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Where are all the stars in Super Bowl XXXVIII?
That's the perception of many, advertisers included, as we ready for the Super Bowl on Feb. 1 in Houston.
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Richard Seymour (93) led a Pats D that allowed the fewest points in the NFL. (Getty Images) |
The Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots do not have star-studded rosters, which might be why their coaches get so much credit for the two teams being the final ones standing.
Aside from Tom Brady and Stephen Davis, and maybe Ty Law, are there really any identifiable players?
Maybe not, but there are two legitimate stars that people should get to know, aside from the three players mentioned above. They are two players who might not be getting the due from fans that they deserve, hidden inside the line battles each and every Sunday, anonymous warriors who get little face time.
They are Panthers defensive tackle Kris Jenkins and Patriots defensive tackle/end Richard Seymour. Both are Pro Bowl choices in their respective conferences, and both can create havoc for an offensive team readying to block them.
"They are 1 and 1A in terms of defensive tackles in this league," said one team's head coach. "Jenkins is 1 and Seymour is 1A. It's that close. But Jenkins gets a slight edge."
Both Jenkins and Seymour are in their third years, with Seymour entering as a first-round pick in 2001 and Jenkins as a second-round choice that same year. Both have power, speed and the ability to be disruptive against the run and the pass.
The 6-foot-6, 305-pound Seymour plays both tackle and end in the Patriots' scheme, depending if it's a 4-3 alignment or a 3-4 front. But the reality is the 3-4 end is really a tackle masquerading as an end anyway. He is more speed than power, which is Jenkins' strength.
At 6-4, 335 pounds, Jenkins has become a force in the run game, but is also capable of getting to the quarterback, as evidenced by his 14 sacks in three seasons.
"You can't go wrong with either of those two," said one NFC personnel guy. "They are both dominant players."
The team that does the best job blocking these two might just be the team that wins Super Bowl XXXVIII. So to help prepare for some binocular watching of these two -- it's highly recommended if you are at the game, and let's hope CBS focuses on them as well -- we have a detailed scouting report on the two players.
The report comes courtesy of an NFC personnel guy that has studied tape of the two for this story, a head coach whose team has played both of them, and Houston Texans guard Zach Wiegert, a veteran player who tried to block both in 2003.
Wiegert was matched head up with Jenkins when the teams met Nov. 2, a game won by the Texans, and went against Seymour for about 15 plays when the Patriots beat the Texans on Nov. 23. Jenkins had six tackles in a 14-10 Panthers loss to the Texans, while Seymour had four tackles and a sack -- not against Wiegert -- in the Patriots' 23-20 overtime victory over Houston.
The abilities of both players have been broken down into several categories, with one emerging as the best based on consistently winning the categories. That player is Jenkins, a true star playing in a Super Bowl that is craving them. Seymour is also a star, if just a tad below Jenkins.
"If any team could have the ideal pair of defensive tackles it would be these two," said Wiegert. "You have a nose tackle/one technique player in Jenkins and you have a three-technique player in Seymour. That's ideal. They're different players, but they are both so good at what they do."
The breakdown:
In-line quickness
Personnel guy: Both players have outstanding initial quickness. Jenkins is really impressive in how quick he is on his first step for being such a large man. Seymour is snake-like with his quickness. He shows the ability to be on you, then by you in a hurry.
NFC coach: That has to go to Seymour. He's very athletic. Jenkins has some athletic ability, but he's more of an arm-over guy, a player who will push his way to where he has to go. Seymour has a clear edge here.
Wiegert: Seymour gets the edge here. He's not as big a guy. He's quicker. He's not as heavy a player. Jenkins isn't overly quick, but he's more of a power player. He's more of a tall, lanky player with more athletic ability.
Power
Personnel guy: Jenkins, being the larger man, plays with more power than Seymour. His upper- and lower-body strength really cause problems for guards and centers. Jenkins is a very hard player to handle one on one. Seymour does play with some power, but it's nowhere near that of Jenkins.
NFC coach: That has to go to Jenkins -- by far. Seymour is powerful, but Jenkins is one of the most powerful inside players in the game.
