Posts tagged Gale Sayers

Russell Wilson, Drew Brees, Prince, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix and the Difficulty of Comparisons

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Russell Wilson is short by NFL QB standards but matched with the right offense, there is a place for him in the league. Photo by Seth Youngblood.

Russell Wilson to Compete for Seahawks Starting Gig Now

Apparently, I was wrong about Russell Wilson. I thought he’d compete for the starting job next year – not right now.

I’ve been talking about Wilson’s potential as a future starter before the draft at FootballOutsiders.com in my Futures column. Wilson had an off-the-charts Lewin Career Forecast score (highest ever as an indicator of potential success in the NFL), which my colleagues at Outsiders consequently labeled with an asterisk because history accurately demonstrated that quarterbacks with Wilson’s height aren’t drafted in the first three rounds as potential starters. I decided to take a bit of the different approach and “Study the Asterisk.” Click the link above and learn why Pete Carroll and the Seahawks saw Wilson as a future starter, why his game translates, and why the comparisons to Drew Brees aren’t silly.

The Nature of Player Comps

Speaking of player comparisons, I think it is important to talk about them. There are a lot of opinions about the value of comparisons. When done well, Continue reading →

History Lesson: Three Pros You Should Know

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Before Randy Moss, there was John Jefferson. Photo by DevilBrent47

Every era of the game has players that were great in many aspects of their game, but didn’t have an extended opportunity to prove it statistically. Brandon Lloyd is one of the greatest receivers in the history of the league when it comes to adjusting to the football, but he approached the precipice of his career death before pulling back just in time – perhaps the greatest catch of his life thus far. This got me thinking about other players who I thought were great talents, but didn’t have the commensurate statistics to earn that label in the traditional sense. Here are three. Continue reading →

Reads, Listens, Views 8/26

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The Atlanta Journal and Constitution used this caption: William Andrews had 1,567 yards rushing and 609 yards receiving in 1983, a rare 2,000-yard season. Peter Brouillet / WireImage

Third week of the preseason and those training camp battles are being decided. Thank you to those of you who are making the Rookie Scouting Portfolio Blog a part of your regular reading schedule. As I’ve been saying weekly, if you like what you’ve seen thus far, please consider these three acts of kindness:

  1. Subscribe to this blog. It’s free.
  2. Share this blog with your friends.
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And then consider performing one special act of kindness to yourself: Get my publication The Rookie Scouting Portfolio. Those who buy it love it.

The RSP is a 120-150 page rookie report loaded with Continue reading →