Hi, I need to find an original scouting report on defensive end Greg
Spires, of Florida State University.  He was drafted in the third
round of the 1998 draft by the New England Patriots.

What were his generally accepted strengths and weaknesses coming out
of college?  Was he seen as a good draft pick at the time?  Was he
seen as a natural defensive end prospect, or a "tweener" without a set
position?  What did scouts and experts see his career prospects at the
time versus how his career has played out since then?  I don't need
answers for all of these questions but these are the types of general
information that I'm looking for.  Thanks for your help!

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 13 Jun 2006 05:27 PDT

"...an original scouting report..."???

Where on earth would anyone find that?

Perhaps we can find a newspaper article on the guy, or something, but
I doubt an actual scouting report has made its way online.


pafalafa-ga

Perhaps this may help some:

"Greg Spires
DE, Florida St. 

Name Jsy College HT WT 
Greg Spires 90 Florida St.  6012 267 

40 BP SS LS VJ BJ Grade Rd. 
4.75 21 N/A N/A 35 09?04? 5.76 4 

Summary 
He may be a little bit of an underrated player and he has moved up on
some draft boards, although he lacks NFL size for a DE. He started his
career as an LB before moving to NT and finally to DE. He was a backup
until his senior year and even then, missed some games with injuries.
He finished 1997 with 30 tackles, 13 TFLs and 10 sacs and was very
productive in the games that he played. He is an outstanding AA with
LB type skills. He is very quick and explosive and has the ability to
chase down backside plays and is excellent in space. He is very
aggressive and has a good motor and comes off the corner well. He also
has excellent one gap type quickness when making inside moves and he
plays with surprising leverage and a little explosiveness for his
size. His biggest problem is that he is short and under size for an
NFL DE and he actually looks more like an LB. As quick as he is, he
can be engulfed by a big OL that gets to him. He simply does not fit
the NFL prototype for a DE and it may be difficult to find a spot for
him. He could develop into a nice contributor as a nickle pass rusher
and special teams performer, but the team that drafts him will have to
overlook their HWS charts."
 
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/events/1998/nfldraft/topplayers/118.html

Have a good day.