Thanks for allowing me on your message board hawks fans (vikings fan if didn't notice the nic).y
Fun debate here:
I will start with my observation of Percy Harvins Positives.
PRO:
-elite short area burst
-excellent short to medium receiver.
-good at finding spots in the zone.
-great core strength that prevents him from going down easily.
-great vision
-good at splitting defenders
-great with the ball in hands anywhere on the field.
-always fighting for the extra yard.
-able to change directions at speed.
-hard worker
-practices hard
-makes quick decisions.
Cons
-sometimes body catches the ball
-doesn't extend his arms when catching the balls
-struggles on adjusting to the football when a throw has a lot of "air" (you won't find this on utube).
-doesn't get the seperation you expect when going deep.
-does a funky basked catch on lower side balls (it looks like a High schooler when doing this).
-tends to get frustrated when not enough action comes his way
-doesn't win when fighting with CB for ball.
-drugs-suspended for a game in 2008 and tested positive at the combine.
-emotional control- junior in high school suspended for a game after getting into it with a player that was looking at him wrong. Physical contact with a ref his senior year resulting in suspension for the rest of the sporting year. Tried to choke (or sprewell) his WR coach in college that required two coaches to get him off. Threw 10 pound weight at Childress who shut weight room door avoiding getting hit. Tirade against Childress in practice. Tirade against Frazier against Seattle. tirade against Frazier in practice . (Frazier is often regarded by players and the press as the nicest guy in football)
When watching high lights of CP i am reminded of Harvin alot. However, Harvin had more polish as a route runner. CP doesn't always extend his hands out to catch the ball and let's it get in on his body. Harvin does this sometimes but not as often as CP. CP, like Harvin, can cut at speed. However, CPs cuts are more drastic and is far more willing to run east west. Almost too much. I wish Harvin would do a little more east west running and CP a little less. I also think CP adjust to deep ball better than HP does.
One of my biggest concearns with Harvin, other than the behavior and drug issues, is the contact issue. As much as I enjoy his fearless play, I would prefer to see him take less hits. As i menetioned in the cons, Harvin missed more game times than his player stats indicate. There were many times where he missed a quarter after a bruising collision. I could live with a couple yards less but being available vs. his disregard for his health. I would prefer that he would show more control and do it when it mattered most in the game or possibly save it for the playoffs. Trust me on this, many of the hawks fans will come to the same conclusion. Yes, we do have AD who lead the league with an amazing 1019 yards after contact-300 to 400 more yards than the nearest competitor. Maybe being away from the league leader in yards after contact will tamper his drive to seek contact.
I do not think that CP will be a bust. Because at the very least, he will be a top returner and run the gadget plays (short screens, reverses, and handoffs). Second, if you watch the highlights of CP, you will notice that many of the very same plays that Harvin ran under musgrave, the TNV ran. So the Percy Package will become the Patterson package (keep your minds out of the gutter
). So, CP will be productive but it comes down to the how much. when players can change direction at speed, thy have a high degree of success at the pro level IMOP
BTW, initial reports out of our OTAs gave very positive reviews about CP. The coaches said he was farther along then they initially thought he would be and Jennings said he was impressed with CPs ability to create seperation.
I think, when you look at both are teams, that this could be a win win situation. The hawks fans feel he might be the final piece for a SB run that begins now and the vikings, despite going 10-6, are replenishing the roster and in a more building mode not a tweeking one.
It will be an interesting comparison thoghout the years. But the guy you guys need to worry about is Tavon Austin. He is on another level. However, his avoidance of hits is to the point of giving up 5-10 yards in an effort to go out of bounce. I expect a lot of trash talk from seattle about this aspect of tavon's play.
http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/post/_/id/55356/sport-science-cordarrelle-patterson
