HeavyHitta31 said:
Great read on Football player versus track guy. Imagine if a player ever had legitimate 4.2 speed and was as talented as Rice who ran 4.5/4.6? Its bound to happen..............
Bethel Means Special
By: Ray Faustina
June 12, 2003
From my theology studies, I can tell you that the name "Bethel" actually means "House of God" in Hebrew. But as far as Bethel Johnson is concerned, it may just as well mean "special". I know I'm in a large minority in saying that, but I really believe it may be true. However, if you read most any recent article on him you'll quickly learn that the New England media has frequently been comparng him to former New England second round draft "bust" Tony Simmons. It's the purpose of this article to show why that isn't only a rush to judgment but also is simply a ridiculous comparison.
Former draft expert Joel Buchsbaum, now deceased, had a theory that basically stated the worst mistake you can make when evaluating talent is to make broad generalizations about players. I'm a firm believer in that. For instance, you'll never hear me make careless statements like "all Florida QB's are a product of the system" or "all Wisconsin WR's are busts". It's thinking like that that caused teams to miss out on a gem like Wisconson WR Chris Chambers (Dolphins) in 2001. Chambers turned scouts heads with a 4.33 40-yard dash and had drawn pre-draft comparisons to Eric Moulds (Bills) but he dropped the occasional pass. Thus, the media labeled him a typical Wisconsin "track guy" who can run but can't catch. As a result, he slipped well into the second round where he instantly became the biggest steal of the entire draft. The Dolphins scored a physical reciever in Chambers, who could get downfield quickly, making several acrobatic catches on poorly thrown balls. Lesson #1: Don't generalize.
Of course, one can go to the opposite extreme too. For instance, Oakland's part-owner Al Davis is fond of making player comparisons of current prospects to former greats. The danger of that should be obvious. But that's never stopped him from comparing every maverick QB that comes along to Kenny "The Snake" Stabler, or every intriguing TE to the legendary Dave "The Ghost" Casper, or every big-legged kicker to Hall of Famer Ray Guy, or every big-hitting Safety to Jack "The Assassin" Tatum. This strange methodolgy has netted Davis the following first round picks: QB Todd Marinovich, TE Ricky Dudley, K Sabastian Janikowski, and S Derrick Gibson. Basically all of them are more or less busts. It's also earned them exactly zero Championships since their glory days have ended. Enough said.
But Davis isn't alone in this type of thinking. How many times have we heard over the years the media falsely label someone "the next Joe Montana" or "the next Lawrence Taylor" or "the next Warren Sapp"? Just hearing those tired words is enough to make you vomit. But even I'm guilty of indulging in similar rhetoric from time to time. That is, I'll sometimes say a player has this specific quality of a Marshall Faulk or has this particular characteristic of a Hugh Douglas or has this same physical gift as a Randy Moss. But I'll never make the foolish jump to say that one similarity should or could translate into a similar type career or success. Players like that usually come along once in a lifetime. More importantly, all players, good and bad ones, need to be judged on their own merits and their own capabilities. That's lesson #2, and it's of extreme importance. It's also something that I find myself having to repeat very often.
That brings us back to Bethel Johnson. Here's a guy that runs a dizzying 4.24 40-yard dash. That puts him in the same class with speedsters like Randy Moss and Deion Sanders but relatively few others. Of course that doesn't mean he "is" Deion or Randy, just that he's as fast as them. That point is undeniable, and it certainly should count for something. But this is not just a "track guy" in football pads, such as former 49er Renaldo Nehemiah, for example. Nehemiah, of course, was a huge bust. This is, instead, a "football player" who can run track. There's a big difference.
Johnson's career totals at Texas A&M included 11 TD's, 117 catches, 1740 yards and a 14.9 yards per catch average. That's very good. But that hasn't stopped the press from practically dismissing Johnson altogether as just another track guy in cleats. Frankly, I don't understand the leap in logic. I guess, according to them, he was a football player in the NCAA but is now a track guy in the NFL. Or maybe we're just supposed to pretend his college career never happened. But, whatever the case, much of the New England media has labeled Johnson as this year's Tony Simmons (read: bust).
Maybe some are just determined to be cynical or negative. Maybe some just don't want to get their hopes up only to be let down (aka: Red Sox fan syndrome). But, in fairness, I believe the main reason that many have jumped to this conclusion is due to Johnson's recent workouts with the Patriots where he was said to have dropped a few catchable passes. The problem with that thinking, of course, is that we're talking about judging a rookie on only a three day camp. That's ridiculous, I think.
