Will people now admit that fattening up Duke slowed em down?

[playmaker20]

Duke was very fast as a 180lb freshman. He's a more complete RB with the added bulk and will perform well in the league.
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/player/_/id/119126/randy-johnson

 

[gongorad]

maybe everyone who thought duke back could run in the 4.3s bought the 4.18 Koolaid Dorsett was selling...

Duke will be fine in the pros...

 

[INCaneFan]

He adds weight and has the best season of his career by a wide margin. He stayed healthy for the entire season by and large, the first time that's happened.

Yup, it was a dumbass move on his part to add some weight. No offense, but if you believe that, you're a dumbass moron.

 

[Cane Dynasty]

He adds weight and has the best season of his career by a wide margin. He stayed healthy for the entire season by and large, the first time that's happened.

Yup, it was a dumbass move on his part to add some weight. No offense, but if you believe that, you're a dumbass moron.

You must be suffering some kind of stroke or something. Re-read the OP then get back to us after you've rebooted.

 

[BucCANEers]

It was painfully obvious throughout the season that his long speed and short area burst were affected by the weight gain.

Now we have what can only be described as a disappointing/ schitty 40 time at the combine.

The truth is just the truth. That's all.

It's hilarious how many idiotic post this guy has. You need to stop believing in myths and see the truth. Whether Duke @ 180 or 207, he was never fast. Putting on muscle prob help him so he can handle a workload. but the point is Duke was never fast and anybody with a brain knows that

Saying he was never fast is just as idiotic. A 4.55 isn't slow. You guys wet yourself over mythical 4.2 and 4.3 times that get thrown out all the time when in reality there is only a few guys running in that range every year. Yes, Duke lost a little on his time but it's not like it will affect his draft stock. No one was expecting him to run a 4.3.

4.5 isn't fast. Fast is low 4.4and down. 4.5 is good for a rb. When people say he was never fast they mean relative to his position. Is 4.5 for a de fast? Yeah, its blazing, but for a HB its ok

 

[Coach Macho]

4.5 definitely isn't fast, especially when you consider Mike James and Javarris James ran the same time and were bigger than Duke.

Where Duke is special is...

1. Vision
2. Burst

He might only run a mid-4.5 in the forty but when he's on the field it's the first 5 to 10 yards where he kills the defense.

 

[SJMPARMAN]

Duke will be the steal of the NFL draft IMHO. He runs, he catches and he can do it all if a coach lets him. Lamar Miller was so unprepared for the NFL compared to Duke with three years in our offense. An NFL quarterback favorite play is a check down when things are confusing down field. Imagine the NFL quarterback saddled with the burden of tossing it to Duke Johnson, or handing it off to him. Duke is special but not flawless. He is a Darren Sproles, Tony Nathan, and he may grow into a Thurman Thomas type of back in the NFL. You don't need a combine to evaluate Duke. You just turn on the tape and smile secretively if you are an NFL scout.

 

[BucCANEers]

4.5 definitely isn't fast, especially when you consider Mike James and Javarris James ran the same time and were bigger than Duke.

Where Duke is special is...

1. Vision
2. Burst

He might only run a mid-4.5 in the forty but when he's on the field it's the first 5 to 10 yards where he kills the defense.

Yup, the OP still believes the myth Duke is a speed demon. Duke was never fast (relative to his position) even in his 1st year. What Duke is,like Macho said, is vision and burst combine with a mean stiff arm, great agility and great acceleration(maybe where people confuse speed for his acceleration).

 

[lauderdaleballer]

I'm sorry... I still remember Duke burning BC on his first carry and killing VT just off of speed alone... He has lost a step but he's a football player where he can be used like Darren Sproles or Gio Bernard... I don't see him as a 1k rushing back but he'll be a contributor...

 

[Coach Macho]

I'm sorry... I still remember Duke burning BC on his first carry and killing VT just off of speed alone... He has lost a step but he's a football player where he can be used like Darren Sproles or Gio Bernard... I don't see him as a 1k rushing back but he'll be a contributor...

I remember the same thing, but he was probably a high 4.4 runner back then. A high 4.4 player would make BC and VT look like that. He's put on a lot of bulk since then and now he's a mid 4.5 guy.

That's just my assumption.

