Lowering the Boom: LB Brandon Spikes vs. LB Rolando McClain, SEC Championship

by Simon Clancy (Boomer)

It sounds like a legal case or the follow up to Frost/Nixon, but for draftniks it’s more serious than that. I thought I’d take a look at the two most highly rated ILB prospects, Brandon Spikes of Florida and Rolando McClain of Alabama, in their biggest game of 2009/10 to date, the SEC Championship. Both playing on the same field in the same game. Both stepping up and showing the nation why they’re ranked so highly. This isn’t anything scientific, it’s not a basis in fact, but it’s a big game for two first round possibilities who will be high on Miami’s radar and it’s interesting to see their down by down assignments, who’s called to do what more often and how they go about their business. First of all, it bears mentioning that I have seen these two play over the previous three seasons on a number of occasions. I think both are solid players, if, like all prospects not called Ndamukong Suh, a little flawed. If I’m honest, I prefer McClain to Spikes and I’ll tell you why; I think McClain has better instincts, I think he can drop more proficiently into pure coverage and I think he immediately comes in and takes up an important leadership role. He’s quick to the edge, he diagnoses plays very quickly and he can be smothering as a run defender. But he’s not an effective blitzer and he isn’t particularly athletic when asked to turn in space. I’ve used the word ‘ferry’ to describe his ability to turn and run in the past and I think that that’s accurate. As for Spikes, he’s the more athletic and although he’s more play aware as a senior than he was in seasons past, he has an irritating tendency to over run plays. Certainly last season Spikes failed to show any true consistency in the area of fundamental linebacker play. I heavily criticised him for getting washed out in the run game because he played too high, but he’s done a better job of disengaging in 2009, although, as we’ll see, he still has issues defending the run especially on the move.

So onto the SEC title game. A quick caveat to start with; my machine taped only the first 47 minutes of the game, so you’ll get a three quarter analysis. Even less science you might say and you might be right, except that the game was out of reach by the end of the third/start of the fourth and Spikes was out of the game with an injury by that point. It should be easy to follow. You’ll get down and distance, the position that Spikes or McClain lined up in at the snap and an analysis of what they did on each and every play with regards their responsibilities. At the end, I’ll recap how they played and add some further notes as to how they played this season as a whole and what their performances meant in front of the watching Dolphins scouts and how they might fit into Coach P’s defense.

BRANDON SPIKES – DRIVE 1.

1-10/MLB – Drops. Has Colin Peek in coverage but allows the tight end to get past him. He seems confused as to whether to attack a scrambling McElroy or whether to stay with Peek. Does neither. Pass complete to Julio Jones.

1-10/MLB – Ingram runs at him behind LG Mike Johnson. Spikes is caught in the wash as the center Will Vlachos gets out to him. Spikes falls onto Ingram as the play ends.

2-4/WLB – 2 man LB set so he plays the inside weak position. Fake reverse. Spikes starts off downfield but peels back and makes touch tackle on McElroy.

1-10/MLB – This is a terrific play. He steps up to the LOS and takes on the left tackle as he moves out to the second level. Contact is initiated 5 yards past the LOS, but Spikes is aggressive, bends and shows good leverage. The LT gets high and tries to overpower Brandon before trying to pull him down. But Spikes shows terrific strength by being the immovable object, standing the LT up before coming off and making the stop. (VIDEO: 4.45)

2-7/MLB – Doesn’t chip the TE as he runs past. Pass goes out wide to Maze.

1-10/MLB – Steps up at snap and hits the tight end running underneath but doesn’t knock him off his route and TE makes catch anyway.

2-7/MLB – Takes initial step right at the snap, but then reads run to the fullback rather than outside run with Ingram and steps back into fill the hole with speed and power, tackling Upchurch for a 3 yard gain: (VIDEO: 0.37)

3-4/SLB – Snap responsibility gives him Ingram one on one in the flat. Good, early recognition. Ball dropped by Julio Jones.

