Elijah McGuire

[CrappDaddy]

You know, I used to think this too. I have come to realize that the No Fun League has far more of a corporate mentality than a sports mentality. They are enamored of metrics, and so if it cannot be measured they don't want to hear about it. Although Fenroy (and Eli) have great numbers, those numbers are discounted because of the schedule we play. If you aren't from a P5 conference, you don't get the attention that other players get (with certain obvious and rare exceptions).

Back in the day, Andrew Martin - a DE at USL when the veer was popular - was a hell of a player. He could hit like a mack truck, covered the field like a DB and had fantastic ball instincts. But he was short. There is NO DOUBT in my mind that Andy could have played in the NFL, but he received only token rughead tryouts. The NFL could not get past his metrics. If they had ever put pads on him, they might have discovered what he could do.

I certainly do not consider the NFL a statement or an endorsement of how great a player is. Fenroy, Gautier, et al are and will always be fantastic players in my book.

The NFL is hitting the G5 and FCS ranks more than you'd think. Fenroy didn't get a sniff bc he was good enough for the NFL. Eli will play on Sundays whether he go's this year or next.

[Just1More]

You know, I used to think this too. I have come to realize that the No Fun League has far more of a corporate mentality than a sports mentality. They are enamored of metrics, and so if it cannot be measured they don't want to hear about it. Although Fenroy (and Eli) have great numbers, those numbers are discounted because of the schedule we play. If you aren't from a P5 conference, you don't get the attention that other players get (with certain obvious and rare exceptions).

Back in the day, Andrew Martin - a DE at USL when the veer was popular - was a hell of a player. He could hit like a mack truck, covered the field like a DB and had fantastic ball instincts. But he was short. There is NO DOUBT in my mind that Andy could have played in the NFL, but he received only token rughead tryouts. The NFL could not get past his metrics. If they had ever put pads on him, they might have discovered what he could do.

I certainly do not consider the NFL a statement or an endorsement of how great a player is. Fenroy, Gautier, et al are and will always be fantastic players in my book.

There is no way on God's green Earth that the NFL will refuse to play anyone that doesn't give them an advantage. There is WAY too much money at stake. The issue with Fenroy was discussed when he didn't get much of a glance by the NFL. As for Eli, he is a different athlete than Fenroy.

Eli is not being robbed by having been at UL. The metrics (and much more) the NFL uses for trying to assess a RB are extremely valid. Eli was robbed by the offense we operated last year. It failed to showcase his talent... even against mediocre opponents. If we would have been successful last year in an offense showcasing Eli's talents, he would be at his highest draft potential today. We added doubt to his equation by banging him up and putting the "susceptible to injury" doubt in the NFL's mind.

The good news is that Hud is standing in a field with very few people defending his decisions last year (with the exception of a few dense fans). Eli has a very good chance that he'll be utilized much more intelligently next year... and he may create new highlight footage. I think he can. And what we need out of him is also what the NFL wants out of him. I do not think he can lower his stock by staying another year. He can only help himself IMO.

[Clutch0364]

The NFL is hitting the G5 and FCS ranks more than you'd think. Fenroy didn't get a sniff bc he was good enough for the NFL. Eli will play on Sundays whether he go's this year or next.

Exactly. You can't look at Fenroy the same way as Eli. Fenroy was a good college football player but I never looked at him and thought he'd be even a serviceable NFL guy. Eli has it.

[CajunEXPRESS]

--Not me!!!

He misused Nixon as a quarterback. He didn't give Nixon the plays that best suited his talent. Of course he should never started but that's a different misuse.

He misused Haack as well. Didn't give him a winning game plan.

[Just1More]

The NFL is hitting the G5 and FCS ranks more than you'd think. Fenroy didn't get a sniff bc he was good enough for the NFL. Eli will play on Sundays whether he go's this year or next.

Exactly. But I think like the article states, he will not go as high in the draft this year than he could have... had his talents (that the NFL values) had been showcased. He isn't an every down line banging back. That's what we did with him last year. He could go to workouts with teams this year and get serious consideration... but no one is going to waste a middle to high draft on him. They'll all decide he's a middle to late round "smart buy". If he has a big year next year, I think he'll go in the higher middle in the following draft. It's more to do with money than likelihood he sees a career on Sunday. Once he makes an NFL unit, he's going to stick.

[Just1More]

He misused Nixon as a quarterback. He didn't give Nixon the plays that best suited his talent. Of course he should never started but that's a different misuse.

He misused Haack as well. Didn't give him a winning game plan.

I know we've beaten this to death... but we've still got a few fans that don't get it... and they are absolutely dead ___ wrong. Our staff had plenty of excuses to blame for last year. But they added some of the worst coaching on top of those issues that I've seen in decades. I hope complete failure on their part last year serves as a catalyst to massive improvement this year.

[CajunEXPRESS]

Zo would have struggled with the offensive line we had this year.

Yes, and the Prophet didn't do well his first two seasons between the tackles. He's a back that is a nightmare in space not between the tackles.

Between the tackles Zo would constantly get 4-5 yards. The Prophet 3-4 when both had a far better line and receivers.

[ManAboutTown]

Were you ever a college coach? Boomer was which gives him more credibility than most on this board. And to compare Boomer in anyway to Bill Cosby is something you should apologize for.

There are so many ways I could take this. Ah, the possibilities..

Some of you guys are so uptight. Do you read this board at all? I bust boomers balls on the reg, bro. It's all in fun. I've stated many times that I respect and appreciate all boomer (and his lovely wife) has done for SLI/USL/UL.

(In the words of Stephen A) HOW-EV-AH... His stance on Jalen Nixon is about as absurd as my ridiculous "comparison" to Cosby, and his continued ignoring of reality leaves him open to the ridicule. And I think he knows that.

But to take it a step further.. Suggestioning Boomer is more credible because he coached leather helmet football in 1890 than the next conscientious observer is akin to saying the doctors that put heroine in Bayer aspirin 100 years ago should really be taken seriously.

Take a deep breathe pal.

[CRAWFISH61]

First, Boomer keeps using stupid statistics as the basis for his claims. And they are dumber than dumb when you know the facts behind the statistics (in the Haack versus Nixon debate). Second, do you agree that "our best performances were that of Nixon"? And lastly, if Nixon was even close to the "best performer at QB"... and our existing coaching staff doesn't even use him at QB next year... why is "Boomer the coach" not in agreement with the entire UL coaching staff? Who has more credibility... Boomer or our current coaching staff?

The secret to being someone that wants respect for their credentials is to either say something intelligent or keep your mouth shut. Boomer refuses. MAT wasn't making a direct comparison to Bill Cosby. He was using gross exaggeration. It was funny. And there's never anything wrong with funny.

It was disrespectful not funny. It was tactless not funny. It is pretty funny that people who have never coached think they know more than the professionals. I thought both Haack and Nixon both had to prove that they were college quarterbacks. I don't think either one did it.

[AstroCajun]

The NFL is hitting the G5 and FCS ranks more than you'd think. Fenroy didn't get a sniff bc he was good enough for the NFL. Eli will play on Sundays whether he go's this year or next.

It didn't help that Fenroy didn't have a bowl to showcase his talents. He was good, but he needed a spotlight.

Do you really believe, for example, that Alfred Morris was a better back than Fenroy?