MrBobGray Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 6 hours ago, Joe said: Harrell was damaged goods from the get-go and easily the biggest mistake the team had made since Tony Mandarich. You have Greg Olsen on the board and you desperately need a TE who would've been a beast in that offense at the time, so instead you draft an injured DT who was probably carrying too much unhealthy weight when you are now running a 3-4 with a prime Ryan Pickett with solid IDL around him already. Dumb... So this is a pretty good example of why sports media is awful. He tore his bicep his last season in college, it healed, and he played in 7 games in his rookie season. The back injury came in the lead-up to 2008, and had nothing to do with any of his college injuries or the completely, utterly made up "overweight" story. That whole nonsense was because Harrell was a little out of shape for OTAs in 2007 due to rehabbing his bicep. It wasn't an issue at any point past OTAs, and it's not even uncommon for defensive lineman to need to work themselves back into shape who aren't injured, but it got picked up and ran everywhere because "Harrell sucks and Ted Thompson is an idiot" was really selling in the summer of '07. Harrell was a gamble that went terribly wrong because he nearly got crippled working out under the direction of a Packers' employee. This isn't on him or on Ted Thompson. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HokieHigh Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 42 minutes ago, MrBobGray said: So this is a pretty good example of why sports media is awful. He tore his bicep his last season in college, it healed, and he played in 7 games in his rookie season. The back injury came in the lead-up to 2008, and had nothing to do with any of his college injuries or the completely, utterly made up "overweight" story. That whole nonsense was because Harrell was a little out of shape for OTAs in 2007 due to rehabbing his bicep. It wasn't an issue at any point past OTAs, and it's not even uncommon for defensive lineman to need to work themselves back into shape who aren't injured, but it got picked up and ran everywhere because "Harrell sucks and Ted Thompson is an idiot" was really selling in the summer of '07. Harrell was a gamble that went terribly wrong because he nearly got crippled working out under the direction of a Packers' employee. This isn't on him or on Ted Thompson. Weren't there some who felt the trainer had him lifting more weight than he should have been? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Guy Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 7 hours ago, Joe said: Harrell was damaged goods from the get-go and easily the biggest mistake the team had made since Tony Mandarich. You have Greg Olsen on the board and you desperately need a TE who would've been a beast in that offense at the time, so instead you draft an injured DT who was probably carrying too much unhealthy weight when you are now running a 3-4 with a prime Ryan Pickett with solid IDL around him already. Dumb... They had Pickett and three young guys who all developed into really good players in: Corey Williams, Cullen Jenkins and Johnny Jolly. None were close to a finished product. Jolly only played in 5 games, Jenkins 14 and was not a starter. You are operating from the benefit of hindsight. Like his predecessor, Thompson was not one to allow a talented, big guy go by. Randy Moss was on the board and we took Vonnie Holliday. Holliday was a nice player, but................ But honestly, enough about the past. Let's talk about TJ Slaton. I'm excited to see the kid play. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gopackgo972 Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 Ted’Harrell Slaton. We’re screwed. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReadyToThump Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 1 hour ago, gopackgo972 said: Ted’Harrell Slaton. We’re screwed. TJ (Watt) Slaton We are not screwed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBobGray Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 (edited) 16 hours ago, HokieHigh said: Weren't there some who felt the trainer had him lifting more weight than he should have been? The story I've heard but can't verify is he was single leg pressing 1K+. Leg press is pretty easy to put huge numbers up on, and nominally safer than free weights because you can't lose it and stress your body the wrong way, but that kind of weight on a non-symmetrical lift is real dumb IMO. It can cause you to torque your body trying to drive the weight, and as your internal support structures (hips and low back) come away from the platform you end up putting all that stress on your spine. EDIT: Also just to say it, the number itself is sort of irrelevant and I may be remembering incorrectly; the salient point was it was leg press, and I'm like 80% sure single leg. Edited June 24, 2021 by MrBobGray 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 On 6/23/2021 at 7:02 PM, MrBobGray said: So this is a pretty good example of why sports media is awful. He tore his bicep his last season in college, it healed, and he played in 7 games in his rookie season. The back injury came in the lead-up to 2008, and had nothing to do with any of his college injuries or the completely, utterly made up "overweight" story. That whole nonsense was because Harrell was a little out of shape for OTAs in 2007 due to rehabbing his bicep. It wasn't an issue at any point past OTAs, and it's not even uncommon for defensive lineman to need to work themselves back into shape who aren't injured, but it got picked up and ran everywhere because "Harrell sucks and Ted Thompson is an idiot" was really selling in the summer of '07. Harrell was a gamble that went terribly wrong because he nearly got crippled working out under the direction of a Packers' employee. This isn't on him or on Ted Thompson. Sometimes you make me very suspicious about who you are with all the things you know lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squire12 Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 6 hours ago, Norm said: Sometimes you make me very suspicious about who you are with all the things you know lol Norm, meet MrBobGray. He is a very smart football mind. