BillsfaninFl Posted May 6, 2009 Posted May 6, 2009 The problem lies in how their college skillset translates to the NFL... for instance, if you are just more athletic than the players you are facing in college, many times that allows you to not work on your positional development since you have no need to. If you can beat the guy with the same move every time, why bother working on new moves. When they get to the NFL however, they soon realize they are facing athletes just as good if not better virtually every week. Their one move will no longer work since it will be studied and picked apart by opposing teams and coaches. They now need to either develop other moves and learn how to actually play the position or they risk becoming "busts". So basically what drafted players have to do is learn a whole new set of skills for the NFL game. Teams draft players based a lot on their athleticism with the hopes it will make it easier for them to translate their college game and pick up the pro game. After all, players that are able to athletically do what others cannot have a much greater upside than less athletic payers. On the flip side, many times the less athletic players have to know how to play their positions much better in college because their success depends on them taking the right angles, making the right moves, and playing with better technique. These type of players will likely become average to solid pros. However, noone wants an average to solid pro with their first round pick----they want a guy that has the potential to turn into a superstar pro bowler, which lesser athletes, or at least perceived lesser athletes, likely do not have. So in the end, a team is willing to sacrifice guys that have a high percentage of being average to slightly above average pros, with a low chance of becoming a bust for players that are high risk but high reward also. It would be like asking someone would you trade in a 70% chance of winning a thousand dollars for a 20% chance of winning ten thousand dollars. The reward of taking a "super athlete" is much higher than taking a lesser athlete but better football player. The thinking is that coaches can always help a player become a better football player, but the coaches cannot teach a player how to become a better athlete. That is something you either have or you don't... Great analysis. Nice post.
Preston Ridlehuber Posted May 6, 2009 Posted May 6, 2009 DEs and WR are known to be slow, slow developers. This is a stupid list. Take Moulds for example, took him forever to live up to his 1st round potential. He ended up being a stud. Likewise with a LOT of DE's. Mario Williams is a perfect example. Few guys have stud first years like Kearse or Bruce... If you are talking about Smith, he was hardly a stud his first year, which I guess makes your point.
BillsFan-4-Ever Posted May 6, 2009 Posted May 6, 2009 Hardy=bust. Take it to the bank. Hardy had two things against him. 1 was his injury, 2 was he had Losman as QB.
Buffalonian-at-Heart Posted May 6, 2009 Posted May 6, 2009 Hardy=bust. Take it to the bank. Yeah we should have taken Sweed, Thomas, or Kelly. They were forces last year.
Buffalonian-at-Heart Posted May 6, 2009 Posted May 6, 2009 Reading this list of mostly 1st and 2nd roudners makes me wonder why we get so hyped up for the draft. I was hoping we would get some of those guys and they turned out to contribute very little. Some of them will be decent in time, but I think its rare for rookies to come in and make a huge impact on your team (other than at RB, and perhaps CB). I know there are many obvious exceptions, but it always seems like the draft is a 50/50 proposition and free agency or a trade is the better route many times. So using your math of a 50/50 chance a rookie works out and with the Bills drafting 8 players that would give us 4 that contribute. I will take those odds over a high priced free agent working out.
1billsfan Posted May 6, 2009 Posted May 6, 2009 Hey, let's take a look at the wonderful accomplishments of the Patriots' 2nd round 2008 pick, shall we.... http://www.nfl.com/players/shawncrable/gamelogs?id=CRA050645
BuffaloPride Posted May 6, 2009 Posted May 6, 2009 If you are talking about Smith, he was hardly a stud his first year, which I guess makes your point. Smith had 6.5 sacks and recovered 4 fumbles his first year. Those are pretty good numbers for a rookie.
H2o Posted May 6, 2009 Posted May 6, 2009 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writ...kies/index.html 3. James Hardy, WR, Buffalo The Bills thought they satisfied their long-standing need for a big receiver last year when they drafted Hardy in the second round (41st overall) out of Indiana. But he caught just nine passes for 87 yards and two touchdowns in 14 games, ending the season on injured reserve after tearing his ACL in Week 15. His rehab has been ahead of schedule, and Hardy might be ready to play in time for Buffalo's final preseason game. In the meantime, the Bills went out and got themselves another big receiver this offseason. A guy by the name of Terrell Owens, who promptly took Hardy's No. 81, with Hardy switching to No. 84. Shouldn't Gholston be near the top of this list, instead of at #14? This list is complete crap. Being he's a "sports reporter" he should actually know who is EXPECTED to make an immediate impact for their team and who is being brought along slowly. Our staff is OBVIOUSLY bringing Hardy along slowly. Devin Thomas has more to prove than Hardy this year, IMO, and this goof has him listed at #20? There are atleast 9 more players, that I count, that should be ahead of Hardy on this list. Gholston SURELY should be #1 being he was the least productive "Top Ten" selection. Why is Henne even on this list? The Fins likely will not be his team until next year and then the pressure is on.
