Minicamp Stars
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My 2 cents and allowance from the Warden:
Be careful not to get too carried away with how guys look in mini-camps. They once made Worthlessberger sound like he deserved praise if he put his cleats on the right feet and found his way back to the huddle in his first mini-camp. This led to a need to give Tommy Maddox an enormous raise. Just remember, Dennis Northcutt always looked like Hall of Fame material in every early mini-camp without contact. When they added the contact AND the opponent, he looked like Mini-skirt material. We couldn't miss a May, June or July without hearing about the wide world of "he's gonna" this time around which always translated to "he still hasn't" in the real world.
Guys like Vernon Gholston are gonna look good in shorts and t-shirts because they're GREAT athletes. The question is will he play like Tarzan or Jane? David McMillan was rumored to run in 4.5s, which intrigued ANYONE with a pulse BUT we never saw the carryover to the gridiron. I would always ponder HOW does a guy THIS quick get lost on a ho-hum Big 12 defense and subsequently get drafted so late? Prolly because he's one of countless great athletes that won't have legit NFL starter in his fate. Chaun Thompson did everything from place kicking to punting to LBer in his college and he could dazzle anyone in a workout. He had good size and great 40s. Guess what? He wasn't ANY better in Houston than he was in Cleveland.
Courtney Brown was once unveiling his spin moves like he was going to be the quicker more agile version of Bruce Smith. The ONLY time I ever saw him looking the part was when he sacked Pitt's backup QB Kent Graham 3 times in 1 game against a backup tackle. Keyword in that sentence is backup. Jamir Miller faced all the same tackles with LESS pass rushing experience and aced the gig as our ONLY All Pro Defender between 1999 and Shaun Rogers of 2008. Mike Mamula looked terrific in shorts and t-shirt but very forgettable when they added an opponent, shoulder pads and contact. Many of us played this game and have seen the kids that looked terrific BEFORE the contact. It's just amazing how adding 100% of the pads to the scenario can change how FAST and CONFIDENT someone plays. Did we ever REALLY need to get rid of Ernest Byner for Mike Oliphant? Or how about Mike Baab for the MORE athletically gifted (and former soccer player turned Center) Greg Rackoczy? Hell no! Byner became the All Pro workorse for the Superbowl Champion Redskins while Oliphant became the same idea Northcutt would later become. "What if" we could only play football without pads on a track. Kosar NEVER seemed to have trouble with the blitz when the snaps and line-calls came from Baab. Can we say the same when we replaced Baab with the guy that looked more the part in shorts and t-shirt? I'm gonna say no with a great deal of confidence.
As much as some contend Raji is a stud - he had the SAME history William Green had at Boston College with the marijuana issues. History tells me that is NOT the kind of guy you want getting a sizable signing bonus accompanying a #5 overall pick before down #1. Gerrard Warren became "Big Money" to his teammates but "Tiny Heart" to all the fans he was holding hostage awaiting the exchange value of a #3 overall pick. I'm not sure I'm sold Raji has placed football as #1 in his life and you can count the number of strikes he had in college to confrim that.
Remember when Ricky Williams had to PROVE football was #1 over his affection for baseball? The guy began his NFL career on prozac and intervened with a marijuana sebatical. Has he EVER justified where he was drafted overall to date? Trust me when I tell you Philly hit the home run on McNabb instead which would also make room for the addition of Brian Westbrook a year or 2 later without the franchise cap hit of the hyperinflated Ricky Williams in the top 5. Without Ricky Williams' 3 fumbles against us in 1999, we would have ONLY beaten Pittsburgh.
If you got this far, thanks for reading!
As you were...,
- Tom F. (Don't show me the money - show me the FOOTBALL PLAYER once they put on the pads and add the opponent)
I welcome the only Defensive Coordinator to earn a Superbowl Ring in New Orleans while understanding Revenge of the Nerds is a sequel. "Come get some!" -
I'd hate to have to defend Orakpo, Haynesworth and a LB all from the same side.
