Yes, Memphis really had no idea how to use Poe.

[Direckshun]

Fascinating...

http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2012/0...ogle_news_blog

A Guide to NFL Draft Sleepers
April 27, 2012, 2:18 PM

Any seasoned NFL fan knows the deal with the draft by now: Your team makes a selection and management calls the fact that he was available a miracle. “We never thought he’d drop so far,” team executives say.

It’s become such a cliché that it’s a surprise Colts G.M. Ryan Grigson didn’t say it last night when selecting Andrew Luck with perhaps the most telegraphed first overall pick in draft history. But sometimes a player does fall for reasons other teams may come to regret. For those liable to think every player their team drafted was an absolute steal, we put together a handy guide to let you know if you have a sleeper on your hands:

THE OUT-OF-POSITION SLEEPER

If you look at steals in the draft over the past decade, you’ll find a handful of players who simply moved around too much to show NFL talent. Pro Bowl DT Jay Ratliff dabbled at tight end at Auburn, while star receiver Anquan Boldin had a rocky stint as Florida State’s quarterback. Aaron Kampman, a fifth-rounder out of Iowa who has made two Pro Bowls, switched between linebacker and defensive end – and not in the way teams do that regularly in the NFL. Heck, even Pro Bowl selection Cortland Finnegan was overlooked until the seventh round at cornerback at Samford because he was playing free safety the whole time.

So when examining your steal, see if he can play anywhere else on the field. Or just assume he can and you’ll be much happier. Take Michael Robinson, the former Penn State quarterback who didn’t entertain the idea of playing anywhere but running back in the pros. Still, most switcheroo candidates will take people by surprise. Perhaps a player like LSU’s average quarterback, Jordan Jefferson, who at 6 feet 3 ran a decent 4.6-second 40-yard dash and could be a receiving threat with the right development. Or maybe just a bad quarterback.

THE BAD-SCHEME SLEEPER

There are all sorts of stories about run-first high school offenses keeping future star QBs a secret – Brett Favre and Ben Roethlisberger are the most notable. But it’s rarer in college, where players often go to fit a specific scheme. Still, sometimes a player gets the wrong coach and looks undervalued. One example this year is Dontari Poe, the hulking defensive lineman who raced up draft boards after being ignored during a career at the college-football backwater of Memphis. He had just eight tackles-for-loss last season. On Thursday night, after the Kansas City Chiefs took him 11th overall, Chiefs G.M. Scott Pioli noted that in 49% of his plays, the design of the defensive scheme made it literally impossible for him to record any sort of statistic.

But as we go on in the draft, these players will pop up more and more. In a stunning first-round coincidence, Ryan Tannehill could be considered one of these sleepers, since he was burdened with Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman’s molasses poorly-designed offense. Of course, Tannehill was drafted by the Dolphins last night, where he’ll get a new start with a new … whoops, nevermind, Sherman is the offensive coordinator there after getting fired from his Aggies job.

THE WRONG-SPORT SLEEPER

From Bo Jackson to Brian Jordan, it’s hard to know where to draft a multi-sport athlete, but one thing is clear: They are normally drafted lower than they should be. Last year, the league saw former Miami hoops player Jimmy Graham destroy secondaries. This after another former basketball-star-turned-tight-end, Antonio Gates, has haunted defensive backs for years. The Cowboys used to have a suite at the Final Four for assistants to interview basketball coaches to see which of their players might make the leap. It’s hard to get a read on a player who doesn’t devote himself full time to one sport. (And it doesn’t always work out. For more information, please read up on Drew Henson.)

Whatever the case, this year brings Russell Wilson, the Wisconsin quarterback who was second in the country with 10.3 yards per attempts on his passes. That’s not the only thing to recommend him. He also has a minor-league baseball career that’s taken up most of his summers, so much so that it got him run out of N.C. State’s program. Maybe a team can take a flier on him and he’ll produce if he focuses on football. At the very least, you’re looking at an upgrade on the company softball team.

THE NOT-HIS-FAULT SLEEPER

I’m telling anyone who will listen that Tommy Streeter, Miami’s 6-foot-5 wide receiver, is my big sleeper this year. Streeter is fast, can catch and played for some awful quarterbacks. LSU’s Rueben Randle, who had to deal with his own QB nightmare in Baton Rogue, is another one.

There’s Mohamed Sanu from Rutgers, who didn’t exactly get Johnny Unitas’s passes coming his way. In contrast there are players like Kendall Wright, the Baylor wide receiver who went in the first round to Tennessee and got the benefit of Robert Griffin III throwing to him. There’s always a blurry line there. After all, some great wide receivers, like Michael Irvin, had elite quarterbacks in college. But many (Jerry Rice, Terrell Owens, Isaac Bruce, Calvin Johnson) did not. So please disregard the “lack of production” disclaimer on the draft broadcast in these situations.

[Bump]

TRUST ROMEO!

I guarantee you he can see things that you guys can't and knows what he is doing with defense.

[Titty Meat]

Originally Posted by BossChief

The hypocrisy around the negative sentiment concerning Poe is silly.

I bet the only guy on this whole board that watched even one Memphis game was UP and yet a lot of guys already have him as the next Ryan Simms.

Romeo Crennel told him (during the phone call telling Poe he was the pick) he expects him to play "all three downs"

The more I think about it, the more I love the combo of elite ceiling and elite position/scheme coaching and become less and less worried about the players "floor"

12 tackles is 12 tackles.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Bo's Pelini

12 tackles is 12 tackles.

Glad you were able to provide this point of view without reading anything in this thread.