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 1 hour ago, squire12 said: Norm, meet MrBobGray. He is a very smart football mind. He makes me feel like I have a 13 IQ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HokieHigh Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 On 6/24/2021 at 1:39 PM, MrBobGray said: The story I've heard but can't verify is he was single leg pressing 1K+. Leg press is pretty easy to put huge numbers up on, and nominally safer than free weights because you can't lose it and stress your body the wrong way, but that kind of weight on a non-symmetrical lift is real dumb IMO. It can cause you to torque your body trying to drive the weight, and as your internal support structures (hips and low back) come away from the platform you end up putting all that stress on your spine. EDIT: Also just to say it, the number itself is sort of irrelevant and I may be remembering incorrectly; the salient point was it was leg press, and I'm like 80% sure single leg. HARRELLL!!!111!!11!1!1 coulda been a player Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 On 6/23/2021 at 8:02 PM, MrBobGray said: So this is a pretty good example of why sports media is awful. He tore his bicep his last season in college, it healed, and he played in 7 games in his rookie season. The back injury came in the lead-up to 2008, and had nothing to do with any of his college injuries or the completely, utterly made up "overweight" story. That whole nonsense was because Harrell was a little out of shape for OTAs in 2007 due to rehabbing his bicep. It wasn't an issue at any point past OTAs, and it's not even uncommon for defensive lineman to need to work themselves back into shape who aren't injured, but it got picked up and ran everywhere because "Harrell sucks and Ted Thompson is an idiot" was really selling in the summer of '07. Harrell was a gamble that went terribly wrong because he nearly got crippled working out under the direction of a Packers' employee. This isn't on him or on Ted Thompson. It was a personal opinion on my part and never said anything about Thompson being an idiot, sheesh... The fact is that Harrell was coming off the bicep injury, but the fact that he only played in 7 games tells you that it never really healed. Couple that with a bad strength and conditioning program(as you alluded to) and you've got a recipe for disaster. It's why you don't pick players coming off of serious injury in the 1st round... Again, the reason the Harrell pick was dumb was simply because a healthy Greg Olsen was on the board and you had a much greater need at that position. The was a gamble and not like the Rashan Gary type of gamble where you think the player will be a better pro than college player either. This is where Ted got himself in trouble from time to time: he didn't draft for need when "the guy," so-to-speak, was available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 1 hour ago, Joe said: not like the Rashan Gary type of gamble where you think the player will be a better pro than college player either. I'm not sure this is true... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Guy Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 2 hours ago, Joe said: It was a personal opinion on my part and never said anything about Thompson being an idiot, sheesh... The fact is that Harrell was coming off the bicep injury, but the fact that he only played in 7 games tells you that it never really healed. Couple that with a bad strength and conditioning program(as you alluded to) and you've got a recipe for disaster. It's why you don't pick players coming off of serious injury in the 1st round... Again, the reason the Harrell pick was dumb was simply because a healthy Greg Olsen was on the board and you had a much greater need at that position. The was a gamble and not like the Rashan Gary type of gamble where you think the player will be a better pro than college player either. This is where Ted got himself in trouble from time to time: he didn't draft for need when "the guy," so-to-speak, was available. Joe, Olsen went 31st in the draft and Harrell 16th. It's not like he was a consensus next best player on the board. Not to mention you keep alluding to a much greater need, but that was not necessary true either. You had PIckett and three guys who turned into very good players but were not proven: Corey Williams, Cullen Jenkins and Johnny Jolly. Jolly was a 6th round rookie who didn't really play. Jenkins did next to nothing that year. Harrell had more physical tools than any of them. A bicep injury is not disqualifying of a player on a draft board. Harrell's injuries wound up getting the best of him and it didn't work out. Teams get themselves in trouble much more frequently drafting for need and reaching than taking the best player available. This time it didn't work out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 1 hour ago, Old Guy said: Olsen went 31st in the draft and Harrell 16th. It's not like he was a consensus next best player on the board. Not to mention you keep alluding to a much greater need, but that was not necessary true either. You had PIckett and three guys who turned into very good players but were not proven: Corey Williams, Cullen Jenkins and Johnny Jolly. Jolly was a 6th round rookie who didn't really play. Jenkins did next to nothing that year. Harrell had more physical tools than any of them. A bicep injury is not disqualifying of a player on a draft board. Harrell's injuries wound up getting the best of him and it didn't work out. Teams get themselves in trouble much more frequently drafting for need and reaching than taking the best player available. This time it didn't work out. Absolutely. williams was expiring. *IF* Harrell had been both healthy and good, he could have been super valuable. Didn't work, obviously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dubz41 Posted June 28, 2021 Share Posted June 28, 2021 On 6/26/2021 at 12:56 PM, Joe said: It was a personal opinion on my part and never said anything about Thompson being an idiot, sheesh... The fact is that Harrell was coming off the bicep injury, but the fact that he only played in 7 games tells you that it never really healed. Couple that with a bad strength and conditioning program(as you alluded to) and you've got a recipe for disaster. It's why you don't pick players coming off of serious injury in the 1st round... Again, the reason the Harrell pick was dumb was simply because a healthy Greg Olsen was on the board and you had a much greater need at that position. The was a gamble and not like the Rashan Gary type of gamble where you think the player will be a better pro than college player either. This is where Ted got himself in trouble from time to time: he didn't draft for need when "the guy," so-to-speak, was available. Nice back pedal, now if you only had them 'oily hips' to go with it. This was your personal opinion using only your 'credible resources'? Harrell was a gamble on greatness. IIRC, He got to wear #92 at Tennessee. That was a great honor at that time. He was the first to wear that number since another Tennessee DL wore it, none other than Reggie White. Stop with the Greg Olson stuff too please. Rookie TEs very seldom contribute. GMs who draft for need get to draft in the top half of every draft, will let you work that one out yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.