Red Flags are Flying on Kayvon Thibodeaux

[FishDuck Article]

Must be NFL Draft season here at FishDuck as we hit on Oregon’s super-star Kayvon Thibodeaux for the second straight day. Unfortunately, as we draw closer to the draft, red flags keep rising on Thibodeaux. Thibodeaux’s latest transgression occurred this past weekend at the NFL Combine. Thibodeaux was expected to participate in drills after completing his solid 40 yard-dash (4.58 ...

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[toketeeman]

I have been just a casual reader of the headlines/articles on Thibodeaux over the past season and year . . . from which I have also kept on getting intuitively the strong scent of ELITISM from this guy who has been touting his own crypto-currency and other NIL benefits . . . and now this arrogant nonsense at the NFL Combine. I agree with the article. And these NFL draft teams are watching very closely. 

[Smith72]

Darren, thanks for writing all these great articles!  Another excellent piece today.

 

You said, " When, in reality, the best thing you can do for your brand is to leave everything you have on the field. Otherwise, you are just putting the cart in front of the horse."

 

I couldn't have said it any better!  Let your actions on the field speak for who you are!  There is entirely too much talk aka "self promotion" in the world today.

[Haywarduck]

Sometimes kids just talk and what they say doesn't necessarily line up with what they do or have done. Pundits are always trying to connect the dots where they shouldn't be connected and making predictions. When a football player says, 'it has been a long day' after a short amount of effort things start to line up in the wrong way.

 

Either Thibs is a shrewd dude and is playing the crowd or he is blind to how he is coming off to those that matter. Putting down others to elevate oneselve is never a solid thing to do. When he put down a southern education he was offending a majority of the NFL players. I wonder about how he was raised when a kid does this type of stuff, just not a smart move in public or private. There is talking smack about an opponent, but that wasn't what he did.

 

Now complaining about how long the day is when the day is about as short as he will see in the NFL is questionable. All the NFL guys can see is talent at the combine. There are few indicators of effort they will see on the field, but Thibs decided to provide a juicy tidbit, strike two in my book. Love the kid, but his education is, evidently, not over.

[azguy1]

Have never been impressed by the guy.  Always thought he was vastly overrated.  Disappeared totally against utah.  Nowhere to be seen.   Seemed more interested in posing for the crowd than making plays.

[WiseKwacker]

Another great take, Darren. I thought the same thing as you when I heard the Clowney comment from Thibs. "Why the hell did he pick THAT guy to compare himself to?" 

 

Even so, I hope the kid realizes his potential as a pro. To do that, I think he has to prove that he's willing to be coached. Despite his enormous talent, there are a lot of nuances he'll need to add to his "game" to become a great pro.

[Jon Joseph]

The red flags are about to turn into lots of green backs. KT will be fine. Put that many microphones in front of my face at KT's age and I shudder at the comments that would have been uttered.

 

Focusing on 'me' and not team seems to be the norm in today's society. An UGA starting WR left a champ team to get more throws from the Heisman Award winner. Our guy Dye? Off to LA for the $. QB Ewers graduates high school early, signs with Ohio State and without seeing the field makes big NIL bank before transferring to Texas.

 

Why should the players differ from their coaches? SEE: Lincoln Riley, Brian Kelly and Mario Cristobal.

[1Ducker1]

Great athlete but lacks killer instinct at his position--me thinks

[Darren Perkins]

On 3/8/2022 at 5:05 AM, toketeeman said:

I have been just a casual reader of the headlines/articles on Thibodeaux over the past season and year . . . from which I have also kept on getting intuitively the strong scent of ELITISM from this guy who has been touting his own crypto-currency and other NIL benefits . . . and now this arrogant nonsense at the NFL Combine. I agree with the article. And these NFL draft teams are watching very closely. 

He comes across as more contrived than real. 

[Darren Perkins]

On 3/8/2022 at 6:11 AM, Smith72 said:

Darren, thanks for writing all these great articles!  Another excellent piece today.

 

You said, " When, in reality, the best thing you can do for your brand is to leave everything you have on the field. Otherwise, you are just putting the cart in front of the horse."

 

I couldn't have said it any better!  Let your actions on the field speak for who you are!  There is entirely too much talk aka "self promotion" in the world today.

 

You get these young guys and they see football as part of their "brand," when football needs to be everything first, and then if you are successful in the NFL, you can expand your brand. But, first things first. 

[Darren Perkins]

On 3/8/2022 at 6:26 AM, Haywarduck said:

Sometimes kids just talk and what they say doesn't necessarily line up with what they do or have done. Pundits are always trying to connect the dots where they shouldn't be connected and making predictions. When a football player says, 'it has been a long day' after a short amount of effort things start to line up in the wrong way.

