There have been times when the weather on gameday was sketchy, but that wasn’t the case this year. In fact, it really couldn’t have been any better, with blue skies, plenty of sun and temperatures in the high-60’s. By and large the NFL doesn’t care as much about the game and scouts are more concerned with how a player performs in practices during the week. Still, the actual game can be a valuable evaluation tool as well. Who steps up when the lights come on? Who stands out amongst the best competition they have faced in their lives to this point? Who is the best of the best? There is something to be said for guys who rise to that challenge. We watched the 2012 Senior Bowl from both the press box and sidelines to get a couple of different perspectives on the action. Of course it’s impossible to watch every single player on every play live without the obvious benefit of rewind and replay, but the following are just some of our initial impressions from the game.

   As a group the quarterbacks disappointed, combining to throw five interceptions. After a strong week of practices in which he was clearly the best signal caller in Mobile, Brandon Weeden of Oklahoma St. struggled a bit in the game. In fact, Weeden only completed 5 of 9 attempts and threw two of those picks. That performance won’t hurt Weeden’s stock, but it was a bit surprising compared to the expectations. San Diego St. QB Ryan Lindley continued to struggle mightily with his accuracy, which was a common theme all week long, completing less than half of his attempts. Arizona QB Nick Foles of Arizona wasn’t as good as his stat line (11 of 15 for 136 yards) might otherwise suggest and that footwork hasn’t really improved much from the beginning of the week. Kirk Cousins of Michigan St. was the best signal caller on the North squad, throwing for 115 yards. Even though Cousins threw an interception in the endzone it wasn’t his fault as DeVier Posey inexplicably cut off his route. At running back the star of the show was Isaiah Pead of Cincinnati, although instead of making his mark on offense Pead shined on special teams. In fact, Pead’s 98 punt return yards set a new Senior Bowl record. That is pretty amazing when you consider they’ve been playing this game since 1950! Doug Martin of Boise St. only carried the ball four times for 19 yards but made a key downfield block that helped spring Gerell Robinson on his 41 yard touchdown. The underrated Vick Ballard of Mississippi St. also flashed at times. On the other side of the coin, Washington RB Chris Polk hasn’t shown any special qualities all week and the same held true in the game while Chris Rainey of Florida didn’t make the type of impact that was expected from the explosive playmaker at either running back, wide receiver or on special teams. Wisconsin FB Bradie Ewing actually performed well, looking excellent as a blocker and even making a big catch in the passing game. At wide receiver the standout was Joe Adams of Arkansas, who finished with 8 catches for 133 yards. Defenders just couldn’t stay with the extraordinarily fast, quick and elusive Adams. Arizona WR Juron Criner showed great ball skills and really bailed Nick Foles out with some nice catches on a long drive. Criner also showed the ability to hang onto the ball while taking a hit. Arizona St. WR Gerell Robinson quietly had a very good week in Mobile and wrapped it up with two catches for 64 yards in the game, including taking a short pass 41 yards to the endzone. Cal WR Marvin Jones finished up his outstanding week in fine fashion, with his lone catch going for a touchdown. And it was against potential first rounder Janoris Jenkins! Meanwhile Texas A&M WR Jeff Fuller had a tough time again, struggling to get separation against Jamell Fleming. At tight end Missouri’s Michael Egnew only caught one pass for 14 yards but more importantly held his own as a blocker. Meanwhile L.S.U. TE Deangelo Peterson didn’t make much of an impact in the passing game and struggled as a blocker. Up front Ohio St. OT Mike Adams looked like a stud, making pass protection look easy against some of this drafts best rushers. The knock on Adams is that he is inconsistent and doesn’t always play up to his considerable talent level, but this performance was a preview of what the guy is capable of at his best. Georgia’s Cordy Glenn also played well, seeing action at offensive tackle throughout the game just as he did all week. Glenn wasn’t perfect as a pass pro but he more than held his own while excelling as a run blocker. On the other end of spectrum were L.S.U. OG Will Blackwell and Ohio St. C Michael Brewster, both of whom had more than their fair share of issues this week which unfortunately seemed to extend into the game. Iowa St. OT Kelechi Osemele also really struggled to protect the edge in pass protection.

   It’s hard to believe there was a defensive lineman who had a better game than Washington NT Alameda Ta’amu, who wreaked havoc on the interior. Not only did Ta’amu stuff the run and penetrate to make impact plays in the backfield, including two tackles for a loss, but he also showcased outstanding range and a fantastic motor. Marshall DE Vinny Curry had a big day as well, notching two sacks. North Carolina DE Quinton Coples was flagged for a late hit at one point but on the very next play showed why he may be a top ten overall pick by blowing by his blocker for a sack. UConn DT Kendall Reyes followed up a strong week of practices with nice performance in the game, which included a sack. Local hero Courtney Upshaw of Alabama looked good too, notching two sacks on the day. Clemson DT Brandon Thompson looked awfully stout in the middle as well. Unfortunately Virginia DE Cam Johnson didn’t play nearly as well as he practice, with the game captain having trouble getting around the edge as a pass rusher. Utah St. LB Bobby Wagner is one of this year’s most underrated prospects but that won’t be the case much long. Wagner had a terrific week of practices but really came on in the game, finishing with a high of seven tackles to go along with a tackle for a loss, an interception and a pass breakup. The guy truly is a great football player! North Carolina St. LB Audie Cole continued to impress too, filling in the whole and doing a solid job in coverage. North Carolina OLB Zach Brown had some good moments but also some bad, including a missed tackle and failing to get his head around in coverage on Ewing’s big catch. During pre-game warm-ups I paid close attention to Jake Bequette of Arkansas and the converted defensive end is looking so much better than he did at the start of the week. In fact, there were other ‘backer who looked worse than Bequette in the drills! At defensive back North Alabama CB Janoris Jenkins didn’t exactly have the type of huge game some expected but wasn’t awful either. On the other hand Oklahoma CB Jamell Fleming did a nice job in coverage and showed he wasn’t afraid to hit either. Oklahoma St. S Markelle Martin also stood out after a somewhat quiet week of practices. Much like during the week, Vanderbilt CB Casey Hayward had some issues, getting called for two pass interference penalties due to his physical play.

     

   As for the specialists, Purdue K Carson Wiggs wound up going three of four on field goal attempts, hitting from 27, 32 and 28 while missing from 37. During the pre-game warm-ups Wiggs also hit a 55 yarder with plenty of room to spare. Wiggs needs to become more consistent, but the tools are clearly there for the Boilermaker to legitimately compete for a job at the next level. Both punters also performed well and it was hard not to be impressed with the hangtime of Wisconsin’s Brad Nortman and the sterling 50.5 yards average on four attempts for Georgia’s Drew Butler.

   When the final whistle sounded the North was victorious, coming away with a 23 to 13 win over the South. Ironically the squad that most felt had less talent and was poorly coached won. This seems to happen almost every year! Cincinnati’s Isaiah Pead was named MVP for his record-setting performance on special teams, with Utah St. LB Bobby Wagner and Arkansas WR Joe Adams taking home the Most Outstanding Player honors for their respective teams. Of course the entire game tape must still be gone over with a fine-toothed comb but hopefully this report has provided a general idea about the players who stood out and what we saw while watching the 2012 Senior Bowl live from Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama.