LifetimeBillsFan
04-25-2005, 06:47 AM
As I read a lot of posts and commentaries leading up to and immediately following the draft, it struck me that there is something that a lot of fans and even professional commentators forget about almost as soon as the excitement of a particular draft is over:
Even in these days of accelerated expectations brought on by free agency, the fact remains that very few rookies will actually be able to step in and become starters, let alone stars, in the NFL in their rookie seasons. And, those that do often play those positions, like WR and RB, that are the easiest to learn and where the differences between what that position requires on the college level is fairly similar to what is required to play that position in the NFL game.
While most fans recognize that it may take a couple of years for a QB coming out of college to be ready to start in the NFL, few seem willing to accept that even the very best college talents may often struggle and take time to develop at other positions. And, even less patience is generally shown by fans and commentators with regard to players taken in the middle and lower rounds of the draft or UFAs--even though that is often where the "projects" or players who need time to learn the NFL game and develop as players are most often acquired by teams. Players who are not ready to contribute significantly to their team's success as rookies or, at the very latest, in their second year are often labeled "busts" or are considered to be "garbage"--even when those players were clearly considered to need time to develop when they were acquired coming out of college. Indeed, fans have far more patience with aging, often injuried veterans whose names they are familiar with than they do with the young second, third or fourth year players who are finally at the point of achieving their potential after learning how to play in the NFL and honing their skills on the practice squad or as back-ups.
Unless he is a QB taken in the 1st Round of the draft, an untested rookie, even a UFA, gets more respect from fans than a player who has served an apprenticeship as a back-up for a couple of years and is finally ready to step into a starting role. If a player has been a seldom-used back-up or been on the practice squad for a year or two, a great many fans and commentators seem to think that he can't play and will never be good enough to become a starter for his team. The very fans who cheered their team for acquiring a player--in the draft or afterwards as a UFA--considered to have great physical talent, but who they are told is a "project" who will take time to develop will scream bloody murder when their team's front office decides to make him the starter at his position and lets the previous starter there go without replacing him with an expensive veteran free agent! (Sound familiar?)
The fact is that most rookies in the NFL who go on to be starters--regardless of how they were acquired--will not step in as starters immediately in the NFL unless they are on teams that are so bad in the first place that it really doesn't matter if they "learn on the job" because they can't be any worse than the awful player that they are meant to replace. Nor will they otherwise necessarily get their starting jobs because the previous starter was injured--although a lot of teams choose to use an injury as an excuse to promote a young player that they want to have take over as the starter. Very often a young player gets to start or play in a regular rotation at his position because, after a couple of years of learning and developing, he finally "Gets It" and is ready to do so.
In an interview during the course of last season, B.Leftwich, who got his starting job when M.Brunnel was injured, talked about how, after starting for almost a whole season, in the middle of a game, all of a sudden the game stopped being a blur and slowed down and, for the first time as a pro, he was able to play the game the way he had in college and before--he "Got It". This is a phenomenon that has been described as happening by a number of successful NFL QBs in the past as well, but it is something that has to happen for any player, regardless of position, to become successful in the NFL and it does for many. And, very often it takes a year or two of being in the NFL before it happens.
Over the next few days, many Bills fans will be reading about our recent draft picks and the UFAs that the team will be signing and, in more than a few cases, they will read about how several of these players will or have the potential to develop into starters on or solid contributors to an NFL team. When reading that, it would be helpful to remember that, as with rookie QBs, this is a process that could take 2-3 years in some cases. While some of these players, if they make the team's roster, may be able to make immediate contributions on special teams, etc. as they develop, but some--especially the offensive and defensive linemen--may not. Some serve as back-ups, even though they are really not ready to play on the NFL level, but some won't even be activated for games. That does not necessarily mean that they have any less talent or potential, nor does it mean that, when they are ready to play, they will never be capable of being good players in the NFL--it simply means that they are not ready, that they have not developed, yet to fill the role that the team expects them to eventually fill. Nor, more importantly, does it mean that they will never get to the point of being ready to be solid contributors or starters or even stars on an NFL team.
