Sumo Watch

Leonardfan

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Another "great athlete with limitless upside" who has been a colossal bust. The Rams could have been a much improved team in recent years if not for their love affair with sumos.

A league source tells NFL.com Rams RT Jason Smith "won't be back" at his current 2012 base salary of $10 million, and is a candidate for release. This seconds a recent Profootballtalk.com report, which said Smith has been issued an ultimatum to take a pay-cut or be released. Only $1 million of his 2012 salary is guaranteed. Limited by concussions to just 29 of a possible 48 games since being the No. 2 overall pick of the 2009 draft, Smith has been abysmal in pass protection and only marginally better against the run. He's on the verge of washing out of the league.

It blows my mind that every year teams still draft black linemen so high when they have such a high bust rate. Levi Brown is another one that comes to mind.
 

FootballDad

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A few days ago the Blackaneers released tub-o-lard Albert Haynesworth. I haven't ventured onto any NFL draft sites or team sites lately, but I'll wager that countless DWFs are having wet dreams about "their team" picking up this lazy worthless slug.
 

celticdb15

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It blows my mind that every year teams still draft black linemen so high when they have such a high bust rate. Levi Brown is another one that comes to mind.

Yes it really is a head scratcher and the lack of media attention to these bums for underperforming just proves the media wants to keep the lie of black supremacy going.
 

Don Wassall

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Another bum:

Pro Football Weekly is "hearing" that Seahawks RT James Carpenter (ACL surgery) is a candidate to open 2012 on the PUP list. The Seahawks protected themselves from losing Carpenter for the first six games by re-signing Breno Giacomini to a two-year deal. Carpenter was the 25th pick in last April's draft, struggling mightily before tearing an ACL in a November practice. He may be switched to guard after finishing his recovery.
 

Woody

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I am convinced that the only thing keeping the sumo-craze going is the romanticized memories of the mythical Jonathan Ogden and Orlando Pace. I know they were good and there are some good black OLmen in the NFL today, but they are almost always highly overrated and never justify their draft status.

With their high bust rate, drafting a sumo in the first 3 rounds cannot be justified, IMO. And then any sumos left in rounds 4-7 must really suck to not have been hyped through the stratosphere. So yeah, I would never draft a sumo.
 

Don Wassall

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I am convinced that the only thing keeping the sumo-craze going is the romanticized memories of the mythical Jonathan Ogden and Orlando Pace. I know they were good and there are some good black OLmen in the NFL today, but they are almost always highly overrated and never justify their draft status.

With their high bust rate, drafting a sumo in the first 3 rounds cannot be justified, IMO. And then any sumos left in rounds 4-7 must really suck to not have been hyped through the stratosphere. So yeah, I would never draft a sumo.

Larry Allen was another mythologized sumo, almost always referred to as the "strongest man in football." Willie Roaf was another. For a while there the same sumos made the Pro Bowl as starters year after year, long after whatever merit their selection might have had was gone.

It's good that some successful teams like the Patriots, Packers and Colts were unafraid to use White linemen otherwise the o-line might have become sumo dominated as is the case with defensive lines in spite of the large collection of yearly black busts that are drafted. There are spectacular black busts at defensive tackle and defensive end every year, yet teams still draft a large number of blacks at those positions in the first two rounds and precious few whites. I can't think of the last White d-tackle to be drafted in the first or second round.
 

Truthteller

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I can't think of the last White d-tackle to be drafted in the first or second round.

While he is in no way a "sumo", Adam Carriker was defensive end in college, but drafted as a defensive tackle by the Rams (13th overall)...Actually, Carriker seems to be a DE/DT tweener, best suited as a 3-4 DE -- notice how he shed the "bust" label in Washington and will now be a coveted free agent? Same can be said about J.J. Watt -- DT size and strength, playing 3-4 DE. Can't think of any others in recent memory.

Going back quite a bit, athletic big men Steve Emtman and Ray Childress where very high picks at DT. But your point is well taken, true white DT's don't really even exist anymore, outside of the occasional late rounder that sticks (Gregg, Kyle Williams). Even current Nebraska prospect Jared Crick is being touted as a 3-4 DE, not a DT.
 

