Preseason Profile: Nathan Stupar, LB

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Jul 302012
 

Nathan Stupar #54

College: Penn State
Height: 6’1⅝”
Weight: 241 lbs
Arm Length: 31.3″
Hand Size 9.1″

 

40 Yard Dash: 4.78
3 Cone Drill: 6.84
20 Yard Shuttle: 4.28
Bench Press: 21 reps
Vertical Jump: 31″
Broad Jump: 116″

 

Nathan Stupar was drafted out of Linebacker U. Regardless of what the college is famous for now, they have been able to produce solid linebackers on a yearly basis. Nathan has a really high football IQ and comes in as a very disciplined player. How’s that for a change of pace huh? Disciplined? He also comes from a pedigree of NFL players which include a brother Jonathan Stupar who most recently played TE for the Baltimore Ravens and an uncle Jeff Hostetler who is a former quarterback of the Raiders.

Stupar started 7 games his senior season at outside linebacker and collected 73 tackles which included 6.5 tackles for a loss and 2 sacks. He’s still is a bit of an unknown though having played behind a rich crop of linebackers at Penn State. Stupar projects to battle for a special teams spot his first season while he attempts to make his mark on defense. Expect him to add weight to his frame to help be more competitive at the next level. He looks to have a decent frame to play at 250-255.

Preseason Profile: Kaelin Burnett, LB

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Jul 172012
 

Kaelin Burnett #57

College: Nevada
Height: 6’3½”
Weight: 234 lbs
Arm Length: N/A
Hand Size N/A

 

40 Yard Dash: 4.64
3 Cone Drill: 6.70
20 Yard Shuttle: 4.30
Bench Press: 20 reps
Vertical Jump: 34.5″
Broad Jump: 129″

 

Kaelin Burnett is the brother of Miami Dolphins linebacker Kevin Burnett. Kaelin began his career playing outside linebacker at Nevada, but was moved to defensive end right before his senior season . He is obviously not your prototypical defensive end at 234 lbs, but did show case his agility and notched 48 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, and 5 sacks in his senior season.

Kaelin’s road to the NFL was not easy though. He had to overcome shoulder surgery in 2008 and a very serious hip injury he suffered during spring practice before his senior season at Nevada. “I went up in the air to knock down a screen pass,” Burnett said in an interview with Joe Santoro from examiner.com. “I got pushed in the air and landed on my hip.” this wasn’t an ordinary hip injury though. “They told me they had never seen it before from a football injury,” Burnett said. “It was split open (vertically) all along the side. They said it was the type of injury rodeo cowboys usually get after they get knocked off a horse or bull.” Burnett was later told by doctors that he likely would no longer be able to play football again.

Burnett’s determination and love for the game of football were severely underrated by the doctors though. After losing his father before he was even born, Kaelin was partly raised by his brother Kevin and wanted nothing more than to follow in his footsteps. He grew to love the game of football and dreamed of playing in the NFL. That dream was not going to be destroyed without a fight. It took almost 2 months before Burnett could walk on his own again, but once he got back on his feet, there was no stopping him. Less than 2 months later he was back out on the practice field with his teammates.

Obviously, his determination can not be questioned, but where does Burnett fit on the Raiders defense? Burnett is working strictly with the linebackers right now and is a candidate for a 3-4 rush linebacker role and the SAM linebacker role in the 4-3. He also excelled on special teams during his time at Nevada and will without a doubt look to lock up a role there as well start his career in the NFL. In a recent interview with Chris Hansen of RaidersBlog.com, Kaelin Burnett was asked about his expectations leading up to the draft “I’m happy if I get drafted or undrafted and go in as a free agent” Burnett said. “I’m just trying to get in the building, and once I get in the building, I don’t plan on leaving.”

Burnett will undoubtedly be a fun player to keep an eye on throughout camp, and we’ll see where his progress takes him now that he has his shot to make an NFL roster.

 

 

 

 

 

Preseason Profile: Miles Burris, LB

 Posted by at 5:00 PM  1 Response »
Jul 162012
 

Miles Burris #56

College: San Diego St.
Height: 6’2⅛”
Weight: 246 lbs
Arm Length: 31.7″
Hand Size 9.7″

 

40 Yard Dash: 4.67
3 Cone Drill: 6.81
20 Yard Shuttle: 4.20
Bench Press: 31 reps
Vertical Jump: 37.5″
Broad Jump: 121″

 

The Raiders seemed very excited at the opportunity to grab Miles Burris in the 4th round of the draft this year. In my opinion Miles seemed to fly under the radar a bit, and I wanted to dig a little deeper into why that was. Miles is a very instinctive player. He rarely second guesses his first read, and doesn’t waste movements during the play. By that I mean he doesn’t take a lot of “false steps” or move lateral too much.  Because of that Miles plays faster than his 40 time suggests and is another reason why straight line speed is overrated by many. He has an attack mentality about him that I believe had a lot to do with the Raiders interest in him.

Miles made a lot of “splash” plays at San Diego St. His relentlessness and motor remind me of Von Miller, but his physical ability is less superior. He plays with an extreme passion and wants to be in on every play. That is a great quality to posses and it can’t be taught. Burris is also very strong for a 246 lbs linebacker. He was able to do 31 reps on the bench at the combine, and was still able to be one of the top performers in vertical jump and broad jump. Because of his strength and agility he is able to get off blocks and be effective in traffic.

