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Yeh, and by doing this he cost himself millions, no way.
But would he really "lose millions" if he knows(or is told) he won't be picked in the top 10 unless he put up ungodly numbers which he knew he was incapable of?Who knows, but that wasn't just a bad day, it was a killer. I'm glad i traded down from 1.2 about a month ago.
This is exactly my point....The draft is really shaping up that the odds are his chances of going in the top 10 were becoming slim to none and him and his agent probably saw this. So, rather than being chosen in the #12 -#20 range and sitting behind stars as insurance (ala McGahee and Larry Johnson), maybe he's going to target the teams that he wants to get drafted by (Cowboys, Patriots, Broncos) and give them personal, confidential workouts. That is where he'd prove to teams that he wants to go to, with needs at RB, that taking him at their first round picks would be stealing...thus, not dropping to the 2nd round because he's the one now dictacting his high value to the teams that he wants to go to and showing low value to the teams that he doesn't want to go to that would've maybe drafted him 5-10 spots higher before this crappy workout took place.He'd take the small hit in pay now and to be the starter from day one in a great RB system and in 3 years redo his contract which is where the big money is at anyways. (ala Clinton Portis) Sounds over the top, but definitely not out of the question these days.According to the historical info given by "diesel" above, the difference between the #10 pick (5 years, $9 million) and # 26 pick (5 years, $6.9 million) isn't all that great of an amount considering the overall scheme of things if there is really a team a player would want to drop to and increase his chances of earlier success.
But...did he weigh 227 in highschool?
I don't care what he weighed in HS. Those times are amazing either way. Even if he was much smaller, then his body could not have been nearly as developed as it is now. He simply has to be faster then those number would indicate IMO. Was there something wrong with him at the work out or something? It just doesn't make sence that a guy outrunning even Mia. players and DBs is clocked this low.
The problem is that he could now be drafted after Perry, Greg Jones and maybe Tatum Bell. He didn't dictate anything to anyone by sucking today, other than the fact that he wasn't prepared or will do less than his best if he thinks it suits him. That is not going to get Belichick or Parcells excited.
But that is where the "private, confidential workouts" come into play with the teams that he would be interested in getting drafted by (Cowboys, Patriots, Broncos). If he can go in and personally show his actual speed and skills to those specific teams only which everyone expected him to do today...they would be fools to see this and not take Jones if he is still there at those 20-something picks in the first round. Which means going into the draft the teams that he wants to get drafted by know what he can really do, while the teams he doesn't want to get drafted by are guided only by the knowledge from the crappy workout and pass on him which would allow him to drop exactly where he wants to be.Even if for some reason Perry, Greg Jones, etc.. would get drafted before him in the 1st round than that would've been to teams he didn't want to go to anyways so that works out in his favor as well by only needing to take a little less money, but go into a situation that would pay off more for him a couple years later with a contract restructure, etc..as he'd be the main man from the start rather than sitting behind another starting RB for their first two years and not raising their value at all.Of course, Jones would never admit to pulling this stunt to either Belicheck or Parcells or Shanny...he'd just say he had an off day during his original workout and make them believe that they are the ones looking like the geniuses here by stealing this talent so late in the draft.Obviously, I'm thinking of all the different angles here, and although I'm not saying it's a highly likely scenario, I am saying it's definitely a possible scenario. In my mind, from my research and watching film of Jones, I'm not ready to believe that he was really capable of running 4.6's so I'm trying to figure out answers and this is one of my possibilities right now. Not a whole lot would surprise me anymore after the whole Terrell Owens incident this past week of him basically finding a way to dictate which team he ended up on.
But, this is where I'm having problems grasping this entire workout....it wasn't only the speed that was questionable. The entire workout was a disaster and couldn't all be attributed to an extra 10 lbs. of weight on his body.What makes me wonder about it's legitimacy is not only the 40 times, but also the strength test and the agility drills.He has to be capable of lifting more than 18 reps of 225 lbs, and you'd think the extra weight would've helped him improve in that area. He was also one of the best overall "athletes" in the nation during the past college football season which only ended 3 months ago and now he's tripping over cones during agility drills?Something in me just doesn't buy it, and think there has to be more to this than meets the eye.
I agree...I don't know that he intentionally tanked it, but I think it's safe to say that this workout isn't an accurate representation of what he's capable of. Maybe he couldn't sleep all of last night, maybe he got the jitters, who knows. But he's capable of a lot more than this without a doubt.The scouts are going to say "hmmmm...." and study his game tape further as a result of this. If they felt he was a late 1st round pick as a result of that game tape before, they're probably going to feel the same way now. It may drop him a few slots, but that's about it.Who knows, he may come back next week and put on a show. Either way, he's going to be the 1 or 2 back taken in this draft.
Suggs certainly could be the real deal. I think I probably would take Suggs over Jones if I had to pick one for my franchise as well. Suggs looked very good in limited duty last year.
