Peterson | I don't get this

crisper57

Open the Roof!
Joined
Jan 23, 2007
Posts
14,950
Reaction score
1,019
Location
Phoenix, AZ
So Ray Horton was on Chuck and Vince this morning. They asked him why he wasn't starting with the first team, since we spent a 1st round pick on him.

Horton flat out said, "He's not ready." He said the rookie wasn't picking up stuff as fast as Horton would like. He metioned that Peterson is having to learn how to play the position under the NFL rules, which are different from college. When they pressed him on whether Peterson would be better served learning against NFL starters, he called them arm-chair QB's.

I get all that.

I am confused however, that if Peterson is having such a tough time transitioning from college to the pro's, why are they burdening him by making him learn all the DB positions? Shouldn't he master his primary position first and then add on to that? It seems like they are retarding his progress by throwing too much at him.

(BTW, Horton had to cut the call short after that, so he promised to continue the interview tomorrow morning, for anyone who is interested)
 

Kel Varnsen

Moderator
Moderator
Supporting Member
Moderator Emeritus
Joined
Jun 28, 2003
Posts
33,369
Reaction score
11,994
Location
Phoenix
I heard that, too, and it did seem a little strange, especially the focus on the rules. seems like that would be a relatively minor consideration.
 

JeffGollin

ASFN Icon
Joined
May 14, 2002
Posts
20,472
Reaction score
3,056
Location
Holmdel, NJ
I'm guessing that Ray wants his DB's to understand how the entire secondary operates so that they can play their own positions better within the context of the entire defense.

I'm also guessing that, if we weren't blessed with an abundance of good corners, Horton would not be able to afford the luxury of bringing PP21 along more slowly and methodically.
 

RugbyMuffin

ASFN IDOL
Joined
Apr 30, 2003
Posts
30,485
Reaction score
4,877
Playing in the defensive backfield might be the hardest thing to do in atheletics, IMO.

Yeah, yeah hitting a baseball is pretty darn tough, but how in the heck to you play a contact sport, and have a aspect of the sport where you cannot touch the other guy at all.

In the past there have been some great, great cornerbacks but ever since the 5 yard no touch rule the position has changed dramatically. There are hall of fame cornerbacks, at least in my opinion, that would not have sniffed the hall if they played in todays NFL. Yet, I digress....

Point is, Peterson is playing an extremely hard position, and for a guy that uses his size to get the job done, he is going to have to change his entire game to be productive in the NFL.

That is gonna take some time, and we all must remember that there was no real offseason this year.

Not worried in the least. The guy is a great athelete, and will adapt.
 

RugbyMuffin

ASFN IDOL
Joined
Apr 30, 2003
Posts
30,485
Reaction score
4,877
I'm guessing that Ray wants his DB's to understand how the entire secondary operates so that they can play their own positions better within the context of the entire defense.

I'm also guessing that, if we weren't blessed with an abundance of good corners, Horton would not be able to afford the luxury of bringing PP21 along more slowly and methodically.

Agreed.

And PP7 is not exactly the brightest bulb if wonderlic scores say anything about your smarts.

It is going to take some time.
 
OP
OP
crisper57

crisper57

Open the Roof!
Joined
Jan 23, 2007
Posts
14,950
Reaction score
1,019
Location
Phoenix, AZ
Agreed.

And PP7 is not exactly the brightest bulb if wonderlic scores say anything about your smarts.

It is going to take some time.

So he's not smart enough to make the transition in a manner that satisfies his coordinator's timetable, but he is smart enough to learn 4 positions simultaneously?

Like I said, I don't get it. There is a disconnect there somewhere.
 

MoeIsBetter

SPA Co-Commishioner
Joined
Feb 19, 2008
Posts
1,250
Reaction score
26
Location
Surprise, AZ
You teach him all positions because you have too. It's already obvious that he will not be our opening day starter so you have to teach him how to play Nickle and Dime. Where the problem you see lies however is they HAVE to teach him the 1 and 2 corner spots just in case injuries occur and he is forced to start. You want to say you at least got him some looks before being tossed into the fire.
 

AsUpRoDiGy

Magnanimous
Joined
Apr 13, 2009
Posts
6,756
Reaction score
4,981
Location
Phx
Agreed.

And PP7 is not exactly the brightest bulb if wonderlic scores say anything about your smarts.

It is going to take some time.
PP scored a 9, a 9! Anything below 10 and you're considered illiterate. He will learn the playbook, it will just take him 10x longer than the average person.
 
OP
OP
crisper57

crisper57

Open the Roof!
Joined
Jan 23, 2007
Posts
14,950
Reaction score
1,019
Location
Phoenix, AZ
You teach him all positions because you have too. It's already obvious that he will not be our opening day starter so you have to teach him how to play Nickle and Dime. Where the problem you see lies however is they HAVE to teach him the 1 and 2 corner spots just in case injuries occur and he is forced to start. You want to say you at least got him some looks before being tossed into the fire.

Ray also said they invented a new position called "Penny". He said he could probably put Peterson on an island and blitz all day, but he wants the kid to learn all these other positions too. (I think that his his fallback position if there are injuries)
 
OP
OP
crisper57

crisper57

Open the Roof!
Joined
Jan 23, 2007
Posts
14,950
Reaction score
1,019
Location
Phoenix, AZ
PP scored a 9, a 9! Anything below 10 and you're considered illiterate. He will learn the playbook, it will just take him 10x longer than the average person.

My dog could score a 9, but when I try to teach her too many tricks at a time, she gets confused.

Again, I put this on the coaches. Clearly they won't be putting him in the starting role until he is ready, and they really haven't shown any urgency to get him there.

