When I went to the scrimmage, I wrote afterwards that the performance of Carroll and Ness made me feel comfortable with the idea of finally getting rid of Jason Allen (even though I thought Allen had good moments). It's funny, you know. Sometimes when I watch a prospect a single word jumps in my head that ends up sticking with me as a condensed version of how I feel about that prospect. With Ryan Matthews this year, it was "balance." With Brandon Graham, "strong."
These words can be overly simplistic but watching Carroll in practice the word was "athlete," because from a body perspective the guy has every tool. The Madden thing has been brought up by two separate posters and it fits. For Ness, the word was "fiesty," because the guy really battles out there in coverage. Unfortunately he was on the far side of the field so it was harder to get a bead on him but I really did like what I saw. And not just sort of. I can't claim to have keyed on him coming out of Arizona so I don't know what the book was on him but I can't see why the guy was undrafted, frankly. Not only does he have the physical tools but he's articulate in interviews and seems to work at it.
Unfortunately this week won't be the best test because the Jaguars are pitifully thin at receiver but nonetheless I'm eager to see him live again with the bullets flying. Sparano's endorsements nonwithstanding I had reservations about Clemons from what I saw from him live that weren't assuaged by the Bucs game, so between him and the other guys this week will be particularly big for the entire secondary. The Bucs are awful and made plays they really shouldn't have. Despite the final score, the Jaguars first unit fell on their faces against the Eagles. I'd like to see a repeat of that this week.
