The Rogue Scout

[Bangarang]

I'd say these are the quotes we're thinking of:

 

 

Followed almost immediately by:

 

 

 

So Locker's alleged inaccuracy is excused because he was in "a low-percentage offense," but God forbid a coach justify something by blaming the scheme. Huh?

 

I really liked a lot of what Razzano had to say, but I think he's making the same excuses as everyone else, just for Locker instead of Newton or Gabbert.

 

This.

[Buffalo Barbarian]

Wow! no wonder he is out of a job. Comparing Locker to Favre? please, Locker was horrible. He talks about making excuse for a Alex Smith then does the same thing for Locker. Gabbert can play and I new that before he was the "guy". I was watching him play and thought man this kid is pretty good and thought he would be a guy to keep an eye on next year but then he came out so now he is the guy we should pick. I think the "rogue" just likes being confrontational and goes against the grain just looking for flaws in some and positives in others just to say he is right. Egos aren't just for players and owners but for everyone involved in a highly competitive field.

[Dennis in NC]

I've always wondered how Gabbert became such hot crap when no one even knew he existed when it was all about Andrew Luck. To me it seems Gabbert got sucked into the vacuum that Luck created.

 

PTR

That seems the perfect explanation for Gabbert's rise. Filling a vacuum!

[K Gun Special]

Haha I thought the same thing. Still a pretty sweet article though. I can see NFL teams operating just like that, and its funny to hear him say scouts just end up liking who everyone else likes so that their neck isn’t stuck out at all. Im also interested in this Jurrell Casey now… Ill have to check his youtube clips out later lol.

 

He's saying stats DONT tell the whole picture. ie- Locker has the same not so great stats that a HOFer did.

 

The point is not about stats, its that the tape tells the tale. Former NFL Greg Cosell- a very respected personnel man, says the same thing.

 

Its NOT about production at all, its about projecting attributes.

[mattsox]

This is a worthy read, IMO.

 

"Razzano, a respected talent evaluator during a two-decade-plus career with the San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals, is talking about former Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert, and he's not holding back."

http://sports.yahoo....ys_label_042511

 

Great read. All NFL Football fans should read this!!!!

[billsintaiwan]

as a scout, albeit in another sport, it is incredibly easy to follow the herd. only the guys with real balls stray. his take on alex smith was pretty gutty because even pros get taken in by the hype machine. i saw a shortstop in korea once. from the minute i was off the plane his agent was throwing numbers around. korean tv stuck a microphone in my face and asked what i thought. 'nice young man, bright future.' but honestly he was run-of-the-mill and anyone who knows a bit about baseball could see it. but i know for a fact that scouts wrote home saying the kid was the real deal. why? because none of them wanted to be the guy who gave the ss a low grade when others were going high. and supervisors pressure you as well. they'll ask why you're not seeing what other paid professionals apparently are seeing.

 

i liked this article. don't know enough about football to say anything about locker. but i like the cut of the scout's jib.

[bisonbrigade]

Uh oh...

 

"3. Buffalo: Von Miller - LB - Texas A&M

With a 90 year old owner and 70 year old GM, the Bills continue the trend of “reaching” in first, this time taking the overrated pass rusher..."

 

That's what I've been saying all along...I still hope we pick Robert Quinn.

The Overrated pass rusher is Robert Quinn. He is a tweener OLB/DE which rarely pans out, he didnt even play last year, and he is a headcase like Lynch was. Basicly he sucks.

[Sisyphean Bills]

The Overrated pass rusher is Robert Quinn. He is a tweener OLB/DE which rarely pans out, he didnt even play last year, and he is a headcase like Lynch was. Basicly he sucks.

Robert Quinn doesn't have red flags. He is a red flag.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

as a scout, albeit in another sport, it is incredibly easy to follow the herd. only the guys with real balls stray. his take on alex smith was pretty gutty because even pros get taken in by the hype machine. i saw a shortstop in korea once. from the minute i was off the plane his agent was throwing numbers around. korean tv stuck a microphone in my face and asked what i thought. 'nice young man, bright future.' but honestly he was run-of-the-mill and anyone who knows a bit about baseball could see it. but i know for a fact that scouts wrote home saying the kid was the real deal. why? because none of them wanted to be the guy who gave the ss a low grade when others were going high. and supervisors pressure you as well. they'll ask why you're not seeing what other paid professionals apparently are seeing.

 

i liked this article. don't know enough about football to say anything about locker. but i like the cut of the scout's jib.

Thanks for the excellent post.

 

The other thing about the article that jumped out at me was not only the "herd mentality" or "group think" phenomenon that happens around scouting but also the lack of accountability (which we always B word about with regards to Modrak).

 

I asked Razzano if most coaches, scouts and general managers' grades were so easily retrievable. "Not really," he said. "And I disagree with that. You've got to go back and look – how else do you have a report card? How else do you know who to listen to?

 

"If you had a big Wall Street company and told six people to invest $20 million each, wouldn't you keep track of who invested well and promote those employees accordingly"

 

If I was running an organization, I would encourage my scouts to be very honest with their opinions. I would encourage them to be independent in their views of players. Of course there would be checks and balances within the dept. so that every player is graded by at least two scouts.

 

But in any event, I would record those player grades and revisit them later on to evaluate and grade the scout's performance. It could also be used as a tool by the scout and the organization to tweak and improve their player evaluation process based on mistakes they may have made. I would also allow my scouts to make mistakes because they already all do anyways, and tell them that they're not expected to be perfect but only to continually improve their craft. You could do something where they sign five-year contracts and have an evaluation after every year and at the end of five years. I think this sort of approach might yield better results.

 

The status quo suggests a "cover my ass" approach to running player personnel departments. Seems kinda backwards in this day and age where we are all competing for our jobs (sometimes) with people who live on different continents.

 

Anyways, just a stream of consciousness.

Edited April 26, 2011 by San Jose Bills Fan