Week 9 2009

[whiteathlete33]

Nice record Jaxvid and Don.  I am hoping to win 2 more games.  Several weeks from now going against Don doesn't look too good.

 

[Don Wassall]

The main reason I lost that game was because of Calvin Johnson. "Megatron" had just 2 receptions for 27 yards even though Stafford kept throwing to him. I watched some of the game and Johnson's body language was of the notbothering to tryvariety. Now he's denying a "rift" with Stafford.

Calvin Johnson: I'm fine with Matthew Stafford

http://www.detnews.com/article/20091110/SPORTS0101/911100328/1126/Calvin-Johnson--I-m-fine-with-Matthew-Stafford

 

[Don Wassall]

he's rotating in and out though, they used both of them. anyways, Horton went on IR today meaning that Doughty will take over full time now.

Doughty sprained his knee during the game. I haven't heard how long he'll be out yet.

 

[backrow]

from the report i've read today it wasn't suppose to be serious, let's hope to see him this week!

 

[white receiver #82]

Appreciate itColonel_Reb and dont forget to vote for Toby Gerhart everyday for Heisman

 

[DixieDestroyer]

Calvin Johnson very nearly signed with UGA out of HS, and would have played with Stafford in college. He needs to get his head on straight and he's playing with a Pro-Bowl (potential) QB with a laser arm.

 

[Alworth No.19]

Welcome to CF, white receiver #82. We can't pin our hopes on any one player or we will only be disappointed. Change will come slowly, and it will take little barriers falling one by one, not all at once. I hope the best for Toby, but I don't have any faith in the Caste System NFL giving him a fair chance to be THE MAN.

I believe this is sound counsel. I think many will be disappointed in Gerhart on the next level, because - and I know this may sound like I'm trying to be deliberately provocative, but I'm not - I don't think Gerhart is a top notch NFL running back. He is very good college running back, but I really don't see him taking the League by storm. He is very tough and hard to bring down, but I haven't seen him display the burst that is necessary for success in the NFL. The larger point is, there should be a dozen or so Toby Gerharts tearing up the NCAA. There are plenty of high school stars like Gerhart - will maybe not many who put up quite the same numbers as he did in high school - who are not getting a chance to display their ability on Saturdays because their coaches take the safe and easy route of going after black running backs exclusively. (John Hollinger once described college basketball coaches as basically car salesmen; most NCAA football head coaches are the same - hence their routine failure in the NFL.) If there were five or six white running backs who were surpassing 1000 yards in NCAA every year, there would be more drafted and more getting a chance to carry the rock in the NFL. If not, there would be a greater number of people wondering why this is so, which could lead to change.

Hillis, on the other hand, I believe to something special At least before his injury, he did display the necessary burst to get past the line of scrimmage in the NFL, and then really deliver punishment when he got into the defensive backfield. He is a serious load, like a cross between Riggins and Alstott. That he is getting no touches with the Broncos at this stage - when their running game is hurting and they're trotting out a 31(!) year-old retread - indicates that his career is over in Denver. He has to get out of there and sign with a team that will give him a shot. If he gets the Matt Jones treatment, he and Jones should go public and make this a national story.

 

[Bear Backer]

The NFL is the most anti-White professional sports league in existence, even more so than the NFL where Whites are not excluded from positions based on their race.

Say that again, Bear Backer?

John

I had a light seizure?

I meant NFL and NBA.

 

[Don Wassall]

I believe this is sound counsel. I think many will be disappointed in Gerhart on the next level, because - and I know this may sound like I'm trying to be deliberately provocative, but I'm not - I don't think Gerhart is a top notch NFL running back. He is very good college running back, but I really don't see him taking the League by storm. He is very tough and hard to bring down, but I haven't seen him display the burst that is necessary for success in the NFL. The larger point is, there should be a dozen or so Toby Gerharts tearing up the NCAA. There are plenty of high school stars like Gerhart - will maybe not many who put up quite the same numbers as he did in high school - who are not getting a chance to display their ability on Saturdays because their coaches take the safe and easy route of going after black running backs exclusively. (John Hollinger once described college basketball coaches as basically car salesmen; most NCAA football head coaches are the same - hence their routine failure in the NFL.) If there were five or six white running backs who were surpassing 1000 yards in NCAA every year, there would be more drafted and more getting a chance to carry the rock in the NFL. If not, there would be a greater number of people wondering why this is so, which could lead to change.

