Eric Weddle - CB

Jimmy Chitwood

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unfortunately, the game wasn't televised here, so i didn't get to watch it. but from watching previous games, Weddle often makes tackles from sideline to sideline, even in the passing game on guys he wasn't covering. so of course they are going to want to move him to safety (along with the contributing factor of his debilitating skin condition). but what they usually do is overlook his dominant coverage ability, which is even harder to find than a good safety.

everybody has a bad game, now and again however. so keep your chin up Eric! i'm sure he'll bounce back with a strong performance the next time out.
 

voice

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I forgot to mention the most ridiculous caste comment I have heard

It was the 2nd quarter against UCLA and the announcer said "we haven't seen anything from Weddle today"

When in anyones experience listening to football has the announcer called out the corner because he hadn't had a pick etc in the 2nd quarter. It wasn't because he got beat for a touchdown it was only because he hadn't done anything spectacular yet. Unfricking believable.
 

whiteCB

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When your a white CB the odds were already stacked up aganist you in the first place of ever being allowed to play that position. So when you actually do get to play CB and your white you HAVE to outperform everybody else becuase the leash you have is much shorter to mess up than it would be a black CB. Weddle must make plays and outperform every other CB in the country if he wants to play CB. There is NO room for error.
 

whiteCB

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I found it hard to believe in the Sports Illustrated mid-season All American team that they had Weddle as a 1st team DB calliong him the "nation's premier CB". That right there was some shocking sh*t to read coming from pro caste system SI.
 

backrow

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! great news, and who knows he might be the first one since jason Sehorn and KK to actually play at corner in NFL! (Fox' cameo not included)
 

Leonardfan

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whiteCB said:
I found it hard to believe in the Sports Illustrated mid-season All American team that they had Weddle as a 1st team DB calliong him the "nation's premier CB". That right there was some shocking sh*t to read coming from pro caste system SI.


I think the caste system likes giving some excellent white players publicity so that when they do make a mistake or aren't perfect they are ready to pounce on them. Why do you guys think the resurgence of Notre Dame has made so many more hate them? Quinn, The Shark and Zbikowski's skin color have a little to do with it imo. Remember fans saying Hawk was a bust already?
 

Jimmy Chitwood

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Eric had a HUGE day against the Air Force Academy as Colonel Reb already posted on another thread. but i just wanted to post this link so you can read just how impressive he truly was.
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some excerpts for the best cornerback in America who scored the only 2 Ute touchdowns in the victory...
Weddle, the reigning defensive player of the year in the Mountain West Conference, ran 12 times for 73 yards and two touchdowns, made eight solo tackles, returned a punt and held for Louie Sakoda's 37-yard field goal as time expired.

"Whatever they need me to do," said Weddle, who played safety, cornerback, linebacker, tailback, quarterback, punt returner, kick returner and holder at Falcon Stadium...

And it's not like the Falcons were caught off guard. Weddle was simply too good to beat, no matter where he lined up.

"It wasn't any secret that he was going to run the football when he came in the game," said DeBerry...

And it wasn't surprising that Weddle would come up with the big plays on defense.

After scoring on a 6-yard run in the first quarter, Weddle shed a blocker and stuffed Chad Hall at the Utah 14. Hall otherwise had a clear path to the first-down marker, if not the end zone.

"My job is to run to the pitch and shed blocks," Weddle said. "That play, I just got lucky and tripped him up."

Weddle saw his most extensive action of the season on offense. His 73-yard performance was the best for any Utah rusher this season...

"It's a joy watching him play defense, watching how well he reads offenses and makes big plays. But it's nice to have him come over to the offensive side and make plays for us too," (Utah quarterback Brett) Ratliff said. "Even on special teams, he does it all. We have him everywhere."
ericweddle-1.jpg

Weddle with the big hit.Edited by: Jimmy Chitwood
 

Colonel_Reb

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Weddle did an interview on radio today and said he and the Utes were "honored to play at team like BYU at home." I think he was trying to downplay the BYU/Utah rivalry and game this week. On the other hand, one of the few black Cougars, RB Curtis Brown, said "I think its gonna be a blowout, I mean, in our conference games, they haven't even been close." I'm sure his comments are now bulletin board material in the Ute locker rooms. We'll see what happens. With these rivalry games, you can usually throw out the records because of the emotions involved. I know the game is sold out, because I tried to get tickets a month and a half ago, and it should be a rowdy crowd up in Salt Lake. I'll have to settle for watching it on CSTV! Woo Hoo!
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Jimmy Chitwood