Don Wassall

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I forgot about Carriker, but he would have been better off as a pass rushing end in the NFL. Emtman was widely publicized as a bust, though it was mainly injury problems that derailed his pro career as I recall. It seems like Emtman was used as an excuse to downgrade all White d-linemen after that come draft time, but the annual draft harvest of numerous black busts on both the offensive and defensive lines doesn't put a dent in the league's extremist affirmative action policies.
 

dwid

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apparently longer arms is supposed to help them be better tackles, Chad Clifton, Joe Thomas, Jake Long all have less than the "ideal" arm length including many others like David Diehl, Matt Light, Jordan Gross, I think all around 33 inches. The "ideal" length is 34-36. Somehow Jake Long's arms transformed into 35 and a half inches long to keep this myth alive, even though that is not what they measured at the combine. I can't find anything that shows that having arm length 34 inches or longer makes a better left tackle except for a few biased articles that mention Robert Gallery and using Ryan Clady's 36 inch reach and his one great season as proof. The only thing I see is that blacks tend to have longer arms, and its usually not by much, most of these first round sumos only have an arm length around 34 inches. Joe Thomas and Jake Long are probably the top two tackles in the game right now and it isn't affecting them.

Ive been watching old Rams footage, Orlando Pace doesn't stand out as great, he was good but not great.
 

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Two black DEs, both picked 8th overall in their respective drafts, sign today. Anderson's and Harvey's careers combined aren't nearly as good as was Mike Mamula's, but Mamula is still reviled as a historic bust while Anderson and Harvey are unknown to the average football fan.

Bengals signed DE Jamaal Anderson, formerly of the Colts. Joining Derrick Harvey, Anderson is the second former No. 8 pick in the draft to surface with Cincinnati on the same day. Still only 26 years old, Anderson was a rotational left end and defensive tackle in Indy last season, managing just 24 tackles and three sacks in 15 games. Pro Football Focus did grade Anderson as a serviceable run defender, but he's been a major NFL bust.

Bengals signed DE Derrick Harvey, formerly of the Broncos. The eighth pick in the 2008 draft, Harvey has been a near-complete bust, managing just eight sacks in 52 career appearances. Harvey couldn't get on the field in Denver last year, and goes to Cincinnati to compete for a roster spot.
 

Don Wassall

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Taylor was one of the few highly drafted black DTs in recent years to actually flash some ability. . .
 

Don Wassall

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Nick Fairley, the Lions' first pick in 2011 (13th overall), stunk on the field last year -- all of 9 tackles and 1 sack in 10 games -- and just got his second DUI (after trying to elude police) in two months. Yet another colossal black bust out of the SEC in the works.

Lions DT Nick Fairley was arrested Sunday morning in Mobile, Alabama on suspicion of driving under the influence. Fairley was pulled over just before 1:00 a.m. after attempting to elude police. He posted $1750 bail and was later released. The arrest marks Fairley's second in the last two months, and he will now be subject to the league's personal-conduct policy. Fairley was placed on the NFL's substance abuse program earlier this month and could be facing a possible league-mandated suspension.
 

white is right

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Nick Fairley, the Lions' first pick in 2011 (13th overall), stunk on the field last year -- all of 9 tackles and 1 sack in 10 games -- and just got his second DUI (after trying to elude police) in two months. Yet another colossal black bust out of the SEC in the works.

Lions DT Nick Fairley was arrested Sunday morning in Mobile, Alabama on suspicion of driving under the influence. Fairley was pulled over just before 1:00 a.m. after attempting to elude police. He posted $1750 bail and was later released. The arrest marks Fairley's second in the last two months, and he will now be subject to the league's personal-conduct policy. Fairley was placed on the NFL's substance abuse program earlier this month and could be facing a possible league-mandated suspension.
This could explain Suh's lack of production last season as he had no help from the other tackle. I might have been the only poster on this site who thought Fairley was a potential star. But with 2 DUI charges he looks like he is headed to statistical mean for former Black players, broke and out of football within a few years.
 

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Another wildly over-rated sumo is finished at the age of 28.

Free agent LT Marcus McNeill has decided to retire from football. The 2006 second-rounder earned trips to the Pro Bowl in each of his first two seasons as Philip Rivers' blindside protector. A starter in all 82 games over six seasons as the class of the AFC West, McNeill's career had stalled out the past few years due to back and neck injuries with roots dating to his college days at Auburn. Turning 29 in November, McNeill cites recurring spinal issues as the reason for retirement.
 

Deadlift

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Cardinals' Levi Brown tears triceps

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/players/playerpage/407209/levi-brown

Brown has a torn right triceps and probably will not play this season.
(Updated 8/18/12) STATS LLC
Advice Coach Ken Whisenhunt revealed the extent of the injury at his Saturday news conference, saying the five-year starter will require surgery, with an anticipated recovery time that would approach the end of the season. Brown was injured in the first half of Arizona's 31-27 preseason victory over the Oakland Raiders on Friday night.
 

