Andre Brown and Anthony Hill To Play In Senior Bowl

ESPN article
Senior Bowl Website

The January 24th Under Armour Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala have invited NC State players Andre Brown and Ant Hill to be on the game roster, according to ESPN’s Heather Dinich.

Wolfpack fans may remember that playing in the game after his senior year really helped out Philip Rivers. In particular, questions about his arm strength were answered by this play:

It’s fair to say that a big play by Hill or Brown could really help them as well.

Two NFL coaching staffs coach the two Senior Bowl teams each year, and over 700 NFL general managers, head coaches, assistant coaches, personnel directors, scouts and other front office personnel from the 32 NFL teams annually attend Senior Bowl Week.  In short, there’s no better place to make an impression on the League’s movers and shakers prior to the NFL Combines, and hopefully Brown and Hill can both make strong statements regarding their football skills.

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42 Responses to Andre Brown and Anthony Hill To Play In Senior Bowl

  1. old13 01/05/2009 at 4:55 PM #

    Good for Andre and Anthony!! Most deserving! I wish them a great showing.

  2. PhilipRiversWannabe 01/05/2009 at 5:43 PM #

    Does anyone know which 4 recruits are enrolling this spring? I know Mageo is, but i don’t know the other 3.

  3. GAWolf 01/05/2009 at 6:37 PM #

    Andre would succeed in the Broncos system. He reminds me of Tyrell Davis… hell he even looks like him. Davis wasn’t a world beater at UGA and went to Denver and shined. All of that is assuming Denver’s system doesn’t change… so perhaps AB should follow Shanahan.

    As far as Rivers goes, I can understand why some doubted his college accomplishments. His delivery is suspect when you look at it from a strictly fundamentals perspective. Many athletes dominate on one level due to better-than-most physical talent with poor form just to have it catch up to them at the next level.

    The one thing that all those outside of Wolfpack Nation and perhaps the ACC regular journalists and talking heads missed was Rivers uncanny ability to win. I hate the cliche that someone has “it”, but Rivers has it.

    With that said, Rivers still gambles with the ball in crucial situations. He did it SEVERAL times against the Colts and it almost cost them the game. HOWEVER, he also made two huge and gutsy throws to Gates across the middle with time ticking away. Those “gambles” paid off huge on the game tying drive.

    And then there was the run for the first down in overtime that was textbook Philip Rivers. The kid is a winner.

    I’m not by any means saying R Dubs is the next coming of Philip Rivers, but he’s smarter with the ball TODAY than Rivers is TODAY.

  4. backinpack 01/05/2009 at 7:47 PM #

    So let me get this right…Doug Williams, Jim Plunkett, Trent Dilfer – great NFL QBs – Dan Marino, Dan Fouts, and the scores of other QBs who were productive were not? That’s just total bunk. If anything, Rivers hasn’t gotten his due because he plays w/ a team that the last few years has gotten it done on the ground.

    I agree with you completely. I never said winning a Super Bowl makes you a top-tier QB, but you need to win one or do something significant if you want to be mentioned in the same breath as those that have. There are great examples of Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks that I would not consider a top tier quarterbacks — Jim McMahon feels slighted that you left him off your list, BTW. 😉 My point is that the ‘good ones’ cannot be considered ‘great ones’ until they have rings to go with their excellent regular season play. Rivers needs some hardware.

  5. Wulfpack 01/05/2009 at 8:13 PM #

    The problem with Rivers is that he has a hugely talented team and the Chargers have disappointed the last couple of years and for the first 12 games this year. A QB in the NFL must be a leader and I do think you can make the argument that he hasn’t led his team very well in the past. That seems to be changing and if he can find a way to win in Pittsburgh this weekend, we’ll hear more and more about how great Rivers is. But you’ve got to win when it counts in the NFL to be mentioned amongst the greats and so far Rivers hasn’t done that.

    Secondly, and it does bother me and many others, is Rivers’ incessant need to shit talk (and I’m not just talking about his conversations with Cutler) when all he really needs to do is let his play do the talking. Say what you want but that’s not helping his image in any way. I know that’s just his style and who he is, and his teammates love it, but it isn’t in any way conventional and the Phil Simms and Marino’s of the world really don’t care for it — and they are the ones shaping perceptions. Just tone it down my man and go play, and win, and everything will take care of itself.

  6. beowolf 01/05/2009 at 8:22 PM #

    I wouldn’t consider Big Ben a top-tier QB even after the Super Bowl.

