| 908 Beiträge - Forenjunkie
|
|
|
INDIANAPOLIS - Jadeveon Clowney wants NFL scouts to rethink their draft strategy. Adidas Zx 850 Dame . Instead of settling for one of those glitzy, franchise quarterbacks, hes urging teams to build a fast, physical defence that can stop all those high-powered offences, and he has the perfect suggestion about where to start. Himself. "Thats one of my goals here, to go No. 1," this years top-rated defensive end said softly Saturday at the NFLs scouting combine. "I came out of high school as the No. 1 player so I want to come out of here as the No. 1 guy." Nobody doubts the former South Carolina star has the physical tools to go No. 1 in May. He measured in Saturday at 6-foot-5 1/4, 266 pounds, with an 83-inch wingspan and hopes to finish the 40-yard dash in the 4.4s, maybe the low 4.5s if hes a little off. With numbers like that, its no wonder Clowney is projected to go in the top five in May. But going ahead of quarterbacks such as Johnny Manziel, Blake Bortles and Teddy Bridgewater will take a lot more than athleticism. The biggest questions Clowney will answer this week focus on his work ethic and desire, and it sure didnt help when he missed Friday nights first round of team interviews because of travel problems. He said he drove from Columbia, S.C., to Charlotte, N.C., to avoid one two-hour delay only to run into another 2 1/2-hour delay. While coaches and team executives may excuse Clowneys tardy arrival, they still need to find out whether theyll be drafting the guy who delivered that helmet-dislodging, highlight-making hit on Michigans Vincent Smith in the 2013 Outback Bowl or the guy critics believe was more concerned with protecting his draft stock than winning games in 2013. Clowney insisted he was the same guy, though he did admit he would have left school after his sophomore season — if NFL rules would have allowed it. "I believe I did work hard. You pull out any practice tape from last year, youll see that," Clowney said. "Ill tell everybody that. I will always be working hard. No matter where I end up I am going to work hard and give a team everything Ive got." The numbers and words seem to tell a different tale. He finished 2012 with 54 tackles and 13 sacks. And despite the lofty expectations from college football fans after that eye-popping hit, Clowney finished 2013 with 40 tackles and only three sacks. What happened is a matter of perception. Some believe Clowney did not go all-out following a public debate about whether it was even worth it for him to play in 2013. Try telling that to those who had to block Clowney. "I dont think he took a play off," Missouri tackle Justin Britt said. "If he did, I didnt see it." But inside the Gamecocks program, there were signs something was amiss. In October, coach Steve Spurrier expressed frustration that the injured Clowney waited too long to tell coaches he couldnt play. Then, this week, on the eve of the combine, Spurrier told NFL Network that Clowneys work ethic was "OK," rekindling talk about Clowneys desire to excel at football. Not surprisingly, it was still a hot topic when Clowney took the podium at Lucas Oil Stadium with a huge crowd of reporters seeking answers to the same questions as team executives. Clowney started the explanation by saying opponents relied on shorter, quicker passes to slow down South Carolinas pass rush and then defended his effort. "There were a lot of ups and downs, but we won eleven games, were 11-2, won our bowl game, finished No. 4 in the country for the first time in South Carolina history so I was pretty excited about the season," Clowney said. "I wasnt really worried about my stats, I just wanted to win." Instead, Clowney contends the bigger problem was the artificially high level of expectations going into the season. But now Clowney must convince coaches, scouts and team executives the guy they watched in 2012 was the same guy they saw on film in 2013 and will continue to be the same guy they can build a defence around. And to jump back up the draft board into position for the top spot, Clowney understands he has to convince teams he means what he says. "I just want to be the best, one of the greatest of all time," he said. "Coming out of high school, I said I wanted to be one of the best in college and I think I proved that. Going to the NFL, I want to be one of the best in the NFL, go down in history as one of the best, so I have another stepping stone in my way and hopefully I can take care of business and accomplish that in the NFL." Adidas Rød Sko . The native of Creston, B.C., previously served as manager of high performance, director of mens national teams and most recently as senior director of hockey operations and mens national teams. Adidas Zx 700 Hvid Dame . -- Arizona coach Sean Miller rose from his seat every time Roberto Nelson touched the ball and yelled "Shooter!" He could have been talking about his own team, too.TAMPA, Fla. -- Keith Aulie has joined the Tampa Bay Lightning. The NHL team recalled the six-foot-six defenceman from the American Hockey League on Wednesday, two days after acquiring him at the trade deadline. Aulie came over from the Toronto Maple Leafs for prospect Carter Ashton. The 22-year-old has split the season between between the AHL and NHL, collecting two assists in 17 games for the Maple Leafs. Adidas Zx Flux Tilbud. . Also Wednesday, the Lightning sent defenceman Evan Oberg and forward Pierre-Cedric Labrie and Trevor Smith to AHL Norfolk. Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Authentic Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Authentic Cheap Jerseys Authentic Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys NFL China Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
|
