If you haven't heard yet, NO ONE knows more about the RB draft class than Tony Nowak. NO ONE.
Final Look at the 2007 RB Class
Final Look at the 2007 RB Class
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Tony Nowak (aka Tenacious D): Final Look at the 2007 RB Class (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Sigmund Bloom
- Start date
Chaos Commish
Footballguy
As usual, no one covers rookie RBs like Tony. Solid read. I look at this class as a whole and "mediocre" seems like high praise. Guys like Wolfe, Wynn, Bush and Wright can save it if "best case scenarios" emerge, but really this is an uninspiring crop, imo ( and after AD and Lynch, of course).
Tenacious D =
Tenacious D =
Cecil Lammey
Footballguy
This one's for you Tony 
Great article!
Great article!
Gottabesweet
Footballguy
Bob Magaw
Footballguy
i haven't even read this yet (i will, i will!), but i've read the earlier reports... i'm a huge fan of TD, & can say i've probably learned more from past few RB classes (when i discovered his writing) than ANYbody else (including coyle, PFW, sporting news, etc)... keep up the outstanding work, tony... to others who haven't had the pleasure yet, my highest possible recommendation...
bigreese82
Footballguy
Anyone have a link to his RB article from last year?...would be interesting for us Tony first timers
Bob Magaw
Footballguy
Family Matters
Footballguy
Well done and thank you! 
the "other" guy from tenacious d covers the rbs in the nfl draft? I guess you realy do learn something new every day
BigRed
Footballguy
Sorry while this "reads well" in general, I seriously question some of the conclusions and think he's way too keyed on a "combine results = NFL future" type of mentality. In fact I stopped reading after this bit on Tony Hunt:
"I had been a big supporter of Hunt and with decent numbers thought he had a shot to go as high as the third back selected in this class, but now he now has to be considered more of a short-yardage role player type and perhaps a FB."
So ONE bad showing on a few speed/agility tests means he somehow transformed from about the 3d best RB in the draft to a 2d day player ?
As for "Peterson is the most exciting combination of size, speed, and raw natural talent at RB since Bo Jackson" ....yeah right....that's been said about a number of RBs since Bo Jackson (eg Ricky Williams).
"I had been a big supporter of Hunt and with decent numbers thought he had a shot to go as high as the third back selected in this class, but now he now has to be considered more of a short-yardage role player type and perhaps a FB."
So ONE bad showing on a few speed/agility tests means he somehow transformed from about the 3d best RB in the draft to a 2d day player ?
As for "Peterson is the most exciting combination of size, speed, and raw natural talent at RB since Bo Jackson" ....yeah right....that's been said about a number of RBs since Bo Jackson (eg Ricky Williams).
Bob Magaw
Footballguy
TD is far from the only observer who thinks hunt's stock has dropped (EBF had a prominent post on this in recent days, & its not exactly an ultra-controversial position)... lots of good backs have dropped to day two in recent year, without needing to elaborate... no doubt you could think of some...for a while now many scouts were higher on more explosive irons, pittman, anderson (?)... hunt could easily end up being outside of top 5 RBs...Sorry while this "reads well" in general, I seriously question some of the conclusions and think he's way too keyed on a "combine results = NFL future" type of mentality. In fact I stopped reading after this bit on Tony Hunt:
"I had been a big supporter of Hunt and with decent numbers thought he had a shot to go as high as the third back selected in this class, but now he now has to be considered more of a short-yardage role player type and perhaps a FB."
So ONE bad showing on a few speed/agility tests means he somehow transformed from about the 3d best RB in the draft to a 2d day player ?
As for "Peterson is the most exciting combination of size, speed, and raw natural talent at RB since Bo Jackson" ....yeah right....that's been said about a number of RBs since Bo Jackson (eg Ricky Williams).
i agree with the bo jackson assessment... i've compared him to jackson & dickerson... ricky williams is no where close to as fast as peterson, & i don't recall him being touted as that at the time... if pundits did, they were wrong... bo was probably the fastest 220-230 lb prospect scouts had ever seen in the 40 up to that time (& to this day one of fastest RBs with that kind of physique & thick frame, EVER)... look at how fast AD explodes through the line & gets to the second level & you can see he has unmistakably rare speed... bush was admittedly pretty fast (i think came in second in state of CA as prep with about 10.5 100 m), but #1 overall RB prospects that on any given game have a chance to be the fastest player on the field don't grow on trees... i don't know if peterson is as good a prospect as bo jackson (he might be close), but the comparison in terms of physical attributes isn't too far of a stretch... also, bush is about 205... AD listed at about 217-220, but as he matures he could get to 225... that will indeed be an extremely rare combo of size, strength & speed...
* don't take my take on hunt on faith...
national scouting guides (in descending order... no higher than 5 & average lower than 6)
PFW mag - #5
PFW book - #6 (not sure which was first... mag i think ((COULDN'T have incorporporated pro day numbers))... in which case a bump down)
espn - #7
sporting news - #17 (latter two also i don't think had time to incorporate pro day data... espn could be conceivably lower)
haven't gotten coyle, kiper & usa today yet... i'll try & update if i remember
** excerpt from the summary section of PFW 07 draft preview book...
"He has the sheer determination and fiery competitive drive to be the best back in football in a very short amount of time... An elite, blue-chip talent who, as long as he is healthy, can carry an offense and instantly upgrade a backfield. Very special and arguably the best player in the draft. Will make any team who passes on him live to regret it. A cornerstone building block for any franchise and every bit worth the top pick in the draft. Durability issues aside, a can't-miss pick."
