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MOBILE, Ala. – The week of the Senior Bowl is arguably more important than the game itself. You get to see players compete on an equal playing field in drills, matching up players from different conferences and levels participating in the same drills. You can learn a lot about players, especially the small-school guys, seeing them succeed or fail in those drills. Being in new situations can do wonders for helping quantify what teams see on film.
What the game doesn’t do is show these players in a true simulation. The teams run a condensed, rather basic playbook that is conducive to an environment of “best man wins” rather than a masterclass of scheme. Because of that, how you watch the game to learn about players and prospects needs to be approached as such.
Here are four areas to watch for during Saturday’s game:
Quarterback Control of the Offense
There isn’t a ton to read with the quarterbacks and commanding the offense. The teams run about a dozen plays and don’t get a lot of work during practice to run the plays with the team. One element to watch with the quarterbacks is how confident they are commanding the offense. When you have so little time practicing with the team to get comfortable with your surroundings and playbook, seeing a quarterback really confident running the offense is a nice touch. Another element to keep an eye on is watching the quarterbacks taking snaps from under center. Kenny Pickett has a lot of experience with taking snaps from under center, but the other five don’t have a lot….
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