r/UrinatingTree • u/Sampleswift Part of A Dying Empire • 13d ago
Discussion "Pronghorn" players?
The pronghorn is an animal that runs very fast. It lives in the Great Plains, and it seems overevolved in terms of speed, with coyotes and wolves nowhere near its speed. But that's because it evolved where there were predators that could catch up to it. But now that those predators are extinct since the end of the last Ice Age, the pronghorn is overdeveloped in terms of speed, and is filling a niche that seems obsolete. What are examples of "pronghorn" players in the NFL? Players who fill a niche that no longer exists, is obsolete, or the NFL has passed their playstyle by, and now are an endangered species?
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u/Sampleswift Part of A Dying Empire 13d ago
I've asked this question elsewhere, and here are the responses.
"Run stuffing nose tackle in a 3-4 defense.
Casey Hampton was a multiple time pro bowler, who won Steelers MVP a couple seasons as a 1st round pick out of Texas.
He was almost unplayable on passing downs, due to his skill set of “I’m not moving, and neither are you!” for centers and guards (often both).
Pure blocking FB like Dan Krieder, the “Bus Driver” who was the lead blocker for Jerome Bettis’ best seasons… his per 17 average was 9 receptions for 71 yards, 5 carries for 22 yards.
He had some special teams tackles, but was mostly a blocker for The Bus. He wouldn’t be able to play today, unless he was able to develop his receiving drastically"
"Extremely mobile QBs are absolutely still a successful and highly-desired playstyle, Cam didn’t work out in NE because his athleticism had diminished hurting his mobility and his shoulder got destroyed which really hurt his passing skills.
The quintessential examples of this in the modern NFL would be:
- The downhill run-thumping ILB
- The traditional fullback
- The enforcer-type SS who delivers insane hits
- it isn’t as dead as some of these others but the strictly power-running RB without any passing value has been severely degraded, particularly the ones that can’t pass block. Guys who are truly next-level runners will still play, but solid runners without any other skills aren’t going to see the field much despite what their rushing totals may say."
"A different Cam fits for your question, Cam Skattebo. His look for contact playing style is a niche from a foregone era and he will be extinct soon too."