I don't think he was ever a speed guy like Lamar Miller, but I do think he got a little bit slower over the years. I think all our guys did. We put a premium on bulk around here. No way in **** Perryman was running a 4.8 when he got here. LOL

 

[wudee]

I'm sorry... I still remember Duke burning BC on his first carry and killing VT just off of speed alone... He has lost a step but he's a football player where he can be used like Darren Sproles or Gio Bernard... I don't see him as a 1k rushing back but he'll be a contributor...

look at the schools you named, boston college and vt, home of the inflated 40 times

 

[ThomasM]

That, his cutting ability, and nasty, nasty stiff arm. Top end speed was never his thing, and it didn't have to be.

it was always his vision that set him apart not his speed.

 

[ThomasM]

Also, ask VT what version of Duke was the best they saw. I'd bet the house it was the 2014 version.

 

[sebastian91]

From another thread:

""From the data collected, it can be concluded that the delay between the hand start and the electronic start (when arranged by magnitude) is evenly distributed between 0.10 and 0.25 seconds. Therefore, based on this experiment data (and only accounting for human error at the start not the finish line), the average hand-timed 40 yard run is 0.175+/-0.075 seconds “faster” than a fully electronic time"

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/01...ysis_Paper.pdf

4.55 laser minus 0.175 error for hand-timing = 4.375

4.4 > 4.375

Duke's laser time of 4.55 from the combine is, on average, equivalent to a hand-timed 40 of 4.375. Therefore, despite being bigger, more durable, and far better suited to the NFL, it can be argued that Duke is faster at this weight than he was for that 4.4s hand-timed 40 that you're desperately searching in vain for."

https://www.canesinsight.com/threads/55767-Duke-Johnson-driven-by-promises-to-mother/page2

 

[Cane Dynasty]

 

[fincane]

I'm sorry... I still remember Duke burning BC on his first carry and killing VT just off of speed alone... He has lost a step but he's a football player where he can be used like Darren Sproles or Gio Bernard... I don't see him as a 1k rushing back but he'll be a contributor...

I remember the same thing, but he was probably a high 4.4 runner back then. A high 4.4 player would make BC and VT look like that. He's put on a lot of bulk since then and now he's a mid 4.5 guy.

That's just my assumption.

I don't think he was ever a speed guy like Lamar Miller, but I do think he got a little bit slower over the years. I think all our guys did. We put a premium on bulk around here. No way in **** Perryman was running a 4.8 when he got here. LOL

Actually he broke a tackle in the backfield and then two more down the field for that TD against BC. He didn't just run away from them.

 

[BucCANEers]

From another thread:

""From the data collected, it can be concluded that the delay between the hand start and the electronic start (when arranged by magnitude) is evenly distributed between 0.10 and 0.25 seconds. Therefore, based on this experiment data (and only accounting for human error at the start not the finish line), the average hand-timed 40 yard run is 0.175+/-0.075 seconds “faster” than a fully electronic time"

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/01...ysis_Paper.pdf

4.55 laser minus 0.175 error for hand-timing = 4.375

4.4 > 4.375

Duke's laser time of 4.55 from the combine is, on average, equivalent to a hand-timed 40 of 4.375. Therefore, despite being bigger, more durable, and far better suited to the NFL, it can be argued that Duke is faster at this weight than he was for that 4.4s hand-timed 40 that you're desperately searching in vain for."

https://www.canesinsight.com/threads/55767-Duke-Johnson-driven-by-promises-to-mother/page2

Ban him. We dont want the truth, we want myth.

 

[BWCD]

Duke never was a true blazer...he is a quicker-than-fast guy, with or without the extra weight. 4.48 was posted for his time as a Freshman pre-weight gain, and now OP is implying that Duke is "slow" since the weight gain with a 4.54 at the Combine. SlowER? Yes. Slow? No.

He's just fine for an NFL back. There are a lot of worthwhile things to kill this staff for...but to kill this staff because they had Duke Johnson go from 185 to 207 and lose all of 0.06 off of his 40 time...that's not a crime. That extra weight helped him to be more durable as his career went on, and will help him in the league as well.

I think Duke's initial burst actually got better as time went on thru his Miami career, and that's what makes him a viable NFL 2nd/3rd rounder. It was never his top-end speed that people drooled over.