Rey Maualuga
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leon williams' physical talent is something we need to take better advantage of. asking him to use his brain is what's setting him back, so we need to take that out of the equation. we should give him a shot rushing the passer; he's proven there's not much else he can do.
as long as he's on the roster, we should find a way to make him effective.
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as long as he's on the roster, we should find a way to make him effective
Kind of like Chump Thompson, Kevin Bentley. Nick Speegle and a few others....
The odds are we are getting about all we can from the guy.
Good players don't need coaches to find ways to make the effective.
JMO
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A little sample of Mr. Spikes
No doubt Spikes is a physical freak, but he's got bigger character concerns than Maualuga. From what I've heard, the coaches have been on his case more than once this year about him not playing hard.
nfldraftscout's got Spikes projected as a Round 1 pick, but I wouldn't be too surprised if he dropped to late Round 1/early Round 2 because of those character concerns. Nothing like the insane stock slide Florida LB Brandon Siler suffered a few years ago, but teams are going to have to take his motivation issues into account.
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A little sample of Mr. Spikes
No doubt Spikes is a physical freak, but he's got bigger character concerns than Maualuga. From what I've heard, the coaches have been on his case more than once this year about him not playing hard.
nfldraftscout's got Spikes projected as a Round 1 pick, but I wouldn't be too surprised if he dropped to late Round 1/early Round 2 because of those character concerns. Nothing like the insane stock slide Florida LB Brandon Siler suffered a few years ago, but teams are going to have to take his motivation issues into account.
Aloysius said:
No doubt Spikes is a physical freak, but he's got bigger character concerns than Maualuga. From what I've heard, the coaches have been on his case more than once this year about him not playing hard.True Aloy, but when you're kicking Tennessee's ass by 30 points - does he REALLY need to stay out there fully motivated? I think the competition differentials have alot to do with player/team boredom. When Ohio State plays Indiana, I would hope there isn't a need to be counting how many 2nd half tackles Lauranitis is making or how many yards Beanie Wells is tacking on. In the same sense, I'll guarantee Spikes won't need a coach to motivate him to be high intensity vrs Oklahoma.
I know everybody knows this but it's worth the reminder. Sometimes teams like the NY Giants, USC and Florida will be looking past opponents like Cleveland, Stanford and Ole Miss. Just when you think you're invincible or unchallengable - you're not up for a surprising challenge at hand. We've all had that team on our schedules and we often refer to that as Homecoming so there's an added incentive to focus for the team the coaches worry about the players not getting up for.
Spikes wouldn't have made All American if he was playing uninspired football more than he should have. Even a guy like Tebow needed a reality check after Ole Miss so it can happen to anyone because they're human. I don't think it's possible to be wired as a slacker if you've got a reputation for being a beast at sic em. Remember SOME of the inaccurate reports on Eric Turner? One unnamed scout in an old BNI issue wrote "often heard he's a big hitter that's all over the field making tackles - never saw that anytime I watched UCLA." I think that guy cuts my lawn now.
This is the time of year through April where rumors about studs get started in hopes of guys sliding down. What was the reason AP was drafted 7th overall by Minnesota? I think SOME of that was off of a report that his shoulder wasn't right and he may need season ending surgery before he plays his first NFL game. Sometimes people START that stuff in hopes that the consistently bad teams don't do their research the way they should. Your buddy Flugel is a gullable basterd so I bought that rumor hook line and sinker because I only had eyes for him. I LIKE our first round in 2007 though. Another year, someone argued DeAngelo's 40 time was too much of a concern for us to consider him as our change of pace - home run threat. How many times has the goal line ended his sprints with the football this season? I'm sure Carolina is happy as Hell we took the bait on Wimbley working out like Tarzan inspite of only 1 steller season at FSU where 4 of his 10 sacks came against 1 cupcake opponent. The rest of his career wasn't exactly slam dunking #13 overall. I gotta see the transferables a guy like Spikes, Rey or Curry shows.
- Tom F.
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I think some of that is coachspeak that doesn't mean much to me...I know Spikes makes plays, and he is way better than Siler.
Spikes will be a 12 year starter and make more than a few pro-bowls.....barring injury or playing for a simpleton like Romeo who will bury him on the bench the first 4 years of his career.
If Adrian Peterson played for Romeo, he would only have 30 career carries to this point....something about him not blocking well enough.
