[OutsiderFan]

He ran the fastest 40 time of any offensive player at the NFL combine, including Robert Griffin and Kendall Wright, one of Griffin's WRs at Baylor.

But yet, people said this season that Andrew Luck didn't have the outside weapons that Griffin did.  Baylor did have more speedy WRs than Stanford did, but if Owusu is one of the fastest WRs in college football, including all Baylor's WRs, and Justin Blackmon...

His combine speed absolutely did not translate on the football field.  Why not?  One reason might be that he didn't wear a knee brace running his 40 yard dashes at the combine, including all the WR drills.  But he always wore a knee brace playing for Stanford.  His combine speed suggests that if he didn't play with a knee brace at Stanford he would have played faster and been the consistent deep threat Stanford needed. 

Chris Owusu's hands have never been great, but it sure seems that if he didn't play with that knee brace he would have been a more dynamic playmaker, increased Stanford's ranking (to have had a shot at a BCS championship), and it seems possible he might have also been able to get out of the way of some of the hits he has taken.

What do you guys think?

[OutsiderFan]

He ran the fastest 40 time of any offensive player at the NFL combine, including Robert Griffin and Kendall Wright, one of Griffin's WRs at Baylor.

But yet, people said this season that Andrew Luck didn't have the outside weapons that Griffin did.  Baylor did have more speedy WRs than Stanford did, but if Owusu is one of the fastest WRs in college football, including all Baylor's WRs, and Justin Blackmon...

His combine speed absolutely did not translate on the football field.  Why not?  One reason might be that he didn't wear a knee brace running his 40 yard dashes at the combine, including all the WR drills.  But he always wore a knee brace playing for Stanford.  His combine speed suggests that if he didn't play with a knee brace at Stanford he would have played faster and been the consistent deep threat Stanford needed. 

Chris Owusu's hands have never been great, but it sure seems that if he didn't play with that knee brace he would have been a more dynamic playmaker, increased Stanford's ranking (to have had a shot at a BCS championship), and it seems possible he might have also been able to get out of the way of some of the hits he has taken.

What do you guys think?

[washingtonismoney]

I don't know if the knee brace was a brobdingnagian factor. I'd list these factors as basically the most important, in no particular order:

1) 40 time is straight line speed and often not terribly useful for "football speed"--which includes quick reaction times, the ability to stop and start quickly, the ability to cut well, etc. Owusu's football speed is considerably slower than his actual speed.

2) Owusu has been hampered by injuries, either minor or major, pretty much continuously throughout his career. The exception was 2009, which is not coincidentally when he was a major factor. (There was a quote from a Pac-10 coach at the time when he compared kicking to Chris Owusu to pitching to Barry Bonds.)

3) I think his hands decreased proportionately with the number of injuries he'd sustained, cumulatively speaking, which made him less and less able to do anything but do those little bubble screens.

Anyway, if I had to list underrated factors that led to Stanford not quite achieving everything we would've liked, it'd start with special teams. If DJ Durkin is coaching the special teams in 2010 and 2011, the odds that we're discussing the national champion Stanford Cardinal are significantly increased.

[washingtonismoney]

I don't know if the knee brace was a brobdingnagian factor. I'd list these factors as basically the most important, in no particular order:

1) 40 time is straight line speed and often not terribly useful for "football speed"--which includes quick reaction times, the ability to stop and start quickly, the ability to cut well, etc. Owusu's football speed is considerably slower than his actual speed.

2) Owusu has been hampered by injuries, either minor or major, pretty much continuously throughout his career. The exception was 2009, which is not coincidentally when he was a major factor. (There was a quote from a Pac-10 coach at the time when he compared kicking to Chris Owusu to pitching to Barry Bonds.)

3) I think his hands decreased proportionately with the number of injuries he'd sustained, cumulatively speaking, which made him less and less able to do anything but do those little bubble screens.

