Among other things.. flakey+poor play and your draft stock is going in the crapper. 3 reps? Now I've heard of players who did not want to bulk up for the stuff that was not a core area as it can take away their speed which for a Cb does matter more than the bench press..but that is pathetic. As for Clarrett, he struck me as an entitled OSU athlete type, but he still went in what rd 3? I don't have the sense that Mathieu thinks he is entitled, but it would have been better if he had went ahead and played small college ball as planned, it would have washed a lot of leeriness out of drafting him. Basically, great 2011=booted from LSU=transfered to small college=weed bust=declares for draft Is not exactly a career success path, interesting that Les Miles initially wanted to keep him on scholarship iirc.
I can understand that. Good call on Smoot. I liked him in the NFL -- didn't watch the draft until later on.
His play wasn't as poor as you suggest. I remember evaluating him and even on one foot, he looked good at times. Four reps, I believe. As for Clarrett, I have a hard time believing that he wouldn't have kept sliding if Shanahan didn't pick up the phone. He never officially transferred to a small college for football as far as I know.
Eh, there used to be a small college (N Alabama?) that the Bowden sons were coaching at that would mop up a lot of the guys who flamed out of the big time Florida programs, he would have been better suited going there. Could have made him millions more just in a signing bonus
Unfortunately the combine wasn't televised before the founding of NFLN, so none of us were watching on the TV in 2001. I first recalled him doing 2, but when I googled it, the only references were saying he did just 1. To look at it positively, Tyrann at 186 lbs, lifted 121% of his body weight 4 times. Not great for a football player but for most American men his age that isn't bad Of course he'll probably get stronger with a season or two in an NFL strength program. Darren Krein has to earn his keep somehow.
Ah, see I don't have NFLN and had no idea of its history. I do now though. Cheers. That's a good point by the way.
It's somewhat funny Alen, pre internetz all you had for draft coverage was a couple of magazines that covered likely first rounders, and then the USA Today would have a single page with little bio's and they'd add stuff like "top 10 40 times for Wr's"..and that was about it.
I started buying Kiper, Ourlads and PFW's draft books in 1989. Didn't get online till 1996. The 2nd forum I was on that year had guys like KB21 and Rev Rick.
The talent is not special though. He's an average talent with below average coverage skills. The guy is 5'7", 170 lbs soaking wet, and he can't even break 4.50 in the forty. He has major problems with his ability to flip his hips and run with receivers. I've said before, this guy is nothing more than a mid round pick who you draft to be a 4th or 5th corner and a special teams player without the baggage. With the baggage, he's not a draftable prospect.
Who was that other guy? Shonka maybe? Stuff like chopped up Youtube highlights of college games etc Just really didn't exist, what would happen is someone was a fan of a given college conference and had watched the players etc.
I believe in second chances. I don't believe in 5th and 6th chances when the perpetrator has never shown the ability to make any changes in his life.
Hmm, thought he weighed in the mid 180's? He's quite draftable, but think 3rd rd is for a team with lots of picks like SF.
He definitely had more talent at his position than Mathieu has at his, IMO. He was on the Ole Piss basketball team for a while.
Is this going to be another argument akin to Earl Thomas? I'm not taking a shot at you here -- you'd know if I was, trust me; I am genuinely asking you.
Where was the athletic ability to put him into position to make a play on all the plays where he got roasted by mediocre receivers in college? The problem here is that you are looking at only the plays he made. You aren't looking at the plays he gave up and the reasons for those.
Nope. Thomas had athleticism that Mathieu doesn't have. Thomas's small size was at least supported by tremendous athleticism.
I don't normally use outside sources but I know where you stand when it comes to my breakdown of the player..I don't believe any of these folks and many others would put average or below average and this kid in the same sentence. "UNANIMOUS first-team All-American and recipient of the Bednarik Award as the nation's top defensive player"..I capitalized unanimous. "Coaches pick as a freshman first team all sec conference".. As a freshman led his team in pass break ups, forced fumbles and fourth in tackles.. As a freshman in the sec was voted Outstanding Player award after the best game of his young career in which he recorded seven tackles, one tackle for loss, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, one interception, one sack and one pass breakup. "The best player in college football in 2011. The most dynamic non-offensive player we've seen since Michigan's Charles Woodson." - Desmond Howard, ESPN analyst and 1991 Heisman Trophy winner. "Very few guys have a knack for making these kind of plays so often, and they don't come around much. Charles Woodson has it. So does Ed Reed. Troy Polamalu too. Mathieu is like a combination of the three." - Bruce Feldman, CBSSports.com "Mathieu is a phenomenon - he makes more big plays per touch of the football than anyone I can remember ... one of the most impactful defensive backs college football has ever seen." - Pat Forde, Yahoo Sports "The 2011 SEC Defensive Player of the Year as voted upon by the Associated Press" First team all American return specialist.. Started games at corner, nickel, and safety.
The reason this kid had plays against him were because of a roaming kamikaze attitude..technique issues, and the freedom in the scheme to do so..Troy palumalu gets beat by receivers in coverage as well...Ed reed is a playmaker, with that comes some sacrifice in the scheme.
