#121 - Carl Bradford, (I?)LB, ASU

[Asher]

bizarro, he does throw himself around a little and play with an edge like clay, but a bit more controlled. i like that he uses gravity to his advantage---on the run, he instantly diagnoses the quickest way to bring a guy down most times, and just goes for that---midsection, legs, back, whatever is going to bring the guy to the turf fastest---not extending the play. that's a heady thing to do on the fly. hips low. has a nose for the qb and finds a beeline path. his relentlessness will wear guys out and draw double-teams even if he's not effective, which you could say is being effective. would love to see him inside exploiting lanes, and switching to outside to confuse the sh** out of everyone. i think maybe mccarthy/thompson/capers have the idea to cross-train and move around everyone in the front seven this year to wreak havoc on the offense. they may be inventing a 'new' defense of sorts---a front full of rebels/spies/rushers/whatever you want to call it.

[wichmae]

OK bizarro you are getting me hopeful on this guy. Why wasn't he drafted higher? Why didn't another team see the possible potential and take a shot on him?

He is really undersized. Doesnt have a plug and play position. He's going to have to be schemed in.

[bizarro]

OK bizarro you are getting me hopeful on this guy. Why wasn't he drafted higher? Why didn't another team see the possible potential and take a shot on him?

He is really undersized. Doesnt have a plug and play position. He's going to have to be schemed in.

He is slightly undersized, yes. However, it's been clear from the get to: They plan to stand him up Outside. Whether it works out, that's another story.

I still love the boom/bust value. This could be a steal.

[RiotPunch]

We're only sticking him OLB's for now because it is a premium position, IMO. He does not have the length to rush the edge, so that will likely lead to him ending up at ILB, where he will be an outstanding blitzer.

I had a 2nd round grade on Bradford, would have been OK with him at 53-- not that it means anything though.

[bizarro]

We're only sticking him OLB's for now because it is a premium position, IMO. He does not have the length to rush the edge, so that will likely lead to him ending up at ILB, where he will be an outstanding blitzer.

I had a 2nd round grade on Bradford, would have been OK with him at 53-- not that it means anything though.

I don't know. If Clay is playing right side, I don't really see an issue with length. I see him more as a developmental James Harrison. We have four ILB's the coaches feel very comfortable with - and w/ the additions of our UDFA sleeper, Joe Thomas, I'd say we have 5.

I'd also like to point out: Don't underestimate the Adrien Hubbard pick-up. Considering we missed out on Brent Urban and Will Clarke, I consider this our consolation prize. It could be a real real good one. Considering he went undrafted, our best hope is he has a new-found chip on his shoulder. You can't teach 6'6" PF athleticism.

[LUKE23]

Yeah, I think he'll end up inside, and he has plenty of size to play ILB (6-1, 250). We badly need some speed/burst at that spot. Hell, I won't be shocked if he beats out Jones as the starter opposite Hawk.

It will be interesting to see how we line up. I know they have mentioned Peppers as OLB, but at his age and size, DE makes a lot more sense. We don't really have a base defense anymore, but in a standard 3-4 I could see:

Peppers-Raji-Daniels
Perry-Bradford-Hawk-Matthews
Hayward-Williams
Dix-Burnett

We are so deep in the secondary I see us going a lot of 5 and 6 DB formations. It will be interesting to see how they rotate the DL and LB though. Even if you play 3 DL and 4 LB, you still have D. Jones and Neal at your disposal. We have a lot of pass rushing options this year. All of Matthews/Perry/Daniels/Peppers/Neal/D. Jones are capable of a 7 sack or better season IMO.

[raysbookclub]

I think their normal MO is to start LBs at OLB and then after that to try them inside; that's what they did for Brad Jones and Jamari Lattimore.

There's a lot of depth at the OLB now: Matthews, Peppers, Perry, Neal, Mulumba, Bradford, Palmer, Hubbard

[Charles Lee Ray]

Anyone else see the melvin ingram comparison here, short arms and high motors/explosiveness??

[LUKE23]

Somewhat similar numbers, although Ingram was 14 pounds heavier coming in.

Ingram: 6-1, 264 pounds, 31.5 inch arms, 9-5/8 inch hands, 4.79 40, 28 reps, 34.5 inch vert, 109.0 inch broad jump, 6.83 second 3 cone, 4.18 20 yard shuttle

Bradford: 6-1, 250 pounds, 30.25 inch arms, 9.5 inch hands, 4.76 40, 23 reps, 37.5 inch vert, 122.0 inch broad jump, 7.25 second 3 cone, 4.30 20 yard shuttle

[bizarro]

Cleans 400lb. That explains the vert.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpLZVuLrqRg[/youtube]

SO, I just had to bump this. I was talking with my cousin tonight and we were reminiscing our late and great aunt Dawn Reshel Sharon. She was a monumental figure in the world of women's powerlifting. And she was just an incredibly sweet human being. She was also a world-renowned star in the powerlifting community and a celebrity in the Milwaukee lifting community. Anyhow, I remembered Carl's clean and jerk of 400. SO, I thought...let me post Dawn's personal bests as an homage to Milwaukee's very own strongest woman in the world and my aunt. She broke over 100 world records. RIP.

Dawn' Lifting resume
6 times WPC World Champion 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
Best Gym Lifts
688-sq at bodyweight of 193lb
355-bp at bodyweight of 193lb
595-dl
DL in Rack from knees - 655x3
Bench Lockouts in Power rack top ½ range - 405x3

Best Competiton Lifts :
165lb. Class - 617-sq 318-bp 567-dl. 1504lb. total (6/13/1992)
181lb. Class - 590-sq 303-bp 590-dl. 1483lb total (8/30/1988)
198lb. Class - 633-sq 327-bp 604-dl. 1564 total (5/15/1988)
(bdwt 191)
SHW Class - 523lb-sq 297-bp 567-dl 1388ttl Stone UK Dec 1989 W.P.C Worlds

AND, to sum it up: Holy ****. No wonder she used to throw me 8-10 feet in the air above our swimming pool

[th87]

^That is seriously very impressive.