Anybody who wants the Bills to pick Terrence Cody

[JohnC]

Saying he has participated in sports and the he thought of himself as an athlete are two very different things. Maybe I am being to poetic in the story of Terrence Cody that I have in my head but I dont see him growing up in one of those Olympic families you are seeing on tv right now.....

 

At 14 he was 6-2, 275 lbs. His father had died 2 years earlier, and he was at home in a drug infested neighborhood taking care of his 7 siblings while his mom worked a low income job. He didnt even play football until his junior(?) year of Highschool because of academic issues. When he got serious about wanting to play, he got academically eligible. Its hard to judge a 14 year old struggling in that situation. On to the weight issue -- young terrance is now 18, probably closer to 350 lbs. His Highschool coach has likely never coached someone quite like him. He goes home to eat an average dinner for a family of 8 on a single income.... and what do we have tonight? seared ahi on a bed of lettuce with a lowfat dressing? probably more like a big mac, supersized fries and coke, 2 apple pies, and a bowl of ice cream after? Afterwards I doubt it was realistic for him to say wow, i should really go out and go for a run -- again, 7 siblings, dead father, mother working to support the family and a dangerous neighborhood, and that big mac is probably weighing him down. Did Terrence hear from his coaches at HS and College "hey terrence, maybe if you slim down, we can put you at defensive end" or was it "terrence you a big ol boy, look how good you clog up the middle of that line cause your so big." On a friday night with friends did they look at him funny when he ate a whole pizza, or was that expected of big ol Mt Cody, and he was made fun of when he ordered a salad and diet coke for dinner?

 

Is the weight gain this offseason cause for concern? yea, it does worry me. At the same time you have to wonder how many 410 lbs people lose weight in a strictly linear fashion. I imagine it is far more common to lose 20 gain 10 lose 15 gain 10 lose 20 gain 5. There is no denying that he has had an unhealthy relationship with his body. Like I said, he has come out in interviews and said he LEARNED things that most consider basic when he got to Alabama. Things like eating breakfast, not eating late night snacks. In that time he dropped from a peak reported weight of 410 at JUCO to a playing weight of 355 last year. That is a 55 lbs loss in 2 years. Read that again -- 55 lbs loss in 2 years. Yes, he didnt make it to 345, which would have been a 65 lbs loss in 2 years. Keep that loss in mind when you look at that picture and see loose and sagging skin from that 410 body as well.

 

As for the 15 lbs put on -- I imagine it was probably easy for him to finish the season, go home and pick up a few of those bad habits. Eating things he shouldnt, maybe skipping a few workouts, no longer having practice every day of the week. When you get to be that big, a 15 lbs jump isnt the same as it is for a 180lbs person. Cause for concern? yes. but lets see what he looks like for the combine, for his proday, see if this is a trend back to 400, or if its like I think and that weight loss will not be linear for a 410 lbs person. Especially without tools like bypass surgery.

 

Goals he has hit -- Becoming eligible to play highschool, becoming eligible to play D1 by going to JUCO, hitting 380 for his scholarship, hitting 365 for playing time. He did not make it to 345 though, you are right. I know that things like being academically eligible and not being 410 lbs should be a given, not an accomplishment, but once your on the wrong side of either of those it is really hard to fix. Hence everyone is so skeptical looking at him today at 370. Can he do it? well, so far he has been.

 

Is he a player worth drafting? No one is disputing that. For the Bills is he worth taking with our first pick at nine or somewhere lower in the first round if we trade down? Absolutely not. Would I take him in the second round if he was available? Before making that decision I would have to conclude that he is willing to demonstrate enough discipline and be receptive to our training staff's recommendation.

 

If you were Buddy Nix and you saw some players still on the board who you were confident would be very good prospects would you bypass them for the potential of a more high risk player with greater upside such as Cody. I think I would. The issue comes down to the fact that the bills have a very depleted roster with a lot of needs. Do you play it safe or do you take the gamble to tap into the large potential of an overly large player? It's a tough call.

