bubba9497 Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 Quest for vindication 'Wronged' rookie seeks Skins role BY PAUL WOODY TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Aug 28, 2003 http://www.timesdispatch.com/sports/MGBM3AO4WJD.html Even without having met him, you know Sultan McCullough. You see him every summer. McCullough is a rookie running back on the Washington Redskins' roster, but there is a Sultan (pronounced Su-tan) McCullough in every team's training camp. McCullough is the "wronged" player. He was the misunderstood col- lege player. His gripe is that he was a victim of coaching changes, of bad publicity or of a coach's favoritism toward another player, or all three. Sometimes, the "wronged" player really has been done wrong. Often, the problem is a mixture of factors. None of that matters now for McCullough, 23. What matters is what he does tonight. McCullough has had a solid preseason, leads the team in rushing with 95 yards and a 4.8 yards-per-carry average and has caught the eye of the coaches with his exceptional speed. He will have his last chance in game action tonight to convince the coaches that he belongs on the final, 53-man roster. The Redskins play their fourth and final preseason game tonight at Jacksonville against the Jaguars. At the moment, McCullough is the No. 5 running back on a roster destined to have four running backs. He is not without hope, though. The Redskins might trade Kenny Watson or Ladell Betts. Or McCullough, 6-1 and 197 pounds, might play so well tonight that Redskins coach Steve Spurrier will decide he has to have him available for every game. Or, McCullough could get cut and wind up on the Redskins' practice squad or the roster of another team. McCullough came to the preseason as a long shot even to become a practice-squad player. He was not drafted out of Southern California and said only two teams called seeking to sign him as a free agent. "It came out that I was a bad person, that I wasn't coachable," McCullough said. "It was all negative." McCullough is correct about that. Reading the draft reports on him is an eye-opening experience. Rarely do you find a player who made such a negative impression on the "experts." "He's been fine since he's been here," Spurrier said. "No problems at all." McCullough is bitter about the way his career ended at Southern California, and part of that is understandable. As a sophomore, he gained 1,163 yards on 227 carries (5.1 yards per carry). His junior season was cut short by an abdominal injury, and he went into his senior season slated to be the backup. Justin Fargas, a McCullough rival during their high school careers in Southern California, made the unusual decision to leave Michigan after three years and play his senior season at Southern California. Fargas was No.1 on the depth chart through the preseason, only to suffer a hamstring injury before the season-opening game. McCullough started instead and held the job for five games. Then Fargas took over. McCullough still finished the season as the Trojans' leading rusher with 814 yards. On draft day, Fargas was taken in the third round by Oakland. No one took McCullough in any round. "I played for two different head coaches and three different offensive coordinators," McCullough said. "A lot of people had different thoughts about me, but no one really knew me as a person." One coach who did know McCullough was Hue Jackson, the Redskins' offensive coordinator and running backs coach. Jackson was an assistant at Southern California before joining the Redskins and had recruited McCullough for the Trojans. "He has the ability to be a tough, between-the-tackles runner, and he has speed," Jackson said. McCullough has sprinter's speed. He was eighth in the 100-meter dash, with a time of 10.38 in the NCAA championships in 2000, and ran a 10.17 in the semifinals. If he gets into the open field, no one is going to pull him down from behind. But he has to get there first. "He needs someone to tell him where to go and what to do," Jackson said. "He will respond to that, if he believes in you." McCullough believes he belongs in the NFL. In a few days, he'll find out if the Redskins share that opinion. Contact Paul Woody at (804) 649-6444 or pwoody@timesdispatch.com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Om Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 Tell you what -- this guy breaks off a couple nice runs tonight and doesn't lay it on the ground, and he's gonna have a spot on the active roster. With Patrick only playing a couple series, and half the defense not scheduled to play, the Sultan / Watson Watch is the single biggest intriguing factor about this "game." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All In Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 Well then Let Hue Jackson make the decisions at RB. If he feels strongly enough that McCollough won't make it pass the waivers to the practice squad then find him a spot. If he decides we shoud keep Watson and let McCollough go through waivers then so be it. Again, let Hue make the call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truant Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 Here's to hoping Sultan doesn't leave any other choice but to leave him on the team. I read his scouting reports. They read like a demon's resume. No joke. Reguardless, not getting drafted was probably the best thing that could have happened to him. Cut down his ego and it gave us a shot to get him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD_washingtonredskins Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 Yeah, I'm on the Sultan bandwagon! I would keep him over Watson...Watson is a dime a dozen in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bccdc Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 I concur - let's deal Watson to recoup one of our lost draft picks and let McCollough rippen in this system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsbadd Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 I am a Watson supporter, Let Betts go to keep Sultan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J33Edwards Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 I don't keep him unless a decent trade is worked out for Betts or Watson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennesseeCarl Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 Of the group, I favor Kenny Watson, but that's mostly because a) I met him briefly in training camp at Carlisle and his run on 3rd and 6 in the second Dallas game basically won us the game. What I fear the most (and what I secretly suspect) is that we've got 4-5 RBs, all of whom are sort of average. