DR too short for NFL Per Mel Kiper....
There was a point in the early 2000s, around Marshall Mathers/Eminem Show that I think he was certainly in the conversation of best rapper alive. Regardless, the idea that a white rapper would even be in the conversation was absurd to most people.
That being said, I wouldn't take it so literally, it's referencing a mid-2000s Chris Rock joke:
“You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese, the Swiss hold the America's Cup, France is accusing the U.S. of arrogance, Germany doesn't want to go to war, and the three most powerful men in America are named 'Bush', 'Dick', and 'Colon.' Need I say more?”
April 20th, 2011 at 10:40 PM ^
... and no black golfer will ever amount to anything.
Yeah, because he's half Asian and only a quarter black =P
Eminem's certainly talented, but the best?
The cleanest program in the Nation must be tSIO. They have sweater vest...Surely he wouldn't ever jeopardize his integrity, yadayadayada...
All the aforementioned stuff actually happened. By the way, Denard is probably one of the most gifted all around athletes in College Football. Back off Kiper!!!
I know I am going to get killed but, if you take off the maize-colored glasses and look at it he is just doing his job and saying what is true from an NFL scouts stand-point.
-He is too short. Why is Drew Brees always the go-to QB? He is the only short one. The average NFL QB is 6'3. And NFL QB's 6'3 or taller average a 5% better completion % than QBs less than 6'1.
-He also has major accuracy issues. Yes he did go over 60% last year but many mgobloggers have pointed this out and it is true. Most of his passes were set up by the run threat which he won't have in the NFL.
-He also cannot make ALL of the throws the NFL demands.
Take it for fwiw but I am going to enjoy his great college years at Michigan and then have already accepted the fact I am not going to see him Quarterbacking on Sundays. He will probably end up being a Josh Cribbs type player.
One of the main things we're saying is that he just finished his sophomore year. I agree that if he were to be a senior right now, he would not be a good NFL QB. But that's one of the things he has said about the new offense. He's excited that it gives him the opportunity to get better at pro-style offenses and perhaps become an NFL quarterback.
Either way, the kid is way too good of an athlete not to at least make it to the NFL. If not a QB, then at least as a tremendous option for the Wildcat or something
1. For the most part the Wildcat offense is dead and was a gimmick in Miami because the team doesn't have a QB.
2. You can't coach height, and you could seriously question his ability to take the abuse of the NFL.
Shhhhhh... you can't say 'Miami doesn't have a QB' too loudly around here.
One of the main things we're saying is that he just finished his sophomore year....Either way, the kid is way too good of an athlete not to at least make it to the NFL.
Right, and Mel Kiper did not say Robinson could not make it in the NFL because of his height. In fact, Kiper also specifically said he's just a sophomore right now and has a lot of college in front of him so it's early to be projecting him. All he said in criticism was he didn't have the height to be a prototypical NFL quarterback, which is true, and here we have half the fanbase going "WUT A DUMASS" and basically rehashing the "Pat White was a two-star" debate with rappers and golfers included.
Everyone needs to read the article before bashing Mel here. He says that height is something that will hurt his ability to play QB at the next level. Later on in the article he also talks about how he is one of the best players in the country because of how good of an arm he actually has.
"The jury is still out on that as to where he'll end up," Kiper said. "I just want to enjoy Denard Robinson as a college quarterback right now."
NFL QBs under 6'2" have a very difficult time being successful and the NFL does not like to tailor offensive schemes around specific QBs.
Didn't Mel literally one year want to have Mike Williams (USC) baby? I remember how that turned out.
Mel had undiagnosed fertility issues. Their intentions were pure.
I think we all remember his evaluation of Tom Brady...
This is the same guy that said Jamarcus Russel would be a star for years to come as he came out of college
I bet Mel would change his tune if Denard hired Gary Wichard after his senior year.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/10/12/espn-looking-into-mel-k…
You can't overfocus on his misses. People get things wrong. But if you just look at the facts we have now and take away the emotion he is right.
