Escobar and revising history...

[BAT]

Pats TE Aaron Hernandez is considered crazy quick, and yet he ran the same 40 as Witten, mid 4.6 (who many consider slow as molasses). 40 times are relative on a football field.

 

[ringmaster]

Pats TE Aaron Hernandez is considered crazy quick, and yet he ran the same 40 as Witten, mid 4.6 (who many consider slow as molasses). 40 times are relative on a football field.

 

[The Realist]

If our TE's were Witten, Gonzalez, Gates, Gronk, Graham, and Hernandez Garrett would find a way to make all but the #1 complete scrubs.

 

[jnday]

Don't worry, they will draft another TE next year. It is habit for them now.

 

[xwalker]

I agree that could likely be the case. But saying he is fast when he runs 4.8 plus really doesn't make a lot of sense. But it is still possible for him to be quick (in a short area) without having top end speed.

From what I've seen he does "play fast" in a manner similar to Michael Irvin. Irvin didn't have a good forty, but had great acceleration out of his breaks.

Back in High School I was into racing cars. I had this friend that had put a bunch of time and money into his engine, but his car had a really high gear ratio (low numerically). He couldn't beat me or most other people in the quarter mile from a dead-stop; however, if he could get somebody to race him while both were rolling along at 20 mph, he was unbeatable.

Most receivers and especially TEs don't blast off the line as fast as possible. They're basically in a fast jog initially and then accelerate to max speed when they make their break.

 

[Verdict]

I'm playing a little bit of devil's advocate here. I think our scouting department and the organization as a whole have done a better job over the past two drafts (plus this draft, hopefully). They seem to have a purpose in mind when targeting a player (Dez and Lee come to mind specificallly).

I'm neither a Jerry appologist, nor a Jerry basher. I think he is an asset and a liability at the same time as a GM and I would venture to say that every GM is much the same in that regard.

They obviously really liked Escobar, and that is good enough for me for the time being. I am hoping he turns out to be exactly what they think he will be.

The two reservations I have about this pick are his slow 40 time (which is indicative but not outcome determinative) and Garrett's past history of failing to properly get all he can get out of what he has. Hanna was probably at least adequate as a receiving tight end.

If Escobar merely passes Hanna on the depth chart then we haven't really gained much from the pick. This pick only makes sense if we use a 3 tight end set on a semi frequent (and successful) basis, OR the Cowboys plan on cutting Witten sometime soon for cap reasons, and I personally don't think the latter is in the cards anytime soon.

I get the fact that Escobar is Octoman and catches everything in the vicinity, which may be an advantage over Hanna, but Hanna is arguably three tenths (plus) of a second faster which is significant. To put this in perspective, a guy who is three tenths of a second faster than Hanna would likely the the fastest player in the NFL.

 

[Verdict]

From what I've seen he does "play fast" in a manner similar to Michael Irvin. Irvin didn't have a good forty, but had great acceleration out of his breaks.

Back in High School I was into racing cars. I had this friend that had put a bunch of time and money into his engine, but his car had a really high gear ratio (low numerically). He couldn't beat me or most other people in the quarter mile from a dead-stop; however, if he could get somebody to race him while both were rolling along at 20 mph, he was unbeatable.

Most receivers and especially TEs don't blast off the line as fast as possible. They're basically in a fast jog initially and then accelerate to max speed when they make their break.

I hope this turns out to be the case. Irvin was also the mater of the "push off" to gain separation from the defensive back. It is debatable if Irvin would have the same degree of success in today's NFL which does not allow offensive players to blatantly push off like he did at times. But a relatively slow guy like Jerry Rice would probably still be highly successful because he got open in a different manner. Hopefully, "Octoman" has a little bit of Jerry Rice in him.

 

[HoosierCowboy]

really, how often does anyone run 40 yards in a straight line in a game?

 

[AbeBeta]

coming out of college, Witten was running a 4.65. That's pretty fast for a TE. However, if you look at Witten on tape, no one would ever accuse him of "playing fast." He's almost plodding.

What he does do is run precise routes and make amazingly quick and smart adjustments to them in response to the coverage.

Given his 40 time, you'd think he'd be outrunning people but that isn't his game.

 

[Doomsday101]

Witten is not a speed demon but knows how to get open. Really not worried about Escobar speed bottom line can you get open? can you make the catch?

 

[morasp]

I wonder who is the fastest guy we drafted?

 

[Verdict]

I wonder who is the fastest guy we drafted?

My guess would be Webb since he has been compared to Pac Man Jones. But I haven't researched 40 times.

 

[Macnalty]

You guys are missing the point on Escobar, it is all about his hands and his size, if the ball is close to him he takes it and he makes it look easy. I think a good analogy is A Boldin speed(pretty sure they are about the same), Gronks body, and Dez's hands. He is a better ball catcher than both Eifert and Ertz, not even close, they were drafted ahead of Gavin. I will say there was another TE that was equally talented and his name was Kelce, he went to the Bengals. RS12, Walker, and some others all wrote about the TE back in Jan/Feb and we thought the boys could not afford to sacrifice an early pick on a TE if one of the premier Olineman were available at 18. We were not able to see that they would go that early and skew the hierarchy of the positions. IMO if Escobar ran a 4.6 at the combine he would of gone in RD 1. We are only discussing him now because of the poor forty time in Indy.

 

[AsthmaField]

IMO if Escobar ran a 4.6 at the combine he would of gone in RD 1. We are only discussing him now because of the poor forty time in Indy.

This for sure, and he almost went round 1 anyway (Miami had serious discussions about trading back into round 1 for him).

 

[Angus]

Video of Escabar at the Combine explaining himself.

http://www.miamidolphins.com/media/...-Escobar/af1b97e6-2368-49d7-85bf-c6f588aefce7

 

[Angus]

Escabar Combine comparisons

http://www.kffl.com/player/27847/nfl/gnews.php?id=842416-dolphins---high-on-gavin-escobar-

 

[InmanRoshi]

He improved it to 4.7 on his proday.
http://www.sbnation.com/2013/3/19/4...-tank-carradine-richmond-san-diego-Louisville

Which is pretty similar to the 4.68 Rob Gronkowski ran at his pro day.

Watch the tape. The guy might have weakness he needs to work on, but getting down the seam isn't one of them.

 

[Risen Star]

Someone doesn't understand the difference between track speed and football speed.

Explain to me how Jerry Rice ran away from most defensive backs his entire career.

 

[Verdict]

Someone doesn't understand the difference between track speed and football speed.

Explain to me how Jerry Rice ran away from most defensive backs his entire career.

Its not that we don't understand that there can be a difference between the two, it just remains to be seen if Escobar has it or not.

I heard the same thing about Victor Butler too and how his pedestrian 40 time didn't matter, but it turns out it did.

 

[Kristen82]

When you're 6-6 with longer arms than most Linebackers, the matchup is about length not speed.

Especially in the slot or end zone.