Damaris, Damaris, Damaris
Posted: June 4th, 2012 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 59 Comments »The talk of the OTAs on defense has been LB Mychal Kendricks. We expected him to look good. He’s an athlete and high pick. This is a setting where he should shine. The talk of the OTAs on offense is Damaris Johnson. This is a bit more surprising.
Johnson was a UDFA. He essentially missed his entire Senior season at Tulsa. He didn’t play in the Senior Bowl or Shrine Game. He didn’t get invited to the Combine (the top 350 prospects). The last time Johnson did anything of note on a football field was a bowl game in December of 2010. How long ago was that? Austin Howard was our LT of the future and our second best CB was Dimitri Patterson.
I’m not surprised that Johnson is doing well in the OTAs. He is a small, quick player in a setting where finesse players should shine. I am surprised from the perspective of him adapting so quickly to the NFL. Johnson was away from organized football for a long time. Young players can quickly forget how to practice. We see guys that are college stars come in and struggle just months after being dominant in a bowl game and sometimes all star games.
Johnson also played in the spread offense at Tulsa. Here he is being thrown into the Eagles version of the West Coast Offense. I’m sure there are some similarities, but there are plenty of differences. And you can bet the coaches are teaching him different techniques. So far Johnson is handling all of this well.
It was interesting to hear Mike Vick mention him the other day. Vick said that he hasn’t had many chances to throw to Johnson, but that he’s excited to get the chance to do that. Vick said Johnson is a “valuable asset” and that he’s glad Damaris is on the Eagles team. That’s pretty high praise for the young guy. While that’s great to hear, do remember that players are the worst source of information around. I just find it funny that Vick is excited to throw to Johnson. This falls under the category of “man bites dog”. You would expect that story to be that Johnson is the one excited to practice with Vick (which I’m sure he is).
We don’t have much practice video to talk about so let’s go back to a college game.
The first thing that stands out in this video is Johnson’s versatility. He gets the ball as a runner, receiver, PR, and KOR. He lines up all over the place. While he isn’t a big guy, Johnson looks comfortable playing in traffic.
People love to talk about Damaris as fast. He really isn’t. There are a couple of plays that illustrate this. At the 1:35 mark he gets a pass and gets out into the open. You can see plenty of teammates and defenders staying with him. At the 2:23 mark there is a play where Johnson gets loose down the field. He gains a step or two on a pursuing LB. Johnson is 170 pounds. The LB is 230. At their Pro Days, Johnson ran a 4.52. The LB, Corey Paredes, ran a 4.59. Johnson was 60 pounds lighter, but just a step faster. That’s not “fast”. DeSean Jackson at 4.35 is fast.
Damaris is very quick and he has a good burst. He is able to gain initial separation. He just lacks the long speed you would ideally prefer. One thing I really like about him is that he plays fast. There is very little dancing and hesitation when Johnson gets the ball. That’s partly why he’s such a good KOR. He gets it and goes. That style of play actually makes him look faster than he is. One other thing about that…Johnson is able to make cuts at close to full speed. This is where his size is a benefit. He’s got good body control and is able to stop/start quickly and change directions on the move.
We still don’t know if Damaris is even going to make the team, let alone dress for games or contribute. He is off to a good start. The real test is to see how he does when players can hit him. Johnson must show that he can handle the tough, physical nature of the NFL.
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I talked a bit yesterday about starting QBs and backup QBs. Someone on Twitter asked about the difference.
Really this is all percentages. You draft a QB in the 1st round because you believe he will be a starter and good one. You draft a QB in the middle rounds because you hope he can become a starter, but would settle for him being a backup. You draft a QB late because there is something about him you like and you hope he’s able to pan out at all.
Coaches want all drafted players to become starters and hope that’s the case, but you cannot realistically expect someone from the 5th or 6th round to do that. The player had enough issues that he fell in his own draft class. That doesn’t mean he can’t play in the league. It simply means that teams/scouts/coaches think he is more of a long shot.
As for the difference in a starting QB and backup QB…think of it like this. A starting QB should be like Donovan McNabb. He is someone you build the franchise around and he’s able to win you games with his skill and talent. A backup is A.J. Feeley. He can win, but needs help from his OL and skill players. He needs the D to play well. He needs STs to do their part.
A starting QB needs to be good.
A backup QB needs to be good enough.
