2012 Ask Jeff Risdon a Question

[Manhattan Project]

Interesting to hear. It's funny because the Claiborne hype seemed to be rising a bit this week where as Kalil was seen as a lock at three for some time. I was thinking that it shouldn't be that important for a CB mainly because their either in man, zone or scheme. Figure with the Vikings he would be playing man against the great WR's of that division. Tampa he would be playing in a zone, I can't see him falling past five in any scenario.

However to pass on a possible #1 pick due to a wonderlic to me is unfathomable, IIRC it wasn't until just a few weeks before the draft that Smith finally pulled ahead of Rodgers for the top spot.

Either way, thanks for the insight.

[Judith27]

I think Floyd will go earlier but Fuller will be the better NFL receiver.

[Magilla_Gorilla]

Interesting to hear. It's funny because the Claiborne hype seemed to be rising a bit this week where as Kalil was seen as a lock at three for some time. I was thinking that it shouldn't be that important for a CB mainly because their either in man, zone or scheme. Figure with the Vikings he would be playing man against the great WR's of that division. Tampa he would be playing in a zone, I can't see him falling past five in any scenario.

However to pass on a possible #1 pick due to a wonderlic to me is unfathomable, IIRC it wasn't until just a few weeks before the draft that Smith finally pulled ahead of Rodgers for the top spot.

Either way, thanks for the insight.

Found this nugget from WalterFootball.com's 2005 NFL Mock Draft

Saturday Update: Sources have reported that the 49ers will indeed draft Alex Smith, but they will try to trade him to the team that drafts Aaron Rodgers for the California quarterback and a few draft picks. Tampa Bay wants Smith, so they may draft Rodgers and orchestrate a trade with San Francisco.

Well, that would have changed some things...


I thought the concern with Rodgers was all about whether he was another Tedford bust.

[NO-KG-AI]

There were a few issues with Rodgers, the Tedford thing was one worry, but he wasn't prototypical size, there were injury concerns, and he had that weird stance/throwing motion that needed time to be re-worked.

[ohara]

Trying to find some info on how Floyd did at the ND Pro Day. Curious if he is creeping into the Top 10 on a few more NFL Team Boards. Any info on that for us?

[Manhattan Project]

Never heard of that rumor, who knows the validity to it though. It also makes me wonder why they couldn't facilitate a trade with any other team. Looking back I also wonder if the Redskins actually rolling the dice hoping that Rodgers would fall one more pick or they did really like Campbell and would have taken him over Rodgers regardless.

I was curious as to why I had a hard time remembering that draft, then it hit me. Mike Nugent was our first pick.

[Bucksfans1and2]

Are David Wilson's fumbling problems noteworthy?

[Jaruff]

http://football.realgm.com/src_wiretap_ ... ichardson/\

Any possibility the Bucs would draft Richardson and trade Blount to prevent any problems?

[Icness]

Trying to find some info on how Floyd did at the ND Pro Day. Curious if he is creeping into the Top 10 on a few more NFL Team Boards. Any info on that for us?

He's a top 16 pick. There will be teams where he is the #1 WR, at least two of which pick in the top 10 and might pull the trigger. Chicago really likes him and it will be interesting to see if they invest even more into the WR position.

I prefer Floyd to Blackmon but I'm not sold on either as much as Green or even Jones last year and I think y'all know I wasn't sky high on Julio Jones. Kendall Wright is the best deep/vertical threat and that makes him a different type of WR than these two.

I like Floyd to JAX myself but I don't know what they are thinking. Nobody there knows what they are thinking with the new owner alternately flexing his muscle and telling them he has no say.

[Magilla_Gorilla]

Trying to find some info on how Floyd did at the ND Pro Day. Curious if he is creeping into the Top 10 on a few more NFL Team Boards. Any info on that for us?

He's a top 16 pick. There will be teams where he is the #1 WR, at least two of which pick in the top 10 and might pull the trigger. Chicago really likes him and it will be interesting to see if they invest even more into the WR position.

I prefer Floyd to Blackmon but I'm not sold on either as much as Green or even Jones last year and I think y'all know I wasn't sky high on Julio Jones. Kendall Wright is the best deep/vertical threat and that makes him a different type of WR than these two.

I like Floyd to JAX myself but I don't know what they are thinking. Nobody there knows what they are thinking with the new owner alternately flexing his muscle and telling them he has no say.

I know you have Floyd rated as the better receiver - but how big of a drop off is it from Floyd to Wright, as opposed to the dropoff from Wright to one of the second/third round WR's ( Sanu/McNutt/Quick/Randle)?

