but....you have to read the hole in the NFL...you are often times looking at the shoulders of your lineman to anticipate devlopment.
Our offense is blind faith. You are close to the line and you hit a "gap"...or the area where there is supposed to be a "gap". You may get the ball...may not...it is not even your choice.
Again...I am not saying he cannot do it...I am telling you what the scouts will say.
Red, you are correct but I think reading the hole in the NFL is overrated. Don't misunderstand me, it is important. Finding a hole and/or juking around is an important ability for some backs but not all.
Jamal Lewis was terrible at juking or "finding the hole" and he ran for over 2000 yards one year. Plus Jamal Lewis could not catch a pass to save his life, much less run something effective once he did.
One of the problems in scouting is that reading the hole has a lot to do with practicing a lot with your offensive linemen and sensing what is happening from them. One style of blocking doesn't automatically translate to another style in the NFL. So "reading" is as much a crap shoot as any other skill.
Again I am not diminishing the fact that reading is an important skill (see TC), but that it's just one thing. In the B Back position, it can be difficult to see how much Reggie Bush does a guy have in him. But in the tailback position at USC, it's often difficult to see how much Jon Dwyer does that fellow have.
If JD could demonstrate some Reggie Bush, then he'd be a Top Five pick. As it is (and every offense can't showcase every needed NFL skill), he can be a First Round Pick without showing the flash.
p.s. I expanded the topic slightly from finding the hole to also include juking/flash.