Just saw this: ESPN - These eight rookies are on the fast track to NFL success - NFL Good to see Merling is being noticed by others outside of us fans Quote:Under the radar: When the No. 1 overall draft pick is in the same locker room, it's easy to get overlooked. Jake Long, the 6-7 left tackle from Michigan, is the highest-paid lineman in NFL history and gets the attention. But Miami Dolphins defensive end Phillip Merling, the 31st draft pick from Clemson, has two sacks. He has fared well against such Pro Bowl linemen as Alan Faneca and Logan Mankins. "In practice you can block him," Dolphins guard Justin Smiley told the Palm Beach Post. "In the games, it seems he's unblockable, seeing him whip up on some good guards, guards I think are some of the best in the NFL. He's constantly getting pressure and making plays. It's special to watch. He's a gamer."
Langford has to be included. The guy has been killing it out on the field. But its good to see Merling get some dap.
Good props to Merling, but how they write an article like that, talk about the big name guys and try to point out the under the radar guys and miss Langford is just ESPN being ESPN. Yes merling had a great game last game, but Langford has been consistenly good all season so far. Oh well way to go Merling
Except they were only listing 16 players (two players from different teams from every conference). Hence, it was not meant to be a comprehensive list. Furthermore, Bess, at 4 receptions for 25 yards and 0 TDs, is hardly on what one could conceivably consider as "the fast track to NFL success".
the thing with bess is that hes proved to be somewhat of a success just by making the team as an UDFA.
Considering he is an UDFA getting the amount of playing time he has gotten, he IS an honorable mention IMHO... Where did I say, "fast track to the NFL" I said "other notables"
Is it me or is Jerrod Mayo being overhyped? I'm sure he'll be a nice player in this league, but we're not talking a Patrick Willis type force. Who knows, maybe my anti-Patriot bias is showing a bit. Most of the guys on that list (Royal, Jackson, Forte, etc.) have busted onto the scene making huge impacts, and Mayo has been simply average, IMO. I think he's benefiting from the fact that he was handpicked by Pioli/Belichick as opposed to his actual production on the field.
good to see them get the attention. I rank Langford over Merling though. Not taking anything away from Merling, just saying i think Langford deserves some of the "rookie under the radar" love.
he has a total of 25 tackles and thats it. 8 tackles a game isnt a bad average to have but he doesnt have any sacks, FF, anything.. IMO he is wicked overhyped due to the fact he is on the ratriots
The name of the original article was "These eight rookies are on the fast track to NFL success"(although this was somewhat confused by the thread title), thus it hardly takes a large leap in logic to equate "notable" with "fast track". Only by stretching the definition of "success" to something far different than the intention of the article's author aong the lines of FaninPatsyLand's comment that "Most of the guys on that list (Royal, Jackson, Forte, etc.) have busted onto the scene making huge impacts, and Mayo has been simply average, IMO"- and it's debatable whether Bess has even had as much impact as Mayo. As a side note, I would agree with his assessment concerning Mayo being overhyped.
this isnt some kind of conspiracy here like your sounding to make it out to be. How bout giving Langford, and Bess (especially Bess being an UDFA) their do...
Bess hasn't done anything yet to be considered one of the best rookies of this class. That's not to say that he doesn't have a bright future, but for the purpose of this article, Bess has no business being on it.
Where did you come up with the idea that I thought there was some sort of conspiracy here? I was attempting to explain why I thought you meant more to "notable" than it appears that you meant and giving you the benefit of the doubt in regards to why you may have missed how I made such a connection. First, I never implied that Langford didn't belong on the list, rather that his exclusion was more due to the way players were chosen than to his ability. Second, Bess has not done enough so far to merit his inclusion. That doesn't mean he isn't a good player or won't become a star someday, but rather only that he hasn't had as much impact as the other players named.
I find it amazing, that after years and years of bad drafts we seemed to have gotten a starting left tackle and two startable defensive lineman in this one draft. And thats not even mentioning a possible future starting QB and other usable players including Bess. Kind of makes you anxious for next years draft and knowing if it is near as good as this one we are definitely heading back to the top.
On top of that, the FO went out and got some solid, lower priced FA help instead of gambling on one or two high-priced ones. Still, I wonder what they plan to do with the forgotten man, one Mr. Beck.