I must've missed this on the NFL Network. When was it aired? Could you be a bit more specific about the interview and why he left a negative impression?As far as my take on his terrible workout, I'm just guessing he wasn't prepared in the same way that Sean Taylor tanked his workout. I don't expect him to fall too far from where he would have gone anyway, but he surely didn't help himself in any way.BTW, rumors are that Larry Fitzgerald is in the best shape of his life and consistently running sub 4.5 40 times. I wish Jones had the same attitude and work ethic...if he did, I bet he could have helped himself tremendously.
I don't think 18 is all that bad for a RB.For comparison purposes, here are some other recent strength drill numbers:RB Bruce Perry, Maryland: 17repsRB Greg Jones, FSU: 23 repsTE Ben Troupe, Florida: 17repsDE Marquise Hill, LSU: 23 repsDT Chad Lavalais, LSU: 17repsLB Michael Boulware, FSU: 15repsCB De'Angelo Hall, VTech: 15repsDB Matt Ware, UCLA: 15reps
Yeah, TExans probably go secondary, but I see them trading up to #4 or #5 to get Taylor before DET selects.That move would make Taylor the only DB taken in the Top10, then the DB runs starts after that. Hall should be #2 DB off the board, and with PIT's glaring weakness there, it should be at the 11th pick.In general, things are shaping up really nicely for PIT at #11. #1 RB (Jackson)#1 CB (Hall)#2 QB (Big Ben - most doubtful, but depends on NYG)#2 OT (Andrews)Could be available for them. GB having so many needs you can always get a good player!
Because, as pointed out earlier, odds were slim to none that Jones would've gone in the top 10 which is where the big money contracts are.The difference of pay from the #11 pick to the #25 pick is not all that much (relatively speaking of course)...so why not take a calculated risk and increase your chances of dropping to a good team in need of a starting RB from day one.Worst case scenario, in your example of a team unexpectadly jumping up in the draft to get him, is they go higher in the draft than expected and make a little more money which is what would've happened had he had a good workout anyways.
*HIJACK ALERT*I've heard the Texans love Sean Taylor, and the connection between Casserly and the Redskins makes a trade between those 2 teams seem more likely. But, I thought Eric Brown has been a solid SS for them, so I can't imagine that is a significant need for them. It would make much more sense (to me, anyway) for them to add an impact DE, or else to draft a CB and move M.Coleman to FS.*HIJACK OVER*
A team without running back concerns is not going to take one at 14 in this draft, just for kicks.You keep bringing up the Larry Johnson situation. You are ignoring 3 things:1)It was uncertain how healthy Priest was/how durable he would be.2)It was uncertain if Priest would hold out. Drafting Johnson said to Priest- Hod out if you want- we are covered.3)Priest is getting to a typical age of diminishing returns for a rb. Like Faulk, Martin and George- he was born in 1973.So, KC believed that they may well have need at running back when they drafted Johnson. It is clearly now a bad situation, because Holmes had a phenomal injury free season and did not hold out. None of those things were certainties going into the season.
Terrible. I hope that he is working out again because there is no way he should have ran a 4.6. He is not that slow. The rumor mill said that his dad is working him to hard and he needs to get out of the way. I'd probably still take him before Jackson but he either need to go back down to his playing weight or show that this was just some fluke.
First he had 20 extra pounds (from a previous post), now he's carrying 25 extra pounds? Jones was listed as 221 for the Insight Bowl. He was plenty fast in that game. He played most of the season in the 215-220 range. I don't think you can attribute his weight (a whopping 3 lbs. more than he ended the season at) to his poor workout numbers. And to say he is soft and can not run between the tackles is just plain wrong. True, Suggs was better than Jones between the tackles, and it is certainly not his bread and butter, but Jones can hold his own between the tackles.
Rumors on several websites about a waffle cone coming out of Canada, says he's got what it takes to play free safety in the NFL. His split times were good, but he had trouble stopping ice cream from running on him last summer.Said the cone: "You can't stop ice cream...you can only hope to contain it."
I didn't see this posted, and I thought it was germane. From Gil Brandt:Jones (5-11 5/8, 224) ran his 40s in 4.61, 4.63 and 4.65. He had a 37-inch vertical, a 9-9 long jump, 18 reps, a 4.10 short shuttle and a 7.17 three-cone drill. Jones' time was slower than expected, but he did not get out of his start well. More than anything, he impressed people with his ability to catch the football. He was really good at running routes and catching the ball.
I think that's all I needed to hear to take him at the 1.01 spot in my dynasty draft. He's going to be an everydown back with the size to handle a heavy workload and run inside. 40 times are overrated and if he is as fast as Domanick Davis but with better size, vision, and skills, I'll take my chances. Regardless, I think KJ is definitely faster than he ran and I'm not going to let one bad day change what I saw on the football field last season.I was originally worried that he was out of shape and that was what led to the slow time, but this at least indicates that was not the case. While I still can't understand why he was so much slower than we all expected, I hope he quiets any remaining doubts with a better time next week.