ROLANDO MCCLAIN – DRIVE 1

1-10/MLB – Pre-snap he re-aligns the front four. Bumps Cody back along the line. Immediately recognises play before the snap and gesticulates wildly. Steps up but is taken out of the hole by Mike Pouncey.

2-8/SLB – 5 step drop into zone. Clean footwork. Pass dropped by Demps.

3-8/MLB – Steps up on snap and attacks center but is picked up by Carl Johnson who gains better leverage and holds him up. McClain is slow to disengage as Tebow dances in the pocket. Finally gets off the block and picks up Aaron Hernandez running underneath before TT throws incomplete. (VIDEO: 0.37)

BRANDON SPIKES – DRIVE 2

1-10/MLB – Steps up to LOS pre-snap and shows blitz but then drops off. Initiates slight contact with the tight end but disengages, allowing Peek to run free. Spikes then follows the underneath receiver who was already covered, as McElroy hits the open Peek for a first down. Seems to be confusion between Spikes and the safety as to whether Peek was the responsibility of the secondary or of Spikes. I’m of the view that Spikes should flip his hips and run given that the receiver is already covered, but that may not have been his responsibility. Judge for yourselves. (VIDEO: 3.05)

1-10/MLB – Steps into hole to stuff Ingram but is engulfed by Mike Johnson. Ingram cuts behind him for 7 yards.

2-3/WLB – Sweep to Ingram. Early recognition of sweep but takes a bad angle. He then redirects as Ingram gets to the edge first. Has the C out in front. His body is already turned away from Ingram’s because of the initial bad angle and he’s overrun the play by a yard and a half by the time Vlachos initiates contact, whereupon he drives him back and off the field four yards. (VIDEO: 5.31)

1-10/MLB – Fills hole. Stays on toes and attacks Richardson, making a good stop.

2-7/SLB – Rushes off the edge as pure SLB. Immediately doubled by tight end and RT, beat beats the tight ends block with a powerful sidestep and swims through the RT, getting to McElroy a split second after release. If it wasn’t for a hold, he probably would have recorded the sack. Impressive rush effort. (VIDEO: 0.55)

3-7/MLB – Plays spy on McElroy.

1-10/WLB – Pitch to Ingram. Takes second bad angle of the drive to the edge and is subsequently beaten to the corner by the Heisman winner. Manages to push him in the back and get him out of bounds.

2-3/MLB – Toss to Ingram. Instant recognition of play. Spikes shuts off front hole, forcing Ingram into the back of the pulling guard for a minimal gain. Good play showing outstanding aggression to the ball carrier.

3-8/MLB – Spies. McElroy sacked by Cunningham. Penalty gives Alabama first and goal.

1-Goal/MLB – Attacked by Mike Johnson at the 2^nd level and gets pushed out of the lane as Ingram goes in behind the block. Spikes is unable to disengage and make the play. Touchdown.

ROLANDO MCCLAIN – DRIVE 2

1-10/MLB – Draw. Steps up and identifies the play and looks to have a chance to fill  the hole but slows and is engaged by Carl Johnson and the back shoots straight past to the third level. Clear win for Johnson. (VIDEO: 6.18)

2-2/WLB – Realigns RDE prior to snap, then slips out to WLB in a 2 backer set. Drops off 15 yards into coverage. Ball goes to the other side.

1-10/SLB – Switches to SLB at the snap so as to double Riley Cooper. Drops off into the middle and forces a drop. (VIDEO: 3.08)

2-10/MLB – Reads as a spy. McClain takes a step to his left as the back goes out to the right flat, but immediately sees TT take off left and steps back quickly to his right as Tebow gets into the open field, taking him down with a textbook tackle for a short gain. (VIDEO: 1.09)

3-7/WLB – Man to man on Aaron Hernandez. Drops comfortably as ball goes in opposite direction.

1-10/SLB – In two LB set he plays the strong side. Hops into the hole to cover the back as Tebow throws downfield.

