I completely agree with the sentiment that Rolando McClain was invisible against the Texas D last night.
Ro had an axcellent first half, as did a lot of Bamans as they smelled serious blood in the water with Colt McCoy going out and Garrett Gilbert coming in. Everyone knew the Texas coaches didn't trust Gilbert a lick, and so Bama was in full attack mode. They tried to keep that up in the second half but made key mistakes and Ro also cooled down, didn't have as great a second half.
I don't agree with the notion that he looked bad. He looked pretty damned good actually.
Is it #12 pick good? I don't know yet. I've stuck up for Brandon Spikes a lot because I feel a lot of folks are unfairly dismissing him, but I have said over and over that I have not decided which player is the better LB prospect overall, though Spikes is the better fit for Miami's defense.
The reasons for my indecision, despite my praise of Spikes, are that Ro has the following in his favor, ranked by how much weight I put on the advantage:
1. Straight line speed
2. Length
3. Film study
4. Durability
5. Emotional control
6. Strength
Players don't get faster in the NFL, generally speaking. That's why it's the #1 advantage to me that Ro has over Spikes...because no matter what, he'll probably always have that advantage...and the NFL is very much about speed. Length, too. Because he's taller, because he has longer arms, he'll dominate passing lanes a little more than Spikes and that's important. The film study is an extremely important factor right now and on game day, the only reason it doesn't rank higher is because players regularly do develop better, sometimes MUCH better film study habits in the NFL...which translate to their instincts, grasp of the defense and grasp of the opponent's offense, on the field. Right now, there's no doubt Ro is better with it. Durability is important and Ro has that advantage because Spikes has missed a game or two last year, and fought nagging injuries this year. It's not much of an advantage, but it's an advantage. When it comes to emotional control, I rank that low because the emotion that Spikes plays with leads to him having better hustle and better physicality, however among the two Spikes is the only guy that consistently loses control of himself on the field in a detrimental way. Hence the eye gouging. And against LSU a year ago, he returns an interception for a TD but then kicks the ball into the stands getting his team a penalty. That stuff may not happen at all at the next level, but it also might. As for strength, Spikes is incredibly strong...but McClain is stronger, which is saying something. The reason I rank it lowest is, players get stronger in the NFL. Happens all the time. One guy looks stronger now, by the time the NFL is done with the two of them, it could be switched. Have seen that happen all the time.
Overall, though I rate Takeo's cousin as more apt for Miami's defense, I'm starting to lean toward McClain as the better overall LB prospect...but the margin is not high. Spikes is as productive as McClain, as impactful as him (or more, in some areas), without having been coached up as strongly as Ro...and so you absolutely wonder if Spikes has the higher ceiling once he learns how to truly study film and translate it on the field, gets even stronger than he is, and gets into a defense that has better supporting players.
I really like Rolando McClain, and last night was a good example why he's a very good player. But it needs to be noted that this guy is not a Patrick Willis. He plays in a system that supports him extremely well, and he doesn't turn and run very well.
