Let me tell you about Jordan Richards

[Interception]

Or as his teammates would call him, Coach Richards.

Richards is known for knowing the playbook inside and out. If a teammate is out of position, Richards is there to correct him. He is intelligent and more aware of what's going on the field than most rookies picked ahead of him.

He has a reputation for absorbing corrections and instructions from coaches, as well as showing other teammates techniques he has been taught.

Stanford had a little "skills" series, you can watch Richards talking about a way coaches taught him to take angles while tackling. Although many other Stanford players made these videos, Richards was the only one referred to as "coach" by his teammates for showing these qualities.



Talent wise he might be lacking a bit. He wasn't used as a linebacker type safety, but he does have issues playing deep safety. Thankfully, we have McCourty deep. This allows Richards to develop and learn the playbook, in a role player with Chung. Sooner or later, he'll be like Mayo and Hightower, the players with enough understanding of formations to quarterback the defense. When you have three players with that ability on the field, even if Richards is only average talent wise, you put yourself in a position to make a play.

 

[reflexblue]

maybe BB should used the pick on someone like Owamagbe Odighizuwa and hire JR as a secondary coach.....just sayin

 

[Joey007]

Did you really just parody on that other thread title.

 

[Jackson 2]

Or as his teammates would call him, Coach Richards.
Richards is known for knowing the playbook inside and out. If a teammate is out of position, Richards is there to correct him. He is intelligent and more aware of what's going on the field than most rookies picked ahead of him.
He has a reputation for absorbing corrections and instructions from coaches, as well as showing other teammates techniques he has been taught.
Stanford had a little "skills" series, you can watch Richards talking about a way coaches taught him to take angles while tackling. Although many other Stanford players made these videos, Richards was the only one referred to as "coach" by his teammates for showing these qualities.


Talent wise he might be lacking a bit. He wasn't used as a linebacker type safety, but he does have issues playing deep safety. Thankfully, we have McCourty deep. This allows Richards to develop and learn the playbook, in a role player with Chung. Sooner or later, he'll be like Mayo and Hightower, the players with enough understanding of formations to quarterback the defense. When you have three players with that ability on the field, even if Richards is only average talent wise, you put yourself in a position to make a play.

Not buying it. If Belichick drafted him, the guy by blows, no ifs, ands or buts.

 

[Brady6]

Or as his teammates would call him, Coach Richards.
Richards is known for knowing the playbook inside and out. If a teammate is out of position, Richards is there to correct him. He is intelligent and more aware of what's going on the field than most rookies picked ahead of him.
He has a reputation for absorbing corrections and instructions from coaches, as well as showing other teammates techniques he has been taught.
Stanford had a little "skills" series, you can watch Richards talking about a way coaches taught him to take angles while tackling. Although many other Stanford players made these videos, Richards was the only one referred to as "coach" by his teammates for showing these qualities.


Talent wise he might be lacking a bit. He wasn't used as a linebacker type safety, but he does have issues playing deep safety. Thankfully, we have McCourty deep. This allows Richards to develop and learn the playbook, in a role player with Chung. Sooner or later, he'll be like Mayo and Hightower, the players with enough understanding of formations to quarterback the defense. When you have three players with that ability on the field, even if Richards is only average talent wise, you put yourself in a position to make a play.

I would have loved the Richards selection if it was in the 5th or 6th round. I hate it in the 2nd especially with some legitimate top 25 talents still in play.

 

[BTTA]

I would have loved the Richards selection if it was in the 5th or 6th round. I hate it in the 2nd especially with some legitimate top 25 talents still in play.

So you are saying that the Pats skipped right by guys they had rated higher in order to draft Richards?

 

[RayClay]

So you are saying that the Pats skipped right by guys they had rated higher in order to draft Richards?

I am guessing there is one team who drafts like them (Ravens?) who might want him and that's all it takes.

That's a hypothetical, of course, but the idea that there's one list of the "best" players that every team follows, is ludicrous.

It seems to me the Patriots have been going after the hybrid S/LB for years becase they want to use one and Chung and wilson have not quite measured up [though they've found roles]. Who was the guy, Tank Williams? Adrian Wilson?

They spent two firsts on multipurpose tight ends and wound up with stonehands Graham and "looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane" Watson, but they didn't give up and they've got Gronk and Chandler now.

I don't think BB gives a flying fart about draft grades. If he wants a guy who can play linebacker and cover RB/TE on passing downs, he's going to try to pick one up or spend that lottery ticket in the draft til he finds one. He's got two shots in this years draft.

 

[shmessy]

Or as his teammates would call him, Coach Richards.

