So...its normal for human beings to weigh 250 pounds and run 4.5's? I'm not saying ALL football players do it, but baseball fans once said the same thing. In football, getting bigger and faster is probably not going to hurt you, and thats more than enough incentive. Except you're also surrounded by elite athletes....some of which are bigger, stronger, and faster than you are. Incentive again. Plus, wouldn't those trainers and nutrition experts know a little thing or two about steroids? Yea...no. Baseballs a little bit tougher to see the benefits of steroids from...for every Bonds theres an Alex Sanchez. You still need hand-eye coordination, proper mechanics, and all that good stuff. Football is a game in which pure speed, size, and strength are all huge factors...how could it not be more beneficial? OK? Because people choose to ignore it. If you actually want to sit there and say to yourself "wow, that 300 pound man is so quick and powerful...thats so normal" then go ahead...but that shit isn't normal. And I say that makes no sense. So what about baseball players? You're simply doing what the rest of the country (including myself) has done with football and steroids...made a bunch of excuses so we can pretend it doesn't exist. If what happened to baseball *ever* happened to the NFL that league would be done...
I like Gholston, but that clip is as much about Jake Long's boneheaded first step. He reads the stunt that will come from his left and cheats to the outside, leaving him with no leverage on Gholston. Apparently, he forgot that Mike Hart had Henne's left side. By the time Hart saw Jake Long's idiocy, he was too late to bail him out.
Thats garbage, because, as I said, I've played with and trained along side of many of these athletes. I've got upwards of 10 friends/acquaintances playing in the CFL, even more playing in the Arena League, and here and there someone I've worked with will break onto an NFL roster (Dave Tyree of the Giants comes to mind). These are the guys who need it (and often times want it) as much as anyone out there. And, as I've said, football players at these levels tend to steer away from steroids, especially in-season. The only time it seems feasible is during the rehab of a broken bone or torn muscle. Even then, it's a quick thing, and it's over. And yes, I know guys who are upwards of 230 lbs and run 4.5 40s naturally. Hell, I, myself, am an undersized white guy who weighs 205, throws up 225 for 20 reps on the bench, and ran a 4.58 last month... Never touched steroids in my life. It's achievable through hard-work for even those of us who aren't gifted at all.. For those people who are born gifted, these numbers aren't as outlandish as they seem. There are a lot of guys who run a 4.5 or 4.6 and put up 225 15-20 times. Very few of them have the skills or durability to make it in the NFL. Steroids don't help that, at all... There is use of steroids in the NFL, but I don't believe it's nearly as widespread as in baseball, and I can tell you from experience that most football players don't believe juicing is going to help their careers more than they'd hurt it... For every arrogant, "I want it all" Mark Gastineau type out there, there are 100 guys who know the risk isn't worth the reward... HGH is another story....
Thats nice and all....but we're talking about the NFL as a whole...not the Arena League, CFL, and a couple of guys who might make an NFL roster. Sorry if I have trouble buying that. But they would help an NFL player or college player with NFL potential get bigger, faster, stronger...which is why anyone would do steroids. I can tell you from experience most baseball players are like that. Doesn't mean there still aren't a TON of steroids use amongst athletes. Hell, you go down to Texas HSs...Cali HSs....whole teams are doing steroids. You think that isn't going to go up as they make more money and their futures as athletes become more clear? Steroids are a MAJOR problem in sports...and it's not just baseball. To say "hey I know a few guys who are kinda sorta close to being near the NFL level who wouldn't do the stuff" doesn't really do it for me. This is a league where hard work is a must...but any edge possible must be taken. The mindset of athletes in general is to always be better than the competition...and many are not opposed to going the illegal way...ESPECIALLY in a sport where it's so obvious that steroids should be investigated but they're clearly ignoring it. I assumed HGH was part of the conversation the whole time. HGH is probably the most common supplement used by pro athletes...why wouldn't it be included? It's just laughable to think that steroids aren't a major part of the NFL. BTW: You sound like a beast as far as workout numbers. Even before I had a shoulder surgery I never even got 225 on the bench and my slow ass ran a 4.8. Hey...at least I could throw a baseball really, really hard and spin a curveball.
Maybe I'm wrong? Maybe these guys finally break into the NFL and a switch flips in their head, and they go against their better judgement and start juicing, but I highly doubt it. HGH is different. It doesn't raise the likelihood of injuries like steroids do, and it doesn't increase muscle mass levels so fast, thus leading to fewer injuries. Among older guys HGH is widespread, I'm sure. It's still illegal, but everyone I've worked with is relatively young, and years away from needing HGH. And the reason why I bring up my experience is because these guys are examples of people who need every edge they can get to simply make the league, and most of them still steer clear of steroids. If there is one group of players you can look to and say they seem like the most likely group to start using, this is it. I think you're arguing with me just for the hell of it, and just based on your speculation, and the idea that "Nobody can be that big and fast without cheating." I'm telling you that's not true, and steroids and football aren't as good a match as one would think. Think what you want, you won't be in the minority, but don't bother bringing that argument here, because I'm not going to buy it simply because of my personal experience.
But...you have to take into account that: 1. These guys aren't in the NFL, which kind of says something about their whole anti-juicing stance doesn't it? 2. The higher level of play the athlete is in...and despite my slight knocks the CFL, AFL, and etcs. are closer to the NFL than most other things...the less likely he is to tell you he does steroids. 3. Your personal experience is slightly larger than mine (with football), but personal experience seems to have added bias more than anything to your argument. To put it simply...it's fairly obvious that steroids are rampant in football. Turning a blind eye to it because you met a few non-NFLers who didn't do it just seems...well it doesn't make sense. 4. I'm not arguing with you for the hell of it...if BASEBALL...a sport whose main skills require functional strength and skill more than bodily strength and skills...has a steroid problem...a sport in which size, speed, power, and explosiveness are so key is probably going to be worse. It's not exactly a reach to believe that. And while I respect your experience and realize that hard work is going to make an athlete do things he never knew, in a whole league of athletes who can do the same thing an edge will be searched for and exploited. 5. Your second paragraph actually just explains why HGH is so popular...I don't buy that just older players do it at all.
For what it's worth: Never says Gholston was at the Senior Bowl... just that he's looked stiff and marginally althetic in recent weeks during training. The title just means the notes were updated/new since the senior bowl.
