A couple of points:
1. I have to admit, not only was a wrong about KOC, but I was shocked to hear he was released. I always thought he was Matt Cassel with a better arm and more speed. I felt that with another season of experience he would be a better prospect. OOOOOOPPPPPSSSS. And that's after watching him in practice about 8 times.
2. I think the problem I think had less to do with the raw talent he had, but his ability to run THIS system, which appears to be different from most offensive systems around the league. For example, a guy like Joey Galloway has been around, and he's commented its like no other system he's seen....and even HE's having problems picking it up.
KOC may very well florish in SOMEONE ELSE'S system which is more suited to his skills.
3. I always thought a guy like Chad Jackson was born 2 decades too late. There WAS a time in this league where the WRs didn't have to read coverages to determine their routes, and their options during the route were few. In a system like that, Jackson might have been the star we were hoping for when he was drafted.
I think we all take for granted that if you can't read a defensive coverage, and run a precise route, then you are somehow dumb. That's just not be the case. Just like some QBs have the ability to process all the info they need in the first 2 seconds of a play, and some don't. Some guys have the ability to read on the fly and so and some don't.
Think about it. To apparently run in our system, you have to recognize the coverage while at the same time trying to disengage from DBs and determine where you have to go, and be exactly on the spot the QB expects. NOT EASY...even for smart people.
Maybe a better example is Drew Bledsoe. In certain offenses he clearly thrived, in Weiss' he clearly didn't. Forget about all the reasons/excuses, its just a fact. Joe Montana in the Patriot offense at the time, would not be in the HOF.
4. As to the issue of could the Pats have gotten a low round pick for him, I doubt it. As one poster wisely pointed out. That was the reason they gave the league a heads up that they were going to release him, giving teams an opportunity to bid directly to the Pats and not risk the waiver wire. No one cared enough to bother.
