Bo Reacts to Marcus Lattimore....Again

Some of you may have noticed BBITW has been on a recent hiatus (I’m sure most of you just went right on living your lives). I don’t really have a good excuse, but  every now and then I’ve got step away of I’m afraid that my hatred for Bo Bounds will completely consume me. 

But I couldn’t stay quiet any longer after the tripe I heard on the radio this morning. At the top of the third hour Bo voiced his opinion on the Marcus Lattimore injury from Saturday afternoon. Now, the injury to Marcus Lattimore was awful and I wish him the best in his recovery (Also, I’m not including a link here to a replay or picture because I respect my readers – I saw it once and I really wish I hadn’t).

This is a subject we’ve been over before (almost one year ago exactly). Bo is of the opinion that Lattimore should already be in the NFL either after spending one or no years in college (apparently he’s not alone). And he began today by saying he should have skipped this year altogether after. Fine. That’s not so farfetched. 

But what really sticks in my craw is his short-sighted view on the NFL age limit. According to Bo, players like Trent Richardson and Lattimore should be exempt from the NFL's age requirement. This asshole spends half his talk show every day talking about how important player development is, and then he vomits this up as a talking point. I mean, obviously the key to avoiding injuries is sending someone a year removed from high school up against NFL defenses.

 Bo listed Peyton and Eli Manning, Cam Newton, and Matt Stafford (among a few others, but those stick out), as examples of players who would’ve undoubtedly (according to Bo) stayed all four years no matter the age requirement. The problem here is what Bo is saying might have some root in observational truth but is rendered pointless by how stupidly he’s saying it.

I wrote this last year, it’s easy to say running backs are NFL-ready. It’s not a complicated position – hit the hole that the blocking scheme designates for you. And players like Trent Richardson and Lattimore are obviously outliers, physically speaking. But quarterbacks need more experience to move to the next seasoning. So of course they’re more often going to stay in college for the required 3 (or even 4) years. No one’s going to draft Jimmy Clausen out of high school. That said, it is complete bullshit if you think Cam Newton wouldn’t have declared for the NFL after being dismissed from Florida. 

When you get a chance, ask Maurice Clarett how leaving college after one year works out. And for every Lattimore or Richardson, the NFL would be filled with dozens of physically and emotionally underdeveloped prospects occupying roster space. I wrote last year that abolishing the age limit would to lead to disproportionately young draft classes, overvalued skill players, and eventually a decline in player skills at the next level. Lattimore’s injury is certainly a shame but it does not signal a need for change in regards to the NFL draft rules.