BTW, Luke Lachey might be the best TE to come out of IOWA since Kittle and he’s a junior next year.
I’ll buy that. Kittle is kind of a different breed when it comes to being aggressive…
How many of those guys had IOWA’s QB throwing them the ball? I can’t wait for LaPorta to have a guy running out there that isn’t his #1 receiver.
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I’m sure Kittle’s athleticism score of 89 (vs. Hocks 77) has nothing to do with his superior blocking. Guys just need great effort to be a great blocker. 
Why is St Brown such a better blocker than others with higher athletic scores? I would say effort and attitude.
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You are failing to see that blocking is a complex football skill:
-The speed to get in position
-The lateral quickness to make micro-second positional adjustment
-Size and use of proper leverage
-Lower body strength
-Arm length
-Hand strength and hand usage
-Anticipation skill
-Mastery of technique, experience and confidence
etc
It’s a multi-faceted skill that yes does also involve high effort. Kittle’s superior blocking starts with his superior athletic profile.
I tire of lazy fan narratives that reduce things down to little digestible jello bites, often assuming something belittling about a player’s intentions or effort. 90% of the time these fan narratives are flat wrong.
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Being naturally aggressive helps a lot. With tackling too. Look at Hutch & Rodrigo…they’re really not even mean. It’ like huge, hyperactive puppies out there playing that accidentally hurt someone. LOL.
Sewell has the mean streak. Totally his nature. You can “flip a switch” on him much more quickly than those other guys.
Our new TE is very aggressive too. He’s gonna be awesome. Mitchell is more leaning toward a Graham type, where Laporte has way more “■■■■ you” energy.
In baseball a guy goes 0-4 with two strike-outs and two weak grounders.
What does a fan say in critique: “What a Heartless effort, little SOB”
We dish lazy fan narratives when we have no clue. Maybe the guy just can’t hit lefties. Maybe his technique makes him vulnerable to inside heat. Maybe he’s just over-matched in talent. Or needs better corrective lenses.
But we love our little narratives, often full of angry character attack.
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If this said baseball player could have beat out one of those ground balls but failed to do so because he didn’t hustle down the line those stupid lazy fans have every right to critique him and boo him. Sometimes even stupid lazy fans can see lack of effort.
Agreed. Sometimes. Can you show a clip where Hock was lazy in trying to make a block?
I posted about Jack Campbell in the other thread so I figure I better chime in here, as an Iowa homer. Sam is well like and was basically Iowa’s offense this past year. Hard to know what he can do with a real QB throwing to him. I wasn’t overly excited about this pick though. At pick #34, I feel like we should have went in a different direction other than TE. Sam is a lesser than TJ Hockenson. Very reliable and does some nice things after the catch but I was never very wowed by him other than a couple plays. Also, don’t expect him to help too much in the blocking department. I personally wanted Michael Mayer more but understand their decision to go with the better athlete.
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I like LaPorta and thought it was a good choice. I liked Musgrave because I thought he offered a little more blocking in the run game and he was a better deep threat. He went to the packers a few picks later. With LaPorta I can see how he is a better fit in our offense because he is much quicker in and out of his routes and just seems to mesh better with what Goff likes to do. Mayer is better in the run game than either of them but I think he will struggle to get separation in his routes in the NFL. With Goff it’s like no separation no ball.
Butt’s Breakdown is a pretty amazing name.
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I know this might sound crazy but based on the highlights, sam laporta kind of seemed to be the ARSB for Iowa. Not the fastest guy but consistently open, reliable, and making catches. Security blanket for the QB in key downs.
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There we may agree.
3-Cone Drill
LaPorta: 6.91
Hock: 7.02
And the tape seems to show a more flexible, fluid player. Perhaps with a bit more YAC, juice, which I’m all about.
YAC baby, out.
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I have always been impressed with his catch radius and they showed a good one. Crap pass that is low and as he observed, not many players making that catch. You can line him up wherever you want, he’s a great option.
And that’s the point, everyone knew where the ball was going and he still made the plays over and over. He not only led IOWA in receiving TD’s, their O was so bad that he had more than the other receivers combined.
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