Training Camp Thread

[Bigtinylittle]

Originally Posted by papabear

....even though that might be like being the smartest kid on the short bus.

Hey, don't make fun of the smartest kid on the short bus. That was ME!

Kubiak never calls out players for a poor performance. He just calls them out for not being on the field.

That's why I'm always a bit sceptical of his comments. Not that that's a bad thing. Yesterday he was praising Roberson. Does anyone think Roberson will make an active squad, barring injuries? I think a lot of what Kubiak says is just psychology. I hope what he says about Studdard is true, though. I hope he gets in the mix. When he got drafted, a lot of people pretty much discounted him. To tell the truth, I was one of them.

[Arky]

Day 4 pics:

http://www.chron.com/sports/photogal...AMP_DAY_4.html

[painekiller]

Brown should watch Walker play. The kid is going hard every play and I would rather have a "slow" Walker who tries hard a hurt all the time Brown.

I am starting to think Walker maybe bursting the Bubble and Brown is crawling on top of a bubble.

[Bigtinylittle]

On paper, a guy who weighs 205 and runs a 4.55 forty probably shouldn't be in the NFL, and maybe Walker soon won't be. But I DO think he has what it takes to stick with a team and maybe it will be the Texans. The thing I like about him the most is he seems to have great vision, great decision making. I think he is definately better than Gado, Lundy or Echimandu.

[coloradodude]

Originally Posted by Bigtinylittle

On paper, a guy who weighs 205 and runs a 4.55 forty probably shouldn't be in the NFL, and maybe Walker soon won't be.

Just out of curiosity, do you know how much Terrell Davis weighed and what he ran the 40 in?

[papabear]

Originally Posted by coloradodude

Just out of curiosity, do you know how much Terrell Davis weighed and what he ran the 40 in?

I believe he was in the 4.7 range. 40's are so overated.

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by papabear

I believe he was in the 4.7 range. 40's are so overated.

Mid 4.6's might be closer, but in paid in the open he was gone, just like Jerry Rice another "slow" player.

[coloradodude]

Originally Posted by papabear

I believe he was in the 4.7 range. 40's are so overated.

That's correct and he entered the league at 206. I'm thinking Walker's in good company especially if he's picking up the nuances of the ZB scheme. Also, I like his game speed.

[Bigtinylittle]

Originally Posted by coloradodude

Just out of curiosity, do you know how much Terrell Davis weighed and what he ran the 40 in?

I think you missed my point. I was just saying that not many of the guys with those stats make it in the NFL. The ones who do have to have something special going for them. Obviously, Davis was one of those guys who did. So did Emmitt Smith. Interestingly, both those guys were drafted much lower than they should have been. Teams were scared off by their low top end speed.

I think in general, top end speed is somewhat overrated in the NFL. Guys like Reggie Bush, who probably has as much top end speed as any back in the NFL, has struggled mightily the last two years. Top end speed really only becomes a factor when you make it to the open field, and even for the best runners, that doesn't happen very often. Especially if you are a dancing wuss like Reggie. If I remember correctly, Ron Dayne had a longer run last year then Bush.

Walker is very fluid, with great vision and no hesitation in his game. He seems to have the ability to instantly cut back without losing any speed, and he seems to have a good idea of when to do it. I think that's what will help him stick in the league, and that's why I really enjoy watching him run.

I noticed that Kubiak said that this year he has put behind him the problems that Kubiak mentioned last year. Kubiak never got too specific about them, but I wonder whether part of it was that Walker didn't really want to hit the weight room seriously.

I haven't seen him yet this year. Does anyone know whether he has put on a little but more muscle?

[papabear]

Originally Posted by Bigtinylittle

I haven't seen him yet this year. Does anyone know whether he has put on a little but more muscle?

I think it was McClain who asked Kubes about that....he said he's in good shape this year and that he just thinks Walker is one of those guys who is just a little thick in the mid-section. In other words he doesn't have ripped abs, but he's worked hard and he's in good shape.

[Arky]

Originally Posted by Bigtinylittle

Walker is very fluid, with great vision and no hesitation in his game. He seems to have the ability to instantly cut back without losing any speed, and he seems to have a good idea of when to do it. I think that's what will help him stick in the league, and that's why I really enjoy watching him run.

Yep, good eye. I think he does that better than anybody on the team (backfield).

I noticed that Kubiak said that this year he has put behind him the problems that Kubiak mentioned last year. Kubiak never got too specific about them, but I wonder whether part of it was that Walker didn't really want to hit the weight room seriously.

I think it was attitude mainly. The whispers I heard were that he came in with a I'm-from-Notre-Dame-and-my-caca-don't-stink attitude. I think Kubiak gave him an attitude adjustment by cutting him and then either before or after the recall, finally convinced him that he was going to have to put in lots of work to make it in this league.

I think a lot of whether he stays or goes will depend on what Mr. Gibbs thinks of him.....

[RunninRaven]

Originally Posted by Bigtinylittle

On paper, a guy who weighs 205 and runs a 4.55 forty probably shouldn't be in the NFL, and maybe Walker soon won't be. But I DO think he has what it takes to stick with a team and maybe it will be the Texans. The thing I like about him the most is he seems to have great vision, great decision making. I think he is definately better than Gado, Lundy or Echimandu.

I'm wondering if Walker might have upped that 40 time some since entering the NFL. Someone that was at a practice mentioned that he looked as fast as any of the other RBs out there. I just hope he isn't the odd man out in a numbers game and then goes on to be a good-great RB somewhere else.

[KJ3]

you know the general knock on walker is he is slow and undersized. he never has looked slow to me, quite honestly he's always looked pretty worthwhile and undersized guys are everywhere in the nfl so it doesn't really matter.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by Bigtinylittle

I hope what he says about Studdard is true, though. I hope he gets in the mix. When he got drafted, a lot of people pretty much discounted him. To tell the truth, I was one of them.

One of the reasons a lot of people felt that Spencer was released was because he wasn't a fit in Gibb's ZB system, notwithstanding a possible recovery from his injuries. Therefor why shouldn't Studdard be released for the same reason because he's clearly not a fit either in Gibb's same ZB schemes ?

[papabear]

Originally Posted by Bigtinylittle

Hey, don't make fun of the smartest kid on the short bus. That was ME!

Kubiak never calls out players for a poor performance. He just calls them out for not being on the field.

That's why I'm always a bit sceptical of his comments. Not that that's a bad thing. Yesterday he was praising Roberson. Does anyone think Roberson will make an active squad, barring injuries? I think a lot of what Kubiak says is just psychology. I hope what he says about Studdard is true, though. I hope he gets in the mix. When he got drafted, a lot of people pretty much discounted him. To tell the truth, I was one of them.

I do agree that Kubiak uses the media as psychological tool. He will call guys out for poor performance though. He's called Taylor out for fumbling and not blocking well enough. He's called Pitts out for not using his potential. He's called TJ out for being lazy. He doesn't do it all the time, and I think he's careful about who he does it too....some guys will respond, others won't.