[NoSaint]

Is he a player worth drafting? No one is disputing that. For the Bills is he worth taking with our first pick at nine or somewhere lower in the first round if we trade down? Absolutely not. Would I take him in the second round if he was available? Before making that decision I would have to conclude that he is willing to demonstrate enough discipline and be receptive to our training staff's recommendation.

 

If you were Buddy Nix and you saw some players still on the board who you were confident would be very good prospects would you bypass them for the potential of a more high risk player with greater upside such as Cody. I think I would. The issue comes down to the fact that the bills have a very depleted roster with a lot of needs. Do you play it safe or do you take the gamble to tap into the large potential of an overly large player? It's a tough call.

 

 

I didnt know anyone was debating cody at 9???? Everything I saw was trade back or second round. There have been comments on this board that he would be good at a late round pick, maybe in the 4th he miiiight be worth the pick. if he is on the board in the second i think we MUST take him.

[Cynical]

You say Nix will only judge by what happens on the field? Well, I imagine that would include all the defensive plays where Cody had to be taken off for a blow, not to mention the fact that he wasn't ever included in their pass defenses so they could give him enough time off so he could be a factor.

 

Yes, I do expect Nix to consider Cody hasn't played on obvious passing downs.

Cody is a prototypical NT that played in a 3-4 D.

Feel free to refresh my memory on the number of times Big Ted was in the lineup on obvious passing downs.

 

Never any reports, rumors, or speculations questioning Cody's attitude or motivation? Are you kidding? The only way you could say that is if you specifically define those words to exclude weight issues. Which is like saying that Travis Henry might be a good pickup because he hasn't had any on-field issues - you're excluding the whole point.

 

Well, DUH!

 

Here's a clue:

 

BEING OVERWEIGHT IS NOT A DETERMINANT OF MOTIVATION

 

If we followed that logic, then we could say the following:

"All black birds are birds, therefore, all birds are probably black."

 

You and I both know that is load of crap.

 

When the Bills drafted Chris Ellis, there were issues regarding his motivation and character. From the time he has been drafted to this point in time now, I have never heard weight being an issue for Ellis. Therefore, we can assume he has no problem in maintaining his weight, but just refuses to put forth the effort that would make him more productive at the NFL level.

 

When Andre Smith came out, he had a weight issue. But there were other issues regarding his attitude and his motivation.

Even Saban stated Smith needed a lot of motivation to play.

 

In both of those cases, there were issues regarding those players that had nothing to do with weight.

And in Cody's case, what do you have? Weight. Nothing else.

 

Where is the underlying attitude/character red flag in Cody's case?

 

Saban has been on his back from the beginning to get his weight down. Cody NEVER got down to his target weight.

 

"Terrence Cody has answered every challenge presented to him." Just not true. He never got down to Saban's target weight. Cody wanted to play on pass downs, but couldn't do it because of weight issues. How you can say this guy doesn't have motivation issues, I don't understand.

 

So let me get this straight.

 

Terrence Cody wanted to play on passing downs. Saban said he needed to achieve weight xxx in order for that to happen.

Terrence Cody "failed" to achieve that goal.

 

Therefore: Cody is unmotivated.

 

So you know for a fact Terrence said 'screw it' and gave up?

Or is it more likely Cody attempted to reach said goal but couldn't?

 

There is a difference in those two answers.

 

 

Let me just say for the record, I am not advocating for the Bills to draft him in the first round. I am not even advocating for the Bills to draft him early in the second round. But if the Bills can grab him in the third, they should do so without hesitation.

[NoSaint]

There are a lot of comments (ill include a few below) that indicate that he doesnt care, and should be avoided at all costs -- thats the attitude i was addressing. I dont think you take him at 9 but if he is there at 41 and we dont..... ill be disappointed.

 

 

 

 

Quotes from the various threads the last day or two:

 

I can't call anyone who lets themselves get into that shape an athlete. I wouldn't take the guy in the 4th round even if he gets in shape for the draft. He obviously has no real ambition. JMO

 

Sporting News.com has him listed as the 23rd best DT in the draft.

 

If the guy can't get himself into shape before the draft when millions are on the line I doubt he'll be very motivated once the money is in his account.

