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The skinny on melvi "PuffDaddy" Paige


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Melvin Paige, for those who didn't know is the rookie free agent we signed last week after the draft. he was projected to go as early as the third round but his pisss test came up positive for marijuana and as a result no one spent a pick on him.

After the first two days of camp he has joined FB Rock Cartwright, RB Ledell Betts and WR Cliff Russell as being players that have "surprisingly" flashed more ability than expected.

Is he a going to make the team and become a auperstar or will he burn out in a puff of smoke(so to speak)? Who knows, but here's the whole shooting match on him just the same.

melvinpage.jpg

From the draftbook.com:

Melvin Paige

Tackle/Guard

South Carolina

6-4/305

40: 5.02

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Pro Football Weekly

Notes: Redshirted in 1997. Freshman All-Southeastern Conference in '98, when he started nine times. Started seven games in '99, when he missed three full games and was severely limited in a fourth by a severe knee sprain. Started in 2000 and '01 and was a coaches' second-team All-SEC pick both years. Was suspended for the 2001 Mississippi State game for breaking team rules. Positives: Nice size. IQ smart. Flashes NFL type ability. Has possibilities as a tackle or guard. Has generally started since his freshman year. At times he shows he can bend his knees, play with leverage and block effectively on the second level. Negatives: At times, he looks almost like a non-athlete who plays way too upright and top-heavy. Lunges and gets off balance, and he lacks the feet and lateral slide to handle an outside pass rush. If you watch his feet when he is playing like this, you will see an example of how not to do things. Has gotten tougher, but football intelligence does not match IQ, and he still is not a real warrior. Summary: An enigma who could become an NFL player if he ever realizes his potential. However, he is not a very good player right now.

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John Murphy

South Carolina OL Melvin Paige -- well he suffers from another type of issue, which is the fact that he failed the league-wide drug test given to all prospects at the Combine. Teams have to wonder if this was a one-time deal.

According to NFL sources, South Carolina offensive lineman Melvin Paige was one of two players that failed the league's drug test at this year's Combine. Paige, who has the ability to play tackle or guard, has likely earned a mid-round grade thanks to his size and experience. Most believe that this could have been a first offense, but it may cause him to slide out of the draft or at least to round six or seven.

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TSN

Overll: 6.4

Strengths: Is a good athlete. Has excellent measurable skills -- size, speed and strength. Will wow scouts at the NFL Combine. Is dominating in all aspects of the game at times. Shows the footwork to slide with and redirect pass rushers. Shows a quick set and explosive upper-body strength. Pushes the pile in the running game, and has mauling qualities at the point of attack. Weaknesses: Lacks killer instincts and consistency. Gets sloppy at times, and takes plays off. Shows hit-and-miss footwork. Is the type of player coaches constantly harangue about technique. Doesn't show good instincts. Has good intelligence off the field, but doesn't always show it on the field. Is raw. Has trouble picking up stunts. Relies too much on natural ability to make plays. Must work on fundamentals and become more aggressive.Bottom line: Paige moves well but needs better coaching. He should improve with more experience because he does a good job of moving laterally and has good change-of-direction skills. In workouts, he looks like a first-rounder. He also will look like a first-rounder on about half of his plays, but his footwork, technique and aggressiveness are too inconsistent.

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Dan Pompei

Is an excellent run blocker who gets his pads low and fires off the line. Uses hands well. Has good technique. Could be switched to guard. Does not always play consistently. Makes some mental errors.

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Sporting News Draft Dish

At offensive tackle, Arizona State's Levi Jones, Auburn's Kendall Simmons and South Carolina's Melvin Page are all first-day draft prospects.

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Great Blue North

South Carolina's Melvin Paige, while not flashy, was also reasonably solid on game day as he managed to keep himself between the DE and QB all day. Paige isn't the nimblest of OTs around, but plays with a low-base, uses his arms effectively and keeps his feet moving.

