Thread: Nick Reed Makes a Strong Pitch for the Final 53..............

Nick Reed, DE






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04/28/2009 - A closer look at the Seahawks' picks: Round 7/247 - Nick Reed, DE, 6-2, 245, Oregon...Reed has a good motor and is considered a pass-rushing specialist. He finished with a school-record 29.5 sacks, which ranks fourth in Pac-10 history. His 51.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage also is a school record.


02/02/2009 - Yesterday's Super Bowl marked the official end to the NFL season, but preparations are already underway for next year and a component of that is the annual National Invitational Camp - more commonly known as the NFL combine. Seven Ducks - Jairus Byrd, Patrick Chung, Ra'Shon Harris, Jeremiah Johnson, Fenuki Tupou, Jaison WIlliams and Max Unger - received invites, the second-highest total behind USC (12) among Pac-10 schools. Notably absent from the list is All-American Nick Reed, the only UO player to appear in one of this year's postseason all-star games not invited. Typically, additional spots open up as players pull out or decline to participate, so there may by hope yet for the 2008 Morris Trophy (Pac-10's top defensive lineman) winner to put his skills on display for NFL scouts and executives. - Andy McNamara, Oregon football


Overview
The heart and soul of the Ducks' defense, Reed epitomized as a player with a constant motor who refused to be outworked by the opposition and exhibited a great passion for the game. Not only did he perform at a high level on the gridiron, he also excelled in academics. He became only the second football player at Oregon to ever earn first-team All-American honors on the field (Walter Camp Foundation) and in the classroom (ESPN the Magazine), joining Steve Barnett (offensive lineman) from 1962.

Reed set the school career record with 29.5 sacks, a number that ranks fourth in Pac-10 Conference history and 10th in the NCAA major college ranks. His 51.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage also set an Oregon all-time record and placed fourth in conference annals while ranking 14th in college football history. He registered at least one sack or tackle for loss 23 of his final 26 contests.

At Trabuco Canyon High School, Reed earned All-Orange County Region honors from the Los Angeles Times and Defensive Player of the Year accolades by the Orange County Register. He garnered first-team All-CIF Southern Section, CIF Southern Section Division II co-Defensive Player of the Year and South Coast League Defensive MVP recognition.

Reed also received votes on the Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West balloting. He was credited with 65 tackles, 10 sacks (third in the league) and two fumble recoveries as a senior.

As a true freshman, Reed appeared in 11 games as a reserve left defensive end. He collected five solo tackles with a sack and three stops behind the line of scrimmage. He also excelled on special teams, blocking a punt vs. Arizona State that he advanced 27 yards to set up an Oregon scoring drive.

In 2006, injuries on the defensive front wall thrust Reed into the starting lineup at right defensive end for the team's final 10 contests. He ranked fourth on the team with 30 tackles (15 solos), adding 3.5 sacks and six stops behind the line of scrimmage. He also blocked an extra point vs. Washington State. At the conclusion of the season, he was named to the Academic All-Pac 10 Conference team.

Reed was the major reason Oregon led the nation in tackles for loss in 2007. The All-American second-team and All-Pac 10 Conference first-team choice also added Academic All-American honors. He started all 13 games at left end, leading the conference in both sacks and tackles for loss. His 12 sacks ranked ninth nationally while his 22.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage ranked fifth in the NCAA. He recorded 60 tackles (30 solos) and recovered a fumble.
After establishing himself as one of the elite pass rushers in the country in 2007, Reed proved in 2008 that his junior season was no fluke. He was named All-American and Academic All-American and was a finalist for the Ted Hendricks Award (nation's top defensive end) for the second consecutive year. The All-Pac 10 Conference first-team pick again led the league and ranked fourth nationally with 13 sacks. His 20.0 stops for loss placed him tied for eighth in the NCAA, as he also led the country with five fumble recoveries. He posted 53 tackles (35 solos) and caused two fumbles.
Analysis
Positives: Strong up top with adequate lower-body strength. … Draws chips and double teams regularly due to his high motor. … Uses his stout build to play with leverage at the point, although he does not hold his ground against helping guards. … Effective spin move inside or outside when man-up. … Uses his hands well at the point, able to punch or rip off his man or avoid running back blocks when he has the space to do it. … Varies his attack inside and outside so blockers don't zero in on one move. … Hustles toward the quarterback, downfield and chases down the line. … Lines up on both sides of the line. … Plays on coverage units.