If the Bears don't trade up for Floyd, but decide to take Wright at 19 - how much of a downgrade would it make as opposed to going DE in the first round and the picking up a WR in the second?

[Icness]

Are David Wilson's fumbling problems noteworthy?

Not as much as his inability to stay upright. He's a smaller back that runs very upright and that leaves him vulnerable to big hits. I know at least three of his fumbles came from hits that were just annihilating, where he pops through the hole and the defender unloaded and Wilson was too upright to protect himself and/or the ball. He takes an inordinate amount of big hits for a shifty/speedy back.

[Icness]

http://football.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/26674/20120404/blount_wont_be_happy_if_buccaneers_draft_richardson/\

Any possibility the Bucs would draft Richardson and trade Blount to prevent any problems?

Trade? How about cut. If Schiano wants to send a message, that would do it.

[Icness]

Trying to find some info on how Floyd did at the ND Pro Day. Curious if he is creeping into the Top 10 on a few more NFL Team Boards. Any info on that for us?

He's a top 16 pick. There will be teams where he is the #1 WR, at least two of which pick in the top 10 and might pull the trigger. Chicago really likes him and it will be interesting to see if they invest even more into the WR position.

I prefer Floyd to Blackmon but I'm not sold on either as much as Green or even Jones last year and I think y'all know I wasn't sky high on Julio Jones. Kendall Wright is the best deep/vertical threat and that makes him a different type of WR than these two.

I like Floyd to JAX myself but I don't know what they are thinking. Nobody there knows what they are thinking with the new owner alternately flexing his muscle and telling them he has no say.

I know you have Floyd rated as the better receiver - but how big of a drop off is it from Floyd to Wright, as opposed to the dropoff from Wright to one of the second/third round WR's ( Sanu/McNutt/Quick/Randle)?

If the Bears don't trade up for Floyd, but decide to take Wright at 19 - how much of a downgrade would it make as opposed to going DE in the first round and the picking up a WR in the second?

I think Wright fits better with Chicago than Floyd does because Floyd is redundant with Marshall. Wright is a guy that can push the safety to the other side and that opens things up for Marshall but also for Forte. Plus Cutler throws an outstanding deep ball.

19 is a grey area for DE. It's too late for Coples, Ingram, and Cox and probably too early for the next tier. I know they'll look hard at guys like Perry, Mercilus and even Vinny Curry but that seems high for all of them. But if they want they are better off taking the chance on the DE (or DT) there and waiting for a receiver in the 2nd. WR class is incredibly deep. In the 2nd they could get a guy like Brian Quick or Rueben Randle or Marvin Jones or Alshon Jeffery or several others. The 2nd-4th rounds are going to have between 15 and 20 WRs drafted of all shapes, speeds, and styles.

[Icness]

More on David Wilson, IMO one of the more interesting prospects in the draft:
On 3rd and short (less than 3) situations, he got the first down on just 14 of his 33 attempts and actually lost yardage on 8.

Inside the 5 yard line in the red zone he had 17 carries for 16 yards and 4 TDs. And he had that notable 22-yard loss against Michigan from the 4.

He's a big-time hit-or-miss back. In the last two years he had 72 runs of 10+ yards on just over 400 carries. But he also lost yardage or got no gain on 41. Very Barry Sanders or Chris Johnson. And 9 fumbles. He tries to outrun everyone outside on almost every carry and frequently tries to cut back and cross the field. For every time it works it fails four. Kelcie McCray from Arkansas State ran him down twice on plays like that because he took good angles and anticipated Wilson's move. McCray is a middle-round safety; guys like Earl Thomas, Eric Berry, Delmas and Polamalu are going to kill him when he tries that.

Despite not playing a great deal in passing situations (shared backfield/injuries) he was on the hook for 4 sacks the last two years. I'm going to give him some benefit there playing with Logan Thomas as the QB but it doesn't speak well regardless. He does catch the ball very easily with his hands.

If you can get him in the open field he's gone, but if he can't get a clear path to that open field he's in trouble. I see a lot of Felix Jones, except Wilson tries even more to get outside on every run than Jones does. Ignore his 4.49 Combine 40 time though, he can fly.

[Bucksfans1and2]

With the new audio released of Greg Williams, is it safe to assume that Peyton is sitting in the year and Goodell just might forget to reinstate Williams???

[Icness]

With the new audio released of Greg Williams, is it safe to assume that Peyton is sitting in the year and Goodell just might forget to reinstate Williams???

