Big Blue Huddle

Interesting thing came up in my draft prep calls, for years teams have pulled players off the board for A) injury concerns or B) character concerns.

A third category/reason has been added and most teams I talked to had guys off their board for: "Doesn't love football." This was the first year it was so prevalent. I asked around why that is and the thought was because of NIL money, guys have already been paid and some feel they don't need to grind to get paid. So the guys who LOVE FOOTBALL are probably appreciated more. Just an interesting tidbit to pass along

https://x.com/jayglazer/status/1915156099365560632?s=46&t=1vcQIN8GqF5J2oLdxEVEJQ

Kiffin talked about this on the pivot podcast. Players don't have to deal with adversity anymore, if they get benched, disciplined, or don't play well they just enter the portal. It's crazy that the portal is open twice a year, and kids can just walk to another team if they aren't catered to in every way. It is creating a bunch of soft dudes, doubt you'll see as many udfas break through as a result.

This is a new but interesting variable that definitely begs watching.

There will definitely be a few athletes who will fall into this category but, in the grand scheme, the opportunity to play in the NFL, to test yourself and become your very best, to work hard and become a champion, or you love the game, plain and simple, are all reasons why NFL football will continue to be the ultimate destination for these gifted athletes who are chasing down a dream of theirs.

In the end, there are good reasons why some NCAA athletes will cash in on their NIL earnings but not take it to the next level in their sport. Valid medical concerns, pursuing a passion or career outside of sports, continuing their education at the graduate level in pursuit of a Masters degree enroute to a Doctorate; all valid and good choices. There will be others who may not have a life plan and will mismanage themselves. But having the gift of sports talent to be given a scholarship and a full ride, plus NIL, and not take full advantage of those privileges would be disgraceful and a waste. Number one, earn the degree! Number two, do great things with the sport you've been given a full ride scholarship to represent your college/university. Number three, go forth, discover the world and do great things in it while enjoying your life journey as much and as best as you can. It doesn't have to be professional sport but what makes you the happiest in pursuing your dream.

That's a bit of a candy-coated perspective but why be critical of someone's decision when it is theirs to make. Nobody put a gun to their head and said, "Take this NIL money now or else!" If professional sports is not what they see in their future, then so be it.

Peace!

Quote from: Jclayton92 on April 23, 2025, 06:04:32 PMKiffin talked about this on the pivot podcast. Players don't have to deal with adversity anymore, if they get benched, disciplined, or don't play well they just enter the portal. It's crazy that the portal is open twice a year, and kids can just walk to another team if they aren't catered to in every way. It is creating a bunch of soft dudes, doubt you'll see as many udfas break through as a result.

You know, this is the other side of the coin and what it really comes down to is the integrity of university sports programs who cater to and reinforce this type of behavior in college athletes.

If it is allowed to continue, the whole concept of sportsmanship, teamwork and everything that is supposed to be good about competitive sport goes to the trash heap.

We often remark that attendance and overall interest with Pro Football has been declining in recent years. This will continue and permeate into the colleges as well. It may already be starting. Granted, the behaviors of jumping into the portal with arrogant, entitled players has already sent the great coaches of the past into retirement who want no part of this disaster in the making.

Rest assured, this unchecked behavior will ensure the destruction from within at the college level and, for the NFL, in looking for the best talent with aspirations of fitting the NFL "culture," the pickings will continue to get smaller with each passing season.

College and Professional Sports needs a hero to re-establish the concepts of sportsmanship, teamwork, integrity over self-absorption, NIL and transfer portals.

Peace!

Quote from: kartanoman on April 23, 2025, 06:30:16 PMYou know, this is the other side of the coin and what it really comes down to is the integrity of university sports programs who cater to and reinforce this type of behavior in college athletes.

If it is allowed to continue, the whole concept of sportsmanship, teamwork and everything that is supposed to be good about competitive sport goes to the trash heap.

