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SENIOR BOWL: KEY MATCHUPS
January 29th – 6:14 PM

Over the course of this past week in Mobile, AL we’ve heard from eight players, two coordinators, a head coach and a general manager. We’ve also read about countless other prospects training for Saturday’s Senior Bowl.

Decent sample size?

I think we’ve at least gotten a solid taste of what college football’s seniors are bring to the table this weekend. These past five day were almost like “NFL Combine in January.” It’s only fitting that once this weekend concludes, we’ll find ourselves starting the month of February, or “NFL Combine Month.”

The professional scouts and coaches have all departed Mobile by now, leaving the fanfare and gameday experience for the fans. The game has been sold out for weeks with the collegiate faithful hoping to see one last touchdown or interception before their favorite player turns pro. For the players, the hardest part is over. Now it’s just time to have fun playing the game (and not get hurt).

For us, Saturday is a time to catch a glimpse of a future Chief. We know that a future Chief will be out there on the playing surface at Ladd-Peebles Stadium (12 Chiefs picks over the past five drafts have been Senior Bowl alums), we just don’t know who.

After a week of Senior Bowl reports, let’s take time Saturday to sit back and enjoy the game…with our notepads in hand to jot down who catches the eye and may have a future in Kansas City.

Here are the watching essentials for Saturday game, along with five specific matchups to watch.

• When: Saturday at 3:00 PM (CST)
• Where: Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, AL
• TV: NFL Network

1) Battle of the Big Backs
The 2010 Senior Bowl is a haven for watching big running backs that could one day be a nice compliment to the speed and athleticism of Kansas City’s Jamaal Charles. There are six tailbacks weighing at least 15 pounds more than Charles suiting up on Saturday. Take a look at some of these guys.

“Big Backs” on the South roster:
#25 – Anthony Dixon (Mississippi State) – 6’0, 245
#13 – Stafon Johnson (USC) – 6’0, 214
#44 – Ben Tate (Auburn) – 5’11, 214

“Big Backs” on the North roster:
#25 – Joique Bell (Wayne State) – 5’10, 223
#9 – LeGarrette Blount (Oregon) – 6’0, 245
#10 – Lonyae Miller (Fresno State) – 5’11, 220

(Exclusive interviews with Blount and Dixon can be found on kcchiefs.com in the Media Center).

2) The McCluster Mismatches
After watching three days of practice in Mobile, it’s evident that ATH Dexter McCluster (Ole Miss) will be the most dangerous big-play offensive threat roaming the field this Saturday. From those practices, we can also gather that the Dolphins coaching staff is going to try and spring McCluster loose for a big play by utilizing personnel mismatches.

Expect to see McCluster lined up at both running back and wide receiver, as well as taking “Wildcat” snaps out of the shotgun. He’ll be a fun player to watch, but what may be more interesting to watch are the North defenders responsible for containing him.

Run-filling strong safeties will be forced to make open field tackles on the ever-dangerous McCluster. Linebackers will likely have to “man-up” on McCluster in routes out of the backfield and free safeties will probably find themselves defending McCluster man-to-man on deep routes out of the slot.

If practice is any indication, the South won’t hold anything back when it comes to McCluster. This will be a great test for the Larry Asante’s and Sean Weatherspoon’s of the world (exclusive interviews with both Asante and Weatherspoon can be found on kcchiefs.com in the Media Center).

3) Look Out For Tebow!
Florida QB Tim Tebow was the headline generator in Mobile this week, yet was rarely mentioned during our coverage of the event. Why? Well, the quarterback position likely isn’t the primary area of focus for the Chiefs this offseason (although a backup will be needed if Brodie Croyle leaves via restricted free agency).

Even so, that doesn’t mean Chiefs fans shouldn’t key Tebow on Saturday.

Every time Tebow goes under center to take a snap, the cameras will zoom-in with him. When those cameras close-in, make sure to key the one-on-one battles going on just a foot in front of Tebow. There will be some great battles in the trenches, particularly at defensive tackle and center.

North Carolina’s Cam Thomas is the biggest body (6’4, 331) that will be aligned over Tebow, but the North squad also has another interesting defensive tackle on roster in California’s Tyson Alualu. Tebow also has two teammates that Chiefs fans will want to check out in Alabama’s Terrence Cody and Tennessee’s Dan Williams.

4) Downfield One-On-One
Want to focus on a local offensive guy this Saturday?

Missouri’s Danario Alexander certainly looks the part when he’s split out wide, but his speed has ability to create separation have reportedly been questioned by some this week in Mobile. Where Alexander can shine on Saturday is with his big frame, creating difficulties for opposing corners.

He’ll have two of college football’s best in Florida State’s Patrick Robinson and Oklahoma State’s Perrish Cox lined up across from him. Alexander will have a challenge ahead of him, but he’ll also have the height advantage (6’5 vs. 5’11) and an opportunity to show scouts how valuable he can be against smaller corners.

5) Where Iupati Fits?
Idaho’s Mike Iupati may very well be the best offensive line prospect in the Senior Bowl. He played primarily at guard this weekend in Mobile and impressed, but he also took a few reps at left tackle. Will we see him take left tackle reps on Saturday? I’m sure that scouts hope we do. Some believe that may be his professional position.

How high is too high to draft a guard?

I’m glad that’s not our decision to make.

(an exclusive one-on-one interview with Iupati can be found in the Media Center on kcchiefs.com)

Enjoy the game!