    I would say, however, that Rivers leading the NFL in passing TDs and passer rating — in a year in which Drew Brees nearly beat Marino’s record, Kurt Warner played lights-out, and Peyton Manning (prematurely) won league MVP — and doing so to bring the Chargers back from the dead after finishing out the last season PLAYING on a torn ACL and still nearly bringing down the as-yet-undefeated Patriots WITHOUT LT or Gates, pretty much rubs Mel Kiper and other critics nose in the stink of what they said about Rivers’ inability to succeed in the NFL.

    OK, so he hasn’t won a Super Bowl yet. And Calvin Johnson didn’t even win a freaking GAME this year. Is anyone going to say he isn’t a top-level WR?

    Don’t be stupid. And I’m sorry for getting folks sidetracked on Rivers. I’m happy for Brown and Hill to have a chance to showcase their abilities in the Senior Bowl. They’ve both been difference makers for the Pack and have the tools to succeed in the NFL.

  7. GAWolf 01/05/2009 at 9:03 PM #

    I’ve noticed Rivers has slowed down the yapping considerably. The fact of the matter is that the entire San Diego team talks too much smack. The last two games I’ve commented to those watching the games with me that it seems like some Charger is yapping and/or dancing on every single play. It sort of reminds me of our Amato-coached teams.

  8. BoKnowsNCS71 01/05/2009 at 10:30 PM #

    As I recall there were 3 supposedly great quarterbacks in that game. JP Losman was really hyped and he could not generate anything. Losman has never shown anything in the NFL to speak of. Phillip was the most impressive and i was ready to get the NFL package just to see the Chargers games the next year. Then those fools in SD sat Phillip for 2 years behind Breeze. During that time Ben Rothlesberger won his first Superbowl ring.

    That draft year had 43 great QBs. Phillip, Ben and Eli. Ben and Eli have their rings and Phillip is next. I hope this year.

  9. SEAT.5.F.2 01/06/2009 at 7:53 AM #

    A big congrays to Andre and Anthony. They represented themselves, family and school perfectly. Thank you and good luck.

    Also worthy of praise is Meares Green who is embarking on a medical career. For a former walk on he really fit into the mold of TOB’s type of “Big Uglies”.

  10. Noah 01/06/2009 at 10:10 AM #

    Andre Brown will be a solid pick late in the second day. He’s got the power to be a good backup for someone. I don’t think he has the top-end speed to be a #1 back though.

    Hill’s problem is that the NFL is overloaded with tight ends. And most of them have better hands and are just as athletic as he is. He could make it. He’s got the NFL tools…the problem is just that there are a couple of dozen other unemployed guys that are just as good as he is.

    Hill will make it if he gets into the right camp and does EVERYTHING right. He’s got to make sure that at every drill, he lines up correctly and never has to have someone remind him that he’s in the wrong place. He has to know the playbook inside and out. He has to make sure that he goes 100 percent on every play and makes every difficult catch. Because if he doesn’t, the guy behind him will and ultimately, it will come down to who is less work for the coaches.

    As far as QBs go, Tim Tebow is not an NFL quarterback. I’d much rather have a QB with Graham Harrell’s release, accuracy and arm strength. Tebow plays for an exceptional team in a non-NFL offense that is PERFECT for him.

    Dan Patrick asked one of the great questions last month: Who has had a better career, Tebow or Hansborough? And then he talked about how neither would ever be much of a pro. He asked his next two guests that question and they both agreed that neither would be more than a benchwarmer in the pros.

    Rivers’ biggest problem coming out college was that he LOOKED LIKE Danny Wuerffel. He had that funky delivery and he didn’t throw the frozen-rope pass. Sitting behind Brees was a dream come true for him. It allowed the Chargers to properly groom him. It wasn’t like Brees played poorly. He was one of the top two or three QBs in the NFL both years.

    This year’s draft is going to be interesting. The Lions have the first pick, of course, and they’ve got about 22 holes. They have a good WR in Johnson, a decent RB in Smith, if they move Jeff Backus over to guard, they’ve got 2/5 of an OL. On Defense, they’ve got one decent DE and one decent DT. The back seven is the most horrid thing since the debut of “Heaven’s Gate” in Toronto.

    If the Lions get seduced by Matt Stafford, they’re basically throwing the #1 pick away and getting nothing for it. Stafford isn’t going to do anything next year (and probably the year after that). It will be like the year that the 49ers took Alex Smith #1.

    Grab the be LT out of Alabama with the first pick. If Everette Brown is still there at #20, take him. If he’s gone, look for Vernon Davis’ brother…the CB from Illinois. If he’s gone, grab the linebacker from USC that isn’t Clay Matthews’ son. If he’s gone, take the strong safety out of Mizzou.

