Only 2.4% of college football players make it into the NFL. Practice squad or not, he must be pretty good. Miles underutilized him.
I think Miles underutilizes the TE position, regardless of who is playing the position. I also think Miles underutilizes the RB relief. I also think Miles underutilizes his WR's and slot backs. I'm not going to say "if" ... because Miles has a good record using what he has. He's always used a power run game .. Hester comes to mind ... who btw .. also got cut from the NFL this year. But to Mile's defense ... this current crop of WR's don't run very good routes .. IMO. For the last few years, Miles has been scrared to use his QB in the pass game. And last year, .. as well as this year, we have O-line problems in the pass game. There's no excuse for a 300+ lb lineman not providing at least some protection against a 250+ D Lineman. We have the talent, but they are not being taught the skills. But .. that's just my opinion .. which is worth about as much as the Banana that is currently at the top of my screen regarding 5 foods you must not eat to trim your stomach.
Not so sure he was underutilized. If I recall correctly he was originally recruited as a WR then switched to TE. For most of Peterson's career he was overshadowed by Richard Dickson and when he finally got his chance I don't think he stepped up his game enough to instill confidence as a go to guy. As others pointed out, he was not a good blocker (translation: kind of a puss) and was unreliable over the middle. I remember one play against Bama where he shined but outside of that, he just didn't pan out to be that good of a player. Productivity always trumps potential.
Not given a chance for productivity, always equates to no productivity. He was a receiving TE, not a blocking TE. That was obvious. Dickson was utilized as a blocking TE. He never overshadowed Peterson. Making it into the NFL, only proves the fact that he is good.
I'll throw a name out there that I think wasn't developed, but I think this on Saban, Miles, and every high school coach this guy had. Jamarcus Russell.
I can't remember the game but I specifically remember Peterson stepping out of bounds inside the five yard line to avoid a hit from a DB. If he had lowered his shoulder he probably scored. Kind of thought he was a little soft after that. LaSalle, JR is a tough one. JR was pretty damn good at LSU, he just never disciplined himself once he got drafted #1. As far as realizing his potential I would agree that he could have been even better if he weren't so lazy. It was always pretty obvious that he was always going about 85% and I always wondered what in the hell motivated the guy.
That was the Bama game on the the River left play to Peterson that he stepped out of bounds. Here's my thing with JR, he was so physically gifted and talented, that no one ever pushed him, everyone always just let him use his abilities only and coddled him because he was a freak. He had a great career at LSU, but I think him being coddled his whole life was the reason his game didn't translate to the NFL. He always could just depend on his talent to win and to be a success, in the NFL the quarterback position is more mental than it is physical.
No I agree with you. The guy had mad skills and I don't think I've ever seen anyone with a stronger arm but if he had applied himself the way a guy like Peyton Manning does he could have been off the charts and Heisman material with the supporting cast he had around him.
Russell just wasn't mentally agile enough to play quarterback. It took him three years to learn a reduced playbook at LSU. He never really learned the pro playbook at Oakland. It ain't a coaches fault if a player is just not bright enough to play.
Not completely, no, a lot of it is on JR, but I think if he wouldn't have been babied his whole life, and would have actually had to work on reading defenses, sliding protection, changing plays at the line, he would have been a good NFL quarterback. You know it's called coaching for a reason.
