How come lineman don't return kicks?

Watch the links in my previous post... speed matters. Davante himself is impressed with how Janis can fly. Mike McCarthy was visibly moved by the speed of Janis. It matters...it changes games. I know...why would we want Davante or any of our players to be faster? Fast is stupid. Who needs fast? I know in the years Kaepernick shredded us I kept thinking that speed wasn't important at all. He could've had Peyton Manning's speed and the same thing could've happened.

My lament then is what it is now... If you have a Packers team with very good offensive talent but you're seeing a lot of 2 deep shell coverage and your QB is getting frustrated with it what is it that you might need? How about someone with gamechanging speed to beat it? Nah, let's just continue trotting out guys without special speed. A speed guy is a dimension missing and would help diversify our attack. Davante was a very puzzling pick to me. You pick a guy who is pretty vanilla overall with his measurables and draft him in Round 2? What trait is he adding to your team that you couldn't find or didn't already have in a guy like Boykin? I didn't get it then and I don't get it now.

Originally Posted by: uffda udfa 

Yeah, everyone knows speed is important we just aren't so obsessed with the combine 40 yard dash times that we can watch Jordy and Cobb out there running past, around, and away from guys and still think they aren't very fast because of their times. The 40 times mean exactly nothing when you have visual evidence of what someone does on the field. Someone could have eaten some bad chicken parm the day before the combine and added a second to their 40 but it doesn't change how fast they are in pads.

Originally Posted by: steveishere 

The issue isn't that speed isn't important. The issue is that speed makes up 95% of your argument when there are so many other factors that go into it, many of which are even more important than speed. If speed warranted being 95% of the conversation then there would be more teams lining up to sign Usain Bolt.

It's quite frankly telling that a year in and the only complaint you can make with any regularity concerning Adams is something he did in the combine before he was even a Packer.

Originally Posted by: mi_keys 

Jordy blew the doors off Aqib Talib in college. He was injured when he ran 4.62... that is understandable and an exception to what I'm talking about. I'm talking about real true measured speed. Davante does not have it. He doesn't. You can yammer all day and night about how he has this and he can do that but he is not a guy with great speed. Why do I have to see pages of posts trying to argue that speed isn't important and an avoidance of the fact Davante doesn't have it? Vilified for wanting our org to add a guy with blazing speed that changes games? Really?

I understand the Al Davis charge to a point but his Raiders teams were dominant when Al wasn't a senile old man. Gil Brandt from the Cowboys looked for speed and unique athleticism. He changed the NFL forever with the things he did when he was in his prime with Dallas. Bullet Bob Hayes...Rayfield Wright... guy just found guys with unique athletic measurables that translated...they don't always but when they do. Man, oh man, it's nice to have it on your side. I think of Harvin burning the crap out of us in Minnesota, or Sanders in Detroit...Kaepernick from the QB position...speed changed games for us in the wrong way. Other teams had it...we didn't.

Randall is in the 4.4's...that's good speed. Jordy can run...the YouTube of him dusting the 4.3 Talib is proof of that. Janis can do with speed things Davante never will be able to come close to touching. Never. It's so wrong to say that though.

Originally Posted by: uffda udfa 

Jordy blew the doors off Aqib Talib in college. He was injured when he ran 4.62... that is understandable and an exception to what I'm talking about. I'm talking about real true measured speed. Davante does not have it. He doesn't. You can yammer all day and night about how he has this and he can do that but he is not a guy with great speed. Why do I have to see pages of posts trying to argue that speed isn't important and an avoidance of the fact Davante doesn't have it? Vilified for wanting our org to add a guy with blazing speed that changes games? Really?

Originally Posted by: uffda udfa 

Huh? I've said, consistently, the only special thing I saw from him in his rookie season was his play in Miami on the fake spike. That was big time right there. Other than that, I haven't gotten excited about him at all.

Originally Posted by: uffda udfa 

I don't think anyone said he has great speed but he has enough speed to be a high level WR in the NFL. There aren't pages and pages of posts arguing speed isn't important there are pages of posts arguing that timed 40 yard dashes aren't the only thing that's important, otherwise Janis would have surpassed Jordy last year. Instead he couldn't even surpass John Kuhn in receiving because all of the other attributes that go into being a NFL WR combined far surpass the importance of a 40 time.

Originally Posted by: steveishere 

Yes, and I have acknowledged those far more than others have that speed IS important.

It is still strange how much 40 time is panned here and how much it is used by NFL scouts and GM's. Giant disconnect there.

Z...I like your hyperbole.

Hey, I hope Davante proves to be Jerry Rice. I would love being that wrong. I hope Janis is Steve Largent, too.

Not sure how any of you could watch Janis go 62 yards on a KO return and see the look on MM's face and not think speed is an incredible attribute for a WR? Wow...just wow can that kid fly and flip the field and change games. Not sure why he never got a chance in the regular season after what Mike McCarthy saw there.

Originally Posted by: uffda udfa