2-10/MLB – Reads option. Jump steps towards line, then sidesteps an underneath receiver as he sees the play go to his left. The play is made by the safety who’d cheated up to SOLB and shuts off the option forcing Tebow inside where McClain closes quickly and tackles Tebow after a 7 yard gain. (VIDEO: 1.30)

3-3/MLB – Run pass option. Shuts off inside hole then attacks outside LT as the line crashes to it’s right as Tebow moves to his left. Closes quickly but arrives a split second after release, hitting him hard and knocking him to the floor. (VIDEO: 0.49)

1-10/MLB – Option. Doesn’t bite even for a split second on the fake reverse. Decides against attacking TT as Kareem Jackson is perfectly positioned on the pitch man. Stays at home in perfect position so Eryk Anders can make the play for a loss. (VIDEO: 1.44)

2-11/MLB – Has man coverage on Jeff Demps. Drops off as TT looks the other way.

3-11/SLB – Lined up as edge rusher. Attacks RT but is easily neutralised.

BRANDON SPIKES – DRIVE 3

1-10/MLB – Wildcat. Ingram stopped inside at LOS. Spikes piles on, although he disengages quickly enough. (VIDEO: 6.09)

2-11/MLB – Attacks LOS on snap of the ball. Ingram takes him low and delivers a shot but Spikes spins out, doing a terrific job of staying on his feet and is unfortunate not to record a sack as McElroy escapes his grasp. (VIDEO: 1.33)

3-4/MLB – Reads sweep but is picked off by Mike Johnson on the perimeter.

ROLANDO MCCLAIN – DRIVE 3

1-10/MLB – Senses run and steps up at snap, but TT runs some play action and throws deep.

2-10/MLB – Inside handoff/option. Reads the inside handoff as Eryk Anders and Mark Barron have the pitch. He’s rather flat footed inside and subsequently out of the play. (VIDEO: 5.06)

2-11/MLB – Realigns DT at snap. Drops into coverage.

3-14 – MLB – Five step drop, picks up the back underneath.

BRANDON SPIKES – DRIVE 4

1-10/MLB – Run to Richardson but is blocked out of play and then across the alignment  by the tight end Williams. He seems not to see the tight end until it’s too late. (VIDEO: 6.25)

2-4/MLB – Shuffles left at the snap to mirror the line as it crashes down, but McElroy fakes and rolls back to empty side of the field. Spikes picks up Richardson but is out of the play.

1-10/MLB – Steps into LOS but backs off on McElroy’s play fake. He drops but is a slightly choppy dropper in terms of his footwork. Sits in the middle of the field.

2-10/SLB – Sets the edge but is blocked off by Vlachos pulling from center. Spikes shows tremendous strength on engagement to stand him up and push him off.

3-3/MLB – Has back in the flat but turns and pursues Maze as pass goes down the field.

1-10/MLB – Line crashes right at the snap. Spikes flows left naturally. Vlachos pulls to 2^nd level and briefly engages but Spikes gets back into the play and makes the tackle.

2-5/MLB – Reads pass to boundary as it falls incomplete.

3-5/MLB – Blitzes from MLB, attacking through the LT/LG hole but McElroy outruns him to the edge.

1-10/MLB – Sits in the middle. Has TE responsibilities but the TE blocks down and falls over at Spikes’ feet, which inadvertently takes Brandon out of the play.

2-10/MLB – One on one with Peek. McElroy sacked.

3-20/MLB – Engages with Mike Johnson on trap play. Sinks his hips and strikes. He disengages and makes the play on Upchurch.

ROLANDO MCCLAIN DRIVE 4

1-10/MLB – Sees sweep all the way. Tracks Jeff Demps horizontally, shutting off cutback lane, then accelerates to edge to make the tackle on the perimeter. Carl Johnson has responsibility to pick him off but McClain is just too quick for him. (VIDEO: 2.26)

2-1/MLB – Play fake. Sits on the tight end, then passes him off. Is rather pedestrian to get out to TT on the edge.

