FWST: Double standard costs former Arlington Martin, TCU star a shot at NFL

[TopFrog]

FWST: Double standard costs former Arlington Martin, TCU star a shot at NFL

BY Big Steaming Pile
tengel@star-telegram.com

A player once projected to be a first-round NFL draft pick has returned to his home in Arlington, working out at his old high school while waiting for that phone to ring. Hoping for that phone to ring.

That the NFL Draft came and went without Devonte Fields’ phone buzzing was not a shock. The surprise came in the immediate minutes, hours and days after the draft when no one called.

As a freshman at TCU in 2012, Fields was the Associated Press’ Big 12 defensive player of the year. His old teammate at Arlington Martin, Myles Garrett, went No. 1 overall to the Cleveland Browns.

Read more at http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/mac-engel/article149364909.html

 

[Moose Stuff]

So the moral of the story here is that if you beat women and don't play hard the NFL is probably not gonna be in your future. So instead of "Double Standard" it should say "Devonte Fields".

 

[PO Frog]

What a really bad article. As stated in the piece, a half dozen guys with DV cases were taken in the draft. Doesn't that speak more in favor of a single standard, which is that they don't care about off-field issues if you can play? Devonte Fields problem is that he's small and lazy. Not a good combo for the NFL.

 

[Despite the odds Frog]

I believe this article is to brew Fields anger to TCU one more time to instigate another angry reaction out of him. It is what Muck does best.

Nothing makes Muck happier if he can instigate more angry reaction especially if it displays TCU in a bad light.

This article was directly written to Fields, no question in my mind. That is why he brought up the other abusers. "They got in and not you, so how can that be when you proved it was just a one time in your life mistake? Must of been what TCU coaches said about you because you were great at those other schools."

Nothing might happen which is fine for Muck, he got to bring up "I should of never gone to TCU" one more time. But if he can brew up a reaction. Well there is another story to be written or two or three.

 

[Prince of Purpoole]

"TCU star?" Lol, never change, Mack.

 

[Atomic Frawg]

So what exactly does he allege the double standard to be that kept Fields from being drafted?

 

[Punter1]

Yea Mac...i guess it would be hard for you to understand because you somehow have a job...despite having little to no sports knowledge, a creepy inclination to write stories on TCU showgirls just to get close to them and an attention-Briles mentality who writes articles just to stir boat up.

If DF was a journalist...he'd have a job in a second. But the NFL only has room for 64 or so defensive ends and you'd better better have talent and meaurables. Something you obviously don't have to have to write for the FWST.

 

[Pharm Frog]

Personally I like double standards (although the present story is not even close to being one). They serve an important purpose. The existence of double standards should make people mind their p's and q's even more, work even harder, perform at higher levels and more consistently, and advance the truism that life ain't fair and filled with uncontrollables. Also, how often do athletes benefit from "double standards"? Things like college admission requirements for example.

 

[tcumaniac]

Mac is such a terrible journalist.

 

[frog-hat]

The biggest double standard is that he gets to obtain a college degree because he's big fast and can play football. How many smarter more mature more college ready kids from low socio-economic backgrounds were not given the opportunity that MrFields was given........and squandered? There was no double standard against him; more like a huge one for him. Sorry he wasted it.

 

[Zubaz]

The moral of this story? Don’t get involved in this type of situation, but, if you do, give a team a reason to take the risk. Fields is a casualty of the NFL’s obstacle course of hypocrisy, one that said drafting Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon in the second round is OK, but drafting Fields is not.

Drafting Fields wasn't "not OK" to draft. Nobody really would have gotten up in arms about his being drafted in the context of a domestic violence charge (that was, as I understand it, mostly verbal) from 3 years ago. Framing it around this incident complicates a matter that is far far far simpler.

Fields wasn't drafted because outside of his Freshman year and the tail end of his Junior year, he just plain wasn't very good. Look at the stats, look at the performance. That's all the NFL really cares about. Short of something very egregious (which Fields doesn't really have, certainly not compared to Mixon or others), all they'll care about is whether they think you can play. 32 teams didn't think he could.

 

[West Coast Johnny]

I get what the author is saying but there is no double standard. It's all about on-the-field performance and effort.

The other stuff Mixon & Fields did off-the-field doesn't matter.

 

[Prince of Purpoole]

Drafting Fields wasn't "not OK" to draft. Nobody really would have gotten up in arms about his being drafted in the context of a domestic violence charge (that was, as I understand it, mostly verbal) from 3 years ago. Framing it around this incident complicates a matter that is far far far simpler.

Fields wasn't drafted because outside of his Freshman year and the tail end of his Junior year, he just plain wasn't very good. Look at the stats, look at the performance. That's all the NFL really cares about. Short of something very egregious (which Fields doesn't really have, certainly not compared to Mixon or others), all they'll care about is whether they think you can play. 32 teams didn't think he could.

This is exactly the case and with no disrespect to Todd D it really doesn't take a great intellect to figure it out. If a guy can play, an NFL team will figure out a way to justify putting him in the roster. I'm not a dyed in the wool Mack hater but articles spun like this one just show that he is out of ideas or he is lazy

 

[Pharm Frog]

articles spun like this one just show that he is out of ideas or he is lazy

or both

 

[denverfrog]

It is simple, in NFL terms, problems off the field lower your value. Issues on the field that might be overlooked become magnified, small things become big. In some cases, flashes of great play are now translated into "too inconsistent" or "takes plays off". DF had talent, but, his personal actions meant added skepticism and lack of benefit of doubt that his talent couldn't overcome on the field.

 

[NNM]

It is simple, in NFL terms, problems off the field lower your value. Issues on the field that might be overlooked become magnified, small things become big. In some cases, flashes of great play are now translated into "too inconsistent" or "takes plays off". DF had talent, but, his personal actions meant added skepticism and lack of benefit of doubt that his talent couldn't overcome on the field.

What's interesting is that the paradigm he's being compared against is his Arlington Martin teammate Myles Garrett. No doubt MG is a physical specimen. But every time that I saw him play, he took plays off, sometimes pretty obviously. He made some spectacular plays, but also disappeared for vast stretches. My personal view is that there is no way he matches the hype of a first rounder, let alone the No. 1 pick. If I'm wrong, it won't be the first time.

 

[Wexahu]

The only thing that cost him is that he's probably not good enough. NFL scouts and GMs know what they are doing and what they probably saw was a guy who was a borderline NFL player and figured he wasn't the type to grind it out to stay in the league. Off the field stuff might've cost him from being a 6th or 7th round pick but he wasn't a first or second day talent at all.

I thought he was a good player for us, but I never thought he was "Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year" good. I think that award was won with stats that were padded by him being surrounded by some pretty solid upperclassmen and sort of he being the guy other teams didn't account for. Just my opinion based on the eyeball test, I never thought he was anything close to a dominant player like a Jason Verrett was.

 

[Dman890]

The headline doesn't really match the article. Overall its classic Mac - pushing two unrelated things together to serve up as click bait.

 

[Froglaw]

I hope Mr. Fields does get a call and gets an NFL career.

Muck on the other hand needs to begin learning how to write without his articles always sounding strained to fit with the title.

 

[Froglaw]

I hope Mr. Fields does get a call and gets an NFL career.

Muck on the other hand needs to begin learning how to write without his articles always sounding strained to fit with the title.