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Last week I mentioned a couple of good books. I want to cover them again in case anyone missed them. I get asked a lot about what to read.
SUMMER READING
I want to talk to you about a pair of great books. First up is a book by one of our own, an Eagles fan. No Tom McAllister didn’t write about the time that Reno Mahe stalked him in the grocery store (“I’m telling you, that’s Tom McAllister…the author”).
This is a book by Fred Gratzon called Instant Athlete. It is a book about how to improve at athletics, but without being about specific athletic skills. The book teaches you some simple things to do (I hesitate to call them tricks because that has a negative connotation). These simple tips can make a huge difference.
The book centers on how they can help you in tennis, golf, and baseball, but I think they could apply to other sports as well. I have not had a chance to try them out. I haven’t played tennis or golf in the past 3 or 4 years. And to be brutally honest, I suck at both. I was such a bad golfer that a fairway once sued me for cruel and unusual punishment. Like most golf stories, that is one million percent true.
After reading the book, I really want to go play golf and tennis to try out the tips. If an awful athlete like me can genuinely improve, there is hope for the rest of the world.
I can’t really give the secret away. You need to buy and read the book to get the information. I can tell you that it is simple. I can also tell you that it isn’t something you’ve likely thought of yourself or heard from others. That’s the genius of it. So obvious, yet so hidden.
Go to the site for Instant Athlete and listen to Fred tell you more about the book. I can guarantee you will be fascinated by what he has to say.
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The other book is a football book. I’ve talked a few times about a site called Smart Football. Well, Chris Brown took some of his posts and put them together as a book and released The Essential Smart Football.
This is a great football book. Chris knows the game very well and is a good writer. Be warned that it is more about college than the NFL, but as we have seen in recent years, the college game is starting to seep into the pro game more and more. The Panthers ran the read option last year. The Wildcat has been around for a few years. The spread offense is now part of the league. The times they are a changin’.
Chris loves the spread offense, specifically what he calls the AirRaid (Hal Mumme, Mike Leach). I am not so fond of that style of play, but Chris has gotten me to be more accepting of it. That alone should tell you how good a book this is.
There is some NFL talk. One of my favorite parts is when Chris explains a simple drop back pass play in the WCO. He walks you through what a QB does in 2.5 seconds. You can tell Chris is a good writer because he is able to take complex information and make it simple and understandable.
If you want a short, simple book to help you understand the game of football better, I highly recommend The Essential Smart Football. I bought it the day it came out and have already read it. Great stuff.
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Someone asked about my rankings/grade for Damaris as a prospect. I have to study tape to grade a player. Didn’t have anything to study.
Finally found my box of 2010 DVDs this weekend. I have 3 Tulsa games to check out. I’ll watch them to see how he looks in multiple games.
Due to size, lack of elite speed , I don’t think Damaris would have been anything more than a late pick even if he did play in 2011. Small guys must be burners to get scouts to love them.
I think Damaris compares fine to Joe Adams, he is alittle bigger and little slower, but still a small guy there was used all over and Damaris actually produced better then Adams and he got picked in the 4th round
Joe split touches with at least 3 other NFL receivers. Maybe more. Johnson was the primary offensive weapon at Tulsa huge, huge difference.
My point was more that I still think he would have been picked in around the 4th round like Adams was (I see a late pick been a 6th or 7th round pick)
I don’t think Damaris had much of a chance to go in the 4th round at 5-7, 171 and running a 4.52.
That’s a guy who goes in rounds 5-7.
Joe isn’t huge, but his game tape is very impressive. He did special things in the SEC. He also was great in the Senior Bowl.
I trust your judgement on this matter 🙂
Quick rather than fast. Can cut at almost full speed. Doesn’t that sound like a slot receiver? Can’t those guys use their small size to maneuver in tight spaces successfully?
Johnson is a slot receiver. That’s where he can find a role in the NFL. Heck, he can be a good slot receiver.
How is he similar or different to Wes Welker?
Are you being funny? I hope so. LOL!
If not, I apologize for mocking you.
Good point, Cliff, Wes Welker only ran a 4.65. WAY slower. He wasn’t even drafted. He wasn’t even invited to the combine!
Look, half the good players come into the league as scrubs, it’s not ridiculous to compare our slightly slow, undersize, explosive slot receiver to Wes Welker. That’s exactly the guy you’re hoping to draft when you take a kid like Damaris.
