just read it this morning on the interweb so it must be true. Daily Norseman page reporting that they signed him as a safety. Good luck little buckaroo.
So Tommy as in fact now signed with the Vikings
- Thread starter dinglefritz
- Start date
You know he is on the team right? Got another shot and they signed him
http://www.vikings.com/news/article...5298-7e79-42f7-8bfc-25b93a637348?sf83515599=1
I think Eyore errrr mwulf is saying is that he hasn't yet made the 53 man or practice squads.
I'll be pleasantly surprised if he makes the 53. Sure would love to see this guy get a chance to "return the favor" on the defensive side of the ball.
I would be very impressed if he makes the practice squad at a different position considering he played quarterback for 4 years. Forget making the 53 man roster...if he makes a team's practice squad...we should all be impressed with his desire/determination and applaud him for it.
Tommy has never shied away from hitting someone. I loved when we would run reverses with Tommy as a lead blocker. Seemed like he would lay someone out every single time with a perfect open field block
As a vikings fan I'd say Minnesota is f*cked this coming season if he makes the squad. I honestly can't believe they're wasting time their time with him.
it would appear that TA is pretty tough
I have never seen anything like what happened in the OSU game - where he was motionless for several minutes, got carted away in ambulance and was running back on the field a short time thereafter.
Can anyone cite another example of someone seemingly being unconscious - have an ambulance on the field - being rushed to a medical center and then a short time after running back on the field.
It is almost as if he wasn't injured at all. Amazing.
I have never seen anything like what happened in the OSU game - where he was motionless for several minutes, got carted away in ambulance and was running back on the field a short time thereafter.
Can anyone cite another example of someone seemingly being unconscious - have an ambulance on the field - being rushed to a medical center and then a short time after running back on the field.
It is almost as if he wasn't injured at all. Amazing.
Nah. IF he makes the practice squad it's strictly as a developmental guy. The Vikes have had some success doing that with guys at WR and RB. There is absolutely no reason to think he can't be successful at safety down the road for them. Good speed and size for a safety and playing QB is a good base for understanding safety play. It's a long shot but training camp money isn't a bad thing. The Vikes have had a tough time finding guys in the draft to fill that backup safety role so why not TA. He's probably bigger and faster than most of the other undrafted safeties out there.
He's shown nothing that he'd be able to translate to any other position, nothing. His athleticism has been extremely overrated since he's been at Nebraska. If he were a stud athletically I'd understand it, but he's not even close.
6'+, played at about 225. Runs in the 4.5s and he's not a stud athlete? Ummm you may want to reconsider that position. I don't know if he'll stick on the practice squad or not but the kid is an outstanding athlete. There have been plenty of guys with less athletic ability than him play safety in the NFL. The question isn't if he's big or fast enough. The question is if he can learn the position and bring the wood. The Vikings have virtually nothing to lose by giving him a shot in the camp. IF it doesn't work out there will be experienced safeties get cut in salary cap moves or just by getting replaced by lower paid rookies in the pre-season.
I would say you deserve a wedgie for a remark like that
Been so long since Nebraska's had any, you probably don't remember what they look like.
The reality is, the Vikings are paying him now. They must have seen something you don't see. And they are paid to notice those things. So it seems they think he has more athletic ability than you want to give him credit for.
I guess it all depends on your definition of "stud athlete". Is he Mike Rozier talented or Lawrence Phillips? Maybe not. Those guys were maybe two of the most athletic RBs to ever play for anybody in college football. I guess I would consider them "elite". If that is what it takes to be considered a "stud" by you then I get your point because there are always a few guys that are faster every year than TA at that size and height. My definition of stud I guess is somebody that is probably in the top 10% of college football players athletically and I think TA fits that bill. He's definitely athletic enough to play safety and special teams in the NFL. Heck if you're good enough to start for a major college football program IMO you're a stud. You were probably in the top 0.1 percent of high school football players to begin with.
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Well, I just look at it this way...if TA had any sort of ability to recognize defenses and was a bit more accurate as a passer, he had all the physical tools to be a 1st team All Conference QB, and very likely to be included in some of the post-season awards handed out to QBs. His arm strength and agility were very near the top of the heap.
If anything, Tommy's athleticism is UNDERRATED. He was coming off of Knee surgery as a freshman, overshadowed by Ameer as a sophomore but had a number of athletic plays that season, junior and senior year he simply out-athleted the other side to keep us in games.... often while running for his life.
Take this wherever it fits, but I've actually heard from close people that Armstrong was clearly gifted, but one of the worst weight room workers on the team at Nebraska.
Hey, it could be a good thing. Maybe the guy still has untapped potential athletically/physically and the either-do-this-or-find-another-job part of the NFL is exactly what he needs?
It appeared that we had more than one guy that just slid by....Vincent Valentine for one. It kind of makes one wonder if that is why guys that appeared maybe more talented didn't play for Cav such as the center that transferred to CSU.
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Without any inside info; it may be that Cav plays favorites over a center who was outstanding against UCLA according to some. Many here say our center did well against one level and was undersized against some. Would a player justly leave from frustration ? I don't know; and think even the player who left deserves some benefit of doubt on this question ?
Just curious… If he was as unathletic as you suggest, why did they bring him back in the first place? And pay him some more to boot?
And I also noticed your long absence from this thread, until now. Feels good to be able to say, "I told you so..."
But I'm gonna say NFL teams don't bring people in who haven't played a certain position since high school to try them out there unless they see some athleticism that translates.
So in your professional opinion, why did Minnesota bring Tommy back and pay him for the last couple of weeks? They had to know how unathletic he is... so why do it?
Completely agree and if he makes it in the league it's going to be that sacrifice and self-determination that takes him places. Go Tommy and GBR!
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anon_umk0ifu6vj6zi
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You can partially "blame" the current staff and administration who people like to rag on. Fact is guys are getting a look that probably would not have.