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Rob "Boomer" Rang

right tackle Melvin Paige (6'4, 305, #72) has been a solid performer in the SEC for quite some time. Not an elite prospect, he is a legitimate 3rd-4th round prospect that can be groomed as an eventual starter in the NFL

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Hey wait a minute guys he's not just a big lug-- HE SCORED 30 ON THE WONDERLIC!!! That puts him in the genius category with Ramsey.

from sportsline.com

Player Profile

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Melvin Paige

Position: Offensive Guard/Tackle

College: South Carolina

Height: 6-5

Weight: 314

Hometown: Dillon, S.C.

Career Notes | Agility | High School | Personal | Stats

ANALYSIS

Positives:…Shows good hand explosiveness coming off the snap…Moves off the ball instantly and drives well with his feet, maintaining balance in the open…Has the quickness to adjust and reach the second level to neutralize the linebackers…Delivers a forceful hand punch upon initial contact…Extends his arms properly to get separation and sustain his blocks…Could shift to guard at the pro level due to his ability to open up and pull down the line while generating speed to reach his blocks…Well-liked player who will generally give a consistent effort in pass protection, keeping his feet flat-footed to prevent being knocked off balance…Uses his long arms to maintain contact on defenders in pass protection.

Negatives:…Needs to drop some weight and gain better flexibility, as it seems he struggles to stay low in his stance (plays too upright)…His rigid appearance causes him to lead with his head when committing to blocks…Lunges at times when trying to get out front on drive blocks…Slides late and is beaten off the edge by the quicker pass rushers, thus the possibility of moving inside to guard at the next level to compensate…Shows marginal footwork retreating to pick up the blitz…Makes passive attempts with his hands to redirect when the edge rushers beat him off the snap…Seems to hesitate at times coming off the ball, resulting in him looking "heavy" in his movements to recover.

CAREER NOTES

Four-year starter who has anchored the Game****s’ offensive line…Coach Lou Holtz recently stated, "Melvin has developed into one of the most consistent and physically dominating players on our offensive line. He has combined his physical attributes with a solid football awareness to raise his play to an elite level."

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2001 SEASON

All-Southeastern Conference second-team selection by The National Sports Bureau…Started eleven games at right offensive tackle…Led the front wall with 77 key blocks/knockdowns as the offense generated 4,314 yards…Leader upfront as the offensive line allowed a league-low fourteen quarterback sacks.

Preseason - Bothered in the spring by fluid on his right knee, having it drained on a regular basis.

Boise State - Made a key block as tailback Andrew Pinnock turned the right corner for a 5-yard touchdown run, finishing with five knockdowns as the team gained 392 yards.

Mississippi State - Did not play due to a right knee sprain.

Arkansas - Cut blocked linebacker Jermaine Petty to spring Corey Jenkins for the team’s only touchdown.

Vanderbilt - Upended linebacker Nate Morrow on tailback Derek Watson’s 7-yard touch- down run as the Game****s exploded for 356 yards on the ground.

Wofford - Delivered touchdown-resulting blocks on runs of 1 yard by QB Phil Petty and 4 yards by Pinnock as the offense totaled 456 yards.

Clemson - His roll block on linebacker Chad Carson allowed Watson to run for a 6-yard score as the team gained 215 yards rushing.

Ohio State (Outback Bowl) - Closed out his career by leveling defensive end Tim Cheatwood, giving Petty time to toss a 50-yard touchdown to Andrea Gause as the offense picked up 227 aerial yards.

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2000 SEASON

All-Southeastern Conference second-team selection by the league’s coaches…Started all year at right offensive tackle, collecting 56 key blocks/knockdowns for an offense that averaged 367.9 yards per game.

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1999 SEASON

Started seven games at right tackle…Bothered most of the year by knee problems (right medial collateral ligament sprain) which forced him to miss three games (hurt vs. Mississippi, sitting out the Kentucky, Arkansas and Vanderbilt clashes) and see limited action in the Tennessee contest.

