My draft review

Alexander said:

A punt return is much harder to execute

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Fearlessness is a must.

As fans we all have opinions, some we may agree some we definitely do not. The fact is no one, not any fan, not any analyst and heck really not any coach will know if any of these guys will work out for us. Some of us watch tape like the coaches and have a feel for what MAY happen, others just speculate because they like or do not like the choice and who they would have picked. Means nothing now or ever.

If you look at the draft, it is no different for any team. About half of all 1st round picks fail and out of the whole draft less than 40 percent are still with the team after 3 years. What does that say, it says every team screws up in some way. If we hit on 3 or 4 guys, I would be perfectly happy and more would be great. The key for any team is getting people that actually fit your scheme and as you can tell with Oakland with the trading and cutting of guys pre-Gruden says all you need to know about them fitting a scheme.

Is Hill going to be a great 3 tech for us, maybe yes, maybe no but from a scheme fit it works for them at this moment. Should we have taken a safety, well we can debate it till we turn blue but appartently a strong safety isn't in the cards as an early pick. Is Jackson what Richard needs along with Wilson and Westry? Maybe and willing to give him the benefit of the doubt over any doubters because he has taken those UDFA and late round picks and made pro bowlers out of them like Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor. With the new NFL passing offenses, big secondary is almost a must.

Speaking of offense, which of you knowledgeable fans know anything about what kind of offense we are going to run with Moore as the OC? Zero is the answer! How do know Elliott is a two down back and Pollard the 3rd down back? What if they are both in the backfield at the same time? Weber is probably the Elliott rest guy because Zeke will get at least 80 percent of the snaps. Everyone giving up on Taco and maybe rightly so but that is what training camp is to determine.

There are a ton of questions to answer about the rookies and some of the vets with more to be determined over the next 3 months. We will see who makes it, who they screwed up on, and who will actually make the team, until then it is just specualtion about likes and dislikes. Heck this board would have torn down Staubach back in the day, just opinions nothing more.

KingintheNorth said:

It's geometry. Judging punts is significantly harder. It's also why you see teams that will have their dynamic punt returner (Dez, Tavon Austin) , but then also have a "safe" punt returner like Beasley.

When Damarious Randall played for us, he was our main punt returner because he was by far the most dynamic player in our league. We only used him on kick returns if it was late and we needed a big return. We didn't want to risk him on kickoffs but we would let him field punts in a crowd and Deion his way out of there, which seems contradictory to normal injury concerns. Looking back over the past 7 years, I'd say our punt return guys had stop-and-go quickness, and our kick return guys were straight-line speed guys. Occasionally, we'd find a guy who could do both.

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Demarious Randall?

gimmesix said:

I don't see Pollard quite like you do (and I could be wrong). Elliott is going to need plays off. Last year, when Elliott took himself off the field, we brought in Rod Smith and he was not very effective. This year, I think we'll have a more set plan for giving Elliott some plays off by putting in Pollard on some third downs.

The result for Elliott could be the same, with him getting some scheduled plays off instead of playing until he's winded and decides he needs a break. While the result for the offense could be better because Pollard has some third-and-long skills that could lead to better results than putting Smith out there.

If our plan is to use Pollard as the third-down back in every situation and take Elliott off the field, then I agree with your assessment. I just think we know we have to give Elliott breaks and this is the way we're choosing to do it, hoping for better results.

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Should you start seeing Pollard ripping off huge chunks of yardage from outta' the backfield a'la #46 Alfred Morris mode whenever Zeke sez' " wait a minute ", you won't be seeing the #21 taking himself outta' the action for a breather anymore.

*Man, we've been needing a verifiable threat on punt/ kick returns since forever.

Joe Jackson reminds me of a young Jim Jeffcoat.

CalPolyTechnique said:

Demarious Randall?

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I coached Damarious at Mesa Community College.


"we"in that post is Mesa, not the Dallas Cowboys.

KingintheNorth said:

I coached Damarious at Mesa Community College.


"we"in that post is Mesa, not the Dallas Cowboys.

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Ah.

The player Thornhill reminded me a bit of was Randall, although I think Thornhill was a bit more physical (that’s not to say he was Ronnie Lott or anything).

CalPolyTechnique said:

Ah.

The player Thornhill reminded me a bit of was Randall, although I think Thornhill was a bit more physical (that’s not to say he was Ronnie Lott or anything).

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My nickname for Damarious at Mesa was Business Decision.

KingintheNorth said:

My nickname for Damarious at Mesa was Business Decision.

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You'd be a terrible defensive coordinator.

Risen Star said:

Pollard has speed but he doesn't have Tavon Austin speed. That dude can jet.

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Austin had a 4.34, Pollard 4.52, Hester who is considered on the best returners in the last 10-15 years ran a 4.5 at the comibne, Dwayne Harris who is the teams all time leading returner ran a 4.55 40.

It's not the 100m Olympic final.

KingintheNorth said:

My nickname for Damarious at Mesa was Business Decision.

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You gave your players insipid nicknames too? Okay, Rod Jr.

Leedscowboy said:

Austin had a 4.34, Pollard 4.52, Hester who is considered on the best returners in the last 10-15 years ran a 4.5 at the comibne, Dwayne Harris who is the teams all time leading returner ran a 4.55 40.

It's not the 100m Olympic final.

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Pollard had food poisoning right before the combine. Ran in the 4.3s at his pro day.

And neither player mentioned did much on offense.

Risen Star said:

Pollard had food poisoning right before the combine. Ran in the 4.3s at his pro day.

And neither player mentioned did much on offense.

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But he does not have to, he will be the primary returner, who will see some plays as the RB out of the slot.

Who would you have picked at 58 over Hill?

Jones from OSU?

Leedscowboy said:

But he does not have to, he will be the primary returner

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Kickoff returner only unless he gets to work and learns how to effectively field punts.

I think his abilities as a receiver are a little overblown.

He is not horrible at it, but many of his catches were scripted throws like bubble screens and slants. He is not some frightening route runner downfield that should terrify a defense.

WillieBeamen said:

Who would you have picked at 58 over Hill?

Jones from OSU?

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Thornhill. Didn't think he'd be there.

Leedscowboy said:

But he does not have to, he will be the primary returner, who will see some plays as the RB out of the slot.

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He was not drafted to be the returner. His specialty returning kicks is nearly phased out of the NFL. He was drafted to be Lance Dunbar in the offense.

Risen Star said:

He was not drafted to be the returner. His specialty returning kicks is nearly phased out of the NFL. He was drafted to be Lance Dunbar in the offense.

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And if that means no Elliott, that's a loss.

21 personnel with both of them is about the only way to get the best out of it.

Risen Star said:

Thornhill. Didn't think he'd be there.

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Or Rapp.

Or Adderley.

Mind-boggling.

Jeebus the draft is over. Go to your room, sulk a bit, hit the bags, lick your wounds because your guy didn't get picked. As far as top 15 in the first round next year, please let's not start that crap before the season even begins. You're right on one thing, let's put it behind us but you put it way down at the bottom.