Scouts' views: observations and opinions from two NFL pro scouts, one from each conference

Sporting News, The, Nov 11, 2002

Everybody says the AFC West is the best division, and it is record-wise. But you wonder what kind of toll playing in that division is going to take on the team that wins it. With San Diego, Denver and Oakland having to play each other--and now it looks like Kansas City has it figured out--it'll be a blood bath at the end.

Is the winner of that division going to be so beaten down, so decimated, that it won't be able to advance very far in the playoffs? ... I'm seeing more fumbles by wide receivers. I don't have any statistics to verify it, but it just seems like it's happening more than in the past. Most of the time, the ball is being stripped or punched out. As a whole, receivers probably don't do many anti-fumbling, ball-security drills.... I think right now, the offense Jon Gruden has in Tampa is a pretty bad personnel fit for him. He's having problems with the offensive line; he doesn't have the playmaking ability on the outside that he did in Oakland, and he had a better big-game back in Charlie Garner than he has now in Michael Pittman. And maybe the answer for him at quarterback will be Shaun King. Shaun is a patient guy and probably would do well mobilltywise.... Jeff George was probably the best guy out there for Seattle to sign as a backup quarterback after Trent Dilfer got hurt. I'm looking at my hoard, and there wasn't another guy out there who was better. Who do you want? You want Scott Mitchell? Mark Rypien? Dave Brown? Paul Justin? They already tried Ryan Leaf, and that didn't work.... To me, the emotion Jeremy Shockey is showing on the field is a product of his environment. Where does be come from? The University of Miami. All those Miami kids are emotional players with chips on their shoulders, no doubt about it. He was in a lot of big college football games and won a national championship. The guy thinks he's pretty damn good, and we all do a pretty good job of telling him he's pretty damn good. As long as he continues to make plays and run over people, he'll continue to do those things.... I think the Baltimore staff is probably doing as good a coaching job as any team in the league. When you look at what they started off with and how depleted their team was, the fact that they've managed to play as well as they have means they're doing a hell of a coaching job.... It makes sense the way the Rams are using Adam Archuleta almost as a linebacker in their 4-1-6 scheme. The closer you get Adam Archuleta to the action, the better off he's going to be. Some people would say that if you put a guy in there like that, he's going to get blocked. Well, he's got the athletic ability to avoid being blocked.