So with that said. Here are the second half notes:

• Mike Glennon showing the arm, still not sold on him but he throws the best ball in this class.
• Pugh still struggling with those short arms. Will not be taken as a LT in the draft.
• Kawaan Short is making some good stops. Nothing exciting but he is going to stand out on the replay of this game.
• Lane Johnson is absolutely owning Michael Buchanan.
• Jordan Poyer is around a lot of big plays. You can tell he mentally stays in plays and doesn’t quit prematurely.
• Denard Robinson is getting some screens, not getting much afterwards. He probably should have been a WR his entire career, not showing a fluid transition yet.
• Ryan Nassib is looking pretty inconsistent. Great athleticism but not showing great quarterbacking if that makes sense. But this is just one game.
• Ezekiel Ansah hasn’t quit. Still making big plays, now adds a strip sack to his day. Today has made him a very rich man.
• Landry Jones is still having trouble in the pocket. Is he draftable?

With that said this year’s game could be titled as “the struggle to find a quarterback” or “the rise of Zeek Ansah.”

Here are some random observations from today’s first half:

• EJ Manuel had a good drive and looked comfortable in the shotgun, as you would expect.
• Tyler Wilson played in his conventional offense: dink & dunking.  Questionable arm strength.  He missed an open WR for a TD on a deep ball that was poorly under thrown.
• Ezekiel Ansah displayed a high motor, beat OTs with nice power and burst. Totally disruptive in run game too.
• Landry Jones still cannot play from a messy pocket.  Nothing new here.
• Lane Johnson is showing good footwork, solid top 40 pick.
• Zac Dysert was uneasy, and just trying to get rid of the ball. I doubt he’s draftable.
• Mike Glennon is still getting first round consideration off his arm, but not showing the “it” factor.  Needs to push it down field and show his Flacco-like ability.

Or as Bill Parcells once famously said “I’m buying the groceries if I’m preparing the meal.”

Well it’s time for Chip Kelly to eat and according to NFL.com he is on a scour for a mobile, no-huddle quarterback at the Senior Bowl:

…the Eagles have traveled to Mobile, Ala., to find a fit for Kelly’s up-tempo, spread attack. Easier said than done.

“Who’s a quarterback that fits that offense? We really can’t find one in this particular draft,” NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah wrote Tuesday.

Landry Jones, in theory, might be a match. He operated out of a spread, no-huddle scheme at Oklahoma, but scouts came to Mobile concerned with Landry’s ability to move around and make plays when the pocket breaks down. Jeremiah said Tuesday that Landry has shown some promise on that front and has “helped his stock a lot” in two practices this week.

In theory the guys at the Senior Bowl that fit the system the best are EJ Manuel, Ryan Nassib, and Geno Smith. If the Eagles want Ryan Nassib or Geno Smith they are going to have to do it with the fourth pick in the draft (yikes!)

In the end, if Michael Vick accepts a pay cut I would not be surprised to see him retained. He openly respects Chip Kelly, he is mobile, and may find career-best success in a pure spread offense. They can always try to trade Nick Foles and draft EJ Manuel to develop behind Vick with a third round pick.

H/T: Glenn over at BSO

All was fine and well until Robinson suffered injury which caused Devin Gardner to get the start at QB and forced Robinson to move to other positions such as running back and receiver. Now we are getting word that Robinson will not be making the switch back to quarterback and will indeed play receiver in the Senior Bowl. Here is what Mel Kiper had to say on it:

Kiper: “There’s a lot of people hoping that he goes down to Mobile, Ala., and plays in that Senior Bowl and does what Antwaan Randle El did coming out of Indiana as a quarterback, goes there and shows that he can catch the football and return punts,” Kiper said. “If Robinson does that, we know he’s got tremendous speed, a tremendous burst, we know he’s a tough kid, we know he can run with the football in his hands, you can put him in the backfield. He could be a situational back, you could put him in the slot, in the wing, you could put him in the return game, you can get him the ball in space.

“I think as long as he shows he can catch the ball effectively, he’s got a chance to be a second-round draft choice. I really believe that’s where he could potentially go.”

H/T Glen Erby/Blacksportsonline

Even though at least one former GM thinks he should move to defense, I think that Robinson would be a good fit as a developmental receiver.

The Quarterbacks

Everyone was interested in seeing what this year’s QB crop could do, and honestly it wasn’t much.  Between Brandon Weeden’s “blah” performance and Ryan Lindley playing “alright.” I wasn’t really impressed by any of the mid round guys that others in the draft community seem to love.  Lindley was said to be “somewhere between Tyler Palko and TJ Yates” in ability by Mike Mayock.  Mayock also said that Brandon Weeden could go as high as a top 10 pick.  So clearly he was high.

