Any News on Amendola in the OTA's?

[theogt]

until the UDFA becomes the starting QB....? ROMO :

Oh no. The vast majority of the board was too cool to think Romo's preseason performance could translate to "real football."

 

[Stash]

Again, I agree. But I am not debating whom I like more or whom is the better receiver. Just from what I have read, it seems the organization is more in love with Austin than Hurd.

I agree. And it stems from what the Count said about Austin being the only speed option at this point. This offense went in the crapper last season as soon as Owens was out of the lineup as the team had not threat pf speed on the field. The Terry Glenn we got was a shell of his former self and no longer stretched the field.

I feel they will try to find a way to hold onto both Austin and Stanback. But training camp and a couple of preseason games could definitely change that. If the choice were to happen tomorrow, I feel the choice is between the two similar WR's and Austin is kep for his... wait for it..... potential.

I don't see why they'd have any trouble 'holding onto' both Austin and Stanback, but the question is should they?

How much questionable potential can this team afford to carry at the wide receiver position?

 

[YosemiteSam]

Aren't we already doing this with Stanback?

Stanback is far more physically gifted. He got a free pass last year, he will have to start earning his spot from here forward I'm sure.

The Cowboys burnt a fouth round pick on him last year even though he was hurt. I'm sure they think enough of him to give him some time. Amendola was undrafted, it's an up hill battle for him to make the roster.

 

[Disturbed]

I follow the Texas Tech program pretty closely. My parents have season tickets to Tech games. Amandola is no Wes Welker. And if Amandola went to McNeese State, I doubt anyone would be talking about him.

Wes Welker was a superstar at Tech. You held your breath everytime he touched the ball because he was a threat to take it to the house. His lateral quickness and stop to start burst is an A to A+ tool, and that's how he gets seperation in the NFL ... it's not just smarts. If just being smart and small was all you needed to get open as a slot WR, there would be a huge influx of smart and small slot WR's from the Ivy League playing in the NFL.

Amandola was no superstar in college ... just a solid, dependable guy was overshadowed most of his career by other WRs on his team ... be it Michael Crabtree, Joel Filani or even Jarrett Hicks. The last couple of years, he's even been overshadowed at times by an even smaller, whiter slot guy Eric Morris. I'm not saying Amandola is a bum ... he's smart and he is fearless, but he's going to have a horrible time getting seperation in the NFL. Even Mike Leach has said that Amandola doesn't have nearly the quickness that Welker has. He's smart and polished enough that he can look good in rookie mini-camps against awestruck rookies who's heads are spinning and haven't played football in 5 months. But when minicamps and training camp comes around and he's starting to go up against veterans who aren't guilible, easily fooled and know what they're doing I'm afraid Amandola is going to be driving down the 101 with a 4 cylinder Hundai. Notice we really haven't heard that much from him since he started practicing with the veterans at OTAs.

Thanks for this insight on Amandola. I think most of us are curious about some of the new names and often don't get any background information. So we appreciate these types of posts.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

Practice Squad is my bet.

I grudgingly agree.
Best thing for this promising WR.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

Not only will he make the team, but he'll lead the team in receptions by years end.

15 years from now, we will reflect upon how Amendola revolutionized the wide receiver position.

You forgot to use the wink icon.
Such a kidder you are.

 

[Stash]

Thanks for this insight on Amandola. I think most of us are curious about some of the new names and often don't get any background information. So we appreciate these types of posts.

Second!

Thanks as well!

 

[sago1]

I see Hurd as another Crayton. At only 23 with 2 years already in the NFL, Hurd seems to be a #3 WR in the making & Cowboys might see him as Crayton's successor.

Austin's name is mentioned a lot cause he's got the size/speed which makes team's drool. He's been having mostly good OTAs; make a heck of a lot more catches then the one showed the over day over Pacman. But he's gotta produce in TC/preseason games before any decision made on his future; don't forget this is his 3rd season & he's got to show us a reason to keep him.

