Henry Ruggs is Much More Than Speed

[FantasyFreak]

Well, nothing seems to have come of this injury thing. Seems like it was only minor after all.

We don't know much more than that it was a thigh laceration and he's on crutches, yeah? I'm not saying anyone panics, but the crutches would lead me to believe it's at least not guaranteed he's a full go for training camp.

Pretty sure we would have heard more about it if it were anything serious. Crutches can be used for a minimal amount of time. I believe he said it was just to keep the weight off it as a precaution. It's clearly not an issue if there hasn't been any more news. They said it was minor, and that seems to be the case. Training camp is a month away. I'd be shocked if he wasn't ready. Everything from any credible source said it was minor and that he was going to be OK.

[Blueboy]

Well, nothing seems to have come of this injury thing. Seems like it was only minor after all.

We don't know much more than that it was a thigh laceration and he's on crutches, yeah? I'm not saying anyone panics, but the crutches would lead me to believe it's at least not guaranteed he's a full go for training camp.

Pretty sure we would have heard more about it if it were anything serious. Crutches can be used for a minimal amount of time. I believe he said it was just to keep the weight off it as a precaution. It's clearly not an issue if there hasn't been any more news. They said it was minor, and that seems to be the case. Training camp is a month away. I'd be shocked if he wasn't ready. Everything from any credible source said it was minor and that he was going to be OK.

Is there anything out there from a "credible source" that isn't just meaningless conjecture? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the only sources of information we have are the Raiders statement (which basically said they wouldn't address the issue and left it to Ruggs' camp), and Ruggs' father saying he's using crutches. Again, I am not saying I believe it to be a major issue or that he'll miss camp, but we've really got almost no information to go off.

[FantasyFreak]

Just listened to some Greg Cosell, and he said he liked Ruggs' tape more than Lamb's.

[OhCruelestRanter]

Just listened to some Greg Cosell, and he said he liked Ruggs' tape more than Lamb's.

Greg Cosell is a sportcaster’s nephew who likes football. I’m not kidding or exaggerating- his opinion is no better than yours.

[FantasyFreak]

Just listened to some Greg Cosell, and he said he liked Ruggs' tape more than Lamb's.

Greg Cosell is a sportcaster’s nephew who likes football. I’m not kidding or exaggerating- his opinion is no better than yours.

He's an analyst and senior producer at NFL films. The guy has been around in the industry since at least the early 80's, I believe. He watches a lot of football. Just making the comment that he likes Ruggs more than Lamb. If you look up his Wikipedia, he is "widely regarded by NFL insiders for his football knowledge", and from what I have heard, that is true. I don't have that credibility. So while I appreciate you having me on an even playing field with him, most in the industry have him rated higher than me on opinions about football.

[OhCruelestRanter]

Just listened to some Greg Cosell, and he said he liked Ruggs' tape more than Lamb's.

Greg Cosell is a sportcaster’s nephew who likes football. I’m not kidding or exaggerating- his opinion is no better than yours.

He's an analyst and senior producer at NFL films. The guy has been around in the industry since at least the early 80's, I believe. He watches a lot of football. Just making the comment that he likes Ruggs more than Lamb. If you look up his Wikipedia, he is "widely regarded by NFL insiders for his football knowledge", and from what I have heard, that is true. I don't have that credibility. So while I appreciate you having me on an even playing field with him, most in the industry have him rated higher than me on opinions about football.

It’s not just you! The dude is not good at predicting NFL success. He understands how to describe what he sees when he watches football as well as anybody alive, but he’s not a good prospect talent evaluator. They’re different skills.

[FantasyFreak]

Greg Cosell is a sportcaster’s nephew who likes football. I’m not kidding or exaggerating- his opinion is no better than yours.

He's an analyst and senior producer at NFL films. The guy has been around in the industry since at least the early 80's, I believe. He watches a lot of football. Just making the comment that he likes Ruggs more than Lamb. If you look up his Wikipedia, he is "widely regarded by NFL insiders for his football knowledge", and from what I have heard, that is true. I don't have that credibility. So while I appreciate you having me on an even playing field with him, most in the industry have him rated higher than me on opinions about football.