 

Either Thibs is a shrewd dude and is playing the crowd or he is blind to how he is coming off to those that matter. Putting down others to elevate oneselve is never a solid thing to do. When he put down a southern education he was offending a majority of the NFL players. I wonder about how he was raised when a kid does this type of stuff, just not a smart move in public or private. There is talking smack about an opponent, but that wasn't what he did.

 

Now complaining about how long the day is when the day is about as short as he will see in the NFL is questionable. All the NFL guys can see is talent at the combine. There are few indicators of effort they will see on the field, but Thibs decided to provide a juicy tidbit, strike two in my book. Love the kid, but his education is, evidently, not over.

 

Agree. He just needs to zip it, and go out and play good, tough football. 

[Darren Perkins]

On 3/8/2022 at 6:37 AM, azguy1 said:

Have never been impressed by the guy.  Always thought he was vastly overrated.  Disappeared totally against utah.  Nowhere to be seen.   Seemed more interested in posing for the crowd than making plays.

He's the kind of guy where if he played at a different school I would have been sooooo sick of hearing about him, especially with the questions that surround him.

 

But, I do carry a certain unconditional love for us Oregon folks. 

[Darren Perkins]

On 3/8/2022 at 7:32 AM, Wrathis said:

While I agree that there are some concerning things being said, I'm not ready to turn my cheers to jeers. Truth is that he was a star here who gave us some great games and memories. He helped keep a national spotlight on the program when it could have easily drifted elsewhere.

He was a superstar that made Eugene home and made our program increasingly relevant and better. It's my hope that he focuses up (on football), stomps a mudhole in the competition and proves all the haters and doubters wrong!

We're all cheering for him succeed, hopefully he can become a defensive version of Herbert, but there are some things that have raised legitimate questions. Hoping he focuses on football and gets defensive ROY in 2022.

[Darren Perkins]

On 3/8/2022 at 8:45 AM, WiseKwacker said:

Another great take, Darren. I thought the same thing as you when I heard the Clowney comment from Thibs. "Why the hell did he pick THAT guy to compare himself to?" 

 

Even so, I hope the kid realizes his potential as a pro. To do that, I think he has to prove that he's willing to be coached. Despite his enormous talent, there are a lot of nuances he'll need to add to his "game" to become a great pro.

For sure. Hopefully he'll be willing to be coached up, and not become Clowney 2.0. 

[McDuck]

On 3/8/2022 at 9:35 AM, Darren Perkins said:

 

Agree. He just needs to zip it, and go out and play good, tough football. 

Does he really?  Reportedly he made well into six figures from NIL this past year.  A top 20 draft pick will get him another $12+ million.  Even if he washes out he walks away (pain free) with a sizable bank account and most of his brain cells still intact.

[shawnski]

I think he's just young, inexperienced, and immature. 

 

Unfortunately, his generation has to act like they have and answer for everything and the explanation comes out as word-salad instead of profound.

 

I've never perceived him as having a lack of effort. I think he needs waaayyy more experience and needs to expand his game to more than just a speed rush. 

[Darren Perkins]

On 3/8/2022 at 9:01 AM, Jon Joseph said:

The red flags are about to turn into lots of green backs. KT will be fine. Put that many microphones in front of my face at KT's age and I shudder at the comments that would have been uttered.

 

Focusing on 'me' and not team seems to be the norm in today's society. An UGA starting WR left a champ team to get more throws from the Heisman Award winner. Our guy Dye? Off to LA for the $. QB Ewers graduates high school early, signs with Ohio State and without seeing the field makes big NIL bank before transferring to Texas.

 

Why should the players differ from their coaches? SEE: Lincoln Riley, Brian Kelly and Mario Cristobal.

Of course, but will he get as many green backs as he could have gotten without the red flags? It is not looking that way. But, the main point being, will the red flags that are hampering now continue into his NFL days, and he'll be considered an underachiever as a pro? Or, will he fulfill his talent and be a great pro? TBD

[Charles Fischer]

On 3/8/2022 at 9:21 AM, cartm25 said:

We live in a self-serving, egotistical, narcissistic society where meaningless drivel can earn you fame and fortune (i.e. one Tik Tok dance per day). We live in a society where folks criticize prominent members of society of being narcissistic in between taking pictures and videos of themselves all day - hypocrisy personified.

 

Long story short, this type of behavior will be the norm far more often than it should be.

 

That said, I don't recall thinking KT ever took a game off while playing for the Ducks, so hoping this was just a poor attempt at being cheeky.

 

 

That first paragraph of yours cartm25, was just EPIC.

 

You so nailed a high percentage of our society today in that paragraph. Thanks.