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Eric Weddle is not the guy BYU receivers want to run in to</font>
By Michael C. Lewis
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated:11/21/2006 01:14:54 AM MST
ericweddle-2.jpg

Almost every day after practice, it's the same thing. Utah's Eric Weddle takes a cell phone from an athletic department official and settles in to conduct however many interviews have been requested from radio stations, newspapers and magazines all over the country. Sometimes, he lays down on the field after his teammates are long gone, plucking at the grass and rolling his eyes playfully at the same questions he has answered a thousand times. At least once, he held the phone with one hand and played catch with teammate Casey Evans using the other - never dropping the ball, of course. In other words? He makes it all look so easy.
Having started the season as his team's best player on defense, Weddle is finishing it - and his standout career - as its best player on offense, as well. Add to that his special teams duties, and he's unquestionably one of the most versatile players in the country.
"He has done so much for us this year," coach Kyle Whittingham said.
The Utes no doubt will use Weddle extensively in every capacity when they attempt to beat rival Brigham Young for the fifth straight season at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday, lending credence to Whittingham's suggestion that he might just be the best all-around player to ever don the drum-and-feather.
That's saying something, too, considering the Utes have sent dozens of players on to pro careers over the years - including quarterback Alex Smith, the No. 1 pick of the NFL draft two years ago. But Whittingham maintains that Weddle would be the best player in the Mountain West Conference at whatever position the Utes would have played him full-time.
Which begs the question: Is Weddle destined for NFL stardom, too?
"In my opinion, he's going to be a tremendous prospect," Whittingham said. "From what I see, I'd be surprised if he's not playing for a lot of years in that league."
Most early scouting reports label Weddle as among the top dozen or so defensive back prospects in the country, though he acknowledged that many teams are uncertain whether he'd be suited more to play cornerback or safety.
His speed is the big question. If he can prove he has enough - say, by running about a 4.4-second 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine next spring - he could convince teams that he has what it takes to do either.
"If I can run good times and do all the other stuff well, which I think I can, then I think I have a good shot to have a good chance," he said.
Weddle has little doubt that despite some damaging lapses in man-to-man pass coverage that resulted in touchdowns - the result of trying too hard to do too much, he said - he has only improved his draft stock with the season he has enjoyed with such apparent effortlessness. He's the fourth-leading tackler on the team, ranks eighth nationally with six interceptions, and has scored seven touchdowns - two on interception returns, one on a fumble return and four on offense.
"He makes more plays than anybody I've ever seen," Evans marveled. "I look at everybody in the nation, and I can't really pick a player that I think makes as many plays as he does."
Want to put a number on it?
Try 90.
That's how many plays Weddle ran in a 17-14 victory at Air Force last weekend. He was in the game for all 63 defensive snaps, ran a season-high 14 plays on offense, held for three kicks - including the game-winning field goal - and was on the field for six punt or kick returns and all four of the Falcons' attempts of field goals and extra points.
So not only did Weddle make eight tackles to help hold the Falcons to 116 rushing yards, but he also led the Utes with 73 rushing yards and two touchdowns on a dozen carries.
"I told him after the game, 'They're cheating you, son. They ought to be giving you two scholarships.' " Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry said.
No doubt about it.
The Utes would be lost without Weddle, who has been a starter since he was a true freshman, playing both cornerback and safety before acquiring his role in the offense about this time last season.
The coaches limited that role earlier in the season, when they worried about putting too much on his plate. But since backup running back Mike Liti suffered a season-ending injury three weeks ago to deplete an already mediocre running game, Weddle has watched his jobs multiply.
"I love it," he said.
Still, his hallmark and home is on defense, and Weddle is hoping he can enjoy his final two college games - against the Cougars and in a bowl game - the same way he enjoyed the back end of last season, when he shut down every receiver that dared come his way, making it look easy all the while.
"It's kind of weird," he said. "I haven't really looked at that too much. I'm not a guy that looks back on it too much. I like to stay the course and look who our next opponent is. But after the season, I'll look back on my career, and hopefully, it was a good one and people look at me as a good football player and a good leader on this team."
Fittingly, that looks like it will be pretty easy to do.
mcl@sltrib.com