You know what's funny? My whole family got to listen to it on the radio this morning. I thought it was damning given the context but I heard speeches just like that when I played in HS in the late 80s. OUr DC was always trying to fire us up to "go out and make some snot bubbles". When we played against Raymont Harris our entire gameplan was to try and get him off the field. I guess it just didn't strike me as overly unusual or dramatic. Obviously the money aspect escalates the issues and that is completely reprehensible but the rest of it sounded fairly commonplace, yet immature for being directed at NFL players.

My wife--a former pro athlete--was absolutely appalled by it. She's not a prude about violence in sports either. Her attitude was "I'll never let anyone I know spend a dime on any team that employs any of these neanderthals again". She knows that I know some staffers (AD of College Scouting and a couple of regional scouts) and she's like "Are those guys flaming a**holes too". This is the issue that is going to kill the Saints IMO; the casual fan is absolutely horrified by this and it directly impacts the finances.

My 6-year old son is starting football this summer. He was asking all kinds of questions about why players would want to hurt other players like that and why nobody stopped them. He was really nervous about being coached like that and having ot go out and hurt someone that might be his friend. I'm not even sure he wants to play football anymore.

My 3-year old daughter had no idea what was going on but she enjoyed yelling "Beep" when the profanity got bleeped out. She still wants to be a cheerleader.

[Bucksfans1and2]

With the new audio released of Greg Williams, is it safe to assume that Peyton is sitting in the year and Goodell just might forget to reinstate Williams???

You know what's funny? My whole family got to listen to it on the radio this morning. I thought it was damning given the context but I heard speeches just like that when I played in HS in the late 80s. OUr DC was always trying to fire us up to "go out and make some snot bubbles". When we played against Raymont Harris our entire gameplan was to try and get him off the field. I guess it just didn't strike me as overly unusual or dramatic. Obviously the money aspect escalates the issues and that is completely reprehensible but the rest of it sounded fairly commonplace, yet immature for being directed at NFL players.

My wife--a former pro athlete--was absolutely appalled by it. She's not a prude about violence in sports either. Her attitude was "I'll never let anyone I know spend a dime on any team that employs any of these neanderthals again". She knows that I know some staffers (AD of College Scouting and a couple of regional scouts) and she's like "Are those guys flaming a**holes too". This is the issue that is going to kill the Saints IMO; the casual fan is absolutely horrified by this and it directly impacts the finances.

My 6-year old son is starting football this summer. He was asking all kinds of questions about why players would want to hurt other players like that and why nobody stopped them. He was really nervous about being coached like that and having ot go out and hurt someone that might be his friend. I'm not even sure he wants to play football anymore.

My 3-year old daughter had no idea what was going on but she enjoyed yelling "Beep" when the profanity got bleeped out. She still wants to be a cheerleader.

I just finished my senior year of highschool and our DL coach always was encouraging big hits, but we never had the comments of "aim for the head" and "lets try and break Vernon Davis' ankles." Maybe that's just our staff, but the "let's try and target Crabtree's concussion" is something I've never run into and I played under 8 coaching staffs in 5th-12th grade.

Maybe our administration wouldn't hire those types, or maybe it's different in Wisconsin, but I've never played under a guy who was encouraging players to target certain injuries.

[Icness]

I do think there is a change of coaching culture going on at the lower levels. My HS DC played linebacker in college in the late 50s and was very much the old school "make 'em bleed" kind of guy. He wanted everyone to be Chuck Bednarik or Sam Huff. I haven't seen much of that kind of guy recently, not in Virginia or Michigan when I reffed back in the 00s. And I think that's a good thing.

[Bucksfans1and2]

I do think there is a change of coaching culture going on at the lower levels. My HS DC played linebacker in college in the late 50s and was very much the old school "make 'em bleed" kind of guy. He wanted everyone to be Chuck Bednarik or Sam Huff. I haven't seen much of that kind of guy recently, not in Virginia or Michigan when I reffed back in the 00s. And I think that's a good thing.

So I guess the question is whether or not Williams is a leftover from a bygone era that most experts are glad is gone? or he's just a little bit worse than everybody else and was just unlucky to get caught?

Do Dick Lebeau and Dom Capers do this stuff?

[Manhattan Project]

My old HS coach used to give a speech to rape and pillage the opposing team. It always came off a extremely funny. The thing with the audio leak is not like the Saints listened and carried out what he said word for word, that gotta help in some small insignificant way.