jAZ
05-15-2012, 09:42 AM
I came across this article on one of the UA boards I visit. The thought that the Raiders (when they aren't trading away high picks for dog crap) might not be throwing away their draft picks on unskilled speedsters... is somewhere between disappointing and troubling.
http://www.mercurynews.com/raiders/ci_20612421/monte-poole-oakland-raiders-rookie-receiver-juron-criner
Poole: Oakland Raiders rookie receiver Juron Criner is quick to impress
By Monte Poole
Bay Area News Group
Posted: 05/12/2012 08:37:20 PM PDT
The truth about a wide receiver is written not with a 40-yard dash time but with pure production and the eye test. The stopwatch myth consistently has been exposed by the likes of Jerry Rice, Michael Irvin and Larry Fitzgerald.
Though some football folks have been slow to accept this, the new Raiders clearly do, which is why they drafted a "slow" wideout named Juron Criner.
...
And if fully focused, he could generate some impressive highlights.
Criner entered his senior season at Arizona as conceivably the best wideout in the Pac-12 and one of the 10 best in college football. He was projected to be taken no later than the third round. Yet he was still on the board for Oakland to take with its compensatory pick at the end of the fifth round, No. 168 overall, the 24th wide receiver selected.
The late availability could be blamed on several factors. There was the mysterious ailment that required Criner to miss some practice time. There was the sick mother at home in Las Vegas. And, of course, there was the pedestrian 40-yard sprint time, which at the NFL Combine fell in the dreaded 4.6-second zone.
None of these elements dissuaded general manager Reggie McKenzie or Allen.
"When you watch the tape, the guy is productive," Allen said. "And he's been productive at a high level. The Pac-12 is a good football conference. Usually when a guy is productive at a high level in college, they tend to be the same way in pro football."
...
It must be noted, too, that Criner is the kind of player that likely would have been bypassed by the Raiders in previous drafts, when the late Al Davis was calling the shots. Davis was noted for his fondness of speed, sometimes at the expense of skill.
Different shot-callers bring a different mentality.
"What's important to us is this: Can the guy make plays? If the guy makes a lot of plays, that's a guy we want on this team," Allen said. "There's a line -- height, weight, speed -- where you don't make too many exceptions. But this guy made a lot of football plays in college, and we expect the same thing in the pros.
"He's a big, physical receiver that knew how to run routes. He was a big target and caught the ball well. People talk a lot about his speed, but when you watch him play, he seems to be able to separate from people."
Criner is the most intriguing offensive player among the draftees. He's a lot more intriguing to those who place more value on production than on a stopwatch that, as we should know, can't always be trusted.
http://www.mercurynews.com/raiders/ci_20612421/monte-poole-oakland-raiders-rookie-receiver-juron-criner
Poole: Oakland Raiders rookie receiver Juron Criner is quick to impress
By Monte Poole
Bay Area News Group
Posted: 05/12/2012 08:37:20 PM PDT
The truth about a wide receiver is written not with a 40-yard dash time but with pure production and the eye test. The stopwatch myth consistently has been exposed by the likes of Jerry Rice, Michael Irvin and Larry Fitzgerald.
Though some football folks have been slow to accept this, the new Raiders clearly do, which is why they drafted a "slow" wideout named Juron Criner.
...
And if fully focused, he could generate some impressive highlights.
Criner entered his senior season at Arizona as conceivably the best wideout in the Pac-12 and one of the 10 best in college football. He was projected to be taken no later than the third round. Yet he was still on the board for Oakland to take with its compensatory pick at the end of the fifth round, No. 168 overall, the 24th wide receiver selected.
The late availability could be blamed on several factors. There was the mysterious ailment that required Criner to miss some practice time. There was the sick mother at home in Las Vegas. And, of course, there was the pedestrian 40-yard sprint time, which at the NFL Combine fell in the dreaded 4.6-second zone.
None of these elements dissuaded general manager Reggie McKenzie or Allen.
"When you watch the tape, the guy is productive," Allen said. "And he's been productive at a high level. The Pac-12 is a good football conference. Usually when a guy is productive at a high level in college, they tend to be the same way in pro football."
...
It must be noted, too, that Criner is the kind of player that likely would have been bypassed by the Raiders in previous drafts, when the late Al Davis was calling the shots. Davis was noted for his fondness of speed, sometimes at the expense of skill.
Different shot-callers bring a different mentality.
"What's important to us is this: Can the guy make plays? If the guy makes a lot of plays, that's a guy we want on this team," Allen said. "There's a line -- height, weight, speed -- where you don't make too many exceptions. But this guy made a lot of football plays in college, and we expect the same thing in the pros.
"He's a big, physical receiver that knew how to run routes. He was a big target and caught the ball well. People talk a lot about his speed, but when you watch him play, he seems to be able to separate from people."
Criner is the most intriguing offensive player among the draftees. He's a lot more intriguing to those who place more value on production than on a stopwatch that, as we should know, can't always be trusted.