Epley's comments on Talent

Bowfin said:
Anyone who doesn't think it's about Jimmy and Joe's are crazy. Look at Ameer for example, prolly won 3 games by himself last year. If he was on this team they might have only lost 1-2 games.
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Hmmm, you put a lot of stock in "Jimmies and Joes"...what is the record of your team again?
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Anyhow, then you bring up Ameer Abduallah, of all people. He is probably the prime example of "success is made, not born". He came in as a 172 lb. freshman that nobody wanted as a running back and left as a guy who could squat lift 500 lbs. and a future in the NFL. That was work done, not talent gifted.
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You may want to go back and look at his high school highlight reel before you say that.

The knock on him coming out of high school was his size... not the level of his "gift".

There is no doubt Ameer was given an amazing gift early on. The gift was his to develop and he did exactly that.

 
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Ameer also came in and contributed right away ahead of 2 highly touted RB's. let's not act like he was some meek and mild player buried on the depth chart
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So...you are saying Ameer jumped over 2 highly touted running backs. Did he have more talent than them or did he learn more and became better by outworking them? "Meek and mild" or "Heart of a Lion" has nothing to do with talent. That is a personality trait, and neither is mutually exclusive or a portent of how one performs. See, there was this one meek and mild guy named Barry Sanders...

 
Bowfin said:
Ameer also came in and contributed right away ahead of 2 highly touted RB's. let's not act like he was some meek and mild player buried on the depth chart
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So...you are saying Ameer jumped over 2 highly touted running backs. Did he have more talent than them or did he learn more and became better by outworking them? "Meek and mild" or "Heart of a Lion" has nothing to do with talent. That is a personality trait, and neither is mutually exclusive or a portent of how one performs. See, there was this one meek and mild guy named Barry Sanders...
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I think the talent level was equal among the 3. He outworked the other 2.

And please. Barry Sanders had talent.

 
There is no doubt he was given an amazing gift early on.
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One man's given gift is another man's acquired skill, I guess. The difference being if we all agree it is a "given gift" then it excuses a lot of people from having to make a considerable effort. Like saying "Computers hate me!" or "I can't do math!" or "I can't swim because I sink like a rock!"

 
Bowfin said:
It's an example of both.
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Expound, please. What physical talent vaulted Ameer over so many other players? I say he outworked them and outlearned them.
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Don't forget Ameer's incredibly strong legs. He was only 5'9 198, yet he was able to run over people if they didn't have the right tackle form. If you watch him run and make all of the cuts he had, you notice how low he gets. He doesn't bend at the waist, he bends at his hips which lowers your center of gravity, gives you more balance, and allows you to explode out of that stance with more power. It's the sign of a squatter in the weight room.
Also this doesn't discredit your comment either. By doing this he had to work on technique religiously until it became muscle memory and second nature, which meant that he had to allow himself to learn what the proper technique was and then work hard at being as close to perfect at it as possible. His ability to squat and focus on technique is what made him better than his teammates and was the reason he was on the field. I wont forget to mention how rigorously Abdullah watched film, the guy could see a gaping hole that looked blocked to everyone else.

Anyways, when he makes a cut, he still moves forward as well which is what Newby struggles so much with. Newby makes a cut that might make a guy miss, but he has so much wasted movement that he doesn't end up moving forward as he's making his cut and gives the defenders time to recover. It's a sign that his technique isnt as sound and ultimately the level of his strength and technique isn't as high as what Abdullah's was.

 
Bowfin said:
There is no doubt he was given an amazing gift early on.
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One man's given gift is another man's acquired skill, I guess. The difference being if we all agree it is a "given gift" then it excuses a lot of people from having to make a considerable effort. Like saying "Computers hate me!" or "I can't do math!" or "I can't swim because I sink like a rock!"
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Nope.

Look at his high school highlight reel.

He already had the "gift" and he knew it. He knew he could "swim" (run with the football). He was the very definition of a gifted athlete.

Ameer was also a very determined and self confident person. He took personal responsibility for his own development every step of the way. We gave him the facility... he did the work.

 
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Husker Psycho said:
Bowfin said:
There is no doubt he was given an amazing gift early on.
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One man's given gift is another man's acquired skill, I guess. The difference being if we all agree it is a "given gift" then it excuses a lot of people from having to make a considerable effort. Like saying "Computers hate me!" or "I can't do math!" or "I can't swim because I sink like a rock!"
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Nope.

Look at his high school highlight reel.

He already had the "gift" and he knew it. He knew he could "swim" (run with football). He was the very definition of a gifted athlete.
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He knew had a gift, but he worked very hard in the weight room and film room to become the rb he was his junior and senior year.
 
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Husker2019 said:
Husker Psycho said:
Bowfin said:
There is no doubt he was given an amazing gift early on.
Click to expand...
One man's given gift is another man's acquired skill, I guess. The difference being if we all agree it is a "given gift" then it excuses a lot of people from having to make a considerable effort. Like saying "Computers hate me!" or "I can't do math!" or "I can't swim because I sink like a rock!"
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Nope.

Look at his high school highlight reel.

He already had the "gift" and he knew it. He knew he could "swim" (run with football). He was the very definition of a gifted athlete.
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He knew had a gift, but he worked very hard in the weight room and film room to become the rb he was his junior and senior year.
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I agree. See my edit of my comment which I was typing when you replied.

 
Bowfin said:
Ameer also came in and contributed right away ahead of 2 highly touted RB's. let's not act like he was some meek and mild player buried on the depth chart
Click to expand...
So...you are saying Ameer jumped over 2 highly touted running backs. Did he have more talent than them or did he learn more and became better by outworking them? "Meek and mild" or "Heart of a Lion" has nothing to do with talent. That is a personality trait, and neither is mutually exclusive or a portent of how one performs. See, there was this one meek and mild guy named Barry Sanders...
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Are you seriously saying that Barry Sanders wasn't an great talent?

 
Are you seriously saying that Barry Sanders wasn't an great talent?
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I am saying he was mild mannered and somewhat meek. So much so, that he demurred from going back into a game to claim the seasonal rushing title because he thought it would be thoughtless to take away carries from his back up.

 
The entire time I was a kid I wanted to be a professional athlete. Now that I'm 48 I find out that I didn't need talent, all I needed was hard work
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If you knew that back then, would it had made a difference?
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