Originally posted by Wodwo:
Originally posted by MadDog49er:
Originally posted by Wodwo:
You just never learn.
I remember having this argument with you before the 2011 draft. You were saying the same type of stuff about Cam Newton. He seems to be doing just fine.
http://www.49erswebzone.com/forum/nfl-draft/147861-what-yall-think-cam-newton/page33/
Digging in the archives. Well-done. Question: Would you take Cam with a top 10 pick in that year's re-draft? Not in that draft class.
He has had a pretty successful career so far. Rookie year- terrific. Sophomore year- Pretty much a mess. Third year- Better.
The point I made is that he did not have good character. He knew, and everybody knows, that he got away with a certain NCAA violation by selling his services to the highest bidder after being at the JUCO level. Some guys with bad character can play well at the next level; they can overcome it. I made that statement in the post. However, most struggle in the transition. Playing at a high level in the NFL takes a lot of work, discipline, determination. Most of the bad characters get filtered out because at the pro level they are going to find equally talented people....who will outwork them. Who will not party all night, but get proper rest. There are always exceptions, but the norm is the norm.
If Lynch was so exceptional, he wouldn't have been at the back end of the draft. He wasn't Cam Newton out of college, who won the Heisman and a national championship. He was a guy who was at his best more than two years ago, a player who has regressed instead of progressed.
I remain skeptical. I am guessing if the Seahawks selected Lynch, most of those who believe he can turn this around would be skeptical like me.
Obviously you don't understand my point. Apologies, poor communication on my part.
First, let's be clear about something.... You aren't being skeptical, you're being cynical. Having doubts is fine, but you must understand that skepticism includes acknowledging the existence of multiple possibilities. Your opinions are formed from cynicism because of your beliefs about humanity. You are jaded, so you don't bother with hope. Instead, you come to the conclusion that past behavior determines future behavior and even if the behavior in the future appears improved, it is all lies to hide the guilty truth.
This has nothing to do with production on the field. I said that Cam Newton seems to be doing just fine because he's not in jail and he's still the starting QB for the Panthers. It appears that he is succeeding at life.
Your assumptions that Lynch has "bad character" are based on reports from third parties. Your cynicism forces you to believe the negative reports are true and the positive reports from Harbaugh are lies. Not only are you judging a kid you've never met, you are giving him a life sentence.
You are doing all of that while remaining willfully ignorant regarding the developmental process of the human brain. This is not some untenable psycho-babble. This is neuroscience. Kids can change. You should accept the possibility and realize that your "grade" given should reflect that.
Can we skip the psychoanalysis of Maddog? He puts himself out there by rating the 49er draft picks, and many on this board, myself included, appreciate his review. He puts a lot of time researching the players, and we all benefit from it. In the case of Lynch, I would have never known how serious his red flags were except that he brought it up in his draft review.
As for the quote on neuroscience, you triggered a pet peeve of mine. Can we leave science out of arguments that have nothing to do with science? If neuroscience was so advanced that it could predict a person's future behavior, then the 49ers would just administer the test to Lynch and then draft him or not based on the results. If the only argument that you are trying to make is that a person can change, you don't need to appeal to neuroscience. We all know plenty of examples, Boone has been brought up as a good example. But people also have a tendency to repeat the same behavioral mistakes over and over. We do use past behavior to predict future results. One person is a convicted felon ,and the other is a honor-roll student, heavily involved in charity that has never had an issue with the law. If you have to make a choice, which one do you choose to trust?
What MadDog is using to justify his choices is risk. He prefers (along with most of the NFL) to make choices based on the risk that a player provides. High risk players tend to not get drafted, or get drafted in late rounds. Maybe the 5th round is late enough to take the risk, however in comparison to Boone, Boone went undrafted. The 49ers decided that his risk was worth the effort by bringing him as an undrafted free agent. In the case of Boone, it paid off.
[ Edited by fryet on May 25, 2014 at 9:58 AM ]