1-10/SLB – Strong side backer in 2 LB set. He picks the wrong hole on a TT draw and sees the QB go right past him. Wasn’t as though he was round far enough to set the edge. Never looked like he was forcing TT back inside. (VIDEO: 5.14)

1-10/MLB – Play action. Frozen in a zone as Tebow hits Nelson on the perimeter for a touchdown.

BRANDON SPIKES – DRIVE 5

1-10/MLB – Drops in coverage on tight end Colin Peek in the weak slot and drifts to that side, but recognises a screen in the strong flat to Mark Ingram. He steps across to make the tackle at the 35 with Ingram at the 28 and a good angle on Will Vlachos where he should blow by him and make the tackle. But Vlachos blocks him nine yards down the field and by the time he finally gets off, Ingram is past and down the sideline for 60+ yards. (VIDEO: 1.59)

1-10/MLB – 1^st and goal at the 1. Doesn’t react quick enough to the line blocking down right, despite Mike Johnson the LG pulling out left and the angle of Upchurch and Ingram in the backfield. In fact McElroy is past Upchurch before Spikes has moved to his right. Tries to fill a hole inside that the FB flows to, but then is slow to redirect and Ingram only has eyes for the edge. Contact is finally made at the one yard line, where #22’s momentum and power carries him over the line. (VIDEO: 2.29)

ROLANDO MCCLAIN – DRIVE 5

1-10/MLB – Drops in coverage on Hernandez. Turns his body so that it makes it immediately difficult for the back who he seems to be covering at the snap to get to the weak side of the field. Then picks up Aaron Hernandez as he goes behind him, turning full circle and sitting down in coverage behind him across the field as AH runs to a zone. Ball goes to Riley Cooper on the perimeter. (VIDEO: 2.49)

1-10/MLB – Draw. McClain attacks the line of scrimmage and shuts two holes, forcing Tebow into the arms of Terrence Cody.

2-8/MLB – Rollout. Has Jeff Demps in flat.

3-8/MLB – Blitzes up the middle. Seems to blow past Johnson and Pouncey, but they’re merely passing him off for a screen. McClain can’t get to Tebow in time and has no influence on the play. (VIDEO: 2.23)

BRANDON SPIKES – DRIVE 6

1-10 – DID NOT PLAY FINAL TWO SNAPS OF HALF.

ROLANDO MCCLAIN – DRIVE 6

1-10/WLB – Realigns DT’s prior to the snap, then the linebackers. Bites inside on triple option.

2-6/WLB – TFL by Cody. Play developed before McClain showed any play responsibility.

3-7/MLB – Blitzes into left side of offensive line, but shows no pass rush move and is immediately neutralised by the left guard. Peels off as pass goes to Riley Cooper. (VIDEO: opening clip)

BRANDON SPIKES – DRIVE 7

1-10/WLB – Here Brandon attacks the LOS at the snap and takes on the fullback. He sinks his hips and bends at the knees but seems to lead with a shoulder, trying to knock him over, rather than use his hands to disengage immediately and get to Mark Ingram who blows past through the A gap into the second level. (VIDEO: 4.10)

2-3/MLB – Archetypal problem play for Spikes; he reads sweep early and attacks the hole but almost seems to get there soon and instead of making the play, gets blocked out of it by Will Vlachos and loses sight of Ingram who dances in behind the block. (VIDEO: 4.16)

3-1/MLB – Finishing up three bad plays for Spikes, he again attacks the LOS, stepping up into the play and immediately right as the offensive line crash left. But he’s already fearfully close to overrunning the play before #77 makes contact and before Ingram cuts back from the B gap and heads through the A gap for a first down.  (VIDEO: 4.33)

1-10/MLB – Blitzes but is picked off by the LT as the ball goes deep to Maze.

1-10/MLB – Sits in and spies McElroy, before taking Ingram in the flat but again he’s picked off by Vlachos. McElroy throws the ball away. Penalty.

1-10/MLB – Has Julio Jones out of the backfield. Touchdown pass goes to the other side.

ROLANDO MCCLAIN – DRIVE 7

1-10/MLB – Recognises play fake and turns and runs with Hernandez. Ball goes into the flat.