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1998 SEASON

Southeastern Conference All-Freshman Team pick by the Knoxville News-Sentinel…Saw action in every game, starting nine contests at right tackle.

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1997 SEASON

Redshirted as a freshman.

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AGILITY TESTS

5.34 in the 40-yard dash… 3.1 in the 20-yard dash… 1.87 in the 10-yard dash… 23 1/2-inch vertical jump… 225-pound bench press (30 times)… 430-pound bench press… 34 1/4-inch arm length… 9 1/2-inch hands… 30 Wonderlic score…

HIGH SCHOOL

USA Today All-American honorable mention at Dillon (S.C.) High…Rated one of the state’s top sixteen prospects by Super Prep and was a member of Prep Star’s ACC Super 26 team…Added All-State and All-Area honors as an offensive lineman…Also excelled in track, competing in the discus…Versatile musician who played in the high school band.

PERSONAL

Retailing major…Plays several musical instruments…Born 10/23/79…Resides in Dillon, South Carolina.

STATS

BLOCKING STATS

BLOCKING STATISTICS…Based on review of game film by our scouting department…SGP-season grade percentage…GM-games played…PLAY-amount of snaps played in…KB-key blocks (pancake/ knockdowns)…TDB-touchdown resulting blocks…DWF-downfield blocks…PRS-pressures allowed…SKA-sacks allowed…High Grade Game-best graded game for the season.

YEAR GM SGP PLAYS KB TDB DWF PRS SKA High-Grade Game

2000 12 82.2 713 56 8 17 3 1 92% vs. Mississippi State

2001 11 83.5 706 77 9 18 2 0 94% vs. Vanderbilt

TOTAL 23 82.8 1419 133 17 35 5 1 94% vs. Vanderbilt

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From Inside Football:

Melvin Paige, So Carolina, (6-5, 314, 5.3) has the tools but doesn't go 100% on every down. He plays the run very well, has quick feet and can force rushers to redirect. At times, he looks like he should be a high first round pick but at other times, when his technique gets sloppy, he looks like he should warm the bench. He played tackle in college but is expected to play guard in the NFL.

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"Teams have to wonder if this is a one time occurance"

I don't know this guy but this I do know, when it comes to pot there is no such thing as a one time occurance. The guy is a pot head. That does not mean that he is bad or that he can't play but it does mean that he will continue to smoke pot. Giving him endless funds via an NFL contract will do nothing to blunt that habbit.

Not that I will begrudge a guy some pot, but weed is not something that will enhance your ability to maximize physical performance.

BTW, what ever happened to that guard we drafted in 99 that roomed for one year w/ Samuels at Alabama? What was his name?

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UH OH!!! Just when you start to get comfortable with him you find something like this- his explanation of why he didn't work out for scouts at the South Carolina pro day:

Offensive lineman Melvin Paige said he missed his sprints because he couldn’t find his driver’s license after being pulled by a police officer. ..“Everybody you talk to says they like you, they want you and you’re working hard,” Paige said. “So it’s not much of an indication.”

http://www.goupstate.com/docs/Sports/game****s/7023.asp

At least he's smart enough to know they were bullsitting him when they said they wanted him. Not one of the GM's that liked him drafted him.

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He clearly has a no-risk factor.

I hope he make the team.

You have to wonder about that wonderlic score though.

It`s a couple days before the combine "Shuold I work out ,no I think I will fire up some hippy lettuce".

Not so bright genius. You just cost your self about 500k a year.

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The reviews seemed somewhat mixed. One says he does this and another says he doesn't. What will tell, is when Big Daddy, Bruce, Coleman and Wynn stop coming up the alley and our LB's on blitzes. Whatever shortcomings he has he will either adjust (like that positive message BCS) or be gone. that front seven is a very good test for any offensive line and should he impress, efforts will have to be made to make him pony up to some responsibilities as a player and person.

If the policy is against something you're doing, you should not be flirting at a crossroads to comply. Either you will still do it, or you drop it, at least while you're a player in the league.

