Tee Higgins was tired so he chose not to participate

[Don Otreply]

8 minutes ago, MAJBobby said:

This is the first year I didn’t watch any of the combine. And I am a big Draft Guy. I just think the NFL has put what used to be a draft evaluation event and made it an event that is just a money grab. So I refused to watch. 

Good on you ? I feel the same way. 

[whatdrought]

30 minutes ago, inaugural balls said:

 

I think unprepared might be more accurate.

it could be, but he also may have woken up that day and not felt right. This is a level of athletic performance that I think few of us have ever had to prepare for. If he wakes up and his body isn’t gonna be in its best possible position to succeed, it makes sense to sit. 

7 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

He did interview... this is getting kind of extreme. Deandre Hopkins trashed a hotel room at the combine and he turned out pretty good. If teams are concerned he chose to do drills on pro day instead then they will dig deeper, but it’s not going to determine how good of a player he becomes. Some guys want to focus on football and not the combine drills. Totally different prep. 

Bad argument. Hopkins is a douche. ?

[stinky finger]

1 minute ago, whatdrought said:

it could be, but he also may have woken up that day and not felt right. This is a level of athletic performance that I think few of us have ever had to prepare for. If he wakes up and his body isn’t gonna be in its best possible position to succeed, it makes sense to sit. 

Bad argument. Hopkins is a douche. ?

 

As someone mentioned earlier - what if he feels this way on game day?

 

Gotta fight through. It speaks to character, imo.

[NewEra]

36 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

He’s been down on him specifically as a fit for Josh Allen for awhile now. He didn’t think he’s a fit because he’s mostly a downfield guy and josh can’t hit those throws or at least hasn’t shown he can. Marino did a whole Shenault vs Higgins thing about a month ago. This is a great podcast.

Makes sense in a way. Allens strength isn’t throwing the deep ball but is it in part because he’s never had a real deep threat with height before?  He kind of did with foster 2 years ago and did ok.  
 

While he could be wasted because allen can’t throw the deep ball.....he could be exactly what allen needs in order to figure out how to throw the deep ball.  

[whatdrought]

1 minute ago, inaugural balls said:

 

As someone mentioned earlier - what if he feels this way on game day?

 

Gotta fight through. It speaks to character, imo.

I think that’s a false equivalency. The only person beholden to his combine performance is himself. He can make that decision for himself and err on the side of caution. In a game situation he’s got 52 other guys counting on him and it’s a very different thing. 
 

I’m not sure why Chase Young gets off without question when he straight up said that the combine wasn’t worth his time, but Higgins gets railed because his body didn’t feel right that day. 
 

 

Don’t get me wrong, Higgins is pretty low on my list of desired players and I don’t care for him much, but I don’t think it’s honest or fair to take a DNP at the combine and use it for character assassination. 

[YoloinOhio]

7 minutes ago, inaugural balls said:

 

As someone mentioned earlier - what if he feels this way on game day?

 

Gotta fight through. It speaks to character, imo.

How is game day comparable? Has he ever done this on game day? No. He got pulled from the fiesta bowl with concussion symptoms and fought to come back in the 2nd half. They took his helmet from him in the 1st half. He doesn’t need to fight through anything to do combine drills. It’s not even remotely the same thing imo. Combine drills show character? I’m confused. 

Edited March 2, 2020 by YoloinOhio

[H2o]

Truth is he saw ole boy take a ball in the face and said, "Hell nah, that ain't gone be me."

[YoloinOhio]

This is what was going on this weekend btw - more guys will sit out next year imo

 

 

 

[Lurker]

1 minute ago, YoloinOhio said:

 Combine drills show character? I’m confused. 

 

This is my last post on this, but I think the combine does show character.   

 

Sure, it's about test scores.   But it's also about how players go about the testing.  How do they interact with one another?     Do they want to excel?    Do they want to beat their competition?   Do they take a chance and put themselves on the line?    Or do they say I'm not good enough today, check back in a few weeks when I'm in a familiar and comfortable setting and can bring my binky with me?

