Breakdown of Michael Brockers Georgia Tape

There's been quite a bit of debate over whether or not to select LSU defensive tackle Michael Brockers with our first round selection this April. Proponents of the pick say Brockers has the potential to be a top ten player at his position in the league, he is 6'6, 306 at only the age of 21 and has plenty of room to grow. Detractors argue that we need an immediate impact player and Brockers is too raw, not to mention we have a full stable of DT's that doesn't need a new addition. CSR user Efury posted some tape of Michael Brockers in the SEC championship game against Georgia, and it garnered some mixed opinions. Most of what was said though was general overviews of the tape, I didn't see anyone really break it down play-by-play and show the results. So here goes.

1st Q, 13:53-Brockers is double teamed and stood up in the middle, as the QB Aaron Murray dumps off to the RB in the flat.

1st Q, 13:30-Brockers is taken by the guard one on one, Murray steps up into a clean pocket and finds a receiver open deep down field.

1st Q, 13:00-Lined up at LDT, Brockers rushes from the offensive right and is double teamed. Murray overthrows a quick outcut to his left.

1st Q, 12:54-Shotgun, another quick pass to the RB over the middle. Brockers attempts a swim move against the RG with little success.

1st Q, 11:44-Next possession, Georgia up 3-0. Brockers swims past the guard initially, then is stood up by the tackle, then raises his arm into the passing lane. Murray overthrows a ten yard out badly.

1st Q, 11:39-Brockers is double teamed and blocked down out of the hole, running back is tackled for a loss because FB misses the end.

1st Q, 9:05-Brockers gets high and the guard is able to handle him, however he swims out and shows good pursuit of Murray forcing him to get rid of the ball.

1st Q, 8:57-Does a good job of getting past the OT and working towards where he thinks the ball is, however it's a reverse that he fails to see and goes right by him. He does continue to pursue the play however which is tackled for a loss.

1st Q, 6:02-Blown out of the hole by the guard, too high, good gain on the play.

1st Q, 5:30-Double teamed and washed out of the hole, four yard gain.

1st Q, 5:03-Interesting spin move,good awareness to recognize play-action, short pass completed to the FB

1st Q, 3:12-Holds his ground, works laterally down the line to tackle the RB for a minimal gain.

1st Q, 2:39-Excellent burst off the line, the RG blocking down can't get to him. If he stays on his feet he probably tackles the RB for a loss, instead the back breaks some tackles for a good gain.

1st Q, 2:05-Works around the edge well, very active hands, forces Murray to step up where he's hit by another rusher.

1st Q, 1:57-Chipped by the T, the TE blocks down on him, resets the LOS, can't get to the back who gains around five.

1st Q, 1:11-Gets past the single team with a good swim move, however Murray gets rid of it downfield for a good gain

2nd Q, 12:45-Play is run away from him, makes decent initial progress against a double team.

2nd Q, 12:02-Short yardage, FB dive. Brockers can't make any headway against the guard after being chipped by the center.

2nd Q, 11:28-Holds up the point of attack, spin move away once he recognizes bootleg, however play is killed quickly.

2nd Q, 10:48-Pushes the guard into the backfield, but can't get off the block to make the tackle.

2nd Q, 9:56-Good hand use to get past guard, center washes him past the QB who overthrows the back in the flat.

2nd Q, 8:15-Holds the POA while moving laterally, effectively blows this play up. Credited with an assist here i think.

2nd Q, 7:34-Play is initially run away from Brockers, but the back cuts it back to him. Brockers holds his ground against the guard and works off the block to swallow the ball carrier.

2nd Q, 6:56-Beats the guard with a swim to the outside, the end beats him to the QB though by stutter-stepping the tackle

2nd Q, 5:36-Backs the guard back towards the QB, Murray gets rid of it downfield to a receiver who can't handle it through contact.

2nd Q, 5:30-Double teamed, but continues to work towards the QB. Murray does a good job of stepping up and getting rid of it moments before Brockers spins free towards him.

2nd Q, 4:56-Same situation, only it's a quick pass into the flat. No one on the DL has time to get to the QB.

2nd Q, 1:42-Brockers must have seen something on film here, because immediately after the snap he works to the outside and completely obliterates the screen play.

2nd Q, 1:11-Splits the double team and nails the back for a two yard loss. Excellent play by Brockers,

3rd Q, 14:55-LSU started to wake up around this time, and you can definitely see it in Brockers play. Re-establishes the LOS, moves laterally while holding his ground against the guard, and tackles the back for a minimal gain.

3rd Q, 14:27-Double teamed, knocked backwards and down to the ground. Rest of the DL tackles the back for no gain however.

3rd Q, 13:43-One-on-one with the center, Brockers is initially neutralized, with an ineffective spin that is reminiscent of Everette Brown. However he throws the center aside once Murray starts scrambling and pursues, catching up to him and forcing a fumble that LSU recovers about ten yards downfield.

3rd Q, 12:46-LSU is up 14-10 now, play action bootleg, Brockers again recognizes the play quickly and spins away towards the QB and the ball. Murray is too deep for Brockers to get to him before he releases a pass however.

3rd Q, 12:42-Brockers is in the middle of the line, gradually pushes his man backwards and gets into Murray's throwing lane, who misses an open receiver.

3rd Q, (there were apparently technical difficulties as the clock just says 3rd)-Brockers is working against the right side of the line, and all three players hit him at some point. He still manages to jump up and get a hand in Murray's throwing lane, forcing him to go to the other side of the field.

3rd Q, ()-Brockers shows good speed in pursuit on the pitch, eliminating the cutback lane. The lead FB sees him chasing and turns back to chip him, stopping him from reaching the back. Brockers continues to chase and helps finish the play.

3rd Q, ()-Lines up at end, attempts to speed rush and get outside, the tackle washes him by and Murray escapes out that hole and is tackled by a pursuing Honey Badger after a short gain.

3rd Q, 8:17(samepossession)-Pushes the guard back into the pocket, gets a hand up as murray unleashes a pass deep downfield to a WR in tight coverage that's slightly underthrown.

3rd Q, 3:10-Same situation, only this time Brockers bats the pass down.

3rd Q, 3:06-Beats the guard to the outside, however Murray gets rid of it quickly on a slant route.

4th, 11:32-Attempts a bull rush, isn't very successful, tries to swim outside, is washed away by the guard as Murray delivers a pass deep downfield.

4th 10:50-Rushes forward and is initially neutralized. Before going to his secondary move Murray takes off, Brockers can't get off the block to make the tackle, looks like he's being held though.

So in summary, Brockers showed me some very good flashes here. I feel very comfortable in him stepping in and solidifying our rotation of DT's. He can play either the 3 or the 5, giving us flexibility with our 3-4 looks. He shows good ability to penetrate and collapse the pocket, along with what I think is crucial to stopping Brees, batting balls. He does tend to get high, but shows good strength on other plays to hold his ground. As he develops i think we'll see less of this. It may take a year, but i'm more than comfortable that Rivera can coach him up into a top ten DT.