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankbones Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 Yeah but his drop that went right into Roy Williams hands basically lost us the first Dallas game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Washington Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 they should have given sultan some first string time to see how good he really is. i would let betts go. he really hasn't done much in my opinion and watson has done everything he has for cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvin Bryant Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 Betts in 2002: 65 carries, 307 yards, 4.7 average. Looks pretty solid to me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbear Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 Honestly , I like Betts better than Watson. HE just seems to hit the hole harder and faster. Whatever, I expect SOS to pick based on what he has seen over the past 2 seasons and what other teams are offering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Mike Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 Originally posted by Cleotis they should have given sultan some first string time to see how good he really is. i would let betts go. he really hasn't done much in my opinion and watson has done everything he has for cheaper. I hope he starts tonight. Let Trung sit this one out and give Sultan the first half to show his stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzSkinsFan63 Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 We have to keep all of these guys away from the cowboys.period! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golgo-13 Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 Betts v. Watson is turning into the Sonny v. Kilmer of today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phat Hog Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 Originally posted by Kelvin Bryant Betts in 2002: 65 carries, 307 yards, 4.7 average. Looks pretty solid to me... And last year's 2nd round pick ! ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redman Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 If we seriously want to see what SM can do, we should start him in this game and leave him in for the first half. Let's see what he does against the opposing starters for the first couple of series and what he does against the primary backups afterwards. It's interesting though, because if we're seriously shopping Kenny, then we'd want to showcase him to the extent possible. I wonder how much we see tonight will tip us off as to the front office's plans for these guys . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Sick Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 The idea that we should keep Betts just because he was a high draft choice is total bunk. If you replace him with an UDFA, what have you lost? Nothing but ego. We could cut Betts and Watson and I would be just fine with it. If we get a draft pick for either, even better. Betts and Watson are average. Sultan has speed. If we are truly building this team for Spurrier's O, then it's a no brainer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins26 Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 Alright Sultan, LETS GO!!! I really wanna see him and Clifton Smith make the team! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldog Posted August 28, 2003 Share Posted August 28, 2003 you can't hold ONE play against Watson forever yeah, he short-armed the ball against Dallas on Thanksgiving allowing Williams to grab the INT, however the Skins had TWO quarters to come back from that mistake and still win the game :mad: remember Earnest Byner? the Browns fans never forgave him for the fumble against the Broncos. the team then traded him to the Redskins where he went on to become a 2-time pro bowler and Super Bowl champion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryman of the North Posted August 29, 2003 Share Posted August 29, 2003 I like mculluogh and betts im still not sold on cannidate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inmate running the asylum Posted August 29, 2003 Share Posted August 29, 2003 I think McCullough has made this team, because I see him playing on punt and kickoff coverage teams in the first half. Teams usually want their special teams set for the opener. The only way he can screw up now is if he fumbles the ball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earthcat Posted August 29, 2003 Share Posted August 29, 2003 I like this guy. Don't know who to jettison. With Ham and The Sultan in the backfield, say after an apocalypse of injuries, wouldn't you have this "man, something could happen here" feeling? Y'know like Warner or maybe Doug "I threw for more points in one quater in the SuperBowl than anybody ever" Williams. Alternate scenerio...Woe-ful...where is the hope there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earthcat Posted August 29, 2003 Share Posted August 29, 2003 Bulldog, Cleveland is not the Mensa capital. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.