[Jon Joseph]

On 3/8/2022 at 12:46 PM, Darren Perkins said:

Of course, but will he get as many green backs as he could have gotten without the red flags? It is not looking that way. But, the main point being, will the red flags that are hampering now continue into his NFL days, and he'll be considered an underachiever as a pro? Or, will he fulfill his talent and be a great pro? TBD

Yes, based on the rookie salary agreement in the NFL, dropping a few spots does cost $. But I believe he will be a top 10 pick and will be making very good dough. The key then as you so note Darren, will be the quality of play in the NFL. The 1st free agency deal is the one that leads to the huge money.

 

I for one think the injury in the opening game at Fresno tempered at least in part, KT's enthusiasm for the rest of the season? Although the stats he put up in some of the games, versus CAL for instance, were off the charts. Not being to exhibit the quality of his play in Oregon's most watched game versus Ohio State also had to be a downer.

 

As to Utah? IMO, many of the  guys on the team had checked out before the 1st game against the Utes. I think they stopped buying in to Mario's small-ball, physicality philosophy; those in the locker room were likely to be the first to note that Mario had his sights set on Miami. It had to be clear to those in the locker room that there was friction between Mario and Joe Moorhead.

 

I am not excusing the young man taking his foot off the gas, just expressing my ideas as to why this was the case.

 

He of course did not play against Oklahoma. The 2nd half versus Oklahoma was a revelation. Athletes were allowed to be athletes and guys on O, including AB, seemed to be freed up for the first time in 2021 to play ball and not worry about making mistakes.

 

Personally, I never bought into the 'culture' Mario brought to Oregon. The recruiting numbers simply did not match the effort and results on the field of play. I don't think KT was the only guy who did not play to the level of his ability on the 2021 team. I put this down as much or more on the coaching as I do on the individual players.

 

Football is hard. Football practice is hard. Made harder if there is not cogent leadership from the top down and you cannot have fun on game day. Looking over your shoulder on every play is not conducive to having fun. 

 

Thanks again for another terrific article.

[McDuck]

On 3/8/2022 at 9:46 AM, Darren Perkins said:

Of course, but will he get as many green backs as he could have gotten without the red flags? It is not looking that way. But, the main point being, will the red flags that are hampering now continue into his NFL days, and he'll be considered an underachiever as a pro? Or, will he fulfill his talent and be a great pro? TBD

No question his future earnings will probably be negatively impacted, the question is does it matter to him and what he wants out of life? 

 

Decades ago I worked for a Fortune 100 company with an office in Eugene.  With the office scheduled for closure I was offered a traveling auditor position (I'm an operations guy) which would have led to basically writing my own ticket after a couple years on the road.  I declined and have never regretted that decision for a moment.  True, my retirement is a fraction of what it could have been but I'm content and comfortable.  

 

My impression is KT has aspirations beyond football, that it is just a means to an end.  I hope at the end of the day he considers himself successful.

[Darren Perkins]

On 3/8/2022 at 9:45 AM, McDuck said:

Does he really?  Reportedly he made well into six figures from NIL this past year.  A top 20 draft pick will get him another $12+ million.  Even if he washes out he walks away (pain free) with a sizable bank account and most of his brain cells still intact.

Nobody is questioning that he's going to make a lot of money and that he'll be set for life. The question is how good will he be in the pros. Will he be a Clowney 2.0? Or. a perennial pro-bowler. 

[The Kamikaze Kid]

I think we should take a look at the big picture view of the overall under achievement of the Mario era instead of just the underachievement of individual players.

 

These guys were sold on bringing back the big time splash of Duck football but were given a conservative play not to lose game plan on both sides of the ball. 
 

They all saw a potential Heisman winner Herbert reduced to a game manager. They saw many 4 1/2-5 star players sit on the sidelines in favor of vanilla upper class men.

 

KT called out Mario as a fraud and Pitman had a similar take in his parting rant. Both the former DC and OC couldn’t get out of here fast enough.

 

There’s probably much more dissatisfaction we’ll never know about. With all that as a backdrop, along with the disturbing amount of season ending injuries last year, it’s not surprising that players may have dialed back their out put. 
 

Hopefully Lanning is the real deal and the team enjoys running through the wall for him next year. Don’t be surprised if KT ends up looking like everything we hoped he’d be here in the NFL. 

Edited March 8, 2022 by The Kamikaze Kid

[Darren Perkins]

On 3/8/2022 at 9:21 AM, cartm25 said:

We live in a self-serving, egotistical, narcissistic society where meaningless drivel can earn you fame and fortune (i.e. one Tik Tok dance per day). We live in a society where folks criticize prominent members of society of being narcissistic in between taking pictures and videos of themselves all day - hypocrisy personified.

 

Long story short, this type of behavior will be the norm far more often than it should be.