Negatives: Short for an edge rusher, and has little muscle definition. … Lacks the explosiveness off the snap of other undersized NFL ends. … Gets engulfed by larger offensive tackles. … Can not recover from a wide rush, allowing the quarterback to step up in the pocket. … Sacks often come against lesser tackles and when quarterback holds the ball too long. … Wears down in the fourth quarter against stronger linemen. … May be moved to linebacker, but does not have to the flexibility and change of direction agility to handle coverage responsibilities. … Gets in position to make plays in space, but lacks the quickness to finish against NFL-type backs and receivers.
Compares To: PARYS HARALSON, San Francisco -- It took a few years for Haralson to acclimate to playing linebacker before emerging last season, and Reed brings the same qualities to the table. At worst, he will be an efficient edge rusher and special teams coverage defender early in his NFL career, but there is just something about him that says he has "it" to put together a pretty decent pro career, whether in the middle (his ability to react to the play and recognize blocking schemes) or at the strong-side (to take advantage of his pass rushing skills). The trick is getting him experience in pass coverage before a team can trust him as an every-down player, but he is the type of guy that can grow with a patient team, later in the draft.
Scouting Report
GENERAL REPORT: GRADE-6.12
Body Structure: Reed lacks the frame you look for in a defensive end, but for a possible move to linebacker he has a short, compact frame with adequate musculature definition. His biggest physical drawback is his size. As a linebacker, he shows long arms, tight waist and good lower body thickness, but is by far not a physical specimen.

Athletic Ability: Reed is an athletic mover with good speed for a rush end, showing adequate agility and change of direction skills. He has good balance and body control working down the line and manages to play on his feet, even when knocked around by the bigger offensive linemen. GRADE: 5.7

Football Sense: Reed is a smart, heady player who learns football well and plays with valid instincts. He will bust on occasion, but is a minimal reps type that will have no problem dealing with the mental aspect of the game. GRADE: 6.4

Character: Reed is a good program player, clean off the field and active within the community. He comes from a split, but very supportive family. He is mature for his age and football is very important to him. He takes a strong business-like approach to everything that he does. GRADE: 6.3

Competitiveness: Reed plays with steady effort and good intensity from the snap until the whistle on every play. He improved his stamina during the 2008 offseason, but there are still times when he will run out of gas late in games. He is the type that if he is headed in the right direction, he will generally close on the pocket. He plays with a high motor and has a nice array of moves (especially the spin) to slip and avoid blocks on the move. He really hustles to the ball and his ability to explode off the edge will see him stunt from both ends of the line. GRADE: 6.0

Work Habits: Reed is not a rah-rah type of player, but is a responsible team leader who will not hesitate to get vocal in the huddle, if needed. He prefers to lead by example and to that end he will usually be the first guy in to any team function or meeting. He shows good focus in the training room, in practices and in games. GRADE: 6.2

ATHLETIC REPORT: GRADE: 6.11

Key and Diagnostic Skills: Reed is an active, intuitive player with good field instincts in finding the ball, especially on running plays. He is a quick reactor who might blow an assignment, but will work hard to get back into the play. He shows good ability to read hats when working down the line and while he will get tied up if an offensive lineman latches on, he knows how to vary his speed and moves so a blocker doesn't fell confident they can contain him. GRADE: 6.4

Playing Strength and Explosion: Reed has good upper body strength and a strong hand punch, but lacks the lower body power to split double teams or anchor well vs. the bigger blockers. He will get engulfed when trying to work the inside gaps, but when he keeps his hands active he can stuff and shed playing the rush lanes. He is good at slipping and avoiding blocks, but if tagged by the lineman the battle is over. He is effective taking on the lead block to stuff the hole, making him a possible better fit as an inside linebacker in a 3-4 alignment. He just needs to avoid bigger blockers, as they usually tie him up at the Xs. GRADE: 5.9

Lateral Pursuit/Range: Reed shows a very quick spin move that he uses regularly to gain penetration. He slides behind the line efficiently working through trash, but when he gets pushed out taking a wide rush he lacks the speed to recover. He generally plays with good leverage and does a pretty decent job of scraping downhill for a player his size. He just knows how to play to the flow of the ball and that is why he was used often on stunts and games. When he stays low in his pads, he has good success getting through traffic to make the play. GRADE: 6.2

Use of Hands: Reed does not use his hands well in rare times he had to cover a tight end. He can adequately use them to ward off smaller blockers, but his punch is not going to put an offensive lineman on the ground. He has the reach to separate, but if a lineman gets a piece of his jersey, he struggles to shed. He has better upper body strength than in his lower frame and when he gets a hand on the ball carrier, he does an effective job to wrap and secure. GRADE: 5.5

