After more than four seasons of watching Derrick Johnson, I think the guy was extremely overrated by scouts.

Maybe he's gifted athletically but the guy is just not a football player.

He's a guy that plays football.

Whatever his problem is, he's a crazy athletic talent that should have been a third round pick.

I know people hate bringing them up, but the Patriots' title teams were never the most talented teams in the league. Their best team, which was the best team in the league that year, didn't even win the title, although I thought that was more a fluke than anything. We may never see another team that good in our lifetime.

Anyway, how many years running have the Chargers been the most talented team in the NFL? Unfortunately for them they're also consistently one of the most inconsistent teams in the NFL.

Devard Darling before he was placed on IR.
That guy might be one of the most physically gifted WR's on this team and that never amounted to much on the field.

Derrick Johnson's another player... Though I'd argue that his biggest problem was being taken 15th overall.
He crumbles under the weight of expectations. If you forget where he was drafted... He's been a fairly productive LB.

I'm not sure that I agree. They were never the most athletic team in the league, but they were always talented. They had guys who could flat play the game even if they weren't terribly fast or strong.

I don't know about Darling. I've heard "reports" from people I don't trust that he's athletic and so on but we've certainly never seen it. Plus, the guy was late third rounder cut by a team in desperate need of wide receivers.

DJ is a bust, plain and simple. The guy makes one great play ever 900 snaps.

Because talent is only one of the pieces. The Patriots had the team chemistry, they had EXTREME discipline, and of course, they had some of the best coaching in the history of the game. They were overloaded with intangibles, so they could get away with lacking some talent.

That being said, I think some people are underestimating some of the talent they did have, but that's another discussion.

As for the Chargers, take the same idea and put it in reverse. The Chargers have all kinds of talent, but look at some of the personalities on that team, like Merriman. Or better yet, take a look at their $92M QB. Yeah, I know, he's talented. I'm also not firmly convinced that he isn't a big baby either. He's gonna have to get more mentally tough if he wants to be a SB champion. Sprinkle some Norv dust over the top and you have the perfect recipe for an example where LACK of intangibles hinders talent.

You have to have ALL OF THE ABOVE to win it all. It's as simple as that.

But like Coach Todd Haley says, "talent is the great equalizer."

My case in point. Perfect example.

Hey man, did you hear what Haley said in his presser today?

Hopefully, it can put to rest some of the "53 right guys" stuff, no? ;)

If the definition for the word "bust" can be confined to 'player that hasn't lived up to his draft position'... Certainly.

But he's the kind of bust I'd like to have IF we have to have one.
He's still been productive. Just not as productive as he should be given where he was drafted.

I feel like I'm setting my fantasy team here - picking up all kinds of guys off the waiver wire after the 1st week...

Ironically, their best talent was primarily in the positions where we've been locking up talent recently. Quarterback. Defensive line.

They never had the best linebackers, but they played together *as a group* better than anybody else. Once Law and Milloy were gone, they didn't have much marquee talent in the secondary either, at least not that I recall. What they did have were savvy vets and young players, mixed in a way that seems oddly familiar. Offensively, until Moss and Welker, they were pedestrian at receiver, and even with Corey Dillon they've never had a marquee running back. They focused a lot on tight end. Their o-line was always good but I don't think they were ever the best.

What they did is mold the talent they had together until it became a machine.

The problem with DJ is that he's not disciplined and he's not consistent. If he were making one play and then disappearing for one play, that would be one thing.

DJ's lack of discipline and poor decision making have actually caused some of our problems over the last few years.

Rams | R. Martin agrees to terms

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:47:55 -0700

Tom Silverstein, of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, reports the St. Louis Rams have agreed to terms on a new contract with free-agent WR Ruvell Martin (Packers), according to a source close to Martin. He is expected to be at practice Wednesday, Sept. 16.





Maybe they won't claim Baskett now. Martin is pretty much the same size.

Might not be the best 53 athletically but they are the best 53 for this team. Like it or not this isn't just the lip service
we've come to expect over the last two decades. We'll have our stars. I'm sure of it