Scouting Report Numero Uno - Eric Berry, S (Tennessee)

Welcome to The Home Field's very first scouting report. If the Raiders aren't making any of us hopeful for the playoffs any time soon, at least it's a lot of fun to analyze and estimate which college superstar will be shipped to Oakland next. Last year was a bit of an exception, with the Raiders opting to take the eighth or ninth most promising wide receiver as the first receiver taken. To be fair, Heyward-Bey was thought of then as the fourth or fifth best receiver available, but I digress...

With the last three positions taken in the first being QB, RB, and WR (in that order), it's hard not to imagine the Raiders taking one of two general areas: an O-lineman (which bores everyone but would be a great move) or a playmaker on defense. Realistically, I think the determination will be draft day decision taking the best available in either category.

So who's the ideal Home Field candidate? That's hard to say. There's a great deal of monster, surefire talents coming out that would make any team that much better, but perhaps at positions we're not really incredibly in need of. And god knows there's plenty of positions we ARE in need of.

Again though, a superstar at any position can make a team a LOT better than even an above-average prospect in the same position. It's with this philosophy in mind that I introduce The Home Field's current preferred pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, Eric Berry.

(I could open up with a bunch of facts, but I'll let this killer video do the talking. Let the sound play on this one, it's epic.)



What'd I tell you about that music? Pretty epic, no? Anyways, a safety's highlight reel doesn't always match up in style points with, say, a defensive tackle or a wide receiver. Their primary job is to shore up the running game while keeping things in order closer to the line of scrimmage. That said, it's amazing how much a guy like Eric Berry, or his NFL equivalent Ed Reed (my opinion), can do to stop a good offense.

Eric Berry has all the agility, quickness, and ball skills you could ask for in a strong safety. He's shown a lot of potential in his tackling game, though there's some room for improvement there. He's maybe a tad small for his position in the pros, but that's something the trainers can work on later. The true attraction here is his football IQ and his overall instincts. The guy should be called Eric Scary, he's that good. He was the SEC Freshman Player of the Year, Sophomore Player of the Year, and this year was awarded the SEC Defensive Player of the Year. Those are some strong accolades from one of the premiere conferences in the country, people.

As if these credentials weren't enough, Berry's benefited from a year of some Class A coaching that would be the envy of 80% of NFL teams. Monte Kiffin, a longtime, highly respected defensive coordinator for the NFL, was rustled away and brought to Tennessee to coordinate the Vol's defense. Talk about good training! This guy will be ready to go from Week 1. It's virtually guaranteed.

From the Raiders' standpoint, the pick doesn't make a LOT of sense. Last season, the Oakland Raiders made their second consecutive reach in the draft by taking Ohio University strong safety Mike Mitchell. While he made some contributions on defense last season, he's no Eric Berry, and likely never will be. Just about no one in the NFL was looking to take the Ohio U standout that early, except for one other team: the Chicago Bears. So, I propose if Berry does fall into our lap, we take our boy Mitchell and hang him out on a string for Chicago to get a whiff of. Perhaps we could get some future draft picks out of it, though Chicago doesn't have a whole lot to hand out. Otherwise it'd be great depth for years to come, and who knows, perhaps Mitchell can be moved to free safety, where Michael Huff could use some help and Hiram Eugene may be moving to another team.

To close, I'd like to share with you a sweet little tune by the highly acclaimed Swiperboy. Highly acclaimed in Tennessee, of course. See if you recognize anyone...