their historic reluctance to invest high picks in the defensive line, but still, you'd think you'd hit a sleeper once in a while, right? Not them.

They haven't had much luck grading out corners, either, or with them staying healthy. Makes me worry about Joseph. Safeties they hit with Madieu, missed with Lamont. LB has been pretty good.

I think that on defense it would do them good to re-evaluate their criteria and the way they rank things, because whatever they are doing now hasn't been working very well.

[HairOnFire]

Ko Simpson dropped like a stone because he's got a ten cent head and poor instincts that can't be compensated for by the occasional big hit or flashy play.

Darnell Bing fell because most teams dropped him from their safety rankings because he had grown too big to play the position. And according to the NFL network analyists only about a third of NFL teams felt comfortable enough to then rank him amongst LB's. Obviously the Raiders were one of those teams and upon drafting him they quickly trashed any thought of using him as a SS when they asked him to gain 10 pounds. It wasn't a silly experiment at the NFL combine when Bing was asked to work out with the Lb's as most teams clearly viewed Bing as a tweener, or even worse..as a player who had outgrown his position, and only after the risk/reward ratio evened out was a team willing to redefine his role.

As for Frostee, Los Angeles beat writer Billy Witz just wrote a piece reminding readers of a December article that where 3 NFL scouts had ranked Rucker as a late 3rd-early 4th round prospect. Not only was that dead on, but those same scouts nailed their predictions for almost every other USC/UCLA prospect who was drafted.

Last, Marvin once said after a draft that they had given only 20 players 1st round grades, and only 15 or so managed 2nd round grades. That may seem harsh, but I doubt this draft was much different. It's become very clear that regardless of a propects perceived talent level the Bengals aren't going to give them a second sniff if they don't like the fit.

I hope you are right about shaping FROSTEE into a worthy football player -- because he isn't there now.

Rucker is VERY disappointing on tape!!

I doubt this answer comforts you very much, but I'm guessing that the Bengals were attracted to Rucker because he has the upside to develope into a better NFL player than many of the more hyped prospects whose best days are already behind them.

[WretchedOne]

The more I find out about Frostee, the better feeling I get about him.

Someone on here went into great detail WHY Frostee did so bad in the 40. Something about how he's a football player who was forced to be a track runner. Said that his beginning stance was very awkward and contributed to his very bad time.

The same person said that Frostee looked good when upright and running and that he had VERY thick legs.

I've tried to find it, but I also read a article about Frostee where his USC coaches were pretty much gushing over him. They said he was an athletic "freak." He was still rather productive for USC and will probably get a chance to compete with Robert in TC.

He's got his problems, but again, never doubt Marvin. I'm sure we're saying the same things about Rucker that we did about Madieu Williams when Marvin took him real early and look how that turned out.

[Dadraftnick]

Lewis hinted they had a second-round grade on him and they would have called “Frostee,” at No. 55 if LSU left tackle Andrew Whitworth and a few others hadn’t been hanging around. They called it late in the third round because of his production.

Frostee pick to ice 3-4?

By GEOFF HOBSON

April 29, 2006

MORE DRAFT NEWS: Bengals Draft Central 2006

Posted: 12:10 a.m.

Rucker will add to the mix on the Bengals defensive line. (Getty Images)

What’s in a name?

Maybe not the 3-4 defense Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis had in mind before Saturday’s NFL Draft. To end the first three rounds, the Bengals chose a 4-3 defensive end in USC’s Frostee Rucker with the 91st pick.

The 6-3, 267-pound Rucker had a fine career at USC on a big-time stage and while he may not be a big-time pass rusher, the Bengals feel he’s a solid two-way player that can play both ends.

“He plays on the edge and has an opportunity to rush the quarterback and has real good skills,” said head coach Marvin Lewis. “He’s got a strong lower body. A lot of the guys who are productive in the NFL are very similar to what he has in the lower body. I think he’s a guy who’s going to have an opportunity to grow and blossom as a big man in the NFL.”

