Why Jake Locker walked away from football.

[PIZ]

Could be why Rosen may drop.

 

http://amp.si.com/nfl/2018/04/18/jake-locker-nfl-2011-draft-tennessee-titans-why-he-quit?__twitter_impression=true

[ALF]

He had way too many injuries , never had a decent season. That is why a solid OL is so critical , especially for a rookie QB who cannot scramble for his life.

 

http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/6424/jake-locker

[ChevyVanMiller]

Can't wait for the "Why Football Walked Away From Jake Locker," rebuttal piece.

 

[bills522]

17 minutes ago, ChevyVanMiller said:

Can't wait for the "Why Football Walked Away From Jake Locker," rebuttal piece.

 

Read the thread title, came here to make the same comment, kudos

[BuffaloBillyG]

1 hour ago, PIZ said:

Could be why Rosen may drop.

 

http://amp.si.com/nfl/2018/04/18/jake-locker-nfl-2011-draft-tennessee-titans-why-he-quit?__twitter_impression=true

This is a really nice story. Tons of respect for Locker and his decision. 

 

It's a stretch to say imo that it has anything to do with Rosen and where he's drafted. 2 different people with much different outlooks. By that logic Roquan Smith may retire early because Chris Borland retired early.

 

If Rosen slides it's simply because teams view him as a guy that's darn good but may not have a ton of room to get better. Or they like another guy more. Or politics (NYJ especially). 

[Max Fischer]

Other than the usual lazy analysis that having other life interests equates to not caring enough about football, I didn’t see anything in that article that suggests Josh Rosen is anything like Jake Locker. 

 

From all I’ve seen Josh Rosen is a deeply curious about many things, including how to be great in football. 

 

It’s a fallacy to believe that because someone has multiple interests they are incapable of sticking to and becoming an expert in any of them. 

[H2o]

Never understood the Jake Locker hype when all of the ESPN bobble-heads were riding his jock. He was mediocre at Washington, but still parlayed that into a top 10 selection. 

[Doc]

Because he sucked?

[stuvian]

I stopped reading after Jesus made his appearance

[PaattMaann]

8 minutes ago, Doc said:

Because he sucked?

 

[MarkAF43]

I thought it was a good piece. I think it shows that for many fans who want to see their players and their team only worry about football always, these players have other things, and it's not always a top priority. I made the assumption before reading it that it was because he sucked or couldn't stay healthy.  It turned out to be a well written article explaining how he pursued what he wanted and found peace and happiness within it.

 

[PIZ]

58 minutes ago, No Place To Hyde said:

This is a really nice story. Tons of respect for Locker and his decision. 

 

It's a stretch to say imo that it has anything to do with Rosen and where he's drafted. 2 different people with much different outlooks. By that logic Roquan Smith may retire early because Chris Borland retired early.

 

If Rosen slides it's simply because teams view him as a guy that's darn good but may not have a ton of room to get better. Or they like another guy more. Or politics (NYJ especially). 

 

Only meant that there has been talk about Rosen possibly not being all in with football, and had lots of other options that may interest him.

[SouthNYfan]

27 minutes ago, stuvian said:

I stopped reading after Jesus made his appearance

 

Good thing Rosen is Jewish.

Jesus can't interfere with football if he doesn't believe he exists.

[JMF2006]

4 minutes ago, SouthNYfan said:

 

Good thing Rosen is Jewish.

Jesus can't interfere with football if he doesn't believe he exists.

 

Jewish people billieve that Jesus Christ existed.....they just don't billieve he is the Messiah:(

[SouthNYfan]

Just now, JMF2006 said:

 

Jewish people billieve that Jesus Christ existed.....they just don't billieve he is the Messiah:(

 

Correct.

Hence why I said "exists"

As in he's still not around to make life changing spiritual appearances in their eyes.

[BuffaloBillyG]

7 minutes ago, PIZ said:

 

Only meant that there has been talk about Rosen possibly not being all in with football, and had lots of other options that may interest him.

No, I get that. But it's a very poor take from fans. We as fans haven't sat in a room and talked to him. Haven't taken the time to interview everyone the kids been in contact with since basically the womb. We know what media wants us to know. 