Lights Out

* Eric Weddle's six interceptions this season rank eighth nationally.
* His 17 career interceptions are tied for first among active players with Duke's John Talley, and tied for second on the Utes' career list with LaVon Edwards (1988-91).
* His seven touchdowns (two on INTs, one on fumble return, four on offense) are tied with QB Brett Ratliff and WR Brett Casteel for the team lead.
* Has played cornerback, safety, nickelback, quarterback, punt returner, punter, holder on field goals, and kickoff special teams in four seasons with the Utes.
* 2005 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and 2005 Emerald Bowl Defensive MVP.
* Member of 2004 team that went undefeated and won Fiesta Bowl.
Edited by: Jimmy Chitwood
 

REDNOSE

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I guess ole Fisher thinks Weddle is an elite talent. He must think there's something in his ancestry's woodshed. He looks pretty pale to me!
 

white is right

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voice said:
I forgot to mention the most ridiculous caste comment I have heard

It was the 2nd quarter against UCLA and the announcer said "we haven't seen anything from Weddle today"

When in anyones experience listening to football has the announcer called out the corner because he hadn't had a pick etc in the 2nd quarter. It wasn't because he got beat for a touchdown it was only because he hadn't done anything spectacular yet. Unfricking believable.
When your seen but not heard at corner that means nobody is throwing your way out of respect/fear.....
 
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Eric Weddle will surely be gone before the end of the second round of draft.... when he runs under 4.5 in workouts


as a free Safety and Punt/Kick returner
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Edited by: NotreDameIrish
 
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BYU lit up the Utah secondry today Beck threw for 374 yards and 4 TD's...


I didnt see the game but,


i hope Eric didnt put a foot wrong because...The Caste Media need little excuse to go to work...It could cost him draft position and millions of dollars...


Can anyone lead my mind to rest
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NotreDameIrish said:
Eric Weddle will surely be gone before the end of the second round of draft.... when he runs under 4.5 in workouts


as a free Safety and Punt/Kick returner 
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If he goes to the NFL, and ends up at any position other than corner, the NFL will be hearing from my attorney. lol.
 

backrow

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i think there's just abou 99% of him not playing a corner in the NFL, or if he does it will be incidental and short-lived...

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Freedom

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I doubt he will even get drafted before the 4th round. Dustin Fox from Ohio St. didn't get to play corner really. What are Weddle's chances from Utah.
 

backrow

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i think Weddle is higher on draft boards than Fox was. but i agree, he should get drafted an play some safety...
 

white is right

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backrow said:
i think there's just abou 99% of him not playing a corner in the NFL, or if he does it will be incidental and short-lived...

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Many white corners play corner until a safety position opens up their team..
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jaxvid

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One of the problems with the artificial black dominance of the cornerback position is that the only whites "allowed" to play there are usually such athletic freaks that is makes sense to put them at postions like safety to utilise their skills.

Thus guys like Fox and Weddle are good fits for the safety position which frees the team to put one dimensional blacks at the corner.

Since there are no one dimensional whites allowed in the game, i.e. any white that plays on defense is usually a world class athlete, there are no true white corners anywhere in division 1 football.

I think Mike Furrey would have been a good corner. He was wrongly moved to safety where he had to bulk up, but he is a smaller guy and would have made a great corner. Look at the picks he got in limited action at safety. What a corner he would have been if not for the unfortuate fact of his white skin.
 

white is right

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jaxvid said:
One of the problems with the artificial black dominance of the cornerback position is that the only whites "allowed" to play there are usually such athletic freaks that is makes sense to put them at postions like safety to utilise their skills.

Thus guys like Fox and Weddle are good fits for the safety position which frees the team to put one dimensional blacks at the corner.

Since there are no one dimensional whites allowed in the game, i.e. any white that plays on defense is usually a world class athlete, there are no true white corners anywhere in division 1 football.

I think Mike Furrey would have been a good corner. He was wrongly moved to safety where he had to bulk up, but he is a smaller guy and would have made a great corner. Look at the picks he got in limited action at safety. What a corner he would have been if not for the unfortuate fact of his white skin.
I think the stereotype of being "heady" also works against white corners. These days coaches emphasize corner is an instinctual position. When Pat Fischer was laying forearm shivers on wideouts running crossing routes, coaches didnt think that about the position then....
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Jimmy Chitwood

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ericweddle-3.jpg

Why not give Heisman to Utah's Eric Weddle?</font>
By Doug Robinson
Deseret Morning News

Dear Heisman Trophy voters: It's time to get serious and make your pick. Who do you like?

