Andy Isabella

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TomIron361

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Good one. I noticed "sneaky fast" was used in the article, but to describe Murray, not Isabella. Black QB, White WR, with black QB called "sneaky fast" and White WR called "speedy". Did I just wake up in an alternate universe?
To me, the problem for Isabella will be that the dwarf QB won't want to throw the ball to a White guy and even if he will, won't be able to because he'll always be in a rollout/running mode.
 

Don Wassall

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I'll give old Caste warhorse Gil Brandt some credit for this:

Arizona Cardinals: Gil Brandt predicts Andy Isabella as top rookie receiver

by Dan Schmelzer

Andy Isabella is set up for immediate success with the Arizona Cardinals. He could even be the best rookie wide receiver in the entire league.

With Kyler Murray under center and Kliff Kingsbury calling the plays, the Arizona Cardinals are going to be one of the most exciting offenses to watch in the entire NFL. They are going to showcase a wide-open offensive attack with many talented receivers getting a chance to make their mark.

Perhaps the most dynamic receiver in Murray’s arsenal is fellow rookie Andy Isabella, who could be ready to take the league by storm. The Cardinals drafted Isabella in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He has ridiculous natural speed on the field and he uses it to get open on a consistent basis.

In his recent article for NFL.com, Gil Brandt predicted which rookie wide receivers would be the most productive in 2019. Despite not being taken until the 62nd overall pick, Isabella topped the list.

“Quarterback Kyler Murray will likely be throwing early and often during his rookie season, and Isabella should quickly become one of Murray’s favorite targets, playing frequently in four- or five-receiver sets,” Brandt wrote.

“Despite being just 5-foot-9, Isabella produced on the outside in college, and Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury has said he sees Isabella as more than just a slot receiver. Isabella caught 102 passes for 1,698 yards and 13 scores at UMass last year, and nobody was really able to cover him.”

Isabella reminds me a lot of Brandin Cooks of the Los Angeles Rams. Similarly to Cooks, the Arizona Cardinals rookie uses his speed to make plays all over the field. He has great versatility at the wide receiver position, showing the ability to make plays out of the slot or on the outside.

Simply put, the Cardinals are going to throw a lot this season. Murray is probably going to put up big numbers right off of the bat and some of his receivers are obviously going to benefit from that. While I do not necessarily agree that Isabella is going to be the most productive rookie receiver, he undoubtedly has a chance to put up eye-popping numbers.

https://nflmocks.com/2019/06/07/cleveland-browns-3-udfas-make-impact/
 

TwentyTwo

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Yes indeed Don....Thanks for posting ! Kingsbury not going with the cookie-cutter theme. Like the Cooks comparison with the vertical threat. But Isabella is a tougher receiver over the middle. Isabella could be a Rookie of the Year candidate.
 

TomIron361

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I hope you guys (Don & TwentyTwo) are right but I've got a feeling Isabella was drafted by the Cardinals because everybody knows the midget QB will be running for his life and not be able to get the ball anywhere near Isabella. The entire idea behind drafting the midget first overall was a giant publicity stunt. I'm very sure the league pressured the cardinals to make the pick behind closed doors.
 

backrow

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Easy there, Big Unreal!

I guess we will have to wait and see. I'm hopeful his talent will show despite of the QB.
 

wile

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Of course it is a publicity stunt, can anyone tell me that social pressure to conform is not a thing? What planet would it not be? If it weren't for Is I would want a coal black team like this to fail spectacularly, it would be better if they traded for AB if the balloon can travel south that is.
 

Chad

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I hope you guys (Don & TwentyTwo) are right but I've got a feeling Isabella was drafted by the Cardinals because everybody knows the midget QB will be running for his life and not be able to get the ball anywhere near Isabella. The entire idea behind drafting the midget first overall was a giant publicity stunt. I'm very sure the league pressured the cardinals to make the pick behind closed doors.

I don't think drafting him was a publicity stunt. I just can't see a team using their #1 pick as a publicity stunt. In reality, the front office is just made up of DWFs, (((Fellow Whites))), and AAs that helped push for this pick. And of course, sports media and journalism played their part as well. I think your last sentence is probably the most accurate to what really went down. Murray got hyped up by the (((media))) and there was pressure to choose him. Take that as a black pill if you want, but I'd just be patient and see how it plays out and if Murray doesn't pan out, then that's another white pill or red pill.

Also, look at the Giants. They were definitely pressured to choose the Ohio State guy, but they went with the Duke guy instead. That will be an interesting dual to watch as the season progresses. Jones vs Haskins.

