My2Cents
Practice Squad Player
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2007
- Messages
- 209
- Reaction score
- 1
With rumors swirling about Julius Peppers becoming a Patriot, the prospect that the Panthers seek to replace him with is likely Michael Johnson. Carolina sent John Fox to his Pro Day workout, where he is said to have “dazzled scouts.”
Yet Patsfans will have nothing to do with him, even as the Peppers trade grows increasingly unlikely.
While the current trend is to say that Johnson has been over hyped
(Thanks to McShay, Kiper and TSN elevating him from round 3 to top 3 overall), the reality is that Johnson’s inconsistency has more recently been overstated (Thanks, Mike Mayock, Peter King and NFL DRAFTScout).
Hate him, if you want. But, in fact, he would likely explode here. Here’s why:
True story: Once a player named Randy Moss took plays off. It's true! Now he’s at the top of his game. The fact that Johnson went from a part time pass rush specialist in '08 to a full time starting DE explains why he often seemed to be taking plays off. He was out of gas!
Facing frequent double teams, being suddenly schemed against by opponents and pulling double duty on Special Teams will do that to you. To that end, he struggled with cramps (and injuries). So he followed the advice of Tashard Choice and Emmitt Smith to take Pedialyte drinks. Problem solved.
The other problem: inconsistency. That’s easily traced to him being frequently out of position (and poor coaching). Who better to solve that problem than Bill Belichick, the great master of putting people in better position to succeed? The talent is there, he just needs to be coached up.
Lastly, Johnson is bashed by some for only showing up for big games, not against nobody’s. He’s bashed by others for racking up big stats against nobody’s, not top competition. Which is it? ---Either way, he makes big plays when big plays are needed. And he does so in dramatic fashion.
Add to that Johnson’s freakish athleticism, plus having already played DE and WILL Linebacker at Georgia Tech. Note: His play assignments were different than the typical DE, and, therefore, he often looked to be taking plays off when he was doing as assigned.
He was also one of the top TE's in the nation coming out of High School (#2 in Alabama and #7 in the nation). To put that in better perspective, here is a 6'-7" TE running a 4.6 40, ranking him in the top 5 of this draft class. It also bodes well for his transition to LB, where he'll need good hands in coverage.
Still doubt him? Ask LT Eugene Monroe, who lists him as the top DE, one he yielded one of his few sacks to. He also made a big impression on Georgia, LSU and BC, to name a few. He proved himself to be an impact player.
With other teams and draftniks souring on him, the Patriots will be waiting to pounce on him the way that they did Richard Seymour and Vince Wilfork.
Yet Patsfans will have nothing to do with him, even as the Peppers trade grows increasingly unlikely.
While the current trend is to say that Johnson has been over hyped
(Thanks to McShay, Kiper and TSN elevating him from round 3 to top 3 overall), the reality is that Johnson’s inconsistency has more recently been overstated (Thanks, Mike Mayock, Peter King and NFL DRAFTScout).
Hate him, if you want. But, in fact, he would likely explode here. Here’s why:
True story: Once a player named Randy Moss took plays off. It's true! Now he’s at the top of his game. The fact that Johnson went from a part time pass rush specialist in '08 to a full time starting DE explains why he often seemed to be taking plays off. He was out of gas!
Facing frequent double teams, being suddenly schemed against by opponents and pulling double duty on Special Teams will do that to you. To that end, he struggled with cramps (and injuries). So he followed the advice of Tashard Choice and Emmitt Smith to take Pedialyte drinks. Problem solved.
The other problem: inconsistency. That’s easily traced to him being frequently out of position (and poor coaching). Who better to solve that problem than Bill Belichick, the great master of putting people in better position to succeed? The talent is there, he just needs to be coached up.
Lastly, Johnson is bashed by some for only showing up for big games, not against nobody’s. He’s bashed by others for racking up big stats against nobody’s, not top competition. Which is it? ---Either way, he makes big plays when big plays are needed. And he does so in dramatic fashion.
Add to that Johnson’s freakish athleticism, plus having already played DE and WILL Linebacker at Georgia Tech. Note: His play assignments were different than the typical DE, and, therefore, he often looked to be taking plays off when he was doing as assigned.
He was also one of the top TE's in the nation coming out of High School (#2 in Alabama and #7 in the nation). To put that in better perspective, here is a 6'-7" TE running a 4.6 40, ranking him in the top 5 of this draft class. It also bodes well for his transition to LB, where he'll need good hands in coverage.
Still doubt him? Ask LT Eugene Monroe, who lists him as the top DE, one he yielded one of his few sacks to. He also made a big impression on Georgia, LSU and BC, to name a few. He proved himself to be an impact player.
With other teams and draftniks souring on him, the Patriots will be waiting to pounce on him the way that they did Richard Seymour and Vince Wilfork.
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