STRENGTHS
Steve has the athletic talent and high football IQ to play more than one interior position on the offensive line for the team that selects him. He has that “Sponge Bob Square Pants” body type that makes it difficult for defensive linemen to change the line of scrimmage at the snap of the ball in their favor. Steve shows the lateral agility to play center, make all the snaps, and help out his fellow guards. He is a pass-blocking guard/center dream come true. Once he gets his hands on the defensive lineman when pass-blocking he will shut that player down. In this new passing NFL, Steve’s ability to pass block is rare for a pure guard or center who has not been an offensive tackle moved inside. As a center with a nose tackle over him, Steve handles the bull rush better than most centers in the NFL right now. His “Sponge Bob Square Pants” body, leverage, and foot agility give’s him a natural advantage when pass blocking.
CONCERNS
On youtube, “CFO sports” has an excellent breakdown of Steve’s strengths and weaknesses. Most of his weaknesses are technique issues but the one issue that Steve will struggle with at the next level is his lack of aggressiveness to attack. Steve mentally, is the type of person who is more likely to defend rather than attack. You can teach him all the techniques you want but if you can’t find the switch that makes him become more aggressive and attack when he is run-blocking, he will never be more than a one-dimensional offensive lineman. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s just reality.
BOTTOM LINE: 2.28
If you train dogs for security you purposely pick dogs who are defenders so you can control their attacking. That’s why trainers pick the breeds that are natural defenders, like German Shepherds and Doberman Pinschers. They are taught to attack on command only because their natural instinct first is to stand, growl, bark, and move to you to warn you before they will attack naturally. I believe that if you slap Steve in the face his first instinct is to warn you not to do it again. He will not react aggressively unless you do it again. If you call three passing plays in a row and then call a running play, Steve will not run block aggressively. If you are running the ball Steve will get better and more aggressive on every play and if you’re in the red zone like “CFO Sports” showed on their breakdown, Steve will make his block. Use him to pull and like an attack dog going after two robbers at the same time, Steve will get confused deciding which player to block because he lacks the aggressiveness to choose. So, what do you do? Steve is way too talented not to select him early in this draft. My answer to his lack of run-blocking aggressiveness is COACH BETTER.
