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.

[jspchief]

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

The spin is staggering. There's a difference between hoping the pick works out, and the delusional reasoning in this thread for why it will.

[beach tribe]

Originally Posted by jspchief

The spin is staggering. There's a difference between hoping the pick works out, and the delusional reasoning in this thread for why it will.

There's no reason you can't make a thread for why it won't.

[jspchief]

Originally Posted by beach tribe

There's no reason you can't make a thread for why it won't.

Theres a library of comments on the topic from before the draft.

[beach tribe]

Originally Posted by jspchief

Theres a library of comments on the topic from before the draft.

You're assuring me that he will in fact bust then?

[boogblaster]

he was a needed .. with him and powe both play'n we should have the NTs we needed .....

[jspchief]

Originally Posted by beach tribe

You're assuring me that he will in fact bust then?

" Assuring" you? Don't be dense. We all know that nothing is guaranteed. That only time will tell.

But it is my opinion that he has many of the prospective traits of a bust, and very few of the prospective traits of a boom. It was a common opinion on this site a week ago.

I'm not going to suddenly support taking him in rnd 1 just because he was drafted by my team. I'm also not going to buy into the bullshit excuses for his lousy college tape that are being tossed around by homers and the front office. The fact that the initial pressers on the choice were dedicated to defending the pick is damning enough. It was a reach at 11 and he's a project and that makes it a bad pick in my book.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by jspchief

The spin is staggering. There's a difference between hoping the pick works out, and the delusional reasoning in this thread for why it will.

Every single person has said this is boom/bust. The reasons for why he could boom are not delusional, they've been based on sound reasoning. The critics of the pick have only pointed to the stat line. They haven't addressed the points made in this thread for why he could see significant improvement.

[Chiefshrink]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Every single person has said this is boom/bust. The reasons for why he could boom are not delusional, they've been based on sound reasoning. The critics of the pick have only pointed to the stat line. They haven't addressed the points made in this thread for why he could see significant improvement.

BINGO !!

Pioli/Crennel don't take Poe if they see Poe not having a 3 down motor taking plays off and his combine interview answers are shit

But it's obviousl to them(Pioli and Crennel) that having 3 D coord in 4yrs who did not take the time or knew how to utilize his talent in the right scheme in order to coach him up was obvious to them as to the reason this kid underperformed.

I will error on the side of Crennel/Pioli at this point

[bricks]

Originally Posted by BossChief

A 2 gap nose is one of the most important positions on a 3-4 defense because if he is doing his job, it opens up the whole defense.

In our base alignment, the nose is lined up dead on the center and is responsible for both a gaps and controlling the point of attack. He is also responsible for quickly diagnosing the play because more times than not, the backers and safeties key off his movement. A good nose tells the rest of the defense where the ball is going. He is also responsible for protecting the cutbacks on b and c gap runs.

He needs to be able to shift his weight to anchor and have a good center of gravity and balance to be able to quickly diagnose run or pass...and then act on it. The guard and centers job is to wall you off to create a rushing lane...a top notch nose doesn't get moved and forces the run to go somewhere besides where it was designed to.

Thats the basic run responsibility.

As soon as he sees pass, he needs to get his hands on the center and walk him back into the quarterback while being aware of a draw. If the quarterback tries to escape up the middle, that's time to shine. Basically, collapse the pocket and force quarterbacks outside where we have 2 beasts to mop it up.

Poe has the physical tools to be very special and we have the coaches that have a proven history of developing talent.

Classic "boom or bust" pick that is a guy that could make Crennel look like a good or bad coach to end his career.

I'm pulling for the kid.

If he is going to want to have a good center of gravity then he needs to play low. That was the knock on him at Memphis. He played high at times. If he is going to anchor his weight, then he needs to keep his body low, keep those knees bent and play lower than your actual height. If he can do that, he'll be tough to move.

I do not like the fact that he is 6'4....Id rather prefer that my DTs are 6' to 6'2"...His height will give him a disadvantage because he will have a higher center of gravity which means he will be easier to throw off balance.

[suzzer99]

Originally Posted by bevischief

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

Hopefully he'll at least blow up some plays and show a few flashes of brilliance as he learns the position.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by bricks

If he is going to want to have a good center of gravity then he needs to play low. That was the knock on him at Memphis. He played high at times. If he is going to anchor his weight, then he needs to keep his body low, keep those knees bent and play lower than your actual height. If he can do that, he'll be tough to move.

I do not like the fact that he is 6'4....Id rather prefer that my DTs are 6' to 6'2"...His height will give him a disadvantage because he will have a higher center of gravity which means he will be easier to throw off balance.

Absolutely. The position is all about leverage. And this is, by the way, unbelievably easy to coach. That fix alone has potential to really change his game.

[Coogs]

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

His 3 cone drill time scares me more than anything. And the only reason that scares me is that the guru's say that drill is the most important drill in prognosticating success.

That said, I trust Crennel to coach him up.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Coogs

His 3 cone drill time scares me more than anything. And the only reason that scares me is that the guru's say that drill is the most important drill in prognosticating success.

That said, I trust Crennel to coach him up.

Really? That's the first I've heard that, at least for a nose tackle. I think it's important for other tackles that stunt, but I would think the most important quality for a pure 3-4 nose tackle would be to have the strong to take on multiple blockers (particularly lower body).

[Coogs]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Really? That's the first I've heard that, at least for a nose tackle. I think it's important for other tackles that stunt, but I would think the most important quality for a pure 3-4 nose tackle would be to have the strong to take on multiple blockers (particularly lower body).

They just said DT's. I assumed that meant NT's as well.

[JohnnyV13]

Originally Posted by beach tribe

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.

Kudos to you about coming clean with respect to your exhaustive knowledge about gay sex. Its always good seeing someone finally accept themself.