The "BBK was only good his senior year" bullshit is... bullshit. I was first impressed by him his true freshmen year, when he subbed in during the Oregon loss and was instantly everywhere, making sure tackles and covering a shitload of field. No way was he even 200 pounds at the time, so I laughed when he came in, but couldn't help but be impressed by the end of his stint.
I think he actually took a step back his sophomore year BECAUSE he got bigger. He was never going to be Azeem Victor, and I think he too quickly threw away his advantage at the position in an attempt to put on weight too fast. It was also in the Oregon game that year where this was really driven home to me, as he was beaten on a wheel for a TD and looked slow in the process. 2015 BBK probably makes that tackle. Junior year was a mixed bag. He still didn't look as fast and quick as he was as a freshman, but not as slow as he did as a sophomore. At this point, he was probably 210 and back to being fairly fast/quick for a MIKE linebacker. He wasn't Azeem Victor, though, and I think two years of Azeem Victor had us all wanting linebackers that look/play like Azeem Victor.
Thing is, there's more than one way to skin a cat. Victor had the size, length, and intimidation factor that made Death Row the first actually intimidating UW defense since the nineties. BBK was just ridiculously competent but physically unimpressive. He'd make EVERY tackle, but often in the process of giving up a yard or two of ground. This helped the Huskies' D improve both seasons he was a starter and really dominate the important team stats in conference. Apparently that wasn't good enough for certain strong personalities here, and the dozens of weak personalities got right in line to parrot this stance like they always do.
To those who paid attention with an open mind, BBK--even as a sub-200 lb. true freshman--was a spread-killing tackling machine in a spread league. Had he stayed closer to his freshman weight, he probably would have stayed as such and been situationally awesome but not the complete player he became. As a starter, once more grown into the extra weight needed to be an every down/every team linebacker, BBK was a top-half conference linebacker and then an All-American.
Let's pretend Jimmy Lake once said, "As much as I love Sidney Jones, I think we have a player in Byron Murphy where we don't feel like there's a ton of drop-off."
So this would then prove that Sydney Jones sucked? Sometimes a great player can be replaced by another great player. Happens all the time. If "being replaceable" means you're nothing special, there aren't many special college football players.
The "BBK was only good his senior year" bullshit is... bullshit. I was first impressed by him his true freshmen year, when he subbed in during the Oregon loss and was instantly everywhere, making sure tackles and covering a shitload of field. No way was he even 200 pounds at the time, so I laughed when he came in, but couldn't help but be impressed by the end of his stint.
I think he actually took a step back his sophomore year BECAUSE he got bigger. He was never going to be Azeem Victor, and I think he too quickly threw away his advantage at the position in an attempt to put on weight too fast. It was also in the Oregon game that year where this was really driven home to me, as he was beaten on a wheel for a TD and looked slow in the process. 2015 BBK probably makes that tackle. Junior year was a mixed bag. He still didn't look as fast and quick as he was as a freshman, but not as slow as he did as a sophomore. At this point, he was probably 210 and back to being fairly fast/quick for a MIKE linebacker. He wasn't Azeem Victor, though, and I think two years of Azeem Victor had us all wanting linebackers that look/play like Azeem Victor.
Thing is, there's more than one way to skin a cat. Victor had the size, length, and intimidation factor that made Death Row the first actually intimidating UW defense since the nineties. BBK was just ridiculously competent but physically unimpressive. He'd make EVERY tackle, but often in the process of giving up a yard or two of ground. This helped the Huskies' D improve both seasons he was a starter and really dominate the important team stats in conference. Apparently that wasn't good enough for certain strong personalities here, and the dozens of weak personalities got right in line to parrot this stance like they always do.
To those who paid attention with an open mind, BBK--even as a sub-200 lb. true freshman--was a spread-killing tackling machine in a spread league. Had he stayed closer to his freshman weight, he probably would have stayed as such and been situationally awesome but not the complete player he became. As a starter, once more grown into the extra weight needed to be an every down/every team linebacker, BBK was a top-half conference linebacker and then an All-American.
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Kyler Murray wining the Heisman doesn’t lessen what Baker Mayfield did.
I think he actually took a step back his sophomore year BECAUSE he got bigger. He was never going to be Azeem Victor, and I think he too quickly threw away his advantage at the position in an attempt to put on weight too fast. It was also in the Oregon game that year where this was really driven home to me, as he was beaten on a wheel for a TD and looked slow in the process. 2015 BBK probably makes that tackle. Junior year was a mixed bag. He still didn't look as fast and quick as he was as a freshman, but not as slow as he did as a sophomore. At this point, he was probably 210 and back to being fairly fast/quick for a MIKE linebacker. He wasn't Azeem Victor, though, and I think two years of Azeem Victor had us all wanting linebackers that look/play like Azeem Victor.
Thing is, there's more than one way to skin a cat. Victor had the size, length, and intimidation factor that made Death Row the first actually intimidating UW defense since the nineties. BBK was just ridiculously competent but physically unimpressive. He'd make EVERY tackle, but often in the process of giving up a yard or two of ground. This helped the Huskies' D improve both seasons he was a starter and really dominate the important team stats in conference. Apparently that wasn't good enough for certain strong personalities here, and the dozens of weak personalities got right in line to parrot this stance like they always do.
To those who paid attention with an open mind, BBK--even as a sub-200 lb. true freshman--was a spread-killing tackling machine in a spread league. Had he stayed closer to his freshman weight, he probably would have stayed as such and been situationally awesome but not the complete player he became. As a starter, once more grown into the extra weight needed to be an every down/every team linebacker, BBK was a top-half conference linebacker and then an All-American.
He was always good, people just hate being wrong.
Let's pretend Jimmy Lake once said, "As much as I love Sidney Jones, I think we have a player in Byron Murphy where we don't feel like there's a ton of drop-off."
So this would then prove that Sydney Jones sucked? Sometimes a great player can be replaced by another great player. Happens all the time. If "being replaceable" means you're nothing special, there aren't many special college football players.
But it's fucking retarded coach speak during spring practice.
it means nothing.