2007 Senior Bowl - South Practice 1/23 John Clifford

2007-01-23

Here's a look at Tuesday's South Practice and which players may have helped or hurt themselves.   OL technique drills – There was a bit of a presence in the crowd from the Bengals mostly, Lions and Steelers as well. Mansfield Wrotto drew a fair amount of negative attention from the 49ers OL coach.   Team INT return drills – Jonathan Wade made a poorly timed and unnecessary jump on an interception that drew comments from scouts. Michael Griffin made a couple of nice hands catches.   Individual DB drills – The Texas duo of Aaron Ross and Michael Griffin were the most impressive overall.  Aaron Ross looking the most complete in footwork, speed and hands. Michael Griffin looking impressive with his hands.  David Irons looked good in his backpedal, where Brandon Meriweather and Fred Bennett not so much. AJ Davis had a bobble and a drop, struggled more than others.   1-on-1 OL/DL – Justin Blalock overpowered Quentin Moses at RT. Ryan McBean beat Aaron Sears at RG. Tim Crowder struggled more than anyone at DL, mostly thanks to Joe Staley at LT. Ben Grubbs looked good at LG, handling Kareem Brown twice. At RG, Justin Blalock destroyed Antonio Johnson, looking very strong, playing with more consistency than anyone at OL.  Ray McDonald smoked Mansfield Wrotto, who was unimpressive in terms of strength and intensity. Tony Ugoh did a good job at LT, pushing Chase Pittman outside. Again, the Bengals staff were well represented in the crowd of scouts all over this group.   1-on-1 DB/WR – There wasn't standout play from the WRs. Aaron Ross completely surprised Dallas Baker with his jam, coming up to press and taking him out of the drill, and scouts took notice.  David Irons defended a pass against Johnnie Lee Higgins, who was screamed at for his route running. Chris Davis was able beat AJ Davis badly thanks to him biting on a shoulder fake..   11-on-11 – Chris Davis made a nice one-handed catch. Dwayne Bowe made the catch of the practice from  Jordan Palmer, tipping the ball in a battle with the DB, catching the ball mid-fall at the sideline. 3 fumbled snaps by the QBs this practice… Quentin Moses blocked a Jordan Palmer pass, completely sniffing out the bootleg.   Other notables – Ken Darby had a couple drops in receiving drills.  Le'Ron McClain pushed the pile nicely on one play. Lorenzo Booker’s speed stood out. Patrick Willis and Jonathan Wade broke on the ball well to get interceptions. South QBs Kevin Kolb, Jordan Palmer and Chris Leak don’t have that Campbell or Cutler of the past couple years within their group. Joe Newton, is consistent, has good hands, but appears to be a step too slow to make a major splash.  Practice concluded with a great shoulder fake by Kevin Kolb and a perfect pass, hitting Dwayne Bowe in his hands on a deep post, only to be dropped (probably the only play of the day where every person in the stadium was watching the same thing on the field).   Justin Blalock, Joe Staley, Lorenzo Booker, Chris Davis, Patrick Willis, Michael Griffin, and Aaron Ross. Mansfield Wrotto, Tim Crowder, Kareem Brown, Antonio Johnson, and AJ Davis.