JoeF Posted April 16, 2007 Posted April 16, 2007 The Sporting News article on the home page says that Marv is looking for High Character and Self Motivated players. One may think the two charachteristics can't exist without one another but its not necessarily so..by all accounts Alan Branch is well-spoken; mature; a high character guy but the knock on him is that he does not do the extra study or physical work to make himself a great player....Leon Hall however, Patrick Willis, Poz appear to be gym rats in addition to high character guys...we want gym rats... This is not a surprising revelation by any stretch..but it eliminates a lot of guys who were great players in college based on their natural talent alone but show signs of not doing the work to be a great pro once they get paid. I think that Marv and crew would have stayed away from Mike Williams for example who by all accounts is a tremendous person but not willing to do the work. This is something we as fans will never see in the evaluation process...we can only speculate but the self motivated part is probably the largest differentiator in every round for the current management team at OBD. I guess the lesson here is don't get so caught up in why the Bills picked a certain player when others are available--unless there are great character flaws or arrests or other public knowledge that show great character flaws-- we as fans only get half the story. Something to think about before we overload the servers on draft day criticizing picks...
Tipster19 Posted April 16, 2007 Posted April 16, 2007 Hey JoeF, I can't stop laughing, this is one of the most original titles I've seen. Good post too, I agree.
stinky finger Posted April 16, 2007 Posted April 16, 2007 Rock on, JoeF....rock the on, my brother. Good post!
dollars 2 donuts Posted April 16, 2007 Posted April 16, 2007 The Sporting News article on the home page says that Marv is looking for High Character and Self Motivated players. One may think the two charachteristics can't exist without one another but its not necessarily so..by all accounts Alan Branch is well-spoken; mature; a high character guy but the knock on him is that he does not do the extra study or physical work to make himself a great player....Leon Hall however, Patrick Willis, Poz appear to be gym rats in addition to high character guys...we want gym rats... This not a surprising revelation by any stretch..but it eliminates a lot of guys who were great players in college based on their natural talent alone but show signs of not doing the work to be a great pro once they get paid. I think that Marv and crew would have stayed away from Mike Williams for example who by all accounts is a tremendous person but not willing to do the work. This is something we as fans will never see in the evaluation process...we can only speculate but the self motivated part is probably the largest differentiator in every round for the current management team at OBD. I guess the lesson here is don't get so caught up in why the Bills picked a certain player when others are available--unless there are great character flaws or arrests or other public knowledge that show great character flaws-- we as fans only get half the story. Something to think about before we overload the servers on draft day criticizing picks... Great post, JoeF. Additionally, although some may question certain things character-wise in the personal life of Eric Moulds, I think he exemplified what you stated. When he was drafted in the first round he was a great talent but did not make a dent for the first couple of years. I remember reading an article in the paper wherein either Eric realized or Andre Reed prodded him about the fact that it is not enough in the NFL to be a great athlete, but it is the extra time you put in, above and beyond, that makes you successful in this League and puts you in that next category. As you state JoeF, Mike Williams is a great example of the contrary; jeez, he had all the tools in the world to become great, he just seemingly did not want to work at it. Additionally, does anyone here old enough remember a pudgy, first overall draft pick by the name of Bruce Smith? A guy who was having an OK career in his first two years, who then decided that he was much, much more than what he was showing early in his career, and was willing to put the time and effort into being great as opposed to just being good. He did not just rely on the fact that he was the first overall pick, more so he relied on his own success being the engine that kept pushing him forward. Again, nicely done, JoeF.
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