 

It's also a narrative that could be used for a LOT of these kids coming out. Or is Josh Rosen that special that he's the only one with interests and goals outside football?

[Rochesterfan]

1 minute ago, No Place To Hyde said:

No, I get that. But it's a very poor take from fans. We as fans haven't sat in a room and talked to him. Haven't taken the time to interview everyone the kids been in contact with since basically the womb. We know what media wants us to know. 

 

It's also a narrative that could be used for a LOT of these kids coming out. Or is Josh Rosen that special that he's the only one with interests and goals outside football?

 

 

Agreed - I mean look at the drop Garrett had last year when it came out he was interested in dinosaurs and may want to go back to school and study paleontology.

 

Many of these kids have goals and interests outside of football - the key is talking and understanding those goals and how to obtain them while still giving the all for the team.

 

I think McDermott is really good at that because he actually seems to care about the players and wants to connect.

 

[Virgil]

He was the consensus #1 before he decided to go back to school for another year. It was all downhill from here

[BuffaloRebound]

5 minutes ago, Virgil said:

He was the consensus #1 before he decided to go back to school for another year. It was all downhill from here

 

This should’ve been the biggest red flag of them all.  Locker seems like a genuine good dude, but all these scouts and GM’s get paid to figure out how important football is to them.  Peyton Manning going back to school was a different era and he supposedly was avoiding the Jets.  Locker basically pissed away $30m going back to Washington.  As Hasselbeck said, he’s not motivated by what motivates most other people.  I think that’s where there may be some similarities with Rosen.  

[PaattMaann]

44 minutes ago, MarkAF43 said:

I thought it was a good piece. I think it shows that for many fans who want to see their players and their team only worry about football always, these players have other things, and it's not always a top priority. I made the assumption before reading it that it was because he sucked or couldn't stay healthy.  It turned out to be a well written article explaining how he pursued what he wanted and found peace and happiness within it.

 

 

didn't read, but read your post....great that he has found peace and happiness but lets not pretend he was actually a good QB who walked away from the game to pursue other interests. He sucked at QB, glad hes moved on personally. Don't see how it is a correlation to Josh Rosen (again, without reading)

[Epstein's Mother]

31 minutes ago, JMF2006 said:

 

Jewish people billieve that Jesus Christ existed.....they just don't billieve he is the Messiah:(

 

Christians believe that the Jews killed Jesus.  They also believe Jake Locker wasn't a very good QB.

[Dr. K]

Frank Ryan had a Ph.D. in math.

[bobobonators]

1 hour ago, Doc said:

Because he sucked?

Bingo. 

[MarkAF43]

27 minutes ago, PaattMaann said:

 

didn't read, but read your post....great that he has found peace and happiness but lets not pretend he was actually a good QB who walked away from the game to pursue other interests. He sucked at QB, glad hes moved on personally. Don't see how it is a correlation to Josh Rosen (again, without reading)

 

 

yeah I wouldn't even get into the Rosen thing, but he may not have been a very good QB, but after he walked away his agent fielded calls from 10 teams asking about him. So he may not have been good but he still had teams interested in him.

 

[Buffalo_Stampede]

Can't wait for the Losman story. I actually wonder what he's up to. 

[starrymessenger]

51 minutes ago, JMF2006 said:

 

Jewish people billieve that Jesus Christ existed.....they just don't billieve he is the Messiah:(

 

Good friend of mine was once invited on a date by an incredibly hot girl we knew. He couldn't believe his luck! Thing is she took him to a Jews for Jesus convention. When he asked her why she did that she explained that he was the only Jew she knew. 

So I guess some Jews believe that Jesus is the Messiah (tho my friend isn't one of them).

[PIZ]

1 hour ago, No Place To Hyde said:

No, I get that. But it's a very poor take from fans. We as fans haven't sat in a room and talked to him. Haven't taken the time to interview everyone the kids been in contact with since basically the womb. We know what media wants us to know. 

 

It's also a narrative that could be used for a LOT of these kids coming out. Or is Josh Rosen that special that he's the only one with interests and goals outside football?

 

I didn't necessarily mean fans.  It seems that a lot of times we hear stories about the real NFL guys over analyzing things.  Don't get me wrong.  I hope this happens, and I hope he lands right into the Bills draft spot (wherever that may be).