Richards is known for knowing the playbook inside and out. If a teammate is out of position, Richards is there to correct him. He is intelligent and more aware of what's going on the field than most rookies picked ahead of him.

He has a reputation for absorbing corrections and instructions from coaches, as well as showing other teammates techniques he has been taught.

Stanford had a little "skills" series, you can watch Richards talking about a way coaches taught him to take angles while tackling. Although many other Stanford players made these videos, Richards was the only one referred to as "coach" by his teammates for showing these qualities.



Talent wise he might be lacking a bit. He wasn't used as a linebacker type safety, but he does have issues playing deep safety. Thankfully, we have McCourty deep. This allows Richards to develop and learn the playbook, in a role player with Chung. Sooner or later, he'll be like Mayo and Hightower, the players with enough understanding of formations to quarterback the defense. When you have three players with that ability on the field, even if Richards is only average talent wise, you put yourself in a position to make a play.

That's awesome, but they could hire him as a coach, they don't need to draft coaches.

 

[edkk323]

I would have loved the Richards selection if it was in the 5th or 6th round. I hate it in the 2nd especially with some legitimate top 25 talents still in play.

Come on guys, do you seriously think BB and the front office did not consider the alternative? Drafting someone else at that spot and picking him later? BB decided that the reward of someone else could not justified the risk so he pulled the triger. That alone speak volumn of JR's ability. Get excited. You do not get a player who can function as a coach on the feild so often in any sports.

Same goes with the long snapper we got. Cardona snaps his whole life and can easily be the best in NFL. His high speed will give punter or kicker more time to prepare. A ideal travel time from the ground to punter is .8 sec. "My claim to fame is that I snapped the ball at 41 MPH. That really made people take notice," said Cardona, who routinely delivers the ball to the holder between .65 and .68 seconds. That 15% inprovement with lace up all the time will definitely translate into better field position. It is not often I get excieted about long snapper. The logic of drafting him in the 5th round is clear. Assuming some team would DEFINITELY draft him in the 7th led to some team would draft him in the 6th. To ensure his service, you had to draft him in the 5th. We also got an extra pick later.

In BB we trust. It is unbelievable to see some of your guys to be so neg about BB.

 

[Jlaff]

Edit: Let's pretend I didn't write that

 

[edkk323]

I guess this is off topic in the Jordan Richards thread, but I was pretty pumped about that pick too; a marked improvement for one particular position. Wonder how Ghost will take to the quicker process (fine I'm sure, but will be something to adjust to).

It is Allen whom has to adjust both on punting and kicking. I assume Allen like that lace up and more time to plant his foot. You find good snaper, you keep him till he wants to quite. LS's performance is much more predicatble than other another position.

 

[Jlaff]

It is Allen whom has to adjust both on punting and kicking. I assume Allen like that lace up and more time to plant his foot. You find good snaper, you keep him till he wants to quite. LS's performance is much more predicatble than other another position.

Haha, I'm a moron. And you've immortalized my post in the quote. Was drinking and watching the fight ok! Hire me as your next NFL commissioner.

 

[edkk323]

Haha, I'm a moron. And you've immortalized my post in the quote. Was drinking and watching the fight ok! Hire me as your next NFL commissioner.

i watched the fight too. It was boring.

 

[patsbrasilpatriotas]

I would have loved the Richards selection if it was in the 5th or 6th round. I hate it in the 2nd especially with some legitimate top 25 talents still in play.

Maybe... Just maybe... For the real football coaches , not Mel Kiper type experts , this statement is not true .

When Mel Kiper win four trophies for the NE Patriots I'll put his opinion in front of the best coach of all time .

 

[DarrylS]

Every BB draft has several WTF moments, what could he be thinking.... otoh every other fan base is either celebrating their "great draft" or lamenting how stupid their inner circle is..

I am gonna reserve judgement for the time being, and check in on how we did two years from now.. what I do know is recent drafts have harvested a wealth of talent... and this time is being rebuilt on the fly, they are younger, faster and more athletic..

 

[reflexblue]

Come on guys, do you seriously think BB and the front office did not consider the alternative? Drafting someone else at that spot and picking him later? BB decided that the reward of someone else could not justified the risk so he pulled the triger. That alone speak volumn of JR's ability. Get excited. You do not get a player who can function as a coach on the feild so often in any sports.
.

There is a writer (whos name escapes me) that appears on the felger and spaz show on tuesdays during the season. Last fall he said that he had talked to several of the people who have been in the "war room" on draft day. They told him that BB will get enamored with a particular player and go against what cassario and his staff have come up with, BB goes rouge so to speak and over rules them. He said that explains picks such as tavon wilson, and now, to me jordon richarson.