We often remark that attendance and overall interest with Pro Football has been declining in recent years. This will continue and permeate into the colleges as well. It may already be starting. Granted, the behaviors of jumping into the portal with arrogant, entitled players has already sent the great coaches of the past into retirement who want no part of this disaster in the making.

Rest assured, this unchecked behavior will ensure the destruction from within at the college level and, for the NFL, in looking for the best talent with aspirations of fitting the NFL "culture," the pickings will continue to get smaller with each passing season.

College and Professional Sports needs a hero to re-establish the concepts of sportsmanship, teamwork, integrity over self-absorption, NIL and transfer portals.

Peace!

Kiffin explained the difference in basically one sentence. He said he chose college over the NFL because 10 minutes after a game you can go into a NFL locker room and you can't tell if they won or loss, whereas if you are in a college locker room you can tell immediately because dudes are crying if they lost especially in the SEC where 1 game used to knock you out of a national championship opportunity.

My take on this is the best players will get paid handsomely and if it drives them to make different career choices instead of going into uncertainty and dealing with the grind and physical demands, it may lead to lesser talent at the NFL level.

Quote from: Ed Vette on April 23, 2025, 08:44:56 PMMy take on this is the best players will get paid handsomely and if it drives them to make different career choices instead of going into uncertainty and dealing with the grind and physical demands, it may lead to lesser talent at the NFL level.

In my opinion the problem right now Ed is that even the mediocre players are making ridiculous money, some before they even take a snap, which gives them entitlement that needs to or should be earned in college through sweat equity or on field play.

Quote from: Jclayton92 on April 23, 2025, 10:34:39 PMIn my opinion the problem right now Ed is that even the mediocre players are making ridiculous money, some before they even take a snap, which gives them entitlement that needs to or should be earned in college through sweat equity or on field play.

Universities can make 35% of their income from Athletic Programs. Is there a source that breaks down what players are being paid?

Theres been hundreds of dudes who got the NFL paycheck with 7 figures on it and basically stopped playing, no effort or care. Guys like Deandre Baker. It happens with lots of mid round receivers, they get paid on the second contract and they are just done for. NIL isnt the whole reason, but i get the argument. When you are 19 and are making millions from NIL. You think that money will last 50 years.A couple million will last you 3-4 years at that age. Then you have basically have nothing again. You have to love any proffesion you do. Even if its a plumber, or car salesman. Also, some people are hard workers, some just get by.

Sanders seemingly had a very poor meeting(s) with the Giants according to some mocksters. True or not, there seems no indication he will be taken early..maybe to the Steelers at 21..but not Big Blue at all.

Schoen's son posting Dart media is by no means conclusive, but very suspicious

Quote from: spiderblue43 on April 23, 2025, 11:35:12 PMSanders seemingly had a very poor meeting(s) with the Giants according to some mocksters. True or not, there seems no indication he will be taken early..maybe to the Steelers at 21..but not Big Blue at all.

Schoen's son posting Dart media is by no means conclusive, but very suspicious

Think you meant to post this in the Dart thread.

This is nothing new, although it wouldn't surprise me if it were new to THE GIANTS. lol 

But there are two categories of players who are only in the NFL simply because they CAN be.

The first is the "life planner" type - talented and able enough to take advantage of the fact that they can make a good living, stash away some dough and when it ends (for whatever reason) then do what they REALLY want to do without having to worry about finances for the rest of their lives. It's not "all about" football for these people, but they treat it like an investment in the future.

The second is the "slug" type - take similar advantage for no good reason other than that can. These are the people being described in the original post. Nothing "wrong" about it. Plenty of people waste their God-given talents by failing to focus or take seriously each and every gift which has been bestowed upon them.

I feel bad for the guy who really loves playing the game and isn't good enough, strong enough, big enough or fast enough to get paid for doing it. Plenty of them around.

Bob

PFT had an interesting take on this issue:


Football fans are often surprised to learn that some of their favorite football players don't love the sport as much as they do. They love what football can give them — mainly, the money.

