moiety
formerly drizzyd
- Jun 1, 2009
- 12,298
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Branch was the first to report 49ers were targeting Eric Reid last year
Eric Branch @Eric_Branch 5m
Source: Hearing “same buzz” as last year #49ers are very interested in an LSU player: WR Odell Beckham.
i have him in my late pickswhy stop there? Might as well draft Loston too
lol got damn talk about hitting the after burners as you round the corner
i feel you. 1 more week broseph.god. the draft needs to happen already
Let me piggy back real quick cuz I also enjoyed watching LSU this year and that kid Mettenberger has Flacco potential.
[h1]Bowman, Smith illustrate difficulty of answering character question[/h1]
Posted on May 2, 2014 at 11:50 am by Eric Branch in 49ers
NaVorro Bowman. (AP)
The 49ers employ an All-Pro linebacker whose college career appeared to foreshadow off-the-field trouble in the NFL: He was involved in an on-campus fight, suspended by his head coach and admitted to smoking marijuana while on probation for his altercation.
No, the linebacker in question isn’t Aldon Smith, whose three-year career has been stuffed with off-the-field trouble.
Rather, it’s NaVorro Bowman, a locker-room leader who has been trouble-free since character concerns contributed to his slide to the third round of the 2010 draft. In contrast, Smith was drafted higher than expected – No. 7 overall in 2011 – after his career at Missouri didn’t include reports of off-the-field issues.
“I’m really impressed with him as a person, he’s an all-American young man,” Jim Harbaugh said on the day Smith was drafted. “Just great wiring, many blessings from mom, dad and God.”
Bowman and Smith help illustrate why the question NFL teams ask each spring is so vexing: Which draft prospects can excel on the field and avoid unwanted headlines off it?
Niners general manager Trent Baalke, who drafted both Bowman and Smith, admits he’s yet to solve the riddle, despite the resources devoted to answering the question.
NFL teams go to great lengths to probe a prospect’s background and character. They administer psychological profiles and check Twitter and Instagram accounts. They interview the players and a laundry list of figures who can speak to their integrity: coaches, teachers, teammates, academic counselors and equipment managers.
In the end, however, it’s often a crapshoot. Model citizens can be negatively influenced by NFL fame and contracts. On the flip side, troubling past behavior isn’t always an indicator of future conduct.
Consider another example: In 2007, the 49ers drafted cornerback Tarell Brown, who was arrested twice at the University of Texas, once for marijuana and gun possession. In his seven seasons with the 49ers, though, Brown was a thoughtful locker-room voice known for his charity: He started foundations for single mothers, underprivileged children and convicts seeking a second chance.
“It’s a risk-reward business. And we try to take chances – calculated chances – and … it has worked in a lot of cases,” Baalke said. “There are other times when the character of an individual coming into the NFL was sterling, but they end up being guys who get in trouble … If anybody in here has the answer about who is going to end up doing what, give it to me. I could use it.”
Aldon Smith. (AP)
Baalke could particularly use it in next week’s draft given the 49ers’ recent rash of off-the-field incidents: Nine players have been arrested or been involved in a police investigation since January 2012.
That string of trouble is headlined by Smith, who has been arrested three times – twice for DUI – and faces felony weapons charges stemming from another incident in which he wasn’t arrested.
In light of the 49ers’ recent public-relations black eye, it’s fair to wonder if Baalke will take chances next week on players with questionable character. In the run-up to the draft, the 49ers have reportedly hosted at least two such players for visits.
Boise State defensive end Demarcus Lawrence, who could fill a pass-rushing need if Smith serves an NFL suspension this season, served three one-game suspensions for violating team rules in college. Ohio State cornerback Bradley Roby, a likely first-round pick who plays a position of need for the 49ers, pleaded guilty last week to physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
NFL teams can host 30 players for pre-draft visits. And players with character concerns are popular visitors. It gives teams a chance to better discern if past issues foreshadow future problems, or, perhaps, can be attributed to immaturity.
San Jose State quarterback David Fales, who has taken several pre-draft visits, can attest NFL teams do their homework. Fales has had to explain his nomadic college career. In a quest for playing time, he attended three schools and took a summer class at a fourth.
“They’re looking up everything,” Fales said. “It is kind of shocking when they do know. They just want to see you tell the story and what you’re going to say. There’s no getting around it: Just tell the (truth) because they know already.”
Even when he didn’t have formal meetings with teams at the Senior Bowl and combine, Fales sensed he was being observed by NFL types as he interacted with other players at those events: “All the time, they’re watching you,” he said.
Former Lions general manager Matt Millen, a linebacker who spent two seasons of his 12-year career with the 49ers, said Hall-of-Fame coach John Madden gave him the best advice for getting an authentic glimpse of a player’s character. Draft prospects, of course, can come off as rehearsed in meetings with teams and the people in their past are often interested in seeing them succeed, not yanking skeletons from their closet.
Madden’s suggestion: “He said, guys have to be themselves around their friends. So when you get on campus, you go out to dinner with him and his friends,” Millen said. “You just kind of let them interact and you’ll see. If the kid’s a jerk, he’ll be a jerk. If he’s a respectful kid, he’ll be a respectful kid. You’ll read it. To me, that was the best indicator.”
Millen got a read on Bowman before the 49ers linebacker entered the NFL. Millen and Bowman both went to Penn State and Millen’s connection to the program gave him some insight into Bowman’s issues.
“There were question marks on NaVorro, but he wasn’t a bad kid,” Millen said. “And Trent obviously had a good read on him … But you just never know. You never know how it’s going to turn out.”
<>.Aldons option exercised