Like Lewis said, Rucker can “lighten,” a room with his personality, which he did on his conference call with the Cincinnati media. He told Lewis he wanted to do back flips when he heard he’d been drafted.

“He told me, ‘Don’t,’” Rucker said.

Yes, “Frostee,” is his given name.

“Hopefully it will around in Cincinnati and people will like it and want to cheer for it and buy my jersey,” he said from his mother’s home in Irvine, Calif. “My father named me. He wanted a real unique name. It has nothing to do with ice cream. I was born in September. I’m a Virgo. It has nothing to do with Christmas. He just wanted a unique name that sticks out, and praise the Lord, he named me that. They called it on Draft Day.”

Lewis hinted they had a second-round grade on him and they would have called “Frostee,” at No. 55 if LSU left tackle Andrew Whitworth and a few others hadn’t been hanging around. They called it late in the third round because of his production.

“If Matt Leinart went 37-2,” said defensive line coach Jay Hayes of the USC quarterback, “so did Frostee Rucker.”

“He’s football sound and technique conscious,” said defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan. “He plays it physical. He’s got a little bit of a nasty streak.”

He’s been described as a Robert Geathers, a fine player in his own right heading into his third Bengals season at end, who might be a little stouter against the run than Geathers. Rucker played both sides at USC in coming up with 10.5 sacks in three seasons.

“He’s an all-around player. They put him in every situation,” Hayes said. “They dropped him (in pass coverage), he rushed the passer. He’s a good, solid player.”

Rucker, an Orange County product, admitted he had some problems when he began his career at Colorado State and said it was why he transferred back home to USC in 2002, but he wouldn’t elaborate.

“It’s a blessing in disguise. Good things happen to good people,” Rucker said. “I went to USC with a promise to work my tail off and do whatever I could do to get myself on the field, and it looks like it worked out for the Bengals.”

Rucker, who is represented by Carson Palmer agent David Dunn, had been told he would go anywhere between rounds three to five. He called some of his high school buddies over to throw around the football while they waited and, “I proved I wasn’t a quarterback because I was hitting people’s cars.”

But then as the day grew longer, his frustration grew shorter and he had to leave the house to take a walk and “I was talking to myself.” But then his cousin came running out and said the Bengals were on the phone.

“I’m so overjoyed. I’m sorry if this interview (stinks),” he said. “The names keep getting picked and Mel Kiper’s not talking about you, no one is saying anything. It’s frustrating, but then you realize it’s a business.”

But Kiper had this to say in his pre-draft book: “Rucker had a lot of tackles for loss and sacks and did a real nice job for Pete Carroll during his abbreviated career with USC. . .Rucker didn’t always play at an ‘A’ level while in college, but he did a pretty decent job overall, and comes into the draft with decent pro potential.”

He started all but one game the last two seasons, and believes you can see his aggressive, relentless style in the fact he was finished second on the team in tackles this past season.

Rucker is waiting to re-unite with another guy from the Carroll days at USC. He remembers when he transferred and he went up to Palmer to say hello. Palmer knew about him because both are from Orange County.

“I watched him play my high school in the championship and he torched us for some absurd numbers like he does every Sunday in the league,” Rucker said. “Carson is a good guy. I was happy to see him when he went there. Now I’m part of the whole thing, too, and I’m more than overjoyed to be there.”

Somehow we are to be imppressed with 10 sacks in 3 years????

Well his 6 for one year beats what Geathers has had in 3 years.

I just wonder if picks like this are why position coaches should not be involved in the draft.

I think what happens is Brat or the WR coach always wants more fast WR's reguardless if they have need or roster spots for them and scream for them in the draft(war)room

Same thing goes for LB'

Apearently the D-line coach is either not able to judge talent when it comes to drafting a DE or he is real quiet and does not speak up and say WE NEED A PASS RUSHER!!!

