NoSaint Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Not to rain on your parade, but there's not much analysis in your article. "last year a knucklehead did well, so this year's knucklehead might do well also." Is there something about their families, their support systems, their coaching, their particular brand of knuckleheadness (weed?) that lends itself to a fresh start (being not physically addictive, but merely psychologically addictive)? It seems to me the better comparison might be Burfict = Honey Badger (although I fully understand that burfict and Da'rick were undrafted and considered borderline undraftable). Give me a little bit more to sink my teeth into. If I remember correctly, Damond even did quite a bit on burfict last year, so to have it characterized as simply a fight and a failed drug test seems especially frustrating as a reader. I'm pretty sure he knows better. It just comes across really poorly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Barbarian Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 I really think a lot of Da'Rick Rogers, but every year a guy slips through the cracks. I think Da'Rick Rogers is that guy, here is my article, what do you think? http://nfldraftdiamo...ontaze-burfict/ He has the talent so long as he stays out of trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damond Talbot Posted August 2, 2013 Author Share Posted August 2, 2013 Maddenboy I disagree, you cannot take anything away from Rogers. The kid is an SEC all american who made dumb decisions. He can play without a doubt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Maddenboy I disagree, you cannot take anything away from Rogers. The kid is an SEC all american who made dumb decisions. He can play without a doubt. MB doesn't disagree with that in his post- he asks what they have in common that makes you think that he will be able to overcome his past like burfict so far. Otherwise you simply said "these two guys both got in trouble enough to go undrafted but they are good at football" when you really boil it down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigK14094 Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 I wonder if the Bills only gave him a one year contract ....if so, perhaps he will be gone if he can play. You never know how these situations will play out. I think a lot of tough decisions on what receivers to keep. If DeRick Rogers makes the roster, other well thought of talents will be gone. I am guessing he makes it if he stays straight....but, the Bills need players to stay longer term. The Free agent contract is probabily cheap.....but not long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damond Talbot Posted August 2, 2013 Author Share Posted August 2, 2013 Vontaze problems were this: He fought a player in the lockeroom, he fail a drug test at combine, he had 15 personal fouls in college, and he didn't take ownership when scouts ask him why he didn't perform well. That is all with Burfict. I covered him extremely hard Da'Rick had over 10 failed urine tests, and was expelled for that. He was clean at Tenn. Tech What is the difference? Not much, small issues to be honest. You have players that are full pledged gang bangers, guys who have crazy charges on them and have been drug users and dealers. They tell you during the interviews They are simple, tell us the truth and we won't hold it against you. I have watched them, and a team will disregard everything if your truthful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 No prospect has ever killed their chances more than Burfict. He was an idiot on & off the field. He then showed up out of shape & tested terrible before the draft. Good for him for playing well but it sort of amazing because he looked to be a lost cause. I don't know the full story on Rogers. Hopefully, he was a kid who just liked green. I'm not counting on him but perhaps not getting drafted could be the best thing to ever happen to him. He's not the star anymore & any slip up can cost him a lot of money. Here's hoping for the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBUffalo Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 I'm well aware his story - again, my point was the phrase "slipped through the cracks" is very passive in my opinion - as if it wasnt their own choices or they didnt have teammates and coaches who would have been much happier with those talents fully contributing to their teams and fought to keep them contributing... Damond, no offense but your story grossly understates the issues vontaze had - even in the predraft lead up it wasnt just a failed drug test, he was out of shape, his measurables were a mess (ran a 5.1 40, for instance), word was his interviews were epic failures... That disregards how awful his final college season was. Likewise da'rick had a completely unmentioned knack for taking plays (and games) off. Both deserve to be taken to task for the behavior that got them where they were on draft day, I've been a supporter of da'rick since before the draft and have followed his story for quite some time (dating back to his college recruitment) - what the two have in common are immense physical gifts and noteworthy attitude and drug issues that forced them to undrafted status. Vontaze has stayed out of trouble approximately one year, and truly we don't know what that amounts to off the field besides "hasn't been arrested, or failed a drug test" likewise da'rick. I love a good redemption story and hope we have one on our hands but both have a lot to prove. Last up, and I know this sounds a bit curmudgeonly on my part (as if the rest hasn't), but the comparison between the two has been obvious and made for months. The second da'rick went undrafted the comparisons between the two first round talents that went undrafted were made by anyone and everyone discussing da'rick. He's not a sleeper - he's not a guy that might surprise - fans are already expecting him to be a contributor as long as his heads on straight and he doesn't mess up. With just a post id likely let it slide more or try to be less blunt but with it being a linked article I'm going to hold it to a bit higher of a standard and this one fell flat for me. I didn't read any of this, but I just wanted to let you know that the only reason I used the "cracks" analogy is because you used it. You said Vontaze created the cracks himself, which is exactly what Da'Rick did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 (edited) I didn't read any of this, but I just wanted to let you know that the only reason I used the "cracks" analogy is because you used it. You said Vontaze created the cracks himself, which is exactly what Da'Rick did. Agree fully, and why I used it is because Damond used it - from what we know vontaze was far more determined to mess his life up though so I used him as the primary example of why I thought slipped was silly and overly dismissive of their issues.... Wasnt trying to let da'rick off just because I didnt mention him in the post, vontaze was just such an easy example Edited August 2, 2013 by