Tony Simmons, in stark contrast, was drafted in 1997 by the Patriots. That means he had four years as a Pro under his belt before the Patriots were forced to cut him on September 1, 2001. Simmons, remember, was drafted under former GM Bobby Grier and former Head Coach Pete Carroll. It's hardly fair to link their horrendous draft record to current Vice President of Player Personnel, Scott Pioli, and current Head Coach, Bill Belichick. But it seems many want to.
Simmons was drafted, in part, because of his 4.31 speed. He ran track at Wisconsin and was Big-Ten Champion in the outdoor 100-meter and 200-meter. He barely missed qualifying for the Olympics. He was just moonlighting as football player. He lined up at the Flanker (or Split-End) postion for the Badgers. That means he lined up off the line of scrimmage, away from blockers. Frequently teams will put talented yet raw players in this spot because it's not very demanding. His routes usually consisted of either flying straight past DB's or taking short screens over the middle.
This was attractive to Grier and Carroll because their two starters, Terry Glenn and Shawn Jefferson, lacked the size and speed combination necessary to go over the middle. But upon further review, Simmons usually had the middle cleared out for him on those screen passes. Grier and Carroll thought they were getting a physical Michael Irvin type but that clearly was never the case. Though Simmons was a threat to go long, he was also frequently used as nothing more than a decoy on all other plays. That is, he'd line-up at Flanker on running downs, then just do his best to engage as a blocker.
Granted, he did become the first Wisconsin WR to put up back-to-back 500 yard seasons. But it must be viewed in light of that knowledge. Even as a college player, Simmons had a reputation among scouts for having very poor hands. But more troubling to them was his iinability to grasp complex schemes. He had absolutely no experience in running a variety of routes. The Patriots found this out rather quickly. Offensive Coordinator Ernie Zampese tried to dumb it down for him. He simplified his responsibilities to the point where he was only asked to run the same routes everytime.
Of course, Simmons' college numbers are actually superior to Johnson's. Simmons finished his collegiate career with 23 TD's, 97 catches, 1923 yards for a 19.8 yards per catch average. That's 12 more TD's, 183 more yards, and 5 yards more per catch. All of this, mind you, on 20 less catches than Johnson.
But, again, the numbers don't tell the whole strory as Johnson missed significant time due to injuries whereas Simmons did not. Johnson could play any of the WR positions whereas Simmons can't. Johnson ran just about every conceivable route to near perfection whereas Simmons could not. Johnson can run the curl, the slant or the all-important fade whereas Simmons could not. Johnson grasped complex schemes and assignments whereas Simmons could not. Johnson displays elusiveness and YAC ability whereas Simmons does not. Johnson is known for his seriousness and work ethic whereas Simmons was not.
It's also interesting that while Simmons earned the nickname of "Touchdown Tony" after 8 TD's as a Sophmore in college, his TD's dropped to only 4 as a Senior. Johnson had only three up until 2002, when he posted a school record-tying 8 TD's in his "break out" Senior year. Simmons had 537 yards on 27 catches for a 19.9 average as a Senior. Johnson had 718 yards on 40 catches while averaging 17.95 yards per catch in his Senior year. One was on the upswing, the other on the down. Johnson's 40 catches is further eveidence of running a variety of routes, since no team will chuck it long that often. But the fact that he had TD longs of 78 and 59 yards at Texas Tech and Baylor are strong evidence that he can go deep when called upon to do so.
I'm not sure what will become of Tony Simmons. New England fans will likely forever remember him for his many dropped passes, but it was actually his inability to learn the offense and execute assignments that got him kicked out of practice by Belichick, and, ultimately, off of the team. At one point, he was trying out for the Colts. He also "wowed" television viewers with his athleticism by running a difficult obstacle course in record time (31 seconds) at a women's fitness event, with a new division for men, called The Galaxy Nova Competition. He may even stay with the Barcelona Dragons. I don't know. But I think it's fair to say that he'll never live up to initial expectations in the NFL.
If there was to be a WR in the 2003 draft class that we could accurately call "the next Tony Simmons", then I think I've accurately done that when prior to the draft I projected former Florida State WR Talman Gardner as a similar prospect to Simmons. Meanwhile other draft experts were projecting Gardner as a first or second round pick based on speed and skills. I cited his inability to run routes and his tendency to let balls sail through his hands to support my case. Gardner was later busted for carrying marijuana. He slipped to round seven, where he was drafted by the New Orleans Saints.
Naturally, people have the right to criticize Johnson for drops, too. And I'll be the first to admit that he'll bobble and/or drop some passes. But the biggest drop I'll remember Bethel Johnson for is the time he dropped to his knees and was mobbed by fans after defeating the top-ranked former National Champions, the Oklahoma Sooners, on November 10th of 2002. Most interestingly, he beat the highly-regarded Oklahoma DB's on that day not with pure speed but with double-fakes. That's the mark of someone special, and Bethel just might be that.
