George Atkinson III, son of George II, a star defensive back for the Raiders, is hard to figure out. There is plenty here for permabashers to sieze upon to make him look like a bumb.
Unlike them, I don't think I know better than front office people or coaches until I have real evidence that they are dumbasses.
Instead, I try to figure out why they do what they do.
They just signed Atkins and cut both Watkins and Mostert!
Rather than call Sashi Brown and Hue Jackson idiots, I studied some on this.
Yes, it's true, the Raiders signed, waived, signed, and waived this player repeatedly, and nobody else claimed him. He couldn't beat out low round draft picks or other undrafted free agents.
The Raiders system does use running backs in the passing game, so that's not it. Atkins is a fit for zone or man, so that's not it either. This does not speak well of this player.
So Sashi and Hue are idiots, right? Shut tf up. I'm sick of this crap. Give them a freaking minute or two, and stop assuming Jack Del Rio and everybody else is smarter than them. God it's like walking in mud around here! There's a new sherriff in town stop it please!!!
But I digress: George Atkins III was a platoon starter and ace returner at Notre Dame. I will keep digging and figure out why in the future, but for now can tell you this is the main reason why he went undrafted. If his college coach didn't want to use him full time, we got a huge red flag here.
Let's start with the irrefutables. Adkins is 6'1, 3/8" tall snd weighed 218 lbs at his combine. He clocked in the low 4.4's (I have conflicting reports; he may have ran a 4.39).
He averaged over 5.5 YPC and 9 ypc in college. He was an elite kick returner.
Let's move on to some bullcrap scouting reports: Atkins was NOT easy to take down. He fought through tackle attempts. He is NOT strictly a straight line runner, but weaves and cuts well. I have seen some of his game tapes now, and hereby declare about half his scouting reports bullcrap.
By the way, that's no surprise. Many scouting services and most pundits rephrase and repeat what they read from the big boys. The big boys blew this one.
His combine numbers support me here. They demostrate agility and quick-twitch traits, and these belong in the "irrefutable" box.
So why did the Raiders never feature him, and why did they cut him? We can skip Latavius Murray, and even Taiwan Jones here. The guys the Raiders kept instead of Atkins were DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard.
Washington is a draft pick; a scat-back type. He is very short. I haven't researched Richard yet, but he seems similar; and short.
Latavius Murray is almost 6'3", but the rest are short and compact. The Raiders retained four running backs, and cut Atkins.
Put this in the "irrefutable" box: The Raiders didn't like Atkins. At this point, I can't figure out why, exactly, but my theory is that Murray is a much stronger power runner, and that they regarded Atkins' height as a liability.
The guys they retained instead are low to the ground and darting type runners. I suspect they are more consistent; ie Atkins might outperform them over time, but gets stuffed more often (second and nine is much worse than second and seven.)
I also read one report which said Atkins fumbles. I can't accept that as fact right now, since amatuers often inflate this stuff, and I don't trust that source. But that would explain a lot.
AHA! The idiots just cut Mostert and Watkins for a fumbler! I KNEW it! Ahh shaddap! Give it a freaking REST for crying out loud good grief...
Adkins was signed in 2014. I don't know about his contract, but that could have a lot to do with this move. The two guys they kept in his stead were pretty cheap.
Why did the Browns want him?
First, he is an elite returner. Second, he is a home run hitter who, like Duke, can line up at wide receiver, except with a much bigger catch radius, and more speed.
Second, analytics. Rightly or wrongly, one player has replaced two players, and the roster spot saved appears to have gone to a linebacker.
But why else? Well, Mostert isn't actually as dangerous as Atkins is, nor as good a receiver. Watkins isn't dangerous at all, and you shouldn't line him up as a receiver.
Beyond that, Hue knows?
Hue wanted RG3 when nobody else did. He made Jason Campbell elite...briefly. Jack Del Rio is obviously really smart, but when did you decide Hue Jackson is dumber than him?
So far, I have no evidence that Hue Jackson suffered any brain damage since steering a pile of crap to an 8-8 record as a rookie head coach, and until I do, I will magnanimously defer to his judgement.
George Atkins is irrefutably a home run hitter. That's a solid foundation. Stand by.
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