Anyway, if I had to list underrated factors that led to Stanford not quite achieving everything we would've liked, it'd start with special teams. If DJ Durkin is coaching the special teams in 2010 and 2011, the odds that we're discussing the national champion Stanford Cardinal are significantly increased.

[cardfan09]

That lack of WR depth even have been a contributing factor to Owusu getting hurt, as it resulted in him catching more balls in traffic.

His best game is obviously screens and straight-line deep routes, and for that I could see him finding a niche as a situational WR in the NFL.  He hopefully won't need to run many more crossing routes in his career.

[cardfan09]

That lack of WR depth even have been a contributing factor to Owusu getting hurt, as it resulted in him catching more balls in traffic.

His best game is obviously screens and straight-line deep routes, and for that I could see him finding a niche as a situational WR in the NFL.  He hopefully won't need to run many more crossing routes in his career.

[FarmBoy]

Another interesting note from the ESPN blog:

Washington's Jermaine Kearse, Iowa's Marvin McNutt, Penn State's Derek Moye, Stanford's Chris Owusu, Toledo's Eric Page, Appalachian State's Brian Quick, Rutgers Mohamed Sanu and Baylor's Kendall Wright did not drop passes during the gauntlet drills or when I was watching them in other drills.

This isn't an Enigma to me. I was never overly impressed with Owusu's hands, or his ability to get open. Numbers are just part of the story. Out of curiosity I looked up Baldwin's pro day numbers, and here's a couple of samples

Player                  40-dash          Bench Press            Shuffle        Verticle
Owusu                4.36                  19 reps                      4.11          40.5
Baldwin              4.48                  6 reps                      4.26          37

By all measures, Owusu is the better prospect. He's faster, stronger, more explosive, and tall. But he doesn't fight for the ball like DB used to. I remember watching games in 2010 when Luck would throw to DB in double coverage, and I thought it was poor decision making, even though DB would come down with the ball (bad process, good outcome). But clearly, Luck is a smarter guy than I am. He know that if he threw the ball DB's way, DB was going to find a way to come down with it. I've never seen that kind of desire to fight for the ball in Owusu.

I hope Owusu can figure it out (and says healthy). It's too bad it didn't happen during his career. I remember his Sophomore season. He wasn't such a receiver threat (we didn't throw the ball that much with Toby and the TWU), but he was fearless and explosive as a kick return man. The energy he brought the team and field position was invaluable. I thought with Luck coming back, he would have a brobdingnagian year or two.

[FarmBoy]

Another interesting note from the ESPN blog:

Washington's Jermaine Kearse, Iowa's Marvin McNutt, Penn State's Derek Moye, Stanford's Chris Owusu, Toledo's Eric Page, Appalachian State's Brian Quick, Rutgers Mohamed Sanu and Baylor's Kendall Wright did not drop passes during the gauntlet drills or when I was watching them in other drills.

This isn't an Enigma to me. I was never overly impressed with Owusu's hands, or his ability to get open. Numbers are just part of the story. Out of curiosity I looked up Baldwin's pro day numbers, and here's a couple of samples

Player                  40-dash          Bench Press            Shuffle        Verticle
Owusu                4.36                  19 reps                      4.11          40.5
Baldwin              4.48                  6 reps                      4.26          37

By all measures, Owusu is the better prospect. He's faster, stronger, more explosive, and tall. But he doesn't fight for the ball like DB used to. I remember watching games in 2010 when Luck would throw to DB in double coverage, and I thought it was poor decision making, even though DB would come down with the ball (bad process, good outcome). But clearly, Luck is a smarter guy than I am. He know that if he threw the ball DB's way, DB was going to find a way to come down with it. I've never seen that kind of desire to fight for the ball in Owusu.

I hope Owusu can figure it out (and says healthy). It's too bad it didn't happen during his career. I remember his Sophomore season. He wasn't such a receiver threat (we didn't throw the ball that much with Toby and the TWU), but he was fearless and explosive as a kick return man. The energy he brought the team and field position was invaluable. I thought with Luck coming back, he would have a brobdingnagian year or two.

