MWil23 Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 Assuming he stays healthy... Assuming he has hip fluidity, acceleration/burst in and out of routes... Assuming he's an average route runner... Assuming he has good ball skills and high point ability... Assuming he doesn't shy away from contact/have "alligator arms" across the middle... Assuming he can beat press coverage... Assuming he can learn/digest a playbook... ...then I think he'd be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dll2000 Posted June 25, 2020 Author Share Posted June 25, 2020 3 hours ago, Jotun_Fan said: Maybe something like a 1 in 1000 chance. Same things others have mentioned, just getting to the NFL requires a lot. If he was at all coordinated he'd probably play multiple sports in high school, and if he was good enough he'd probably pursue baseball or basketball professionally as they are better choices financially speaking. If he grew up in American south he probably would have picked football due to culture that is why I picked that contingency in my alt reality conversation. If he grew up anywhere else in country he may have a been basketball player or perhaps baseball. Both those sports are less of a sure thing given his natural skillset which is pure raw athleticism - which works in football more so than other sports which require more nuanced skill sets relatively speaking. And I understand just being fast isn't enough. I said if he grew up playing football, not transitioned from track. And other guys mentioned are little and fast. Bolt is much bigger and much faster. In my mind there is almost no possible way he isn't one of best ever if it was a goal from childhood. Now is he a result of specialized PEDs other countries condone more that wouldn't fly in U.S. football world? That I don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dll2000 Posted June 25, 2020 Author Share Posted June 25, 2020 1 hour ago, MWil23 said: Assuming he stays healthy... Assuming he has hip fluidity, acceleration/burst in and out of routes... Assuming he's an average route runner... Assuming he has good ball skills and high point ability... Assuming he doesn't shy away from contact/have "alligator arms" across the middle... Assuming he can beat press coverage... Assuming he can learn/digest a playbook... ...then I think he'd be great. He runs a 9.5 100 meters at 6'5 with a fairly large frame. I think you can assume he could probably do a lot of things while running without the snark. If he grew up playing football he would have taken shots. People hit really hard even in little league on occasion. I have seen it a lot. And again he is a 6'5 man and they have been fining hard hits for last decade or so. Hill is 5'10 and 185 and he survives just fine. People need to stop acting like learning a football playbook is like learning calculus. It isn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dll2000 Posted June 25, 2020 Author Share Posted June 25, 2020 5 hours ago, Kirill said: Tell that to Tyreek Hill. Mahomes is the man, but without Hill they aren't a championship team. As a DC you have to tailor your game plan to Hill every time he is on field. Nothing more they hate than giving up instant 6 points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDotNova Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 (edited) We will never know. What we do know is that to be at the top of your sport requires dedication and perseverance. Those character traits translate to anything in life. I don’t know about being the best ever, but he has the athleticism and character required to be good. I wouldn’t even say he needed to grow up in the US. Just get introduced to the sport at a relative young age. For example, Tim Duncan. Edited June 25, 2020 by SDotNova 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWil23 Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 12 minutes ago, dll2000 said: 1 hour ago, MWil23 said: Assuming he stays healthy... Assuming he has hip fluidity, acceleration/burst in and out of routes... Assuming he's an average route runner... Assuming he has good ball skills and high point ability... Assuming he doesn't shy away from contact/have "alligator arms" across the middle... Assuming he can beat press coverage... Assuming he can learn/digest a playbook... ...then I think he'd be great. He runs a 9.5 100 meters at 6'5 with a fairly large frame. I think you can assume he could probably do a lot of things while running without the snark. If he grew up playing football he would have taken shots. People hit really hard even in little league on occasion. I have seen it a lot. And again he is a 6'5 man and they have been fining hard hits for last decade or so. Hill is 5'10 and 185 and he survives just fine. People need to stop acting like learning a football playbook is like learning calculus. It isn't. Here's a suggestion: The next time you just want a bunch of "Yes Men" and people to give you warm and fuzzy feelings, maybe entitle a thread "Don't you agree with me that..." instead of asking for other opinions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dll2000 Posted June 25, 2020 Author Share Posted June 25, 2020 41 minutes ago, MWil23 said: Here's a suggestion: The next time you just want a bunch of "Yes Men" and people to give you warm and fuzzy feelings, maybe entitle a thread "Don't you agree with me that..." instead of asking for other opinions. I like your opinion and respect it. I am just bantering my dude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dll2000 