DMN Blog: Orlando Scandrick's fall

[VCDefectors]

Being from Boise, let me just say that BSU players aren't used to being drafted or the draft process. You also have to understand the small-town mentality that goes on in their local press (in the case, the need to prop up one of their own). Go easy on Scandrick. You guys will love this player. He is going to be a special teams force and will be pushing for CB time in a year or so.

 

[iceberg]

Being from Boise, let me just say that BSU players aren't used to being drafted or the draft process. You also have to understand the small-town mentality that goes on in their local press (in the case, the need to prop up one of their own). Go easy on Scandrick. You guys will love this player. He is going to be a special teams force and will be pushing for CB time in a year or so.

that's the flipside. you just don't know the persons background when you see someone for the very first time. to say "damn sure doesn't seem excited" may well *seem* true. but it just seems that way.

most of my college years were in a small town. when i first moved to dallas i was the quiet dude in the back of the club or something. but then that's normal for me. i *rarely* show excitement or go nuts or CUT LOOSE!!! - just not me. i've had people get mad at me for that thinking i wasn't having any fun, but for a variety of reasons, i just don't always show what's going on inside.

people seem to think "well if that were me this is what i'd do" and use that as some baseline and i think that just opens up a lot of misinterpretation.

thanks for your input man. i was also a small town reporter/photographer so i know how that goes on that side as well.

 

[Eskimo]

As others have said, cut the kid some slack. He went two rounds lower than he thought (and the Cowboys FO thought) and lost out on about $1M and a guaranteed roster spot (3rd rounders almost always make the team). He has a right to be a little disappointed right after the draft.

 

[SMCowboy]

You obviously haven't read the other stuff from him.

Which of these statements from him is whining?

1. One of the NFL's elite teams, the Dallas Cowboys, felt strongly enough about his abilities that they traded up to get him and then bragged about getting a steal.
   
2. I didn't exactly make the kind of impact I felt I could have made in this draft, but I'm going to let it go,
   
3. They said I could be a great corner in this league, but it's going to take some work. I'll go in with my heart open, be ready to be coached and get better every day.
   
4. "It was one of the most difficult things I've been through in my life to not be able to control your destiny," Scandrick said. " I'm just glad it's over."
   
5. When I made my decision to leave, I told myself I wasn't going to start to doubt myself and say 'What if?' " Scandrick said. "I'm not going to go that direction. I would have loved to be a higher draft pick, but the fact of the matter is I have to go out and produce and show I'm worthy.

 

[SMCowboy]

Yeah, this doesn't make me like him any better.

Everyone thinks they should have gone sooner than they did. The fact that he thinks the most important thing for a corner is speed, not instincts, not intelligence, not anticipiation, just because he happens to be fast, says a lot about him.

He picks the one thing he already has lots of as being the most important thing, not something he has to or can work on.

I read the article two different times, where does he ever say that the most important thing for a CB is speed? The ONLY think I see is with him talking about speed is him telling Wade Phillips that he was going to run a 4.3 40 tomorrow. And I hate people that talk trash as much if not more than anyone. But, it isn't talking trash if you can back up what you say you are going to do.

 

[WoodysGirl]

I read the article two different times, where does he ever say that the most important thing for a CB is speed? The ONLY think I see is with him talking about speed is him telling Wade Phillips that he was going to run a 4.3 40 tomorrow. And I hate people that talk trash as much if not more than anyone. But, it isn't talking trash if you can back up what you say you are going to do.

There's a pre-draft Q & A thread in the DZ. Not very in depth, but he did say speed was one of the most important things for a CB.

http://cowboyszone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117889

 

[Idgit]

Did you see his draft day interview? Dude didn't sound very excited at all, he thought he should have gone sooner, even though the committee projected him as a 5th round pick. Not much humility on his part. He may have changed his tune a little bit, but even this article sounds like he and his agent see him as a victim rather than fortunate to be a Cowboy.