Spent a 4th rounder on Stanback. For that I expect him to develop into at least a #2 WR some day. He's got size/speed but needs learn WR position. Limited use in rookie season due to injuries limited his translation from QB to WR. All those snaps he's getting in OTAs (due Glenn missing) probably has been a bonanza for him & Hurd/Austin. Ray Sherman is a really good WR coach. If Hurd/Austin/Stanbach have talent, he'll develop it. Sherman's already gone on record that Stanbach will contribute this year.

None of the undrafted WRs have stood out in the OTAs--not surprising. In fact only undrafted player to be cited was Ray Lewis' younger brother the other day. Also read story that Amendola overhyped in rookie minicamp. Actually I'm hoping to hear more about WR Mark Bradford in TC & later in preseason games. Supposedly he's got good size/really good hands & also runs around a 4.5. Hubble Report believes he's got enough talent to become a legit #1 WR in the NFL if given time to develop. However, I'd be surprised if any of our undrafted rookies make the roster--unless Terry Glenn doesn't make it to/through TC--and even then that slot might go to a defensive player.

I'm just sure that will be a lot of surprises in TC; there always are. And from previous experience at least 1 vet gets cut.

 

[TheCount]

I grudgingly agree.
Best thing for this promising WR.

I don't know that he'll last on our practice squad. There just might be a team out there that doesn't have as many projects at WR as we already do, and can afford to add him to the bottom of their roster.

 

[peplaw06]

I don't know that he'll last on our practice squad. There just might be a team out there that doesn't have as many projects at WR as we already do, and can afford to add him to the bottom of their roster.

Philly could sign him and then he can be the next Jeremy Bloom, short white speedy WR/punt returner, minus the while Olympic skiing thing.

 

[theogt]

I follow the Texas Tech program pretty closely. My parents have season tickets to Tech games. Amandola is no Wes Welker. And if Amandola went to McNeese State, I doubt anyone would be talking about him.

Wes Welker was a superstar at Tech. You held your breath everytime he touched the ball because he was a threat to take it to the house. His lateral quickness and stop to start burst is an A to A+ tool, and that's how he gets seperation in the NFL ... it's not just smarts. If just being smart and small was all you needed to get open as a slot WR, there would be a huge influx of smart and small slot WR's from the Ivy League playing in the NFL.

Amandola was no superstar in college ... just a solid, dependable guy was overshadowed most of his career by other WRs on his team ... be it Michael Crabtree, Joel Filani or even Jarrett Hicks. The last couple of years, he's even been overshadowed at times by an even smaller, whiter slot guy Eric Morris. I'm not saying Amandola is a bum ... he's smart and he is fearless, but he's going to have a horrible time getting seperation in the NFL. Even Mike Leach has said that Amandola doesn't have nearly the quickness that Welker has. He's smart and polished enough that he can look good in rookie mini-camps against awestruck rookies who's heads are spinning and haven't played football in 5 months. But when minicamps and training camp comes around and he's starting to go up against veterans who aren't guilible, easily fooled and know what they're doing I'm afraid Amandola is going to be driving down the 101 with a 4 cylinder Hundai. Notice we really haven't heard that much from him since he started practicing with the veterans at OTAs.

Welker was such a superstar that he managed to get drafted in the ... oh wait, he wasn't drafted either. And he ended up getting cut from his first NFL team after the first week of the season.

I think this is a bit of revisionist history here, which is easy considering how successful of a season Welker had last season. It's very easy to say "zOMG it was obvious that Welker was an all-star in college, and Danny is nothing like the monster that was Wes Welker." But clearly he wasn't the superstar you make him out to be or else he would have been drafted by someone.

Welker was much more productive over the length of his college career, but Danny had a better final season

Welker '04 - 97 catches, 1099 yards, 9 TDs
Amendola '07 - 109 catches, 1245 yards, 6 TDs

I agree with the Tech coaches in that Welker was quicker in college, but they also commented that Amendola was faster. Both are small differences.

 

[tomson75]

...not to mention he put up those numbers despite being the 2 or 3 guy at WR. Did Welker have a Michael Crabtree opposite him while at Tech? I don't know, but I somehow doubt it.

