T master Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 (edited) I was reading about how good J. Clowney is & how he will project to the NFL with his skill set . One writer was comparing him to 3 great pass rushers of the past so i just had to see if he was even close to those 3 guys while in college. And those 3 are Derrick Thomas, Reggie White & the Bills own Bruce Smith . In comparison while the 3 were in college there is NO comparison to how great their college careers would project them to be in the NFL. I will start with the best college career of the 3 to the least of those 3 then Clowney's . 1st. Derrick Thomas - his career at Alabama was the best of all 3 ! He had 52 sacks in his college career at LB & a remarkable 27 in 1 season which he still holds the single season collegiate record for . Also i didn't know that he & C Bennet were college team mates ? Can you imagine looking at those 2 across the line as a QB getting ready to hike the ball I can only imagine what Derrick could have done if his life wasn't cut so short !! 2nd. Bruce Smith - His career as a Hokie where he was a menus to QB's as we all know. He had 46 sacks & 22 in 1 season, plus 71 tackles behind the line of scrimmage . Good enough for number 2 ? 3rd. Reggie White - His career as a T Vol. he had 32 career sacks & 15 in 1 season, but those numbers didn't stop him from being deemed "the Minister of Defense" & second in the NFL only to Bruce . 4th. J Clowney's - numbers really don't come close to any of these guys. He ha 24 sacks & 47 tackles behind the line of scrimmage or for a loss, which i guess if you take into consideration that he is coming out a year early he could have gotten closer to Reggies numbers . But when it is all said & done it tells us all just how great these 3 players really were & why they are forever engrained in the NFL as the best of the best !! Well it's just another off season observation but i thought inquiring minds might want to know ... I had to add Derrick had 74 tackles for a loss in his college career & Reggie had 51 while at UT .. Edited February 11, 2014 by T master Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDD Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 If Clowney has a NFL career even close to Smith, White, or Thomas he is worthy of the #1 pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 He will have a Peppers like career. Which is plenty good but means he will take off plays and probably never reach his full potential. But you could do a lot worse than Peppers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 I think that you also have to take how the game was played into account. Much less throwing when the old guard played (maybe more predictable when the offense was going to throw too). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackFergy Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 How many tackles for loss did Reggie White and Derrick Thomas have in college?? It wasn't mentioned above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damian Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 He will have a Peppers like career. Which is plenty good but means he will take off plays and probably never reach his full potential. But you could do a lot worse than Peppers. I always wondered what Peppers career would have been in basketball (Peppers and his fellow Tarheel Curry (QB) played both sports at UNC). Opposing players used to try to drive through Peppers in basketball and it like watching someone hit a brick wall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maury Ballstein Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 (edited) Agree. Peppers was kinda fun to watch on the court. So freaking strong. Espn radio guys were yapping about how texans should just pair clowney w watt to kill all qbs and trade up for qb in late 1st. I don't know what to think about clowney, he didn't impress this year from the little I saw. Edited February 10, 2014 by Ryan L Billz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marauderswr80 Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 I got a feeling hes going to be a bust! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdand12 Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 I got a feeling hes going to be a bust! i will wager that Sir. I am not a fan of his per se , but the general consensus is he will land in the top 3 of Overall talent in this years draft. Betting the kid will shine at the combine and have a good or better than that career in the NFL . I have one dollar in my paypal account from my last wager i won and i am willing to bet it all that Clowney goes by 5 and is and impact pass rusher first year ? I love the offseason . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gray Beard Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 I think it depends on what team he ends up on. If he is on a winning team with many role models and a coach that doesn't take flak from anybody, he may turn out ok. If he is on a bottom feeder team that doesn't demand respect, then he will start taking plays off, etc., and won't live up to the hype. Since he will probably get picked early in the draft, he may end up in the latter situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marauderswr80 Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Just a gut feeling is all. The NFL is a different animal, i think at the NFL level he can be neutralized much better then in college! Some of the better tackles in college faired well against him! But hey good luck to the kid! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdand12 Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 I think it depends on what team he ends up on. If he is on a winning team with many role models and a coach that doesn't take flak from anybody, he may turn out ok. If he is on a bottom feeder team that doesn't demand respect, then he will start taking plays off, etc., and won't live up to the hype. Since he will probably get picked early in the draft, he may end up in the latter situation. Atlanta has the need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnwalter Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 you are all under-rating clowney. the dude is a bad, bad man, he was literally working against triple teams for most of the year. yes, triple teams, as in three grown men working against one jadeveon clowney. even if he never gets a tackle he is negating almost one third of the opposing offense (3/11 players). i know DE is not a need, but i feel like if clowney gets so under-rated that he falls past 4, that is amazing value and i wouldn't mind seeing buffalo trade up to grab him. sure, we'd still have holes at tight end and guard, but our D-line would read: clowney, dareus, williams, and williams. there isn't an offensive line in the nfl that could handle those four; the three guys who arent the best DE prospect to enter the league in the last decade were all in the pro bowl this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T master Posted February 11, 2014 Author Share Posted February 11, 2014 How many tackles for loss did Reggie White and Derrick Thomas have in college?? It wasn't mentioned above. Sorry for leaving that out but i had to do a bit more digging for those . Derrick had 74 tackles for a loss in his college career & Reggie had 51 tackles for a loss in his college career . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowery4 Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 i don't expect him to bust, think he is a solid top 5 pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Good comparison here to Mario: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000325312/article/johnny-manziel-the-next-tony-romo-matching-prospects-pros Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atlbillsfan1975 Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Atlanta has the need. And want to take him. The Falcons are praying the teams ahead of them go for the QB. I doubt Clowney lasts till 6 but i also would not be suprised to see Dimitrof trade up. Caldwell is his old buddy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 And want to take him. The Falcons are praying the teams ahead of them go for the QB. I doubt Clowney lasts till 6 but i also would not be suprised to see Dimitrof trade up. Caldwell is his old buddy. Clowney is an absolute perfect fit for ATL. I can also see Jax wanting to trade down for picks which would help the Falcons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCinBuffalo Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Bruce Smith got all his sacks as a 3-4 DE. (Somebody has to auto-say that every time Derrick Thomas or Reggie White is mentioned. It's a rule. Especially on a Bills message board, but, really on every message board there is, especially on the Chiefs or Packers message board. There's no point saying it on the Eagles board. They won't have a clue. I've often considered starting a thread with that simple statement, on those boards, once a year on the same day, just because...) The other rule: Deacon Jones. You can't have a sacks comparison, using the 3 guys, and not the fourth: Deacon Jones, without some old timer raising hell. That is why I prefer the Mt. Sackmore Solution. You put all 4 on Mt. Sackmore, and you say: enough already. If this guy is good enough to even consider approaching putting a 5th guy on Mt. Sackmore, you take him at #1 and don't look back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdand12 Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 And want to take him. The Falcons are praying the teams ahead of them go for the QB. I doubt Clowney lasts till 6 but i also would not be suprised to see Dimitrof trade up. Caldwell is his old buddy. I did not know the buddy part . Thanks for that. Read another article about Atlanta and the D line. I can see them trading up . I can see Cleveland trading to secure "their" QB . So some potential draft pick rearranging already . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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