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When I saw the South roster early this week and compared it to the North, I was convinced we’d be seeing a blowout today in favor of the South team. Don’t get me wrong, the North has a lot of talented players, but the South is just stacked. After watching a few days of practice, I still thought the South had more pure talent on its roster, but talent doesn’t always win games.
That was the case for Tony Sparano’s South squad as they got trounced in front of a home crowd in Mobile, Alabama. The North practiced with more intensity all week and looked like a better all-around team.
It was a sloppy game on Saturday night. Each team fumbled way too often, but in the end, the North took care of the ball better than the South and came away with a hard-earned victory. Teams combined for 11 fumbles (six lost) and three interceptions.
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Mardy Gilyard |
Mardy Gilyard hauled in five catches for 103 yards and one touchdown. Gilyard looked terrific, beating corners and safeties all over the field and looking like a legitimate NFL returner as well. LeFevour hit Gilyard on his scoring catch in the back of the endzone with a beautiful pass.
The final score was 31-13 in favor of the North, but it very well could have been a much larger margin. The South just didn’t show up to play a competitive game of football against a North team with more enthusiasm and drive.
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Sean Weatherspoon |
Sean Weatherspoon just seems like he loves playing football. If you watched him on the sidelines or in the huddle, he’s always laughing, dancing, firing his teammates up and just having a good time. I guess when you’re winning big, that’s easy to do. Weatherspoon was also terrific tonight. He played inside linebacker much of the game and looked as explosive as he did physical. If I could give an award for the player most likely to be a fan favorite in the NFL, Weatherspoon takes it.
For those who came to see Tim Tebow play… Well, those were probably the same people who left at the end of the third quarter. He looked even worse in tonight’s game than he did in practice all week. He did not do anything to help his draft stock out tonight.
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Brandon Graham |
Brandon Graham was the Under-Armour MVP of the 2010 Senior Bowl.
He recorded two sacks and a forced fumble and looked like a real force off the edge. He showcased great pass-rushing moves, but still needs to show he can use a rip move and spin move to cut inside tight ends and offensive tackles. Regardless, he looked very good tonight and surely helped to solidify his first-round draft status.
Jamar Chaney wasn’t a standout performer this week, but he made a name for himself tonight. He led the North team with eight tackles tonight and seemed to be everywhere on the field. He showed tonight that he can hang with the big boys and make a lot of plays.
Dan LeFevour was the last North quarterback to see the field but also the best. He showed he has the arm to throw accurate deep balls and the touch to throw underneath routes right on the numbers. He still needs to improve under center, but he showed mobility and pocket presence tonight, and probably showed he deserves to move up on some draft boards. He’s a heady player with a solid arm, and hopefully has a good career ahead of him.
Jeremy Williams had a solid night.
He had six catches for 82 yards and one rush for 27 yards, which accounted for all but four rushing yards
for the South after several negative yardage plays. Williams showed good hands and excellent body control
on a couple catches and made a name for himself.
It was a sloppy game on a chilly, windy night in Mobile, Alabama. The finals score wasn’t as important as the way these players performed. On a big stage in front of some big names, players either showed they have what it takes, or they didn’t.
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