SaintNik

In its latest issue, sporting news magazine labels Johnathon Sullivan a bust. I really thought that Sully stepped it up a notch in the 2nd half of the season last year after Darren Howard came back. Also, he came out as a junior and was nicked up a bit during the first half of the season. Mike Detillier also says that the concensus in the NFL is that Sullivan is a disappointment.What about Jimmy Kennedy, James Williams, William Joseph, and Dewayne Robertson from last years draft? How many of them made the Pro-bowl?

Marcus Stroud was a "bust" after his first year too. Last year he's in the pro bowl.

Rookie DT's just take a while to adjust because of the physical nature of the position... it's not like the skilled positions or even the linebacker position where so much of it relies on the athletic talent. There's a reason why the trenches are called "the trenches." DT is a tough position to play well right out of college. In college most of the 1st round talent DT are faster and stonger then the OL talent they are playing against. In the pros they run up against guys that are strong quick, and have great technique. They can no longer simply rely on athletic ability. They have to learn technique.

Sullivan definately showed as much as if not more than the other highly touted DT's... he performed better than Joseph, Kennedy, Robertson, et. all. Kevin Williams put up better numbers but that had more to do w/ where he was played (most of the year at DE).

Let's just see how Sully looks in his second year as a pro with a new line coach in Pease and the compliment of a healthy supporting cast around him. The nature of his position is not a flashy one but I do think he will be a much improved player this season.



[Edited on 23/6/2004 by SaintNik]

dberce1

I agree, here\'s hoping he has a breakout sophomore season.

Gonna have to lay off the double cheeseburgers though.