Browns Sign Capizzi

[lamberts-lost-tooth]

Originally Posted by ShutDown24

Why we everyone so high on him? Did he go to Pitt or something? Everytime I saw him in the pre-season he got destroyed... He was huge but other than that didn't have much going for him from what I could tell... Is it pretty much just something like for no apparent reason he was a fan favortie (IE: Kuhn)?

I think it was more a matter of the dissatisfaction wiuth the current line..than it was being enamored with him

[83-Steelers-43]

I liked him because he looked a helluva lot better than Essex. Also, I thought he looked pretty damn good against the Panthers. IMO he earned the spot over Essex.

Capizzi makes big impression: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07239/812448-66.stm

By the way, he attended a small school (IUP)...one reason why I felt he got the short end of the stick. Being a undrafted rookie being the other reason. Eitherway, I felt he showed up in camp and during the preseason when compared to Essex (Redskins game anybody?).

Oh well, he's gone now. I wish him the best of luck.

[lamberts-lost-tooth]

Originally Posted by 83-Steelers-43

I liked him because he looked a helluva lot better than Essex. Also, I thought he looked pretty damn good against the Panthers.

LOL...not really the ruler we want to judge linemen by....But I agree with you...I had high hopes of his progression due to our curretn backups

[rbryan]

He was the great white hope at LT?? lol

He was big enough for sure, but I'll have to defer to the FO on this one. I thought he would slip past everyone and end up on the practice squad. Freakin Browns!!!

[83-Steelers-43]

Maybe we kept Essex over Capizzi for comical reasons? Watching Essex trip over his own two feet.......falling over on his arse while not being touched.....getting torched on every down and seeing our QB get completely demolished. Redskins game was a beautiful showing.

I see the light now.

[tony hipchest]

this helps explain why so many were high on capizzi. not that they were exactly high but he was recognized as a potentially valuable developmental project that would cost hardly nothing. (this article was written before the draft and pat kirwan had him ranked as his #1 sleeper OL project):

DRILLING AT THE BOTTOM
I learned a valuable lesson a long time ago getting ready for the draft. It's important to spend time in the early part of April digging and scratching down at the bottom of the talent pool for late-round draft picks and free-agent types with at least one special quality -- exceptional speed, rare size, an interesting athlete from another sport -- something that catches your eye.

The personnel director should take one scout and turn him loose on the bottom feeders. Close to one whole round in the draft will come from players not invited to the NFL Scouting Combine.

Back in the early 1990s, we came across a player named Matt Willig, a backup defensive tackle at USC who was 6-foot-9. He didn't do much on game tapes and tested below our standards for a defensive tackle, but he could bend his knees and was smart to go along with that 6-9. We signed him about 15 minutes after the draft and moved him to offensive tackle. He spent two years training at the new position and ended up playing in the NFL for well over 10 years.

When you decide to work the bottom of the talent pool, I'm talking about players who did not go to the Combine, probably didn't play in any all-star games, and might have little in the area of production. They can be from big schools or they could be from schools no one has ever heard of.

Here's a list of the kind of guys I'm talking about. The young scout needs to head out on a three-week tour, working out a group like this, talking football with them, watching some tapes and aiming to come back to the office a day or two before the draft with a few nuggets. Remember when Steelers scout Dan Rooney Jr. came back with a running back named Willie Parker? Parker never started at North Carolina but he had rare speed.



And now, here's my "Matt Willig List" for the 2007 draft. The first reaction from a scout I ran the list by was, "These guys can't play." Perfect, that's what everyone said about Willig, so I know I'm on the right track! The goal is to find one late-round pick/free agent who is worth developing as an offensive lineman.

1. Jason Capizzi, Indiana (Pa.) University (6-9, 324 pounds)
Key numbers: 5.22 40-yard dash, 34-inch arms, 11?-inch hands.
Sounds like a Willig clone, and I sure hope he can bend his ankles and knees.

[lamberts-lost-tooth]

Originally Posted by 83-Steelers-43

Maybe we kept Essex over Capizzi for comical reasons? Watching Essex trip over his own two feet.......falling over on his arse while not being touched.....getting torched on every down and seeing Ben get completely demolished. Redskins game was a beautiful showing.

I see the light now.

I didnt see enough of Capizzi to form a solid opinion..and I'm not an Essex fan...but I've never been a believer in change for the sheer sake of change itself. I have to believe that they saw more in the incompetant Essex than in the unknown Capizzi.

[ShutDown24]

THe reason i am seeing is this... It appears to me that he had a lot more experiance at left tackle while Essex has more experiance on other spots of the line including the rihgt side... Who is on the left? Marvel Smith... Who is on the right? FIrst year starter Colon... Make sense?

[83-Steelers-43]

Originally Posted by tony hipchest

this helps explain why so many were high on capizzi. not that they were exactly high but he was recognized as a potentially valuable developmental project that would cost hardly nothing. (this article was written before the draft and pat kirwan had him ranked as his #1 sleeper OL project):

Nice read. Thank you.

[83-Steelers-43]

Originally Posted by lamberts-lost-tooth

but I've never been a believer in change for the sheer sake of change itself.

I am a fan of choosing the player who showed more in camp and during the preseason. But like I said a few posts ago, kid is gone now and I wish him all the best.

BTW, I'm going out tonight and purchasing a Trai Essex jersey.