It’s not just you! The dude is not good at predicting NFL success. He understands how to describe what he sees when he watches football as well as anybody alive, but he’s not a good prospect talent evaluator. They’re different skills.

True.

[Cameron Giles]

Greg Cosell is a sportcaster’s nephew who likes football. I’m not kidding or exaggerating- his opinion is no better than yours.

He's an analyst and senior producer at NFL films. The guy has been around in the industry since at least the early 80's, I believe. He watches a lot of football. Just making the comment that he likes Ruggs more than Lamb. If you look up his Wikipedia, he is "widely regarded by NFL insiders for his football knowledge", and from what I have heard, that is true. I don't have that credibility. So while I appreciate you having me on an even playing field with him, most in the industry have him rated higher than me on opinions about football.

It’s not just you! The dude is not good at predicting NFL success. He understands how to describe what he sees when he watches football as well as anybody alive, but he’s not a good prospect talent evaluator. They’re different skills.

...but who is? There really isn't a home run talent evaluator who isn't working for an NFL team. I agree there's a notable difference between what Cosell and what someone like Kiper does, but there's also a lot of overlap.

I disagree that his opinion is no more valuable than the average fan. He has decades of knowledge about the game, understanding what translates, and telling you what's on tape. Sure, everyone wants the result, but the process of getting to that result is just as valuable, if not more. Cosell contributes notably to that.

[Ice]

Ruggs looks great on tape. Not difficult to see if you know what you’re looking at.

He wasn’t the first WR taken only because he runs like wind.

Doesn’t much matter if one wants to mention or discredit Cosell’s evaluation.

What is obvious is the Raiders also liked him better than Lamb and every other WR in this past draft.

[OhCruelestRanter]

He's an analyst and senior producer at NFL films. The guy has been around in the industry since at least the early 80's, I believe. He watches a lot of football. Just making the comment that he likes Ruggs more than Lamb. If you look up his Wikipedia, he is "widely regarded by NFL insiders for his football knowledge", and from what I have heard, that is true. I don't have that credibility. So while I appreciate you having me on an even playing field with him, most in the industry have him rated higher than me on opinions about football.

It’s not just you! The dude is not good at predicting NFL success. He understands how to describe what he sees when he watches football as well as anybody alive, but he’s not a good prospect talent evaluator. They’re different skills.

...but who is? There really isn't a home run talent evaluator who isn't working for an NFL team. I agree there's a notable difference between what Cosell and what someone like Kiper does, but there's also a lot of overlap.

I disagree that his opinion is no more valuable than the average fan. He has decades of knowledge about the game, understanding what translates, and telling you what's on tape. Sure, everyone wants the result, but the process of getting to that result is just as valuable, if not more. Cosell contributes notably to that.

Again, he understands how to explain what he’s seeing, and if you want to spend your time watching YouTube highlights for your fantasy football league, that’s probably helpful.

What I’m saying is that what Cosell does isn’t on the same plane as running a dynasty league. It’s like asking a food critic how to run a restaurant. He has no idea how to set price points, construct a menu, or where to get good wholesale sea bass- the food critic just knows how to write about how the food that he eats makes him feel.

That’s not to say he couldn’t do it, but Cosell isn’t refining his process, trying to improve his accuracy with prospect evaluation. Here’s a good example- he’ll reliably overrate the statue QB the big arm, dating all the way back to Jamarcus Russell, continuing through with guys like Zach Mettenberger, Christian Hackenberg, Davis Webb (over Mahomes!), Ryan Lindley, and now Love over Tua. At some point, any of you would stop and think “maybe I’m not evaluating QBs the right way.” But this guy just does the same thing, because he’s not trying to produce accurate rankings.

So when he says that Ruggs can run multiple routes, that’s worth listening to. But when he says Prospect X is better than Prospect Y, it’s just noise. It’s not what he does.

[Cameron Giles]

Again, he understands how to explain what he’s seeing, and if you want to spend your time watching YouTube highlights for your fantasy football league, that’s probably helpful.