Tackling Ability: Reed has good rip moves to play off blocks and chase down ball carriers along the edge. He scrapes hard to the hole on inside runs and plays with leverage on the lead blocker, but will get "out-bigged" by a down lineman, lacking the anchor to prevent from being put on his rump. He is not much of an explosive striker, but will wrap and secure if he is able to get position first. He will miss in space when he fails to come to balance. He can make plays by taking a chance, but runs more of a risk of getting cut off or coming up short, as he does not do a great job of protecting his legs from low blocks. GRADE: 5.8

Run Defense: Reed needs to be on the move to be effective here. He can scrape to the hole and clog up the lead blocker, but bigger men toss him around. He generally has good balance working outside the box, taking proper angles with a decent short-area burst to get to the ball. He seems to have a good sense for where the ball is going, but because of his size he runs under blocks with mixed results. He shows marginal hand usage to shed blockers in the trenches, limiting him to making plays vs. the run from the outside more effective. Even there, he does not always come under control to wrap and take down. GRADE: 5.5

Pass Defense: This is still an area that should be considered a work in progress, as it is rare to see him handle pass coverage assignments, except for a few plays here and there on short-area routes by the ball carrier and tight end. He gives up some height to the bigger tight ends and does not show great leaping ability or timing to high point the ball (just two pass breakups in 50 games). He does show some awareness and moving skills to disrupt the passing lanes and discourage throws, though. He has enough speed to cover backs out of the backfield, but he does appear a little tight in his turning motion when coming out of his breaks. GRADE: 5.6

Pass Rush and Blitz: Reed is quick and aggressive coming off the edge. He has a good array of rush moves and knows how to vary his speed to get the offensive lineman off balance. He stunts quite a bit and has had decent success slipping under blocks when attacking through the inside gaps. He shows good timing and burst to close on the pocket and is active with his feet to avoid and spin away from blockers on the move. He will hit or bounce the QB with leverage, keeping balance to finish the play. What separates him from most is the way he can easily anticipate the snap, compensating for having just good speed by getting off the line just a fraction of a second before the blocker can position. When he finds the rush lane, he has the burst to flush out and pressure the quarterback and a move to middle linebacker could be beneficial, as he can bring the heat on the blitz. GRADE: 8.0

Compares To: PARYS HARALSON, San Francisco -- It took a few years for Haralson to acclimate to playing linebacker before emerging last season, and Reed brings the same qualities to the table. At worst, he will be an efficient edge rusher and special teams coverage defender early in his NFL career, but there is just something about him that says he has "it" to put together a pretty decent pro career, whether in the middle (his ability to react to the play and recognize blocking schemes) or at the strong-side (to take advantage of his pass rushing skills). The trick is getting him experience in pass coverage before a team can trust him as an every-down player, but he is the type of guy that can grow with a patient team, later in the draft.
OVERALL GRADE: 6.11--Report by Dave-Te' Thomas

Originally Posted by MPBears68

Can Reed (or Addison) play a little OLB in a pinch? lol

They're either gonna pick up a LB from waivers or they're taking their chances with the five we rostered and plan on bringing Pisa back next month. We should know within the next day or so which way that wind blows.

Not much in his scouting report to commend him as much else than a pass rush specialist and ST guy at this level but his rating as a pass rusher is pretty high, 8.0, and we've seen that in him so far. I underlined the comments about his quickness off the snap and how he gets into the blocker before he can set. That's exactly what I've observed watching him.

The most interesting side note is the thought that he may be able to play a MLB spot in a 3-4 defense although that doesn't do us any good. I think if we use him sparingly to give Izzy a periodic breather he may just put up some nice sack and pressure numbers. He's one of the most natural pass rushers I've ever seen. Reminds me a bit of Trace Armstrong.

Originally Posted by MPBears68

Besides our thin-OT situation, that's the one serious hole we have left on depth chart imo (now that we have Meriweather at S). I can't see us getting through on just 2 backup LBs, one of whom is an undrafted rookie. Haven't seen any waiver rumors yet about who we might grab for a 6th LB spot. Pisa would be the ideal choice if he's healthy enough by October. Like Venable, looks like Addison's time on the roster may be short.

I was hoping against all hope that the Giants might cut Herzlich and try to sneak him onto their PS but no joy. The kept him on the final roster for now. He's a guy worth watching though. If the Giants have to add at another spot because of injury I'd be getting in line for him but he'd have to pass through 29 other teams first before we'd get a shot. Slim hope there too.