2-1/MLB – Play action. Doesn’t bite. Jump steps forward and attacks the run by TT, but is picked off by Johnson. McClain can’t disengage and Tebow runs behind the block. (VIDEO: 4.54)

1-10/SLB – Realigns DL at the snap and picks up slot receiver before passing him off. TT sacked.

2-12/MLB – Picks up back up TE in the flat. Ball goes deep.

3-12/MLB – Blitzes. Again picked up by Johnson.

BRANDON SPIKES – DRIVE 8

1-10/MLB – Ball handed off. Attacks LOS. Evades Vlachos easily but can’t get back in the play to stuff Richardson as he goes between LT and LG. He does an excellent job of turning and working back into the play18 yards down the field but tries to arm tackle at a bad angle and Richardson bounces back inside and goes for nine more. (VIDEO: 0.42)

1-10/MLB: Covers the flat, balls goes deep and incomplete.

2-10/MLB: Bounces right and sees the run to the C gap of Richardson, but is quickly picked up by Will Vlachos and cannot disengage until the play’s over and only after chucking the center to the ground. He should have probably also drawn an illegal hands to the face penalty. (VIDEO: 5.18)

3-7/SLB – Plays the strong side up on the line. Drops out into coverage on the slot wideout. Penalty.

3-2/SLB – Attacks the edge but is picked up by the RT as the run goes through the middle.

1-10/MLB – Draw. Plays spy. Tackle made at the LOS.

2-7/MLB – Moves left. Takes 4/5 hard steps right at the snap of the ball but McElroy has play faked and rolled back to the other side of the field, leaving Julio Jones open in the zone down the seam. He closes well but ultimately is out of position. (VIDEO: 3.14)

3-7/SLB – Blitzes off the corner. The line slides left leaving him uncovered to the QB but McElroy unloads quickly to Julio Jones.

1-10/WLB – Run up the middle. Spikes has coverage responsibility on Richardson in the weak flat.

2-5/MLB – Steps up to the LOS and attacks, but is blocked out. Does a good job of turning out of the block and holding Ingram to 4.

3-1/MLB – Is taken out of the play once again by Vlachos.

1-10/MLB – Fumbled snap. Steps up and makes stop on scrambling QB.

Spikes then sits out the next five plays as the game moves into the fourth quarter, before coming back in for the third Ingram touchdown. At this point my machine stops taping as the game has run over the allotted time slot and I’ve forgotten to tape the following programme. But the game is over at this point and Spikes is clearly injured.

Conclusion – Coverage:

I thought it was interesting, when you just study the two of them, that Spikes tends to sit and spy more than McClain. (VIDEO: 3.28).

Here he just sits in coverage and spies Greg McElroy and with an empty backfield and four wide, he allows the tight end to go past him and sits at the second level. Perhaps Urban Meyer likes him to read and react, flashing that athletic ability to get into the flat or after the QB when the play breaks down. He showed excellent discipline for the majority of that time, not getting caught up in the game outside, but maintaining a presence in the middle of the field in case McElroy used his feet to make yards. He does this very well. He gets a number of interceptions because he sits, is patient, he reads the QB’s eyes and breaks on the ball for the pick. Here’s a perfect example of what I mean: (VIDEO: 3.36).

Here he drops back and sits but waits on the balls of his feet, waiting, reading and then exploding to the ball. Given his decent hands I was semi-surprised that he didn’t bring this down and take it a good ways back down the field to re-ignite the Gators in this game. Rolando certainly spied less which is interesting given that he was playing such a mobile threat in Tim Tebow. He was generally more ‘play active’ on every down. If it’s not a run then he drops off in zone rather than purely sitting in the hole at the top of the second level. Obviously defensive philosophies are different and I don’t want to get into that too much. Sometimes he – McClain – lines up man to man with the tight end and occasionally on a WR. Generally he was used much more in pure coverage than Spikes in this particular game. He had man coverage on Aaron Hernandez on a number of plays and never looked like giving Tim Tebow a window of opportunity to get the ball into his playmaking tight end/h-back.

