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Undersized NFL Players Even the Playing Field - WSJ.com
D-Giv was undersized? I think he is confusing him with Meion.AUGUST 19, 2009, 11:53 P.M. ET
The NFL's Lousy Judgment
Talent Aside, Physical Misfits Rarely Make Teams; From Taxi Squad to Pro Bowl
By REED ALBERGOTTI
The NFL is no sports league for those who are an inch too short, a split-second too slow or a dozen pounds too light.
Late-round draft picks or undrafted free agents who aren't perfect physical specimens have about as good of a chance of making an NFL roster as they do winning "America's Next Top Model." But there's a growing body of evidence that ignoring these misfits is a mistake.
With the season still three weeks away, NFL teams are hard at work at training camps, picking through the scale models, slowpokes and other leftovers to see which of them, if any, they ought to consider keeping. Odds are that no more than a handful of players will find a job.
But if recent history is any guide, some of these unlikely players—if they can make it through this screening process that's stacked against them—may turn out to be worth it. In fact, there's a fair chance they'll turn out to be stars.
In the last decade, some of the best NFL teams have been powered by players who may look, at first glance, like they have no business on a football field.
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Two seasons ago, the New England Patriots—a team that came within an inch of finishing the season undefeated—relied heavily on the deceptiveness of another undersized draft-table reject, wide receiver Wes Welker.
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Some teams have made a habit of signing players who don't pass muster with the rest of the league. The New England Patriots have thrived with overlooked wide receivers like Mr. Welker, who wasn't drafted, and undersized players like Troy Brown and David Givens.