They should know he doesn't have the capacity for learning multiple positions simultaneously. Given that the lockout screwed up their prep time with the kid, they should be spoon-feeding him info, rather than sending him into information overload. I think they are slowing down his progress by demanding too much and he will break the starting lineup alot later in the season because of it.
 
Last edited:

Chris_Sanders

Not Always The Best Moderator
Super Moderator
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2002
Posts
40,163
Reaction score
31,685
Location
Scottsdale, Az
He is a rookie in a shortened off season. If I hear comments like this after week 6 I will be concerned.
 

Shane

Comin for you!
Super Moderator
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
May 13, 2002
Posts
69,057
Reaction score
38,974
Location
Las Vegas
I could care less if he is the opening day starter. Why would anyone else care?
 

Arizona's Finest

Your My Favorite Mistake
Joined
Jun 11, 2005
Posts
9,709
Reaction score
1
According to Urban he had a good last day of camp today.

Like Shane said, being opening day starter means nothing. Would be a good sign if he achieved it, but not getting that spot Day 1 certainly isn't a predicator of how good he will be. Wiz won't start rookies unless there a gaping hole at the position.

The good news is we have better CB depth then we thought.
 

PortlandCardFan

Registered User
Joined
Oct 1, 2002
Posts
10,206
Reaction score
4
Location
Portland, OR
According to Urban he had a good last day of camp today.

Like Shane said, being opening day starter means nothing. Would be a good sign if he achieved it, but not getting that spot Day 1 certainly isn't a predicator of how good he will be. Wiz won't start rookies unless there a gaping hole at the position.

The good news is we have better CB depth then we thought.
Can we put this on the coaches too?
 

TJ

Frank Kaminsky is my Hero.
Joined
Apr 2, 2005
Posts
34,978
Reaction score
21,080
Location
South Bay
Old Cardinals philosophy - "he is our first round pick; therefore, he is entitled to be the starter." (hell, this might apply to second, third and fourth rounders too).

New Cardinals philosophy - "he must earn his role on the team through hard work, dedication, and proven results."

I would say the latter is the better recipe for success. Players that don't play with a purpose or a chip on their shoulder are less likely to succeed than one who has to work their ass off to get it and develop good habits on the field. DRC went through the same process and ended up being one of the better DBs in the league.

This does not necessarily mean PP21 is a waste or will never be successful, just means he needs to work out the kinks. The lockout crippled many rookies and the learning curve is skewed. He gets the benefit of the doubt for now.

Any coach who tells you that he gets to start simply because the team invested a high draft pick and millions of dollars in him is an idiot. Horton has the right mindset
 
OP
OP
crisper57

crisper57

Open the Roof!
Joined
Jan 23, 2007
Posts
14,950
Reaction score
1,019
Location
Phoenix, AZ
I could not care less if he starts on day one.

My post was concerning how his development is being handled. His own Coordinator says he is slow to pick things up, but in the next breath says they are throwing multiple positions at him. I just think this approach would slow down a (apparently) not-smart person's development and keep him off the field much longer than necessary.
 
Last edited:

kerouac9

Klowned by Keim
Joined
Feb 14, 2003
Posts
38,391
Reaction score
29,775
Location
Gilbert, AZ
Old Cardinals philosophy - "he is our first round pick; therefore, he is entitled to be the starter." (hell, this might apply to second, third and fourth rounders too).

New Cardinals philosophy - "he must earn his role on the team through hard work, dedication, and proven results."

I would say the latter is the better recipe for success. Players that don't play with a purpose or a chip on their shoulder are less likely to succeed than one who has to work their ass off to get it and develop good habits on the field. DRC went through the same process and ended up being one of the better DBs in the league.

This does not necessarily mean PP21 is a waste or will never be successful, just means he needs to work out the kinks. The lockout crippled many rookies and the learning curve is skewed. He gets the benefit of the doubt for now.

Any coach who tells you that he gets to start simply because the team invested a high draft pick and millions of dollars in him is an idiot. Horton has the right mindset

I agree.

Sincerely,

Joey Porter's starting job.
Levi Brown's starting job.
Adrian Wilson's starting job.
Daryl Washington's starting job.
Greg Toler's starting job.
A.J. Jefferson's "proven play"
Rashad Johnson's roster spot
 

Reddog

ASFN Lifer
Joined
Jan 8, 2003
Posts
2,807
Reaction score
323
Location
Scottsdale
ADub had some good insight the other day. Said Peterson is where he expected him to be. Said they want him to learn all the positions so he has a better understanding of his role and how it fits with the other roles. He will be better if he has a full understanding of how they work in concert. I am paraphrasing. He didn't use too many big words.
 

AZCARDSFANATIC

Veteran
Joined
Feb 24, 2011
Posts
191
Reaction score
0
Ok take this into consideration of the top 10 picks how many are lighting it up in pre season? Darius and Miller both are doing well although Miller has had some issues in pratice when asked to cover, AJ Green might be doing the best if he had a QB, Jones has been decent, but it is reported his routes are poor, Gabbert and Locker are not going to unseat the Veteran's infront of them since neither has been spectacular, Aldon Smith looking very good with the 49ers, Tyron Smith has held his own in Dallas. the players with the more simplistic resposibility seem to do better early regardless of Wonderlic. PP7 will be fine.
 

AsUpRoDiGy

Magnanimous
Joined
Apr 13, 2009
Posts
6,756
Reaction score
4,981
Location
Phx
AJ Green might be doing the best if he had a QB
That's funny you say that, I'm watching the Jets/Bengals game and Green just caused an interception because he can't catch. And as I'm typing this, he just dropped another easy pass...Julio Jones>AJ Green IMO
 

Latest posts

Staff online

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
553,589
Posts
5,408,553
Members
6,319
Latest member
route66
Top