Devon Allen to make NFL debut this evening

hank jr wrote:

NFL fan wrote:

At 28 amazingly Allen is already old by NFL standards. He really only has 2 to 4 years left. Having scored in pre season games both as receiver and returner, he's already shown he is NFL ready. As injuries continue to pile up, he'll either stay on Eagles or another team will scoop him up off the practice squad.

Of course we like him as a runner, but it's not like hoping Cole Hocker can make it. You apparently have some axe to grind against him.

I have no axe to grind. I specifically said I want him to be successful. I really do like him.

Don't believe me if you don't want to. The Eagles coaches, who are paid for their expertise in football, are saying he's not good enough for a spot. Look at the depth chart, he's #7. He's not even the best punt returner on the team. There's just more to it than being fast.

Can he play? Yes, he can play well enough to make the practice squad/occasional call up. That's not me saying that, its the entire NFL, any of them can sign him to their roster and they aren't.

NFL means "Not For Long" wrote:

hank jr wrote:

I have no axe to grind. I specifically said I want him to be successful. I really do like him.

Don't believe me if you don't want to. The Eagles coaches, who are paid for their expertise in football, are saying he's not good enough for a spot. Look at the depth chart, he's #7. He's not even the best punt returner on the team. There's just more to it than being fast.

Can he play? Yes, he can play well enough to make the practice squad/occasional call up. That's not me saying that, its the entire NFL, any of them can sign him to their roster and they aren't.

I think you are probably correct about Allen's chances, but there is a chance he could become an impact player. It will take a while for the coaches to trust him enough to put him in at receiver. Injuries to starters could hasten his opportunity.

You are absolutely correct about it taking a lot more than just speed. Deno never mentioned Renaldo Nehemiah's attempt to play wide receiver. Renaldo was given many chances and just couldn't cut it. There was a receiver at my school who had world-class speed but he couldn't catch the ball if his life depended on it - I remember one game where even in the 50,000 person stadium you could hear the ball bouncing off his hands like his hands were made of iron (the ball was perfectly thrown and the coverage was loose, the guy just couldn't catch.) And then there is the issue of what a receiver can do after catching the ball.

sp2 wrote:

NFL means "Not For Long" wrote:

I think you are probably correct about Allen's chances, but there is a chance he could become an impact player. It will take a while for the coaches to trust him enough to put him in at receiver. Injuries to starters could hasten his opportunity.

You are absolutely correct about it taking a lot more than just speed. Deno never mentioned Renaldo Nehemiah's attempt to play wide receiver. Renaldo was given many chances and just couldn't cut it. There was a receiver at my school who had world-class speed but he couldn't catch the ball if his life depended on it - I remember one game where even in the 50,000 person stadium you could hear the ball bouncing off his hands like his hands were made of iron (the ball was perfectly thrown and the coverage was loose, the guy just couldn't catch.) And then there is the issue of what a receiver can do after catching the ball.

Funny, the way I remember it, Skeets wasn't given many chances at all.
He had the misfortune that the only team smart enough to take him seriously (Bill Walsh's Niners) was also a team that already had like three star receivers. (I think Freddie Solomon was the big gun.)

Because of that, Skeets got very few plays, and very few targets.

When he did get a pass his way, he had a couple of flashes of brilliance.

Maybe my memory's coloring it a bunch, but I know I felt at the time he was never really given a shot to show what he could do, and after a while got frustrated and decided to try a comeback on the track.