Scouting the OTs: DJ Fluker, Alabama

[jnday]

Originally Posted by xwalker

I think the "hand picked" report was a bit misleading. It's not as if they said, here pick the 2 best FA Guards. It was more like, pick the 2 best out of the bargain bin.

I don't see any similarity between Fluker and Flozell. Flozell had elite quickness. Flozell was a 5-time Pro Bowl LT and 1-time All-Pro. I don't think anybody is projecting Fluker to LT.

.

Broaddus is the one making Flozell comparisons.

[ABQCOWBOY]

Flozell Adams did not have elite quickness so far as I can remember. He had a heck of a wing span and when he got his hands on you, he controlled you but I don't remember him ever being real quick for a LT.

I can see how Broaddus might try and make that comparison but I would have to see how Fluker performed at the combine. Right now, I think he might be even slower then Flozell was, coming out of Michigan St.

[xwalker]

Originally Posted by jnday

Broaddus is the one making Flozell comparisons.

Aah...

There are reasons that BB is no longer a scout.

[Tezz]

For discussion sake how does he compare to Andre Smith/James Carpenter? Andre Smith had a slow start to his career due to injuries, but he was a dominate run blocker while more than holding his own as a pass protector this season. James Carpenter similar to Andre Smith has struggled with injuries his first couple of seasons and is viewed as a G/T player.

[burmafrd]

The Hotel was under rated by a lot of people here - at his best he was an elite LT.

We found out that after he started to decline. As usual here a lot of people who hated on him found out the hard way what it was like once he started to decline and was gone.

Sort of like a lot of Romo haters will be when he is gone and we are back to the Q-Henson-Hutch mess again.

I do not at this time see Fluker as being as good as the Hotel was; but fairly close right now and of course he can certainly get a lot better

[jnday]

Originally Posted by burmafrd

The Hotel was under rated by a lot of people here - at his best he was an elite LT.

We found out that after he started to decline. As usual here a lot of people who hated on him found out the hard way what it was like once he started to decline and was gone.

Sort of like a lot of Romo haters will be when he is gone and we are back to the Q-Henson-Hutch mess again.

I do not at this time see Fluker as being as good as the Hotel was; but fairly close right now and of course he can certainly get a lot better

Flo was one hell of a lineman. Tyron will be lucky to reach his level.

[ABQcowboyJR]

Originally Posted by jnday

Flo was one hell of a lineman. Tyron will be lucky to reach his level.

We better hope he dwarfs flo's career or we didn't really capitalize on that pick.

[xwalker]

Originally Posted by ABQCOWBOY

Flozell Adams did not have elite quickness so far as I can remember. He had a heck of a wing span and when he got his hands on you, he controlled you but I don't remember him ever being real quick for a LT.

I can see how Broaddus might try and make that comparison but I would have to see how Fluker performed at the combine. Right now, I think he might be even slower then Flozell was, coming out of Michigan St.

Flozell had elite quickness in the early years. He was a 5x Pro Bowl and 1x All-Pro Left Tackle. There are very few, if any All Pro Left Tackles that don't have elite quickness.

[ABQCOWBOY]

Originally Posted by xwalker

Flozell had elite quickness in the early years. He was a 5x Pro Bowl and 1x All-Pro Left Tackle. There are very few, if any All Pro Left Tackles that don't have elite quickness.

No. I don't really agree with that. He had excellent length and strength. When he got his hands on you, he could control you and he was very good at that but he was not quick IMO. That's one of the reasons he had so many holding calls and false starts.

[xwalker]

Originally Posted by ABQCOWBOY

No. I don't really agree with that. He had excellent length and strength. When he got his hands on you, he could control you and he was very good at that but he was not quick IMO. That's one of the reasons he had so many holding calls and false starts.

The Theory was that the false starts were partially due to him being deaf in his right ear. Early in his career the penalties were primarily false starts. The holding calls started when he began to lose his quickness in the later years.

[ABQCOWBOY]

Originally Posted by xwalker

The Theory was that the false starts were partially due to him being deaf in his right ear. Early in his career the penalties were primarily false starts. The holding calls started when he began to lose his quickness in the later years.

I agree, part of the issue might have been hearing but that was not the entire problem IMO.

I never considered Flo to be a very quick LT but it's a matter of opinion. Our two don't agree on this player but that's OK. That's why you have discussion boards.

[xwalker]

Originally Posted by ABQCOWBOY

I agree, part of the issue might have been hearing but that was not the entire problem IMO.

I never considered Flo to be a very quick LT but it's a matter of opinion. Our two don't agree on this player but that's OK. That's why you have discussion boards.

You do a good job with persuasive arguments, to the point that you had me doubting my memory. Luckily, I work from home and just happen to have some old VHS tapes. I found some from the 1999 season.

After review, I'm going to stay with my opinion that he had elite quickness; however, I should probably give my definition of elite.

Did Flozell have Tyron Smith type of quickness? No, very few players have that level of quickness that are in Tyron's (6-5, 307) weight range. I don't think there are any with that level of quickness that were as big as Flozell (6-7, 340).

It could be that we just have a different definition of elite quickness.

[ABQCOWBOY]

Originally Posted by xwalker

You do a good job with persuasive arguments, to the point that you had me doubting my memory. Luckily, I work from home and just happen to have some old VHS tapes. I found some from the 1999 season.

After review, I'm going to stay with my opinion that he had elite quickness; however, I should probably give my definition of elite.

Did Flozell have Tyron Smith type of quickness? No, very few players have that level of quickness that are in Tyron's (6-5, 307) weight range. I don't think there are any with that level of quickness that were as big as Flozell (6-7, 340).

It could be that we just have a different definition of elite quickness.

That is reasonable. To me, I just look at the position as a whole and then I define it as such. Size is really not something I consider, other then to compare it to another player who may not have that kind of size. To me, he did not have that kind of quickness but certainly, for his size, he was a very good athlete with better then average agility. Just not at the very top of the spectrum IMO.

I have no real issue with what you say above. I think Flozell was a very good player for us. He frustrated me with the holds and the false starts and I thought we held on to him too long but over all , I think he was a very good LT for us.

I do think, however, Johnson is a better athlete. He will not be as powerful as Flo and he probably won't have the length but he will be, athletically superior. Having said all this, that doesn't mean he will be better. That remains to be seen.

[TheFinisher]

Yea he'd be on my short list of players in Round 1, extremely powerful with a nasty demeanor. Plus he has positional versatility, could play either Guard spot or RT. I think he can be a Pro-Bowl type of Guard where he'll be able to do what he does best, maul people in a phone booth, but I can also see him being a pretty good RT within time.

[InmanRoshi]

Fluker's Official Combine Arm Length ... 36 3/4!