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I think some of that is coachspeak that doesn't mean much to me...I know Spikes makes plays, and he is way better than Siler.
Spikes will be a 12 year starter and make more than a few pro-bowls.....barring injury or playing for a simpleton like Romeo who will bury him on the bench the first 4 years of his career.
If Adrian Peterson played for Romeo, he would only have 30 career carries to this point....something about him not blocking well enough.
I think some of that is coachspeak that doesn't mean much to me...I know Spikes makes plays, and he is way better than Siler.
Spikes will be a 12 year starter and make more than a few pro-bowls.....barring injury or playing for a simpleton like Romeo who will bury him on the bench the first 4 years of his career.
If Adrian Peterson played for Romeo, he would only have 30 career carries to this point....something about him not blocking well enough.
LOL! Yup and since you wrapped it up in about 5 less paragraphs than I could have - I don't need to piggyback anything.
- Tom F.
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Don't know, guys.
A guy who doesn't play hard when blowing out the Vols (sorry, Dennis) may end up becoming the guy who doesn't play hard when we're down by 2 TD's in the 4th Quarter of a playoff game, or the guy who just stops playing when we're 2-5 in a down year.
Spikes seems like the kind of guy the Pats & Steelers could draft and have the veterans keep in check. I don't know if we have the structure in place to do the same.
Instead of absorbing him into a high-character squad, we'd be trying to build a high-character squad with Spikes as its core.
Not sure that's a good idea.
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Don't know, guys.
A guy who doesn't play hard when blowing out the Vols (sorry, Dennis) may end up becoming the guy who doesn't play hard when we're down by 2 TD's in the 4th Quarter of a playoff game, or the guy who just stops playing when we're 2-5 in a down year.
Spikes seems like the kind of guy the Pats & Steelers could draft and have the veterans keep in check. I don't know if we have the structure in place to do the same.
Instead of absorbing him into a high-character squad, we'd be trying to build a high-character squad with Spikes as its core.
Not sure that's a good idea.
Aloysius said:
Don't know, guys.A guy who doesn't play hard when blowing out the Vols (sorry, Dennis) may end up becoming the guy who doesn't play hard when we're down by 2 TD's in the 4th Quarter of a playoff game, or the guy who just stops playing when we're 2-5 in a down year.
Spikes seems like the kind of guy the Pats & Steelers could draft and have the veterans keep in check. I don't know if we have the structure in place to do the same.
Instead of absorbing him into a high-character squad, we'd be trying to build a high-character squad with Spikes as its core.
Not sure that's a good idea.
Legit concerns Aloy.
That said, I can't help but asking what valid proof do we have he's a slacker when he's the guy on the All American highlights? ILBer isn't the type of position you can show up and play solid football thinking "I only need my C game." MOST highly effective ILBers aren't wired to be slackers with an on switch. It just doesn't fit the job description. Players DO ease up when they're up by 30-40 points though because they're human and there's no need to PROVE any more than what the scoreboard already reads. It's not like TN had a Peyton Manning an opponent with a big lead needed to worry about.
You're alot more thorough in your research than I am capable of so I'm just trying to get you to question how these rumors add up to consensus All American. Here's where I'm going with this: I'm wondering if this character wrecking rumor starts where the usual rumors start by scouts wanting prospects to slide to their mid to late 1st round doorsteps. Somebody got a pretty decent Dan Marino late in round 1 from this kind of pre-draft character assassination. Allegedly pre-draft Adrian Peterson's arm was going to fall out of the socket if he didn't get season ending shoulder surgery before his rookie year. Here's a guy that SHOULD have been #1 overall that goes 7th overall - and why? There was supposedly a surgery that needed to take place which still hasn't happened some 3000-3500 rushing yards later. IMO, Joe Thomas and AP are the best top 10 picks in that draft. Meanwhile, LATE rumours catapulted Jamarcus Russell into everybody's top 5 Mock Drafts. How did he get so much better 1 month before the draft?
If Spikes goes to NE - we're probably looking at a nice 12 year career with him teaming up with Mayo and Crable as the Next Generation of NE LBer Corps. For some reason they have the team leadership and right people at the top to get exchange value on players with risky reputations. FAs: Dillon and Moss. Meanwhile, Vince Wilfork was rumored to take plays off. When you draft a kid like this - you give him salary incentive to stay at a certain weight, run a certain 40 and bench press a couple cars as well as achieve certain things on the field. Albert Haynesworth didn't START off with the best reputation. His 2008 contract said - make the Pro Bowl and we'll remove the Franchise Player tag meaning???? There's going to be a Hell of an Auction in 2009 for this young man but didn't Tenn keep a motivated BIG man this year?
