Does the average pro athlete have an IQ of 75?

[saint]

Sometimes, it amazes me the stupidy of some pro athletes. Like in tonight's SNF game. How can you fumble on the 1 yard line trying to get in the endzone. Don't these guys know to protect the ball down there, instead of reaching out w/ 1 hand to pad their stats. If everyday people like you or I pulled equivalent sh#t like that in our jobs, we'd get fired. I just don't understand how these guys get paid so much money and make such elementary mistakes. And no, this rant has nothing to do with betting or anything else. Has anybody ever watched some of the things these guys do and wondered how ridiculous it is?? Late hits, false starts when other teams are punting, etc etc. I wish I had that much leniency in my future profession!

 

[saint]

Example 2 in five minutes, that needless roughing the passer penalty

 

[Valuist]

College football players are worse. I think they are the dumbest athletes in any major sport. I think they are worse than high school football players because most HS players are probably football fans and realize they'll never play in the pros. But colleges love to go after the raw talent athletes who can run 4.4 and can bench 400 lbs. Unfortunately, these are the guys that have never watched a game in their lives. I cant believe the some of the stuff I see on Saturdays.

 

[Da_Insider]

valuist,

i totally agree with you, you took the words right out of my mouth...

 

[Valuist]

Anyone watching VT/BC? This is exactly what I'm talking about. BC has a 1st and goal on the VT 5...personal foul against BC. End up missing a 37 yd FG. Then VT's next possession, BC stops them on a 3rd and over 10 but another personal foul on BC keeps the drive alive. VT gets a TD, kills any crowd noise and the route is on. For every Dwayne Rudd in the NFL there's a few hundred football-dumb college players.

 

[Skinar]

While I think that there are plenty of dumb professional athletes in every sport, including golf (Phil Mickelson has to be the dumbest professional golfer to ever live), I agree with Valuist that the really painfully ignorant players are found in the college sports. In the NFL for example I think that the schemes are so complex now that a really stupid player probably just can't hack it from the mental standpoint. I don't know about the NBA though, it seems that an awful lot of those guys just don't have much upstairs, they can just run and jump. I do think the overall quality of shooting has declined in the NBA in the past 15 years due to the emphasis on size and pure athleticism (you can read that, dunking ability). It's certain that free throw percentages have dropped in the last 15 years.

I'll never forget listening to Charles Barkley (I think it was him) on the 'NBA Tonight' sometime last year when he was asked who he thought was the most dangerous player in the NBA. He didn't hesitate for a minute and said 'the wide open white guy behind the three point line'. The guys on the panel just about fell on the floor - and then they agreed that Charles was probably right.

The other famous quote I remember was about Larry Byrd. The story goes that he was working as a tipper on a garbage truck and a coach who was trying to recruit him asked Byrd if he planned on tipping garbage the rest of his life. Supposedly Byrd said 'Hell no. One of these days I'll be driving this truck!'. I was really amazed when he did so well coaching the Pacers.

Looks like BC will have to run it all the way to the end zone (like they just did) in order to score tonight. If they stop at the 5 on the way in they're f*cked.

 

[Valuist]

Skinar-

I think you hit the nail on the head. So much emphasis on athletism; doesn't matter if you can play but how strong and fast you are. Look at how long Warner was overlooked; Favre started out as the 5th string QB as Southern Miss, Garcia played for several years in Canada. Meanwhile the Ryan Leafs and Lawrence Phillips of the world are given way too many chances.