Shrine Game

[schweinhart]

East-West Shrine Game is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. on ESPN 2.

Last year's roster produced 15 Day 1 picks including 6 2nd rounders and the Bengals very own Andrew Whitworth.

Some small school ballers get their chance to shine for this one.

1. David Ball #3, WR East, New Hampshire: Last year small school receiver Marques Colston showed what he can do at the Shrine Game and Ball is headed in his footsteps.

2. Kevin Payne #14, S East, Louisiana-Monroe: He looks a lot klike a young Rodney Harrison.

3. Travarous Bain, #1, CB East, Hampton: Maybe this year's Shrine Game's Tarvaris Jackson at a different position.

4. Justin Durant, #52, LB East, Hampton: There's a cluster of LBs in this draft with late 1st-2nd round potential and Durant has the chance to show if he belongs in that group.

5. Ben Patrick, #80, TE East, Delaware: It's a weak TE class and a great op for a small schooler to make strides.

6. Michael Allan, #89, TE West, Whitworth: Same as above.

7. Kyle Shotwell, #52, LB West, Cal Poly: Cal Poly has turned out a couple of Day 1 picks the last few years and Shotwell gets the shot to prove if he can be another.

Other players to watch:

East

1. Jason Snelling, #42 RB Virginia -- Another Brandon Jacobs?

2. Dan Bazuin, #93 DE Central Michigan -- What's it gonna be, Round 2 or Round 3?

3. Barak Atkins, #98 DE Miami -- He can get it done but can he separate himself from the Day 1 pack of senior DEs.

West

1. Desmond Bishop, #10 LB Cal -- As big and fast as a LB in this year's draft.

2. John Wendling, #22 S Wyoming -- Can he keep up with the league sopeed?

3. Marvin White, #26 S TCU -- He can keep up with the league speed.

4. Paul Soliai, #90 DT Utah -- The more he dominates, the higher he'll go.

[Kazkal]

Go west! hopfully bishop doesn't help his stalk too much I'd love to get him in the 2nd...

2. Kevin Payne #14, S East, Louisiana-Monroe: He looks a lot klike a young Rodney Harrison.

And we all know rodney brings the payne

[schweinhart]

Well Kaz the West has apparently added another big-bodied safety in Sabby Piscitelli to go along with Wendling and another Day 1 prospect Michael Johnson. Add Marvin White to their safety lineup and that's a lot of talent, if they all decide to actually play.

Also to add, TE Michael Allan for the West is the only Division 3 player in the Shrine Game and has also been invited to the NFL Combine.

But do keep an eyeball on Kevin Payne on the East squad...and an ear. You'll probably hear his hits over the announcers voices.

[Kazkal]

Payne another bing/forgot other big hitting late rnd safety from last year....

Howare his cover skills?

Sabby Piscitelli seems be raising alot there goes my hopes of stealing him in 4th and getting another oregon playero n the team.

[schweinhart]

Payne's got some man corner skills plus he's a former RB and a decent punter. But he shouldn't get confused with Bing Bam Boom, who looked more the OLB part than S, which may be where Sabby is headed to although he does indeed run well.

[Kazkal]

Thought sabby had good cover skills just was freaking big at 6'3 225. same size as caleb /laughs

[BersMrnsT]

Go west! hopfully bishop doesn't help his stalk too much I'd love to get him in the 2nd...

I may be mistaken but I think that Bishop wasn't offered an invite to the combine. If this is true then he must not be that highly regarded and should fall farther than the 2nd round.

[schweinhart]

Boy if Desmond got jobbed by the combine, something is screwed up. I did read where he pi$$ed about not getting picked to play in the Senior Bowl and has to play the Shrine Game instead (Good Gawd he's gonna slobber knock somebody tonight )

But most definitely, no Combine invite and it's much harder to get drafted period much less early. I'm pretty sure the last player not invited to the Combine to get picked in the 2nd round was the Eagles weakside backer Matt McCoy.

[schweinhart]

Shrine Game halftime report

Jeff Rowe looks like a giant Rich Gannon. Excellent vision and poise with a real knack for throwing out of the pocket and looking away defenders. Plus showed he's got some arm on the TD bomb to Paul Williams.