Here is his shining moment to rid himself of his demons. It's up to him.

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In general, I have no problem with catching a buzz from time to time. God knows my house has too much glass for me to consider doing otherwise.

However, were I a potential pro football prospect, about to audition for the job I'd dreamed of my entire life, and worked harder for than most people would ever know, and realized I was close to having a chance to maybe set myself up for life financially, and KNEW IN ADVANCE WHEN THE @%$#! COMBINE WAS GOING TO BE HELD (I mean, one assumes he know how to read a calendar, right?), I might have been just astute enough to stop smoking the damn stuff far enough in advance of said combine to be DAMN SURE the test came up negative.

And if I wasn't smart enought to do that ... perhaps the 30 on my Wonderlic test isn't really all that indicative of my smarts.

Chrissakes. Hope the 15-minute buzz and the nachos were worth it.

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Om it wasn't the kids fault. He has never smoked pot in his entire life, doesn't even have any friends who've smoked pot. It's really a sad story.

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What happened is Melvin was hitchhiking to the combine in Indianapolis after doing volunteer work at the local hospital and he got into a car that had a funny smell. The guys in the car were puffing on what looked like big fat home rolled cigars to Melvin but it didn't smell like any tobacco he'd seen before.

One of them, who was wearing sunglasses, and a Bob Marley

t-shirt, turned towards him and asked, "You want a toke on this blunt big fella? (cough)"

Melvin replied, "Thank you, kind sir, for the generous offer but I don't smoke. The surgeon general has determined that cigarette smoking is hazardous to your health in fact there is likely a message addresing this issue on the box your cigars came in. Besides, not to offend you but they do smell a bit queer to me."

The sunglass wearing smoker replied, "Yeah right! Ha ha ha! You one funny dude bro. Come here and let me shotgun your @ss. This sh!t is the bomb!" Then he leaned toward Melvin with the blunt in his mouth and inhaled a large quantity of the hallucinigenic.

Melvin, not understanding what was just said, and begining to feel that the the man might be either mentally ill, a terrorist, or worse a homo-sexual, began to reach for the door handle. But it was too late, Sunglasses man let out a big cloud of smoke which covered Melvin, and without thinking he inhaled the vile weed deep into his lungs.

After recovering his bearings Melvin insisted, "PLEASE STOP the car now! Sirs, I thank you for your offer of transportation but I would rather get out now if that wouldn't be too much trouble. I have errands which I must attend to immediately and I feel a sudden desire to eat a bag of Doritos before I begin them."

"Whatever, dude. Peanut, pull over and let him out. Maintain now big fella, remember to maintain. Heh heh heh.", the sunglasses man warned.

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That's Melvin's MJ saga. He never intended to inhale and he didn't even know what it was until he went to the combine later that day and his test came back positive.

Poor unlucky b@stard.

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So what, he smoked a little weed. Big deal. He's from SOUTH CAROLINA!!!!!

What else is there for him to do in South Carolina, assuming he's not into cow-tipping, NASCAR, in-breeding, running moonshine, or riding around in a pickup track with 27 Confederate flag stickers next to the gun rack??? This is basically medical marijuana, as far as I'm concerned.

Can we really blame a guy for using a drug as a mechanism for escapism, when he comes from a state that keeps on sending the corpse of Strom Thurmond to Washington??? We should just be happy he didn't show up at mini-camp wearing overalls, a straw hat, and a banjo.

:high:

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Nice post BallCoachSpurrier, I just had a flash back to high school accept it was a big fat bowl and when he couldn`t hold his hit I said" peanut stop the dam car and let this weak as out of the car.

He didn`t inhale and the girl giving him a hummer under the desk is not sex.

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Why is there an assumption that the positive test indicated marijauna? We administer drug tests in Juvenile Court every week and get positives on meth and coke frequently.

32 NFL GMs passed on a guy projected to go in Rounds 4 or 5 because he smoked some pot? That would surprise me. If he tested positive for other substances, it wouldn't.

