vin.couve12
New member
Yep, Michael is a freak athlete for sure.
I will say that a lot of being a RB is in the head though and I'm not just talking about assignments and acting out play structure. Even in running the football it's often an innate measure of when to cut, when to burst, when to cover the ball, how you take on contact with your center of gravity, etc and that's all just pure running stuff. I played the position for years and while a good portion of it is innate, it can also be developed over time.
LeSean McCoy is a really good exhibit A. He's actually a fairly poor athlete for the position with the exception of some really good lateral quickness and center of gravity. The reason why he's good...or WAS good, is because his mind can perceive the "when" much faster than most others along with his very natural pass receiving/ball skills.
There's a difference between an athlete and a football player. It's when both come together that you have something special and that can take years for some. I remember this all the way back to players like Willie Gault when I used to love to watch Sweetness as a kid. Gault was another one of those that was kind of a heartbreaker for years before he finally started being a football player. I think I remember he went to the Raiders after the Bears and they had about four of those WRs that were in the same mold. Some of them world class sprinters that just couldn't figure out how to be a WR and the Raiders have continued that trend for decades.
I think most of Michael's issues really are just growing up though. I also think this horse is probably already dead in a lot of ways. Michael was a good back for us over the last 4 games last year. Kid got drafted in the 2nd, got some money, wanted to be a rapper, etc and got punched in the mouth with reality. It happens to a lot of us and that's essentially over now as it would seem.
I will say that a lot of being a RB is in the head though and I'm not just talking about assignments and acting out play structure. Even in running the football it's often an innate measure of when to cut, when to burst, when to cover the ball, how you take on contact with your center of gravity, etc and that's all just pure running stuff. I played the position for years and while a good portion of it is innate, it can also be developed over time.
LeSean McCoy is a really good exhibit A. He's actually a fairly poor athlete for the position with the exception of some really good lateral quickness and center of gravity. The reason why he's good...or WAS good, is because his mind can perceive the "when" much faster than most others along with his very natural pass receiving/ball skills.
There's a difference between an athlete and a football player. It's when both come together that you have something special and that can take years for some. I remember this all the way back to players like Willie Gault when I used to love to watch Sweetness as a kid. Gault was another one of those that was kind of a heartbreaker for years before he finally started being a football player. I think I remember he went to the Raiders after the Bears and they had about four of those WRs that were in the same mold. Some of them world class sprinters that just couldn't figure out how to be a WR and the Raiders have continued that trend for decades.
I think most of Michael's issues really are just growing up though. I also think this horse is probably already dead in a lot of ways. Michael was a good back for us over the last 4 games last year. Kid got drafted in the 2nd, got some money, wanted to be a rapper, etc and got punched in the mouth with reality. It happens to a lot of us and that's essentially over now as it would seem.