The biggest concern about Miles Burris though, is that he doesn’t have a lot of room for growth in his game. Many seem to believe that while he might be almost ready to start now in the NFL, he might not ever be more than a slightly above average player long term. Now that is a pretty bold assumption in my opinion, of course only time will tell the story. I will say this though, Burris seems to be a very blue collar type player. He takes care of his body and seems to give his all, all the time. Burris racked up 40 tackles for loss, and 18 sacks in his last 2 years in college.

Did the Raiders see in Miles Burris what others failed to recognize or is the majority right in predicting a low ceiling for Burris?

 

Preseason Profile: Travis Goethel, LB

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Jul 162012
 

Travis Goethel #50

College: Arizona St.
Height: 6’2½”
Weight: 240 lbs
Arm Length: 32.0″
Hand Size 9.6″

 

40 Yard Dash: 4.81
3 Cone Drill: 6.93
20 Yard Shuttle: 4.54
Bench Press: 21 reps
Vertical Jump: 35″
Broad Jump: 111″

 

Travis Goethel was selected in the 6th round in the 2010 draft. He was initially thought to be one of those late round steals after making some significant noise in training camp, but a lower back injury limited him severely his first season with the Raiders. He saw action in just 8 games his rookie season, most of which was on special teams. After showing signs of promise his rookie year before the injury, many were excited to see what Goethel had to offer in his second season with a clean bill of health. He burst onto the scene again in 2011, drawing rave reviews in training camp from the coaches, and was in line to start at weak side linebacker. Fans again began to hope Goethel would emerge into a late round steal for the Raiders only to have history repeat itself in the form of a torn ACL that caused Goethel to miss the entire 2011 season.

Travis Goethel now finds himself losing traction. Another major injury, and it will more than likely end his stint in Oakland. However, Goethel still has enough talent to make a real impact on the 2012 defense. He is a very versatile player, that can fill any one of the linebacker spots in a 4-3 and could probably play inside in the 3-4. With the legal troubles of Rolando McClain and the history of good training camps from Goethel, don’t sleep on the possibility of him still earning a starting spot. Of course, before Goethel can begin thinking about earning a starting spot, he will have to defeat his biggest enemy which is the injury bug.

It is also worth mentioning that Goethel was a favorite of the old coaching staff in Oakland. With the new regime taking over, his previous training camp performances are irrelevant and he no longer has ties to anyone. If he has another strong camp and impresses coaches again this year, it’s a good indication that Travis Goethel has some real talent on the football field.

Will Goethel finally hold up long enough to establish himself or will he become the “Chaz Schilens” of the Raiders defense?

Preseason Profile: Philip Wheeler, LB

 Posted by at 12:00 PM  1 Response »
Jul 092012
 

Philip Wheeler #52

College: Georgia Tech
Height: 6’1⅞”
Weight: 248 lbs
Arm Length: N/A”
Hand Size: N/A”

 

40 Yard Dash: 4.76
3 Cone Drill: 7.11
20 Yard Shuttle: 4.29
Bench Press: 24 reps
Vertical Jump: 31″
Broad Jump: 118″

 

“A tenacious, strong and remarkably athletic inside linebacker… considered by many as one of the nation’s best-blitzing linebackers”. Those were words used to describe Philip Wheeler coming out of college. He averaged a half sack per game his senior year at Georgia Tech and also led the team in tackles. His athleticism allows him to play coverage as well and he led Georgia Tech in interceptions in 2007 with four, not bad for an inside linebacker.

His athleticism was a big part of why he was drafted by the Colts in the third round of the 2008 draft. The Colts have been a very finesse defense for the better part of a decade and really liked how a guy like Wheeler fit into their defensive system. The Colts run a strict cover two defense where Wheeler’s athleticism was needed in coverage a lot. The problem was, it took away one of his biggest strengths. Wheeler came from an attack style defense at Georgia Tech where he spent a lot of his time blitzing and getting after the quarterback, something he excelled at. So why the Colts were making good use of Wheelers athleticism in their cover two, they were also under utilizing his ability to blitz and attack at the line of scrimmage.

The Raiders have different plans for Wheeler, which were made clear the day they signed him. The Raiders are installing a system that includes many different packages and looks. From man coverage to zone coverage, from 4-3 to 3-4 fronts and from blitz packages to cover two defense, the Raiders plan to do it all. In order to make that happen, guys with versatility such as Philip Wheeler are important. You have to have guys with the ability to do more than one thing on the field. “They ask me to do a lot of things, cover the tight end sometimes, blitz sometimes, drop back in coverage,” Wheeler said when asked of his responsibilities in the Raiders defense. “It’s fun because the offense is never going to know what we’re doing.”

Even though Wheeler will be competing for the starting strong side linebacker role, don’t expect him to fill the same role vacated by Kamerion Wimbley. They are two completely different players playing in two completely different schemes. Regardless of who starts at strong side linebacker, I expect a good rotation of players based on situation and packages. Jason Tarver and Dennis Allen are smart men, and I expect match ups to always be part of the equation with them.

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