'Humility' is on my list of things required by NFL CBs.
Right behind 'tailfin.'

 

[LarryCanadian]

I don't know a thing about this guy other than the consensus seems talent wise we got good value with the pick at that stage, and that he can run fast at a combine.

That being said, if there is one thing you need in a corner back is confidence and a short memory. It's a tough position mentally.

The fact that this guy is disappointed where he was drafted doesn't bother me as long as he uses it as motiviation instead of a blow to his confidence/attitude. I think his quotes show he is honest and he's at least saying the right things about moving on and listening to what he's been told.

21 years old. He has a bit of time to improve in a ton of areas. Remember didn't Newman join us at like 24 or 25. Sometimes some of these guys are just kids, and often kids without one or two parents or at least guiding figures that had a ton of time with them. They need coaching and mentoring and some patience.

LarryCanadian

 

[links18]

that's the flipside. you just don't know the persons background when you see someone for the very first time. to say "damn sure doesn't seem excited" may well *seem* true. but it just seems that way.

most of my college years were in a small town. when i first moved to dallas i was the quiet dude in the back of the club or something. but then that's normal for me. i *rarely* show excitement or go nuts or CUT LOOSE!!! - just not me. i've had people get mad at me for that thinking i wasn't having any fun, but for a variety of reasons, i just don't always show what's going on inside.

people seem to think "well if that were me this is what i'd do" and use that as some baseline and i think that just opens up a lot of misinterpretation.

thanks for your input man. i was also a small town reporter/photographer so i know how that goes on that side as well.

Fair enough, but you know in this country juries send people to jail all the time based on "how people are supposed to react" to something. Maybe part of this is his agent, but either way he isn't coming off with the most positive attitude to start his career. Perhaps, being drafted lower than he thought will motivate him to show everyone what he's got, but I just hope we don't have another Peter Hunter here. Too early to tell, I know.

 

[Big Dakota]

How about being happy about the chance to play pro football, rather than whining about where you were drafted? This guy sounds sounds like a bit of a prima donna. How happy is he going to be buried down the depth chart in Dallas?

Haven't been around a lot of jocks, have ya.

 

[iceberg]

Fair enough, but you know in this country juries send people to jail all the time based on "how people are supposed to react" to something. Maybe part of this is his agent, but either way he isn't coming off with the most positive attitude to start his career. Perhaps, being drafted lower than he thought will motivate him to show everyone what he's got, but I just hope we don't have another Peter Hunter here. Too early to tell, I know.

hey - i never said that collectively we're not stupid as a people. one of my favorite phrases i adopted long ago was "90% of the people only think 10% of the time." i've come to find in time i overestimated how much people actually *think* vs react.

not the same thing.

then we (myself included) tend to go by our own reactions and never think about why it could be different, or what someone else is seeing.

and since he's less than a week into his new career and you've heard a few quotes and stories, that's it?

i tend to maybe see and file those things but i don't dwell on them unless it becomes an obvious pattern over time.

time being years in many cases, not another story where i'm looking for someone to be what i saw before. if you do that you'll see whatever it is you want to see, not perhaps what's there.

 

[kapolani]

Haven't been around a lot of jocks, have ya.

QFT...

I thought I was a stud until I went to buds and suddenly found myself in the middle of the pack...

 

[jobberone]

I'm very happy to have this guy. If he's got good hips and instincts then he can be trained. Sounds like we got a great deal. And I do feel sorry for the kid money wise. $30,000 ain't chump change but its not $200,000 either. Plus the loss in yearly income. I'd be more than a little disappointed. But he's taking it like a man and I suspect he will make the team this year. And I think that is saying something if he does.

 

[Oh_Canada]

How about being happy about the chance to play pro football, rather than whining about where you were drafted? This guy sounds sounds like a bit of a prima donna. How happy is he going to be buried down the depth chart in Dallas?

I didn't get that at all...but ok.