 

Pass. The guy had to drop from over 400lbs to get down to that disgusting shape. Pass majorly

 

What's really sickening is that fat slob is going to sign with someone for a bajillion dollars this offseason. If you're going to call yourself a professional athlete you should have at least enough self respect to look like one.

 

My concern would not just be his physical condition, but his desire to play. If he doesn't care enough to stay in shape, is he going to care enough to play with desire and intensity, especially once he's a millionaire?

 

I say STAY away from fat, unmotivated underachievers with high picks. Now, if he were around in, say, the 4th, then

the risk/reward ratio might be about right

 

So this guy is a "beast"? Even though he doesn't have enough motivation to be in shape for his NFL audition? No thanks. Let him be someone else's disappointment.

[manbeast]

How do you know Ellis is in shape, and how does that change anything I said about Buddy Nix? Buddy Nix never drafted Ellis and had he been in the Bills draft room that year I doubt he would have. The skinny on Ellis coming out of college was he was lazy and it looks like that was hitting the nail on the head.

 

Why would anyone draft a guy who needs that much attention? His bust factor is raised a lot by looking like that. I'm sure the trainers were trying to work with Mike Williams too and that didn't turn out so well. Marv Levy used to say that it wasn't his job to motivate players and Polian seemed to pick self motivated guys in his drafts.

 

 

 

 

I can't remember Ted Washington ever looking like that.

Google Ted Washinton. (no homo)

[manbeast]

Wilfork isn't all that overweight, though he's big. You can make anybody look big by catching him on an in-breath or when he relaxes his stomach muscles.

 

Cody looks now like Ted Washington did late in his career when he was beginning to lose his effectiveness. Washington was around 39. Cody is around 22. That's the difference.

No the pics I saw of TW he was wearing a Bills uniform. Google.

[manbeast]

If you can stomach closer examination you will notice there is a canyon formation between his peks suggesting muscular definition you will also notice his arms don't droop. You have to look closely at a rhyno to see the muscle but a it is still stronger than a cow. He will answer his critics at the combined.

[JohnC]

Wow, a morbidly obese lineman has difficulty with his weight? Don't want a guy like that!! Let's instead fill our D-line with old, released vets......or a 225 pound rookie who had one decent season in college.

 

Look, if this guy never took off his shirt, no one here would be questioning his draft value, or his ability to play (J peters was obviously over his listed weight when he showed up after his holdout).

 

What did you people think he looked like under the shirt for chrissakes?

 

Even with his shirt on there were serious questions regarding his weight and conditioning. There was a reason why he usually played two downs at a time: he couldn't handle the full load.

 

Whether you want to admit it or not his excessive weight is the reason why he is not considered a first round or even possibly a second round value. Being in reasonable shape is not merely a consideration directed to him because he is a nose takcle, it is directed at all the draft prospects, especially on the OL and DL.

 

The Bills drafted a 225 lb rookie for a DE position last year. It was a hideous miscalculation. He wasn't physcially suited for the position he was drafted for. What a surprise? The Bills making a bad judgment with their first draft pick. There was a number of reasons why Mike Williams was a dramatic bust for the Bills. One had to do with his attitude and associated with that was his lack of conditioning. If the front office doesn't seriously take into consideration Cody's physical status then they will be just as foolish and irresponsible as they have been with their other numerous high draft picks.

[Steely Dan]

Yes, I do expect Nix to consider Cody hasn't played on obvious passing downs.

Cody is a prototypical NT that played in a 3-4 D.

Feel free to refresh my memory on the number of times Big Ted was in the lineup on obvious passing downs.

 

 

 

Well, DUH!

 

Here's a clue:

 

BEING OVERWEIGHT IS NOT A DETERMINANT OF MOTIVATION

 

If we followed that logic, then we could say the following:

"All black birds are birds, therefore, all birds are probably black."

 

You and I both know that is load of crap.

 

When the Bills drafted Chris Ellis, there were issues regarding his motivation and character. From the time he has been drafted to this point in time now, I have never heard weight being an issue for Ellis. Therefore, we can assume he has no problem in maintaining his weight, but just refuses to put forth the effort that would make him more productive at the NFL level.