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celticdb15

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The Chicago Bears have waived former first-round offensive lineman Chris Williams.
 
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LG Charlie Johnson of the Minnesota Vikings should be the next summo getting shown the door. After being abysmal last year at left tackle, the Vikings moved him to start at left guard this year, where he has become known as the "revolving door" amongst locals. The 32nd ranked redskins defense figured that out and exploited it all game. I found this right up on bleacher report after the Redskins game.

"He was a catastrophe at left tackle for the Vikings, and many hoped he would play acceptably as a guard with a smaller space and different players to line up against. Johnson gave up at least two sacks and several other interior pressures. It's safe to say a lot of the disruption in the passing game had to with the type of pressure Johnson regularly gave up."


http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1370950-vikings-vs-redskins-minnesotas-biggest-winners-and-losers
 
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Good article on vikings left tackle Matt Kalil, and how he does not want to become a "sumo".

[h=2]Vikings' Kalil faces weighty issues[/h]There are times when Matt Kalil is so full he can't take another bite. Yet he chews on because the consequences of not doing so are too dire to consider as a 21st century left tackle in the National Football League.
Giving in to his overwhelming craving not to maintain his consumption of 6,000 to 6,500 calories per day would cause Kalil to essentially shrink. Rapidly.
"I know, I know, 'Poor guy. Must be tough having to eat all the time,' " says Kalil, the Vikings' 6-7, 307-pound rookie. "But, really, it is sometimes. I mean there are times when I feel completely stuffed and it's time to eat again...

Probably the worst Kalil felt in years was when he put on 16 pounds in a hurry for the pre-draft NFL Scouting Combine. He was 311 pounds and yet every team he visited with had the same No. 1 question for him.
"How much weight do you think you can gain?" Kalil said. "That's all they seemed to want to know."

He had his answer polished by the time he sat down with Frazier.
"He told me, 'Coach, I'm going to change how left tackles look in the NFL,' " Frazier said. "He said, 'My lean build is going to create more left tackles who want to be like me. They'll want to have this basketball build so that they can mirror these fast defensive ends.

"I said, 'We'll see. We'll see.' At the time, he didn't know that we were going to ask him to gain weight, too."

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikings/175045521.html
 

Don Wassall

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Yet another sumo who somehow didn't realize his amazing upside. But will he ever make it onto one of BSPN's "Biggest Draft Busts" shows?

Jets released OT Jason Smith. The second overall pick in 2009 by St. Louis, Smith is one of the biggest busts in modern draft history. It's not surprising that the Jets are cutting ties with Smith because he was owed a $12 million roster bonus, and all of that comes off New York's cap. Operating as a special teams blocker and tight end in jumbo packages last season, Smith played under 300 offensive snaps.
 

white is right

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Yet another sumo who somehow didn't realize his amazing upside. But will he ever make it onto one of BSPN's "Biggest Draft Busts" shows?

Jets released OT Jason Smith. The second overall pick in 2009 by St. Louis, Smith is one of the biggest busts in modern draft history. It's not surprising that the Jets are cutting ties with Smith because he was owed a $12 million roster bonus, and all of that comes off New York's cap. Operating as a special teams blocker and tight end in jumbo packages last season, Smith played under 300 offensive snaps.
I found this story interesting because this sumo looks rather fit for a 300 pound+ specimen and he is only 26 years old....http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story/_/id/9279332/kyle-love-released-new-england-patriots
 

Don Wassall

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Max Starks, long-time key component of the Steelers' horrible offensive line, is signed by San Diego and somehow supposedly is now the team's starting left tackle. Amazing, even for the NFL. Apparently the new regime in San Diego wants Phillip Rivers to continue to spend a large portion of games flat on his back, which is what happened when Norv Turner changed the team's long-time mostly White (and effective) o-line to a mostly black one the past couple of seasons. From Weenieworld:

Chargers agreed to terms with OT Max Starks, formerly of the Steelers, on a one-year contract. The longtime Steeler vaults to the top of the Chargers' depth chart at left tackle. OT Kevin Haslam was waived in a corresponding move. Haslam was part of the Bolts' revolving door on the blindside last season as Jared Gaither "battled" back and groin injuries. Starks was not effective for the Steelers in 2012, allowing a troubling 40 hurries according to Pro Football Focus' stats, but still has more to offer than King Dunlap. Left tackle remains a trouble spot for San Diego, which is likely looking at a long season under rookie GM Tom Telesco.
 
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