i repect your opinion as well,
& i wouldn't disagree with how you phrased it there, that it could have been a factor in some teams...
just, imo, when there were clear indications that maroney & williams may have been coveted more... ON TALENT ALONE (TEN GM floyd reese likened williams to LT!
maroney was thought by many scouts superior to marion barber, who proved himself a pretty good prospect in his own right in DAL last season)... it seemed unnecessary to push the point so hard that we could infer from white not being drafted that it was likely due to work ethic questions... it isn't necessary to invoke that to interpret & explain the evidence available to us...
it isn't warranted by the facts to claim that they must have had a problem with him... this is a spin that neglects fact that some teams just plain liked maroney & williams better.
i'm not saying it is impossible to come up with evidence that he may not have a walter payton type work ethic... just that trying to make the case by saying NE & CAR passed on him for that reason, when it appears to be a stretch of the known facts (some teams just liked the other RBs better... ON PURE TALENT & ABILITY), seemingly isn't the best way to do so, & even further appears biased.
if anybody didn't notice that many scouts had wiliams & maroney ahead of white even BEFORE the injury & inability to run for scouts caused some of these questions to surface, they weren't paying attention at the time, & it lessens their credibility after the fact...
again, i'm not saying there may not be other ways to make the point... but this isn't one of them... neither is tired old saw (said by someone else that he padded stats against weak pac 10 defenses)... burden of proof on them is to splain why he so thoroughly dominated texas?
* just a reminder... there was plausible information that white could have been taken by cowher at #32... isn't he a good coach? would white have then enjoyed the cache of cowher's perceived acumen?
if he had gone at #32, we would be talking about few spots removed from williams (#27?)... if he had gone at #32, wouldn't it be biased to talk about how many teams passed on white... but not apply same rationale & ask if williams is deeply flawed because of how many teams passed on HIM? wouldn't it be splitting hairs to see vastly different outcomes if they were almost drafted within few spots?
not just white was passed... plenty of offensive talent, including WRs santonio holmes & chad jackson, as well as marcedes lewis, fell to late in first & second as defense was prioritized HEAVILY by many teams in first round... does that mean we have to invoke work ethic problems in their case, too (if no bias)? if not, why not?
* its like if three guys are in a room with briefcases full of cash... one has $8,000, one has $9,000 & other has $10,000... someone comes in room & can accept two briefcases... if he takes the ones that have $9,000 & $10,000, would we infer they don't like the $8,000... that the money was no good... it was dirty & maybe from a criminal... maybe, i realize this is a stretch, they just preferred to take the greater sum?
remember, IF reese is right & williams is LT-like... white could be REALLY, REALLY, REALLY good... & still not be as good as williams!
this is why it is an extremly blunt instrument to use a formula like... white was passed for williams by fox... therefor it was over work ethic issues... & if white is not as talented as williams... he must therefor be a massive bust risk all of a sudden, which flies in the face of white's indisputably excellent body of work in college, & the grade by many scouts, before, during & AFTER the draft process...
Yes, I said it. The simple fact is that he is a one cut bruiser type back that tends to have somewhat long and productive careers in the NFL. Think Bettis, Stephen Davis, and a certain previous Titan RB.