Steely Dan Posted May 6, 2009 Posted May 6, 2009 Hardy=bust. Take it to the bank. Your bank has very little interest. Yep... And as far as Hardy goes...I was watching "Hard Knocks" the other night and enjoying that little one-on-one battle T.O. and Pacman were having in Camp...I noticed something about TO that made me immediately question whether or not Hardy can be a successful big Wide-Out in the NFL...TO is willing to mix it up physically to get that little positional advantage, and He's won a decent amount of those battles over the years...Hardy is going to have to get some toughness into his Game in a hurry to make it in this league...At times, to me at least, Hardy looks a bit clumsy...He's REAL tall, and unless he learns the hand game well enough these compact, powerful NFL CB's are going to get under his pads inside 5 Yards and it's going to be over... Hopefully Hardy can learn a thing or two from TO over the next Season...His off-the-field reputation aside, I'm not sure there can be a better example of what Hardy must become on-the-field than TO...I thought Hardy was by far the best WR in the 08 Class, and I was thrilled when The Bills picked him...I was not at all impressed by what I saw in 08, then he gets the knee...I would be shocked if 09 was much more than a Red Shirt year for James...But if he digs down and uses this time to get stronger and better, he may be the answer to the "What's up with the one year deal" question... The most important thing, IMO, is for Hardy to learn about off season conditioning from TO. TO has always been in fantastic shape. DEs and WR are known to be slow, slow developers. This is a stupid list. Take Moulds for example, took him forever to live up to his 1st round potential. He ended up being a stud. Likewise with a LOT of DE's. Mario Williams is a perfect example. Few guys have stud first years like Kearse or Bruce... Moulds first three years: 1996: 16 games with 5 starts. 20 receptions for 279 yards, 14.0 average. 2 TD's 1997: 16 games with 8 starts. 29 receptions for 294 yards, 10.1 average. 0 TD's 1998: 16 games with 15 starts. 67 receptions for 1,358 yards, 20.4 average. 9 TD's
K-9 Posted May 6, 2009 Posted May 6, 2009 ...The most important thing, IMO, is for Hardy to learn about off season conditioning from TO. TO has always been in fantastic shape... Yep. And paying the price might be the single most difficult thing for a young player to accept. Conditioning is all about hard work in the off hours when nobody's watching. It's about taking care of yourself nutrionally. It's about sacrifice and discipline. And that ALL comes down to heart. People can say what they want about TO but you can't question his heart. I'm thinking Hardy just may have the stuff. He's said to be ahead of schedule in his re-hab. And, as many can attest to around here, re-habbing is about heart as well. Tearing scar tissue and rebuilding strength and range of motion is a painful experience to work through. Now, if he can learn a few things about route running from Evans and Reed and run blocking from Reed and TO in addition to the conditioning, we just might have a player. GO BILLS!!!
Leonidas Posted May 6, 2009 Posted May 6, 2009 Yep... And as far as Hardy goes...I was watching "Hard Knocks" the other night and enjoying that little one-on-one battle T.O. and Pacman were having in Camp...I noticed something about TO that made me immediately question whether or not Hardy can be a successful big Wide-Out in the NFL...TO is willing to mix it up physically to get that little positional advantage, and He's won a decent amount of those battles over the years...Hardy is going to have to get some toughness into his Game in a hurry to make it in this league...At times, to me at least, Hardy looks a bit clumsy...He's REAL tall, and unless he learns the hand game well enough these compact, powerful NFL CB's are going to get under his pads inside 5 Yards and it's going to be over... Hopefully Hardy can learn a thing or two from TO over the next Season...His off-the-field reputation aside, I'm not sure there can be a better example of what Hardy must become on-the-field than TO...I thought Hardy was by far the best WR in the 08 Class, and I was thrilled when The Bills picked him...I was not at all impressed by what I saw in 08, then he gets the knee...I would be shocked if 09 was much more than a Red Shirt year for James...But if he digs down and uses this time to get stronger and better, he may be the answer to the "What's up with the one year deal" question... Okay I think it's time someone sat you down and talked to you about capitalization and ellipses...
Ramius Posted May 6, 2009 Posted May 6, 2009 This list is complete crap. Being he's a "sports reporter" he should actually know who is EXPECTED to make an immediate impact for their team and who is being brought along slowly. Our staff is OBVIOUSLY bringing Hardy along slowly. Devin Thomas has more to prove than Hardy this year, IMO, and this goof has him listed at #20? There are atleast 9 more players, that I count, that should be ahead of Hardy on this list. Gholston SURELY should be #1 being he was the least productive "Top Ten" selection. Why is Henne even on this list? The Fins likely will not be his team until next year and then the pressure is on. Umm, as was noted prior, the list was alphabetically by team, not a ranking.
Preston Ridlehuber Posted May 6, 2009 Posted May 6, 2009 Smith had 6.5 sacks and recovered 4 fumbles his first year. Those are pretty good numbers for a rookie. Kelsay had 5.5 sacks his rookie year and people are calling him a bust. If you were around for Smith's first year, you will remember he was benched his first year and while he did have 6.5 sacks, he was hardly dominant and quickly realized he needed to get himself into shape and re-dedicate himself to be the greatest.
SuperKillerRobots Posted May 6, 2009 Posted May 6, 2009 Hey, let's take a look at the wonderful accomplishments of the Patriots' 2nd round 2008 pick, shall we.... http://www.nfl.com/players/shawncrable/gamelogs?id=CRA050645 Way to put this whole thing into perspective!
MarkyMannn Posted May 6, 2009 Posted May 6, 2009 Hey, let's take a look at the wonderful accomplishments of the Patriots' 2nd round 2008 pick, shall we.... http://www.nfl.com/players/shawncrable/gamelogs?id=CRA050645 OK, when we go to as many Super Bowls as the Pats this past decade, I'll laugh at them. But we haven't been to the playoffs this decade, so I see nothing wrong with fans raising the expectations of EVERY Bills player including Hardy. Time to step it up! No Bill should get a free pass any more. That's why we have 3 straight years of 7-9
1billsfan Posted May 6, 2009 Posted May 6, 2009 OK, when we go to as many Super Bowls as the Pats this past decade, I'll laugh at them. But we haven't been to the playoffs this decade, so I see nothing wrong with fans raising the expectations of EVERY Bills player including Hardy. Time to step it up! No Bill should get a free pass any more. That's why we have 3 straight years of 7-9 I wasn't laughing at the Patriots.
Recommended Posts