    In the second, the Lions should continue to address that back seven. They’ve got the #33 pick and then two picks in the third round (via the Roy Williams’ deal). I would try to grab Harrell with one of those picks and then take the cornerback out of Jackson State (6-2 and runs a 4.39).

    The guy that I actually think is going to be one of the sure-fire bets out of this draft is the strong safety out of USC. He’s 6-4, 220 pounds and runs a 4.3-40. He is fast enough to play either safety spot (which is nice if you run a cover-2) or powerful enough to come up and defend the TE or blitz as an extra OLB. I would be greatly tempted if I were the Lions to try and trade into somewhere around the #8-#10 spot and take him. Maybe package some of your extra picks this year and a #1 next year (the way the Panthers did for the Jeff Otah pick).

    The problem with that is that the Lions really need every pick they have. If someone would take it, it would actually make more sense to drop back (maybe twice…once with a deal to the Chiefs and maybe again with the 49ers) to pick up a slew of extra picks. The Chiefs could move into the #1 pick and grab a QB and the 49ers could move into the #3 slot and take the other top QB.

    If I were the Lions, I’d try to grab Matt Hasslebeck via free agency and groom Harrell behind him. But, if they take a QB #1 and then try and make him the face of the franchise, they’re just throwing that pick away.

  11. ChiefJoJo 01/06/2009 at 11:44 AM #

    ^ The Lions should trade down for multiple draft picks… as good as Andre Smith is, a few extra picks are worth more than he is for a team as bad as the Lions. Plus you have to wonder about Smith and the whole agent controversy that had Saban suspend him–not a good way to finish your career in college When all you have to do is wait a week, play one more game and THEN declare, you have to wonder about that kid.

    The USC SS is Taylor Mays. ESPN mag says he’s 6-3 235 and runs a 4.35… a faster version of Adrian Wilson. He absolutely destroyed a PSU WR in the Rose Bowl… I thought he had knocked his head off… plus that of his teammate. Scary.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd7m3QtQJus

  12. Gene 01/06/2009 at 12:09 PM #

    People really didn’t know what to make of Rivers’ mechanics. If he had a classic delivery, I don’t think anyone would’ve questioned his NFL ability.

    Rivers carried NCSU on his arm. He took a beating his freshman year, but still had a very good year.

    We changed OC’s so much there’s no way he was system QB, unlike the Ty Detmer, Chang from Hawaii, Wuerfuel and other guys, who put up big time college passing numbers, but couldn’t make it in the NFL.

    I think the delivery really made people wonder about him making it in the NFL and caused them to question his arm strength.

  13. Noah 01/06/2009 at 12:41 PM #

    I don’t thin Wuerfel was a system guy…I just think he had limited abilities. Great college QB, but so was Robbie Bosco.

    Detmer put together a pretty great NFL run, truth be told.

    Also, one more thing about Rivers’ arm strength — he improved a HUGE amount between his junior and senior seasons. As a junior, I was doubtful he’d be an NFL guy. But as a senior, I thought he’d make it.

  14. Gene 01/06/2009 at 1:13 PM #

    “Detmer put together a pretty great NFL run, truth be told. ”

    He was a career back up. He did O.K. in Philadelphia one year he had to play a lot. He was smart enough to hang around in the NFL for awhile and got to be known as a West Coast system QB and latched on to WCO teams, but I wouldn’t call it a great NFL run.

    I’d say the same for his brother, Koy Detmer.

    “Also, one more thing about Rivers’ arm strength — he improved a HUGE amount between his junior and senior seasons. ”

    Rivers got a lot stronger, while in college, and he looks friggin’ huge these days. He really hit the weight room.

  15. Noah 01/06/2009 at 1:46 PM #

    He was a career back up. He did O.K. in Philadelphia one year he had to play a lot. He was smart enough to hang around in the NFL for awhile and got to be known as a West Coast system QB and latched on to WCO teams, but I wouldn’t call it a great NFL run.

    A 14-year career for a ninth-round draft pick is pretty outstanding.

  16. Otis 01/06/2009 at 4:48 PM #

    Noah, i think you have thought more about the Lions draft options in one post than Millen did his whole time in Detroit.

  17. wufpaxno1 01/12/2009 at 6:42 PM #

    “Elway deserved the man-crush. He led the Bronco’s to three Superbowl appearances, even if they were lopsided losses; he carried the team to a lot of success on his arm and legs (don’t forget how great a runner Elway was).”

    Elway lead the Broncos to FIVE Superbowls, winning his last two and in the first three he was about the only thing they had going. If he had just an average team around him in the first three he would be 5-0 in Superbowls. As is, he has been in more Superbowls than any other NFL player on one team and I doubt if this accomplishment will ever be matched again in history.

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