- Tom F.
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as long as he's on the roster, we should find a way to make him effective
Kind of like Chump Thompson, Kevin Bentley. Nick Speegle and a few others....
The odds are we are getting about all we can from the guy.
Good players don't need coaches to find ways to make the effective.
JMO
Kind of like Chump Thompson, Kevin Bentley. Nick Speegle and a few others....
The odds are we are getting about all we can from the guy.
Good players don't need coaches to find ways to make the effective.
JMO
bad ones do, though, and if we're stuck with him, it's up to the coaches to make him as effective as he can be.
and, because we don't have a winning structure in place where vets can really keep rookies in check, character unfortunately has to be a high-level concern.
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Aloysius said:
Don't know, guys.A guy who doesn't play hard when blowing out the Vols (sorry, Dennis) may end up becoming the guy who doesn't play hard when we're down by 2 TD's in the 4th Quarter of a playoff game, or the guy who just stops playing when we're 2-5 in a down year.
Spikes seems like the kind of guy the Pats & Steelers could draft and have the veterans keep in check. I don't know if we have the structure in place to do the same.
Instead of absorbing him into a high-character squad, we'd be trying to build a high-character squad with Spikes as its core.
Not sure that's a good idea.
Legit concerns Aloy.
That said, I can't help but asking what valid proof do we have he's a slacker when he's the guy on the All American highlights? ILBer isn't the type of position you can show up and play solid football thinking "I only need my C game." MOST highly effective ILBers aren't wired to be slackers with an on switch. It just doesn't fit the job description. Players DO ease up when they're up by 30-40 points though because they're human and there's no need to PROVE any more than what the scoreboard already reads. It's not like TN had a Peyton Manning an opponent with a big lead needed to worry about.
You're alot more thorough in your research than I am capable of so I'm just trying to get you to question how these rumors add up to consensus All American. Here's where I'm going with this: I'm wondering if this character wrecking rumor starts where the usual rumors start by scouts wanting prospects to slide to their mid to late 1st round doorsteps. Somebody got a pretty decent Dan Marino late in round 1 from this kind of pre-draft character assassination. Allegedly pre-draft Adrian Peterson's arm was going to fall out of the socket if he didn't get season ending shoulder surgery before his rookie year. Here's a guy that SHOULD have been #1 overall that goes 7th overall - and why? There was supposedly a surgery that needed to take place which still hasn't happened some 3000-3500 rushing yards later. IMO, Joe Thomas and AP are the best top 10 picks in that draft. Meanwhile, LATE rumours catapulted Jamarcus Russell into everybody's top 5 Mock Drafts. How did he get so much better 1 month before the draft?
If Spikes goes to NE - we're probably looking at a nice 12 year career with him teaming up with Mayo and Crable as the Next Generation of NE LBer Corps. For some reason they have the team leadership and right people at the top to get exchange value on players with risky reputations. FAs: Dillon and Moss. Meanwhile, Vince Wilfork was rumored to take plays off. When you draft a kid like this - you give him salary incentive to stay at a certain weight, run a certain 40 and bench press a couple cars as well as achieve certain things on the field. Albert Haynesworth didn't START off with the best reputation. His 2008 contract said - make the Pro Bowl and we'll remove the Franchise Player tag meaning???? There's going to be a Hell of an Auction in 2009 for this young man but didn't Tenn keep a motivated BIG man this year?
- Tom F.
If Spikes goes to NE - we're probably looking at a nice 12 year career with him teaming up with Mayo and Crable as the Next Generation of NE LBer Corps. For some reason they have the team leadership and right people at the top to get exchange value on players with risky reputations. FAs: Dillon and Moss. Meanwhile, Vince Wilfork was rumored to take plays off. When you draft a kid like this - you give him salary incentive to stay at a certain weight, run a certain 40 and bench press a couple cars as well as achieve certain things on the field.
Excellent post, Flugs. I can see DQ, Maualuga, and Wimbley/Hall being every bit as good as Mayo, Crable, and Spikes.
Perhaps if we bring a Pioli in here, this could be us. Ahh, to dream...
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