Besides the Arena League, McPherson did not get lot of playing time in college. He was Mr.Basketball and Mr. Football in Florida the same year in high school though.
I would be interested in seeing how he playes in the NFL.
We SO need a running back, but Gruden may be picking up a QB if a top one is on the board. We do have a BUNCH of picks this year. This is also the 1st first round pick in like 4 years that the Bucs have had.
I usually don''t watch the whole draft because it does drag, I just flip it on and off through the course of the afternoon.
Jerry Rice ran his combine 40 in 4.5-seconds. The best WR and possibly player in NFL history ran an average 40 at best.
4.5 is not a bad 40 time at all. A number of last year''s 1st round receivers ran in the very high 4.4''s, awfully close to 4.5 (Reggie Williams and Rashaun Woods were both 4.49, essentially 4.5. Last year''s most productive 1st round WR, Michael Clayton, ran 4.57). Rice had speed - not top-of-the-pack world class speed, but nobody sneezes at 4.5. Hell, Braylon Edwards ran 4.48 and 4.50 at his pro day in Michigan!
Speed doesn''t make a mediocre player great, but a lack of speed can make things tougher for a good player. And speed can give a good receiver a tool to help make them great. Make no mistake, one of the things that separates Terrell Owens from the other physically big receivers is that he has 4.38 speed while other big receivers run in the high 4.5''s (Keyshawn''s actually closer to 4.7!). The number itself isn''t gospel, but it''s ONE way to measure straight-line speed.
I think the point is well taken though -- people sometimes place too much emphasis on the 40 times when it''s not always the most important attribute.
A recent example was when Terrell Suggs'' 40 times were judged to be ''too slow''. He slipped several spots down from where he was expected to be drafted, allowing the Ravens to grab him...Def. rookie of the year in 2003!
Now granted, Suggs was still the #10 overall pick. However, what mattered with Sugggggs was how well he got to the QB, which was not the same as his 40 time.
Well the thing about Suggs was that he didn''t fit at 4-3 DE except as a situational pass rusher. If he ended up in a 4-3, he wouldn''t have been 2003 rookie of the year. Suggs is a classic ""tweener"", and Baltimore saw that he could fit as a 3-4 OLB. He has quickness that lets him get around O-linemen. If he was a 4-3 DE in a 3-point stance, he''d struggle with being mauled by big OTs. Playing off the line in a stand-up position, he''s able to use his feet to get around linemen.
Most of the teams above Baltimore that passed on Suggs had no intention on taking him, regardless of 40 times. Other teams blew smoke about those 40 times, hoping that he would slide even further. There was a lot of talk that he could slide well beyond #10.
* A stunning QB prospect who missed last year''s college season due to gambling charges. Went to the Arena league and dominated, despite being the youngest player in the league. Appears to have said and done all of the right things since the gambling issue - character concerns, or just a little bad judgment from a young kid living in NCAA sanctioned poverty?
I want my team to get this guy! My Saturday would be complete if that happened (or Sunday if they were so fortunate to get him on the second day).
With DE''s 40 time is not that important. I mean, how often are they running the complete 40 in a game? They ideally should be traveling a few yard as quick as possible.
Sheared, remember, McPherson''s playing time is limited to that Arena League season and a few games in college. He is going to need alot of work. He is very physicallly talented though.
Sheared, remember, McPherson''s playing time is limited to that Arena League season and a few games in college. He is going to need alot of work. He is very physicallly talented though.
It''s scary how dominant McPherson was in the Arena league (61 TDs, 5 INTs, and 19 rushing TDs which ranks as 6th highest season total in league history). And that means something for a quarterback. And even in his limited college play, he threw 14 TDs and only 1 INT. As raw and unpolished as he is, the guy''s a pure passer through and through, and he can tuck the ball away and run.
Watching him throw the ball, he is FAR more impressive than Aaron Rodgers and Alex Smith. He has more potential than any other player in the draft. A lot of prospects come into the league and are said to have the ""physical tools"", but McPherson has *elite* physical tools. His straight-line top-end speed doesn''t compete with Vick''s, but he has 4.5 speed. He''s also got an arm that can shame Vick. He''s less of the so-called ""new era QB"" and more of a pocket passer with wide receiver speed when he does run.
Any team that needs a QB prospect needs to look hard at McPherson. He won''t be a 1st rounder. Some have him down to the 3rd and even 4th round.
As far as his character issues:
1) Instead of suing the NFL, he went to the AFL to develop and prove himself to the NFL. He had opportunities to enter the NFL earlier than now, but he went out and worked and proved himself on the field.
2) He has been conspicuous in his absence from the headlines. He went to the Combine and worked. He has not done anything to put his name in headlines (a la Clarett). He has been silent, and nose to the grindstone.
McPherson made Mistake #1 back in 2003. 2 years later, he has yet to make Mistake #2. If I''m a GM needing a QB, I don''t let him slide past my 3rd round pick. I even go for him with a late 2nd if I have one (especially if I''m a team with two 2nd round picks).
Other teams blew smoke about those 40 times, hoping that he would slide even further. There was a lot of talk that he could slide well beyond #10.
There certainly is that aspect of the draft: saying just about anything if it has the smallest possibility to get you what you want.
Gotta'' love the draft...hell, the NFL in general.
Well ""half"" is a MASSIVE overstatement. Only two players in Combine history have run in the 4.2 range.
While half may be an overstatement according to this article on espn.com:
The corners at the combine averaged a 4.47 in the 40. Nine ran in the 4.3s. Fabian Washington of Nebraska blistered the combine with a 4.29.
Unless John Clayton is lying those times are all official combine numbers, and it is a bit hard to believe that nine college players are as fast as the best olympic one hundred meter sprinter ever no matter the conditions.
Sam Fisher couldn''t run a 4.5 40 if his life depended on it.
I know. Because one time his life depended on it.
And he died.
Admit it, you guys are tuning in just to stare at Mel Kiper''s hair for four hours and wonder if it''s real or not.
And Alex Smith''s going #1, Miami''s taking either Edwards or Williams and will be laughing all season about how the Niners botched it up again.
nine college players are as fast as the best olympic one hundred meter sprinter ever no matter the conditions.
They aren''t. And pooh-pooh''ing the differences in the circumstances that they were run does not make for a sound argument.
Yes, they are timed differently. It makes all the difference in the world when you''re counting tenths and hundredths of seconds.
Thanks to JMJ for pointing me at this interesting article at ESPN. I thought some of you might enjoy it as well.
Neat article. The stuff about Miami, though, is a bit hit or miss. Yes, there''s Sean Taylor, Kellen Winslow, Jeremy Shockey, Philip Buchanon, etc. But you also have guys like Jonathan Vilma, Ed Reed, Andre Johnson, and Dan Morgan. Though I have to admit that I could stretch the first list out a good bit longer than I could the second.
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