There's nothing wrong with that. Few possess the physical skills to play football at the highest level. Those God-given abilities don't always come with an innate passion for the game.

Whether and to what extent a guy loves football has been a factor in scouting incoming players for years. As noted recently by Jay Glazer, the absence of love for the game has risen to the level of prompting some teams to remove such players from the board.

"For years teams have pulled players off the board for A) injury concerns or B) character concerns," Glazer tweeted on Wednesday. "A third category/reason has been added and most teams I talked to had guys off their board for: 'Doesn't love football.' This was the first year it was so prevalent. I asked around why that is and the thought was because of NIL money, guys have already been paid and some feel they don't need to grind to get paid. So the guys who LOVE FOOTBALL are probably appreciated more."

It's basically the difference between Rocky in Rocky II and Rocky in Rocky III. He went from poor and desperate in II to rich and satisfied in III.

Still, NIL money isn't NFL money. It's definitely not the kind of money that the best guys in the NFL can make. NIL money isn't generational; it's temporary.

While whether or not a guy "loves football" could be a relevant tiebreaker if all other factors are relatively equal, it seems a little extreme to remove a guy from the board for it. Yes, there's always a chance that a guy won't have a natural affinity for the grind. It nevertheless seems foolish to avoid a guy who is sufficiently talented to thrive without embracing working out and studying film and showing up for all voluntary workouts with literal bells on.

It almost seems as if some scouts and coaches resent the fact that players aren't as dependent on pro football as they once were. That they aren't as willing to take whatever xxxx is directed to them because they have little or no financial security.

It makes sense to embrace players who truly love football to the point that they'd play for free, especially since they might be inclined to demand less money when it's time to negotiate a new deal. It doesn't make sense to pull a guy from the board over it. For a sufficiently talented player, it makes more sense to come up with a way to persuade them to start loving football by understanding what thriving in the NFL can mean for them.

It would be different if guys were coming out of college with $100 million in the bank. Most players aren't going to have enough squirreled away to never have to work. And all of them have limited years to make NFL money.

It seems like an overreaction to shun players who don't ooze love of football. Plenty of people have jobs they don't love. They still do their jobs, and they do them well. Even if they don't roll out of bed every morning with unbridled enthusiasm to go do the thing that pays the bills.

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/are-teams-avoiding-players-who-dont-love-football

Quote from: kartanoman on April 23, 2025, 06:30:16 PMYou know, this is the other side of the coin and what it really comes down to is the integrity of university sports programs who cater to and reinforce this type of behavior in college athletes.

If it is allowed to continue, the whole concept of sportsmanship, teamwork and everything that is supposed to be good about competitive sport goes to the trash heap.

We often remark that attendance and overall interest with Pro Football has been declining in recent years. This will continue and permeate into the colleges as well. It may already be starting. Granted, the behaviors of jumping into the portal with arrogant, entitled players has already sent the great coaches of the past into retirement who want no part of this disaster in the making.

Rest assured, this unchecked behavior will ensure the destruction from within at the college level and, for the NFL, in looking for the best talent with aspirations of fitting the NFL "culture," the pickings will continue to get smaller with each passing season.

College and Professional Sports needs a hero to re-establish the concepts of sportsmanship, teamwork, integrity over self-absorption, NIL and transfer portals.

Peace!

College sports especially football and basketball, have ALWAYS been a business.  The difference was the coaches had all the power.  Now, it has shifted.  It is not going to back to how it was under the Bear Bryant days.  The old coaches are retiring because they have no idea how to handle this new power structure.  Same reason why the "great" college coaches were never "great" in the pros aside from Jimmy Johnson.  And, even then I would take the greatness of Jimmy Johnson with a grain of salt as he was never successful outside of his few years with D*ll*s.  The same team that won a SB with Barry Switzer as the coach.

and the other side of the argument from a former NYG scout and head of Bears scouting

https://x.com/ggabefootball/status/1915419420387668471