*** [RD 4] Bengals Select ~ ERICK ALL, TE ***

[dex]

54 minutes ago, sparky151 said:

Sure, Iowa was bad. But All also washed out of Michigan. Some people beat up on Burton for transferring but All did the same thing. Doing it after major back surgery is also a bit strange. Usually you'd want some continuity of care there. 

The transfer was directly related to the spine surgery itself and the Michigan doctors reaction to it. Here is a statement from Dr. Michael O'Neal:

 

As a physician involved with Erick All’s (University of Michigan tight end) injury management, I am compelled to make a public statement in order to deter potentially harmful misinformation and false narrative regarding his injury, treatment, and decision to transfer. I can speak factually on each of these topics as I have been personally and professionally involved in each stage of this process.

Let me address two rumors, as follows:

Rumor: "Erick’s decision to transfer was because the U of M was refusing to clear him to play." Fact: Erick’s surgery was a success. He is progressing ahead-of-schedule on his rehabilitation. He is expected to make a full recovery without any limitations to sport-related activity. There is absolutely no reason to date not to clear him medically to play next season.

Rumor: "Erick received care at a substandard facility outside the University of Michigan." Fact: Erick’s surgery was performed by Reggie Davis, M.D. in South Florida. Dr. Davis is a Board-Certified Neurosurgeon. He was trained and taught at the #1 Neurosurgery program in the country, Johns Hopkins University. He was the colleague of the renowned Ben Carson, M.D., and assisted on the famous separation of the conjoint twins surgery. Dr. Davis was one of the first people in the United States to perform a disc replacement surgery. He is a highly skilled, experienced, and meticulous surgeon. He has performed thousands of spine surgeries. It was because of his tedious attention to detail that Erick’s surgery was done with optimal preservation of tissue (bone, ligament, muscle). I spoke to Coach Harbaugh and he was well aware of Dr. Davis’ credentials.

In the end, Erick made a very educated decision after consultation with his team, family, and outside physicians. He lost confidence in the integrity of the UM system and key individuals involved, especially the training staff. He opted to seek care from other qualified and respected caregivers of his choice.

This is an excellent reminder that adult athletes should have the independent ability to make decisions that they feel are in their best interest, rather than being compelled to do what a team or organization feels is best for them. Many sports organizations support athlete health care autonomy; but, many teams still do not and continue to subscribe to a controlling, often ego-driven mindset.

There is more to this story, but this information should help clarify the nature of the situation, and allow everyone to refocus on facts rather than heresy.

I am proud of Erick for advocating on behalf of himself. Athletes often lose their ‘voice’. Erick exhibits maturity for taking this stance. He is a person of high character, and the team that gets him this year (and, in the NFL) will be very fortunate to have him. Let’s support and elevate this wonderful young man and athlete and wish him the health, happiness, and success he deserves.

 

 

[texbengal]

1 hour ago, sparky151 said:

Sure, Iowa was bad. But All also washed out of Michigan. Some people beat up on Burton for transferring but All did the same thing. Doing it after major back surgery is also a bit strange. Usually you'd want some continuity of care there. 

 

I never understood why All left (and I never looked into the "why"), so this thread does provide some added context. These days, lots of guys transfer... almost seems like the norm now, with NILs, transfer portal, etc.. I don't blame guys who want to do that... it's their career, and they should go where they feel they'll get the best chance for future success. 

As a UM fan, I was sad to see All leave the program. Because they were playing some musical chairs at Michigan with McCarthy and McNamara (and McNamara went to Iowa when it became clear he wasn't going to be QB1), All probably figured that following his former QB to a school that had success at getting TEs into the NFL was a good next step. That worked out pretty well for Charlie Jones at Purdue for a year.

Having watched a lot of UM games when All was there, to say that he "washed out" there IMO just isn't accurate. He was one of their best offensive players. There's no question that he's a risk now, given his injury history - but if/when healthy, I think he will be a very solid all-around TE on a team that hasn't had one in awhile. 

[New Jersey Bengal]

The rest of the nfl will regret not picking him he is going to be awesome as is McLaughlan

[dex]

9 minutes ago, texbengal said:

 

Having watched a lot of UM games when All was there, to say that he "washed out" there IMO just isn't accurate. He was one of their best offensive players. There's no question that he's a risk now, given his injury history - but if/when healthy, I think he will be a very solid all-around TE on a team that hasn't had one in awhile. 

Agree with you about All's all-around talent as a TE, but where is the injury risk here? Beyond what all NFL football players face, I mean?