Also, I don't think they chose Andy Isabella as some sort of 3D chess move to make him look bad because they knew Murray would not find him a lot. I wouldn't put it past the (((fellow whites))) to go this route in other cases and might root for outcomes like this, but I don't see it in this case. Actually, these speedy guys that can get open offer the opportunity to help a run first QB as a go to option. It just depends on what position of WR they put him at. Will he be on the outside or in the slot. What sort of routes do the outside guys run? etc.

Think positive.
 
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I was hoping that Isabella would follow the Cooper Kupp path (especially since he was drafted even earlier than Kupp), but it looks like Isabella's going to have to serve the standard racial apprenticeship.
 

Chad

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I was hoping that Isabella would follow the Cooper Kupp path (especially since he was drafted even earlier than Kupp), but it looks like Isabella's going to have to serve the standard racial apprenticeship.

Patience. The cream will rise to the top.
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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Isabella, who dominated college football and torched the “all pro” secondary of Georgia from the SEC and was the fastest wideout in the 2019 NFL Draft, “somehow” hasn’t been able to make the adjustment to the speed of the NFL, according to his head coach.

despite getting VERY few snaps, Isabella has hauled in catches on all 3 of his targets, including an 88-yard touchdown catch-and-run against San Francisco. you would think that this production from such a game-breaking speedster would garner more chances moving forward ... but you’d be wrong.

according to the article below, the Cardinals coaching staff won’t be giving him an increase of opportunities moving forward. like i so often say, you can’t make this stuff up.

https://cardswire.usatoday.com/2019/11/07/andy-isabella-playing-time-arizona-cardinals/amp/

for anyone who missed the BIG play from the small school playmaker, here it is:

 
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Extra Point

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Arizona is 3-5-1 in a tough division with the 49ers, Seahawks and Rams. They're not going anywhere this year. The correct coaching decision is to play your rookie 2nd round pick.

The probable reason the head coach isn't playing Isabella is that Isabella is white. He may believe that white men can't effectively play the position and/or he doesn't want to upset the blacks on the team who may view wide receiver as "their" position.
 

Shadowlight

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JC and EP raise good points up above. I find it very suspicious that this so called offensive guru Kingsbury hasn't been able to design cute plays that would unleash such an explosive keg of dynamite like Isabella. Note, I don't trust Kingsbury. He has yet to show me he isn't a straight down the line caste ass wipe.

Those small school comments by Kingsbury from an article cited up above are complete crap. UMASS played BYU, a MAC team, BC, USF and Georgia last season and Andy made mince meat out of them. The rest of their schedule included Georgia Southern. This is not a schedule with Sisters of the Poor. What the hell is he talking about?

The best comp I could come up with for Andy is Tim Dwight. Tim Dwight's first season with Atlanta included a receiving stat line of 4-94-1. This was 1998 and sounds a lot like Andy. In his next season Dwight had a 32-669-7 stat line. So maybe this should be the precedent?

Hold your horses. At least in his rookie season Tim returned kicks. He returned 31 punts for 263 yards and out of 36 kick offs averaged a nice 27 per return. Andy is used as a gunner. AKA Fetch.

I'm a realist and Andy is on the small side so I don't expect him to be some workhorse that plays every snap especially as a rookie. But come on. Only 3 measly targets this season thus far and not being used as a return man?

This team needs to get their heads out of their asses.
 

jaydeedubya

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You know Prince Kingsbury threw passes to Wes Welker while they both played at Texas Tech. He of all people should know the value of fast surehanded receiver. He may be a little jealous of Isabella. Klifford couldn’t adjust to the nfl. It was said he wasn’t tough enough. So instead of encouraging the development of Andy he may be harboring butt hurt ego fractures from his own lack of success. That’s just how my brain works.
 

dwid

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JC and EP raise good points up above. I find it very suspicious that this so called offensive guru Kingsbury hasn't been able to design cute plays that would unleash such an explosive keg of dynamite like Isabella. Note, I don't trust Kingsbury. He has yet to show me he isn't a straight down the line caste ass wipe.

Those small school comments by Kingsbury from an article cited up above are complete crap. UMASS played BYU, a MAC team, BC, USF and Georgia last season and Andy made mince meat out of them. The rest of their schedule included Georgia Southern. This is not a schedule with Sisters of the Poor. What the hell is he talking about?