Hillis, on the other hand, I believe to something special At least before his injury, he did display the necessary burst to get past the line of scrimmage in the NFL, and then really deliver punishment when he got into the defensive backfield. He is a serious load, like a cross between Riggins and Alstott. That he is getting no touches with the Broncos at this stage - when their running game is hurting and they're trotting out a 31(!) year-old retread - indicates that his career is over in Denver. He has to get out of there and sign with a team that will give him a shot. If he gets the Matt Jones treatment, he and Jones should go public and make this a national story.

Gerhart is a lot like Hillis in his skill set. Hillis is a freakish athlete, who if he was black would have been drafted in the first round just like Chris Wells, Darren McFadden, and Felix Jones. Gerhart has the vision and elusiveness combined with exceptional balancethat with his size is rare, no matter what his 40 time is. He's a big time back, that's undeniable. If he only turns out to be "good" in the NFL he'll still have surpassed the expectations of the majority of black running backs.

 

[Kaptain]

If Michael Turner took the league by storm last year, then there is absolutely no reason that Gerhardt, given the same chance, couldn't do the same. IMO he is every bit the runner Michael Turner is and then some.

 

[dwid]

Toby definitely has the burst to play in the nfl from what I have seen watching him every Saturday. He is more than just a tough guy to bring down. He is quick to find the hole and accelerate through it.

I would define him as slippery, the first contact he makes he usually is not powering through people head on but rather going so fast that people are clawing at him barely getting their hands on him to bring him down because he is simply too fast and too big, so he usually slips through these.

Eventually when he is surrounded by defenders he will plow a few extra yards, but he gets most of his yards by having the ability cut and burst through the hole.

There are guys in the NFL with a similar style of running that are succesful. I can't think of any off of the top of my head because I usually don't pay attention to the names of NFL runningbacks but I'm sure someone can give you a comparison to his running style.

edit: just saw the post above me. Yes I saw Michael Turner the other week against the Saints, not sure if he runs like this every week but I saw a similar way of running, slipping through arm tackles because defenders were not there in time and he was big enough to brush them off. He had a few big runs. I agree that Toby will be better than Turner.Edited by: dwid

 

[FootballDad]

I think that Toby will also surprise some at the Indiana bruthas convention (combine), as he's always been a bit of a workout warrior. He certainly was at Norco in his HS playing days.

 

[whiteathlete33]

I was watching a game and Al Michaels said something I never heard in referring to an afflete.  I can't remember which player he was talking about but it was a wide receiver and he said that "He's deceptively quick."  I think he should be fired immediately.  After all that phrase should only be used when referring to white players.

 

[Jack Lambert]

I heard the same thing whiteathlete33. I forgot who he was talking about, but I was in shock when I heard Michaels say that. Michaels probably got a phone call on Monday morning.

 

[whiteathlete33]

I think I remember Jack.  I believe he was talking about Santonio Holmes.

 

[Leonardfan]

Gerhart runs very hard. I think Turner is a decent back but does not have the power of Gerhart. If Gerhart keeps it up he might find his way into the first round. I can list at least 10 starting RBs in the NFL that Gerhart is better than off the top of my head.

 

[Electric Slide]

Gerhart definitely has a good burst through the line. He obviously does not have the acceleration of Jake Sharp, an I think Hillis might even have a slightly quicker burst, but based on watching him play he looks a half step faster through the line than Brian Leonard, who most of us here agree should be a starting RB. But burst is not even everything, he has great balance, vision, strength and agility. This will all show itself in the combine, and I believe he will be drafted in the first round and starting for some team next year. And before anyone tells me otherwise, yes I do know about Luke Staley. I think this time will be different. I hope I am right, but of course I will admit it if I'm wrong.

 

[white receiver #82]

Well i guess it all depends on how his Toby'scombine goes. which i think is bogus, you should be based by how well you perform in games but he probably wont get drafted that high because he most likely runs around a 4.5 to a 4.6

 

[dwid]

I think if he is 100 percent healthy for the combine his 40 time will surprise some. I think it will be around what his rivals page says 4.48, even though it wouldn't matter if he ran a 4.5 or 4.6.

In the Gerhart thread he was compared to Dickerson by Fightingtowin, and from the little footage I could find, it is a good comparison. Dickerson was said to have the perfect blend of speed and power, I think Toby is the same way. Edited by: dwid

 

[white receiver #82]

my mistake i didnt look anything up on the guy i was just guessin