 

He had risky spinal surgery in a bid to keep his NFL dreams alive, but the surgery was by all accounts (including the Bengals medical staff) a smashing success. All took a big gamble and won. He's a truly tough kid who has been beating the odds since he was a toddler, when he somehow managed to survive a tremendous house fire. Even the firefighter who rescued him said it was pretty much a miracle. So now he has the ACL injury suffered last October to deal with, a pretty common football injury which he has been furiously rehabbing. He was even working out the very moment the Bengals drafted him.

[sparky151]

That's a whole lot of smoke obfuscating that Michigan had a better TE in Loveland and All transferred to somewhere he thought he'd get more playing time. 

[alleycat]

That's not smoke. That's a very clear message:

 

All had a major/scary issue, and the UM medical staff wanted to control it and it seems recommended a course of action that All disagreed with. What the Dr. above is suggesting is that UM didn't give him a lot of choice. The specific mention of "ego" has Harbaugh all over it, I'd say. But regardless, Alt wanted to do something that was almost certainly regarded as riskier, and also may have been rejected by UM medical staff and or All's student/athlete health insurance. But he took the route that he thought would give him a chance to play, and it turns out to have been a smashing success. Trust was broken or bridges were burnt or however you want to say it, however, and so All transferred. 

 

Am I the only one that thinks that's pretty clear?

[Inigo Montoya]

4 hours ago, sparky151 said:

Sure, Iowa was bad. 

You could have stopped there.  You mentioned a lack of production and clearly the offense itself was at least somewhat to blame.  I’m far more concerned about his health/availability than his college numbers in what was clearly one of the worst offenses in the country.

[dex]

13 hours ago, alleycat said:

That's not smoke. That's a very clear message:

 

All had a major/scary issue, and the UM medical staff wanted to control it and it seems recommended a course of action that All disagreed with. What the Dr. above is suggesting is that UM didn't give him a lot of choice. The specific mention of "ego" has Harbaugh all over it, I'd say. But regardless, Alt wanted to do something that was almost certainly regarded as riskier, and also may have been rejected by UM medical staff and or All's student/athlete health insurance. But he took the route that he thought would give him a chance to play, and it turns out to have been a smashing success. Trust was broken or bridges were burnt or however you want to say it, however, and so All transferred. 

 

Am I the only one that thinks that's pretty clear?

Clear as a bell.

[sparky151]

16 hours ago, Inigo Montoya said:

You could have stopped there.  You mentioned a lack of production and clearly the offense itself was at least somewhat to blame.  I’m far more concerned about his health/availability than his college numbers in what was clearly one of the worst offenses in the country.

 

Well, the point is that even if you ignore the health issues and pretend he had never been hurt, he was still a backup player if he stayed at Michigan. Yet we used a 4th round pick on him. Yes, Brian Ferentz is a terrible football coach. That's no reason to overdraft his players. 

[I_C_Deadpeople]

12 minutes ago, sparky151 said:

 

Well, the point is that even if you ignore the health issues and pretend he had never been hurt, he was still a backup player if he stayed at Michigan. Yet we used a 4th round pick on him. Yes, Brian Ferentz is a terrible football coach. That's no reason to overdraft his players. 

Only time will tell if he was overdrafted or not. Right now it is just a guess on anyone's part, an opinion. 

[sparky151]

43 minutes ago, I_C_Deadpeople said:

Only time will tell if he was overdrafted or not. Right now it is just a guess on anyone's part, an opinion. 

 

Sure, but it's the way to bet. There are the occasional college backup players who have success in the NFL. But it doesn't happen very often for obvious reasons. 

[Inigo Montoya]

4 hours ago, sparky151 said:

 

Well, the point is that even if you ignore the health issues and pretend he had never been hurt, he was still a backup player if he stayed at Michigan. Yet we used a 4th round pick on him. Yes, Brian Ferentz is a terrible football coach. That's no reason to overdraft his players. 

His time at Michigan doesn’t really have anything to do with what he did at Iowa.  Again, you criticized his production while downplaying the bottom tier offense he played in.  That’s not a fair assessment and it doesn’t make him over drafted.  His health is definitely fair game but that’s a risk you can take in the 4th round.  

[sparky151]

His 7 game career at Iowa was the most productive part of his career. He had 21 catches, 299 yards, and 3 TDs. He was a focal point of their offense. Then he tore his ACL.

 

He spent 5 years in college and has career totals of 75 catches, 864 yards, and 5 TDs.

 

Cade Stover, who was a defender his first 3 years of college, had higher production his final 2 seasons than All had in his career. 

[Griever]