Did Irvin run good routes? Too young to remember

[The Emperor]

Not in the beginning. Irvin grew into an excellent route runner but remember, the Cowboys ran a different offense when Irvin came into the league. Norv's timing offense suited Irving to a tee. He was not good in it, he was great but in the beginning, Irvin was not the ultimate route runner he would eventually become. Give Dez time. He needs reps but what he really needs is to know the playbook inside and out. That will increase his effectiveness 10 fold on it's own.

That's correct. We had Dave Shula those first two of Jimmy's years.

 

[Eric_Boyer]

That's correct. We had Dave Shula those first two of Jimmy's years.

And we had Irvin before Jimmy

 

[ThreeSportStar80]

Irvin was a great route runner... He was a complete WR!

 

[Jarv]

Irving stated he could run his routes blindfolded, put his hands up and the ball would hit his hands most of the time. Not sure I believe that but with him and Aikman its not too farfetched.

This...^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^...

It was a great strength of his.

 

[QT]

Irvin forced himself into being a good route runner. Not sure if Dez has that discipline yet. {Remember Jimmy (his own college coach) doubted that Irvin could be a good NFL WR when Jimmy came aboard.} I believe Irvin had Garrett and other backups (Beuerlein) throw to him when Aikman was not around in practice. Irvin would go so hard in practices that he would throw up.

So it's all up to Dez...

I still remember the Irvin draft to this day. I wanted Sterling Sharpe and the hometown favorite was Tim Brown.

 

[realtick]

Irvin forced himself into being a good route runner. Not sure if Dez has that discipline yet. {Remember Jimmy (his own college coach) doubted that Irvin could be a good NFL WR when Jimmy came aboard.} I believe Irvin had Garrett and other backups (Beuerlein) throw to him when Aikman was not around in practice. Irvin would go so hard in practices that he would throw up.

So it's all up to Dez...

I still remember the Irvin draft to this day. I wanted Sterling Sharp and the hometown favorite was Tim Brown.

Looks like you got a Signal snowboard there in you picture. Where do you ride at?

 

[EPL0c0]

Also have to remember that Irvin benefited from and mastered a slight push-off technique that would likely get flagged often in today's NFL.

That kind of thing really let him get open more so than a WR can do today. Sure WRs still do it today but it's tougher to get away with.

 

[QT]

Looks like you got a Signal snowboard there in you picture. Where do you ride at?

It's a Burton Custom board. I ride at Northstar and Squaw (Tahoe) every year and visit Whistler as often as I can. Nothing beats snowboarding during the day and placing football/basketball bets and texas hold em in Reno at night.

 

[realtick]

It's a Burton Custom board. I ride at Northstar and Squaw (Tahoe) every year and visit Whistler as often as I can. Nothing beats snowboarding during the day and placing football/basketball bets and texas hold em in Reno at night.

Oh, cool. The picture on the bottom of your board looked like Signal's logo. Tahoe is where I ride too. I'm usually at Sierra, Northstar, Heavenly or Squaw. Actually, I haven't gone to Squaw since I got freaked out on the skytram during a storm, lol. I ride an Arbor Element.

 

[Stinger_Splash]

I think Dez is capable of running good routes. His problem though is he does not know what to run sometimes. Also, it hurts when he is doubled most the time.

 

[Eric_Boyer]

Also have to remember that Irvin benefited from and mastered a slight push-off technique that would likely get flagged often in today's NFL.

That kind of thing really let him get open more so than a WR can do today. Sure WRs still do it today but it's tougher to get away with.

I call bull****.

you couldn't extend your arm then or now.

 

[Cowboys&LakersFan]

Of course he was. I don't think you become a top five reciever of all time by not being a good route runner. He wasn't the most athletically gifted guy of all time, but he worked extremely hard which is why he's one of the all time not only great wideouts, but players in general.

 

[5Stars]

Of course he was. I don't think you become a top five reciever of all time by not being a good route runner. He wasn't the most athletically gifted guy of all time, but he worked extremely hard which is why he's one of the all time not only great wideouts, but players in general.

He had desire in his heart, plus his talent. He still does.


:starspin

 

[Cowboys&LakersFan]

He had desire in his heart, plus his talent. He still does.


:starspin

Yeah Kevin Durant one of the my favorite athletes made a great quote, he said "hard work beats talent when talent don't work hard."

It's so true. There has been many players who had aton of talent who have just failed because they didn't put the work in.

Michael Irvin is a classic example of a guy working for everything he got. He obviously was very talented, but the reason he was as great as he was because of how hard he worked. I have the out most respect for him. He along with Emmitt are my favorite Cowboys of all time. It's a shame he went the way he did with that brutal injury.

 

[5Stars]

Yeah Kevin Durant one of the my favorite athletes made a great quote, he said "hard work beats talent when talent don't work hard."

It's so true. There has been many players who had aton of talent who have just failed because they didn't put the work in.

Michael Irvin is a classic example of a guy working for everything he got. He obviously was very talented, but the reason he was as great as he was because of how hard he worked. I have the out most respect for him. He along with Emmitt are my favorite Cowboys of all time. It's a shame he went the way he did with that brutal injury.

Bro...that is so true, in more ways then we know.

 

[Don Corleone]

Also have to remember that Irvin benefited from and mastered a slight push-off technique that would likely get flagged often in today's NFL.

That kind of thing really let him get open more so than a WR can do today. Sure WRs still do it today but it's tougher to get away with.

He was flagged for pushing off in those days also. That rule has been around for a long time. Irvin didn't mind getting flagged for it. He always run through DBs, or over them, and physically punished them. They would then turn soft as the game went on. If you catch a tv show where Irvin is teaching WRs on route running, you'll see that he preaches being physical with corners even in today's game. There were several shows on NFL network when he was on during the offseason.

I remember Irvin twisting Marquez Pope's arm and throwing mild punches at him while Emmitt was running with the ball. Pope was a corner for the Niners in the 1990s that prided himself on matching up with Irvin. Any corner that went against him on those days would say that he would physically punish them.

 

[bbgun]

I posted this before, but it's AZ week, so worth another stroll down memory lane.

[youtube]FoLlZaBZJ_Q[/youtube]

 

[visionary]

go back and see his "road to hall of fame" on NFL network and just focus on 2 parts, what darren woodson says about his practice habits and what JJ says about his practice habits (after being on the town all night)

that will tell you who irvin was and what kind of time he put in to learning the routes

 

[Slashar00]

I posted this before, but it's AZ week, so worth another stroll down memory lane.

[youtube]FoLlZaBZJ_Q[/youtube]

Man, am I really this old? Why do these clips from the 90's look like they were filed in the 70's? Maybe football filming has just gotten a whole lot better with digital.

 

[The30YardSlant]

Irvin was the second best route runner of his generation behind only Jerry Rice. He was the first to practice and the last to leave. He would run routes until he threw up, then run some more.

Irvin was the only guy I EVER saw consistently get Deion turned around. He abused him at times, even during Deion's 1994 DPOY season.