Here's footage of the game that Louis Tee mentioned in his analysis of Raekwon.
The play that impressed Tee is at the :46 mark where he blows up the FB. It certainly was awesome display of power at the POA, but with Mcmillian being the force defender he should have attacked the 2nd level blocker on the playside and squeezed the gap from the outside-in. He instead attacked with his outside shoulder from the inside and was therefore part of the reason the RB was able to gain the yardage he did on that particular strongside run despite what was said in the video.
In limited and short time, you can also view Raekwon's ability to stack and shed lineman at marks :23 & :30, and his ability to quickly get to the edge by taking the proper angle, getting outside the blocker, and making the tackle at :38.
I have to preface this post by stating that this is the majority of the game film I've seen on Raekwon, but just relating to the WI game I have a few thoughts.
First, I watched the the blow up play that Tee mentioned many times, and was initially blown away by the physical nature of that play. After the first 6 to 7 replays I watched the play and focused on the offensive player, and after seeing it from that perspective I was less impressed by the play. The fullback (who actually looks more like an h-back) did not prepare for that contact whatsoever, did't lower his pads, didn't drop his hips, didn't even bring his hands up to make a punch. His only real option was to get smoked. Raekwon read the play well, and got to the right spot, but that play didn't really display a physical presence as much as it appears.
Generally speaking, Raekwon has good athleticism, but doesn't move very fluidly, he's a bit robotic. I'm not trying to say his movement is poor, just saying it's not a strength. Speaking of strengths, I've often read that Raekwon has exceptional instincts and play recognition, but in this game he looked good, but not great in this regard. I must mention that watching every snap of Zach Thomas' career may have raised the bar of what I consider exceptional instincts.
One other thing, and this may be nitpicking, but Raekwon doesn't seem like a guy that loves contact, that's not to say that he avoids/is afraid of contact, but he doesn't seek it out. I've often read that he is a "thumper", but I would say he is more "stout" as a player, rather than a thumper. There are several plays in the video where Raekwon has a chance to add one of those "echo of the whistle" hits that some players love, but he doesn't go after those.
While I realize that this is only regarding the WI game, he looks more like a Sam than a Mike in these clips.
Does anyone have any Raekwon links that show multiple games?