We've got a kid with the right size, might add some weight to his frame, a good Wonderlich, 30 reps of 225 and he's a bit slow at 5.3. But he drops completely out of the draft over pot? If so, the league is really serious.

I hardly think pot is the worst thing in the world, but, as OM noted, if you know you're about to enter a period that will determine whether you make a) millions B) hundred of thousands or c) a ticket to camp, if you're unable to stop for that period and your habit has cost you hundreds of thousands (the difference between being a 3rd or 4th rounder and being undrafted), maybe there's a problem, even if it is pot.

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Originally posted by Braves On Warpath

"Teams have to wonder if this is a one time occurance"

I don't know this guy but this I do know, when it comes to pot there is no such thing as a one time occurance. The guy is a pot head. That does not mean that he is bad or that he can't play but it does mean that he will continue to smoke pot. Giving him endless funds via an NFL contract will do nothing to blunt that habbit.

Not that I will begrudge a guy some pot, but weed is not something that will enhance your ability to maximize physical performance.

BTW, what ever happened to that guard we drafted in 99 that roomed for one year w/ Samuels at Alabama? What was his name?

Once a smoker, always a smoker. :high:

I don't have a problem with him toking, however he has to come out and prove himself to everybody that they made a mistake on passing him. I hope he's a steal.

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You'll have to excuse me if I'm not too "high" on this guy.

It seems like guys who were underachievers in college, who coast along on their athetic gifts, very seldom become hard workers after they get to the NFL, and usually go the way of Mario Monds.

On the other hand, if he gets it together, he'll be a steal.

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It's funny, some buddies and I were talking pre-draft about finding Joey Harrington and planting some grass on him so that he'd tumble down to #18. I'm sure y'all remember that one Fred Smoot got nabbed in a car with some herbals. And we know what a steal he was . . .

The law against grass is just like prohibition in the 20's - ineffective and misguided. If you guys think 60% of NFL ballers don't get blunted, you're crazy. In season is one thing; you don't need a player to slow down reaction time on gameday. But just a toke doesn't make him a bad citizen. Finding guys who slipped off the boards like this is beautiful.

Quick question: how do I put a graphic on my posts? I tried the attach file method but the pic never showed up . . .

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Assuming you're asking about a signature line pic:

Click "User CP" on the gray bar at the top of the page.

Click "Edit Profile."

About halfway down you'll see the "Signature" field. Type in your sig line, and/or the URL for your pic (being sure to bracket the URL with [ img ] and [ /img ].) Do NOT put spaces between the bracket and the "img" and "/img" as I've done here, btw, that's just done here so it'll show on this post).

Click "Submit Modifications" at the bottom of the page

... and you should be golden.

If that's NOT what you're asking ... disregard. And then ask Die Hard.

He's dying for opportunities to post these days. :cool:

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Having a penis leads to promiscuity.

Marijuana just makes you listen to old Phish albums while giggling at the shape of your toenails.

TRUE FACT: You know how you can tell which neighborhoods have a bad marijuana problem? Go to the nearby grocery store. Neighborhoods with a higher-than-average use of pot have the largest cookie aisles you can possibly imagine. And half the bags are torn apart, with cookie crumbs everywhere.

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When I was an alter boy Father "O'Malley" said that smoking pot is a sin against God.:pope: and if I wanted to go to heaven I should never touch it.:angel:

Speaking of 'touching it', Father "O'Malley" once tried to get me to touch him in naughty places but I wouldn't. :stop: Not even when he got mad and used bad words threatening me with eternal damnation.:cuss:

That was both my last day being an alter boy and the first day I decided to... :high: Nice symetry huh? Some others didn't get away so easy. Thinking about it makes me want to :puke:

He died a few years ago. Pillar of the community and all, nice write up in the Post. Never went to that funeral or said a prayer for him. In fact I don't pray at all anymore.

But I do hope he's learned all about eternal damnation. :evil:

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