Coach Nagy has Cohen lining up everywhere

[Richie]

Another benefit is that despite his size, he doesn't get injured, even popping up emphitcaly after a tough hit.

However, I would not like to see him as the primary back if Howard were to go down.

Nor do I think he would be. I'm pretty certain Cunningham would shoulder the 1st/2nd down load.

[Hiphopopotamos]

After you guys drain your glasses, what offenses can you name that regularly, successfully made use of a double smurf formation?

Drew Hill and Ernest Givens were both at most 5'9" and caught 70+ passes each from Warren Moon in '90 and '91.


And considering where this offense is getting its roots from - we'd be smart to look at what teams did under Art Briles at Baylor or Mark Helfrich/Chip Kelly at Oregon.

[Otis Day]

The Three Amigos from the Broncos: Vance Johnson, Ricky Nattiel and Mark Jackson. Mid to late 1980s with Elway.

[Mikefive]

The Three Amigos from the Broncos: Vance Johnson, Ricky Nattiel and Mark Jackson. Mid to late 1980s with Elway.

Not that this affects my perspective on this discussion, but my oldest son was born about 4 hours after Denver drafted Ricky Nattiel. I lived in Denver at the time and my wife told me it was time to go to the hospital as Denver was on the clock on 4/28/87.

Too bad Nattiel sucked. But those other two guys were pretty decent.

[Otis Day]

How can we forget the Marks Brothers - Duper and Clayton of the Dolphins.

[southdakbearfan]

This conversation brings up another thought. Are we, and a large percentage of the NFL, guilty of overlooking good to great football players because they don't fit a certain mold?

Barry was a shrimp, Steve Smith was a shrimp, the best WR in the NFL right now is 5'10" if you stretch him.

My point would be, if you can play football well, who gives a crap what the height is?

[Bears Whiskey Nut]

Skill recognizes skill.

Where's the 'like' button?

Totally agree. Nagy sees an opportunity to put the defense at a disadvantage, just by having Cohen on the field. Love it.

[Bears Whiskey Nut]

This conversation brings up another thought. Are we, and a large percentage of the NFL, guilty of overlooking good to great football players because they don't fit a certain mold?

Barry was a shrimp, Steve Smith was a shrimp, the best WR in the NFL right now is 5'10" if you stretch him.

My point would be, if you can play football well, who gives a crap what the height is?

Of course. Receivers are tall, guards are fat and LB's are 245 lbs. I think that there is an 'ideal size' stigma for every position, and we doubt the players that don't fit that mold. Aaron Donald is another great example. You're not supposed to be 6' 280, and be able to do what he does. But he does.

[The Marshall Plan]

This conversation brings up another thought. Are we, and a large percentage of the NFL, guilty of overlooking good to great football players because they don't fit a certain mold?

Barry was a shrimp, Steve Smith was a shrimp, the best WR in the NFL right now is 5'10" if you stretch him.

My point would be, if you can play football well, who gives a crap what the height is?

Absolutely. The problem is that we'll never know the extent of it because how many people could've been great but because they were too much this or too little that they never saw enough of the field to develop.

This is not intended as a political comment, but I feel that Tim Tebow was criticized way too much as a football player for the reality of the situation.

He was a Florida Player Of The Year in high school.
He had an excellent college career including a Heisman.
In 2011, his second year in the league, he had twice as many TDs as INTs on an 8-8 Broncos team including a playoff victory against the Steelers.

But his throwing motion and mechanics didn't fit the prototypical style. If that was the posture in baseball we'd never have the sidearmer, submariner or knuckleballer.

Why not develop the guy when he's shown a natural ability to win? Get a QB coach to help him out. Who knows how many WRs, RBs, LBs, DLs, etc etc etc would've turned out great had it not been for development?

[Sugashane]

This conversation brings up another thought. Are we, and a large percentage of the NFL, guilty of overlooking good to great football players because they don't fit a certain mold?

Barry was a shrimp, Steve Smith was a shrimp, the best WR in the NFL right now is 5'10" if you stretch him.

My point would be, if you can play football well, who gives a crap what the height is?

Absolutely. The problem is that we'll never know the extent of it because how many people could've been great but because they were too much this or too little that they never saw enough of the field to develop.

This is not intended as a political comment, but I feel that Tim Tebow was criticized way too much as a football player for the reality of the situation.

He was a Florida Player Of The Year in high school.
He had an excellent college career including a Heisman.
In 2011, his second year in the league, he had twice as many TDs as INTs on an 8-8 Broncos team including a playoff victory against the Steelers.

But his throwing motion and mechanics didn't fit the prototypical style. If that was the posture in baseball we'd never have the sidearmer, submariner or knuckleballer.

Why not develop the guy when he's shown a natural ability to win? Get a QB coach to help him out. Who knows how many WRs, RBs, LBs, DLs, etc etc etc would've turned out great had it not been for development?

I'm a Gators fanatic, have been since I was a little kid. The problem with Tebow was two things, maddening inconsistencies and a ravenous fanbase.

His completion percentage of approx 50% is not as bad as it seems, but is still really bad. He was a guy who threw a TON of deep balls, his yards per completion were higher than Brady, Rodgers, or Brees even though he threw a ton of passes behind the LOS. He would routinely throw screens and slants in the dirt. His mechanics were a major fault in that, and his processing was slow as he was in a simply offense at FLA. Both failings have a ton to do with Meyer, who has had one QB end up worth a damn I can think of as a pro in Alex Smith, and we know he didn't have a stellar start by any means. More of his success is due to Reid than Meyer. He needed to spend time refining his motion in college, and the staff at FLA did nothing to help him out. They just milked the talent for all they could, then Meyer had his ***cough -punk bitch - cough** health issues after Tebow and Co left.

Second, outside of Manning, Brady, and a few elite QBs, most fanbases would have been swamped with "Tebow Time" and such, billboards calling for him to start after every poor QB performance or missed playoffs. He needed 2-3 years of work in the background. Chicago wasn't a place he could do well in, not with our coaches.

I would have loved to had him, not at a first round pick though of course. I'd have had him running every offensive scout team rep. It isn't the exact same as your system but you are still implementing plays against the first and second team defenses, still working on footwork, reading defenses, etc in real time, and best of all - no media coverage. His horrible motion is getting fixed piece by piece, his accuracy woes aren't getting blasted on national television, and he still gets to get implemented in a system. I think he could have had a Donovan McNabb career if he was given time and trained (who was good not great all but one or two years). Around 2/1 TD to INT ratio and nearing 60% completion percentage and always a threat to run.