What I’m saying is that what Cosell does isn’t on the same plane as running a dynasty league. It’s like asking a food critic how to run a restaurant. He has no idea how to set price points, construct a menu, or where to get good wholesale sea bass- the food critic just knows how to write about how the food that he eats makes him feel.

That’s not to say he couldn’t do it, but Cosell isn’t refining his process, trying to improve his accuracy with prospect evaluation. Here’s a good example- he’ll reliably overrate the statue QB the big arm, dating all the way back to Jamarcus Russell, continuing through with guys like Zach Mettenberger, Christian Hackenberg, Davis Webb (over Mahomes!), Ryan Lindley, and now Love over Tua. At some point, any of you would stop and think “maybe I’m not evaluating QBs the right way.” But this guy just does the same thing, because he’s not trying to produce accurate rankings.

So when he says that Ruggs can run multiple routes, that’s worth listening to. But when he says Prospect X is better than Prospect Y, it’s just noise. It’s not what he does.

I simply find value in analysts, writers, and scouts who can talk to me about players in a logical way. The object isn't that Greg Cosell's scouting equates to winning dynasty or fantasy football, or even running a team. You can go to Berry, Yates, Silva, Levitan, etc on how to do that. It simply gives me a solid piece of the pie to help me build opinions. Because ultimately, anybody can win a fantasy or dynasty league, regardless of how long they've been playing or how much they really know about the players they roster. This is a luck-driven hobby.

Cosell adds context to players and points you in a logical direction to who can succeed at this level, which I think has a place. Do I think Ruggs is better than Lamb? No, but hearing someone like Cosell talk about it logically would at least make me consider the range of outcomes especially for lower draft value.

[FantasyFreak]

We don't know much more than that it was a thigh laceration and he's on crutches, yeah? I'm not saying anyone panics, but the crutches would lead me to believe it's at least not guaranteed he's a full go for training camp.

Pretty sure we would have heard more about it if it were anything serious. Crutches can be used for a minimal amount of time. I believe he said it was just to keep the weight off it as a precaution. It's clearly not an issue if there hasn't been any more news. They said it was minor, and that seems to be the case. Training camp is a month away. I'd be shocked if he wasn't ready. Everything from any credible source said it was minor and that he was going to be OK.

Is there anything out there from a "credible source" that isn't just meaningless conjecture? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the only sources of information we have are the Raiders statement (which basically said they wouldn't address the issue and left it to Ruggs' camp), and Ruggs' father saying he's using crutches. Again, I am not saying I believe it to be a major issue or that he'll miss camp, but we've really got almost no information to go off.

Ruggs posted a practice video with Jeudy about 4 days ago. Also this.

[joeya2001]

I don't know if this is much to add, but it looks like NFL WR's with extremely fast 40 times don't tend to have a successful career

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/40-yard_dash

the list is pretty meh.

Mix that in with his smallish frame, Carr, and a run first offense. I have him knocked down a few notches.

[CGW]

I don't know if this is much to add, but it looks like NFL WR's with extremely fast 40 times don't tend to have a successful career

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/40-yard_dash

the list is pretty meh.

Mix that in with his smallish frame, Carr, and a run first offense. I have him knocked down a few notches.

That list takes into account 1 thing, speed. Speed alone isn't indicative of success, but as the title of this thread says - ruggs is more than just speed.

It's also an incredibly low sample size, as there's just 9 guys on that list, of which only 3 were 1st rounders. I'd like to see a list of all "fast" WR drafted in the 1st/2nd round.

[joeya2001]

I don't know if this is much to add, but it looks like NFL WR's with extremely fast 40 times don't tend to have a successful career

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/40-yard_dash

the list is pretty meh.

Mix that in with his smallish frame, Carr, and a run first offense. I have him knocked down a few notches.

That list takes into account 1 thing, speed. Speed alone isn't indicative of success, but as the title of this thread says - ruggs is more than just speed.

It's also an incredibly low sample size, as there's just 9 guys on that list, of which only 3 were 1st rounders. I'd like to see a list of all "fast" WR drafted in the 1st/2nd round.

Im sure you could look that up if you wanted to.