No, I mean, are we REALLY going to compare and contrast every slot receiver possibility to Wes Welker? Isn’t that sort of like saying “Nick Foles – how is he different and similar to Tom
Brady?”
I think it’s just silly. Welker has become this mythical figure for fans when it comes to talking about our slot receiver position.
I think that would make an awesome blog post for Tommy. 😉
I read that Bryce Brown is splitting time with Lewis running with the 2nd team O. No pads, but that ain’t bad for a guy that has had so little football.
Consider everything Iv Heard, Im not surprised. The latest OTA video says that Brown have already picked alot of the playbook and the coaches really love his receiving skills
backup running back committee that eagles will have to spell McCoy breathers
Hadn’t heard that yet. Very interesting. Brown is a guy I’m very intrigued by.
It came via Ed Kracz
http://www.phillyburbs.com/sports/eagles/from-the-sidelines-with-ed-kracz/article_13cd9c38-56c5-589b-9b44-e355390d4a06.html
Rookie seventh-round pick Bryce Brown has gotten a nice look the past two days, splitting second-team running back reps with Dion Lewis. Brown has shown quickness and ability to catch the ball, but, without pads, it is difficult to thoroughly judge the position.
I haven’t seen that. In fact, it appears to me that the current pecking order is Shady-Dion-Polk-Brown. But I haven’t been there every day, so it’s possible that he may have gotten 2nd team reps on a day I wasn’t there.
It’s hard to believe Damaris isn’t fast. Don’t get me wrong, you have me fully convinced. Nevertheless, on tape he just LOOKS fast.
It also looks like he goes down on first contact. I’m embarrassed to tell this story because I have no idea of the name of the running back I’m going to talk about. About 4-6 years ago the Eagles had a scat-back in camp – did he come from Miami for a fourth round pick? – who just lit up the initial camps. Man was unstoppable. Then they put on the pads. Turned out he went down on first contact.
Not saying that Damaris is the same. Just tempering expectations. If Damaris can catch the ball in the slot and fall down, I’m okay with that. If he can, when in space, occasionally break a long run, then I’m even more okay with that.
So interesting to see how the mix of talents makes a player. Quick but not fast. Good vision but not able to break tackles. Some mixes work in the NFL, some don’t. Let’s hope its the former with Damaris.
Our old friend Lorenzo Booker. He should have an award named after him for the player getting the most attention from Spads for “lighting it up” in training camp, only to disappoint miserably in the regular season. Sort of like the Na Brown award but less funny.
Ah yes, Lorenzo Booker. Thanks for that.
Spads wasn’t the only one raving about him. Players, reporters and fans were going gaga over him too. Got my hopes way, way up.
I like your idea of naming an award after him. You know how Mike Mamula is the poster child for the Workout Warrior? We need a name for the guy who over excites us in training camp. It happens every year.
I specifically listed Lorenzo Booker on the “Eagles never to be mentioned again here” post a few days ago. Yous guys are killin’ me!
Sorry. I missed that one. My bad.
Booker did kick around the league for awhile
There is a major difference between a RB going down on first contact and a WR going down on first contact though. A RB makes a living making people miss and breaking tackles. It certainly doesn’t hurt if a WR can break tackles as well, but he can still be productive if he is capable of getting open and catching the ball.
Since you brought up the reading list, I was curious if you have read either “Winning the NFL Way: Leadership Lessons from Football’s Top Head Coaches” by Bob LaMonte and Robert Shook or “A Thinking Man’s Guide to Pro Football” by Paul Zimmerman. I ran across both books at a used book store near me and they seemed interesting, and for $3 each, I figured I would pick them up. Are they any good? I just got them so I haven’t had a chance to read them yet.
I know both books, but have read neither. Zimmerman’s book is the one I’d be more curious about. He was a great writer prior to his stroke. Such a shame.
Well I’ll be reading them sometime this summer and let you know if either are good. The Zimmerman one interested me more like you said, but LaMonte’s book apparently is focused on five nfl coaches including Andy Reid. He apparently spent tons of time with each coach finding out how they run a team, focusing less on x’s and o’s and instead on how they manage their coaching staff and players. I’m curious if the AR stuff will all be common knowledge (or at least Eagle’s enthusiast knowledge) or if there are any interesting inside stories and quotes.
