First of all, for the Teddy-needs-muscle posters, re-read my initial post: I said that I trusted his judgment on weight gain, assuming he and his coaches would monitor what the extra weight did to his speed and quickness. If more muscle equals more speed, I'm for it. It didn't help Billy Sims, but it might help Teddy.
Next, for this "Shut Down Corner" nonsense. First of all, where's your evidence that Teddy is an "SDC"? We know what he can do on offense, but you're making nothing but assumptions about what he can do on D. But, for the sake of argument, let's assume he is. What exactly is the principle benefit of a shut down corner? In man-to-man, it's to stop your opponent's best receiver; in zone, it's to take half the field away from your opponent's receiving corps. That's quite a contribution. But consider for a moment what Ted Ginn can do on offense. He can singlehandedly change the opponent's entire defensive scheme, across the board. Every defender has to worry about him on every play. That takes 11 men out of their gameplan, not just one. [If you don't believe me, ask Mike Shanahan if having "shut down corner" Champ Bailey was worth giving up Clinton Portis.]
Now for the revisionist historians who claim to remember Chris Gamble's career so clearly. His role in 2002 (yeah, sdgo, I watched a few of those games) was as a receiver who could periodically use his receiving skills to cover other receivers. It made him a scary interception threat and played a vital role in the NC campaign. His rare ability to contribute on both sides of the ball is why he was promoted so aggressively by tOSU as a Heisman candidate: "He does it all -- even sells hot dogs" But in 2003, when he played defense full time, he quickly fell off the Heisman radar screen. Playing receiver and occasionally coming in on defense put Chris Gamble on the map. Playing both ways fulltime made him a better corner to be sure, but it drastically limited his touches and probably cost him a fortune on his first pro contract. Would tOSU have been a better team if Gamble had played just 60 plays a game instead of 100+? I don't know, sdgo, and neither do you. But I suspect it would have.
And finally, on the subject of not giving
a shit about the heisman or any other personal award if it means that we lose a game for it
, sdgo, you are an idiot. Can you name a single Heisman winner who cost his team a game because of it? Did it piss you off when Eddie got his? Or Archie? Get over your self-righteous self.
TOSU has Division 1 caliber d-backs already and there are more coming next Fall. JT doesn't need to burn out (or injure) his brightest star by making him run wind-sprints against every corner and receiver he faces over a twelve game season. It would be nuts.