Last edited by a moderator:
phthalatemagic
Footballguy
Thanks for the writeup!
Green and Gold
Footballguy
You really need to read up on the usage of the ellipses.Bob Magaw said:TD is far from the only observer who thinks hunt's stock has dropped (EBF had a prominent post on this in recent days, & its not exactly an ultra-controversial position)... lots of good backs have dropped to day two in recent year, without needing to elaborate... no doubt you could think of some...for a while now many scouts were higher on more explosive irons, pittman, anderson (?)... hunt could easily end up being outside of top 5 RBs...BigRed said:Sorry while this "reads well" in general, I seriously question some of the conclusions and think he's way too keyed on a "combine results = NFL future" type of mentality. In fact I stopped reading after this bit on Tony Hunt:
"I had been a big supporter of Hunt and with decent numbers thought he had a shot to go as high as the third back selected in this class, but now he now has to be considered more of a short-yardage role player type and perhaps a FB."
So ONE bad showing on a few speed/agility tests means he somehow transformed from about the 3d best RB in the draft to a 2d day player ?
As for "Peterson is the most exciting combination of size, speed, and raw natural talent at RB since Bo Jackson" ....yeah right....that's been said about a number of RBs since Bo Jackson (eg Ricky Williams).
i agree with the bo jackson assessment... i've compared him to jackson & dickerson... ricky williams is no where close to as fast as peterson, & i don't recall him being touted as that at the time... if pundits did, they were wrong... bo was probably the fastest 220-230 lb prospect scouts had ever seen in the 40 up to that time (& to this day one of fastest RBs with that kind of physique & thick frame, EVER)... look at how fast AD explodes through the line & gets to the second level & you can see he has unmistakably rare speed... bush was admittedly pretty fast (i think came in second in state of CA as prep with about 10.5 100 m), but #1 overall RB prospects that on any given game have a chance to be the fastest player on the field don't grow on trees... i don't know if peterson is as good a prospect as bo jackson (he might be close), but the comparison in terms of physical attributes isn't too far of a stretch... also, bush is about 205... AD listed at about 217-220, but as he matures he could get to 225... that will indeed be an extremely rare combo of size, strength & speed...
* don't take my take on hunt on faith...
national scouting guides (in descending order... no higher than 5 & average lower than 6)
PFW mag - #5
PFW book - #6 (not sure which was first... mag i think ((COULDN'T have incorporporated pro day numbers))... in which case a bump down)
espn - #7
sporting news - #17 (latter two also i don't think had time to incorporate pro day data... espn could be conceivably lower)
haven't gotten coyle, kiper & usa today yet... i'll try & update if i remember
Tenacious D
Footballguy
I actually have a series of articles on this RB class since last summer. The previous one was after the bowls and all-star games, so this one focuses on the Combine and Pro Days. Hopefully that gives you a little better context of the article. I try to not overvalue one facet (e.g. test results) over any others, but there really isn't a question of the role they play, otherwise they wouldn't hold the them. As far as NFL future, I lead in to the article saying it isn't indicative of my opinion of their future, just where they'll be drafted, and history shows those two are not always in sync.BigRed said:
I think Hunt being widely viewed as the third best RB prior to the Combine is open to debate. I'm pretty confident about this b/c I was in the minority when I had him in the conversation with Bush, Irons, and Darby before the 2006 season as a top senior and got a lot of questions about it, while most were still rolling with Mike Bush in that slot up until the recent news on his second procedure, as far as I saw. While I was consistent about having high regard for him and he was my top-rated senior back at the end of the season, negative I kept bringing up all along about him in previous articles was his speed and overall athleticism did not appear impressive. His Pro Day results were not just unimpressive, they were very poor...to the point I hear on some draft boards his NFL perception is as a convert to FB, which makes a Day One pick very unlikely. You will always have teams like the Broncos and Patriots, who are completely unpredictable in where they select a player, so it absolutely isn't inconceivable that he is still the third RB selected, and it was just one day...there are private workouts for which information isn't made available, so perhaps he turned it all around. However, as he didn't workout at the Combine, his Pro Day results are all there is to go off of, and plenty of precedent is there that his numbers were disappointing enough to bring in to question if he has the athleticism to translate at the next level, hence I expect him to drop.BigRed said:In fact I stopped reading after this bit on Tony Hunt:
"I had been a big supporter of Hunt and with decent numbers thought he had a shot to go as high as the third back selected in this class, but now he now has to be considered more of a short-yardage role player type and perhaps a FB."
So ONE bad showing on a few speed/agility tests means he somehow transformed from about the 3d best RB in the draft to a 2d day player ?
Not by meBigRed said:
It is cliche, but the size and speed are factual numbers. As for the talent, if you breakdown the film and watch him run, he just oozes natural ability and instincts that are rare. It's exciting to me, anyway. 
Tenacious D
Footballguy
Ha. It got too hard to keep up in multiple places.Bri said:
Mike
Footballguy
I don't get it
