....lybob Posted May 10, 2012 Posted May 10, 2012 The Bills have added a lot of top tier athletes to the team- some are proven football players and others are not but putting football aside who are the Bills best athletes- this is my top 5 ranking-note I'm using pre-injury out of college Merriman 1. Mario Williams DE 6,6 295lbs forty time as low as 4.66 40,1/2 VJ bench 35 2. Fendi Onobun TE 6,6 255lbs forty time 4.48 11,1 BJ 20yd shuttle of 4.15 3. Shawn Merriman DE 6,4 270lbs forty time 4.64 40 VJ 4. Mark Anderson DE 6,4 255lbs forty time 4.61 42 VJ 5. Dorrin Dickerson FB 6,2 226lbs forty time 4.40 43,1/2 VJ Honorable mention Jarron Gilbert, Marcell Dareus, Michael Jasper, Cordy Glenn, and Ryan Fitzpatrick (49 Wonderlic mental super athlete) anyone I missed? do you have a better ranking?
NewEra Posted May 10, 2012 Posted May 10, 2012 I think Cj, Fred, leodis and Gilmore should be involved in the conversation.
Juice_32 Posted May 10, 2012 Posted May 10, 2012 I think Cj, Fred, leodis and Gilmore should be involved in the conversation. Have to agree.. Is this the best big athletes? I've seen TJ Graham run the 100 in person and after seeing that I have to put him on the list. The guy is unreal fast.
San Jose Bills Fan Posted May 10, 2012 Posted May 10, 2012 (edited) I think Cj, Fred, leodis and Gilmore should be involved in the conversation. Also with TJ Graham's background as a top NCAA sprinter, he probably belongs there too… as does Ron Brooks who appears to be an exceptional athlete. It seems like the OP favored big guys on his list. Edited May 10, 2012 by San Jose Bills Fan
Happy Days Lois & Clark Posted May 11, 2012 Posted May 11, 2012 Fendi Onobun would be near the top of my list. Any of the cb's should be considered. CJ Spiller Marcus Easley
NoSaint Posted May 11, 2012 Posted May 11, 2012 Also with TJ Graham's background as a top NCAA sprinter, he probably belongs there too… as does Ron Brooks who appears to be an exceptional athlete. It seems like the OP favored big guys on his list. The metric seemed to be weight vs 40 That said as we collect these high pick lineman (Mario, dareus, merriman) we are getting very rare body types. Some of the corners, while very athletic, may be more common. A 6'6 250+ guy that doesn't trip over himself is a special thing in and of itself, but to that fast and strong and coordinated is even more rare. A 5-11 guy that's 180 and runs a great 40 is much easier to come by.
mrags Posted May 11, 2012 Posted May 11, 2012 Have to agree.. Is this the best big athletes? I've seen TJ Graham run the 100 in person and after seeing that I have to put him on the list. The guy is unreal fast. How fast is his 100? Just curious as I used to be a sprinter and hurdler in school. Would give me a real idea of how fast this kid is.
Juice_32 Posted May 11, 2012 Posted May 11, 2012 How fast is his 100? Just curious as I used to be a sprinter and hurdler in school. Would give me a real idea of how fast this kid is. I also ran track (the 100) in college a few years back and faced all the ACC schools every week. I still try to catch as many big meets in person as I can. His PR is 10.37 I saw him run in the 4x100 at the Raleigh Relays. He makes really fast people look like they are walking. With his pedigree he could become one of the fastest people on the planet in 3 or 4 years if he stuck with track. His 40 time is a bit confusing. I would have guessed it would be faster. Either way, he's one of those guys that you think you have an angle on...and then you don't.
San Jose Bills Fan Posted May 11, 2012 Posted May 11, 2012 The metric seemed to be weight vs 40 That said as we collect these high pick lineman (Mario, dareus, merriman) we are getting very rare body types. Some of the corners, while very athletic, may be more common. A 6'6 250+ guy that doesn't trip over himself is a special thing in and of itself, but to that fast and strong and coordinated is even more rare. A 5-11 guy that's 180 and runs a great 40 is much easier to come by. Undoubtedly. A guy like Vernon Davis is much more rare than a guy like Leodis McKelvin. That said, you start with the long list and then work down… everyone mentioned in this thread so far is worthy of mention.
mrags Posted May 11, 2012 Posted May 11, 2012 I also ran track (the 100) in college a few years back and faced all the ACC schools every week. I still try to catch as many big meets in person as I can. His PR is 10.37 I saw him run in the 4x100 at the Raleigh Relays. He makes really fast people look like they are walking. With his pedigree he could become one of the fastest people on the planet in 3 or 4 years if he stuck with track. His 40 time is a bit confusing. I would have guessed it would be faster. Either way, he's one of those guys that you think you have an angle on...and then you don't. It's so much harder to run in cleats than spikes so I'd assume his times were slower in the 40 than expected compared to his on the track times. Either way, he looks like he could be a Darrell Green type of player for years. Where did you run? What were your times? I had friends that ran for Kent that I ran against in High School. Mostly hurdles. One of them is still pushing for the Olympics, or was still pushing for them. Last I heard he was on Nikes track team. I ran a sub 15.0 110HH back in high school.