[washingtonismoney]

It's too bad it didn't happen during his career. I remember his Sophomore season. He wasn't such a receiver threat (we didn't throw the ball that much with Toby and the TWU), but he was fearless and explosive as a kick return man. The energy he brought the team and field position was invaluable. I thought with Luck coming back, he would have a of extremely large proportions year or two.

Disagree. Owusu was a very important threat in 2009. He got 682 yards at 18 yards a pop--the latter being second in the Pac-10. He was a genuine deep threat, though his hands were highly iffy, even then. (Those hands played a starring role in costing us the Arizona game that year). For a sophomore, discounting the kick returns, it was a highly impressive effort. (especially when you add his end-arounds, for which he was good for about one a game.)

Owusu played the game of his life against Oregon that year, catching 4 balls for 111 yards. That's the player we lacked in 2011, to say nothing of improvements from that base.

[washingtonismoney]

It's too bad it didn't happen during his career. I remember his Sophomore season. He wasn't such a receiver threat (we didn't throw the ball that much with Toby and the TWU), but he was fearless and explosive as a kick return man. The energy he brought the team and field position was invaluable. I thought with Luck coming back, he would have a of extremely large proportions year or two.

Disagree. Owusu was a very important threat in 2009. He got 682 yards at 18 yards a pop--the latter being second in the Pac-10. He was a genuine deep threat, though his hands were highly iffy, even then. (Those hands played a starring role in costing us the Arizona game that year). For a sophomore, discounting the kick returns, it was a highly impressive effort. (especially when you add his end-arounds, for which he was good for about one a game.)

Owusu played the game of his life against Oregon that year, catching 4 balls for 111 yards. That's the player we lacked in 2011, to say nothing of improvements from that base.

[fullers]

Chris did NOT wear a knee brace in 2011.

[fullers]

Chris did NOT wear a knee brace in 2011.

[OutsiderFan]

OK, if he didn't use a knee brace, the disparity between his on-field production and workout numbers is all the more confusing.  Maybe Owusu just doesn't run well in pads.  Frankly, I don't understand why they don't have these guys run their combine workouts in pads. 

I would have thought Kendall Wright of Baylor would have run at least as fast as Owusu, but he ran surprisingly slower.  Watching them play, Wright was seemed to play much faster than Owusu.  So one guy ran slower and played faster and the other guy ran faster and played slower.  Quite interesting, and why it just proves all these scouts should be doing is looking at game video to evaluate these guys as football players.

Maybe Owusu has "Taylor Mays" disease" in that he has great straight line speed, but just doesn't have the short area quickness and change of direction needed to really be a sudden player and react quickly.  That would explain his propensity to not be able to get out of the way of big hits.  I sure hope he learns or otherwise is used in ways he won't be put in vulnerable positions because they hit much harder in the NFL.

[OutsiderFan]

OK, if he didn't use a knee brace, the disparity between his on-field production and workout numbers is all the more confusing.  Maybe Owusu just doesn't run well in pads.  Frankly, I don't understand why they don't have these guys run their combine workouts in pads. 

I would have thought Kendall Wright of Baylor would have run at least as fast as Owusu, but he ran surprisingly slower.  Watching them play, Wright was seemed to play much faster than Owusu.  So one guy ran slower and played faster and the other guy ran faster and played slower.  Quite interesting, and why it just proves all these scouts should be doing is looking at game video to evaluate these guys as football players.

Maybe Owusu has "Taylor Mays" disease" in that he has great straight line speed, but just doesn't have the short area quickness and change of direction needed to really be a sudden player and react quickly.  That would explain his propensity to not be able to get out of the way of big hits.  I sure hope he learns or otherwise is used in ways he won't be put in vulnerable positions because they hit much harder in the NFL.

[Griffins78]

Really don't like this dissing of Chris Owusu. He was one of the most exciting players we've had in a long time.

