How Good is Cliff Russell?

[dolphan117]

Now that Boston is on IR and Russell has been signed to his roster spot I was wondering if anyone has seen him play and what his strengths/weaknesses are.

 

[DeFINSe]

Personally, I wish they'd bring up Fred Gibson from the PS myself

 

[paskerbrandon]

He was taken in the 3rd round, #87 Overall, by the Redskins in 2002

Heres what SI had to say about him:

Home run hitting receiver who is a speed merchant on the field. Given a large cushion at the line of scrimmage by opponents because he is so fast, quick getting to top speed and displays a great downfield burst stretching the defense. Gets up vertically, effectively adjusts his body in mid-air and snares the high pass. Improved his ability as a senior to extend and catch the ball away from his body but still lets the pass get into his frame and does a bit of clutching the reception against his chest rather than snatching the ball cleanly out of the air with his hands. Not a physical wideout; has difficulty against bigger opponents and slowed by jams at the line of scrimmage. Easily brought down running after the catch and does not show the ability to make the difficult reception in traffic. Did not show well at the Senior Bowl and dropped a lot of catchable throws, which was a problem at Utah. Has improved several aspects of his game and runs like the wind, which will turn a lot of teams on come draft day. With the amount of receivers that will be selected starting in the second round this year he could fall through the cracks and out of the first day. Early Fourth Round.

Personally I would rather see Gibson, but I guess lets see what Russell has in him, cant hurt any.

 

[dolphan117]

He was taken in the 3rd round, #87 Overall, by the Redskins in 2002

Heres what SI had to say about him:

Home run hitting receiver who is a speed merchant on the field. Given a large cushion at the line of scrimmage by opponents because he is so fast, quick getting to top speed and displays a great downfield burst stretching the defense. Gets up vertically, effectively adjusts his body in mid-air and snares the high pass. Improved his ability as a senior to extend and catch the ball away from his body but still lets the pass get into his frame and does a bit of clutching the reception against his chest rather than snatching the ball cleanly out of the air with his hands. Not a physical wideout; has difficulty against bigger opponents and slowed by jams at the line of scrimmage. Easily brought down running after the catch and does not show the ability to make the difficult reception in traffic. Did not show well at the Senior Bowl and dropped a lot of catchable throws, which was a problem at Utah. Has improved several aspects of his game and runs like the wind, which will turn a lot of teams on come draft day. With the amount of receivers that will be selected starting in the second round this year he could fall through the cracks and out of the first day. Early Fourth Round.

Personally I would rather see Gibson, but I guess lets see what Russell has in him, cant hurt any.

Thanks, I guess that was prety much Bostons role too, he only played when they wanted to throw it deep. My guess is Gibson just has too much to learn as a rookie to make it onto the field this year.

 

[JAGFISH]

Sounds more like Gilmore to me.

 

[painnotpleasure]

Everyone was saying that Fred Gibson would be called up from the Practice Squad if and when David Boston was placed on IR, I said that, that would be a slim possiblity but most likely Gilmore would move up one spot and we would re-sign Cliff Russell. He's a speedy receiver and was a 3rd round pick by Washington in the 2002 that has not lived up to expectatations and has only played 1 game in his career, I don't think he's any better than what we have now with Bryan Gilmore.

 

[Joneal7]

good enough to be our 5th WR i guess

 

[normaldude]

5'11", 185 lbs.

"4.29 in the 40-yard dash.. 41-inch vertical jump.."

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2002/profiles/russell_cliff.htm

Well, sounds like he's fast and athletic.

Some other notes about him..

Positives: Lean, well-built with a muscular physique, long arms and legs and only 5.51 percent body fat … Shows very good deep acceleration … Runs precise deep routes and creates separation instantly after the catch … Looks the ball in and maintains concentration working through traffic … Makes proper adjustments on the ball and has the hip snap needed to come back quickly for the off-target passes … Has excellent jumping ability … Runs posts, slants and streaks with impressive efficiency … Shows no hesitation when coming inside for the pass … True deep threat with the body control to slide into the ball … Charges hard off the snap to close the cushion and escape the jam … Shows a good tilt in his release and plays at a good pad level … Gets a smooth and easy upfield push to quickly get behind the defensive backs.

Negatives: Has a good burst off the line, but seems to gather himself before getting into gear, making him late into his routes … Needs to work on his transition through patterns, as he tends to round his cuts … Lacks route variety, working generally in slants and hitches … Lets the ball absorb into his body too much rather than reaching and extending for it … Needs to vary his speeds, as he will overrun the ball at times on deep routes … Has poor blocking technique, as he is slow to break down and stalk … Not the most disciplined route runner you will find … Has good run-after-catch ability, but needs to show more effort and aggression, as he prefers to tip-toe around defenders rather than arm-break tackles … His short route running needs refinement, as he does not show smoothness on curls and transitions … Quarterback problems in recent years prevented him from developing fully as a deep threat.

 

[Maynard the Hammer]

considering frerottes pwnchant for overthrowing the ball, i wonder why speed guys like this aren't used.

moss cant be much faster than 4.29

 

[normaldude]

considering frerottes pwnchant for overthrowing the ball, i wonder why speed guys like this aren't used.

moss cant be much faster than 4.29

It sounds like his hands are suspect, he can't break tackles, and he's a poor blocker.