A most spectacular bust
 

Coming off our Front Office Bowl season, we went into the draft with an always present need for young talent.

My scouts pointed out a CB from Penn State that might be a decent backup, with potential to grow into a solid regular (28/58 I think his ratings were, or something like that). It was kind of a weak draft, so we picked him with the last pick of the first round.

The good news is he signed right away. The bad news is he turned into this:



Needless to say my scouting staff (who is allegedly very good at judging secondary personnel and average at judging young talent) will not be retained for next season.

This idiot judges out at a 14/31, which is worse than any number of 1st and 2nd year free agents I could pick up for peanuts. I should cut him, but might keep him around for laughs.

That is terrible, I too would fire the staff, unless thay have really good ratings and have picked some good ones for me before.

DOH
Good to see that even with an avg Volatility rating, guys can crap out like that. Keeps it ineteresting. :)

Maybe it's the name, because I just had a similar experience.

I had the 28th pick overall. After a decent season (thanks to loading up on free agents), I had no real pressing need for the draft. There was a top rated wide receiver available. Looked very promising (don't have the numbers on hand). I hemmed and hawed and decided that I might as well pick him up as I three of my receivers were entering the final years of their contracts and at least two would not be re-signed.

First, the draft pick refuses to sign. He sits out all of training camp and the first two pre-season games. He finally signs and then, to quote Kurtz... "The horror... The horror..."

The guy is a complete bust. 99.5% bust. His red and green bars were under 10 for EVERY FREAKIN' skill except one. Route Running. Though he can't run a route to save his life at the moment, there's a possibility that in the future he'll be one of the best route runners in the league. Not for my team he wont.

We kept him on board for depht, but his ass is getting cut next year. A complete waste of a pick. A new scout is in order.

I think this is VERY important to note, particularly for those who have expressed concern about the presence of the Volatility rating. Low volatility does not guarantee that a guy will pan out, and neither does high volatility guarantee that a guy will break out or bust. The former is a safer, but not "safe" pick. The more I've thought about it, the more I think this mirrors real life. There are guys who have "good" intangibles and "bad" intangibles going into the draft. Some teams will shy away from the guys with "bad" intangibles, particularly with the top few picks of the draft. We're probably gonna see the same thing in FOF 2004. Works for me.

No underline Blue:

Your problem is obvious. Terrance Keith hates that wimpy pink color you're using.

I still don't like the fact that guys bust immediately after their first training camp without playing a single down.

Todd

Deceptive title :)

That isn't the only way busts happen. Sometimes it is revealed over a few years. I like the variety. the "bust-at-first-training" camp to me mirrors the head cases and the guys that show up 40 pounds overweight to their first camp.

SkyDog,

I realize it isn't the only way anymore, but I don't think after Training Camp should be one of the times for a complete bust. It should be a gradual shift and more retrospective than forward looking.

Todd

Think of those training camp busts as the Demetrius Underwoods of the NFL.

And I'm sure there are other "busts" that aren't as publicized. They don't have to go nuts to be an immediate bust. You just notice that some players just never get much playing time after being picked so high. I think that is a good sign that the player is a "bust" and the coaching staff is just praying for a miracle.

I think you should fire whomever picked out your color scheme.

Ted Gregory.

1rst round pick of the Broncos in 88. A man named Thurman Thomas was still on the board. I was SCREAMING at the TV telling the Broncos to pick him. I've never been so upset after a draft. (and that's saying a lot because my Nuggets took RAEF LAFRENZ)

Anyway, Gregory was traded two weeks into training camp to the Saints for a scrub DE. Both were out of the NFL by the end of the year. To add insult to injury, the only sack Ted Gregory ever got in the NFL came against the Broncos.

TroyF

I only go after volatilities of 20 and under (under 10 and I dance a happy-dance). I don't always get the "best pick of the moment" but I am far more happy with the results in the end.

I think that would be Queen Frostine.

Do you know what the guys combine scores were? Was there anything out of whack (like a terrible 40 score, really bad agility, etc) that could have tipped off that he sucked?

Like several others here, I like the fact that this is possible (but not very common) in the game. We have immediate busts/booms, gradual ones, and everything in between. Very nice balance IMO.

I don't think there was anything out of ordinary with his combine scores, but I can neither recall nor access them to be sure.

But, he stills counts as an SU first rounder. Woot!

EDIT: You know, I popped into this thread expecting a Pam Anderson link.

For those of you who are still interested, Terrance Keith, aka "The Idiot", got some playing time as all of our other corners were nicked up at one time or another. He played in 10 games with one start (over my head, I swear!). He had 17 tackles, 5 assists, a blocked pass, 4 defensed passes, and a forced fumble. Typical performance for a 4th corner on one of my teams. His actual rating improved two points, to 16. It's not going to save him.

I'm still looking for the "spectacular bust" :D

Packers DE Jamal Reynolds comes to mind.

DE Bryan Thomas of the Jets was never going to be a first round caliber player the instant he stepped on the practice field.

Hmm. With a title like that, you'd think there'd be pictures of breasteses. :)

That guy in the first post on the thread looks like an awesome dime back to be used only in loose man or zone coverage in incredibly obvious passing situations. Or a prevent back. ;)

Bingo, still waiting :)

somebody has young children..... :)

I was gonna post that picture of Cringer's wife in here but he took it down... :(

True enough, though I think "awesome" is an overstatement. He'd be more useful if I were actually calling the defenses game by game.

He's still not worth a first round pick.