Noel Devine

[anterrabae33]

A lot had a man crush on him and he looks to be a little injury prone but id like to see the bucs take a look at Brian Leonard. He's a hell of a 3rd down back.

I think you might have the two switched.  Noel has only had one significant injury since starting as a Freshman (and running the ball an ef load of times). 

Leonard just got put on IR this year for an ankle, had foot problems this year,  and has had shoulder problems since the end of his rookie year (had surgery on both of them that offseason).

All those statements were directed toward Leonard.

[TheGlennonCannon]

We need o-line and defense a lot more. Drafting a runningback before the 6th round is a waste.

[Fitz66]

A lot had a man crush on him and he looks to be a little injury prone but id like to see the bucs take a look at Brian Leonard. He's a hell of a 3rd down back.

I think you might have the two switched.  Noel has only had one significant injury since starting as a Freshman (and running the ball an ef load of times). 

Leonard just got put on IR this year for an ankle, had foot problems this year,  and has had shoulder problems since the end of his rookie year (had surgery on both of them that offseason).

All those statements were directed toward Leonard.

I see, said the blind mad.

My b.

[barbernbrooks]

He's the typical sideline to sideline runner who's cool to watch in college but will never make it in the pros....bush and sproles were even better and look where they are right now...I'll pass

[JDouble]

He's the typical sideline to sideline runner who's cool to watch in college but will never make it in the pros....bush and sproles were even better and look where they are right now...I'll pass

Nothing like Bush.

Kinda like Sproles.....are you saying you wouldn't want a 22 year old Sproles if he's still there in the 3rd round?

I'm usually the guy swearing off any undersized guys like Devine, but the truth is I haven't seen a guy make moves on top of moves like Devine since Barry Sanders. He doesn't do alot of running sideline to sideline or backwards like Reggie Bush did. He's almost always moving forward, he's freakishly strong for his size, has great vision, and as I mentioned his agility/balance/acceleration is comparable to Barry Sanders. He has a very rare ability to actually accelerate while changing directions rather than slowing done to make a cut like 99.9% of other RBs. He may be super small, but I can't imagine not wanting to take the guy if he was still there in the third round.

[GameTime]

Who trusts noel devine to pick up the blitz for josh freeman next year?

[GameTime]

I like the idea of brian leonard much better.  Small contract, won't cost a high draft pick, can play either rb spot, and has experience.

[TheGlennonCannon]

Who trusts noel devine to pick up the blitz for josh freeman next year?

This is why we resign caddy and not draft a runningback when it's a not a need. We have actual needs and runningback isn't one of them

[JDouble]

Who trusts noel devine to pick up the blitz for josh freeman next year?

I do. His highlights don't show a lot of pass protection because that isn't exciting, but if you actually watch West Virginia play, he is great at picking up the blitz.

Most running backs, including Caddie, throw themselves at a blitzers legs as a means of slowing them down. You don't have to be big to do that, just smart. If RBs actually needed good blocking technique and strength to block like a lineman, I'd agree he's too small...but that just isn't how it works. Devine benches 400+ and squats nearly 800lbs. He is short, but he is strong.

Here is one example of him taking out a DE that out weighs him by 100lbs.

[ras01]

I would take Noel Devine in 3rd, just because we really dont have anyone on offense that scares the other team as far as speed.  How good is he at catching the ball? If he has good hands we could even use him in the passing game to open stuff up for Blount.

[GameTime]

That's a lot of trust in a 5'8" 175lb rookie from a spread offense on 3rd and long.

[barbernbrooks]

That's a lot of trust in a 5'8" 175lb rookie from a spread offense on 3rd and long.

This. It's one thing to catch a guy off guard when he's chasing after someone else. It's another thing to block d lineman who are coming straight at you play after play.

And again, there really isn't someone of his size that's been successful in the nfl...

I guess dunn was a little similar in size, but I don't even know good he would do if he was drafted now instead of 10 years ago. Everyone's getting bigger. 

[TheGlennonCannon]

That's a lot of trust in a 5'8" 175lb rookie from a spread offense on 3rd and long.

This. It's one thing to catch a guy off guard when he's chasing after someone else. It's another thing to block d lineman who are coming straight at you play after play.

And again, there really isn't someone of his size that's been successful in the nfl...

I guess dunn was a little similar in size, but I don't even know good he would do if he was drafted now instead of 10 years ago. Everyone's getting bigger.

That's what she said

[JDouble]

He's the same size as Dunn and Dunn was good at pass protection. You're going to have pass protection concerns with any rookie RB, but I don't see his size as an issue. He has proven time and time again he plays 10x bigger than he is.

Besides, he would be a 3rd down back. 90% of the time he'd be in the game he'd be running a quick route out of the back field, not blocking.

[Pepsi]

I think Noel Devine will be taken earlier than everyone thinks. Some team is gonna surprise everyone and take him quick. Devine's been on NFL teams radars since he was a freshman in highschool.