 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

4 hours ago, PIZ said:

Could be why Rosen may drop.

 

http://amp.si.com/nfl/2018/04/18/jake-locker-nfl-2011-draft-tennessee-titans-why-he-quit?__twitter_impression=true

 

So you think Rosen may drop because Hasselbeck led Locker to Jesus, and Locker prayed a lot and decided to prioritize family and Jesus higher than football and quit?

Right.  (Locker was also in a crap situation (3 OCs in 4 years,injuries) and seems likely that may have contributed to his decision.) 

 

If you want to infer from that story, the most direct parallel is that Josh Allen will be the next Jake Locker.  Small-town country boy like Jake, grew up 20 miles from the nearest freeway.  Attended a small college.  No sign yet that he hankers after mansions or the high life.  He loves football now, will it last when he's being beat up physically on the field on Sunday and beat up in the press psychologically on Monday, when he's paid off farm mortgages and bought his dad the latest and greatest tractor and remodeled the hands' quarters?  Or will a quiet life with his family, like Lockers, start looking better and better to him?

 

Look, folks, these kids get crazy money.  A >28 pick gets >$10M contract.  Most folks in this country (outside maybe LA, SF, NYC, Chicago) could retire decently on 1/5 of that, lifetime total.  Look it up.  Median income in many communities $40k.  4% burn rate on $2M, $80k.  I thought I was paid pretty well for what I did.  My family has a good life.  At my highest paid, I only earned a fraction of rookie minimum.

 

Back in the day when players had off-season jobs because they needed them to survive, everyone who played football just loved football.  Period.  Things are different now. 

 

All those kids who come from nothing, from rural farm communities or communities full of drugs and gang violence - why exactly do you think they're motivated to play?  Do they love football?  Or do they see football as their path to a better life for them and their fam?  Maybe both?  Will their passion for football continue after they and their families are set for life? 

 

Some will.  Some won't. You have guys like Dareus or Mario Williams who have the talent to be HOF players and don't sustain their play.  You have a guy like Larry Fitzgerald who does.  You have rich guys who wish they had more talent, who never needed to play, who are still out there playing as much as they can (Ryan Fitzpatrick).

 

The bottom line is: none of us who don't know these guys, have a clue what really motivates them to play football and how that motivation might change when they have money in the bank, as much public scrutiny as a rock star, and are getting beaten up physically on the field on Sunday and psychologically in the press on Monday.

 

I'm just SMH because Rosen seems to be the only one whose motivation and passion for the game gets called into question, even from an article like this where he's far from the most parallel case.

 

Edited April 20, 2018 by Hapless Bills Fan

[row_33]

Sports Illustrated is still around?

 

haven't noticed since.... 1992....

 

[PIZ]

Just now, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

So you think Rosen may drop because Hasselbeck led Locker to Jesus, and Locker prayed a lot and decided to prioritize family and Jesus higher than football and quit?

Right.  (Locker was also in a crap situation (3 OCs in 4 years,injuries) and seems likely that may have contributed to his decision.) 

 

If you want to infer from that story, the most direct parallel is that Josh Allen will be the next Jake Locker.  Small-town country boy like Jake, grew up 20 miles from the nearest freeway.  Attended a small college.  No sign yet that he hankers after mansions or the high life.  He loves football now, will it last when he's being beat up physically on the field on Sunday and beat up in the press psychologically on Monday, when he's paid off farm mortgages and bought his dad the latest and greatest tractor and remodeled the hands' quarters?  Or will a quiet life with his family, like Lockers, start looking better and better to him?

 

Look, folks, these kids get crazy money.  A >28 pick gets >$10M contract.  Most folks in this country (outside maybe LA, SF, NYC, Chicago) could retire decently on 1/5 of that, lifetime total.  Look it up.  Median income in many communities $40k.  4% burn rate on $2M, $80k.  I thought I was paid pretty well for what I did.  My family has a good life.  At my highest paid, I only earned a fraction of rookie minimum.

 

Back in the day when players had off-season jobs because they needed them to survive, everyone who played football just loved football.  Period.  Things are different now. 

