Risk vs. Reward -- The Tommy Blake Case (1 Viewer)

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Whatever happens with football, I'm sure this man will be a success in life. I'd like to see some team give him a shot, depending on his combime numbers and how he presents himself during interviews.
 
Good thread, JLB... I agree that any comparisons to Pacman are off-base; I also don't think you can really compare this guy to Spellman, Underwood, et al. If I remember correctly, those guys made headlines when they "acted out" (i think Spellman's involved a gun), and they seemed to have serious mental illness that got out of hand. In this guy's (Blake's) case, he seems to be sharp enough to have recognized that he had issues and addressed them in the proper way. It kind of sucks for him that there was no way to deal with this personally without it affecting his football career-- but at least he's honest. I would wager that there are plenty of football players out there at all levels who- when faced with stressful situations- choose to "self-medicate" with alcohol/drugs etc. and that's when you hear about the Ricky Williamses, Pacman Joneses, Leonard Littles, Chris Henrys, etc..... Just my $.02.
 
The concerns about Blake are many. It now appears he won't be taken before the third round, if then, as teams wonder if he can return to the form of his junior season. Blake, who is 6 feet 3, weighed 250 pounds as a junior, but he had ballooned to 290 by the end of this season.

One scout raved about his abilities during his junior season, when he projected as a 3-4 linebacker. "Now, he's a big defensive end that doesn't make plays," said the scout, who wished to remain anonymous.

http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=762418

Looks as though this guy will have to get into shape. I wouldn't want to get into another off-season Sullivan weigh in. Maybe a late 6th-7th round flyer but there are red flags everywhere

We need a 3rd down pass rush specialist/rotation. This guy sounds interesting

Jason Jones, DE, Eastern Michigan
The award for best prospect nobody has heard about might go to this guy. Despite racking up an astounding 50 tackles for a loss and 14 sacks the last three years Jones has managed to basically fly under the radar to this point but that is about to change. A former tight end who has been playing out of position at defensive tackle, Jones has a blend of size (6-5, 270) and speed (4.75) that should make him a prototypical defensive end at the next level and he is rapidly emerging as one of the best seniors available at the position. He has already received a Senior Bowl invite so don't be shocked if that week in Mobile serves as a coming out party.

http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/features/hotlist.html

Some others that might be worth a look

Bruce Davis Defensive End | Senior | UCLA Height: 6-3 | Weight: 242 | 40-Time: 4.62 12.5 sacks last season

"The senior was the heart and soul of the Bruins, a high-energy, fast-talking leader who had 15 1/2 tackles for loss, including 12 sacks. As one of the nation's premier speed rushers, Davis also forced two fumbles and broke up nine passes."

http://www.nfldraftdog.com/2008_nfl_...ruce_davis.htm

Jameel McClain Defensive End | Senior | Syracuse Height: 6-1 | Weight: 256 | 40-Time: 4.75 9.5 sacks last season

Jameel McClain worked out with NFL star Dwight Freeney this summer. Now he wants to copy his success

Jameel McCLain plays for Syracuse, he is a talented pass rusher with the size and athletic ability to possible play outside linebacker in a 34 defense. He was moved to defensive end from linebacker in the spring of 2006 and he has been nothing short of sensational at that position ever since. He finished last season with 14.5 tackles for a loss and 9.5 sacks. McClain is a tad short at 6' 1" but at almost 260 pounds he has the beef.

http://media.www.dailyorange.com/med...-2373096.shtml

Bryan Smith Defensive End | Senior | McNeese St. Height: 6-3 | Weight: 230 | 40-Time: 4.68 10.5 sacks last season (30.5 in last 3 seasons), 22.5 tackles for a loss
 
Speaking of pass rush specialist, what ever happened to Rob Ninkovich? I know he was injured and put on IR but I could not find out what happened to him? Sorry for the off topic..
 
yall check out brandon sumrall the db from southern miss, he would be a good one late in the draft or a rookie FA
 
He is not so different from our current linebackers. He played full games and then took breaks of full games. Our linebackers played all the games they could and instead took microbreaks totaling one second for every 40 yards of running, relative to normal linebackers. They also took breaks during 30-50% of their tackling opportunities. Most of our secondary took breaks during 80% of their interception opportunities.

IN FACT, our entire team took a four game break this season. Week 1 - 4 of the regular season. Sure, they showed up, but I think Payton's clipboard had his Entergy and Cox bills on it, Brees was talking to his stockbroker over his headset, and Jason David was planning Rudy Guiliani's campaign strategy.

Since it appears that Blake only played the first four games this season, he definitely could have filled in a needed gap for us. Maybe he could also have coached our offense and defense during those first four games.
 
Underwood and Spellman (and even Ricky) are excellent examples of why you don't take guys with emotional problems. No matter how talented. I don't care what he's saying now. I'm sure Blake's agent's coached him. Every word his says mght be the difference between being a draft pick and being a UDFA. Literally hundreds of thousands of dollars. Does anyone not think the pressure of the NFL might just be a little more intense than TCU? If Blake makes it out of training camp and on a roster it'll be a minor miracle.

Finally the Saints already have two slow, plodding DEs that are pushing over 300. They don't need another one. They need a speed rusher.......
 
Ti Rider said:
Underwood and Spellman (and even Ricky) are excellent examples of why you don't take guys with emotional problems. No matter how talented. I don't care what he's saying now. I'm sure Blake's agent's coached him. Every word his says mght be the difference between being a draft pick and being a UDFA. Literally hundreds of thousands of dollars. Does anyone not think the pressure of the NFL might just be a little more intense than TCU? If Blake makes it out of training camp and on a roster it'll be a minor miracle.

Finally the Saints already have two slow, plodding DEs that are pushing over 300. They don't need another one. They need a speed rusher.......
Click to expand...


:worthy: :worthy: To those that say he hasn't "acted out",,,one word for ya,,,,YET.
He's a ticking time bomb that I wouldn't be comfortable investing my money in. Good thing I don't make those decisions.
 
As an UDFA, he's as worthy as anyone.
 
Do you guys really have any clue what is going on with this guy? Because I'm pretty sure the media is not giving us a 100% accurate portryal of his emotional problems.

Yall are crazy to not want to take a look at this guy in the later rounds. He's not another Pacman Jones, not even close. His grandma who raised him died and he had some emotional problems as a result of that and pressure.

Yeah let's pass up on somebody with incredible talent on defense in the later rounds or free agency because he "might" not have all of his stuff together. Cut him if he can;t hold up but I'm willing to bet anyone on this forum that at least 10% of current NFL players are probably more messed up than this guy
 
Nevimeister said:
We need a 3rd down pass rush specialist/rotation. This guy sounds interesting

Jason Jones, DE, Eastern Michigan
The award for best prospect nobody has heard about might go to this guy. Despite racking up an astounding 50 tackles for a loss and 14 sacks the last three years Jones has managed to basically fly under the radar to this point but that is about to change. A former tight end who has been playing out of position at defensive tackle, Jones has a blend of size (6-5, 270) and speed (4.75) that should make him a prototypical defensive end at the next level and he is rapidly emerging as one of the best seniors available at the position. He has already received a Senior Bowl invite so don't be shocked if that week in Mobile serves as a coming out party.

http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/features/hotlist.html
Click to expand...

Jason Jones is playing out of his mind against the Steelers.
 

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