Jacoby Jones a 6-4 WR from somewher called Lane College looks like a potential Day 1 pick. Unbelievable separation on quick cuts and is a definite impact vertical receiver.

Brian Daniels, left guard, is about the best balanced and quickest pulling LG behind Ben Grubbs that I've seen this year.

Justin Durant MBL is a sheer physical player with decent enough hip turn to get the drop back depth needed at the next level.

David Ball WR should get drafted. Not fast but precise on his routes and reacts well to the ball in the air to make adjustments.

John Wendling S is a decent patroller who engages blockers coming up on the run w/o getting knocked on his a$$ and provided decent zone coverage.

BTW, Kevin Payne is not playing. He got a late Senior Bowl invite and blew off the Shriners. The nerve.

[redsbengalsbucks]

So, what your saying is Rowe is going to struggle for about 8 years before finally getting it together in the NFL and looking like a pro-bowl QB.

[schweinhart]

Could very well be but he's got the frame, the arm and the head to at least get him in the mix somewhere. He'll have to get a little thicker, much like Lester Ricard on the East side who's probably got the bigger arm but takes longer to throw and doesn't read as well yet or have the patience to let the routes unfold.

Rowe had to have a good showing, though, because he ended up benched at Nevada and also had to show teams he can convert out of the shorter pistol shotgun, which he did w/o problems.

But speaking of Delaware, TE Ben Patrick is a monster at the line who gets open underneath and downfield. If he's still there in the Day 2 mix, the Bengals might be able to solve their TE problems.

Another small school player who helped himself was RB Steve Baylark from U Mass. He breaks tackles and can make the catch turned either way in the flat w/o losing a step to get upfield.

With the Shrine Game over, now it's Senior Bowl time and be ready for Houston QB Kevin Kolb to define himself as the 3rd QB in this draft as a late 1st-2nd rounder.

[HairOnFire]

Other players to watch:

East

2. Dan Bazuin, #93 DE Central Michigan -- What's it gonna be, Round 2 or Round 3?

3. Barak Atkins, #98 DE Miami -- He can get it done but can he separate himself from the Day 1 pack of senior DEs.

I got my first look at Dan Bazuin in this game and I'm still waiting to see a pass rush move. No matter, he produced multiple sacks by straight line bullrushing an overmatched OT. But I was impressed by Bazuin's overall size and build...he's thickly built, and he flashed a very good first step.

Atkins also impressed, but I'd seen him before and he seems more willing to run himself out of plays. Perhaps the Miami defense allows him to so, but I'd like to see more discipline with no fall in production.

[schweinhart]

Other than a tight spin move, that's about all you'll see with Bazuin. He relies on speed around the edge and a quick cut back inside to get pressure. He's quick at getting around and keeps his feet well but if a tackle locks on, he's out of the picture. But he's relentless and has got the motor to keep coming. Not a lot of hand fighting or power inside, but he's also able to come up with decent backside pursuit and has the short area quickness to get his share of tackles for loss vs. the run by knifing in. Loses his feet when he does that but he can be highly disruptive in the backfield.

Believe they had Bob Davies and Chris Spielman as commentators and 1 of them said a scout or coach said Bazuin would be looked at as a 1st rounder if he was 6-4. He's not and he will be knocked down boards, but somebody probably takes a Day 1 crack at him as a poor man's Dwight Freeney. That's about his best shot with his height is that he can get underneath taller tackles to get his leverage for pushing his way around the edge on the speed rush. There is the possibility that some team may try to Pollack him too or try him as a 3-4 OLB, particularly a team that uses the ROLB as a downlineman more than a stand up backer.

I like Baraka a lot but the taking himself out of plays part is why he's probably better suited as a LDE. That could mount to a big liability if he's got too much space behind him. But he's got power and can hand fight well inside as well as crash down the line with force. He's got some serious burst when he wants to go and he showed it on the quick sack he got. Like Spielman said, "He can get on the bus".

Now there was another DE there Mkistro Bruce, who didn't show a whole lot. But after he injured his hip and laid on the field for awhile, the stadium sound control folks started playing Ozzy Osbourne's Crazy Train to the dead quiet as the hobbled Bruce was getting helped off the field. Those crazy Shriners.