He obviously had the quicks and moves to get away from defenders as we've seen countless times - especially on the end arounds. The hits you refer to have NOTHING to do with moves and avoiding tackles. They were sudden impacts just after the ball arrived as he was running to catch the ball. And they aimed at his head.

Chris had injuries that did affect him last season and this season - we don't know the details but he wasn't able to move as well. I hope those lingering injuries have healed enough that he can really show his stuff.

[Griffins78]

Really don't like this dissing of Chris Owusu. He was one of the most exciting players we've had in a long time.

He obviously had the quicks and moves to get away from defenders as we've seen countless times - especially on the end arounds. The hits you refer to have NOTHING to do with moves and avoiding tackles. They were sudden impacts just after the ball arrived as he was running to catch the ball. And they aimed at his head.

Chris had injuries that did affect him last season and this season - we don't know the details but he wasn't able to move as well. I hope those lingering injuries have healed enough that he can really show his stuff.

[JeffInCorvallis]

Don't forget that in 2009 Owusu was maybe one of the most effective special teams players at Stanford ever.  After something like 3 KO returns for TDs in 4 games teams stopped kicking to him altogether usually resulting in great field position for us.  He was very productive as a WR as well, although he did drop a few.  I remember the first play from scrimmage at OSU - Owusu was 5 yards behind the safeties and Andrew Luck delivered a strike.  It was a sure 6 points but was dropped.

[JeffInCorvallis]

Don't forget that in 2009 Owusu was maybe one of the most effective special teams players at Stanford ever.  After something like 3 KO returns for TDs in 4 games teams stopped kicking to him altogether usually resulting in great field position for us.  He was very productive as a WR as well, although he did drop a few.  I remember the first play from scrimmage at OSU - Owusu was 5 yards behind the safeties and Andrew Luck delivered a strike.  It was a sure 6 points but was dropped.

[washingtonismoney]

An article on CBS Sports about Owusu (http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/story...-about-him) includes this line:

"I wanted to make sure I was perfectly fine before I came back to football," Owusu said. "I love this game too much to give it up. I think concussions are a hot topic, especially in the NFL. The doctor I saw is on the committee in terms of spine, neck and back. He's one of the best out there. He said I have no more susceptibility to concussions than anyone else. It kind of eased my mind a little bit and helped me come back to the sport."

It's my understanding that the bolded is incorrect--that athletes who suffer concussions are in fact more likely to suffer another, e.g. this study about college soccer players:

A study conducted by McGill University in Montreal found that 60 percent of college soccer players reported symptoms of a concussion at least once during the season. The study also revealed that concussion rates in soccer players were comparable to those in football. According to this study, athletes who suffered a concussion were four to six times more likely to suffer a second concussion.

http://www.aans.org/Patient%20Informatio...ssion.aspx

[washingtonismoney]

An article on CBS Sports about Owusu (http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/story...-about-him) includes this line:

"I wanted to make sure I was perfectly fine before I came back to football," Owusu said. "I love this game too much to give it up. I think concussions are a hot topic, especially in the NFL. The doctor I saw is on the committee in terms of spine, neck and back. He's one of the best out there. He said I have no more susceptibility to concussions than anyone else. It kind of eased my mind a little bit and helped me come back to the sport."

It's my understanding that the bolded is incorrect--that athletes who suffer concussions are in fact more likely to suffer another, e.g. this study about college soccer players:

A study conducted by McGill University in Montreal found that 60 percent of college soccer players reported symptoms of a concussion at least once during the season. The study also revealed that concussion rates in soccer players were comparable to those in football. According to this study, athletes who suffered a concussion were four to six times more likely to suffer a second concussion.

http://www.aans.org/Patient%20Informatio...ssion.aspx

[CowboyIndian]

a propos of another concussion-riddled sport:
"A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest."

[CowboyIndian]

a propos of another concussion-riddled sport:
"A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest."

