Alan Branch is in free fall, that is a lot of free fall

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.

Alan Branch appears to be headed in the wrong direction

Alan Branch is leaving UM after his Junior year.

Branch is 6′5 and 3/4 inches tall and weighs 324 pounds. Alan plays defense and he shuts down the middle.

It looks like he is going somewhere in the Top Ten of the NFL Draft. Problem is, he did not look so great at his workouts and his draft position may be sliding.

Some, at the combine, at some doubts… about his desire, determination, learning ability, etc., but Brian Cook at Fanhouse.com does not feel that way.

You can check any of the play-by-play breakdowns I did of Michigan’s ‘06 season if you want confirmation of this latter assertion. I especially recommend games against Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Iowa, and the infamous game versus Penn State in which he nearly killed Anthony Morelli. source

Still there are others that feel he will drop below the top 10 in the draft.

At times, he appears to be less of the dominant interior defender that can take up space and fight through double teams …

The lack of a true nasty streak and the fact that he is better at receiving information “live” than in the classroom also has some position coaches fearing that he could be a bit of a high rep learner, which slows down a young player’s progress. He’s too big and naturally skilled to slide much past the first 15 picks, but is now seen more as a top-20 guy. source

Pat Kirwan at NFL.com has Alan going to Miami in the draft at number 9.

9. **Miami: Alan Branch, DT, Michigan — With the Falcons taking Levi Brown, who would have given Miami the perfect player to finally fill the shoes of Richmond Webb, the Dolphins turn to defense and select Branch. The big defensive lineman will clog up the running game, protect the middle linebacker and help collapse the pocket. source

Sometimes in the Pro’s you need more desire than in college. You can’t just get away with size, strength, speed, talent, skills, intangibles, etc. You have to will yourself to be better.

No one knows if Branch has that part to his game, but your intrepid author does know that Branch can be a force!

As a Michigan State Spartan fan, there is a lot of Michigan football on TV, whether demolishing my Sparty’s or shutting down some other team. Most of those games had Branch crushing people in the middle to the point that teams just starting running everything to the outside.

Alan Branch at his best would just blow up your offensive line. If any pro coach can harness that out of him, then Branch could be just the guy you want on your defensive line.

Is Alan Branch in the NFL Draft free fall or will some lucky team have him fall into their lap?

NFL Football Fan Question Is Branch still in your top ten?

As always, any NFL Football related comments are welcome.

More blogs about football.

Tags: nfl football