Here's yet another favorable Gerhart article -- perhaps the best yet.
Toby Gerhart's Speed Will Surprise the NFL—as Will the Jaguars, Eventually
Let's get the obvious out of the way on Toby Gerhart, shall we?
"Toby has always been a good running back in this league," said one NFC team executive. "He'll help that Jacksonville team. He'll make them better. He's always been better than some people perceived. If he were black, you f-----s (in the media) would be talking about how good he is."
So, there's that.
Gerhart's had plenty of nice things written and said about him in the media. People realize how good he can be. Yet I do believe Gerhart has been overlooked at times—by both the media and people in the league itself—because it's been assumed he's just a slow, non-evasive plodder who can't do more than batter and bruise.
Backing up a legend like Adrian Peterson understandably stunted his ability to produce and, as a result, limited his reputation with the average fan. That said, personnel men are in love with Gerhart.
I can't find a single scout who believes Jacksonville signing him to a three-year, $10.5 million deal was a bad move. The general feeling around football is that Gerhart will have a big year. Still, those same personnel men raving about him now had opportunities to perhaps trade for Gerhart but never did. So while they praise Gerhart, they could have had him but didn't make the move.
There is definitely something to the media undervaluing Gerhart overall and his speed specifically. For what it's worth, he ran a 4.50-second 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine. He also had a 38-inch vertical leap.
I'm not saying he's Eric Dickerson. But I saw one recent article, from NFL.com's Marc Sessler, describe Gerhart as possessing "sneaky wheels." That's code for he's fly for a white guy.
full article:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...rprise-the-nfl-as-will-the-jaguars-eventually