Lafayette held on to the win after Fordham's John Skelton drove the Rams to the Leopards 5-yard line where time ran out. Even though the NFL reportedly has rated the 6'4.4", 258-pound QB the 9th best QB in the country, I don't quite see it. The great ones manage games better and win. DB Eric McGovern and RB Maurice White were the difference makers in this one, as Lafayette improves to 6-1, and drops the preseason dark horse in the Patriot League to 3-4.

NOTE: MY DVR failed to record the first half of the fourth quarter (?)...or maybe the network just failed to televise it?

SCOUTING SUMMARY:

Game Notes
John Skelton 19 6' 4.4" 258 4.89 QB 2010: Great size and a good arm. Some have compared him physically to Roethlesberger and Flacco. Scans the field, and shows zip and a tight spiral on every throw. Is a load to bring down. Patient and confident. Checks down and makes the correct read. Rarely throws the dumb ball. Puts the ball in the right spot for receivers to do something with it. Can throw the ball away with people draped all over him. Solid mechanics. Can throw on the roll out to his right a little, not so much to the left. Trusts his arm too much at times. Doesn't take advantage of his arm at other times. Dinks & dunks too much for a guy with his skill set, but that could be due to a lack of a true deep threat at Fordham. Has not progressed that much from earlier in his career. Not fleet-footed, and a tad statuesque. Lazy fakes. Does not possess a Flacco-style deep ball. May be maxed out. Was still throwing 5-yard passes, down 12 with 2 minutes to go...Questionable game management. Draftable, but only barely. GRADE: Neutral

Asa Lucas 4 6' 0.6" 193 4.63 WR 2010: Dime a dozen college receiver who lacks the wheels to be a real prospect. Still, he doubles a kick returner, and is quite sure-handed and fairly productive with a productive QB to help him out. Does not appear to have the moves to beat NFL DBs at the LOS, or the overall toughness to beat the jam on a regular basis. Plays 4.63...GRADE: Neutral

Jason Caldwell 6 5' 10.6" 183 4.60 WR 2010: Skelton's crunch-time, go-to guy. Sure handed. Possession guy who is shifty enough to possible get open in a developmental league. 4.60 may be being generous. Fights for extra yards but not a true YAC guy. Must get stronger in the lower body. Four catches including a 5-yarder late to give Fordham a chance. GRADE: Neutral

Kevin Colbert 22 5' 7.6" 166 4.45 CB 2010: OK cover corner for this level. Will get destroyed trying to tackle backs and big receivers at the next level. Stiff arms give him fits. Smart little football player. Took a smart PI call. Could be an all-star in a 6'0"/180 and under league. GRADE: Slightly negative

James Crockett 5 6' 1.3" 224 4.75 LB 2010: Fordham's rush end when they play a 5-3 look. Gets up field pretty good. Also drops into coverage, and plays OK as an OLB when they shift to a pure 3-4. Has some skills, but is as polished as a dirt road. Must reign in his emotions. Took a very stupid PF late that almost cost his team any shot at a late comeback. Needs time, but isn't likely to find anyone outside of the developmental leagues willing to give him any. Too small to play end, and marginal intelligence and tackling ability for LB. GRADE: Neutral

Darzell Wright 72 6' 1.6" 304 5.25 DT 2010: The best DT that Fordham has, and that's why they are 3-4, instead of 6-1 or 7-0. Plays hard only in spurts. Does play for 60 minutes, and maybe he's been told to pace himself. Has pro size, but that's about all. Just a pile pusher. Sometimes he'll make a pile though. Slow off the snap. No moves to speak of, though he can stunt at times pretty well. Lines up as a 3-4 DE, and holds the point OK at this level. I wonder if he was a rotational guy at a bigger school if he would look a little better? GRADE: Slightly negative


Andrew Tyshovnytsky 71 6' 3.4" 292 5.40 OT 2010: Wiry strong with some room to grow. Not long enough to play OT, and plays only ROT even at this level. His feet are just right for a Patriot League ROT. Will likely never be a ROT in the NFL because he simply lacks the size and power for it. Wrong body type to look at as a possible inside guy. Does an OK job at Fordham. GRADE: Neutral


College: Lafayette Conference: Patriot League Columnist: Steve Martin

Game Notes
Mark Leggiero 49 5' 11.0" 220 4.90 LB 2010: Leggiero is not playing well while dinged up with a broken finger. He has had a sub-standard middle of the season, and is probably off any draft boards he may have almost been on. He was very quiet early in this one but picked it up later on. He still can come up with the big hit on occasion, but he is being upstaged by Jr. LB Michael Schmidline (Sp.), though he may now be out with an injury of his own. Above average Patriots League MLB with no pro future to speak of. GRADE: Slightly negative

Maurice White 22 5' 7.8" 205 4.55 HB 2010: Tough little back who I've thoroughly commented on before. Nothing new to report really. Always impressed by his hard middle runs at this level.

Rob Curley 5 5' 11.8" 201 4.85 QB 2010: taking him out of my PP list soon. Just wobbles the ball too much, and is too streaky. Early in this one he was missing his ball placement badly. Came on strong in the second half, and has some intangibles, but there just isn't enough size or arm strength to thing he'll be playing anywhere next year. GRADE: Neutral

Carlos Lowe 30 6' 0.0" 191 4.72 S 2010: Had a sack on a nice blitz. Barely saw him other than that. They may be avoiding him, and Skelton would have been the type of QB who would do that. A hard evaluation. GRADE: INC.

Ryan Hart-Predmore 68 6' 2.5" 297 5.45 OG 2010: Pretty good feet at the Patriot League level, and certainly NFL guard feet at worst. 3-year starter who does a nice job in both areas of collegiate line play. Technically pretty solid. Plays hard, and shows a bit of a nasty streak. Smart. Kind of dumpy in his movements. Doesn't have feet to stay at tackle or the overall size and strength to be any kind of sure thing if moved back to his natural OG slot. On the ground a bit too much. Misses his cut blocks on occasion. Just an average small school linemen with limited pro potential, but his smarts and dedication should at least get him a look. GRADE: Slightly positive

Michael Wojcik 78 6' 4.3" 303 5.40 C 2010: Tough guy who seems to be improving game to game. Stones Patriot Leauge bull rushes. Uses hands pretty well and can steer people. Has a wide base, and seems to have enough athleticism to hold his own in small areas just about at any level. Naturally strong and could quite possibly be a guy who will get much stronger and surprise in a pro weight room. The kind of guy the Pats would bring in and make an all-pro out of. Inconsistent trying to lock on, but when he does, he wins. GRADE: Positive

Michael Bolton 81 6' 3.5" 244 4.95 TE 2010: Eh....nice Patriot League blocking TE who works hard at blocking and really does quite a nice job. Shows some nastiness. GRADE: Neutral

OTHER NOTES:

Lafayette: Jr. LB Michael Schmidline may be better than Romans or Leggiero, but he hurt his left arm or shoulder twice in this game. Leads the PL in tackles and really flies around and through people to the ball. #8 Mark Layton is a junior WR who could be in a camp in 2011. Makes some highlight reel grabs, including two in this one to help seal the deal. DB Eric McGovern got the defensive game ball for his play in coverage against (mostly) Skelton's brother, TE Stephen Skelton. His twin also plays for the Leapords, but McGovern likely put himself on some watch lists after today.

Fordham: S Isiejah Allen (Jr., #26, 5'11", 198) flashed some early, but not so much in the second half when he was needed. TE Stephen Skelton (#84, 6'5", 244, Jr.) may be a PP next year. #7 WR David Moore seemed to be Skelton's favorite target early on, but I don't think either he or any of the other Rams' WRs caught a pass over 20 yards.