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Sam Brooks - Stop the Insanity

Count me among the group who's skeptical.

His stats are impressive at first glance but when you dig deeper you'll find that most of his production is unblocked or cleanup plays. He played as an undersized edge rusher often in a 2pt stance and his speed and explosion were a mismatch for most of the linemen he faced. In a best-case scenario he remains in that role and bulks up to be a Barkevious Mingo type. He'll need to be more physical and precise with his hands to make the most of that role. Like I said his strengths are his straight-line speed and explosion and his knack for finding the ball.



I just don't see him succeeding as an off-ball LB. He's high-hipped and straight-linish. He doesn't open his hips and move in the transverse plane - everything is in a straight-line. When he has to break down and make a tackle in space he struggles to bend his knees, drop his pads and strafe laterally. He will overrun a lot of open-field tackles with those limitations and he's a fish out of water in coverage. Again if he can just run and chase in a straight line he's fantastic but there's so much more to the position than that.

Feel free to disagree but I can't recall the last LB I've misevaluated at any level. It just doesn't happen. I played the position and I know what traits are critical for it.
 
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HighSeas said:
Count me among the group who's skeptical.

His stats are impressive at first glance but when you dig deeper you'll find that most of his production is unblocked or cleanup plays. He played as an undersized edge rusher often in a 2pt stance and his speed and explosion were a mismatch for most of the linemen he faced. In a best-case scenario he remains in that role and bulks up to be a Barkevious Mingo type. He'll need to be more physical and precise with his hands to make the most of that role. Like I said his strengths are his straight-line speed and explosion and his knack for finding the ball.



I just don't see him succeeding as an off-ball LB. He's high-hipped and straight-linish. He doesn't open his hips and move in the transverse plane - everything is in a straight-line. When he has to break down and make a tackle in space he struggles to bend his knees, drop his pads and strafe laterally. He will overrun a lot of open-field tackles with those limitations and he's a fish out of water in coverage. Again if he can just run and chase in a straight line he's fantastic but there's so much more to the position than that.

Feel free to disagree but I can't recall the last LB I've misevaluated at any level. It just doesn't happen. I played the position and I know what traits are critical for it.
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Interesting. Would you have said a lot of the same things about Tav Gooden? I'm asking sincerely, as it's going to require a similar position transition from Brooks. From what I remember, most of what we saw from Tav in HS was straight chase and linear play. With time here, he got better to the point of being a 3rd rounder and carving out a nice NFL career. Have you seen Brooks play live or full games? Trying to get context and learn a bit from someone who played the position. Playing a position gives insight and nuance that's tough to otherwise develop. I'd also ask for commentary on the role of our gap shooting defense on Brooks' potential impact. Putting aside his 40, Brooks' short shuttle was really impressive, IIRC.
 
HighSeas said:
Count me among the group who's skeptical.

His stats are impressive at first glance but when you dig deeper you'll find that most of his production is unblocked or cleanup plays. He played as an undersized edge rusher often in a 2pt stance and his speed and explosion were a mismatch for most of the linemen he faced. In a best-case scenario he remains in that role and bulks up to be a Barkevious Mingo type. He'll need to be more physical and precise with his hands to make the most of that role. Like I said his strengths are his straight-line speed and explosion and his knack for finding the ball.



I just don't see him succeeding as an off-ball LB. He's high-hipped and straight-linish. He doesn't open his hips and move in the transverse plane - everything is in a straight-line. When he has to break down and make a tackle in space he struggles to bend his knees, drop his pads and strafe laterally. He will overrun a lot of open-field tackles with those limitations and he's a fish out of water in coverage. Again if he can just run and chase in a straight line he's fantastic but there's so much more to the position than that.

Feel free to disagree but I can't recall the last LB I've misevaluated at any level. It just doesn't happen. I played the position and I know what traits are critical for it.
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I understand what you are saying, but this video was from when he was a sophomore and he was coming off an injury. I personally think once he gets into a college football program his raw athletic ability will help him adjust and he will be successful.
 