I, nor anyone else has claimed this guy to be the next coming of Welker, but am rather more intrigued at the TYPE of receiver he is...and his game is very much modeled after Welker's (hence the comparisons).

 

[InmanRoshi]

Welker was such a superstar that he managed to get drafted in the ... oh wait, he wasn't drafted either. And he ended up getting cut from his first NFL team after the first week of the season.

I think this is a bit of revisionist history here, which is easy considering how successful of a season Welker had last season. It's very easy to say "zOMG it was obvious that Welker was an all-star in college, and Danny is nothing like the monster that was Wes Welker." But clearly he wasn't the superstar you make him out to be or else he would have been drafted by someone.

Welker was much more productive over the length of his college career, but Danny had a better final season

Welker '04 - 97 catches, 1099 yards, 9 TDs
Amendola '07 - 109 catches, 1245 yards, 6 TDs

I agree with the Tech coaches in that Welker was quicker in college, but they also commented that Amendola was faster. Both are small differences.

So if you just ignore their total body of work and just focus on one point in time, then Amendola was better than Welker? Unfortunately, what the stats don't show is that it just so happened that Amendola had that really great one year playing with this guy named Michael Crabtree, who will probably will be a Top 15 pick next year and who just about broke every NCAA receiving record known to man. Crabtree was the focus of defense's gameplan every week, drawing at least double coverage on every snap and they pretty much let Amendola have the dink and dunk stuff open underneath. Welker was the player defense's gameplaned to stop when he played at Tech, because his best WR teammate was Carlos Francis.

Welker didn't get drafted because he didn't have great draft measureables and there wasn't anyone like him in the NFL to compare him to. Maybe to you, as someone who never watched him play much if any, it's "revisionist history" as to how good he was in college. It's not to me or any one else who's watched a lot of Tech games. Welker was a special player in college. He was a difference maker as a true freshman. NCAA career record-holder for punt return yards. Broke the All Time NCAA record in punt return TD's (and for everyone of those TD's there were 5 long returns where he juked about 5 defenders out of their jocks but just didn't have the top end speed to take it to the house). Three time All Big XII first team as WR. Maybe Amendola made First Team All Big XII as a punt returner, but I don't think he ever made more than honorable mention as a WR. And Welker's had more than one good year in the NFL ... there's a reason why the Patriots gave up a 2nd round pick snag him. He led the Dolphins in catches too, and they didn't even know how to use him. Like I said, Amendola is just nowhere near as dynamic in as Welker was.

Again, Welker had an A to an A+ tool in his toolbox with his lateral agility and his stop to start burst that he could use in the NFL. Does Amandola have an A to A+ tool at his disposal? Yeah, he might be faster top end than Welker (it's not really saying much), that doesn't mean that his speed will be a weapon in the NFLthat he can utilize or that he's going to be able to run by anyone at this level. It just means that his top end speed is average by NFL standards, while Welker's is sub-average.

 

[InmanRoshi]

...not to mention he put up those numbers despite being the 2 or 3 guy at WR. Did Welker have a Michael Crabtree opposite him while at Tech? I don't know, but I somehow doubt it.

I, nor anyone else has claimed this guy to be the next coming of Welker, but am rather more intrigued at the TYPE of receiver he is...and his game is very much modeled after Welker's (hence the comparisons).

If we didn't have Pac Man I would like Amendola's chances a lot more of making the team because at least he could be a 4th or 5th WR who could contribute as a starting punt returner. But if Pac Man is going to return punts (it would be stupid if he didn't), then what does Welker bring to the table as just a backup WR? Its not like he can play all three WR positions and step in if someone goes down. He can only play one WR position, the nickel slot ... which isn't even a base package position... and doesn't play on special teams. Since Danny can't back up any of the outside WR positions, you're still going to have to carry at least 5 or 6 WR's. That's a pretty nice luxory piece to keep on a roster with a lot of NFL caliber talent on the backend fighting for those last 3-4 roster spots. Then it becomes a question of what position do you want to go thin at and who are you willing to cut? Whoever that is will probably be talented enough to get snapped up right away on the waiver wire and play right away for his new team in some sort of capacity.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

he is short, small, runs a 4.65 and does not have quickness to set him apart.