 

[AQPE]

He's James Sanders 2.0 IMHO, a valuable piece of the puzzle in the DB. I think we non-experts are challenged to understand how that group must execute as a collective, we focus too much on the one-on-one matchups we see at the end of a play. I liked Sanders a lot even he was here, in spite of his evident limitations. Without a Revis back there the coaches will need to do their jobs scheming this and someone like Richards could make the coaches jobs easier.

So I like the pick, but admit I am annoyed BB concluded it needed to happen in Round 2 given other available talent and needs. Like a lot of us I am not always comfortable disregarding some of the commentary from outside "experts" in these situations. I do trust BB but I get to have some misgivings while trusting him and his staff.

Overall I really think they did well in this draft, especially considering their position. I'm already bored with the Red Sox, so can't wait for late July already.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

I wonder if this signals a change in BB's way of doing business in the 2nd. He talked about how 1st rounders tend to be guys with a ton of athleticism and tape to match, while in the 2nd, you have guys with similar athleticism but who didn't produce for one reason or another in college so you have to project a bit. Then in the 3rd you have guys who have great production but not the athleticism of 2nds. Although really the last pick of the 2nd is pretty much a 3rd so maybe not.

Anyways, I'm a bit hesitant about this pick and I get all the concern but I think we should wait and see. I don't understand why football intelligence isn't considered a valuable trait as much as vertical leap and 40 yard speed. And by intelligence, I don't mean Wonderlic score or memorization, but the ability to process a ton of information on the field in a few seconds. It's assumed anyone can learn anything through hard work and repetition, but that's simply not true. The ability to process what 21 other people are doing at the same time, or the ability to adapt on the fly and process new information quickly, should also be considered a valuable trait just as much as vertical jump.

 

[RobertWeathers]

He's James Sanders 2.0 IMHO, a valuable piece of the puzzle in the DB. I think we non-experts are challenged to understand how that group must execute as a collective, we focus too much on the one-on-one matchups we see at the end of a play. I liked Sanders a lot even he was here, in spite of his evident limitations. Without a Revis back there the coaches will need to do their jobs scheming this and someone like Richards could make the coaches jobs easier.

So I like the pick, but admit I am annoyed BB concluded it needed to happen in Round 2 given other available talent and needs. Like a lot of us I am not always comfortable disregarding some of the commentary from outside "experts" in these situations. I do trust BB but I get to have some misgivings while trusting him and his staff.

Overall I really think they did well in this draft, especially considering their position. I'm already bored with the Red Sox, so can't wait for late July already.

There is a writer (whos name escapes me) that appears on the felger and spaz show on tuesdays during the season. Last fall he said that he had talked to several of the people who have been in the "war room" on draft day. They told him that BB will get enamored with a particular player and go against what cassario and his staff have come up with, BB goes rouge so to speak and over rules them. He said that explains picks such as tavon wilson, and now, to me jordon richarson.

Greg Bedard and I don't buy it for a second. BB does not go rogue or have tunnel vision and ignore the draft board and have complete disregard for the process.

 

[Gwedd]

If you want to get a good look at how Coach Belichick thinks during and prior to draft day, get ahold of the episode from NFL Films of "A Football Life" about when he was head coach of the Browns.

There's a wealth of insight on it (and him) by folks who worked for him there who went on to be either head coaches or GM's for other teams. Nick Saban, Ozzie Newsome, Eric Mangini, and a dozen others talk about what they learned from him about the draft and building a team. Pretty fascinating stuff.

Here's an article about the NFL Film's episode:
http://www.thekongblog.com/2012/10/1995-cleveland-browns-thedream-team-of.html

From the article:

Bill Belichick's family tree of coaching assistants all became successful in their own right — many gaining NFL prominence.
His widely-respected coaching staff included Ozzie Newsome (Baltimore Ravens Executive) & Michael Lombardi (longtime NFL Executive) along w/ the following NFL General Managers: Thomas Dimitroff (Atlanta Falcons GM), Scott Pioli (Kansas City Chiefs GM) & Mike Tannenbaum (New York Jets GM).
Also branching-out from his abundantly fruitful tree were Jim Schwartz (Detroit Lions' head coach) and Eric Mangini (former-New York Jets & Cleveland Browns coach); who were considered the younglings a.k.a. “slappies” — guys “with desks out in the hall.” And it doesn't stop there, the exclusive list continues w/ 3x National Championship head coach Nick Saban (Alabama) and Kirk Ferentz (Iowa) — two of college football’s top-tier coaches.