You hold 2 Freak injuries against Pace? That makes no sense. How is White Paces fault?
I don't blame Pace on injuries but I do blame him for drafting a WR who was raw coming out of the draft.
White needed extra help and development to even be average in the NFL. We needed a day 1 player who was great now. That was a terrible pick.
White would have been a good pick for the Bears if they had been coming off a 12-4 season with a 3-4 year playoff run, with a DEF ranked in the top 5 and an OL ranked somewhere in the top 10. He would have been a late first round pick who would have been given time to develop and learn behind already established players. But he was a top 10 pick who was joining a team that needed instant production at WR and also had multiple holes all over the roster. Drafting White was a direct cause of trading Marshall.
You can also make the same case for Floyd. He would have been a great pick for a team coming off a 12-4 season, with a DEF ranked top 5 and no needs elsewhere. He would have been a late first round pick who would have seen protected playing time behind a vet. But he was a top 10 pick joining a team that needed instant elite pass rushing and also had multiple holes all over the roster. Drafting Floyd was a direct cause of Emery/s failure to find a pass rusher. While Young and Houston are good, they aren't elite and apparently McPhee ate his own knee.
Both Floyd and White were products of the pre-draft hype around 'great athletes' with measurables that were off the charts but were used a specific way in a specific system in college. IE the draft-nics pushed them into the top 10 based on hype. Both are going to need time to learn or change their body type in order to have success in the NFL.
edit: Both also needed to be used differently when they joined the Bears. White's strengths in college were taking bubble screens and running through LBs the same size or smaller than he was. That wasn't going to work in the NFL. But his other strength was straight down the field sprinting ie Davy Henderson of the Saints. But instead the Bears asked him to do something he wasn't prepared for--a full route tree. I didn't see any progression in the 4 games he played. I saw Hoyer forcing passes to White who was running shorter routes than Jeffery.
Floyd wasn't ready body-wise or skill-wise to be an every down edge rusher. That wasn't how he was used in college. If his strength right now is his speed, then you move him around the field and have him rush from different angles/delays, while he learns hand placement, separating from blockers, spin moves etc. And for goodness sakes, why is he covering Witten in the open field? Young, Houston, McPhee couldn't cover Witten in the open field yet some of us are going to get mad at Floyd because he can't do it? I'm willing to bet Von Miller can't cover Witten in the open field. Why would he when he can just kill Romo/Prescott in the backfield. If you want to cover Witten use Amos, its not like Amos is busy these days generating turnovers (ok cheap shot I know..but I'm not impressed with Amos.)
Rex Grossman comes to mind, 7 starts in 3 years. Went on to have a very meh career, but had one pretty good season thanks to the rest of the team. Bob Sanders was hurt a lot, but gives you an idea of what can happen when someone CAN get healthy, even for a few years. While on the outside he might look like a bust, I doubt anyone in Indy, or their fans think of him like that. Dez Bryant comes to mind also, only played 3 games his rookie year, got up to 9 games his 2nd year, and has been fine since. If White can get his body healthy then there is no reason to think he cannot go on to have a good career.
+1 And this present injury could have happened to anyone. He got his lower leg/ankle broke by another player. That's different than one of these soft-tissue injuries. At least that's kind of how I look at it.
He played 3.5 games out of 32. That's bust level. You ain't going to make it far in the NFL with that. How many players come back and become great after missing that many games their rookie career?
Sure he has the potential just like Floyd but that doesn't mean it can happen.
It isn't dreaming when its the reality. Have you seen how many targets he's have and how many he caught? Have you seen the kid cost us games because he stood there not knowing what to do?
What I truly want to know is are we going to start White over a better player being Meredith?
When it comes to Fox I truly don't know.
Meredith isn't really better... they are the same Level but Meredith is more polished yet.
I don't care how many games he has missed so far. It doesn't matter because we suck with and without him. I care about the next 1-4 Years. Thats when we are ready and the roster has to be build to make the POs. If he is there making his catches and scoring his TDs, he isn't a bust.
In other words: He is not a bust yet and we don't know what he is. So far, it's too early to judge.
Yeah, I have to keep reminding that this rebuild is only in year 2 really. And with the Cutler rumors it seems we now are going to find the next and probably most important piece (Draft or otherwise - can't say) in a QB. I don't franchise QB anymore because of all the picks we wasted on Cutler and got little to show for it. Time will tell but I don't really see the team competing until 2018.
You hold 2 Freak injuries against Pace? That makes no sense. How is White Paces fault?
I don't blame Pace on injuries but I do blame him for drafting a WR who was raw coming out of the draft.
White needed extra help and development to even be average in the NFL. We needed a day 1 player who was great now. That was a terrible pick.
I agree with MOTM from one point of view, a pick that high has to at least contribute, injuries notwithstanding. You at the very minimum have to be an average player by your second year. But it is what it is.
I don't blame Pace on injuries but I do blame him for drafting a WR who was raw coming out of the draft.
White needed extra help and development to even be average in the NFL. We needed a day 1 player who was great now. That was a terrible pick.
I agree with MOTM from one point of view, a pick that high has to at least contribute, injuries notwithstanding. You at the very minimum have to be an average player by your second year. But it is what it is.
That's all I ask for when it comes to a top 10 pick. Average play shouldn't be hard seeing that you got picked that high in the draft. We shouldn't have to wait 3-4 years just to see if a player is average or not.
I don't see White becoming a threat. Dude hardly was when he played while being the most targeted WR yet the one with the least amount of yards and most drop balls.
I agree with MOTM from one point of view, a pick that high has to at least contribute, injuries notwithstanding. You at the very minimum have to be an average player by your second year. But it is what it is.
That's all I ask for when it comes to a top 10 pick. Average play shouldn't be hard seeing that you got picked that high in the draft. We shouldn't have to wait 3-4 years just to see if a player is average or not.
I don't see White becoming a threat. Dude hardly was when he played while being the most targeted WR yet the one with the least amount of yards and most drop balls.
One game is just the start for Cameron but if he can reach his ceiling he can be a decent compliment to AJ.
