Vahey’s Scouting Notebook: Stefon Diggs Emergence, Chris Ivory Pacing, and Power Rankings

Week 6’s biggest storyline was the re-match of the Colts and Patriots, where all the hype was focused on how badly the Patriots would beat the Colts or if the Colts could use their emotions against them. The game lived up to the hype, with the Patriots winning a closer than expected game.

But the biggest surprise of the week may be the Panthers going into Seattle and taking down the defending NFC champs. Overall, week 6 was not a let down on the field and provided great match ups all weekend.By: Matt and Mike Vahey

Stefon Diggs’s Emergence
Some people may not know the name, but he is making a case to be, at least, the Minnesota Vikings number 2receiver as he has shown some great ability over these past few games. He was added to the lineup in week 4 with Charles Johnson hurt, as he was out the first three weeks of the season. The former fifth round draft pick has looked right at home in the starting lineup and then has shown to have a good report with QB Teddy Bridgewater.

As previously have been mentioned, Bridgewater has looked in Diggs’ direction early and often throughout the past few weeks. Having the most targets of any Vikings receiver since week 4. While he has not reached the end zone, that will only be a matter of time for the rookie, here is his usage break down:

Route Running and Ability to Get Open

What has been particularly impressive in Diggs’s game is his route running ability. Usually rookie receivers don’t run the best route tree, but Diggs’s has shown that he can run a variety of routes very effectively and at a very high level; showing the ability to stick his foot in the ground and stop on a dime. With his good route running. He also shows a knack of getting open, using his good route running and very good athleticism and speed to turn defenders around and get open. This past weekend, he put all of his skills on display against the Chiefs.

Route Running:

Getting Open:

Body Control

Body control does usually go very hand-in-hand with route running, but his body control deserves recognition on its own right. He has shown the ability to make sideline grabs and have the wherewithal to keep his feet in bounds. But also he has shown that he can make the back shoulder catches seemingly at ease. He has shown over the past few games that he is a natural “hands” catcher if you will and does not usually let the ball get to his chest. He will be using these skills to continue to string together a solid rookie campaign, and will only get better.

Chris Ivory Pacing Jets’ Offense

While everyone may be hearing about Brandon Marshall putting up another Pro-Bowl season and putting up his 4^th straight 100 yard receiving game, or the defense causing a multitude of turn overs. It has been Chris Ivory who is setting the tone for the Jets’ offense on a weekly basis.

Ivory embodies everything that the Jets set out to do each week. He is a lunch pail running back, and is pretty much the running back representation of the hard hitting defense they bring on a week to week basis. Ivory is the type of running back that will not shy away from contact and will wear you down as the game goes on. Now that the Jets give him at least 20 carries a game, it is really opening up the passing attack for the Jets and Brandon Marshall to put up the numbers that he has thus far.

Toughness and Power

Chris Ivory is the throwback running back who runs with an attitude. Rarely will you see Ivory get tackled by one player one on one (the only time may be the occurrence where he gets wrapped up around the ankles). He is a nightmare for defenses as he only seems to get stronger as he gets into a rhythm, and as the game goes on. He will run through arm tackles on a regular basis and keeps his legs moving at all times. Though a lot of the stat sheet may look like runs of 3 or 4 or 5 yards, and is always falling forward to pick up that extra yard.

Deceptive Explosiveness

One piece of Ivory’s game that may sometimes go unnoticed is that, after all the 4 yard runs that he may put together, as mentioned above, as the defense wears down he will bust one for a big gain (against the Redskins he had runs of 50 and 30 yards). He will hit the hole, and will run North and South once he finds the hole. When he gets into the open space he has very underappreciated acceleration and can take it to the house. He shows great vision in the open field and will navigate through the defense. It can happen multiple times in a game and he really is an all-around back that has really come into his own with the Jets.

Ten Scouting Notes:

1. After the Bye week, the Dan Campbell lead Dolphins looked like a completely different team on the field Sunday. Lamar Miller ran for over 100 yards for the first time this year, with the offensive line controlling the line of scrimmage. Cameron Wake also seemed to wake up, as he compiled 4 sacks.
2. Philip Rivers had a record setting day against the Packers (in a loss), throwing for over 500 yards on 65 passing attempts (a team record). While these numbers are extremely impressive, it may be a little disconcerting that the running game, or lack there-of, is so under productive and could be a real problem in the long run.
3. In the win versus the Cardinals, the Steelers may have found their new number 2 quarterback. Landry Jones looked to command the offense and run it to its fullest abilities. He was efficient and threw 2 touchdown passes to Martavis Bryant.
4. The Cincinnati Bengals continue to go undefeated, going into a hostile environment in Buffalo and pulling out a decisive win. Andy Dalton was sharp once again in the win with 243 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Bengals are looking more and more like the real deal.
5. Talk about going into a hostile environment, Cam Newton and the Panthers went into Seattle and pulled out a fourth quarter comeback in the 12^th Cam hasn’t had the weapons at his disposal this season, and his only real weapon in the passing game in Greg Olsen. But Seattle couldn’t stop the 1-2 punch, and the duo connected with a game winning score in the fourth.
6. The Patriots win against the Colts in the revenge game of the year (dare we say revenge-gate?). The Colts didn’t make matters worse with the most confusing special team’s plays in recent memory. Random side note, Andrew Luck is now 0-5 against Tom Brady’s
7. The Saints showed that they are not out of the picture yet, beating the previously undefeated Falcons on Thursday Night Football. Drew Brees was extremely efficient only missing on 9 passes and threw for over 300 yards and a touchdown.
8. Detroit finally got a W in the win column, thanks in part to huge games by Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson. The two connected on 6 passes for 166 yards and a TD, most importantly a 57 yard connection in overtime to eventually set up the game winning score.
9. Colin Kaepernick has been impressive in recent weeks, seeming to be clicking for him now and it showed against the Ravens. He had 340 yards and 2 TDs for the second game in a row. Is he finally turning the corner to become one of the NFLs best?
10. The Denver defense wins another one for the Broncos this weekend. Peyton Manning is really struggling this season with a 7 td to 10 interception ratio, he really needs to thank the defense for bringing them to a 6-0 record.

Power Rankings:

1. New England Patriots: Road wins are always hard to get, especially one against a team who really needed a win. The Pats are on top until they give us a reason to think otherwise.
2. Green Bay Packers: Even giving up over 500 yards and Aaron Rodgers losing more weapons and having a sub-par day, they get another win vs. a good team.
3. Cincinnati Bengals: A great road win against Buffalo proves that these aren’t your typical Bengals.
4. Carolina Panthers: The Panthers prove that they are the real deal. A great defense and Offense lead by Cam Newton who may be in MVP talks at the end of the year.
5. Denver Broncos: Falling a few places but still undefeated, there are problems in Denver but will be in every game.
6. New York Jets: The 4-1 Jets are owning the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball with a big time clash coming up next week vs. the Patriots.
7. Atlanta Falcons: A stunning loss to the Saints where they lost in all areas of the game. Still 5-1 they are not in panic mode by any means.
8. Arizona Cardinals: The loss to the 3^rd string QB in Pittsburgh hurts. With Michael Floyd back in the picture the offense should only gel even more in the coming weeks.
9. Pittsburgh Steelers: Winning with the 3^rd string QB and another win without Big Ben, the Steelers are in good shape and will be even better when he returns.
10. Philadelphia Eagles: They have shaken off a bad start and have hit the .500 mark through six games, Sam Bradford continues to turn the ball over, but they seem to have started to click running the ball.