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Draft and other NFL myths

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FredFromDartmouth

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Some myths that never seem to die:

1 ) Post draft evaluations. Is there any worse waste of paper than these evaluations? Sometimes it is obvious that a team got fleeced, such as SF’s trade for Trey Lance, but most of the time these evaluations are pure speculation. They are a way for sports writers to get another paycheck with almost no value to the fan.

2) You don’t know how good a rookie is until a few years after the draft. The reality is that the coaches know within the first weeks of training camp, but the public does not. When a team makes a disastrous first round pick they know right away, but the guy usually sticks around for a year or two so that the teams are not too embarrassed (N’Keal Harry for instance would have been cut in training camp if he was a 7th round pick).

3) You can win games by ball control / time of possession. Parcells was behind this whole possession myth, but it only works when you have a great defense. Parcells had great defenses and could control the score and allow his ponderous running attack to eventually wear down the defense.

4) Related to the above is the myth that running backs get stronger as the game advances. I don’t know who started this BS, but the truth is that running backs do better later in the game as the defense gets tired. RBs do not get stronger.
 
The Patriots won this game by ball control. Look at the TOP Patriots 37-31 Chiefs (Jan 20, 2019) Final Score - ESPN

Ball control and time of possession usually only works if you have a good defense. Eating up the clock does not help in the least if the opposing team can score at will and quickly. The whole ball-control crapola was one of those Parcells-isms that the press ate up without thinking too hard
 
It's still an integral part of winning football.
 
The Patriots won this game by ball control. Look at the TOP Patriots 37-31 Chiefs (Jan 20, 2019) Final Score - ESPN
The only reason it wasn't an outright slaughter is Tom Brady threw two interceptions.

As it were, it took the Chiefs getting gifted four first downs via penalties by the zebras in the second half of the game to keep it close.

The biggest reason the Pats won was 176 yards rushing, 4 rushing TD's and winning the coin toss.
 
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2) You don’t know how good a rookie is until a few years after the draft. The reality is that the coaches know within the first weeks of training camp, but the public does not. When a team makes a disastrous first round pick they know right away, but the guy usually sticks around for a year or two so that the teams are not too embarrassed (N’Keal Harry for instance would have been cut in training camp if he was a 7th round pick).
Anyone can figure out whether or not the player has what it takes within the first year or two depending on the situation. For example, a guy like Harry that had nobody standing in his way. So you could tell he was never going to be any good with how he responded playing with the GOAT. In fact, Edelman had said on his podcasts that he knew those high draft pick WR's were going to be busts very early. He was referring to Harry, Dobson and probably Taylor Price. It's actually pretty easy for us to tell what players are going to be good or not once they take the field in NFL games. This league been designed to be plug and play for a quite some time now.
3) You can win games by ball control / time of possession. Parcells was behind this whole possession myth, but it only works when you have a great defense. Parcells had great defenses and could control the score and allow his ponderous running attack to eventually wear down the defense.
This works in certain situations, but it's not sustainable. Nobody wants to build their team on hoping the defense holds EVERY game.
 
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The only reason it wasn't an outright slaughter is Tom Brady threw two interceptions.

As it were, it took the Chiefs receiving four first downs via penalties from the zebras in the second half of the game to keep it close. The biggest reason the Pats won was 176 yards rushing, 4 rushing TD's and winning the coin toss.
The one at the goal line was absolutely brutal.
 
The one at the goal line was absolutely brutal.
The Brady fanboys ignore the mistakes, pretend they never happened.

It's a team game. The Patriots were the best team.
 
Myth? Lamar Jackson is amazing… just ignore that he averages two turnovers per game in the playoffs.
 
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