PittsburghCane said:
I gotta speak on Sam Brooks. Because the slander on here has gone way too far. I am still in the process of finding the numbers but I just have to start a conversation around the kind of player he really is and not what some people are perpetrating him to be.

First and foremost the eye test is and has always been there. Film on film on film. He strikes aggressively and authoritatively, plays through the whistle and shows great speed and bend.
Furthering the eye test hes got the frame of a true LB. Long limbed, wide shoulders, tall at 6'3 and plenty of room for more good weight. A season with a college program will do wonders. He is currently over 200 and should be close to 220 by seasons start.
Athletically he projects as a high 4 star athlete. I will submit that this is subjective, but look at his opening numbers as a post season sophomore from almost exactly two years ago.

View attachment 84505

Those numbers (top)are as a sophomore. Next to Yasir Abdullah, who was a freak, Anthony Solomon who was said to be a very athletic ILB, Rian Davis who was a borderline 5 star last year, and Justin Flow who is the number one LB this. His numbers are on par or better than all as a sophomore. Subjectively, its easy to assume he would improve very well from those numbers. He is now 6'3, north of 200 and his vertical and shuttle, per @Lance Roffers are great indicators of future athleticism.
Lastly the kid was the BEST player in the most talented football county in america as a sophomore. Had he not gotten hurt his junior year we are probably looking at a top 30 player.
Please, lets stop talking about Sam like he is some consolation prize. He's way more than that and has the makings of a big time impact player.

EDIT: Found updated numbers from Lance Roffer on the site:

Sam Brooks- 194 pounds, 4.62 40, 4.20 SH, 42’ Powerball, 36” Vertical, 116.91 SPARQ

Several of our recruits got fanfare from recruiting analysts this year, but Brooks seemed to be overlooked. His profile is that of a high-end AC player. His production was top-shelf and his athletic testing matched. 92nd percentile athlete.
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Phenomenal post. Absolutely well deserved. & Daddy was a Killa.
 
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LuCane said:
Interesting. Would you have said a lot of the same things about Tav Gooden? I'm asking sincerely, as it's going to require a similar position transition from Brooks. From what I remember, most of what we saw from Tav in HS was straight chase and linear play. With time here, he got better to the point of being a 3rd rounder and carving out a nice NFL career. Have you seen Brooks play live or full games? Trying to get context and learn a bit from someone who played the position. Playing a position gives insight and nuance that's tough to otherwise develop. I'd also ask for commentary on the role of our gap shooting defense on Brooks' potential impact. Putting aside his 40, Brooks' short shuttle was really impressive, IIRC.
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He helps us on special teams immediately and helps us upgrade there. The Tavares Gooden comparison is a very good one.
 
Liberty City El said:
Will LB, in the same role as Pinckney, just bring pressure & rack up TFL's in the backfield.

He'll have to learn to drop back in coverage as well in certain packages, but the Striker should be more of the coverage backer in our 4-2-5. The Weak side LB should always be in run support shooting the gap to get to the runner or coming on a delayed Blitz bringing an extra man upfront once the pocket is collapsed.
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Agree 100
 
I'm not saying you guys are wrong about him, but I got a chance to see him play in person he looked like a solid player but nothing special, now maybe he was playing in the wrong position or something, or maybe him being in our defensive scheme at linebacker will allow him to use his athletic ability better.
 
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Hurricane23 said:
I'm not saying you guys are wrong about him, but I got a chance to see him play in person he looked like a solid player but nothing special, now maybe he was playing in the wrong position or something, or maybe him being in our defensive scheme at linebacker will allow him to use his athletic ability better.
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I do have to admit he looked better before the injury
 
Clearly he's a plus athlete and his highlights show his quickness and nose for the ball. I'm still always a bit skeptical of these undersized defensive ends that try to make the conversion to 4-3 linebacker. I know others have done it before and Brooks certainly looks skilled enough to make the transition but what he did in high school and what he'll be asked to do in college are totally different. I don't want to doubt the kid and I trust the staff's evaluation. It's just that he's not going to be lining up on the end of the line of scrimmage and just running into the backfield on every down now.
 
