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This season we've seen 2 guys with "freakish" athletic ability who were 1st round draft picks get benched - RGIII and Cordarelle Patterson. Both guys seem to have had the common issue of relying too much on their athletic ability and have had issues in terms of consistency, preparation, effort and schematic fit. Meanwhile guys like Antonio Brown (6th round pick, 2010) are tearing up the league.
While it's a gross oversimplification, I think there's a more general point here. All players in the NFL have freakish athletic ability compared to the general population, and there are few guys who are so much more talented that they can get away with not putting in the work. Jamie Collins is a good example of a guy with freakish athletic ability who IS putting in the work and fitting into the bigger picture; Dominique Easley also seems to be headed in that direction. Freakish athletic ability is great, but only a tiny part of the overall picture in terms of succeeding in the NFL.
This is probably even more true for the Pats, where consistency and "doing your job" are valued over splash plays, teamwork over individual metrics, and where the system is exceptionally complex. Brandon LaFell recently spoke of how hard it was to pick up the Pats' system:
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/...4/12/patriots_notebook_lafell_s_work_pays_off
BB frequently makes allusions to guys "putting in the work" during the season, and showing what they can do day after day in practice. The guys who have succeeded here have generally done that, whether high picks like Revis, Gronk, McCourty, Mayo and Wilfork or late round/UDFA guys like Edelman, Ninkovich, Arrington, Woodhead and Wright.
Again, this is not to devalue athletic ability, which is great. But I think that when we look at draft prospects and potential FAs, its important to look for guys with the mental makeup and work ethic to succeed here, not just tantalizing physical skill sets. No one was particularly surprised that Albert Haynesworth and Chad Ochocinco/Johnson didn't succeed here, despite having plenty of physical tools. Neither did Chad Jackson or Brandon Meriweather. I think it's fairly predictable that Colt Lyerla and Mike Wallace wouldn't have been good fits, despite their athletic ability and raw skill sets. Players who seem to rely on athleticism at the college level should raise red flags, as well as guys who seem focused on individual accomplishments and immature, selfish or one-dimensional players. When it comes to paying 2nd contract money, even more caution should probably be exercised, as spending signficant cap space on a guy who turns out to be a bad fit can be a major setback (see: Adalius Thomas).
It's much harder to evaluate players properly in terms of those kind of attributes. We don't have access to interviews or background checks. It's much more difficult to find guys like Edelman or Antonio Brown with exceptional heart and determination than to write off players with red flags. I'm not sure how to screen for this with our limited resources, but its something I thought worth discussing.
While it's a gross oversimplification, I think there's a more general point here. All players in the NFL have freakish athletic ability compared to the general population, and there are few guys who are so much more talented that they can get away with not putting in the work. Jamie Collins is a good example of a guy with freakish athletic ability who IS putting in the work and fitting into the bigger picture; Dominique Easley also seems to be headed in that direction. Freakish athletic ability is great, but only a tiny part of the overall picture in terms of succeeding in the NFL.
This is probably even more true for the Pats, where consistency and "doing your job" are valued over splash plays, teamwork over individual metrics, and where the system is exceptionally complex. Brandon LaFell recently spoke of how hard it was to pick up the Pats' system:
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/...4/12/patriots_notebook_lafell_s_work_pays_off
BB frequently makes allusions to guys "putting in the work" during the season, and showing what they can do day after day in practice. The guys who have succeeded here have generally done that, whether high picks like Revis, Gronk, McCourty, Mayo and Wilfork or late round/UDFA guys like Edelman, Ninkovich, Arrington, Woodhead and Wright.
Again, this is not to devalue athletic ability, which is great. But I think that when we look at draft prospects and potential FAs, its important to look for guys with the mental makeup and work ethic to succeed here, not just tantalizing physical skill sets. No one was particularly surprised that Albert Haynesworth and Chad Ochocinco/Johnson didn't succeed here, despite having plenty of physical tools. Neither did Chad Jackson or Brandon Meriweather. I think it's fairly predictable that Colt Lyerla and Mike Wallace wouldn't have been good fits, despite their athletic ability and raw skill sets. Players who seem to rely on athleticism at the college level should raise red flags, as well as guys who seem focused on individual accomplishments and immature, selfish or one-dimensional players. When it comes to paying 2nd contract money, even more caution should probably be exercised, as spending signficant cap space on a guy who turns out to be a bad fit can be a major setback (see: Adalius Thomas).
It's much harder to evaluate players properly in terms of those kind of attributes. We don't have access to interviews or background checks. It's much more difficult to find guys like Edelman or Antonio Brown with exceptional heart and determination than to write off players with red flags. I'm not sure how to screen for this with our limited resources, but its something I thought worth discussing.