Wiegert: Jenkins is the by most powerful player in the league. He's just a force inside when he comes at you. I've never had trouble with big, strong guys. I watched him abuse a lot of players on film in the games leading up to us playing them. Seymour generates his power from his leverage. He does a real good job of standing people up and using his height and long arms to get push. But Jenkins is more brute power.
Pass-rushing ability
Personnel guy: Once again, both are very good in this area. Jenkins has the rare combination of quickness and power. Seymour is more quickness than power, but he is really good with his hands. Seymour is a better technique player and his build helps him be more effective in this area.
NFC coach: I think they're equal. They're both quality pass rushers in their own way. Jenkins collapses the pocket better, while Seymour tries to beat you right off the bat. They're two different types of pass rushers, but they both get it done.
Wiegert: I think they're about equal. Jenkins probably won't get as much credit as a pass rusher, but he gets his push up the middle. He collapses the pocket. Seymour chases the guy out of the pocket more, although he can push the pocket, too.
Run player
Personnel guy: I'll take Jenkins in this area. He has the ability to be dominant at the point of attack. He is a hard man to move and when he is on the move is almost impossible to stop. Seymour, once again, plays well with his hands to play off blocks and find the football. Give me the stout player at the point.
NFC coach: Jenkins is better here. He uses his hands and has great strength to throw off blockers. You can't run at Jenkins. Seymour is not as good as Jenkins when you run at him, even though he's still good in the run game.
Wiegert: Jenkins is the better run player, but they're both good at it. The thing is they're both smart. If you block down once or twice, they see it coming after that. They know how to handle it after that. Jenkins is a big, massive guy so he holds the point better. Seymour is better at chasing guys down.
Toughness
Personnel guy: I really think Jenkins can be a nasty player. Seymour is more of a thinker and technique player. Both players come after you down after down but Jenkins can physically dominate.
NFC coach: They're both tough guys. When Seymour was coming out of Georgia, he was considered more athletic than tough, while Marcus Stroud (Jacksonville) was more tough than athletic. Now Seymour is a tough player, too. Jenkins is tough as hell, though. He can dominate with his toughness.
Wiegert: They're both about the same. I think a guy like Jenkins can make you look bad by running your over, while Seymour can run around you and make you miss him. It's hard to say who's tougher. They both are tough guys.
Effort
Personnel guy: Seymour is always chasing the football, not to say that Jenkins doesn't, but Seymour plays all over the line and you never see him come off the field. He is very impressive the way he plays down after down.
NFC coach: That's a tossup. They both play hard. Neither one comes out that often, although Jenkins comes out some on third down. For two big guys, they play a lot of snaps. They are not guys who play 50 percent of the time, like Seymour did at Georgia. That has taken some adjusting on his part, but he now can play much more than that.
Wiegert: I know Jenkins plays hard, but I didn't play as much against Seymour. They're both pretty high effort guys. They don't take plays off. They don't get worn down either since their teams do a good job of spotting them for breaks.
Handling double teams
Personnel guy: Jenkins will see more double teams than Seymour. Jenkins' size really helps him in this area. He plays with such power and brute force. As I mentioned before, he is such a rare combination of power and quickness.
NFC coach: Jenkins has more power, so he does a better job of playing the doubles. But Seymour is good at it as well. They're both up there among the best.
Wiegert: I would say Jenkins is a better double-team guy. He's so low to the ground and so strong. He does a good job of getting his pads down for such a strong guy. It's a big edge weighing 340 compared to 310 (Seymour).
Better player
Personnel guy: I would love to have either one of these players. They both bring so much to their team. At the end of the day, I think that you would love to have the dominant inside player and try to build around that. So with that being said, Kris Jenkins is slightly ahead but not by much over Richard Seymour.
NFC coach: Like I said, it's close but Jenkins is the best defensive lineman in the league. Seymour is right there, but it's Jenkins first. After those two, there's a big drop to the third guy.
Wiegert: It's hard to say one's better than the other. The one guy can flat out beat you up, while the other guy can make you look bad. If you asked all the offensive linemen in the league, 50 percent would say it's a lot harder to face Seymour, while the other 50 percent will say it's tougher to face Jenkins. The bigger, stronger guards would rather face the bigger guy in Jenkins, while he would give the smaller guards some trouble. And Seymour could bring some problems for the bigger guards with his quickness.
