Pre-Draft Hype (1 Viewer)

[pmcdade]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/pr/s...back.mandarich/

Classic article. No matter how good someone was in college, no matter how good their measurables...

 

[Chase Stuart]

"As a junior he could have started on any of our Super Bowl teams," says Michigan State head coach George Perles, who was a defensive coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers when they won four Super Bowl championships in the 1970s. "He may be the best offensive tackle ever. He's certainly the best since the game changed the blocking rules. Before that, you had to play without your arms, and it didn't matter how strong your bench press was. ((Mandarich has pressed 545 pounds.)) He's faster than any offensive lineman in pro football. There's probably nobody faster in the world at his weight. This is a different player. We'll never have another."

 

[Andy Dufresne]

When steroids were king.

 

[cstu]

Some people hope that is the case. They claim Mandarich is a walking shrine to steroid abuse. "I played against a guy who was an average offensive tackle ((in 1986)) who then went from 270 pounds to 300 pounds in one year and became an awesome offensive tackle," says a veteran Big Ten defensive player who competed against Mandarich and wants to remain anonymous. "He had pimples down his arms and was next to bald." Acne and baldness are potential side effects of steroid use.One Big Ten assistant coach, who does not want to be identified, says in exasperation, "We've been hearing about him so long, we're sick of it. We all know what's going on. Pro scouts come in and ask me about Mandarich. I tell them, but they don't care. It's really sad he's getting so much publicity."

 

[Chase Stuart]

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam030328/col_longley-sun.html

No matter what he does, the Packers experience will dog him, as will the innuendo that he was a product of steroids.

Virtually every interview he has done, Mandarich has been asked if he was a user. Every time he has denied it.

"It bothered me, but I wasn't the first player they said that about and I wasn't the last," said Mandarich, who had to pass a drug test before the Colts would sign him. "But you know what, that was magnified by me and my big mouth. It made the snowball get bigger.

"I can't tell you how many drug tests I have taken in the NCAA, in (scouting combines) in Bowl games, in the NFL and I've never tested positive for anything."

He doesn't deny using supplements. And he doesn't deny being a workout freak. But steroids? No.

"He trained harder than anybody I had ever seen," Zupancic said. "In fact, he trained to the point I had to kick him out of the weight room or off the field."

 

[Andy Dufresne]

I agree on the whole knock against "measurables", though.

It seems that when the combine comes around that what a guy did for 1-4 years on the actual football field (you know, where they play the game) goes out the window.

This year's prime examples: Vince Young and DeAngelo Williams

 

[-OZ-]

I agree on the whole knock against "measurables", though.

It seems that when the combine comes around that what a guy did for 1-4 years on the actual football field (you know, where they play the game) goes out the window.

This year's prime examples: Vince Young and DeAngelo Williams

Maybe I haven't been paying attention, but I haven't heard either of these get knocked much on the basis of measurables. VY is knocked due to mecahnics and the style of offense, DeAngelo if knocked, maybe due to level of competition? Maybe I've turned a blind eye, but I haven't read much detraction about DW.Now, LenDale White, might be a better example of performance vs. measurables.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

I agree on the whole knock against "measurables", though.

It seems that when the combine comes around that what a guy did for 1-4 years on the actual football field (you know, where they play the game) goes out the window.

This year's prime examples: Vince Young and DeAngelo Williams

Maybe I haven't been paying attention, but I haven't heard either of these get knocked much on the basis of measurables. VY is knocked due to mecahnics and the style of offense, DeAngelo if knocked, maybe due to level of competition? Maybe I've turned a blind eye, but I haven't read much detraction about DW.Now, LenDale White, might be a better example of performance vs. measurables.

I probably could have come up with better examples.Maybe Matt Leinart is a better example. Arm strength and 40 times have been questioned about him. I think it's bunk.

I guess I'm just saying that I think the combine and other sources of "numbers" are bunk. All it's for is to keep the NFL in the spotlight during the offseason. FWIW, it works in that capacity.

Why doesn't the NFL just recruit at track meets and weightlifting gyms?

 

[-OZ-]

Maybe Matt Leinart is a better example. Arm strength and 40 times have been questioned about him. I think it's bunk.

Leinart is probably the perfect example. Although, some questioned whether he was simply a product of the system. He may be, but so was Tom Brady, Joe Montana, and Carson Palmer.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Maybe Matt Leinart is a better example.  Arm strength and 40 times have been questioned about him.  I think it's bunk.

Leinart is probably the perfect example. Although, some questioned whether he was simply a product of the system. He may be, but so was Tom Brady, Joe Montana, and Carson Palmer.

I can't stand this statement either. A bad system with good players will still be at least average. A good system with bad players won't work.A good system with good players produces championships, which Leinart has.

 

[psychobillies]

Maybe Matt Leinart is a better example.  Arm strength and 40 times have been questioned about him.  I think it's bunk.

Leinart is probably the perfect example. Although, some questioned whether he was simply a product of the system. He may be, but so was Tom Brady, Joe Montana, and Carson Palmer.

I can't stand this statement either. A bad system with good players will still be at least average. A good system with bad players won't work.A good system with good players produces championships, which Leinart has.

In general I agree with what you are saying about measurables vs. performance, but its hard to say Leinart is being bumped down when he is the consensus #2 player in the draft.

 

[brewer]

The senior Mandariches would be shattered if they learned that their baby Tony was a steroid user. "I told him, 'You know I give my life to you,' " says Donna, solemnly. " 'But if you ever try drugs, I wish you never come home.' "

Hmm, wonder if Tony is welcome at the Mandarich home any longer?