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

THE WRONG-SPORT SLEEPER

From Bo Jackson to Brian Jordan, it’s hard to know where to draft a multi-sport athlete, but one thing is clear: They are normally drafted lower than they should be. Last year, the league saw former Miami hoops player Jimmy Graham destroy secondaries. This after another former basketball-star-turned-tight-end, Antonio Gates, has haunted defensive backs for years. The Cowboys used to have a suite at the Final Four for assistants to interview basketball coaches to see which of their players might make the leap. It’s hard to get a read on a player who doesn’t devote himself full time to one sport. (And it doesn’t always work out. For more information, please read up on Drew Henson.)

It really irks me when the talking heads use Gates as the benchmark multi-sport diverse TE/receive when Gonzalez was a second team all-American when he was the starting PF for Cal's basketball team.

[beach tribe]

Originally Posted by RINGLEADER

The reason for my skepticism when the pick was announced was a feeling that a) there were better/safer players available and b) we could have done a trade with the Eagles and still likely gotten Poe a few picks later. But what's done is done. Kid is either going to serve his purpose of keeping QBs from stepping up in the pocket or he'll be a bust. Don't see much in-between for him. Maybe he will end up being a world-beater after all, but when I see someone who hasn't played a down already blinged up, wearing the money before he actually has it, I just don't hold out a lot of hope.

I think the other thing going against him is the Chiefs' record of drafting D-Linemen. Out of all the D-Linemen we've taken in the first three rounds over the past two decades, you have one great player (Tamba Hali, who really plays as more of a pass-rushing LB), one marginally serviceable player (Glenn Dorsey), and a whole lotta suck (Tyson Jackson, Alex McGee, Turk McBride, Tank Tyler, Junior Siavii, Ryan Sims, Eddie Freeman, Eric Downing, and John Browning). That's a 3, 5, 6, 36, 43, 54, 67, 68, 75 and an 82 - gone and wasted.

On the bright side if the kid does go belly-up he won't be our biggest bust at the position.

I can see how that would sour you.
But these guys didn't draft all of those guys. And McGee is the only Pioli pick who is not producing. Like him or not, it's looking like TJ was one of the best prospects in that draft.

[milkshock]

The fact is a guy who is 6'4 and 350 lbs is going to cause the opponent problems just by being on the field. I cant see him being completely useless based on his physique alone.

Now whether he can turn into some kind of a Warren Sapp/Albert Haynesworth type figure is another question, but he wont have a better teacher than Crennell. And lets face it, this was Romeo's selection.

[kcxiv]

well, its all final and he's on the team. Ill support it and hope he turns out. If he doesnt, then the faster we get rid of this regime

[L.A. Chieffan]

What a bunch of pussies on here.

Every single person on this board except me said poe was going to be a bust and if the chiefs drafted him they would burn down arrowhead, blah blah.

Now its, "oh he's not that bad...."

Queers

[Three7s]

Originally Posted by L.A.Chieffan

What a bunch of pussies on here.

Every single person on this board except me said poe was going to be a bust and if the chiefs drafted him they would burn down arrowhead, blah blah.

Now its, "oh he's not that bad...."

Queers

I didn't.

[BoneKrusher]

Originally Posted by L.A.Chieffan

What a bunch of pussies on here.

Every single person on this board except me said poe was going to be a bust and if the chiefs drafted him they would burn down arrowhead, blah blah.

Now its, "oh he's not that bad...."

Queers

not me, i say he's a Bust.

[KCUnited]

PoElway. /sportsshrink

[beach tribe]

Originally Posted by BossChief

It was probably down to Decastro, Brockers or Poe and I genuinely think they had Kuechly, Tannehill and Barron higher because they said something like "some guys we liked went in front of us"

I like Brockers more because I have seen him play (not many of us saw a Memphis game) and acknowledge his celiing in this system...but Poes ceiling may be much higher and Romeo knows better than ANY OF US what to look for in defensive linemen.

This pick is Romeo saying "I can develop this kid"

I have to like the pick.
If you think about it, there are actually way fewer blue chip 2gap NTs, than there are franchise QBs.
If there's any position to roll the dice on defensively, this is the one.
The pick still scares the bejesus out of me though.

[Ace Gunner]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

We need to get some positive mojo going for Poe around here.

We're not smarter than everybody else. We're just not idiots, like the Memphis program is.

here's the bad news; by october 1st you and others are going to be pounding your head against a wall cursing this pick.

the good news comes in two or three years, when poe either learns how to play the game of football or he finally gets his pink slip.

[bevischief]

Originally Posted by BossChief

The hypocrisy around the negative sentiment concerning Poe is silly.

I bet the only guy on this whole board that watched even one Memphis game was UP and yet a lot of guys already have him as the next Ryan Simms.

Romeo Crennel told him (during the phone call telling Poe he was the pick) he expects him to play "all three downs"

The more I think about it, the more I love the combo of elite ceiling and elite position/scheme coaching and become less and less worried about the players "floor"

I hope you are right. Trying my best to wait for 3 yrs to past judgement on him.

[beach tribe]

Originally Posted by L.A.Chieffan

What a bunch of pussies on here.

Every single person on this board except me said poe was going to be a bust and if the chiefs drafted him they would burn down arrowhead, blah blah.

Now its, "oh he's not that bad...."

Queers

I do remember reading a lot of Poe bashing. But every bit of it was based off of the reports of lack luster production.
I was neutral on Poe before the draft, and have no choice but to stay that way, and hope for the best.
I know when someone knows A LOT more about something than I do, and the gap between what I (or anyone else here) knows about DLmen, and what Romeo Crennel knows about them, are as wide as the gap between my knowledge base on gay sex and Claythan's.