Don’t be fooled though. Spikes isn’t just a spy or a screen cover guy. He, like McClain, has the ability to sit outside on a slot receiver without too many issues. (VIDEO: 3.56).

Here against Troy, he comes off the edge and drops in on the slot receiver, staying with him perfectly despite some decent route running.

Getting Off Blocks:

As I mentioned at the top, one of the traits about Brandon’s game that irked me was the way he took on fullbacks in the hole or guards coming out to the second level. I thought he played very high as a junior and he would get washed out. Here’s another example of that against Florida State where he allows himself to be dictated to be the lineman: (VIDEO: 5.01).

Time and again he’d read the hole, step into it and then get blown out of the way. He’s tended to do a much better job as a senior of lowering his hips, using his hands better and getting off blocks, especially those coming straight at him. Generally though in this game, I thought Alabama OC Will Vlachos got the better of him and he was aggressive in getting out and containing Spikes. Here again is yet another example of his inability to disengage and get in to the play: (VIDEO: 5.24).

He has to improve his consistency in this area if he’s to become a force at the next level and his inability to get off guards in a 3-4 who have a free release at him would concern me.

It was on the perimeter where Spikes’s biggest issue came into focus. Look at this play from the first quarter of the SEC Title game. His read and recognition puts him in a position to make the play but he need not ever make contact with Vlachos if he hadn’t gotten to the edge too quickly. He makes the lane for Ingram instead of making it difficult for him: (VIDEO: 5.30).

For a guy who has decent instincts and good speed, he continually gets ahead of the play far too often on the perimeter and either shoots past it or comes into the lead blocker, be it a FB or a pulling lineman, off balance. This play from the 3^rd quarter when he gets outside on the sweep but is moved out of the lane by Vlachos bears watching from a different angle: (VIDEO: 4.24).

The angles he takes to the ball carrier on the edge are consistently poor and it means that when he initiates contact, his body position is bad and he’s out of control. Here’s an example against Troy where he shows excellent read and recognition but can’t get to the corner to take down the back. (VIDEO: 1.30)

Here again against FSU he’s in perfect position to shut down the scrambling QB but just can’t get off the block to make the tackle on EJ Manuel. (VIDEO: 6.46).

Time and again Vlachos got outside and cleared Spikes out. It was really poor play from the senior. Again, he needs to learn that he doesn’t have to get to the edge BEFORE the back. McClain is much better at playing on the perimeter. He can take on a guard or a blocking WR and make the play or, if in a one on one situation, he takes the right angle to make sure that he makes the tackle. Often times it’s because of his body shape. On one play, shown again here, he spies Jeff Demps as Florida runs to the weak side. He doesn’t allow any opportunity for the cutback and when the back gets outside the left tackle and turns up field, McClain accelerates and stops a big play: (VIDEO: 2.26)

Again, when Tim Tebow gets outside the pocket, he was able to flash excellent speed, a good angle and solid open field tackling ability to take the Gator QB down: (VIDEO: 1.09)

Blitzing:

Where Spikes really elevates his game is attacking the line of scrimmage. Be it as a MLB or outside on the edge, he can be a dominant pass rusher as evidenced by the way he took on and beat top 10 pick Andre Smith during the 2008 SEC Title game. Whilst Chris, Con, Alen and myself all had issues with Smith in pass protection, for a MLB to do what he did to a guy picked in the top 10 to play left tackle, says an awful lot. In the first quarter of the 2009 version, he took on and defeated a double team, almost getting a sack, flashing solid pass rush skills. He has a variation of rush moves that McClain simply doesn’t possess. Here against FSU he attacks off the edge and whilst he doesn’t get to the QB, he attacks the left tackle with aggression, redirects on contact and does very well to stay on his feet and in the play. (VIDEO: 0.43)

