I have never been huge on college football. There is one thing that I do keep my eye out, and that is good prospects for the draft. It seems like every year theres an NFL team or 8 that drafts on pure athletic skill and it seems as if they don't consider the most important thing when drafting a young player. WINNING! People get so caught up in 40 times and how many reps someone can take of a certain weight. I think that stuff holds very little substance in the NFL. Some might argue saying that those things are very important in deciding on who to draft but I strongly disagree. I mean sure if there is a WR who runs a 4.28 to another one that runs a 4.5 then thats a different set of circumstance. I am referring to those players that take their teams consistently into bowl games, consistently win, but don't show that extra gear at the combine. I recently heard someone say that Troy Smith will be drafted in the mid 2nd round. Anyone else think thats ridiculous. The guy has won every game this year and thrown under 10 ints, I don't know the exact number and I believe 30 some odd touchdowns. Again I don't know much about these kids statistics but year after year you see teams gamble on the Kyle Boller's and etc. Well thats my rant about that. With that said who are some of those kids that you feel people say are "too small" or "not strong enough" who will be great players in the NFL. I like Johnson out of Boise State, I like how smart of a runner he is. Sure he can be a bit to "Patient" in the backfield but I think that the NFL could straighten that out. I also think John David Booty is the real deal. I have been following him consistently since the start of the season and although he is up and down, he responds to the situation.
Teams gamble on Kyle Boller... Only one team did that. If I can remember correctly, I think he's on the bench...
Winning in college doesnt mean anything to NFL teams....each lvl you advance, from Pop Warner to High School to College to Pro, the talent gap widens....a guy that can win in college without all world talent, cant do that in the pros....As far as Smith and QBs in general, I actually thinking losing can help you....when you get to the NFL, you will fail some no matter how good you are and some guys cant handle that....some guys have never failed before and dont know what to do....so I like seeing that a guy can get beat down and still stand tall and deliver the ball down the field....but that doesnt mean Troy Smith wont succeed, but he lacks mesurables, and will never be a prototype pocker passer....so if thats what you want(and you should), then you have to grade Smith lower, and you dont draft guys graded lower at the top of the draft....hes a late 1st at best, a mid 2nd if hes lucky, and a 3rd rounder in reality unless a team becomes enamored with his skill set or he sets the combine on fire....
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (TheBeef)</div><div class='quotemain'>Winning in college doesnt mean anything to NFL teams....each lvl you advance, from Pop Warner to High School to College to Pro, the talent gap widens....a guy that can win in college without all world talent, cant do that in the pros....As far as Smith and QBs in general, I actually thinking losing can help you....when you get to the NFL, you will fail some no matter how good you are and some guys cant handle that....some guys have never failed before and dont know what to do....so I like seeing that a guy can get beat down and still stand tall and deliver the ball down the field....but that doesnt mean Troy Smith wont succeed, but he lacks mesurables, and will never be a prototype pocker passer....so if thats what you want(and you should), then you have to grade Smith lower, and you dont draft guys graded lower at the top of the draft....hes a late 1st at best, a mid 2nd if hes lucky, and a 3rd rounder in reality unless a team becomes enamored with his skill set or he sets the combine on fire....</div> I agree word for word. Great example was Jay Cutler from last year. Denver took a chance on him and because he had the talent even though he came from a losing school.
u know a great example of a guy who won a ton of games in college but didnt even touch the pros, Miami's Ken Dorsey. Guy won tons of games in college and a ton of national championships with Miami. But he had a ridiculous amount of talent on his side. Got picked in the 7th round i think by the 49ers and idk where he is now.... there are a lot of stories like that. Winning means something but athletic ability does just as much if not more i think. I think character is more important than winning when drafting. I think your argument is very flawed
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (J-E-T-S 1083)</div><div class='quotemain'>u know a great example of a guy who won a ton of games in college but didnt even touch the pros, Miami's Ken Dorsey. Guy won tons of games in college and a ton of national championships with Miami. But he had a ridiculous amount of talent on his side. Got picked in the 7th round i think by the 49ers and idk where he is now.... there are a lot of stories like that. Winning means something but athletic ability does just as much if not more i think. I think character is more important than winning when drafting. I think your argument is very flawed</div> I was waiting for the Ken Dorsey example. I smelt it a mile away! I agree with you that winning isn't everything but its a lot. I am sick of people talking about the combine like its the bar of excellency. Ill take a guy who can throw the ball like Pennington, soft yet smart, and consistently wins over someone like Drew Bledsoe, who back in the day had a cannon for an arm, but doesn't play smart ball. When did the words clutch and the word win become a secondary thought. I couldn't give a rats ass if Jarrett ( a great WR who will be good in the pros, just an example) can jump over buildings and can run a 4.1. If he consistently is on a losing team and doesn;t get the job done when it counts then I don';t want him on my team. Great example, This years Chicago Bulls, Almost every one of those players are from top programs that win. They play team ball. Now look at a team like the Lions. They drafted a guy from Oregon to be their franchise QB. Didnt him playing at Oregon hint something?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Giantsfan1)</div><div class='quotemain'>Now look at a team like the Lions. They drafted a guy from Oregon to be their franchise QB. Didnt him playing at Oregon hint something?</div> If it walks like a Duck, etc... is that it? I'm sure Dan Fouts might take exception.
Dont try to compare basketball and football....the games are not similar in any way...its like comparing apples and bowling balls....winning matters....but dont judge NFL potential by what a players team accomplished in college....you have to be athletically capable to play in the NFL....if you want to be a good NFL player, you have to be athletically exceptional....college doesnt expose flaws the way the NFL does because the talent level is no where close to the same....the best college teams may have 10 guys that can play in the NFL....many college teams have none....there are 119 Div 1a teams in college and they each have about 85 scholarships....so that means 10,000 Div 1a scholarship football players are active at any moment....that means about 2500 are seniors every year....about 250 get drafted....so 10% of college football players will be drafted into the NFL....of those drafted, less than half make the league....so now were down to 5% of college players that will play in the NFL....5% of 10000 is 500....so 500 players spread over 119 teams that NFL quality....about 4 per team....so on a given week, if you are a Troy Smith, you see a handful of truly good players on the opposition and many weeks, you see none....and thats why so many guys are dominant in college, but arent pro prospects....the jump in talent is enormous....and with that talent jump, your measurables become more important because your not so much better than everyone else....you cant overcome the differences as easily....you get to the league and you find out that the D-lineman run like the LBs you just dominated, the LBs run like the safeties your used to....the Safties run like a college CB, and the CBs move faster than anyone you saw in your whole life....this is also why a guy like Spurrier designs a dominant college offense, but it wont work in the NFL....because in the league, everyone is good....you cant count on your 4th WR being so much better than thier 4th CB....its the same reason you dont draft Texas Tech QBs in the 1st round despite thier 5000 yard seasons....