 

When Andre Smith came out, he had a weight issue. But there were other issues regarding his attitude and his motivation.

Even Saban stated Smith needed a lot of motivation to play.

 

In both of those cases, there were issues regarding those players that had nothing to do with weight.

And in Cody's case, what do you have? Weight. Nothing else.

Where is the underlying attitude/character red flag in Cody's case?

 

 

 

So let me get this straight.

 

Terrence Cody wanted to play on passing downs. Saban said he needed to achieve weight xxx in order for that to happen.

Terrence Cody "failed" to achieve that goal.

 

Therefore: Cody is unmotivated.

 

So you know for a fact Terrence said 'screw it' and gave up?

Or is it more likely Cody attempted to reach said goal but couldn't?

 

There is a difference in those two answers.

 

 

Let me just say for the record, I am not advocating for the Bills to draft him in the first round. I am not even advocating for the Bills to draft him early in the second round. But if the Bills can grab him in the third, they should do so without hesitation.

 

If you reread my post with the scouting synopsis' they say he takes plays off. That's more than his body.

 

This is from the first synopsis; Cody has the talent to be a much better player than he has shown on film, but to become that player he will need to lose at least 40 pounds and play with more passion and intensity on every snap.

 

From the second; Terrence Cody has been accused of not being in shape and taking plays off,

 

http://www.newerascouting.com/01/terrence-...couting-report/

 

Terrence Cody Scouting Report

Posted by Matt Miller On January - 7 - 2010

 

Terrence Cody

6′5, 365 pounds | Defensive tackle | Alabama

 

Pass rush: Average, at best, against the pass. Doesn’t have the agility or speed to get to the passer fast enough. Routinely gets taken out of games on obvious passing downs. Doesn’t always seem to try hard against the pass.

Pursuit: Cody’s lateral movement is almost non-existant. Cody has one direction – straight. He barely moves left to right.

 

Quickness: Shows a good first step to get into position. However, Cody doesn’t necessarily have explosive agility to move around.

 

Run defend: Cody’s size allows him to be a premier run stuffer. He takes up multiple blockers and is hard to move off the line of scrimmage. Clogs running lanes really well and forces runners to go outside. Gets off blockers really well.

 

Size: The size Cody possesses is unique. Most high-end defensive line prospects don’t come out of college this big. Cody is massive throughout his frame and packed with strength. He has had some weight issues and will need a strength coach to keep on him.

 

Strength: Unbelievably strong. Even though he’s almost constantly double teamed, Cody can move blockers around with ease. Can tear blockers away with ease.

 

Tackling: Cody is a devastating tackler. He engulfs the ball carrier and pancakes them. Typically gets a lot of his tackles while still being blocked.

 

Technique: When Cody is trying hard, his technique is actually fairly sound. He keeps his hands inside the pads of blockers and sinks his hips to drive. However, Cody can get lazy and stop using his fundamentals.

Versatility: Has virtually no versatility. He’s a defensive tackle and that’s it. Cody is too slow to play on the outside or even drop back in zone coverage.

 

Final word: Cody’s mystique greatly out-weighs his production. He will be over-drafted because he’s such a unique player playing in a position of strong need.

 

Cody’s size and strength is very rare. When he’s playing hard, Cody is stellar against the run. But one of the big problems with Cody is that his effort isn’t always 100 percent.

 

Training camp will be tough on Cody as he’ll have to really get into shape to find playing time.

[JohnC]

I didnt know anyone was debating cody at 9???? Everything I saw was trade back or second round. There have been comments on this board that he would be good at a late round pick, maybe in the 4th he miiiight be worth the pick. if he is on the board in the second i think we MUST take him.

 

If he was a second round pick I would take him. But as I stated in the prior posting even if we moved down into the mid or lower first round I wouldn't take him. There are no guarntees with any player. But with Cody there are questions about his conditioning and discipline which make him a high risk player for an early round selection, first and second round.

[Wilson from Gamehendge]

Wasn't Andre Smith, also a Bama boy, equally disgusting during the Combine last year? What's with all of these Alabama kids being completely out of shape?

Yes, and he turned out to be a damn good pick for the Bengals.