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Lonestar
04-08-2010, 10:15 PM
Doctors' opinions more in demand
Jeff Legwold
The Denver Post
POSTED: 04/08/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT
UPDATED: 04/08/2010 01:21:54 AM MDT


The draft is a passion for NFL reporter Jeff Legwold, who evaluates several hundred players each year during the months leading up to the annual selections.

Most NFL organizations spend piles of money, time and effort trying to find the best football people to help them find players.

Getting an honest assessment from a savvy scout with a sharp mind and discerning eye can be the real difference between winning and losing.

But this year's draft board will force other evaluations to be offered — namely, those coming from doctors. A lot of doctors are going to be asked a lot of tough questions this year.

Marquee players including Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford (shoulder surgery), Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen (toe surgery), Georgia Tech wide receiver Demaryius Thomas (broken foot), Oklahoma tight end Jermaine Gresham (knee surgery) and Alabama linebacker Rolando McClain (Crohn's disease) have medical considerations.

That's just the top end of the board. There are far more teams that will have to make the call for a quality second opinion or two.

Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or jlegwold@denverpost.com

BigBroncLove
04-08-2010, 11:01 PM
I'll also add this from PFW: Audibles that displays the need for solid doctors in the NFL. I believe it's a real issue, and the best teams at both drafting and keeping players healthy (besides just solid training staff), employ the best doctors in the league (something the Broncos need to improve upon IMO).

note: Theres also interesting information on Cutler and Mart'z style of offense in the link.


It seems like we have more and more dots (to signify character and medical concerns) on our draft board every year. It's getting to the point nowadays where nearly everyone has some type of dot. Ninety percent of players who have strapped on shoulder pads have had some type of tear in their labrum. ... A big part of successful drafting is being able to trust your doctors. How many times have we seen guys knocked off boards turn out to be great players? (Chargers OLT) Marcus McNeill is the perfect example. He was off our board, but I'll tell you what — we'd like to have him now. Then you look at other teams, and their picks never stay healthy. At some point doctors need to be held accountable."

http://www.profootballweekly.com/2010/04/03/insider-seahawks-made-good-gamble-on-whitehurst

Lonestar
04-08-2010, 11:26 PM
I'll also add this from PFW: Audibles that displays the need for solid doctors in the NFL. I believe it's a real issue, and the best teams at both drafting and keeping players healthy (besides just solid training staff), employ the best doctors in the league (something the Broncos need to improve upon IMO).

note: Theres also interesting information on Cutler and Mart'z style of offense in the link.



http://www.profootballweekly.com/2010/04/03/insider-seahawks-made-good-gamble-on-whitehurst

• "Mike Martz will not max-protect. He is going to ask his tackles to handle matchups solo one-on-one. The first question is: Do the Bears have the tackles to hold up isolated in single protection? The second question is: How is Jay Cutler going to react to Martz's offense? Trust me, there is going to be a guy open, but what Martz asks his quarterbacks to do is hold the ball, stay in the pocket and wait for receivers to run an 18-yard dig. That's 3½-to-4 seconds to hit openings. Even if your line does not whiff, you might take one on the chin."

• "The question with Martz's offense has always been this: Does he have the quarterback who will hang in tough and take shot after shot after shot? Kurt Warner did, but that made him shell-shocked. He was that way with the Giants. It was not until they max-protected in Arizona that he got it back. Marc Bulger is (nearly 33 years old) and done — he did not want to get hit anymore. Jon Kitna would run through a wall all day in Detroit and just get the (crap) kicked out of him. He was tough as nails, and that's why Martz loved him. Alex Smith would not hang in the pocket, so they threw Shaun Hill in there, and before that it was J.T. O'Sullivan. With (Mike) Shanahan, Jay (Cutler) got rid of it fast. It was boom, boom, boom. With Martz, it is wait, wait, wait, bam — get hit in the jaw. The most important player in Martz's offense is not the quarterback. It's the two offensive tackles."

This could be a seminole season for jay or his true transition to being a coach killer.