Impressive?...HA!...to have that many 1st rounders and the run-d we had last year can only mean that a bunch of guys were drafted way ahead of where they ought to have been.
Well in all fairness 2 of the guys weren't even on the squad last year. If there's anyone who wasn't first round material at the time it's Thomas.
I think Thomas was a first round pick but not as the 4-3 end our genius head coach had him playing. Thomas always had the size, speed, and agility of a 3-4 OLB and was the perfect guy in 2002 for a team looking for one.
Yeah, except Robertson and Ellis haven't been living up to their status as of yet...at least vilma showed he could produce at a first round level albeit in a completely different defense.
Maybe he was, but he just was not properly coached/utilized by the former regime. Amazing what a change can do.
Ellis isnt that bad....never came with the hype like robertson did....Ellis has been very solid.....IMHO
Sorry, I'm a big Ellis supporter but outside of his sack on Brady last year, I can't remember anything else of note. Ellis' play has actually been quite putrid, ever since signing his new contract. If anyone showed some flashes last year it was Robertson, and those flashes were spotty.
there are 1st round selections and then there are blue chippers. Robertson - Semi-Blue Chipper, may depend on 3-4 or 4-3 scheme. Ellis - Blue Chipper Haynes - Bombed Vilma - Blue Chipper Thomas - Should be his breakout year. Wadsworth - Bombed So you were somewhat right...
bah, it's useless saying who is a blue chip 1st rounder AFTER the fact they got drafted. Guys like Calvin Johnson and Joe Thomas are blue chip prospects now right? That's because they have everything you want and need to succeed at the next level. No matter the team, no matter the scheme, a blue chipper can can make an impact no matter what. Either that, or you are simply perfect in every way for the scheme that team plans to play, and you have a great college resume that shows you are more a football player then just some athlete. With that in mind, a number of guys were blue chip guys coming out, but external factors such as the team that drafted them, injuries, or simply the inability to maximize there potential in the nfl turned them into busts. You could make a case that guys like Robertson and Wadsworth were the blue chip calibur players, where as Vilma (with all his intangibles) isn't really a burner or extremely big, Thomas came from a 'small' school, etc, etc. Despite what these guys may or may not have done in the nfl, the fact they went in the 1st round must mean they probably had the potential to be a special player in the nfl. Sometimes you just need a second (or 3rd, or 4th) before you get in the right situation and you have the right mindset to pull everything together. The only question now is whether Mangini can bring out the reasons these guys were 1st rounders in the first place. Since he can turn it around for Thomas (With your criteria he 'bombed' till last year) we might be in for a nice little surprise from our dline....or at least we have plenty of training camp fodder
Take it to the bank. Wadsworth will quit two weeks into training camp. WHY? You can't be away from the game as long as Wadsworth been and come back. The game is too physical and something his body won't be able to handle. (tough to take the pounding at 31 years old) It happen to Scott Davis who was on verge of being a probowl Dlineman for raiders. He walked away and tried to comeback after two years. He quit in training camp.
Robertson has been a dissapointment to this point especially considering we gave up 2 first rounders for him and could of drafted a guy like Ty Warren and still kept our 2nd first. Or at least drafted Kevin Williams with the 4th pick.
Not to hijack the thread, but if you noticed Ellis more than on a few sacks last year, than he wasn't doing his job. His job in the 3-4 is to hold his ground and stop the run, while occassionally providing pressure on passing downs, he did that this past year. His job is not to be a flashy pass rusher, because that would mean neglecting his gap assignment and causing the LB's to be ineffective. Was it a great year? no, but it was a pretty good year in the 3-4 considering he last played in it in 2000 under Groh. Now Kimo on the otherhand, I noticed him. He spent most of the game either getting knocked on his ass or getting pushed 4 or 5 yards off the line.