Damaris is a good example of the type of player who disappears once the pads go on. Why? First, pads slow down smaller players more than bigger players (if you’re 170, a few lbs is a lot, if you’re 250 lbs, you hardly notice them).
Second, when you’re allowed to make contact, small guys become pinballs.
That’s why scouts put so much emphasis on speed for small guys, if they’re tied, they lose, the opposite for big WRs, if guys like Cooper, McNutt and Brackett learn to use their bodies, when they’re tied, they win.
Chad Hall will have something to say, people forget he took two years off, coming out of the Air Force option, then lost OTAs last year, so he still has upside. He won’t get faster, what he may do is be able to play without thinking, and he’s also quick but much stronger than Damaris.
It’ll be a good contest in camp.
I am really curious to see how Damaris handles contact. He could “disappear” as you say, but could also be one of the smaller guys who actually can handle it. Joe Adams isn’t significantly bigger, but he’s a tough guy. Maybe the NFL will bring out the best in DJ.
He had pads on when he set the NCAA record for career all-purpose yards.
The argument against that is that he had a ton of touches and faced mediocre competition. DJ had 3,417 KOR yards in his career. Tulsa had a bad defense so that meant a lot of KORs. At 20 to 25 yards a pop, that adds up.
I do agree that you shouldn’t casually dismiss a guy with his track record. DJ could be a small guy that ends up being a good NFL player.
Johnson said he chose Tulsa because of the many KOR opportunities.
I definately like Demaris over Chad Hall!! I would be very happy if we have Jackson/Machlin/Avant/Cooper/McNutt/Johnson…..If he can prove able to take NFL hits, he could be a MAJOR steal in the draft. He could bulk up over the next few years and carve out a niche like Darren Sproles.
I suspect that Andy would prefer his marginal guys to be high character, that’s why we get the Chad Hall show.
T-LAW . . . 3 items, including one on Fletcher Cox
(1) Bryce Brown’s receiving skills
Brown showed great receiving skills coming out of high school.
The coaches in the US Army HS All Star game lined him up in the slot and run him deep a few times. He was explosive off the line. And he’s so smooth in the open field — like Eric Dickerson (who never seemed to be running fast . . . until you saw him in the open about 5 yards ahead of the opposing defense’s fastest guy).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v… (US Army ASG highlights)
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(2) Demarius Johnson . . . seems like he could be like Widner U’s own Billy “White Shoes” Johnson.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0EVm7fi0iQ (White Shoes in action)
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(3) Fletcher Cox
T-Law, any thoughts on the reports last week about Fletch acknowledging he’d been slow at the snap, but seems to be getting quicker.
Was that surprising to hear? A concern? It seemed a bit odd — though I recall you noting his combine numbers and saying that he needs to build-up his lower body to gain more explosion.
Would that make him quicker, too?
Brown’s receiving skills have stood out in HS and college. He’s just natural at catching the ball in space. You know that is part of why Big Red liked him so much. I’ve watched some of the HS stuff. Really talented kid.
Billy “White Shoes” Johnson was a classic. My biggest memory of him is his catch on a Hail Mary play to win a game for ATL. I think it was vs SF. There was controversy about whether he was tackled at the 1 or got in.
Missed the comment from Fletch about being slow off the snap. Like I always say, players are the worst source of info. I wouldn’t pay much attention to it. He might just think he’s slow since the guys around him are all now quick. Wasn’t that way in college.
great point on Fletch being introduced to “relative” quickness.
Thanks.
I would rather see Damaris make the team over Hall. I just don’t think Hall will (1) ever be anything other than what we have seen and (2) I don’t think his play makes the Eagles better.
I would rather take a chance on a guy that might make a difference than keep a guy because of his consistency.
If Hall is magically faster this year, I’d love to keep him. If it is more of the same…I hope Damaris beats him out.
Agreed.
I hope the best for Damaris. Kinda reminds me of Dexter McCluster while at ole miss. He looked like a burner in SEC but only ran 4.5 4.6 range at the combine. Not sure if it was Todd Haley’s game plan or what but McCluster hasn’t done much in the NFL.
Dexter has been disappointing, but I wouldn’t say he’s “not done much”.
http://www.nfl.com/player/dextermccluster/497190/profile
67-537-2 as a receiver
132-586-1 as a runner
Solid KOR. Good PR with 1 TD.