Anyways, I do like what Kellen Moore did.  He threw a few nice skinny posts right on the money that receivers simply dropped in the endzone.  Kirk Cousins did nothing of note, and once again proved that he is being severely overrated because he’s a nice guy.  Nick Foles did well but Foles’ once again fell in love with his safety blanket Juron Criner.

And that brings me too…

Backs and Receivers

Juron Criner probably helped himself as much as any receiver this week.  Really strong performance from the Arizona wildcat, catching a touchdown from Nick Foles.  The other receivers played ok.  No one really set the world on fire.  Devier Posey hurt himself as much as a player could in a Senior Bowl game, dropping everything that came his way.

The backs looked pretty good on limited carries.  Doug Martin of Boise had people whispering the names Ray Rice and Maurice Jones-Drew.  Not a bad company to be in.  Isaiah Pead set a Senior Bowl record for punt return yards, and also lead the game with 35 rush yards.  He had the best game of any offensive player, and set himself up to be drafted with a 3rd or 4th round pick.

Offensive Line

The offensive lines were… “ehhh.”  You had a lot of guys playing center who hadn’t played the position since high school.  That led to a few bad reads, mis-steps, etc.  And for the most part they collectively played “ok.”  Mike Adams from Ohio State was the only real standout, and has cemented himself as a mid first round pick.  He was pretty much a brick wall in front of Melvin Ingram all day long.

Defense

Quinton Coples.  The man was in the backfield all day long.  Coples showed that when the motor was on, he was the best player on the field.  Period.   Zach Brown from UNC as well had a big game too.  Brown was constantly in the backfield to clean up plays that Coples disrupted.  The corners in this game played pretty well, as advertised.  Lots of good players in that bunch that will go in the first three rounds.  Lots to like on the defensive side of the ball this year.

All in All…

All in all, it was a pretty solid Senior Bowl especially for the defenders.  Some of the offensive players may have hurt some of their stocks more than they helped themselves, but the Senior Bowl isn’t the be all-end all.  It will be very interesting to see how these guys respond at the combine in Indianapolis.

Upshaw has been down at the Senior Bowl this week, where he has been making a transition to defensive end from his linebacker spot.

On Upshaw, McShay said that he “showed power as both a run defender and pass-rusher. Upshaw is not an elite speedster, but he used leverage well and consistently won with quickness and power during one-on-one pass-rush drills.”

ESPN

he measured 5-10 1/2 Monday inside a ballroom filled with scouts, coaches and media at the Mobile Convention Center.

SeniorBowl.com

“I think I’ve shown I can play at a very high level. I play tall. I play fast. I have a high, quick release,” Wilson said. “You see guys being very successful in the NFL right now and in the past who’ve done it. It has no effect on me at all. I played behind the fourth-biggest offensive line in the country all season, and had a great season doing it.”

With just three weeks to learn Wisconsin’s offense, Wilson passed for 3,175 yards and 33 touchdowns, with just four interceptions as the Badgers won the Big Ten title. Wilson said he did not try to throw over the Badgers’ line, which included bookend tackles 6-7 or taller.

“I don’t have a problem seeing over them. I see through lanes and know where guys are going to be,” he said. “I understand defenses and just play with rhythm and timing.”

Read more here: http://www.heraldonline.com/2012/01/23/3685187/players-like-wisconsins-russell.html#storylink=cpy

Anyways, I was able to compile the best recaps from around the web and post them here for us all to enjoy.

Thank you to the writers of these wonderful pieces:

• Scott Wright’s week at the Senior Bowl
• Bobby Christensen at Bleacher Report gives you his sleepers from the game
• John Lorge gives you 20 instant takeaways from the game
• Doug Fararr of Yahoo! recaps Christian Ponder’s big game

I want to thank these guys for taking to time to write their thoughts on the game for those of use that couldn’t watch it live.  I’m going to try to watch a recording of the game ASAP.

If you can help me in any way, let me know!

Scott Wright of NFL Draft Countdown tweets on Alabama’s Greg McElroy:

“Greg McElroy of #Alabama may be the best quarterback I’ve seen this week. At least today he was.”

Chad Scott tweets on Miami’s WR Leonard Hankerson:

“I don’t care how good Miami WR Leonard Hankerson looks at the #seniorbowl, I saw him drop enuf critical passes this season 2 not draft him”

Several other people tweeted that Florida State’s Rodney Hudson was extremely impressive.  He did a lot of work at the center position.

The following teams showed interest into prospects:

Oakland Raiders were very interested in Allen Bailey of Miami.

Denver Broncos spoke to TCU’s Andy Dalton and Oregon’s Casey Matthews.