Character Issues DON'T stop teams from rolling the dice...

[5mics]

When will they learn?

Character issues don't stop teams from rolling the dice
By Hub Arkush (hub@pfwmedia.com)
May 30, 2005


It’s practically an unwritten rule in the NFL that you don’t gamble on character questions with a top-10 or top-15 pick in the draft. And on the rare occasions when a team does, such as the Chargers’ selection of Ryan Leaf (No. 2 overall in 1998) or the Bears’ selection of Cade McNown (No. 12 in 1999), those decisions have almost always ended in disaster.

It seems to me that a pivotal question as we all try to project how rookie players will fare in the NFL in these times of parity, free agency and a greater need than ever to be successful in the draft, is: Why risk any of your valuable draft choices on players who come to the game and the league with known concerns about their heads, specifically the parts they think with, not hit with?

As we head into the 2005 NFL season, it appears there are five poster-children candidates for the “remarkable talent but where did we go wrong?” award. I thought it would be fun to look at where they’ve come from, where they went wrong, just how predictable it might have been and how their final scouting reports will read.

Certainly Randy Moss is the headliner in this group and perhaps the all-time classic example of my hypothetical dilemma. Every NFL fan out there who knows anything about the game remembers the story of that 1998 NFL draft in which Peyton Manning went first, Leaf second and 19 teams passed on Moss, including the Bengals, who said “no thanks” twice. According to PFW, Moss was the 15th-best prospect in that draft, and the late Joel Buchsbaum wrote, “If you excluded his head and his heart, he would be an all-time prospect. However, he has had more than his share of problems off the field and acts like a spoiled star on the field too often.”

Will Moss fare any better in Oakland than he did in Minnesota when his NFL final grade is posted? No, his character has proven to be every bit as much a problem, if not more than what was feared and predicted when he was drafted, and even Hall of Fame type of production wasn’t enough to keep him from being practically ridden out of Minnesota on a rail when the Vikings family finally said enough is enough.

Kellen Winslow was tied with Robert Gallery as the best prospect in the 2004 NFL draft with an 8.0 grade. But Nolan Nawrocki wrote of Winslow, “Turned off scouts at the Combine with brash, surly demeanor.” He proved himself to be remarkably arrogant and abrasive in the weeks leading up to and immediately following the draft. Still, the Browns traded up a spot to take him sixth overall. It was not Winslow’s fault that he missed all but two games of his rookie season with a football injury, but it is most definitely his fault he will miss all of ’05 and his career may be in jeopardy as a result of a recent off-the-field recreational accident.

Can Winslow’s career and the Browns’ investment be saved? Only if Winslow’s latest dilemma scares him the way many obnoxious, gifted little kids sometimes need to be scared straight.

The Vikings will argue that they only blew a 2003 fourth-round pick on RB Onterrio Smith when he had late-first-, high-second-round grades, but I’ll still ask them, ‘Why’d you blow a pick at all?’ I don’t feel I’m out on a limb, even without making any all-too-easy, cheap Whizzinator jokes, that Smith is done. Prior to Smith’s selection, Buchsbaum and Nawrocki collaborated to write about him, “Character is a big concern. Great natural athletic ability, but his character will affect where he is drafted. He must stay out of trouble to have success at the next level.” As a result, the Vikings felt they could “steal” him. In the end, all they did was blow a valuable draft choice.

Finally, there are Ricky Williams and David Terrell. The Saints gave up their entire 1999 draft and first- and third-round picks in 2000 to get Williams, and then the Dolphins gave up two first-round picks to get him from the Saints. But neither New Orleans nor Miami had reason to suspect character was an issue with Williams. Many folks with very strong character have also had serious drug problems. And the fact is, Williams was the best player on his team in both New Orleans and Miami and was never considered a liability at any time until he walked away.

Terrell’s problems in Chicago allegedly were all about character. But there were no concerns about the young man coming out of Michigan. In fact, in his first 21 games, he caught 43 passes for seven TDs as the Bears’ No. 3 receiver before a stress fracture ended his second season after five games. Coming back in ’03, Terrell was badly misused by two different offensive coordinators who never trusted or understood his skills, and it was then that his “character” began to become a problem. Make no mistake, Terrell’s failure in Chicago is largely his own fault. But he is now the latest project of Bill Belichick in New England, and it wouldn’t shock me if a terribly immature young man who was poorly handled in Chicago still has some very good years in the NFL ahead of him.


*I still think Winslow can right his ship. His father was too much of the stand-up guy for me to write him off at this point. I'm really interested to see what, if anything, Belichick can do with Terrell. Sometimes a fresh start is what's needed...

[KDWilliams85]

Character issues are red flags indeed but Chris Henry being drafted by the Bengals this year was the biggest character flop of this year.