Yeah he hasn’t been a complete bust. Thought he would have had more of an impact with the Chefs. Now if we get that production out of Damaris I’ll be happy. Then again damaris went unseated and McCluster was an early 2nd round pick??
I said at the time McCluster was grossly over drafted.
Chad Hall in 15 games in two years has:
14 catches for 145 9.6 2
12 rushes for 42 yards
10 PR for 107 yards
Point is if you gave him Dexter’s opportunities, I’m not sure Chad wouldn’t put up fairly similar numbers, people loved to knock Mahe but he actually was fairly productive:
rushing 47 196 4.2 0
receiving 31 214 7.0 0
PR 95 9.0 0
KR 35 21.4
That’s fine for a fringe player who’s filling in until you find someone better, but when you take a guy in the first 100 picks as a role player, he should be an exceptional role player.
Regarding books and stuff to learn, I just found this http://www.o-lineworld.com/ website about o-linemen.
I wasn’t impressed with the tape. His quickness and decisiveness show me that he could be an adequate kick returner, but adequate kick returners are easy to find. Punt returners are harder to find, and also harder to evaluate except in real-time. I didn’t see speed on the tape, and as others said he goes down easy.
Right now he’s a Jeremy Bloom in my mind.
That’s not a good comparison. Bloom was a good athlete, just not a football player. He was athletic enough to deliver some big plays in college, but then got away from the game and never got back to that point. I’m not sure if he ever had football instincts.
DJ is a football player. Lorenzo Booker is a good comparison because he had ability, but couldn’t handle the physical side of the NFL. LoBo was great in the OTAs. I don’t recall Bloom even doing that.
Hey Tommy with all the talk about Damaris beating out Chad Hall for that possible 6th receiver spot I haven’t heard anything about Gilyard. I know DJ is the popular name, but it seems to me that if DJ can’t handle NFL hits (which is a realistic possibility) Gilyard seems to be a much better return threat than Hall. In fact I remember Caplan and Spads arguing which of the two (Gilyard & Johnson) were better returnees in college. If I recall correctly Mardy put up some pretty impressive numbers himself. Any thoughts?
Gilyard should be in the mix. We’re just not hearing anything about him right now. I have no idea why. You’d think we would hear something. Very below the radar…or he is failing to stand out at all. Lehigh and the PS games are critical for him.
I don’t think Gilyard has fallen off the radar so much as someone has jammed the radar. (Raspberry?!?!)
There’s a lot of meta-reporting going on. One guy writes something about Damaris Johnson, then Chris McPherson highlights him in a clip on the main-page, and suddenly everyone is talking about him… even if they’ve never seen him do a single thing on the football field.
It’s also not the most responsible “reporting” when you ask the starting quarterback “What stands out about Damaris Johnson?” in the middle of an interview about something else and then try to sell the “story” as “Vick singles out Damaris Johnson.”
I’m hoping Johnson’s a surprise and brings out the best competition for our returner spots but let’s not get carried away by pre-pre-season buzz.
Gilyard was a lot of fun to watch in college, by the way.
Exactly!
This just reeks of shitty off-season buzz.
Meh. OTAs are when athletes shine.
Gilyard should be making big plays when he touches the ball, no contact, everything wide open.
I suspect he got injured and lost a step since college, there’s a reason he’s been floating around the last three years.
The other guy who has failed to step up is Ron Johnson.
The reason you have to step up is when you get to TC, if you haven’t flashed in OTAs, you’re down the depth chart and will have less opportunities unless the guy ahead of you falters. For fringe players, every time they touch the ball is an opportunity to catch the coaches’ eyes – if you don’t take advantage of those opportunities, you don’t get too many more.
Gotta’ ask, Is the title a play off Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice… ain’t gonna’ risk it.
I was going more for “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia”…as in the Brady Bunch. I was originally going to write from the perspective of the other WRs who aren’t getting attention. I fell behind schedule and had to go simple and conventional.
Tommy, off topic there was a very interesting article on NFL: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d8298aeb2/article/two-tight-end-formations-will-hit-nfl-by-storm-in-2012?module=HP11_content_stream, with regards more 2 TEs sets in 2012. Brooks doesn’t mention the Eagles, but could we shift to more TE sets? With our personnel particularly DSJ’s speed stretching the field and 2 TEs shortening it could make for some real interesting results.
I’ll talk about this in an upcoming post.
Didn’t Westbrook run a 4.5 40? He was pretty tough to cover.