 

That said, I don't recall thinking KT ever took a game off while playing for the Ducks, so hoping this was just a poor attempt at being cheeky.

 

 

I hear ya on society.

 

Am I losing it? Did i say he took a game off? There is a feeling by some pundits (like Canzano) that he "disappered" at times. 

[Haywarduck]

On 3/8/2022 at 9:21 AM, cartm25 said:

We live in a self-serving, egotistical, narcissistic society where meaningless drivel can earn you fame and fortune (i.e. one Tik Tok dance per day). We live in a society where folks criticize prominent members of society of being narcissistic in between taking pictures and videos of themselves all day - hypocrisy personified.

 

I, thankfully, don't live in that society. I don't see it here, nor where I travel. I do agree there is far too little critical thinking on many peoples part, but I stay away from that crowd, or discussion.

[Darren Perkins]

On 3/8/2022 at 10:32 AM, The Kamikaze Kid said:

I think we should take a look at the big picture view of the overall under achievement of the Mario era instead of just the underachievement of individual players.

 

These guys were sold on bringing back the big time splash of Duck football but were given a conservative play not to lose game plan on both sides of the ball. 
 

They all saw a potential Heisman winner Herbert reduced to a game manager. They saw many 4 1/2-5 star players sit on the sidelines in favor of vanilla upper class men.

 

KT called out Mario as a fraud and Pitman had a similar take in his parting rant. Both the former DC and OC couldn’t get out of here fast enough.

 

There’s probably much more dissatisfaction we’ll never know about. With all that as a backdrop, along with the disturbing amount of season ending injuries last year, it’s not surprising that players may have dialed back their out put. 
 

Hopefully Lanning is the real deal and the team enjoys running through the wall for him next year. Don’t be surprised if KT ends up looking like everything we hoped he’d be here in the NFL. 

Very true, if Thibs had a different coach at Oregon, none of these issues may have arisen. 

[Darren Perkins]

On 3/8/2022 at 11:02 AM, cartm25 said:

No you didn't say that. Sorry if I appeared to imply that.

 

Since I have zero insight into his everyday life and effort given in practice, stating that it didn't look to me like he took games off is the only evidence that I could present to provide a potential rebuttal to the idea that his "work ethic" and "buy-in" aren't ready for the NFL (according to those questioning it).

 

Great article!

Ah, gotcha!  Sometimes I lose track, lol. Thanks.  And, he may have been playing hurt, and as others have said, the team as whole seemed to let up down the stretch as the questions surrounding MC began to come into play. 

Edited March 8, 2022 by Darren Perkins

[shawnski]

Disappeared or got blocked?

 

Other players are good too.

Also, dropping into coverage doesn't really help the pass rush. 

[MaiTaiDuck]

On 3/8/2022 at 5:05 AM, toketeeman said:

I have been just a casual reader of the headlines/articles on Thibodeaux over the past season and year . . . from which I have also kept on getting intuitively the strong scent of ELITISM from this guy who has been touting his own crypto-currency and other NIL benefits . . . and now this arrogant nonsense at the NFL Combine. I agree with the article. And these NFL draft teams are watching very closely. 

Just my opinion but this Cats only about the money. I'm not happy he not only got a free ride to the UO but that he also got paid more than likely over a MILLION Denaro for his play that if you really think about was not 5 star stats. Not even close not to mention he quit on his teammates for the Alamo Bowl. The guy is clearly about the 0's behind the checks. The NFL will more than likely get the same thing and it's really sad a guy with his talent and not giving all of it. He should of had no less than a sack every game and especially in the PAC 12. Not impressed with KT.

[idontrollonshobbas]

On 3/8/2022 at 10:32 AM, The Kamikaze Kid said:

I think we should take a look at the big picture view of the overall under achievement of the Mario era instead of just the underachievement of individual players.

 

These guys were sold on bringing back the big time splash of Duck football but were given a conservative play not to lose game plan on both sides of the ball. 
 

They all saw a potential Heisman winner Herbert reduced to a game manager. They saw many 4 1/2-5 star players sit on the sidelines in favor of vanilla upper class men.

 

KT called out Mario as a fraud and Pitman had a similar take in his parting rant. Both the former DC and OC couldn’t get out of here fast enough.

 

There’s probably much more dissatisfaction we’ll never know about. With all that as a backdrop, along with the disturbing amount of season ending injuries last year, it’s not surprising that players may have dialed back their out put. 
 

Hopefully Lanning is the real deal and the team enjoys running through the wall for him next year. Don’t be surprised if KT ends up looking like everything we hoped he’d be here in the NFL. 

Thanks, Kid......great post.  You mentioned that KT called out Mario.   I musta missed that, can you paraphrase his criticism, or point me to a source.  Thanks, IDROS