NoSaint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald Duck Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Great read Damond, thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 (edited) Vontaze problems were this: He fought a player in the lockeroom, he fail a drug test at combine, he had 15 personal fouls in college, and he didn't take ownership when scouts ask him why he didn't perform well. That is all with Burfict. I covered him extremely hard And of course being overweight, running a 5.1 forty. Being a guy that didnt follow assignments on the field shooting for highlights.... And the fact that you listed numorous major issues and finished with "that is all." The dude assembled a huge laundry list. I know you like him personally but it's not good integrity to ignore the issues if your going to be putting out articles on him. Edited August 2, 2013 by NoSaint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan in San Diego Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 I remember reading about DaRick that when he signed with us he had many teams trying to sign him. He picked the Bills because our WR was so thin and he figured our team was his best chance to make the roster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald Duck Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 And of course being overweight, running a 5.1 forty. Being a guy that didnt follow assignments on the field shooting for highlights.... And the fact that you listed numorous major issues and finished with "thats is all." The dude assembled a huge laundry list. I know you like him personally but it's not good integrity to ignore the issues if your going to be putting out articles on him. "he didn't take ownership when scouts asked him why he didn't perform well" Are you grading Damonds post now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kota Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 In the Rogers interview with Hannah she asked him about cars. he said he doesn't own one and didn't think it was necessary unless he had a ferarri ro something. If he does make it I hope the Money doesn't make him turn stupid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FluffHead Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Da'Rick is going to be on WGR with Sal and Bulldog at 4:45 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 "he didn't take ownership when scouts asked him why he didn't perform well" Are you grading Damonds post now? When they are linking to an article he wrote for his website I am, already stated in this thread, far more critical of the content. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald Duck Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 When they are linking to an article he wrote for his website I am, already stated in this thread, far more critical of the content. "that is all with Burfict" can be interpreted in different ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 "that is all with Burfict" can be interpreted in different ways. When he's knowingly leaving things out of his article, and minimizing the stuff he does include... Well, I don't much care how you interpret that one line. It comes across as Damond being really excited that the biggest guy he's had has worked out so far and that coupling with the board that's most embraced him has a guy that has issues this year.... so in my opinion he wrote a lazy comparison as a fan of burfict and someone who thinks this will be easy clicks for his website instead of trying to bring new or insightful content.... Like I said, as a post I'd maybe just add the extra info and disregard calling out the lack of... Well... Just about anything meaningful, but when it's a link to a story on his website I treat it like I would a link to any other source, and the source on this one is lacking. No harm meant to Damond, hopefully the feedback helps him down the line. He clearly really likes what he's doing and if it was a homerun piece I'd give him props. Hopefully the next is. This ones lacking content- facts that are widely known, its making the comparison but giving little info as to why da'rick is likely going to follow in the footsteps of the guy he's being compared to beyond "he's also good at football wasnt drafted and isn't in a gang" and it has a bunch of throw away lines like da'rick being a model student at Tennessee tech without really anything backing them up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damond Talbot Posted August 3, 2013 Author Share Posted August 3, 2013 His problems were minimal compared to some there Saint. Your title fits well, but I see your point. While I don't feel I left out a lot of what Tez did wrong, I do feel that Da'Rick had the same amount of problems. To be honest, teams will look at multiple failed drug tests worse than a person who is not working out. If you go back and look, Vontaze was given an award for the preseason of his senior year, for the most fit and best gym guy on the team. He admitted in a story and to the media that he took his chances for granted because he had no one to really push him. That is not good, but at the end of they day. The guy is a good guy, he was just given a bad rap. It's ok, you can be upset No Saint, I understand but at the end of the day. You will become a huge Da'Rick Rogers fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 His problems were minimal compared to some there Saint. Your title fits well, but I see your point. While I don't feel I left out a lot of what Tez did wrong, I do feel that Da'Rick had the same amount of problems. To be honest, teams will look at multiple failed drug tests worse than a person who is not working out. If you go back and look, Vontaze was given an award for the preseason of his senior year, for the most fit and best gym guy on the team. He admitted in a story and to the media that he took his chances for granted because he had no one to really push him. That is not good, but at the end of they day. The guy is a good guy, he was just given a bad rap. It's ok, you can be upset No Saint, I understand but at the end of the day. You will become a huge Da'Rick Rogers fan. After the draft there was a radio show in which an NFL analyst was asked why no team would take a gamble with a low draft pick on such a talented player such as Rogers. The analyst stated that many teams had him in for a pre-draft interview and to put it mildly he didn't interview very well. It is not unusal to draft "smokers" but not only was he a multiple repeat offender but after his interviews most of the teams didn't feel that he had the maturity to handle his troubling issues. Don't get me wrong I want him to succeed. If he actualizes his physical talents I will not only happy that the team benefits but also that he as an individual benefits. With regard to his drug use is he designated as a one strike drug user before he even plays his first professional game? If that is the case then I understand why so many teams didn't want to have anything to do with him in the draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts