Speaking a little Tyvon-ese

Slightly belated kudos to Football Inc. for last week’s signing of fourth-round draft pick Tyvon Branch. While all of the hype is certain to be focused on first-round running back Darren McFadden when camp opens next week, it may be Branch who steals the rookie of the year for the Raiders when all is said and done.Though the Steelers 43 Polamalu jersey
Oakland brain trust had to work a trade in order to select Branch at overall No. 100, some five safeties were taken ahead of him in the first three rounds: Kenny Phillips of Miami to the New York Giants; Tyrell Johnson, Arkansas State, Minnesota Vikings; DuJuan Morgan, North Carolina State, Kansas City Chiefs; Tom Zbikowski, Notre Dame, Baltimore Ravens; and Thomas DeCoud, California, Atlanta Falcons.Like all those later recognized as draft steals, Branch was greeted with something of an inexplicable slide down the board; the former member of the Connecticut Huskies certainly appears to be at least as talented as any of the quintet taken before him except for maybe Phillips, and some mock drafts had Branch gone in the second round. Perhaps Al Davis and the gang had designs on DeCoud, forcing their hands to hurriedly get Branch two picks later to kick off Round 4.No matter, for though the season remains tantalizingly in the future, the 2008 draft is past. Branch is the Raiders’ and the Raiders are Branch’s, for better or worse. Here’s to thinking it’ll be the former, and this writer isn’t the only one high on the new safety in town.Opening up the quotebook, then ...“Branch is strong, fast and has started for four years. His measurables have been exceptional. Branch's strong workout numbers compare to only five other players at his position and four have played in the Pro Bowl, while the fifth is a quality contributor in the NFL.” – from the NFL’s official Web site.A bit of strange pre-draft analysis from the league here, and surely we’d all love to know who those mystery four Pro Bowlers are, eh? This call, too, heightens the mystery of Branch’s plummet; can it be that NFL scouts are finally as paranoid about combine results as they were formerly so gaga? This can’t possibly be all about Branch’s much-ballyhooed “small hands,” can it?"...he's a guy that will play special teams and do a tremendous job for you. That's the thing he's really got going for him. You don't find big corners like that who can run and want to play special teams the way he can." – UConn head coach Randy EdsallFew know Branch the player as well as his college coach, of course, and the above quote illustrates why the guy has pretty much already carved a spot for himself on the team. (Except that he won’t be playing corner in the NFL; see below.) Not only did Branch get his John Hancock into the Big East and UConn record books for returning kicks, he also earned a reputation for transferring his tackling ability on punts. While the Oakland passing defense was decent in 2007, special teams were pitiable. Surely Branch will be doing something about the NFL’s eighth-worst team in terms of overall return yardage and second worst in yards per return (5.5? Is this for real?). And perhaps it will be Branch who can augment the even worse special teams tackling; last year’s leader in special teams tackles was Isaiah Ekejiuba with 11, “good” for 36th best in the league."Started 31 games for UConn, playing in 48 over four seasons ... recorded 224 tackles, including 133 solo and 7.5 hits for a loss ... forced three fumbles, recovered two ... defensed 18 passes and bagged three interceptions ... returned 37 kickoffs for 980 yards total (26.5 yards per return), including a single record-setting game in which he returned seven ..." –Branch’s almanac entry"It was definitely out of the blue. It's a great team. They've got a lot of tradition out there. I'm definitely looking forward to it." – Branch on being drafted by the Raiders.“He was happy. It couldn't have worked out no better for me." – Branch on his father’s reaction to his joining the Raiders.Just to endear Branch to Oakland fans a bit more, it turns out his Californian father is a proud citizen of the Raider Nation and had decorated the home with oodles of Raider regalia long before Branch left high school. Tyvon may be no relation to Cliff, but he was born and bred with a healthy desire to someday don the silver and black: Always a plus, regardless of actual physical ability in the oh-so-emotional game of football.“He’s a good, solid player. You talk about his versatility and that jumps off the tapes when you watch him. He’s a hard-hitting young man who’s really fun to watch. We’ve seen about every game they played this year and really we’re excited about him. I know our special teams coach Brian Schneider is real excited about his return ability also.” – Oakland defensive coordinator Rob Ryan.Now, there’s the man you want to hear positivity from; perhaps Davis & Co. did actually want Branch in the fourth round; after all, he does represent Oakland’s second overall pick in2010 pro bowl Vikings 4 Brett Favre jersey
the 2008 draft. And from the go, Ryan’s guys have had Branch working out as a strong safety, penciled in behind Michael Huff, and presumably with high hopes that the man puts on a bit more poundage before he has to start full-time. We should be seeing him in a lot of nickel and dime packages this year, though. And how does Branch feel about his new position?“I really didn’t talk to anybody about it. When I got here they put up the depth chart and I saw I was at strong safety. Ever since then I’ve just been working on strong safety. A couple teams that worked me out were working me out at safety so I knew that it was a possibility. ... I didn’t ask any questions. I’m just happy to be here.” – Branch to the media during minicamp.Good soldier.Branching out throughout the year at (11)