Andre Wadsworth on XTRA

[RedViper]

If bust means the end result is massively different that the expectation, and I don't know what the hell else it means, then Wadsworth was a bust of monumental proportions. He had one servicable year in 98. He was billed as a guy who would seal up his position for a decade. The next Bruce Smith, etc.

Wadsworth was a bust on the scale of Ryan Leaf, Tony Manderich, Akili Smith. He's right up there. No matter how decent a guy he is now, the fact remains he managed to exact enormous amounts of money from the Cardinals for very little in return. He represents a horrifying waste of a draft pick. He was massively disappointing. He was a bust. If there was a way to re-write Cardinals history I'd do it. But we can't and the Wadsworth experience is a significant part of our hard luck story.

 

[Pariah]

If bust means the end result is massively different that the expectation, and I don't know what the hell else it means,

When I think "bust," I think of guys that weren't the football player that the organization thought they would be. That's not the case with Wadsworth. Wadsworth didn't bust because he didn't have the talent to play in the NFL, turns out he just got hurt. A "bust" holds very negative connotations for the player and the organization. It's for that reason I don't think Wadsworth fits the bill.

If we had a crystal ball and knew that that would happen, we certainly wouldn't take him again, but I don't think he's a "bust" in the classic sense. "Through no fault of his own he had a injuries that ended his career before it really even got started," and "he was a bust" just don't equate to me. There's too much emotion that's connected to the word "bust" that doesn't apply.

 

[RedStorm]

The guys was injured. I don't consider that being a bust.That's just bad fortune.Guys like Ryan Leaf and Akili Smith are busts.

I liked Wadsworth when we picked him. Too bad that he had the bad fortune that he did. He was no bust.

 

[RedViper]

When I think "bust," I think of guys that weren't the football player that the organization thought they would be. That's not the case with Wadsworth. Wadsworth didn't bust because he didn't have the talent to play in the NFL, turns out he just got hurt. A "bust" holds very negative connotations for the player and the organization. It's for that reason I don't think Wadsworth fits the bill.

If we had a crystal ball and knew that that would happen, we certainly wouldn't take him again, but I don't think he's a "bust" in the classic sense. "Through no fault of his own he had a injuries that ended his career before it really even got started," and "he was a bust" just don't equate to me. There's too much emotion that's connected to the word "bust" that doesn't apply.

I'm not totally opposed to substituting the word "bust" with something more polite like "massive disappointment." I kind of think however, injuries don't really excuse you from being a bust. One of the factors people talk about with all their draft day expertise is being able to draft guys that are durable or not injury prone, etc. It seems like you are supposed to somehow figure this stuff out beforehand. So I can't see why Wadsworth gets a free pass from being a guy who wasn't durable at all. Doesn't mean he's a bad person but I think he's probably still a bust.

The other thing is, whether a guy is a bust for any reason, doesn't necessarily say anything bad about them. People that don't pan out in the NFL for whatever reason, aren't necessarily bad people. On the other hand, success doesn't necessarily mean a guy isn't a worthless POS like Simeon Rice. Although some people are going to put your Rick Mirer's of this world down below Jeffrey Dahmer, I'm not one of them. He merely wasn't the football player some pundits thought he'd be.

 

[Big Deal]

Was Bo Jackson a bust?

 

[BigRedFan]

When he did play, though, he did not dominate the way you would expect someone picked at his position in the draft would. A bust, but not even close to the level of Ryan Leaf.

 

[RedViper]

When he did play, though, he did not dominate the way you would expect someone picked at his position in the draft would. A bust, but not even close to the level of Ryan Leaf.

Second that. I remember him in his first year as decent at best. I remember when he signed the night before that Dallas game, his agent was quoted saying something like "he such a great player, he'll be ready to go tomorrow" (not!) Seemed like he was given a free pass for that first year, although I do remember a good sack in the Dallas playoff game. Everyone thought he'll come on strong after his rookie season, but then he was hurt and never came back. Everything about it was a pretty huge letdown.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

Was Bo Jackson a bust?

Bo Jackson was the best athlete i've seen. To play both sports at that high level is unheard of these days. To answer your questiion, i guess he was a bust for Tampa Bay .

 

[football karma]

Apparently, he played hurt most of that first season -- he said the last ten weeks of the season, he couldnt practice. That apparently is what did the damage to the first knee. Played sparingly the next season, but so overcompensated that he hurt the other knee as well.

Not to go off on a Bidwill bash tangent , but one wonders what would have happened if he had been signed on time (or reasonably close) and got most of a preseason under his belt. Would he have been hurt?

Who knows, it could just as easily been a guy doomed by genetically poor cartilage in his knees whose years of football finally caught up to him.

 

[ARZCardinals]

If AW wasn't a BUST,

Is Calvin Pace a HUGE STAR? He's played a lot more than AW. Pace was picked at the bottom of round 1, whereas AW was the 3rd pick in the draft...same spot as Larry Fitzgerald.

Now compare AW and Fitz...yea, now you can start using the word BUST.

Bust- meaning he didn't live anywhere up to the hopes a team had for him.

If Rolle doesn't play again he's a BUST, or is it an injury thing that makes him a disappointment?

IT'S A BUST!

Get over the negative conotation that goes with it. Even AW would say he was a BUST. College all star to an NFL nothing.

don't forget he chose to miss all of training camps all of the OTA's and signed one day before the 1st game of the season.

 

[RedViper]

If AW wasn't a BUST,

Is Calvin Pace a HUGE STAR? He's played a lot more than AW. Pace was picked at the bottom of round 1, whereas AW was the 3rd pick in the draft...same spot as Larry Fitzgerald.

Now compare AW and Fitz...yea, now you can start using the word BUST.

Bust- meaning he didn't live anywhere up to the hopes a team had for him.

If Rolle doesn't play again he's a BUST, or is it an injury thing that makes him a disappointment?

IT'S A BUST!

Get over the negative conotation that goes with it. Even AW would say he was a BUST. College all star to an NFL nothing.

don't forget he chose to miss all of training camps all of the OTA's and signed one day before the 1st game of the season.

Second that. Bust may be a hard and cold term to apply to anyone but come on, anyone that falls into that category is at the very least, a guy who was paid a huge amount of money for modest to nothing in value in return to the team and fan base that paid out all that money. If you have a lot of distance between the expectations and the final resting place of your career, you are a bust.

It is important to note, Tony Mandarich, the Grand daddy of all busts, managed to start for a little while in GB and then resurrected his career in Indy for three years as a starter (not a great one). In contrast to AW, he put in a lot more playing time. Nevertheless, he's still the poster child of all NFL busts because the space between his expectation an his career's final resting place is gargantuan. You can sail an ocean liner around in there.

 

[Pariah]

For the record, I still disagree. "Bust" has more connotation that simply didn't live up to billing, IMO.