Agreed, the Redskins got brutal on the Deffensive side of the ball very quickly. I don't know if it will work out well, everything Schneider touches seems to fall apart, but on paper it is impressive. I would guess that the Skins will end top 5 in sacks at the end of the year, but we will have to see if it does anything for them in the W/L column as the year goes along.
Agreed, the Redskins got brutal on the Deffensive side of the ball very quickly. I don't know if it will work out well, everything Schneider touches seems to fall apart, but on paper it is impressive. I would guess that the Skins will end top 5 in sacks at the end of the year, but we will have to see if it does anything for them in the W/L column as the year goes along.
They were good last year on defense. They should be very, very good this season!
The Skins have to be better at putting the ball in the air and getting it in the end zone. They play good defense, they run the ball well, but it won't matter how much you go up and down the field if you don't score. The QB play has to get better too.
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My 2 cents and allowance from the Warden:
Be careful not to get too carried away with how guys look in mini-camps. They once made Worthlessberger sound like he deserved praise if he put his cleats on the right feet and found his way back to the huddle in his first mini-camp. This led to a need to give Tommy Maddox an enormous raise. Just remember, Dennis Northcutt always looked like Hall of Fame material in every early mini-camp without contact. When they added the contact AND the opponent, he looked like Mini-skirt material. We couldn't miss a May, June or July without hearing about the wide world of "he's gonna" this time around which always translated to "he still hasn't" in the real world.
Guys like Vernon Gholston are gonna look good in shorts and t-shirts because they're GREAT athletes. The question is will he play like Tarzan or Jane? David McMillan was rumored to run in 4.5s, which intrigued ANYONE with a pulse BUT we never saw the carryover to the gridiron. I would always ponder HOW does a guy THIS quick get lost on a ho-hum Big 12 defense and subsequently get drafted so late? Prolly because he's one of countless great athletes that won't have legit NFL starter in his fate. Chaun Thompson did everything from place kicking to punting to LBer in his college and he could dazzle anyone in a workout. He had good size and great 40s. Guess what? He wasn't ANY better in Houston than he was in Cleveland.
Courtney Brown was once unveiling his spin moves like he was going to be the quicker more agile version of Bruce Smith. The ONLY time I ever saw him looking the part was when he sacked Pitt's backup QB Kent Graham 3 times in 1 game against a backup tackle. Keyword in that sentence is backup. Jamir Miller faced all the same tackles with LESS pass rushing experience and aced the gig as our ONLY All Pro Defender between 1999 and Shaun Rogers of 2008. Mike Mamula looked terrific in shorts and t-shirt but very forgettable when they added an opponent, shoulder pads and contact. Many of us played this game and have seen the kids that looked terrific BEFORE the contact. It's just amazing how adding 100% of the pads to the scenario can change how FAST and CONFIDENT someone plays. Did we ever REALLY need to get rid of Ernest Byner for Mike Oliphant? Or how about Mike Baab for the MORE athletically gifted (and former soccer player turned Center) Greg Rackoczy? Hell no! Byner became the All Pro workorse for the Superbowl Champion Redskins while Oliphant became the same idea Northcutt would later become. "What if" we could only play football without pads on a track. Kosar NEVER seemed to have trouble with the blitz when the snaps and line-calls came from Baab. Can we say the same when we replaced Baab with the guy that looked more the part in shorts and t-shirt? I'm gonna say no with a great deal of confidence.
As much as some contend Raji is a stud - he had the SAME history William Green had at Boston College with the marijuana issues. History tells me that is NOT the kind of guy you want getting a sizable signing bonus accompanying a #5 overall pick before down #1. Gerrard Warren became "Big Money" to his teammates but "Tiny Heart" to all the fans he was holding hostage awaiting the exchange value of a #3 overall pick. I'm not sure I'm sold Raji has placed football as #1 in his life and you can count the number of strikes he had in college to confrim that.
Remember when Ricky Williams had to PROVE football was #1 over his affection for baseball? The guy began his NFL career on prozac and intervened with a marijuana sebatical. Has he EVER justified where he was drafted overall to date? Trust me when I tell you Philly hit the home run on McNabb instead which would also make room for the addition of Brian Westbrook a year or 2 later without the franchise cap hit of the hyperinflated Ricky Williams in the top 5. Without Ricky Williams' 3 fumbles against us in 1999, we would have ONLY beaten Pittsburgh.