The best comp I could come up with for Andy is Tim Dwight. Tim Dwight's first season with Atlanta included a receiving stat line of 4-94-1. This was 1998 and sounds a lot like Andy. In his next season Dwight had a 32-669-7 stat line. So maybe this should be the precedent?

Hold your horses. At least in his rookie season Tim returned kicks. He returned 31 punts for 263 yards and out of 36 kick offs averaged a nice 27 per return. Andy is used as a gunner. AKA Fetch.

I'm a realist and Andy is on the small side so I don't expect him to be some workhorse that plays every snap especially as a rookie. But come on. Only 3 measly targets this season thus far and not being used as a return man?

This team needs to get their heads out of their asses.
He's not that small
The Saints have a guy that's 3 inches shorter and 20 pounds lighter. He's the full time return man. Sure he's fast but he drops the ball every few returns. Andy is slightly bigger than Welker and faster. Welker caught 900 passes for almost 10,000 yards so " size concerns" is caste speak for "too white".

The same excuse was said for Woodhead, who was 5'9 200 pounds coming out. There have been many featured backs that were that size or smaller. Some who lasted a long time rushing for 10k career yards.
 
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Shadowlight

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I posted a long piece ( maybe one of the first here at CF) on this "smaller players" subject leading up to the 2019 draft pointing out the discrimination against small white wide receivers while acknowledging the NFL readily accepts smaller black receivers etc. I brought up small black return men as well.

Woodhead and Welker are good examples of smaller white players who made it but they are a rarity. Being smaller makes it harder for football players to flourish. Neither here nor there but Isabella seems smaller to me than Welker but that is a subjective thought. I also brought up the fact WR Scott Miller isn't all that small even thought the media played it up. The Rams have/had a black return man who is tiny and weighs about 140 pounds.

Without a doubt though there is a decided prejudice against smaller white NFL prospects. I however have been touting Isabella as loud as anyone here and am very disappointed as to how his season has turned out. I think the coaching staff has given him a raw deal.
 

Don Wassall

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Sounds like bs to me. And now that the Cardinals have DeAndre Hopkins, Isabella's racial apprenticeship is likely to continue again this season:

Arizona Cardinals WR Andy Isabella finished with nine catches as a rookie, playing just 38 snaps over the first eight games, and he was limited to 'fly routes and jet sweeps' because of his inability to separate on shorter routes, according to Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com.
 

Bucky

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Pure BS. AZ obviously had zero intention of ever using Isabella once they drafted him. Getting Hopkins almost certainly ensures his apprenticeship continue.. Be nice for him to find a way out of there. Second time(Swope) this franchise has done that now to one of our speedsters!!
 

white lightning

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Pure BS. AZ obviously had zero intention of ever using Isabella once they drafted him. Getting Hopkins almost certainly ensures his apprenticeship continue.. Be nice for him to find a way out of there. Second time(Swope) this franchise has done that now to one of our speedsters!!

This crap pisses me off so bad. These teams take our most talented guys and potential superstars and then never play him. He would be best off if he got cut. To say he can't
get adequate separation is as big a lie as Global Warming.
 

Sean89

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Couldn't get separation on short routes... hmmm, I think that TD he scored and the tons of college film that should have made him a first rounder , begs to differ !
 
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The Cardinals' disgraceful mistreatment of Isabella makes me worry for any White player they sign.
 

dwid

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Even if it were true, affletes like Ted Gin Jr and Devery Henderson made long careers out of being one trick ponies.

KeeSean Johnson played 35 percent of offensive snaps 42 targets for 21 catches 187 yards, not even 9 yards per catch . Bryd played 43 percent of snaps 32 catches for 359 yards 1 TD. Pharaoh Cooper played 21 percent of offensive snaps also anemic production, less than 10 yards per catch. Trent Sherfield played 25 percent of the offensive snaps yet came up with 4 catches on 13 targets, same number of targets as Isabella

Isabella played 15 percent of offensive snaps and averaged over 20 yards per catch. Even if you take away his big 88 yard score, he's still averaging more yards per catch than all of the Cardinals top receivers.
 
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Don Wassall

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Here's Kucksbury's plan to use Rondale Moore right away all over the field as a rookie, while Isabella was treated almost like a leper his first season. Moore is smaller than Isabella and has approximately the same speed:

Arizona Cardinals WR Rondale Moore will be used 'in as many different ways' as possible, according to head coach Kliff Kingsbury. 'Whether it's handing the ball from the backfield, toss to him on a sweep, go outside or on a fade route, he does it all,' Kingsbury said. 'So, we're going to move him around and make sure he gets his fair share of touches.'
 
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