The scouting reports had him pegged with the talent of a top shelf receiver but the character of a Terrell Owens or Randy Moss. That would be more acceptable if he had established himself as a pro already but these players coming out of college with that kind of attitude is absurd. Granted that a little arrogance is necessary for success, but too much leads to a lack of success. Not necessarily failure, but a lack of success.

The bottom line is that you have to give respect to get respect. Guys like Randy Moss and Terrell Owens, despite their character flaws, dominate in the league. Once a player reaches superstardom based on talent instead of hype, like Kellen Winslow, then a rash of boasting may be in order.

[WV Cowboy]

Originally Posted by KDWilliams85

Character issues are red flags indeed but Chris Henry being drafted by the Bengals this year was the biggest character flop of this year.

The scouting reports had him pegged with the talent of a top shelf receiver but the character of a Terrell Owens or Randy Moss. That would be more acceptable if he had established himself as a pro already but these players coming out of college with that kind of attitude is absurd. Granted that a little arrogance is necessary for success, but too much leads to a lack of success. Not necessarily failure, but a lack of success.

The bottom line is that you have to give respect to get respect. Guys like Randy Moss and Terrell Owens, despite their character flaws, dominate in the league. Once a player reaches superstardom based on talent instead of hype, like Kellen Winslow, then a rash of boasting may be in order.

I may be wrong but I fear Chris Henry will be worse than those mentioned above.
His problems stem from his lack of respect for authority, and a mean-spirited, spiteful, nasty attitude towards everything.

Moss, TO, and some others are immature, and love themselves too much.
Henry hates everything.

I watched him at WVU and his antics were disturbing.
Disrespectful of his coaches, no regard for teammates, or the game itself.

If he doesn't change, or grow up soon, it is hard to tell where he may end up.

[THUMPER]

Personally, I don't care how talented a guy is, if he has character issues then I don't want him. You can't count on him to be there when you need him. They are more trouble than they are worth. I would much rather stock my team with high character guys (as Parcells has done this year) who maybe don't have quite as much talent as those others and I will win a championship with them.

When was the last time a team with more than couple of low character players won the SB?

It was probably us in the early 90s with Irvin and his group of fellow druggies (Nate, Big-E, Leon, Holmes, etc.) and of course, "Mr. Ego" himself, meIon $ander$. But we also had more than our share of very high character guys on that team (Aikman, Emmitt, Moose, Woodson, Tolbert, Bates, etc..).

[kartr]

Originally Posted by WV Cowboy

I may be wrong but I fear Chris Henry will be worse than those mentioned above.
His problems stem from his lack of respect for authority, and a mean-spirited, spiteful, nasty attitude towards everything.

Moss, TO, and some others are immature, and love themselves too much.
Henry hates everything.

I watched him at WVU and his antics were disturbing.
Disrespectful of his coaches, no regard for teammates, or the game itself.

If he doesn't change, or grow up soon, it is hard to tell where he may end up.

I get the same feeling about him from the games I saw him in, and I don't see many of their games. Plus, he doesn't have near the talent that Moss or TO has.

[tyke1doe]

Originally Posted by THUMPER

Personally, I don't care how talented a guy is, if he has character issues then I don't want him. You can't count on him to be there when you need him. They are more trouble than they are worth. I would much rather stock my team with high character guys (as Parcells has done this year) who maybe don't have quite as much talent as those others and I will win a championship with them.

When was the last time a team with more than couple of low character players won the SB?

It was probably us in the early 90s with Irvin and his group of fellow druggies (Nate, Big-E, Leon, Holmes, etc.) and of course, "Mr. Ego" himself, meIon $ander$. But we also had more than our share of very high character guys on that team (Aikman, Emmitt, Moose, Woodson, Tolbert, Bates, etc..).

I agree with you to a point. I want high character guys on my football team, WHO LOVE PLAYING FOOTBALL AND HATE LOSING.

The difference between Irvin and the others is that Irvin, despite his personal sins, loved the game of football, was a hard worker at practice and in the game. He knew football was his route to the big time, and he played like it. He knew he wasn't the fastest or the quickest, but he knew with hard work he could be the best.

That's what separates an Irvin from a Moss. Moss is immensely talented, but Moss isn't a player who is a leader - IMO. He will take a team only so far, and I have to believe his devil-may-care attitude is infectious and may be that pyschological X-factor that keeps a team from making it to the next level - the Super Bowl.

I wouldn't necessarily say Deion Sanders had character issues that impacted his play on the field. He was just boastful and a showman.

And we have to define "character" as it relates to football. The "character" they're talking about is the type of "character" that detracts from an athlete's ability on the field or behavior problems that will make him a negative influence on the team.

As you know, many athletes cheat on their spouses and live very promiscuous lifestyles. While those indeed are "character" issues, I doubt teams take that into consideration UNLESS their personal/private behavior gets so out of hand that the team has to deal with it.