My Final Take On Aaron Curry

As I’m sure you now know, Aaron Curry is no longer a Seahawk. There’s been plenty written on the subject already. Seattle Times readers have voted him the biggest Seahawks draft “Bust” of the Ruskell Era. (On a side note, he’s not even close to the biggest bust of all time, to me that is still Dan McGwire) The trade even made Joseph proclaim that he’s the “happiest man on Earth.”

Back in 2009, I was one of the MANY people who applauded this pick. While I did think it was high for a linebacker, I recognized what a freakish athlete Curry was. It was a departure from Tim Ruskell’s player arch-type that he always picked; the smaller, slower players who were “football smart.” Those picks were essential to fixing the mess that Holmgren had assembled, but the stockpiling of too many of that type of player was killing this team. Curry looked like he would make this team be physical again.

I was wrong. It wasn’t the first time I’d been wrong about a draft prospect, and it wasn’t the last time either.

I take solace  in the fact that I wasn’t alone. As with many college players, Curry used his superior athleticism to dominate college football. The difference between him and the other players on the field was large enough that it masked all the other problems in his game.

Curry lacked all football instincts. I would go into specific plays, but Joseph already did that, so I’ll leave that alone for now. Instead, let me point you to former NLF Linebacker Dave Wyman. His take on Curry sums up exactly what I was thinking. I too watched Curry during games and thought “Why would you do that?” For all his physical talents, Curry simply isn’t a football player. He simply lacked the natural instincts to get production out of his physical tools.

I really do my best never to make assumption as to a player’s attitude or motivation. While it might seem to be the only explanation for things that happen, the truth is that we never really know. Curry, though, made me constantly question whether or not he really cared, especially since he was demoted to the 2nd team. Whenever he was on the field he seemed to jog instead of sprint, he wouldn’t jam TEs at the line, choosing to lazily chase after them in coverage, and other things that made me openly question if he even wanted to be on the field.

I wish Curry well in Oakland. I hope the change in scenery help him refocus and get things together. I really do. I hope that all of the 12th man will join me in wishing him well, if for no other reason than that the more he plays, the better the  2013 draft pick is that he get from the Raiders.