Posted June 25, 2020 Author Share Posted June 25, 2020 Don't be so sensitive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TecmoSuperJoe Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 (edited) Even if Bolt grew up in America with a football upbringing I'd say that chances are slim that he's a quality NFL receiver. GOAT status is just lunacy. Edited June 25, 2020 by PapaShogun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancerman Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 9 hours ago, Kirill said: Tell that to Tyreek Hill. Ok he’s not the best WR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BleedTheClock Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 There's literally no way of knowing. It's not as simple as running fast and being tall, obviously. There are plenty of freaks that couldn't hack it. I think the chance of Usain Bolt being the GOAT WR would be pretty slim despite his physical gifts. I mean, the best WR's of all-time aren't even physical marvels for the most part. Look at the game today. Most of the best WR's aren't even physically great. Deandre Hopkins, Keenan Allen, Michael Thomas, etc are all below average athletes based on what you look for in a #1 receiver. Sure Randy Moss, Julio Jones, and Calvin Johnson are out there dominating. But what about Jerry Rice, the consensus GOAT WR? I'm pretty sure 90% of #1 NFL receivers nowadays are faster and bigger than him. So the answer is probably no. But it's possible. It's also possible that Jaleel White (Steve Urkel) could have been the GOAT WR too. It's possible, but who the eff knows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bad Example Posted June 25, 2020 Share Posted June 25, 2020 2 hours ago, BleedTheClock said: There's literally no way of knowing. It's not as simple as running fast and being tall, obviously. There are plenty of freaks that couldn't hack it. I think the chance of Usain Bolt being the GOAT WR would be pretty slim despite his physical gifts. I mean, the best WR's of all-time aren't even physical marvels for the most part. Look at the game today. Most of the best WR's aren't even physically great. Deandre Hopkins, Keenan Allen, Michael Thomas, etc are all below average athletes based on what you look for in a #1 receiver. Sure Randy Moss, Julio Jones, and Calvin Johnson are out there dominating. But what about Jerry Rice, the consensus GOAT WR? I'm pretty sure 90% of #1 NFL receivers nowadays are faster and bigger than him. So the answer is probably no. But it's possible. It's also possible that Jaleel White (Steve Urkel) could have been the GOAT WR too. It's possible, but who the eff knows. I was also going to go with other "track fast" athletes who've been OK or worse in the NFL - James Owens, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Ron Brown, Willie Gault, Alexander Wright (maybe players have gotten faster, but the first time I saw this I was like "holy crap!" ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwibrown Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 If he wasn't a sprinter his next best option would be a fast bowler for the west indies. That said, when it comes to the nfl, some guys can get by with 1 or two tricks, the fantasy of him going deep over a corner that runs a 4.6 is pretty hot. However, as others have said there are a lot skills required to be a wr, beyond speed. Heck, Julio is fast but it is his ability to stop that makes his speed matter. If Bolt could run fast as fast as he does as a sprinter, as well as catch the ball and then one of jump well, cut well, stop well, then he would be at least viable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanedorf Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 Bob Hayes was an Olympic sprinter and played 10 seasons in the NFL, 5 of them being productive His build was much more conducive to playing football than the majority of elite sprinters He averaged 20 yards/ reception over his career and racked up 71 TDs and over 7000 yds. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/H/HayeBo00.htm I think Bolt would be fortunate to have a similar career, the GOAT talk is just silly. The transformation from an individual sport to a team sport is no small thing and a WR has to be OK with only being the target on about 10 out of 60 plays a game. Bolt is mentally used to being the best athlete on the field and coming in first place, neither of those would be the case in the NFL. He would have to learn to block and have the cajones to do it.. He'd have to learn the nuances of route running and the playbook well enough to handle a QB making changes at LOS based on defensive personnel, alignment of CB and reactions of the Safety. Learning a static playbook is much easier than having a dynamic knowledge of football and being able to react in a split second and have the same reaction as the QB. Modern football is truly a mental game and the idea of "just run fast" is antiquated at best. Lots of elite athletes flame out for a variety of reasons- Bolt would have a steep climb to be a good WR and an even steeper climb to be a top producing WR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iknowcool Posted June 26, 2020 Share Posted June 26, 2020 It's also worth mentioning that while Bolt still would have been fast as hell, he likely wouldn't be quite as fast as he is/was if he was focused on football too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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