Someone should do a Mathieu poll of which round couch GM's would take him. I'd be honestly curious. The board seems to be split.
He was expected to start as the nickel but then move into the starting position b/c he wasn't viewed as limited. Even then it was seen as a questionable move b/c he was going to be a nickel CB at first. It's really a poor example to use to defend taking a nickel CB.
I'd never defend taking a nickel back in the 1st round. As long as Madison and Surtain were with the team though, he'd have never been more than a nickel back. So I don't know what starting position you expect he'd have moved into without waiting several years for one of the two to retire, be traded, or leave in free agency.
I'm thinking about how we can upgrade this defensive unit without affecting the contunuity we have going, How many spots on this defense can we upgrade ?, I'm thinking were gonna sign Clemons and Starks, so where's it gonna come from?, I'm in a minority for wanting to draft Dion Jordan and all I hear is that we have Burnett and Misi, so we can't do that, doesn't fit is all I hear, so, where do we upgrade the unit..... A third down pass rusher?, that's it, that's the plan huh.. What other player brings this type of potential for playmaking ability for a third round pick?
I hate using combine results, but here goes. He was one of the smallest cornerbacks at the combine, yet he wasn't in the top 15 in the forty yard dash times, bench press, vertical jump, or broad jump, and he was only 10th in 3 cone drill and 20 yard shuttle. His lack of physical skills shows up on film. He's a too slow for his size defensive back that is a 4th/5th cornerback/special teams player, and there is simply too much hype surrounding him at this point. You want to take a chance on a talented cornerback that needs work on his technique and has no off the field baggage, you take Brandon McGee from Miami. He's biggers, faster, stronger, and more athletic overall than Mathieu and has a higher upside. If we were better at cornerback right now, I wouldn't mind bringing both Brandon McGee and Kayvon Webster in during the draft. As it is, a guy I think Jeff Ireland will be all over at the top of the draft (2nd round) is Jamar Taylor from Boise State. If you want a guy who is small but has the athleticism to back it up and can likely be a solid nickle back, then you take Nickell Robey from USC.
Bigger faster, stronger, Your gonna go there huh, ok, nobody was better in the drills, which shows the natural athletic ability for his position, thats where i determine talent, sorry KB, you can have your bench press, I'll take his 4.4 forty and the technique he displayed in the drills... Besides, your missing one big part of the game of football when it comes to a player...instinct...it's what eventually makes you arrive at the ball faster then someone bigger who is faster and stronger.. Jumping ability and strength means absolutely nothing without instincts, nothing.. Talent is determined thru movement.
In the era of FA, that could have been at any time. You also always had the possibility of injury in a very violent game. The point is that when and if that happened you weren't saddled with a limited player. That's why it's best to generally avoid specialist players. The smart teams understand that during the season or over the years you have to move players around to keep the offensive or defensive system sound. Spending your resources on specialist or limited players makes that difficult.
What exactly does better in the drills mean? That is something that is completely subjective. What I've seen on film is a defensive back that is stiff in the hips and has trouble turning and running with receivers. His agility numbers bear this out and gives us an objective way of measuring it. The problem with him being stiff in the hips is that, at his size, he's not a guy you put on the line and have him press folks. He's a guy you play in off coverage and hope he plays back enough to keep receivers from running by him. He's got serious issues in coverage that really limit him, and his size is also a detriment.
IMO the biggest defensive upgrades you can add are a pass rusher and a ball hawking S. I don't see Misi or Clemons as so good that you pass on upgrades at those two premium impact positions. I see both of those players as ideal depth players. I like Misi, but he's a a very good two down LB who we're hoping is developing into not being too much of a liability on third down. Clemons is a good tackler, but has very little instinct. My defensive goals for this draft would be to add at least one pass rusher and a S. Heck if Jarvis Jones was there at #12 and Carradine was there in the 2nd, I'd probably add them both. There are several good Ss in this draft so while I really like Vacarro and Elam early, I know I could add a guy like Shamarko Thomas later (if I got Jones and Carradine). I'd also add one or two of dozen or so decent CBs available in FA. Those would all upgrade the defense and I should still be able to get Bailey with the other 2nd round pick and use one of the 3rds on Swope while targeting a TE like Escobar in the 4th.
I got at least 1:1 odds that he had bags of marijuana in his charge at the very moment he was conducting that interview. Maybe not at his own house, but someone else's.
completely subjective..what I saw was a unique skillset, the ability to play that low, at that angle, without any bucket steps in his backpedal was just beautiful to watch, and a pure sign of good conditioning cause he did in throughout the session, if you didnt see a smooth, clean and explosive stop and drive technique, I must vehemently disagree..I've seen the undisciplined play in games, but I don't see stiffness in the hips on this player, not where you can overlook the other special qualities and instincts your getting with this package, this kid is the closest to an Ed reed skillset as you will ever find for a projected third round pick.. Dion said that when he went down to IMG camp to study him, he said the footwork and movement skill was amazing.
