@tour2ma said:

Seems reasonable.....leave it to Tour to offer a new perspective....

@sdballis said:

Gilbert and JFF together:

@tour2ma said:

True Confessions was a movie starring DeNiro and Duvall. One of my best friends from high school was an extra in it. He had a whole scene where you can see him in the close background sitting right in the middle between DeNiro and Duvall. In this trailer you can see him at about the 1:45 mark. I could not pull that scene all by itself:

@mudfly said:

I dunno... "taking a shortcut" seems consistent with "low effort" to me...

@flugel said:

Well said Tom! The only way I differ is that, even though he was a Raven, I was a HUGE Ed Reed Fan.

Mike

@topdawg31 said:

PEDs?....If so, the dumbass oughta get his money back!!! LOL

Mike

@texasag1969 said:

as in area code. US 221 the road to nowhere

@topdawg31 said:

Au contraire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_221_in_South_Carolina

@diehardbrownsfan said:

221 is fitting, exists nowhere in the USA

@topdawg31 said:

I was thinking that too.....but, If the case....it's weird that he wants it enough to cheat, but not enough to try.....

While I did not know him at the time of the draft, I did buy in pretty quickly. Lot of natural talent there...

@mudfly said:

Well said. I liked how that shook out at first too Mud. After watching highlights of a defensive play maker - I saw some exciting highlights of an elite return man (also a big need). I can still hear Mayock saying, "At the very least, Cleveland landed the very best return specialist of this draft class."

I had no idea his college coaches found him such a pain in the ass to deal with; so he wasn't a tough guy for me to get excited about on draft day. I did read about his reluctance to tackle people at times but I thought that was something that could be a work in progress at the very least.

All that said, I'm not the one paid to understand the background that needed to be researched. Neither are you so don't beat yourself up about it. It's possible the background was researched and farmer blew off what his scouts had to say or it wasn't researched. Whatever the case may be, when you're kicking a guy like Khalil Mack off your doorstep at #4 with Gilbert as your plan at the spot you trade back to - you HAVE to know what you're adding (on and off the field).

@roycerolls said:

When I think of a professional, I think of a barometer setter with work ethic like a Jerry Rice. Walter Payton was said to have had a similar brutal off season conditioning program. When I listen to former TN Titans/Houston Oilers such as Blaine Bishop, Frank Wycheck and previous radio guests like Bruce Matthews and Brad Hopkins - they all praised the "Who's gonna outwork me" mentality Eddie George added to that franchise. As much as I hated Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, it sure seemed like nobody out-prepared them. Troy Aikman would echo similar sentiments about Michael Irvin. You either LOVE the gift or you park it right next to Josh Gordon in Don't Give a Shit Lane...

When I see guys like Justin Gilbert or Josh Gordon, their biggest enemy is the hollow inner chest. Football always came so easy the challenge was an absolute bore. Okay, so what happens with guys that don't appreciate this gift when adversity shows up? Football never gets prioritized and welcome to Park Place (not the good one). I got fooled by both kids. There's still a couple people crying "poor Josh" - but even with his career backed all the way into the corner of "you just have to pass every piss test now" - there's still countless excuses why football isn't top priority. This dates all the way back to high school when he scared off all interest from major DI-A programs (but the college football version of Sodom and Gomorrah) at Baylor. And he even got kicked off that team TWICE before he showed up to the NFL's Supplemental Draft assuring everyone he learned his lesson. I let him fool me twice after that (as someone always willing to give someone a second chance) until I realized I wasn't looking at a guy that will ever prioritize football. The proof remained in the company he kept choosing. "Yeah Flugel, when he was only going about 15 miles over the speed limit - you DO understand that big bag of weed in the car belonged to his friend that fessed up to it right?" Every bit as much as I believe in UFO's with green pilots and passengers. Lost in all distraction was I never saw the "professional" I wanted to see from someone with that kind of elite skill-set.

I don't have any more sympathy for these kinds of guys. My high school coach used to say we'll always suit up 60; but many of our most successful teams and players were the ones that were willing to pay the price and sacrifice...

Live and learn.....Gilbert has to be one of my biggest disappointments..... and is a massive waste of talent......

With the right mind set.....he could have been great

The 2014 CB class has pretty much been a disappointment... some due to talent... some due to injury.

One of the fallers, Roby, has arguably been the most productive and most reliable.

@bbedward said:

I liked the pick at the time, tbh - I thought it was a bit high but still thought he could be a decent player.

Nope.

He was the highest rated CB on the "draft experts" boards because he checked all the boxes physically. Unfortunately Gilbert didn't have the drive to be a pro. 2014 could've been a great class if the first round guys were willing to work as hard as Cody Kessler.

@hoorta said:

Of course you did Larry.