The Bills currently have several players who were considered to be "projects" that needed time to develop when they came out of college and were acquired by the Bills. Coy Wire was one who was thrust immediately into the starting line-up and, while he has yet to prove that he can handle the starting safety job, he has become a valuable special teams performer and back-up. R.Denney was a guy who was considered an even bigger project: "a Phil Hansen type". Still,, because Denney cost so much and the Bills were so weak at DE, a lot of Bills fans seem to not only have forgotten this, but also that P.Hansen took three years to develop into a decent player and, despite playing opposite one of the greatest pass rushers in NFL history, did not rack up a lot of sacks until the latter half of his career. L.Sape is a guy who had limited experience playing football on any level when he came to the Bills. D.McFarland was clearly labeled as a guy who, although very talented, would need time to develop because he had only played on the D1-AA level, where he dominated. J.Peters caught everyone's eye because of his unusual combination of physical talent, but had gone undrafted because of not only his limited intelligence, but also the fact that he didn't have a lot of experience playing any position. Peters was projected as a starting OT in the NFL, but, because of his lack of experience, was considered a "project" who would take time to develop. T.Anderson was labeled a "Tim Krumie clone" who should develop into a solid, run-stuffing DT. While Krumrie was thrust into the Bengals starting line-up as a rookie because they were so bad, it took him a year or two to develop into Tim Krumrie, Pro Bowl DT.
I could go on and cite other players on the Bills roster and in the group of rookies and UFAs who will be joining the team this week, but I think you get the picture: It is important to remember that some of these players are "projects" who will take time to develop. Some of them will and some of them won't. People who work in the front offices of just about any NFL team will tell you that it is difficult to know which players will and which ones won't or when a player will suddenly "Get It"--if he ever does. At a distance, as a fan, it is even more difficult to do that and even more difficult still to determine if a player who has been struggling to develop has suddenly "Got It".
I know that we are all an impatient lot, but we fans have to be patient and wait to see how the players on our team actually play before deciding if they are any good or not and, just as importantly, how they develop before we decide whether they can play or are "busts" or "garbage". There are going to be "busts" and players who are mediocre and even attrocious, but there are also going to be some players who, with a little time to develop, are going to become pretty good players as well. So, please keep that in mind as you scour your scouting reports and think about the team's prospects in the weeks and months to come.
Even in these days of accelerated expectations brought on by free agency, the fact remains that very few rookies will actually be able to step in and become starters, let alone stars, in the NFL in their rookie seasons. And, those that do often play those positions, like WR and RB, that are the easiest to learn and where the differences between what that position requires on the college level is fairly similar to what is required to play that position in the NFL game.
While most fans recognize that it may take a couple of years for a QB coming out of college to be ready to start in the NFL, few seem willing to accept that even the very best college talents may often struggle and take time to develop at other positions. And, even less patience is generally shown by fans and commentators with regard to players taken in the middle and lower rounds of the draft or UFAs--even though that is often where the "projects" or players who need time to learn the NFL game and develop as players are most often acquired by teams. Players who are not ready to contribute significantly to their team's success as rookies or, at the very latest, in their second year are often labeled "busts" or are considered to be "garbage"--even when those players were clearly considered to need time to develop when they were acquired coming out of college. Indeed, fans have far more patience with aging, often injuried veterans whose names they are familiar with than they do with the young second, third or fourth year players who are finally at the point of achieving their potential after learning how to play in the NFL and honing their skills on the practice squad or as back-ups.
Unless he is a QB taken in the 1st Round of the draft, an untested rookie, even a UFA, gets more respect from fans than a player who has served an apprenticeship as a back-up for a couple of years and is finally ready to step into a starting role. If a player has been a seldom-used back-up or been on the practice squad for a year or two, a great many fans and commentators seem to think that he can't play and will never be good enough to become a starter for his team. The very fans who cheered their team for acquiring a player--in the draft or afterwards as a UFA--considered to have great physical talent, but who they are told is a "project" who will take time to develop will scream bloody murder when their team's front office decides to make him the starter at his position and lets the previous starter there go without replacing him with an expensive veteran free agent! (Sound familiar?)