Juice_32 Posted May 11, 2012 Posted May 11, 2012 (edited) It's so much harder to run in cleats than spikes so I'd assume his times were slower in the 40 than expected compared to his on the track times. Either way, he looks like he could be a Darrell Green type of player for years. Where did you run? What were your times? I had friends that ran for Kent that I ran against in High School. Mostly hurdles. One of them is still pushing for the Olympics, or was still pushing for them. Last I heard he was on Nikes track team. I ran a sub 15.0 110HH back in high school. I ran at Campbell University in NC. Tiny school, but D1 for track. TJ's father was actually my coach's coach. My 100 PR is 10.79, ok for a white kid. The cool thing is Rashean Mathis was in the race and I beat him. My only athletic claim to fame. Anyway... Hopefully he can prove to be more than a "track guy". From what I've seen he has pretty good hands, but definitely needs to work on the route running. We shall see. Edited May 11, 2012 by Juice_32
mrags Posted May 11, 2012 Posted May 11, 2012 I ran at Campbell University in NC. Tiny school, but D1 for track. TJ's father was actually my coach's coach. My 100 PR is 10.79, ok for a white kid. The cool thing is Rashean Mathis was in the race and I beat him. My only athletic claim to fame. Anyway... Hopefully he can prove to be more than a "track guy". From what I've seen he has pretty good hands, but definitely needs to work on the route running. We shall see. Lol. White kid. Same here bro. My sub 15.0 put mr in the sectional finals against many superior athletes from inner city schools big it wasn't for tripping over the last hurdle I would have finished in 2nd behind the previous state champ, good enough to head to states, and good enough for my school record. Oh well, maybe in another life. I was probably good enough to run in college but never did the work to be recruited, nor did my coach. Yours is a nice story though. Grats. Another buddy I ran with played football for Baldwin Wallace in OH and played against London Fletcher. I've never had any of those claims to fame. Although I did stay at a Holiday in last night.
San Jose Bills Fan Posted May 11, 2012 Posted May 11, 2012 (edited) Getting back to the subject, a lot of football players time faster than they play. I guess when you put a helmet, shoulder pads, cleats, etc. on a guy and put a football in his hand, it changes things a bit. My impression on TJ Graham is that he is football fast… but not as fast as you would think one of the nation's top collegiate sprinters would be. Anyone else get that impression from watching his highlights? Edited May 11, 2012 by San Jose Bills Fan
K-9 Posted May 11, 2012 Posted May 11, 2012 I agree 100% SJBF. Graham looks like he has 'football' speed in all the clips I've seen. While his track background certainly helps, I've known dozens of track stars that couldn't translate that speed to football. Watch Graham's clips and look at how quickly he covers 10 yards, 20 yards. Look how quickly he seems to achieve top speed. He's a football player that ran track. Not vice-versa. GO BILLS!!!
San Jose Bills Fan Posted May 11, 2012 Posted May 11, 2012 I agree 100% SJBF. Graham looks like he has 'football' speed in all the clips I've seen. While his track background certainly helps, I've known dozens of track stars that couldn't translate that speed to football. Watch Graham's clips and look at how quickly he covers 10 yards, 20 yards. Look how quickly he seems to achieve top speed. He's a football player that ran track. Not vice-versa. GO BILLS!!! I do think he looks fast but I thought based on everything I'd read about the guy that he would look even faster. We'll see how he does against NFLers soon enough.
uncle flap Posted May 11, 2012 Posted May 11, 2012 Getting back to the subject, a lot of football players time faster than they play. I guess when you put a helmet, shoulder pads, cleats, etc. on a guy and put a football in his hand, it changes things a bit. My impression on TJ Graham is that he is football fast… but not as fast as you would think one of the nation's top collegiate sprinters would be. Anyone else get that impression from watching his highlights? I think he is that fast... look how he creates separation from the defenders once he breaks the first tackle in this video: It should be cued up to 1:57 in, but if not, that's the play I'm talking about
San Jose Bills Fan Posted May 11, 2012 Posted May 11, 2012 I think he is that fast... look how he creates separation from the defenders once he breaks the first tackle in this video: It should be cued up to 1:57 in, but if not, that's the play I'm talking about Thanks Uncle. I've watched that package before and it doesn't really change my opinion. But I guess I'm in the minority here so it's likely that I'm just wrong.
uncle flap Posted May 11, 2012 Posted May 11, 2012 Thanks Uncle. I've watched that package before and it doesn't really change my opinion. But I guess I'm in the minority here so it's likely that I'm just wrong. hey, to each his own. As the infamous Dickie J once said, "perception is in the eye of the perceiver." And I know how you feel - I think McKelvin is talented and his troubles stem more from Catavalos and Edwards not being to maximize his skills than his own desire to develop into a solid nfl pro. He's got all the tools and he's hardly ever outright beat. When he gets lost in coverage, it's usually because there's a miscommunication in the secondary (prob his fault, but why do coaches put him in deep buzz zone? keep it simple!). I think he'll shine in Wannstedts's D- Jam and then play hook zone. He just needs to get his hands up. Same criticism coming out of college. These guys can't coach him up on that? /rant
NewEra Posted May 11, 2012 Posted May 11, 2012 1336707798[/url]' post='2463916']Thanks Uncle. I've watched that package before and it doesn't really change my opinion. But I guess I'm in the minority here so it's likely that I'm just wrong. I agree 100%. I really want to believe in the graham pick, but when I watch him on tape, I'm not impressed, he doesnt look "that" fast. I PRAY that I'm wrong, I really want this kid to contribute in a bad way, but I'm not a fan of what I've seen so far.
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