Buffalove Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 Read the bb.com article today on Lionel Gates, and after watching this kid for 3 years in college I get the feeling he will make this team and contribute. We're not talking about Derrick Holmes here. This guy ran for about 125 at Miami last year. Eric Shelton (Panthers 2nd round pick who will backup Foster and may even start midseason) would not have seen the field were it not for Gates' injury. This guy can run inside and outside, pass protects well, catches the ball, and can deliver a blow. Based upon what I saw in the scrimmage, I thought he was our most impressive ball carrier besides McGahee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevewin Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 One thing that simply amazes me is how they say one of the reasons he didn't get drafted until so late was a slow 40 time he ran at the combine - which was because of a deep thigh bruise - and he said he had run in the 4.4's in the past. With all the resources and scrutiny given by teams to the draft - it amazes me how so many teams could just write off a player because of a slow time at the combine and not do the extra work to realize he did have an injury which affected his time, and had run faster previously (surely his college program had timed him at various points). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 backup RB is yet another area of the team i'm optimistic about. despite losing TH, it appears that both gates and williams are capable fill-ins for willis. at this point, i see lee and burns as the odd men out, unless burns manages (again) to stick around on the basis of ST play and his versatility as a FB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloDynamite Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 One thing that simply amazes me is how they say one of the reasons he didn't get drafted until so late was a slow 40 time he ran at the combine - which was because of a deep thigh bruise - and he said he had run in the 4.4's in the past. With all the resources and scrutiny given by teams to the draft - it amazes me how so many teams could just write off a player because of a slow time at the combine and not do the extra work to realize he did have an injury which affected his time, and had run faster previously (surely his college program had timed him at various points). 403636[/snapback] Ya, that seems kind of odd to me. Hopefully, it is because we have such a good scouting staff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan III Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 One thing that simply amazes me is how they say one of the reasons he didn't get drafted until so late was a slow 40 time he ran at the combine - which was because of a deep thigh bruise - and he said he had run in the 4.4's in the past. With all the resources and scrutiny given by teams to the draft - it amazes me how so many teams could just write off a player because of a slow time at the combine and not do the extra work to realize he did have an injury which affected his time, and had run faster previously (surely his college program had timed him at various points). 403636[/snapback] I wondered about that too.. at his pro-day he still ran in the 4.6-4.7 range.. http://www.nfl.com/draft/analysis/individual_workouts#lou Gates just might be one of those guys that plays faster with pads on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarkinBanks Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 I saw every Louisville game last year and Gates is definitely a player. Louisville was just so loaded at RB that he did not get the chance to stand out. Shelton is a beast and Michael Bush, who is still at Louisville, is great also. Plus, the team threw the ball all over the field. Watch out for the Cards this year. Their Sophmore QB, Brian Brohm, was #1 in the nation coming out of High School and played great against Miami last year when LeFors the starter got a concussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philburger1 Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 I saw every Louisville game last year and Gates is definitely a player. Louisville was just so loaded at RB that he did not get the chance to stand out. Shelton is a beast and Michael Bush, who is still at Louisville, is great also. Plus, the team threw the ball all over the field. Watch out for the Cards this year. Their Sophmore QB, Brian Brohm, was #1 in the nation coming out of High School and played great against Miami last year when LeFors the starter got a concussion. 403999[/snapback] How do you think LeFors will do in the pros? I follow the Panthers as well as the Bills, and they have said he looks great so far in camp. I only got to see him play in two college games last year, but he look really good in both of them. The Cards can score points on anyone... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoachChuckDickerson Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 Read the bb.com article today on Lionel Gates, and after watching this kid for 3 years in college I get the feeling he will make this team and contribute. We're not talking about Derrick Holmes here. This guy ran for about 125 at Miami last year. Eric Shelton (Panthers 2nd round pick who will backup Foster and may even start midseason) would not have seen the field were it not for Gates' injury. This guy can run inside and outside, pass protects well, catches the ball, and can deliver a blow. Based upon what I saw in the scrimmage, I thought he was our most impressive ball carrier besides McGahee. 403628[/snapback] Any other thoughts Lionel?.....opps, I mean Buffalove. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarkinBanks Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 How do you think LeFors will do in the pros? I follow the Panthers as well as the Bills, and they have said he looks great so far in camp. I only got to see him play in two college games last year, but he look really good in both of them. The Cards can score points on anyone... 404004[/snapback] I am a huge Lefors fan so probably not too objective. I think he will be a great pro. A. Super accurate. His passing efficiency, completion rate and lack of interceptions either led the nation or were close to it. He may have even had some of the best numbers ever. B. This guy is fast. When the offense was not clicking, they would just run a couple bootlegs for 10-15 yards and put the defense on their heels to get things cruising again. C. Intangibles/awesome leader. You probably know about his brother and parents all being deaf so he was a leader from a very young age. All around great guy, great attitude. Only negative was that he did not have a gun but he can still throw a beautiful deep ball. I would decribe him as a bigger, better version of Flutie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 One thing that simply amazes me is how they say one of the reasons he didn't get drafted until so late was a slow 40 time he ran at the combine - which was because of a deep thigh bruise - and he said he had run in the 4.4's in the past. With all the resources and scrutiny given by teams to the draft - it amazes me how so many teams could just write off a player because of a slow time at the combine and not do the extra work to realize he did have an injury which affected his time, and had run faster previously (surely his college program had timed him at various points). 403636[/snapback] But in their defense, you've got to realize that there are probably 100-150 RBs eligible for the draft every year. There's a lot of competition to be one of the 15-20 that actually get drafted and once you get past the top 5-10 prospects, there's usually a group of up to around 50 that carry very similar grades on the draft board and one mistake can be very, very costly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 Now......I told you guys that I had a feeling about this kid back when he was drafted....... In all seriousness....he has been a very pleasant suprise so far....I was watching him play in his bowl game last year.....the kid is a player....and he does it ALL just like Willis. I think he is def going to end up the #2...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadBuffaloDisease Posted August 11, 2005 Share Posted August 11, 2005 Lefors being 6' will hurt him. He has history working against him as most successful QB's have been at least over 6'1" tall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubes Posted August 11, 2005 Share Posted August 11, 2005 at this point, i see lee and burns as the odd men out, unless burns manages (again) to stick around on the basis of ST play and his versatility as a FB. 403638[/snapback] Burns does have the ST thing going for him, but he did miss a blitz pickup pretty badly in the scrimmage. I think it was the only play that JP got "sacked" on. That can't help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalove Posted August 11, 2005 Author Share Posted August 11, 2005 Burns does have the ST thing going for him, but he did miss a blitz pickup pretty badly in the scrimmage. I think it was the only play that JP got "sacked" on. That can't help. 404399[/snapback] On Lefors, he went 7-7 for 124 yds. and 2 TDs in the Panthers scrimmage last weekend, so it safe to say he's off to a pretty good start. Gates is diesel and I'm confident his play will speak for itself this weekend in Indy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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