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He only said what most fans have been saying for the past 2 seasons. In his own way obviously. He wants team first football players and not me first whiney divas. So.....maybe this draft will see less drafting on athleticism and potential and more on the field production and scheme fit.
I see what you are saying, and it isn't a bad thing. But I reject the binary distinction that there are players that are athletic marvels but that makes them divas and bad football players versus these gritty grinders that have high football IQs and just produce on the footbaw field!Originally Posted by Born2Steel
I realize that is no the extreme scenario you are laying out, but I feel that it underlies much of the draft discussion here and elsewhere around the internet. What you want is talent that you can merge with production on the field. Watt and Shazier are recent first round picks that are great athletes that translated that into on-field production. Dupree and Burns are recent picks that have not made that translation.
If anyone could predict the DIVA, then they would be the greatest GM ever based on that alone. AB came into the league and just flat-out worked harder than anyone in the game. For several years, he looked like the ideal pick.
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As you say I’m not talking in extremes. Honestly I was only translating(attempting) Tomlin’s words into forum speak. As for diva prediction, I don’t think it is completely unpredictable. I don’t think anyone(Ryan Clark) ever saw what AB became this past offseason. But I think we all saw ODBii having diva-like behavior issues from day 1. Now, both can produce and be great on the field but it’s the AB before 2019 that we want here. Even if he does blow up into a diva later.
we could also predict our number 1 draft target/want/need(devin white) being a potential diva based on his 'i want to make 100 million when i hit FA'
A player saying something like that would make me immediately look elsewhere. We all know how the Bell situation went ever since he started talking about wanting 15M a year
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I don’t think I would go so far as to predict White’s behavior, but it does put a red flag on his interview. If White equals 5 years of awesomeness and then demands more money than what the Steelers are willing to pay, I would still call that a win. If he becomes a malcontent in year 3 because he wants an extension and holds out, that I call a bust.
yup, i wonder how many teams he turned off by making that comment
that comment alone makes me question his intelligence.
Sure and I do agree.
I just think that (and not you or anyone specifically) there has been an undercurrent in the last 2 years or so to talk so much about "distractions" and "character" in the NFL, that sometimes talent gets lost in the shuffle. For me, the goal should be to collect the most talented players your can and figure the rest out later.
Again, that is just me. But take Devin White. Assume he backs up his bravado and legit earns a 100 million value on the open market. So basically CJ Mosley with a 15% pay bump over five years. In that scenario the worst case for the Steelers is that you get an All-Pro player for 5 years. That is longer than the average career in the NFL. Now would I trade my entire draft and part of 2020's to go get him? Nope. But if he is sitting there because of "character concerns" on draft day and based on everything I know about the player I feel confident that he will excel in the NFL and will play his ass off to get that contract he wants, then I pull the trigger and see what we see in 5 years.
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5 years of $100M worth of production is a win for any team. After that let him move on to his payday.
I think your assessment of the value is right on. My one worry is that guys like that tend to bring along ... other problems. Beyond the usual "distractions" (that I also agree are way overhyped), guys who come right out of the gate saying "I want to be the highest paid" tend to just have such high opinions of themselves that it quickly becomes unmanageable. And if the drama is not actually affecting the team, they take it upon themselves to bring it closer and closer until it is affecting the team.
I would give it more like 3 good years you'll get out of someone like that before they get bored or restless and force something negative to happen that has a tangible impact on wins and losses, and if that's still not getting enough attention, they just quit. That's whether or not they're the highest paid, whether or not they're the biggest star, and whether the team is winning or losing. You're still handling a rattlesnake, that no matter whether you keep it well-fed and warm and happy, it's still too stupid to understand and it's gonna bite you. We just went through this twice in a row, I don't think we want to mess with that again.
I would 100 times rather have a guy who said, "I want to be the best," or even "I want to be the most famous" than a guy who said, "I want the most money." That's just another way of saying "I want to make people do what I want," and it is rarely going to stop with money.
See you Space Cowboy ...
agreed. and lets not forget that every nfl player and agent witnessed how the steelers handle a player that wants out
That’ll be 10 years worth of player...he won’t be worth a big payday after that...right?
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I thought the quote was something like looking for $100M in 5 years. Or maybe that’s just how my brain processed the quote from Devin White. If drafted he’s on a rookie deal for 4 years with team option 5th? So his “payday” comes in year 6? Or am I completely screwing that up? Anyway the point is high talent players are worth the rookie deal. If the money they want to continue gets too much, a mutual parting is no big deal and both can say they won.
Maybe I misunderstood. I thought you were saying his big payday would be after the 5 rookie years and then after the 5/$100M...
Pretty good analysis on the situation. And I am not necessarily banging the table that the Steelers should go get White. But I do think that talent trumps everything else - assuming the player is motivated to play. Which is what I think your post is talking about as well.
I would guess that the primary motivation of over 50% of the NFL is money. Most of these guys are smart enough to just say the "right" thing out loud. Look at the annual FA period. Any guy like Mosley who leaves a perennial playoff caliber team for the Jets is saying that he plays in the NFL for money over everything else - assuming the Ravens wanted him back but just at less coin. There are numerous examples each year. Most of those guys don't go the route AB did or Bell and both the player and the team benefit from the mutual relationship. Player does well on the field to build up the track record needed to get paid and the team benefits from that. Just need to know the clock is ticking and you are likely not retaining that player's services...
...But, yes, no more guys that just pull the plug on it all AB and Bell style.
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