If you got this far, thanks for reading!
As you were...,
- Tom F. (Don't show me the money - show me the FOOTBALL PLAYER once they put on the pads and add the opponent)
As much as some contend Raji is a stud - he had the SAME history William Green had at Boston College with the marijuana issues. History tells me that is NOT the kind of guy you want getting a sizable signing bonus accompanying a #5 overall pick before down #1. Gerrard Warren became "Big Money" to his teammates but "Tiny Heart" to all the fans he was holding hostage awaiting the exchange value of a #3 overall pick. I'm not sure I'm sold Raji has placed football as #1 in his life and you can count the number of strikes he had in college to confrim that.
I'm the first one to jump on the "Character counts" bandwagon, but I'm not sold that Raji's smoking of Weed is a big deal.
Now if he had been smoking prior to the combine then I would say it was a big deal because it would show a lack of common sense and rationality. Anyone who test postive at the combine has a real problem in my book.
But smoking weed in college doesn't have to mean you are a risk. I smoked in my younger days and I still worked hard and showed up for work every day.
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote! - "Ben Franklin" -
I like smart high character guys with a clean past that just love the game.
You know what you're getting with them, well, mostly.
Guys that liked to party worry me when you're picking in the big money because they're young and might want to live it up more than play the game, so it's always something that lurks in the back of your mind when you draft a kid with a sketchy past.
3 seasons until our new head coach, let's hope they get it right this time. -
Raji also threw a punch during a game and had chronic academic issues. Great talent but definitely not a Mangini guy.
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Raji also threw a punch during a game and had chronic academic issues. Great talent but definitely not a Mangini guy.
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Sounds like a lot of us were right to be high on Louis Delmas:
Before the Lions signed Larry Foote last week, defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham met with reporters. One kept trying to ask about rookie safety Louis Delmas but was getting interrupted by questions about linebackers. Cunningham noticed.
"I've got to answer the Delmas question," Cunningham said at the end of his interview, "because I kind of like that guy."
In his 28th year in the NFL, Cunningham has seen plenty of great players. He thinks he sees another in Delmas, whom he compared to Dale Carter, a four-time Pro Bowl cornerback with Kansas City.
"Dale Carter was kind of wiry, long and looked like he was out of control sometimes, and then he'd have the ball," Cunningham said. "When I look at Delmas now, I go, 'My God, it is like I got younger and there is Dale in front of me again.' ... We don't want to anoint the guy at all. But he came on the practice field like I believe you should come on the practice field."
Over three days of rookie minicamp last weekend, Delmas, a second-round pick from Western Michigan, outshone everyone. He made good on a promise to pick off Matthew Stafford and showed the kind of energy, enthusiasm and joy recently missing from the Allen Park practice field.
"From what I see in this young kid, he loves football," Cunningham said. "I don't know where he got it, but there's something about him that, he's not very big, and yet you see him on college tape just blowing guys up on tackles.
"Then he comes in here and threatens our first pick in the draft, and he says, 'I'm going to get it sooner or later.' He missed about three or four early, and then he took it away from him. A lot of my buddies have been texting me, saying, 'Boy, we were going to draft him.' I said, 'Well, you should have.' "
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I like smart high character guys with a clean past that just love the game.
You know what you're getting with them, well, mostly.
Guys that liked to party worry me when you're picking in the big money because they're young and might want to live it up more than play the game, so it's always something that lurks in the back of your mind when you draft a kid with a sketchy past.
I like smart high character guys with a clean past that just love the game.
You know what you're getting with them, well, mostly.
Guys that liked to party worry me when you're picking in the big money because they're young and might want to live it up more than play the game, so it's always something that lurks in the back of your mind when you draft a kid with a sketchy past.
Agreed.....When a team pays the kind of money they do for these guys, "question marks" about character should not be part of the package.