There are no real head-turners out there this season, no Reggie Bushes or Vince Youngs, no one who really dazzled.

Troy Smith, the Ohio State quarterback, will likely win the award, but here's another idea: Instead of giving the trophy to the best running back or quarterback, why not break tradition and give it to the BEST FOOTBALL PLAYER?

Why not give the Heisman Trophy to Eric Weddle?

Weddle is the best all-around football player in the nation, period.

He is a gridiron sensation in the West. He gets more ink than Tom and Katie.

When is the last time you heard fans chanting a defensive back's name during a game (which is what they were doing in Rice Eccles Stadium on Saturday)? But of course Weddle is so much more than a defensive back.

Why not give the trophy to a guy who plays full-time cornerback/safety and part-time quarterback, punt returner and holder for field goals and extra points?

Why not give the Heisman to a guy who has scored three touchdowns on defense and four on offense?

"He should win the Heisman Trophy," Wyoming coach Joe Glenn said earlier this season. "I sincerely mean that."

So do I.

He has 58 tackles, 35 of them solo.

He has two fumble recoveries and returned one for a touchdown.

He has six interceptions and returned two for touchdowns.

He's rushed for 161 yards and four touchdowns on 34 carries, or almost five yards per carry.

He's completed 2 of 4 passes for 43 yards, including a perfect, spiraling 18-yard touchdown pass that hit receiver Brent Casteel in stride against BYU on Saturday.

He's returned 7 punts for 40 yards.

He is Utah's third leading scorer, with 42 points.

The only people who spend more time on the field than Weddle each Saturday are referees. Against Air Force two weeks ago, Weddle played every snap on defense and collected eight tackles. On offense, he led the Utes in rushing with 73 yards and scored Utah's only two touchdowns. He also served as the holder for the game-winning field goal.

He played a total of 90 plays.

Afterward, Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry told him, "They're cheating you, son; they ought to give you two scholarships."

Ute coach Kyle Whittingham says Weddle might be the best all-around player ever to wear a Ute uniform, this at a school that has produced a long list of NFL stars. For that matter, Whittingham believes Weddle would be the best player in the Mountain West Conference at whatever position he played if he played it full time.

A couple of weeks ago, Weddle, a first-team preseason all-American, was listed as a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Trophy (awarded to the nation's top defensive back), a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Trophy (to the nation's top defensive player), a quarterfinalist for the Lott Trophy (to the nation's top impact player) and a candidate for the Bronco Nagurski Trophy (also to the nation's top defensive player).

Give him all of the above, plus the Heisman, to round out his collection.

Where is it written that the Heisman will be won only by players at a couple of positions? Of the 70 Heisman winners, 64 were quarterbacks or running backs; only one was listed as a defensive player and he was a two-way player like Weddle â€â€￾ wide receiver/cornerback Charles Woodson in 1997.

Weddle has thrown the age of specialization on its ear. He's a throwback to one-platoon football. He defines what a good football player is. Nothing would say that better than the Heisman Trophy.

E-mail: drob@desnews.com
 

backrow

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wow, i am very impressed both with the article and with some of the props he's getting!

great season Eric, hope to see you star in the NFL!
 

Triad

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Here are some numbers for comparison: This is the best I could find, feel free to update and double check.

Charles Woodson's 1997 Heisman stats - 5 carries for 21 yards and 1 TD. He completed 1 of 1 passes for 28 yards with no touchdowns. He had 12 receptions for 238 yrds and 2 TD's. Punt returns 36 for 301 yards and 1 TD (78 yards). Defensively, he had 8 interceptions for 7 returned yards (?) and no TD's. He also had 27 solo tackles and 17 assists, 5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 0 fumble recoveries or forced, and 9 passes defended. Good enough to beat out Manning for the Heisman.

With a bowl game remaining, Eric Weddle currently has 34 carries for 147 yards (it says 161 yards above) and 4 rushing TD's. He's completed 2 of 4 passes for 43 yards and 1 TD. No receptions on the year. He's returned 7 punts for 40 yards and intercepted 6 passes for 70 return yards and 2 TD's. EDITED:He has 58 tackles, 35 of them solo. He has two fumble recoveries and returned one for a touchdown.
Edited by: Triad
 
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