I wouldn't at all say Burfict isn't athletic, players fall all the time it just happens to poor workouts. Brandon Spikes fell all the way down the second, Justin Houston to the third, Burfict maybe even further. The kid has talent and there were reasons that everyone thought he was the next great mlb, not only just because of his big hits. There are a lot of hitters in college who wont play a down in the league.
Never mind the disputable worth of Burfict on this roster, but how does this thread go 4plus pages without anyone giving OP credit for this great pun? Burfict Fit.
It's funny how alot of posters just repeat what others have said about this kid have you even watched him in a single complete game. He certainly has had his share of dumb penalties but go back and watch some games the refs are looking for any little thing from this kid if he's engaged with a Olineman and theres hand fighting and pushing after the whistle thats not throwing a punch he bought that crap on himself I know but you get the idea this kid if worth a 2nd round selection IMO and will mature enough around grown men and become a very good pro.
Dumb penalties has very little to do with it for me at least. I am far more concerned with his poor recognition skills, and average at best athleticism. As far as off the field issues, I worry less about penalties than his inability to take coaching, and his lack of personal responsibility. The fact that he tried to blame Erickson for his poor production when interviewed at the combine was a huge red flag. Even if you don't believe it you should be smart enough to know that teams are looking for you to take responsibility and talk about making it a learning experience. Players who don't think they are wrong and ignore coaches don't get better.
Get him in a professional atmosphere with the right mentors and maybe he matures and gets back to being in shape and playing football. He looked horrible at the combine and has been a real headcase, but he is one hard hittin mean SOB.
Why is this guy dropping so far? I know he had a lowsey combine and is considered to have an attitude problem, but he has some raw talent, and come draft day we may be surprised, i think he will get drafted ahead of what people think. The guy has first round talent.
Some really negative news Arizona State linebacker Vontaze Burfict bombed the Combine. His interviews were described as disastrous, and his forty time and jumps were pathetic compared to the rest of the linebackers invited to Indianapolis. So Burfict surely prepared and rebounded at his Pro Day, right? Wrong. According to SI.com draft analyst Tony Pauline, Burfict was “not good in position drills” at the Sun Devils’ Friday workout, and Pauline acknowledged that he’s “watering that down.” One scout told Pauline he “actually felt bad for [Burfict].” Burfict managed only 16 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press. With poor measurables and game tape, and suspect on- and off-the-field character, Burfict may struggle to be drafted at all in April. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/03/16/vontaze-burfict-bombs-his-pro-day-too/
I say we still take a shot at him. I dont think he is as bad as he looked at the combine or his pro day. I think its decent for us cause we could get in the 5-7 rounds now
I was going to type the same thing, at a certain point game tape has to play a roll....the combine is all fine and dandy but lets see you on the field.
People really overvalue the combine, pre-draft workouts and pro days. You aren't running 40 times or benching 225 pounds during the game. I will take this kid 365 days of the year in the late rounds over a guy that will provide just positional depth but doesn't have good upside. Burfict is a top 20 talent in the draft, and I think it would be an absolute travesty to overlook him just because he didn't do well in pre-draft workouts and interviews.
The combine and Pro days are nothing more than glorifed job interviews. He flunked them in the worst way possible. The thing your looking past is his attitude. He basicly did not prepare for the combine/pro day at all. When he was asked why his play sliped this year he threw his coaches under the bus. Add those to game tape that looks drasticly worse this year and you get a picture of a guy that does not care about football and is childishly selfish. Great talent and a shitty attitude is a quick way out of the NFL, jsut ask Jamarcus Russell. Teams were already weary of him because of his on the feild antics. He needed to act like and look like a model citizen during this process to convince teams he was a coachable player who needed to be reigned in a bit. Instead he came off as not caring about football and more eratic in his behavior than before. I would not want him near my team at this point.
That might be true if his tape was consistently good, but he was terrible this year for ASU. Go into the ASU football forums and ask them, wildly out of position, missed tackles, stupid penalties etc. He makes the occasional youtube highlight play, but he isn't really a good football player. He dropped 20 lbs for the combine and was still slow and out of shape, he has a rep among ASU fans as a guy who is lazy, doesn;t work study or train hard.
Great, where do we sign? Only small caveat is that it's a little easier to overcome bad habits and slacking off through natural ability at his position than it is at Jamarcus Russell's. I know it's tempting to make that comparison, I'm just not so sure how useful it actually is.
i have to admit i only watched one full game of arizona state's and it was the bowl game against boise state, but i was not impressed at all... not even sure if burfict had one tackle. i know he didn't start the game, with the announcers saying he was too much of a liability.
he played... just looked up the stats and he finished with one tackle. he just didn't start... i remember the announcers saying he didnt start bc he was a liability in coverage. would post the link to the stats, but can't post links yet.
Mayock's calling him un-draftable (spell?). I hope every team feels this way and we can grab him with one of our 6th or 7th round comp picks. Stick him on the practice squad and let him learn for a year. Who knows, maybe the stud that everyone thought he was can still come out under Rex?
At this point, let him become a UDFA and earn his way onto a team. The young man needs a huge shot of humility right now, and although I'm sure many teams would like to sign him as a UDFA, it's a chance you take by not drafting him. If another team goes ahead and takes him with a late pick, that's just the risk you take in this case, as talented as he is. Let him be someone else's headache.