Rolando is generally an interference blitzer only. He tends to either get picked up or arrive at the QB a split second too late. But he only really gets after the QB when completely unblocked. He’s also inconsistent in his effort in terms of the speed with which he attacks the line of scrimmage. Here’s three examples of what I mean:

1. Against Ole Miss he disguises his intentions pretty well and attacks the LOS with vigour. The late blitz by the slot corner as well as the dive inside by the left end, allows McClain to get in untouched between RG and RT with a clear lane to Jevan Snead. He explodes to daylight and Snead just gets the ball away in time. (VIDEO: 1.22)

2. Here against Auburn he blitzes through the strong side but as he sees Chris Todd moving away from him, his head is up and he misses Ben Tate who cuts him at the waist. This is indicative of a McClain blitz in that he gets picked off too easily.  (VIDEO: 1.04)

3. Finally, this is an example of what tends to happen most and why I refer to him as an interference blitzer. Against Florida, he delays his blitz, but he might as well have not bothered. It’s a lacklustre effort and he’s picked off immediately by the RG who doesn’t need to do a great deal to shove him further out of the play. He lacks any sort of pass rush moves from the inside or indeed on the rare occasions where he plays on the exterior. (VIDEO: 1.34)

McClain’s lack of athletic ability when asked to turn and run is somewhat covered up by his outstanding football brain. He makes all the defensive calls and the more you watch Alabama, the more you see him recognise a specific play BEFORE the snap of the ball or as it breaks down. Here against Ole Miss he starts on the weak side and has responsibility for the back who looks like he’s going to cut through the LOS to the middle of the field. But, using the moving OL as a wall, he has the space to move out into the weak flat where he should be open. However, McClain has read the play and isn’t biting on a pass into the middle, jumping back outside. Admittedly, Snead gets tremendous pressure up the middle forcing a quick throw but any completion would have gone for  a minimal gain. (VIDEO: 3.51)

Instincts:

Both are pretty strong in this area. McClain’s especially are superior to any MLB in the draft because generally it gives him a half a step on every one else. You cannot teach this. You simply can’t. Where he does struggle is against teams that run a lot of misdirection. He rarely takes false steps, but teams that do run a lot of play action or misdirection can force him into that position where he doesn’t break down well in which is, as aforementioned, changing direction in space. When Florida ran their unconventional attack, wishbones, triple options, etc., McClain was at his least effective. But it’s not just against the spread. Here against Ole Miss he needs to buy a ticket to get back into this play. He takes a couple of steps to his left as the action flows that way. The only thing that I like about him on this play is that after two steps he seems to sense that it’s a reverse and he stops when he sees the tight end come out into the left flat. He does nothing about it, but he won’t get caught by it again. He’s seven yards out of the play before he realises what’s happening and his pursuit is mediocre at best: (VIDEO: 3.09)

Spikes shows a good, early play recognition, especially in coverage. Look here against Florida State how he diagnoses screen and instead of rushing the QB as it looked as though he might, lined up outside, he recognises the back sneaking out into the left flat, allows the tackle to get into him but never to beat him, riding the block out to where the back was going and forcing EJ Manuel to try and fit a ball in further down the field, almost leading to a pick. (VIDEO: 2.50).

Again, here he is against Troy on three separate plays diagnosing screen and getting out into the flat and shutting down what would have been big gainers. What makes it all the more impressive is that I’m not even sure that the back was his responsibility on the last play. (VIDEO: 3 plays from 3.45 to 3.56)

Brandon does however have a propensity to false step which can remove him from the play altogether, as shown with the McElroy roll out and subsequent incompletion to Julio Jones in the 3^rd quarter. He’s much more of a gambler than McClain, but he’s the better all round athlete and doesn’t have the benefit of being covered up by a defensive tackle such as Terrence Cody. Where I think McClain’s strength lies is in covering all the options; what I mean by that is that McClain will flow to the ball but will maintain discipline for the cut back lane. He won’t ever get to the edge quicker than the ball carrier because he doesn’t overrun plays. The Jeff Demps sweep play where McClain sits inside stopping the cut back is a prime example. Demps is no slouch; he runs a 10.17 100m. But McClain allowed him to the edge first and exploded, despite weighing 70lbs more, to force him out of bounds. And here, against Ole Miss he displays the same ability to diagnose, sit on the cutback lane and then get outside to the perimeter. Justin Woodall comes up to force the back out of bounds, but McClain is half a step behind: (VIDEO: 4.05)