 

Players can choose to compete or they can choose to sit.    Sure, there are plenty of examples of guys who DNP'd the combine and had careers in the NFL.     But I think the Bills need competitors, not transactional players...

[CEN-CAL17]

I like Tee Higgins. Some might say he’s not even the best WR on Clemsons roster. He did get dinged up from time to time...

 

My assumption is he will measure 6’4” 210, run a high 4.4, maybe 4.5. I doubt his 3 cone will be sub 7. Vert probably around 35-36.... Career at Clemson was roughly 130 receptions 2400 yds. Not bad for just over 2 years.

 

I like Mims and Jefferson better. Mims ran 4.38, fastest 3 cone in the combine with a ridiculous 6.66. 38” vert. Career stats nearly 200 receptions and 3000 yds 28 TDs.

 

Its gonna be a tough decision. Depending on how Higgins does, I think Juedy, Lamb, Ruggs, Mims, Jefferson, Shenault and Higgins have a great shot at going round 1. That’s 7 WRs. I think over under sits at 6.

 

 

[Philo]

1 hour ago, YoloinOhio said:

He’s been down on him specifically as a fit for Josh Allen for awhile now. He didn’t think he’s a fit because he’s mostly a downfield guy and josh can’t hit those throws or at least hasn’t shown he can. Marino did a whole Shenault vs Higgins thing about a month ago. This is a great podcast.

 

I love Joe's podcast. I listen every day on my commute to work. 

[YoloinOhio]

6 minutes ago, Philo said:

 

I love Joe's podcast. I listen every day on my commute to work. 

I like his balance toward the Bills. He is a fan, but critical where he feels warranted and mostly very objective. He has a lot of knowledge. I don’t always agree with his opinions but he always backs things up with how he comes to his opinions. Never agenda driven.

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, YoloinOhio said:

How is game day comparable? Has he ever done this on game day? No. He got pulled from the fiesta bowl with concussion symptoms and fought to come back in the 2nd half. They took his helmet from him in the 1st half. He doesn’t need to fight through anything to do combine drills. It’s not even remotely the same thing imo. Combine drills show character? I’m confused. 

 

People who hate Higgins anyway throwing sticks. That is all this is. 

[Philo]

10 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

I like his balance toward the Bills. He is a fan, but critical where he feels warranted and mostly very objective. He has a lot of knowledge. I don’t always agree with his opinions but he always backs things up with how he comes to his opinions. Never agenda driven.

 

Completely agree. I never sense any kind of agenda and I have learned a lot of good stuff listening to him. Very knowledgeable and objective. 

 

Edit: As to Higgins, I don't feel strongly about him either way. I agree he's at or near the top of the "second" group of WRs and is great at some things and not so great at others. Hard for me to say though if those things he is great at are what the Bills are looking for specifically. So, I respect Joe's opinion and how he arrived to it, but if Higgins does end up a Bill, then I trust Beane's decision making process. 

Edited March 2, 2020 by Philo

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, Lurker said:

 

I'm talking about MY requirements for being a Bill.    I want players who compete.    Full stop.     

 

It doesn't mean others won't have different opinions of Higgins or Chaisson or Delpit.   Chase Young has nothing to prove, unlike Higgens.   

 

I doubt it'll change Tee's draft slot much, particularly with the teams that get player evaluations wrong year after year (the Jets, Dolphins, Redskins, etc. say hello).   But I also can't see it helping his "profile" with teams that place a high regard on character and competitiveness, like the Bills.

 

I'm not a Shenault fan, but I give him a lot of credit for running, knowing it could potentially hurt him.   That attitude is probably why his Colorado teammates supposedly loved him so much.    It's the type of football temperament that I (and likely McBeane as well) want to build a team around, even if I don't think Viska's worth a late first pick either...   

 

Higgins has showed plenty of character and competitiveness where it matters. On the football field. I don't think the Bills are going to draft him based on them not going to see Clemson at all this season so you will get your wish. But Tee Higgins has a chance to be a really good pro. 