 

All those kids who come from nothing, from rural farm communities or communities full of drugs and gang violence - why exactly do you think they're motivated to play?  Do they love football?  Or do they see football as their path to a better life for them and their fam?  Maybe both?  Will their passion for football continue after they and their families are set for life? 

 

Some will.  Some won't You have guys like Dareus or Mario Williams who have the talent to be HOF players and don't sustain their play.  You have a guy like Larry Fitzgerald who does.  You have rich guys who wish they had more talent, who never needed to play, who are still out there playing as much as they can (Ryan Fitzpatrick).

 

The bottom line is: none of us who don't know these guys, have a clue what really motivates them to play football and how that motivation might change when they have money in the bank, as much public scrutiny as a rock star, and are getting beaten up physically on the field on Sunday and psychologically in the press on Monday.

 

I'm just SMH because Rosen seems to be the only one whose motivation and passion for the game gets called into question, even from an article like this where he's far from the most parallel case.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No, not saying that.  Saying that he may drop by because the NFL guys seem to overanalyze things, focusing on traits or thoughts that don't have anything to do with how the player actually plays.  Rosen has been in the NFL media as dropping, and one of the reasons, besides injury, is personality, perception that he may not be all in, etc.  I hope like hell the other teams buy into that.  I hope he drops right to the Bills.  

[Hapless Bills Fan]

2 hours ago, Max Fischer said:

Other than the usual lazy analysis that having other life interests equates to not caring enough about football, I didn’t see anything in that article that suggests Josh Rosen is anything like Jake Locker. 

 

From all I’ve seen Josh Rosen is a deeply curious about many things, including how to be great in football. 

 

It’s a fallacy to believe that because someone has multiple interests they are incapable of sticking to and becoming an expert in any of them. 

 

Yep, This.

[TakeYouToTasker]

I always thought Jay Clocker was the better prospect of the two.

[TheFunPolice]

every time I read about how a player or coach spends all day every day studying film and preparing I wonder how much of that is actually necessary...

 

12 hours is not necessarily 4 hours better than 8. The law of diminishing returns has to come in somewhere

[Hapless Bills Fan]

2 minutes ago, PIZ said:

 

No, not saying that.  Saying that he may drop by because the NFL guys seem to overanalyze things, focusing on traits or thoughts that don't have anything to do with how the player actually plays.  Rosen has been in the NFL media as dropping, and one of the reasons, besides injury, is personality, perception that he may not be all in, etc.  I hope like hell the other teams buy into that.  I hope he drops right to the Bills.  

 

Well, first of all, didn't say: I really enjoyed that article, so thank you for linking it!

 

I agree with you completely that Rosen may drop because many NFL draft rooms do seem to overanalyze things and to over-weight traits that have no bearing on football.  In fact I think you're 100% right.  Though I think if he drops, injury concerns will be part of it, and sheer FEAR that he might turn into the next Kaepernick and start the next social justice controversy, is most of it.

 

But I don't think the reasons Locker quit have any particular bearing on Rosen.  It doesn't seem impossible to me that someone on the team would talk Rosen into attending an evangelical Christian conference and Rosen would go, out of curiousity.  But the rest of the pathway doesn't seem like a very good match.  Rosen reportedly went to mass for 4 years without becoming a Catholic.

 

 

[TheFunPolice]

How many of us, if we got a $12 million check TODAY would continue doing exactly what we are doing right now in terms of work/hours?

 

Once going to work becomes purely a choice things change. I know I would be home a lot more and not spending 10-12 hrs a day working.

Edited April 20, 2018 by TheFunPolice

[PIZ]

2 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

But I don't think the reasons Locker quit have any particular bearing on Rosen.  It doesn't seem impossible to me that someone on the team would talk Rosen into attending an evangelical Christian conference and Rosen would go, out of curiousity.  But the rest of the pathway doesn't seem like a very good match.  Rosen reportedly went to mass for 4 years without becoming a Catholic.

 

Yep.  I agree with you.  Totally not related to Rosen and I can see why my OP would make it appear that I meant that.  Just thought it related to Rosen as far as dropping for reasons not to do with playing ability, but really, just wanted to post something I thought you guys would find interesting and worthwhile.

 

1 minute ago, TheFunPolice said:

How many of us, if we got a $12 million check TODAY would continue doing exactly what we are doing right now in terms of work/hours?