Tackling:

Both are solid tacklers between the tackles and in space. Spikes does have a tendency to arm tackle occasionally when moving in space down the field, but again I think this is primarily because of bad angles, which force him into situations that a linebacker under more control would succeed in. McClain attacks the ball carrier in front of him and on the perimeter. Here’s a couple of examples against Auburn and Ole Miss respectively where he shuffles his feet, avoids the melee in front of him, gets square and dips and strikes.

1. (VIDEO: 0.23)

2. (VIDEO: 0.30)

Where he struggles is when he’s wrong footed by misdirection and has to turn and run, something he’s uncomfortable with. He does however play with excellent body control, on the balls of his toes so that he isn’t shown up consistently in that area. But it’s a real issue for me. McClain also isn’t a particularly good pursuer of plays that have gone past him. Spikes however, will chase and chase a play until it’s conclusion. Here’s two examples, the first against Alabama where he attacks the guard with real force and it’s a hell of a collision, but the back is away to the second level but he’s still in on the tackle at plays end. The second is against Florida State where he blitzes through the middle but can’t get to EJ Manuel. By the whistle he’s 23 yards further back down field than where he was when the ball left Manuel’s hand. Spikes come off and gets back into the play and makes the tackle. I’m not always sure McClain will do that.

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They can both bring the lumber; Spikes is a big hitter; just ask much of the SEC’s skill position players whilst Demetrius Byrd is still recovering from a blow that McClain put on him as a sophomore.

I touched upon it at the start of the conclusion but I also wanted to mention McClain and his inconsistency with getting off blocks. Not nearly as prominent as Spikes’ issues in this department but well worth flagging up. I think he could play very well in either a 3-4 or a 4-3, but part of me wonders whether he’d be quite so effective with just a traditional nose tackle in front of him so that guards can get out and attack him at the second level. At times, especially laterally where his feet are moving, he will disengage and make the play or at least stay in it. But when the action is coming towards him, he at times struggles to get off a block and get back into the play. Take this first example against Auburn; he sees the play going to his left, seems to engage and then quickly disengage before losing a leverage battle with a pulling guard and being walled off completely from the play. What happens is that a large cut back lane is created and if it’s not for a great play by #24, Marquis Johnson fighting through a block and making a play on Ben Tate, then he might still be running: (VIDEO: 5.01)

To finish, I don’t actually think either of them played very well in the SEC Title game. They both had a couple of impact plays. McClain flashed his excellent ability to get out to the perimeter and make plays as well as showing excellent lane discipline to not allow the Gator’s army of small and lightning quick runners to cut back inside against the grain and pick up big yardage a la Chris Johnson of the Tennessee Titans. Spikes made a couple of very good plays to disengage in the 2^nd quarter on the same drive to make tackles on Ingram and Upchurch respectively, but had back to back to back plays where he was taken out of plays by his inability to get off a block, either between the hashes or on the edge. I think both are relatively sound prospects with some upside. Both have issues that will show up in the NFL – some can be masked be scheme and coaching, others not. With regards Miami, both players make decent sense. McClain could come in and be a captain on the field at ILB alongside Channing Crowder. What you would get is a very solid run defending player, who will generally play mistake free football but, much like Crowder, might not make play after play behind the line of scrimmage. Spikes would be the sort of player who you could be a little more versatile with and line up at either SOLB or WOLB in obvious passing situations as well as manning the ILB spot on regular downs, although you would have concerns that his problematic areas would lead to too many big plays which might have been avoided. I believe there would be less positive plays made at the second level and at the perimeter, although covering a half of the field rather than the entire field might work in his favour when it comes to angles and trying to eliminate his ability to over run a play.