Eric Berry
- Height: 5-11
- Weight: 203
- S
- Tennessee
- NFL.com
| Attribute | Rating |
| Speed/Acceleration |  |
| Ball Skills | |
| Pass Coverage | |
| Run Defense | |
| Agility | |
| Football I.Q | |
| Tackling | |
| Durability | |
Scouting Report
Now that he has declared for the draft, Eric Berry will battle Ndamukong Suh for title of top prospect of the 2010 NFL Draft. A gifted athlete and leader, Berry is exactly the kind of impact player that all NFL franchises covet. The Thorpe award winner is # 2 in the NCAA for career interception yards after only playing 3 years of college ball. Although safeties don’t traditionally get picked in the top 5, there is now a premium placed on game-changing safeties, which could drive Berry’s stock up enough to become only the 5th safety to be chosen in the top 5 since 1967.
Speed/Acceleration: Elite speed for a safety, and can run with virtually any receiver. Excellent closing burst to make a play on the football. Should run in the 4.4 range at the combine.
Ball Skills: Easily one of Berry’s strongest skills. Excellent hands for the interception, and can catch the ball like a receiver. Had 12 interceptions through 2008. Gets hands under the ball when thrown low, but will want to demonstrate a consistent ability to high point the ball. Very good jumping ability, and isn’t afraid to leap horizontally to make play on the ball. Knack for being around the football. Superior run-after-catch ability. Very dangerous with the ball in his hands. Runs like a tailback after the catch, switching hands with the football to keep it secure.
Pass Coverage: Initially started out playing cornerback. Often asked to play man coverage at the line of scrimmage, where he is able to use his aggressiveness to dominate receivers. Very fluid in his backpedal and mirrors his man well. Has very good recovery speed to make a play on the ball. Shows an aptitude for sticking his foot in the ground and driving hard on the ball. Always keeps one eye on the quarterback, looking for the interception.
Run Defense: Disciplined and is reliable in filling his gap. Often uses his violent hitting ability to intimidate ball carriers, but this causes him to sometimes take somewhat poor angles to the football in attempting to deliver the knock out. Generally quick to diagnose run plays. Good at sealing the edge in close yardage situations. Very rangy defender who utilizes his great closing speed to reach the edge on outside runs. When ball carrier is running in the box, Berry often waits for the action to come to him. Seldom is asked to engage and shed blockers when playing close to the line. But this is not highly unusual for safety, especially one who frequently is asked to play center field.
Agility: Moves well laterally, and can change direction comfortably. Good but not elite ability to flip hips in coverage.
Football I.Q: Team leader capable of being the quarterback of the defense for any NFL team. Able to diagnose plays quickly. Excellent character and smart kid who works very hard.
Tackling: Big hitter who drives through ball carrier and can deliver jarring hits. Sideline to sideline kind of tackler who flies all over the field to make plays. Displays proper tackling technique and keeps eyes on his target. Usually displays proper pad level when tackling. Unintimidated by much larger foes. Needs to work on open field tackling, sometimes getting overeager for the big hit.
Durability: Both mentally and physically tough. Plays through injury. Only reported injury to date is to his shoulder last season, which didn’t force him tomiss any playing time.
(Video thanks to psheezybaby)
I have a hard time wondering why Berry is touted so soundly when he only has statistical numbers that most in the media fawn over but not the actual measurables and genuine ability to play the safety position every down in the NFL. Then I am reminded that certain media outlets have a vested interest in maintaining the mythical belief that he is a tackling machine, a heady player and a once in a generation player. However, if you read the reports distributed from those media outlets regarding Berry you are left with serious doubts about his physical wherewithal to constantly withstand collisions by larger and faster and more skilled NFL sized backs. “The 235-pound Tebow lowered his broad shoulders and aimed his helmet squarely at Berry — much more fullback than quarterback in that moment. Berry was giving away 32 pounds, but refused to go for the ankle tackle. He stood his ground and awaited the train wreck.