[Roberton3]

I think this is a point of contention among neurologists. I recently read an interview with a guy who has worked for the NFL who said the linkage remains unproven.

There's very strong evidence of a short-term link: if you're not 100% recovered from a concussion when you start playing again, then you're much more likely to suffer another concussion.  But it's a lot less clear whether there's any long-term effect, and that's the relevant question for Chris Owusu now.

[Roberton3]

I think this is a point of contention among neurologists. I recently read an interview with a guy who has worked for the NFL who said the linkage remains unproven.

There's very strong evidence of a short-term link: if you're not 100% recovered from a concussion when you start playing again, then you're much more likely to suffer another concussion.  But it's a lot less clear whether there's any long-term effect, and that's the relevant question for Chris Owusu now.

[needle]

"See, the different parts of the brain set in little cups like this," he declared, placing the knuckles of one fist into the grooves between the knuckles of his other fist. "When you get hit a terrible shot—pop!—the brain flops out of them cups and you're knocked out. Then the brain settles back in the cups and you come to. But after this happens enough times, or sometimes even once if the shot's hard enough, the brain don't settle back right in them cups, and that's when you start needing other people to help you get around."

That's Sonny Liston, as related by Jack McKinney in a 1962 SI story

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/a.../index.htm

[needle]

"See, the different parts of the brain set in little cups like this," he declared, placing the knuckles of one fist into the grooves between the knuckles of his other fist. "When you get hit a terrible shot—pop!—the brain flops out of them cups and you're knocked out. Then the brain settles back in the cups and you come to. But after this happens enough times, or sometimes even once if the shot's hard enough, the brain don't settle back right in them cups, and that's when you start needing other people to help you get around."

That's Sonny Liston, as related by Jack McKinney in a 1962 SI story

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/a.../index.htm

[dabigv13]

Yes I think the strongest link is the risk of a second concussion if the brain is not fully healed from the original one.

The risks of long term consequences as related to number of concussions vs amount of overall head trauma is still a matter of discussion, as is the risk of concussions in someone with previous remote concussions.

To say that Owusu is prone to concussions is unfair- every single hit that led to one was a devastating hit that would likely concuss any human being. I don't think NFL teams have much to worry about as regards to him being a fragile player. It's really about Chris' comfort level with the potential long term risks.

[dabigv13]

Yes I think the strongest link is the risk of a second concussion if the brain is not fully healed from the original one.

The risks of long term consequences as related to number of concussions vs amount of overall head trauma is still a matter of discussion, as is the risk of concussions in someone with previous remote concussions.

To say that Owusu is prone to concussions is unfair- every single hit that led to one was a devastating hit that would likely concuss any human being. I don't think NFL teams have much to worry about as regards to him being a fragile player. It's really about Chris' comfort level with the potential long term risks.

[fullmetal]

Owusu has had a lot of time to heal up and train for these specific events.  This is his potential nearly fulfilled, something that the football schedule did not allow for--didn't he suffer some knee injury in fall camp?

[fullmetal]

Owusu has had a lot of time to heal up and train for these specific events.  This is his potential nearly fulfilled, something that the football schedule did not allow for--didn't he suffer some knee injury in fall camp?

[CompSci87]

I think this is a point of contention among neurologists. I recently read an interview with a guy who has worked for the NFL who said the linkage remains unproven.

That reminds me uncomfortably of doctors employed by the tobacco industry who insisted for years that the link between smoking and cancer was unproven.

For the sake of Owusu and other players, I hope it's really nothing like that and that the NFL guy is both intellectually honest and correct.

[CompSci87]

I think this is a point of contention among neurologists. I recently read an interview with a guy who has worked for the NFL who said the linkage remains unproven.

That reminds me uncomfortably of doctors employed by the tobacco industry who insisted for years that the link between smoking and cancer was unproven.

For the sake of Owusu and other players, I hope it's really nothing like that and that the NFL guy is both intellectually honest and correct.