Deadspin: If Stanford defense holds, the Cardinal is going places - Printable Version
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RE: Deadspin: If Stanford defense holds, the Cardinal is going places - CornFed - 08-08-2018
Jeepers, CT. Everything everyone says about our prospects at this time of year is, to one degree or another, based on a "wouldn't it be nice" outlook. I mean, "wouldn't it be nice" if Bryce Love plays injury free this season? "Wouldn't it be nice" if our DL shows dramatic personal improvement in their play? There are no facts about the season at this time. There are only statistics about previous performance and reams of opinion parsing all that data. The article I posted gave me some hope about a new player, who has received some hype about his potential, and the writer appears to be speculating what the effect of such a player would be for us if that hype is realized.
JJAW and Irwin are specific types of receivers with specific (very valuable) skills/attributes. Both have exceptionally good hands and are taller than most of the players they are facing. Irwin is consistently noted for the precision of his routes. JJAW is simply a winner and will nearly always outmaneuver his opposition to grab the ball. Neither of them can simply run past the defender if that player has the temerity to play up on them. Neither of them presents a scary choice for the defender about the precise instant that they turn to stay up with the receiver. Rector had speed and that attribute presented these issues. But there is something more that great receivers do to make their opponents' lives miserable. Firstly, Rector's hands were certainly not legendary. Also, his running skills were non-existent. But this is not a binary choice. We already have JJAW and Irwin - Hallelujah!!!
If Osiris St. Brown can showcase these skills, especially speed and quickness, he would clearly make those guys better. I for one would be very excited. Your comments cite him as having "great hands", being a "great route runner", having "good length" or that he "has surprising speed", yet you do that almost as if to dismiss any suggestion that those qualities will separate him from the herd. Could be. I admit, I can sometimes be a thrill jockey and love the excitement of potential. Maybe it's delusional, but reality will get here soon enough. While we're at it, wouldn't it be nice if K.J. Costello got in sync and all these remarkable receiving talents that we have assembled become a national object of awe?
RE: Deadspin: If Stanford defense holds, the Cardinal is going places - CTcard - 08-08-2018
(08-08-2018, 01:27 PM)CornFed Wrote: Jeepers, CT. Everything everyone says about our prospects at this time of year is, to one degree or another, based on a "wouldn't it be nice" outlook.
Yeah, you may be right that I went off a little half-cocked because the errors in the article irked me too much.
But I don't agree that everything everyone says about our guys this time of year is simply a wouldn't it be nice sort of interpretation.
For our returning players that we have seen on the field, and we have a general idea of who they are and who they could become.
For new guys, in many cases we know something about the kind of skills they have, if not necessarily the degree or how well they will transfer to the next level. For example,
We knew that McCaffrey was a plus athlete in terms of balance and shiftiness. (certainly Hulk did - that was his specific rave on this board).
We knew that Love was fast.
We knew Rector was fast.
We knew Wedington was a quick athlete with a diverse skill set running and catching the ball.
The primary theme of that article is that Osiris St. Brown will be a deep threat for Stanford in a blazing speed kind of way.
I don't think we know Osiris is particularly fast - and there seems to be evidence that blazing speed is not among his best attributes, at least to the extent that would stand out among Stanford's best football players.
When I watch their HS highlight tapes, and read about others' evaluations of Osiris, to me it seems his skills are more akin to Trent Irwin than say … Michael Rector with better routes and ball skills that this article seems to be implying (though yes on the better routes and ball skills). In no way whatsoever is that derogatory, those skills are very important and can make a fantastic receiver, but they are different skills than that article was dreaming about.