[Frostee With Fries]

Ah, Frostee isn't as bad a pick as some have made him out to be. A second round pick spent on him would surely have been a reach, but I think that could just be a little lip service for hype reasons. I recall hearing that Whitworth was the guy they were eyeballing all the way for round two, the only other guy I heard get much consideration was Anthony Fasano (the only TE the Bengals were reportedly interested in by the last few days before the draft). Fasano went I believe two picks before the Bengals selected in the second, so who knows what would have happened had he been available.

[jjakq27]

Last, Marvin once said after a draft that they had given only 20 players 1st round grades, and only 15 or so managed 2nd round grades. That may seem harsh, but I doubt this draft was much different. It's become very clear that regardless of a propects perceived talent level the Bengals aren't going to give them a second sniff if they don't like the fit.

That is a very good point. It seems like this year's draft was missing something. There just didn't seem to be any real star appeal once you got past the first 15 picks. I guess maybe the overall talent level was down in the Bengals eyes.

And I am sure that the grading system is skewed to each teams particular scheme or personnel philosophy too. Which could be why the Bengals think they got a steal with Frostee in the third round when other teams or analysts don't think much of him.

I just wonder if picks like this are why position coaches should not be involved in the draft.

I think what happens is Brat or the WR coach always wants more fast WR's reguardless if they have need or roster spots for them and scream for them in the draft(war)room

Same thing goes for LB'

Apearently the D-line coach is either not able to judge talent when it comes to drafting a DE or he is real quiet and does not speak up and say WE NEED A PASS RUSHER!!!

According to ML, those days are over. There is no haggling or politicing for a player during the draft. The draft board is set in advance and it is a matter of crossing names off of lists as they are picked or positioning for a trade if necessary. I think I remember him mentioning in the '04 draft that he almost doesn't need to be at the draft because the hard work as already been done.

[turningpoint]

I thank Bratkowski everyday for his work on getting us to draft chad johnson.

We didn't need another wr at the time, and we were in dire need for other positions, and in the past we would of drafted by need not by BPA.

I'm willing ot bet Brat went crazy yelling and s**t say you better f**king draft CJ he's the best wr in the draft...

Throwin out death threats to Mikey.

So they drafted him and it's been nothing but wonders for us.

It does make me wonder how ever, as to how the f**k we draft brewer in the 3rd that year. Brat must not care who we draft at TE.

[TecmoFever]

I'm not saying that I am right or they are wrong, BUT there is a lot more doubt in my mind about our ability to pick a good DE.

I do agree that the Bengals pre-draft grading system seems to work better at some positions than others.

For example, they seem to have the WR thing down pretty well. Chad, TJ, Perry, Henry, Walters (now a Texan), even Mann, snared off the PS at one point by Miami. Washington has been the only real disappointment, and even he really isn't bad, he just got overtaken by others on the roster. Put him in a WR-poor setup and he could do very well.

OTOH they can't seem to draft a TE to save their lives. Matt Schobel? Sean Brewer??? Probably just as well they didn't pick one this year.

OL they seem to have gotten into a groove with, which makes me feel better about Whitworth. RB they have down pretty well, too, IMHO. Even with all of Perry's injury problems he is clearly a threat when healthy.

But yeah, DE? And for that matter, DT. Part of that, I think, is their historic reluctance to invest high picks in the defensive line, but still, you'd think you'd hit a sleeper once in a while, right? Not them.

They haven't had much luck grading out corners, either, or with them staying healthy. Makes me worry about Joseph. Safeties they hit with Madieu, missed with Lamont. LB has been pretty good.

I think that on defense it would do them good to re-evaluate their criteria and the way they rank things, because whatever they are doing now hasn't been working very well.

This is a good point. I wonder if the position coaches have anything to do with the success rate at the different positions, and I'm talking about their coaching abilities, not their ability to eye talent.