“I just bit down on my mouthpiece and tried to give it everything I had,” Berry said. “All the power cleans, all the squats I did this summer, that’s why.”The percussive collision sent both bodies flying to the ground — Tebow falling forward, but not splattering Berry by any means.”At first I was like, ‘Dang, he done got me, y’all,’” Berry said with a smile. “Then I looked at the JumboTron. You can call it what you want. It was a good collision.”"http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=4487995&sportCat=ncf
At 190 lbs and 5’11, there should be serious reservations on whether he would be able to come up in the box and tackle an NFL sized running back. He lacks control when coming to make tackles. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3UVnudTSYA&feature=related His hips demonstrate a lack of fluidity when in his back peddling he has to break to the left or right quickly. His coverage skills have yet to be tested because most opponents of Tennessee rarely need to throw. His tackling is not fundamentally sound; he actually leads with his head and shoulders which are now considered a major penalty in the NFL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMI4qj0pj3E&feature=related furthermore, when the opponents do throw downfield most of Berry’s’ INTs have come from the obviously horribly thrown balls where he has had nothing to do except play in the outfield. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk7Oj8wmRLQ&feature=related Arguably, as a free safety he plays mostly 30 yards behind the LOS which has resulted in most of his interceptions. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiDrM26RS8g&feature=related
In my humble opinion drafting a player extremely high who will only play a few packages on defense is not sound. Drafting a player because he reminds you of certain NFL talent that makes highlight plays but also possess liabilities in their game is unwise. Rating a player with poor position skills high enough to set your franchise back a few years is a waste of a pick. Why draft a talent that is the product of poor evaluation and media hype so high, when you have to redraft or contract to sign another player to replace his deficiencies. One highlight play, two highlight plays 12 highlight plays is fantastic for ratings and media rankings, but a total game of consistently solid and mistake free football for 19 games or more is what makes a champion. I do not contend Eric Berry will be a Reggie Nelson, but he appears to suffer from the same deficiencies, media buildup and inaccurate evaluations that caused Jacksonville to Draft Nelson in the first round. In the end, Jacksonville moved the 5’11 200lbs Former safety Reggie Nelson to cornerback and is now in the market to replace a wasted 1st round choice from 2006.
Mark,
thanks for the extremely well-thought out comment. Its obvious that you have put some thought into it.
Your sentiments on Berry being the subject of media hype is spot on. However, I don’t agree with a few of your statements.
First, your worries about Berry’s size are unfounded. The evolution of the safety position has given way to faster, more pass defense-savvy athletes such as Louis Delmas (2nd round pick) and Ed Reed. Interestingly enough, both of those players are exactly the same size as Eric Berry. And others like Troy Polamalu and Laron Landry are within 10 pounds of his size.
Nevertheless, I do agree that many of Berry’s INT’s have been a result of poorly thrown balls, which he never had to high-point. But I do find it encouraging that he has the instincts to always be where the ball is.
But I do think he is generally a sound tackler who USUALLY breaks down well in space. He could work on consistently taking good angles to the football though. Tackling is as much about technique as it is a mentality. And he seems to have the right mindset. Sometimes he tends to succumb to temptation of delivering the knockout blow, and he wont arm tackle. Instead he will use his shoulder to lower the boom. I watched the videos you sent, and it is possible that Berry’s overpursuit at times is a result of poor surrounding cast. I’ve seen it too many times, where a good player is made to look silly because his teammates are incapable of performing their assignments. His technique has been somewhat regressive at times this year, but his body of work is still solid. Keep in mind the circumstances at Tennessee at the moment.
Thanks again for the comment.
berry=stud….cowboys need to trade up
Mark Jones are you retarted, Berry sent Tebow back but Berry’s teammate hit him and made it appear that he fell back. Please rewatch the game film and put the bottle down because you’re hating on stupid issues