Mike
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As much as some contend Raji is a stud - he had the SAME history William Green had at Boston College with the marijuana issues. History tells me that is NOT the kind of guy you want getting a sizable signing bonus accompanying a #5 overall pick before down #1. Gerrard Warren became "Big Money" to his teammates but "Tiny Heart" to all the fans he was holding hostage awaiting the exchange value of a #3 overall pick. I'm not sure I'm sold Raji has placed football as #1 in his life and you can count the number of strikes he had in college to confrim that.
I'm the first one to jump on the "Character counts" bandwagon, but I'm not sold that Raji's smoking of Weed is a big deal.
Now if he had been smoking prior to the combine then I would say it was a big deal because it would show a lack of common sense and rationality. Anyone who test postive at the combine has a real problem in my book.
But smoking weed in college doesn't have to mean you are a risk. I smoked in my younger days and I still worked hard and showed up for work every day.
I'm the first one to jump on the "Character counts" bandwagon, but I'm not sold that Raji's smoking of Weed is a big deal.
And it wasn't supposed to be a big deal with William Green either until it was.
Same with Kenny Wright, same with Ricky Williams, same with Rashan "outtahere" Salaam. Where it BECOMES a major question as I see it is when/where it intervenes with placing football as priority #1; ESPECIALLY after you're going to give this type of guy a hefty signing bonus.
When the average Joe smokes marijuana - I don't have a problem with it. When it's a guy slated for the 5th spot in the draft for a franchise that hasn't had the greatest luck in round one since 1999, I don't want the guy. WHEN I learned Percy Harvin couldn't refrain from using marijuana too close too what was supposed to be the most important auditions of his life - I completely changed my tune that previously suggested he'd be a first round steal. If he can't refrain - what's his #1 priority? It wasn't football or we're looking at clean urine right? That tells me ALOT more than a Wonderlic score about him. It shows me stupidity and the decision making skills of a raccoon crossing the highway at nighttime more than it shows me difference making X-factor.
- Tom F.
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I'm the first one to jump on the "Character counts" bandwagon, but I'm not sold that Raji's smoking of Weed is a big deal.
And it wasn't supposed to be a big deal with William Green either until it was.
Same with Kenny Wright, same with Ricky Williams, same with Rashan "outtahere" Salaam. Where it BECOMES a major question as I see it is when/where it intervenes with placing football as priority #1; ESPECIALLY after you're going to give this type of guy a hefty signing bonus.
When the average Joe smokes marijuana - I don't have a problem with it. When it's a guy slated for the 5th spot in the draft for a franchise that hasn't had the greatest luck in round one since 1999, I don't want the guy. WHEN I learned Percy Harvin couldn't refrain from using marijuana too close too what was supposed to be the most important auditions of his life - I completely changed my tune that previously suggested he'd be a first round steal. If he can't refrain - what's his #1 priority? It wasn't football or we're looking at clean urine right? That tells me ALOT more than a Wonderlic score about him. It shows me stupidity and the decision making skills of a raccoon crossing the highway at nighttime more than it shows me difference making X-factor.
- Tom F.
And it wasn't supposed to be a big deal with William Green either until it was.
Same with Kenny Wright, same with Ricky Williams, same with Rashan "outtahere" Salaam. Where it BECOMES a major question as I see it is when/where it intervenes with placing football as priority #1; ESPECIALLY after you're going to give this type of guy a hefty signing bonus.
When the average Joe smokes marijuana - I don't have a problem with it. When it's a guy slated for the 5th spot in the draft for a franchise that hasn't had the greatest luck in round one since 1999, I don't want the guy. WHEN I learned Percy Harvin couldn't refrain from using marijuana too close too what was supposed to be the most important auditions of his life - I completely changed my tune that previously suggested he'd be a first round steal. If he can't refrain - what's his #1 priority? It wasn't football or we're looking at clean urine right? That tells me ALOT more than a Wonderlic score about him. It shows me stupidity and the decision making skills of a raccoon crossing the highway at nighttime more than it shows me difference making X-factor.
- Tom F.
Tom,
I couldn't agree more & I couldn't say it better.
Mike
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