[GoBills808]

1 hour ago, YoloinOhio said:

This is what was going on this weekend btw - more guys will sit out next year imo

 

 

 

Spinning if you ask me. Football is nothing if not long periods of standing around doing nothing interrupted by short periods of intense activity. These guys 100% know how to not get injured/stay hydrated during an exercise like the combine.

 

If they want a piece of the ad revenue, by all means...just come out and say that. 

[WhoTom]

18 hours ago, White Linen said:

He said "he had a long season and only had 4-5 weeks to prepare for this compared to the other guys who had two months or a month."

 

If you take cold medicine, your cold will be gone in seven days.

If you don't take cold medicine, your cold will last an entire week!

 

My beard trimmer says that only one hour of charge time will give me sixty minutes of operation.

 

[Mickey]

2 hours ago, BobChalmers said:

 

How about, "he doesn't care about his new job enough to show up for the big interview day?"

 

Maybe if his mommy offered him another toy he'd show?

 

 

 

But he did show up, like , he was literally there. But again, no problem as long as folks are consistent and conclude that anyone who skipped the totally not mandatory drills is undraftable. 

 

I think an accurate hypothetical would be: Guy shows up for big interview, the terms of which were agreed upon ahead of time and includes that he can demo his skill set then and there or later or both, his choice. He then chooses and the interviewer has an online seizure over it.  

[stinky finger]

2 hours ago, whatdrought said:

I think that’s a false equivalency. The only person beholden to his combine performance is himself. He can make that decision for himself and err on the side of caution. In a game situation he’s got 52 other guys counting on him and it’s a very different thing. 
 

I’m not sure why Chase Young gets off without question when he straight up said that the combine wasn’t worth his time, but Higgins gets railed because his body didn’t feel right that day. 
 

 

Don’t get me wrong, Higgins is pretty low on my list of desired players and I don’t care for him much, but I don’t think it’s honest or fair to take a DNP at the combine and use it for character assassination. 

 

I hear you.

 

To be clear, I don't necessarily have an issue with him more so the perception of those evaluators keeping tabs and weighing all info gathered. Potential fodder to lower his stock.

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

People who hate Higgins anyway throwing sticks. That is all this is. 

 

Not hating - just observing from high, high above.

[Mickey]

3 hours ago, Lurker said:

 

Nearly a dozen LSU kids took part in the combine, as did most of his Clemson teammates who were invited.    So how come Tee is so special?    

 

Another way to look at it is that the combine is analogous to a bowl game.    Players should show up and want to compete against the very best.    Not skip the "game" because they think it'll cost them money.    That's why you have pro days, so you can add data points (in addition to the combine) for teams to evaluate.    If a kid's that worried that it'll cost him $$$ because he only had 4-5 weeks to prepare, he's likely going to be the kind of mercenary, "transactional" NFL player that McDermott rails against.

 

Seems to me you have the equivalent "I like this guy so I don't see any warts" bias you accuse me of having against him.    I think character and competitiveness matter in player selection.    This is just another check mark as to why I don't want him as a Bill at #22...

 

 

 

Totally fair. I'll go make some popcorn while you draft your screeds against all the other guys who skipped the totally not mandatory drills at the combine. Because, you know, its not like you are biased against Higgins at all. Totally not. I am sure you have the inside dope on the advice he is getting from the experts he has hired to represent him who clearly haven't mastered the art of marketing a college athlete to a professional league like you have. Isn't it amazing how people who make a spectacularly successful living at doing this don't know how to do it half as well as you do? 

 

Oh, and btw, Higgins is way down on my list of WR's but because I am not impressed with his play on the field. He reminds me of Andre Holmes, not enough meat on his bones. I could give a fig what he says in a presser. I've done about 15 draft sims so far this off season and didn't take him once. Not with guys like Claypool, Gandy-golden, Pittman and Collin Johnson likely to be there in the third or even later.