symple19
04-25-2010, 02:29 PM
From the National Football Post
To some people, one of the many surprises that took place during the 2010 NFL draft was the freefall of former Oregon Ducks running back LeGarrette Blount.
In a year that saw 14 running backs selected during the seven-round draft, the 6’0”, 241-pound Blount was one of the players who never heard his name called.
Part of that may have to do with the 4.81 40-yard-dash he ran at February’s combine in Indianapolis. Another reason for Blount’s fall (and I’m guessing it may be this) could have been the barroom-style brawl he incited at Boise State’s Bronco Field on September 3, 2009 after he punched Byron Hout in the face moments after the Ducks lost 19-8 in the season-opener.
Whatever the reason for Blount’s freefall is now irrelevant. Because starting today, his main goal should be to make an NFL roster.
And his first chance to make that dream happen will come in San Francisco.
NFL.com’s Jason La Canfora reports that Blount signed a free agent contract with the 49ers following the conclusion of the 2010 draft. He’ll have the opportunity this summer to compete for a role as a special teams player and backup to 49ers starting running back Frank Gore.
The move adds more depth to a San Francisco draft class that should certainly gain some recognition as one of the better talent-hauls of the year. In addition to Blount, the Niners also landed Mississippi State running back Anthony Dixon in the sixth-round (potential sleeper), as well as two of the top-rated offensive linemen—Rutgers’ Anthony Davis and Idaho’s Mike Iupati—in the first round.
As for Blount, the much-criticized running back now has an opportunity to pursue his dream of playing professional football, just seven months after an incident that could very well have ended his career forever.
Hopefully, college players around the country took notice.
Mike Singletary has put an emphatic stamp on this draft, going for players with attitude, mean streaks, and character issues. Besides Blount, Penn State LB Navorro Bowman is another guy who comes in with character issues(and a lot of potential). Singletary seems to think his sheer force of will can keep these guys in line, and after watching him turn Vernon Davis into his little bitch I can't disagree.
Blount, Iupati, Bowman, and Pitt TE Nate Byham come in with reps for being hard-nosed, angry players who are always looking to hit. A quote from Byham sums it up.
"I like to bloody noses," he said. "I don't shy away from contact. I go into the hole to hit somebody. I'm trying to inflict pain. I'm not just there to get in somebody's way."
Add in bruiser Anthony Dixon and big hit specialist Taylor Mays, and you can tell the style of football the Niners want to play. They want to, as Singletary said so well in his meltdown press conference, "Hit people in the mouth".
Whether these late round guys will have an impact or not remains to be seen, but they certainly add to the overall personality of SF. This is a team built in Iron Mikes own image. Also impressive is that the Niners did this well in the draft with no GM (Mcloughan having left town)
I fucking love it, but now it needs to pay off on the field. Go Niners!
To some people, one of the many surprises that took place during the 2010 NFL draft was the freefall of former Oregon Ducks running back LeGarrette Blount.
In a year that saw 14 running backs selected during the seven-round draft, the 6’0”, 241-pound Blount was one of the players who never heard his name called.
Part of that may have to do with the 4.81 40-yard-dash he ran at February’s combine in Indianapolis. Another reason for Blount’s fall (and I’m guessing it may be this) could have been the barroom-style brawl he incited at Boise State’s Bronco Field on September 3, 2009 after he punched Byron Hout in the face moments after the Ducks lost 19-8 in the season-opener.
Whatever the reason for Blount’s freefall is now irrelevant. Because starting today, his main goal should be to make an NFL roster.
And his first chance to make that dream happen will come in San Francisco.
NFL.com’s Jason La Canfora reports that Blount signed a free agent contract with the 49ers following the conclusion of the 2010 draft. He’ll have the opportunity this summer to compete for a role as a special teams player and backup to 49ers starting running back Frank Gore.
The move adds more depth to a San Francisco draft class that should certainly gain some recognition as one of the better talent-hauls of the year. In addition to Blount, the Niners also landed Mississippi State running back Anthony Dixon in the sixth-round (potential sleeper), as well as two of the top-rated offensive linemen—Rutgers’ Anthony Davis and Idaho’s Mike Iupati—in the first round.
As for Blount, the much-criticized running back now has an opportunity to pursue his dream of playing professional football, just seven months after an incident that could very well have ended his career forever.
Hopefully, college players around the country took notice.
Mike Singletary has put an emphatic stamp on this draft, going for players with attitude, mean streaks, and character issues. Besides Blount, Penn State LB Navorro Bowman is another guy who comes in with character issues(and a lot of potential). Singletary seems to think his sheer force of will can keep these guys in line, and after watching him turn Vernon Davis into his little bitch I can't disagree.
Blount, Iupati, Bowman, and Pitt TE Nate Byham come in with reps for being hard-nosed, angry players who are always looking to hit. A quote from Byham sums it up.
"I like to bloody noses," he said. "I don't shy away from contact. I go into the hole to hit somebody. I'm trying to inflict pain. I'm not just there to get in somebody's way."
Add in bruiser Anthony Dixon and big hit specialist Taylor Mays, and you can tell the style of football the Niners want to play. They want to, as Singletary said so well in his meltdown press conference, "Hit people in the mouth".
Whether these late round guys will have an impact or not remains to be seen, but they certainly add to the overall personality of SF. This is a team built in Iron Mikes own image. Also impressive is that the Niners did this well in the draft with no GM (Mcloughan having left town)
I fucking love it, but now it needs to pay off on the field. Go Niners!