The fact is that most rookies in the NFL who go on to be starters--regardless of how they were acquired--will not step in as starters immediately in the NFL unless they are on teams that are so bad in the first place that it really doesn't matter if they "learn on the job" because they can't be any worse than the awful player that they are meant to replace. Nor will they otherwise necessarily get their starting jobs because the previous starter was injured--although a lot of teams choose to use an injury as an excuse to promote a young player that they want to have take over as the starter. Very often a young player gets to start or play in a regular rotation at his position because, after a couple of years of learning and developing, he finally "Gets It" and is ready to do so.
In an interview during the course of last season, B.Leftwich, who got his starting job when M.Brunnel was injured, talked about how, after starting for almost a whole season, in the middle of a game, all of a sudden the game stopped being a blur and slowed down and, for the first time as a pro, he was able to play the game the way he had in college and before--he "Got It". This is a phenomenon that has been described as happening by a number of successful NFL QBs in the past as well, but it is something that has to happen for any player, regardless of position, to become successful in the NFL and it does for many. And, very often it takes a year or two of being in the NFL before it happens.
Over the next few days, many Bills fans will be reading about our recent draft picks and the UFAs that the team will be signing and, in more than a few cases, they will read about how several of these players will or have the potential to develop into starters on or solid contributors to an NFL team. When reading that, it would be helpful to remember that, as with rookie QBs, this is a process that could take 2-3 years in some cases. While some of these players, if they make the team's roster, may be able to make immediate contributions on special teams, etc. as they develop, but some--especially the offensive and defensive linemen--may not. Some serve as back-ups, even though they are really not ready to play on the NFL level, but some won't even be activated for games. That does not necessarily mean that they have any less talent or potential, nor does it mean that, when they are ready to play, they will never be capable of being good players in the NFL--it simply means that they are not ready, that they have not developed, yet to fill the role that the team expects them to eventually fill. Nor, more importantly, does it mean that they will never get to the point of being ready to be solid contributors or starters or even stars on an NFL team.
The Bills currently have several players who were considered to be "projects" that needed time to develop when they came out of college and were acquired by the Bills. Coy Wire was one who was thrust immediately into the starting line-up and, while he has yet to prove that he can handle the starting safety job, he has become a valuable special teams performer and back-up. R.Denney was a guy who was considered an even bigger project: "a Phil Hansen type". Still,, because Denney cost so much and the Bills were so weak at DE, a lot of Bills fans seem to not only have forgotten this, but also that P.Hansen took three years to develop into a decent player and, despite playing opposite one of the greatest pass rushers in NFL history, did not rack up a lot of sacks until the latter half of his career. L.Sape is a guy who had limited experience playing football on any level when he came to the Bills. D.McFarland was clearly labeled as a guy who, although very talented, would need time to develop because he had only played on the D1-AA level, where he dominated. J.Peters caught everyone's eye because of his unusual combination of physical talent, but had gone undrafted because of not only his limited intelligence, but also the fact that he didn't have a lot of experience playing any position. Peters was projected as a starting OT in the NFL, but, because of his lack of experience, was considered a "project" who would take time to develop. T.Anderson was labeled a "Tim Krumie clone" who should develop into a solid, run-stuffing DT. While Krumrie was thrust into the Bengals starting line-up as a rookie because they were so bad, it took him a year or two to develop into Tim Krumrie, Pro Bowl DT.
I could go on and cite other players on the Bills roster and in the group of rookies and UFAs who will be joining the team this week, but I think you get the picture: It is important to remember that some of these players are "projects" who will take time to develop. Some of them will and some of them won't. People who work in the front offices of just about any NFL team will tell you that it is difficult to know which players will and which ones won't or when a player will suddenly "Get It"--if he ever does. At a distance, as a fan, it is even more difficult to do that and even more difficult still to determine if a player who has been struggling to develop has suddenly "Got It".
I know that we are all an impatient lot, but we fans have to be patient and wait to see how the players on our team actually play before deciding if they are any good or not and, just as importantly, how they develop before we decide whether they can play or are "busts" or "garbage". There are going to be "busts" and players who are mediocre and even attrocious, but there are also going to be some players who, with a little time to develop, are going to become pretty good players as well. So, please keep that in mind as you scour your scouting reports and think about the team's prospects in the weeks and months to come.