How on Earth do people think he is going to make it onto the roster? Hes going to have issues making the first cut much less the last one.

 

[tomson75]

he is short, small, runs a 4.65 and does not have quickness to set him apart.

How on Earth do people think he is going to make it onto the roster? Hes going to have issues making the first cut much less the last one.

For the life of me, I can't fathom how you can look at clips of this guy and state "he doesn't have quickness to set him apart". He may not be AS quick as Welker, but the guy is most definitely quick...moreso than any receiver on our roster IMO, sans Glenn.

 

[theogt]

So if you just ignore their total body of work and just focus on one point in time, then Amendola was better than Welker?

Actually, no I didn't. If you read my post again, you'll see that I expressly pointed out that Welker had a better total collegiate career.

Yet, I also pointed out that despite his "superstar" status that you have given him, he never had a season as productive as Amendola's.

Unfortunately, what the stats don't show is that it just so happened that Amendola had that really great one year playing with this guy named Michael Crabtree, who will probably will be a Top 15 pick next year and who just about broke every NCAA receiving record known to man. Crabtree was the focus of defense's gameplan every week, drawing at least double coverage on every snap and they pretty much let Amendola have the dink and dunk stuff open underneath. Welker was the player defense's gameplaned to stop when he played at Tech, because his best WR teammate was Carlos Francis.

Interestingly enough, Welker never had extremely impressive production either in college or in the NFL until he played along side Randy Moss. If you take away Moss, you'd likely not have the production that he had and everyone would still go about thinking he was mediocre undrafted free agent.

Welker didn't get drafted because he didn't have great draft measureables and there wasn't anyone like him in the NFL to compare him to.

Yes, I'm sure a poor 40 time is what made him go completely undrafted, despite being a "superstar" in college.

Again, Welker had an A to an A+ tool in his toolbox with his lateral agility and his stop to start burst that he could use in the NFL. Does Amandola have an A to A+ tool at his disposal? Yeah, he might be faster top end than Welker (it's not really saying much), that doesn't mean that his speed will be a weapon in the NFLthat he can utilize or that he's going to be able to run by anyone at this level. It just means that his top end speed is average by NFL standards, while Welker's is sub-average.

I think you're overstating how much more quickness Welker has compared to Amendola.

3-Cone:
Amendola - 6.81
Welker - 7.09

Now, I'm not at all saying that those two numbers mean that Amendola is quicker. I'm just saying that the difference in their lateral agility isn't as exaggerated as you claim that it is, and I think that shows on the football field.

 

[InmanRoshi]

I didn't give him "superstar" status in college. The writers and coaches who watched him play and gave him 3 First Team Big XII honors, to go along with the multiple All Time NCAA records gave him "superstar" status in college. Plenty of "superstar" college players have gone undrafted or drafted really low. Danny Wuerffel. Elvis Dumervill. That doesn't mean they weren't great college players, it's just that the scouts didn't think they had the physical skills to transfer that production to the Pros.

 

[theogt]

I didn't give him "superstar" status in college. The writers and coaches who watched him play and gave him 3 first team Big XII honors, to go along with the broken all time NCAA records gave him "superstar" status in college.

Oh...

Wes Welker was a superstar at Tech. You held your breath everytime he touched the ball because he was a threat to take it to the house.

 

[InmanRoshi]

Oh...

Okay .. me and everyone who ever watched him play a lot at Tech, including the coaches and writers who gave him the 3 First Team All Big XII Honors.

Which probably doensn't include you. But .. please .. feel free to continue to act like you know what you're talking about because you fell in love with a player based on a rookie mini camp performance after you read a blurb on teh intertubes.

Again, Heismann Trophy Winners have gone undrafted ... it doesn't mean they weren't great college players.