JT believes Cam Wake can make the jump from the CFL

He was such an insignificant player on this team, especially seeing that he was supposed to be a contributor, it's hardly worth remembering. Which brings me back to my original point that it was a bad signing.

 

Sure we do, you look at the facts that you have and apply them to the current situation.

Take a guy like Grove for example, what we know is that he is a strong C, he has had a very hard time staying healthy throughout his career and he was pushed around on occasion last year like a football sled. Yet there are a few folks that are saying that we have the best OL and point to Grove as an example, they are predicting that Brown is going to finally eclipse the 1,500 mark or that both Ricky and Ronnie are going to get 1,000, etc. Keeping things in perspective means that you say...

"Grove may be a better fit for this offense than Satele was, he's definitely stronger in the run game. But he's been in and out of the lineup his whole career, there's a good chance that he may miss a few game this season."

Now apply the same mindset to Wake, yes he dominated the CFL, but there is a major difference in the level of play, the strength and speed of the players, etc. Wake went undrafted and was cut by the Giants before the season even started. The guy has alot to prove before he's considered a starter, let alone a "monster" or top passrusher as some have implied. That isn't to say that he can't be that type of player, but folks are getting way ahead of themselves and are going to end up on this site in the gameday threads calling for the guy's head when he doesn't live up to their high expectations.

Again, what a teammate says has very little meaning IMO, especially with this FO who runs a tight ship and expects everyone to be on the same page. A player may have been able to get away with that under Cameron because they didn't fear the consequences, the same doesn't hold true with this FO, a FO that jettisoned Jason Taylor like yesterday's news.

A big part of that IMO is setting unrealistic expectations with players, projected stats and projected wins/losses. Just be happy that the players are busting their humps out there and don't concern yourselves with final season stats, it's much easier that way. Take it from me, I used to make predicitions and I ended up with a broken heart just like you, now I know better.

 

lets not forget, theres no bustability for wake. we gave up nothing but a modest contract for him with low guarantees. now if we took him with the #5 over-all pick...

 

Technique can be taught and every player is constantly adding polish to their game.

Raw athleticism, drive, and the physical tools are harder to acquire, IMO.


As long as Wake is smart and hard-working (which he seems to be), then I think there's plenty of hope for him to add the missing elements to his game. He's certainly going to have every resource and assistance that a developing player could ask for.

 

I never said he was significant. Just correcting an over sight on your part. The FO did sign him for little and got something instead of just cutting him when Penny was available. That should say SOMETHING about our Fo...

I understand cautious optimism, we all share the past few seasons as fans, but for the first time in a while we all have something to look forward to. This FO will make some mistakes but so far they are doing and saying all the right things and I will go with that until they prove otherwise. You can't take my aqua and orange glasses.

 

From the video in that thread he does very little with his hands. I'll look some more, but from what I remember seeing of him, he relies on speed more so than technique, especially with his hands. He just pushed off his man to work back inside, that's it.....

 

He was insignificant because he was on the team for a brief period of time.
I just do not see him as a "bad signing". To me that indicates signing the guy was a mistake. How was it a mistake?
We had absolutely no idea that Pennington was going to be cut so abruptly.
We were not going to play the Favre game.
So what vet QB was available who would have signed a comparable contract?
McCown would have been a bridge, that's all. I don't think he was viewed as anything more. A more talented option became available and McCown became expendable.

 

Bad signing turned into a good one, in my opinion. Carolina took his contract and him while we took their draft pick.

 

Nonsense

I've given Pennington credit where it's due, I just don't go overboard in proclaiming him as our savior who singlehandedly turned this franchise around. I'm more than willing to give him props for his game management abilities, but I'm also going to stay consistent and continue to point out the same flaws in his game that I did when he was a NY Jet.

When a player winds up on a new team (Pennington), it's a mistake to wipe the slate clean and expect different results than what the player has shown you over and over and time and time again throughout his career. Wouldn't that be a play on Ben Franklin's definition of insanity?

Strawman padre?

Taylor didn't offer up his opinion on Wake, he was asked a direct question about him, and in my opinion he deflected a bit and missed a golden opportunity to highlight why he thinks Wake will make it in this league. Instead of pointing to his physical or mental ability out on the field, he decided to make a general statement about "the right place at the right time".

So until someone is asked directly about Jason Allen the way Taylor was, it's irrelevant.

To which you're entitled, just don't ruin my positive vibes during the game threads.

 

Nah, I was speaking more on my memory than your post.

Nor do I want to, brother. I'm just explaining my POV and why I'm not going overboard in my assessment of guys like Wake.

He was a bad signing because he couldn't stick with the team. This FO isn't going to get rid of a player if they feel he has the talent to help out, and they aren't going to keep someone around because of their name or salary. If they felt that he offered more to this team than Beck or Henne, they would have kept him IMO, especially with Pennington's loaded injury history. The fact that they moved on without him tells me that he was no better than what we already had, therefor it was a bad signing.

If the FO had found a taker for Wilford, would that have been a good signing? After all, we had Bess step up and fill a big role on the team, same difference, no?

They played the rebound well and got something for him, but my opinion still stands that it was a bad signing.

 

I do not think he is a boom or bust player.

I think he can be a boom player or a bust player, also he could be a decent player. If he becomes another David Bowens then he is a good pick up for his price.

People like to go with extremes. By what they are paying him, if he becomes a middle of the road, good guy to come off the bend, 5-8 sacks with pressures in a season and playing well on special teams, then he is an excellent pick up.

 

It's nice to hear but........
What is JT gonna say, "This guy sucks, no way he can play in NFL."
This needs to be taken with a grain, no, a pound of salt.

 

There is a lot Jason Taylor can say. Why does it have to be black and white? He can say many shades of grey. He could change the subject, say nothing, make a joke and deflect the conversation. JT is a vet when it comes to talking to the media. He knows how to say stuff and how to not say stuff when he is sounding like he is saying stuff.

 

Alright, then lets analyze what he did say, as well as what he didn't say.

3 sentences and only one, in which Taylor repeated the question asked to him, was actually about Wake. Instead of talking about his skills, his determination, his vision, his ability to break down a play at the LOS, yadda yadda, Taylor gave a one word answer to the question....."absolutely". Not exactly a ringing endorsement of a guy enamored with Cameron Wake and what he has seen of him out on the field IMO. It was a PC answer, very basic and one could argue a very telling answer because he didn't go into any details. Had Wake been making a big impression, don't you think that Jason would have pointed to examples or given a more detailed response, especially seeing that we know Taylor has never been one to be short and sweet with his answers.

 

Blah blah blah, my name is like2god and I like to rain on people's parades.

 

Haha, I had a feeling that would be an unpopular post.

 

talk about over analyzing.

 

....this thread is full of it