Drew Brees-great
Mike Vick-great last year
Seneca Wallace-great back up
Doug Flutie-good
Jeff Blake-decent
AKili Smith-sucked
Y.A Little-great
Eddie Lebaron-good
Erik Zier- sucked
This is the same guy who said Ryan Leaf,Jemarcus Russell,Matt Leinart,Vince Young, Joey Harrington,Alex Smith would all be great NFL QBs he even said AleX Smith Would be better then AAron Rodgers and that Gerald McCoy would be a better fit for the lions sceme then Ndamukong Suh
Small quibble. Y.A. Tittle
Yes, I am that old.
Mike Vick only completed 52.2% of his passes prior to that year and had 71 TDs and 52 ints. So he was not very good prior to last year. So last year may have just been an abberation.
Im not a big Vick fan thats why I said great season, even when he wasnt passing great the Falcons had success with him at QB.
To be fair, practically ALL the talking heads said the same things about Leaf, Russell, Leinart, Young, HArrington, and Smith. That they were all drafted so high suggests that at least some of those actually in the biz (GMs and coaches) thought the same thing.
The average American male was like 5'2" when he was playing.
deserves time to respond and is reserving judgement until he hears the whole story, until then he thinks there should be no punishment because they didnt do anything wrong.
Hopefully everyone says the same thing so no one convinces him to leave early, and he plays for Michigan for 2 more years.
Oh, jeez. Are we really pissed off that Mel Kiper would say that Denard Robinson is probably too short to be an NFL quarterback?
Wait, wait...the quarterback who set the NCAA rushing record for the position and whose decision-making, accuracy, pocket presence, touch, and mechanics we all question on a regular basis? Really? He might not be an NFL quarterback?
Get out the pitchforks!
I'll let you know when I start taking Kiper seriously.
Why am I getting negged for posting this???
You spelled "too" with only one "o" and you spelled "Kiper" with an "-ei-."
April 20th, 2011 at 11:25 PM ^
I negged you because you totally misrepresented the article and twisted "not a prototypical NFL quarterback" into "too short for the NFL." This is an MLive-quality thread right here.
We all know Denard is taller than Bill Brasky.
This doesn't surprise me in any way. Denard is a very good college QB because he can outrun most of the guys chasing him and has a decent touch on the ball. in the pros, though, he won't survive running and the defenses are just better. I see him in the NFL, but it would be an amazing evolution if it is as a starting QB.
......then Kiper is too short to make draft predictions.
I definitely don't doubt that Denard could become a NFL quarterback if he put in the work to do it, but can we stop comparing him to Drew Brees? Brees is one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the history of the game. It wasn't until after the Chargers drafted Philip Rivers to replace him that he really improved and not until he worked with Sean Payton that he blossomed into the quarterback he is today.
Allen iverson was to short to play in the NBA. Gary shefield would never hit the ball because he wiggled his bat to much. The spread is just a phase in college football and it will go away. Spud webb can't win the dunk contest. The point im trying to get at is, these sports experts are completely bias. We see it all the time, the game changes and the writers and the experts don't change with it because they don't want to. If football was exactaly how mel kiper jr says it should be, half the guys wouldn't be playing.
Let's not hyper-ventilate guys, does anyone seriously think any NFL team is looking at a 6'0 QB without having serious concerns about height?
Denard can disprove the haters and have an amazing career in the NFL, but Kiper isn't saying anything unfair or particularly negative here.
Mike Williams is going to be the best player from the draft. The lions got a steal with the number 10 pick
Who negged you? Certainly someone who didn't recognize the great Mel Kiper's assessment of Williams. I don't recall, but I bet he liked Andre Ware and Charles Rogers as well. If he did basketball, he would've raved about Mateen Cleaves.
That being said...Denard has a better shot (given the new offense) to play QB in the NFL, but Kiper's probably right on this one. The height might not be the reason though. I just don't think Denard is accurate enough for the pros. He has time to learn though.
April 21st, 2011 at 10:38 AM ^
Didn't they say Drew Brees was too short too?