Re: Wakano-defensive lineman? (fwd)

[Basten <cbasten@statgen.ncsu.edu>]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 12:26:23 -0400 (EDT)
From: Charles Steinhardt <charles@Princeton.EDU>
To: Richard Webb <rlwebb@puc.edu>
Cc: sumo@statgen.ncsu.edu
Subject: Re: Wakano-defensive lineman?

Centers can be shorter sometimes.  That said, what Waka would be best at
IMO would be as a pulling guard - very few lineman are really good at
moving while retaining an edge over anybody they are either up against or
trying to beat to a specific spot, and sumo should be very good training
for that sort of skill.

That said, my feeling is that if Waka ends up making the roster of a team,
it is much more likely to be for the purposes of exploiting a customer
base than for making the team better.  This both means that there is a
good chance he may stick with some team (after all, nobody looking at what
Ichiro or even Shinjou is doing in the US right now wouldn't want to get
similar marketing for their own team!) but also that it is quite likely he
will find his way onto a team solely to sell tickets, not to win games.
There are a lot of rebuilding teams that would do such a thing, including
teams on the West Coast where it is easier to market (perhaps the 49ers 
or Chargers) and presumably the league office would like the idea as well
and help with future scheduling, so that this team would get to play in
Japan for preseason games and make a lot of money there.

Further, with a large roster and with Waka being very cheap to sign (most
teams are always worrying about a salary cap, and Waka would almost
certainly accept the league minimum salary to play, particularly because
he would get endorsements as well from Japan), my guess is that some team
would take a shot at him if they felt he had even credible talent or if
they felt there were *any* situation in which he would be usable.

Perhaps they will wait until 2001-2 and a Japan-based preseason game,
however.

	-Charles

On Tue, 12 Jun 2001, Richard Webb wrote:

> At 10:25 PM 6/11/2001 -0700, you wrote:
> 
> 
> >I've been a serious football fan of NCAA and NFL for over 20 years from 
> >Bay Area, and he is too small for either O or D linesman. His body and 
> >size might be more suitable to a linebacker or strong safety, but even for 
> >those positions, he might be too short for NFL. From his size, how about 
> >being a running back for short yard gain at goal line offence or a 
> >blocking back. I think that should be the area he should concentrate upon, 
> >if he is truly serious about his chance to getting into a team in NFL.
> >
> >-Toshiyori Masumiriki
> 
> How tall is Wakanohana?  I assume he is at least 6'0" which, while on the 
> short side, is not an unheard of height for an offensive lineman (I looked 
> through the rosters and Dallas has a 6'0" center on their roster, Carolina 
> a 6'1" center, although most offensive linemen range from 6'2" - 6'8").
> Richard Webb
> rlwebb@raiderfans.com         http://www.puc.edu/Faculty/Richard_Webb/
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