 

Once going to work becomes purely a choice things change. I know I would be home a lot more and not spending 10-12 hrs a day working.

 

Heck yeah.  If I was handed a $12 mil check, I would be doing things differently.  A lot differently.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

4 minutes ago, TheFunPolice said:

every time I read about how a player or coach spends all day every day studying film and preparing I wonder how much of that is actually necessary...

12 hours is not necessarily 4 hours better than 8. The law of diminishing returns has to come in somewhere

 

It's a good question.  I expect there are several factors:

1) How quickly a particular individual processes the info.  Maybe Jake Locker takes 12 hrs to process the same info Matt Hasselbeck wraps up in 6.

2) The driven personality.  most of the guys who succeed long term at top levels ARE driven.  when you're driven, if you're not the best, you look for what more you could do to be the best.  if you are the best, you look for what else you can do to stay the best.

3) Time management.  I think a lot of people who spend 12 hrs a day studying film and preparing, are not putting that in every day.  Maybe it's 0 hrs 3 days a week and 12 hrs 3 days a week, like the kids at my daughter's school who don't work on their essays until 2 days before they're due.  Or maybe, as BadlandsMeanie once suggested, if they put in 2-3 hrs a day in the off season,  they'd build a base from which 4 hrs would be enough.

 

That said - I think you're right that there's a law of Diminishing Returns and that in reality, building balance into the schedule is necessary for optimal study

7 minutes ago, PIZ said:

Yep.  I agree with you.  Totally not related to Rosen and I can see why my OP would make it appear that I meant that.  Just thought it related to Rosen as far as dropping for reasons not to do with playing ability, but really, just wanted to post something I thought you guys would find interesting and worthwhile.

 

And I did!  Thanks!

 

7 minutes ago, PIZ said:

Heck yeah.  If I was handed a $12 mil check, I would be doing things differently.  A lot differently.

 

You could even cut that number for me.  For most of us.

[Alaska Darin]

The most important part of that article was about how dysfunctional the organization was.  Locker was doomed the minute he was drafted.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

9 minutes ago, TheFunPolice said:

How many of us, if we got a $12 million check TODAY would continue doing exactly what we are doing right now in terms of work/hours?

Once going to work becomes purely a choice things change. I know I would be home a lot more and not spending 10-12 hrs a day working.

 

It would depend, right?  If you really had a passion for your work - wanted to be the best - wanted to become the GOAT - you might dedicate even more time.

If you felt your work could change the world, help millions of people - maybe same.

 

OTOH, if your motivation for working was to make $$ and change your families life, and you either didn't GAF about fame or were uncomfortable with it, then maybe not.

If you felt frustrated because while your work could change the world, it was being fatally hampered by all sorts of crap beyond your control, ditto.

[RollBillsRoll]

2 hours ago, H2o said:

Never understood the Jake Locker hype when all of the ESPN bobble-heads were riding his jock. He was mediocre at Washington, but still parlayed that into a top 10 selection. 

He graded almost 2 full points higher than Darnold, yet there are people who are willing to pay a super high price for the chance to draft him...how come? I am genuinely curious.

 

 

Overall Grade 7.97

OVERVIEW

Locker decided to return for his senior season and his erratic performance has certainly hurt his draft stock. An extremely gifted athlete, Locker's production does not match his talent. He possesses a cannon for an arm, but he is not an efficient passer. At this point, his greatest asset is his athleticism and it is unclear if he will ever be a starting quarterback at the next level. Also, Locker has a history of injuries due to his aggressive style of play. Overall, Locker has all the physical tools and a team will likely take a chance on him in the first round despite his inconsistent production.

 

Overall Grade 6.19 

Overview

Josh Rosen's footwork and mechanics make him as pretty a quarterback as you will find in this year's draft. The biggest concern with Rosen is that his on-field success requires many elements to stay on schedule. He lacks plus arm strength, so identifying coverage (pre- and post-snap) and throwing with anticipation takes on added importance. Rosen has the pocket poise, accuracy and intelligence to become a good NFL starter, but he needs to be willing to take what defenses give him more frequently. Rosen will need to quell concerns surrounding leadership and coachability early on in order to establish a strong first impression and get his career off on the right foot.