I'm certainly not sleeping on Brooks. The kid is a flat out stud. The big question with Sam recently has been whether or not he could get back to 100% after the injury. Everything that I have heard points to him being 100% healthy and ready to go. We need more depth at LB without a doubt but I see Brooks, Huff and Joyner as a formidable trio at LB. Its an absolute shame about Waynmon Steed as he would have been right there competing with those 3 along with Jennings. Regardless of the above we still need to sign 3-4 high quality LB prospects for 2020 as competition makes everyone better. I'm talking to you Justin Flowe!
 
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He’s a plus athlete at linebacker which we haven’t had in a minute. Should do well in One of the backup linebacker roles. I’m very high on both him and huff
 
PittsburghCane said:
I gotta speak on Sam Brooks. Because the slander on here has gone way too far. I am still in the process of finding the numbers but I just have to start a conversation around the kind of player he really is and not what some people are perpetrating him to be.

First and foremost the eye test is and has always been there. Film on film on film. He strikes aggressively and authoritatively, plays through the whistle and shows great speed and bend.
Furthering the eye test hes got the frame of a true LB. Long limbed, wide shoulders, tall at 6'3 and plenty of room for more good weight. A season with a college program will do wonders. He is currently over 200 and should be close to 220 by seasons start.
Athletically he projects as a high 4 star athlete. I will submit that this is subjective, but look at his opening numbers as a post season sophomore from almost exactly two years ago.

View attachment 84505

Those numbers (top)are as a sophomore. Next to Yasir Abdullah, who was a freak, Anthony Solomon who was said to be a very athletic ILB, Rian Davis who was a borderline 5 star last year, and Justin Flow who is the number one LB this. His numbers are on par or better than all as a sophomore. Subjectively, its easy to assume he would improve very well from those numbers. He is now 6'3, north of 200 and his vertical and shuttle, per @Lance Roffers are great indicators of future athleticism.
Lastly the kid was the BEST player in the most talented football county in america as a sophomore. Had he not gotten hurt his junior year we are probably looking at a top 30 player.
Please, lets stop talking about Sam like he is some consolation prize. He's way more than that and has the makings of a big time impact player.

EDIT: Found updated numbers from Lance Roffer on the site:

Sam Brooks- 194 pounds, 4.62 40, 4.20 SH, 42’ Powerball, 36” Vertical, 116.91 SPARQ

Several of our recruits got fanfare from recruiting analysts this year, but Brooks seemed to be overlooked. His profile is that of a high-end AC player. His production was top-shelf and his athletic testing matched. 92nd percentile athlete.
Click to expand...

Thank you, this is a prime example of why the recruiting sites are trash and dont know jack schimtt about evaluating talent unless a player's stats are in the newspaper every week. Alot of **** acting as if these recruiting sites have an exact science on how they rate players, coach richt went by what he saw with his own eyes or trusted the eye's of some of his assistance, coach diaz is of the same mold in that capacity. The one thing we know, and i said it before joyner signed, he'll be a real good linebacker not a d-end, so im going to let it be known now with you, brooks will be terrozing offenses along with avery huff, would've also been good to have Jahmar brown on deck to as well.
 
I’ll play devil’s advocate....

I don’t even really believe this but the discussion can be had.

I think he’s a tweener.

What does he do best? Far and away his best attribute? Rush the passer. No doubt. How much does he weigh? 200 pounds. Good luck. Also, where does he play at his size in Manny’s even front defense? This is not an odd front. He’s playing the weakside DE? At 200 lbs? Yikes. Or is he playing backer? Probably a better body for it, but you’re taking away what he does best, which again, is rushing the passer.

Again...just having some debate. I think that the kid we saw as a sophomore was on an insane trajectory. Maybe he’s just better than most and can dominate at 220-230 when he’s maxed out. I hope so. But there’s definitely some validity if you think he might wind up a tweener here. I don’t think this is the best defense for him. But we’ll see.
 
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