"Lebron James could not play in the NFL!" -Shockey

[Shayn•Da•Pain]

"If I put all my time and commitment into it, if I dedicated myself to the game of football, I could be really good," the Cleveland Cavaliers guard said on Tuesday. "No matter what team I was on."
-Lebron James

Now I know it's been talked about before, but now we have a good NFL TE, a player that is playing the position James would most likely play, who is refuting James' ability to play in the NoFunLeague.

everyone trust me Lebron James could not play in the NFL! espn is crazy to even think he could even make a practice squad. hes a 4.9 40 time
-Jeremy Shockey

I personally think LJ runs faster than that, and I think he'd be one hell of a WR/TE.
But maybe Shockey is on to something?

I heard Dieon Sanders on ESPN say that with James explosion, and leaping ability, it's enough proof for him that James is more of a 4.3 to 4.4 guy.
I'm not sure how fast he is, but he's a hell of a lot faster than 4.9, and the guy can out jump anybody in the NFL for a ball, IMO. Add to that he's not a twig, I mean the dude has some size. The Cavs official site lists James at 6-8 250.

I would actually agree with James, if he really wanted to be an NFL player, he'd be damn good, possibly pro-bowl material IMO.

I'd like to see what others have to say about Shockey's statement?

BTW-There is a little more on Shockey's twitter page. You can follow the links by clicking on the quotes.

[DomePatrol]

But can he take a hit? NBA players always look soft when it comes to any contact at all.

[Juggernaut]

But can he take a hit? NBA players always look soft when it comes to any contact at all.

+1

I dont think LeBron would be able to play all 16 games a year with only 1 bye week in the season. He would be good until he gets tired and thats where he would get hurt.

[Shayn•Da•Pain]

BEREA, Ohio -- If LeBron James truly believes he can help the Cleveland Browns, coach Eric Mangini has an orange helmet waiting for him.

"I think he should come on down," Mangini said, smiling. "I know he's pretty busy right now, but if he wants to give it a shot, the guy is gifted. He's competitive and tough. I'm sure whatever he applied himself to, he'd probably be good in baseball or soccer or swimming."

The NBA superstar, who was an all-state wide receiver in high school, said Tuesday night that if he put the time and commitment into it, he could be a good football player.

"If I put all my time and commitment into it, if I dedicated myself to the game of football, I could be really good," he said Tuesday night, "no matter what team I was on."

Mangini agreed, calling James "a freak athletically," and said the 6-foot-8, 250-pounder could be dangerous at tight end, wide receiver or even outside linebacker.

When the gist of Mangini's comments was relayed to James, he smiled -- but didn't take the bait.

"I had what I had to say, and that was it," James said before his Cavaliers played at the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.

Quarterback Brady Quinn also heard about James' football interest. He would love to have a target like James to throw to in the red zone.

"That'd be great," Quinn said. "Tell him to suit up and let us know, we'll get him working. Obviously he's an incredibly talented athlete. If he wants to try to play a little bit now, we'd be more than willing to pick him up."

Browns nose tackle Shaun Rogers isn't convinced James, as great as he is, could step into the NFL and be able to handle the pounding.

"I heard that comment," Rogers said. "I have mixed emotions about that. A great athlete? Yes. A football player? No."

Rogers then looked into TV cameras.

"Yeah LeBron, I said it," he said. "It's a punishing game. I just don't think you can step off the basketball court after not going through this year in and year out and just play football. From that standpoint, I just don't think it's possible. You have to weather and condition your body to take this punishment."

So what if James had a year to train? Could he do it then?

"Yeah, he might make a heckuva tight end," Rogers said. "I'd like to see him out there running down the seam."

James was an All-Ohio wide receiver at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School before quitting football after his junior year to focus on basketball. But he still follows the game closely and believes he could have been a hybrid tight end/receiver in the mold of San Diego's Antonio Gates or Atlanta's Tony Gonzalez.

Gates, who played basketball in college and not football, is listed at 6-4 and 260 pounds.

"They're not always lined up next to the tackle," James said. "Sometimes they go against strong safeties and linebackers. It's tough to match up with those guys because they're so athletic."

James filmed a commercial last year for an insurance company that depicted him in a No. 23 Browns jersey with "LeBron" stitched across the back.

He has no serious plans of returning to football, but said playing the two sports takes entirely different types of stamina.

"I'd be in football shape during football season, then I'd go to basketball and feel like I was out of shape," he said. "It's totally different. And another thing you have to get used to is getting hit again."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

I like what Rogers had to say, sort of mirrors what you had to say DomePatrol.
But honestly, James is tough. Don't you think you'd be selling him short some? I mean there have been smaller, less physical WR's who've played WR. He's 250, don't you think he'd be able to take a hit from a 6-0 210lbs safety? Sure all receivers get knocked from time to time, but does that mean LJ would get rocked everytime he catches the ball? And if he did get rocked from time to time, does that mean he'd be shattered into a thousand pieces and never play again? The point of the matter is that if LJ really dedicated himself to football (he won't, we all know that) but IF he did, he would be pretty damn good, no? And what's this about he'd never play 16 games a season? You can't be sure of that. Besides, most WR's have missed a stretch of games more than once in their careers.

[DomePatrol]

He is a freak athlete but so is everyone in the NFL. He probably could be decent at best I mean he would still have to block and run routes as we all know its more than just running fast and out jumping people. I think being that tall to he could get a serious leg injury I can just see safties going low to cut the tree down.

[Vinsane]

But can he take a hit? NBA players always look soft when it comes to any contact at all.

And yet, they play without pads.

[Prodigal Son]

Marcedes Lewis says hi.

[Nukleopatra]

Lebron James was timed at 4.40, wasn't he?

[Len B]

lol @ Jeremy Shockey saying LeBron runs a 4.9

So in other words, Jeremy Shockey thinks he is just as fast as LeBron.

[Shayn•Da•Pain]

But can he take a hit? NBA players always look soft when it comes to any contact at all.

Lebron isn't the typical NBA player, he's tougher than most. And some guys are extremely tough. Almost all NBA collisions are not intentional, so of course most players look like rag dolls when they have serious contact. Add to that NBA guys are taught to flop and make it look good, and you can build a list of pansy ass players real quick. Examples of toughness would be few and far between, based on the nature of the sport. But that doesn't mean there are some real tough players that wouldn't be able to take a hit on the football field, or inflict damage themselves for that matter.

I'm simply saying you can't say an NBA player wouldn't be tough enough just because he plays in the NBA. It's a blanket statement that doesn't hold water.

He is a freak athlete but so is everyone in the NFL. He probably could be decent at best I mean he would still have to block and run routes as we all know its more than just running fast and out jumping people. I think being that tall to he could get a serious leg injury I can just see safties going low to cut the tree down.

Nobody in the NFL is 6-8 250+ lbs and can jump 44'', and a wingspan of 84.25 inches (7'0 1/4"). Some reports have LJ's 40 time listed between 4.3 and 4.5, that looks more like a freak to end all freaks. A freak among men.

I wouldn't place a cap on his ability by saying at best he'd be decent. However, I think it's not reasonable to claim he'd be a pro-bowl caliber player either. But saying he couldn't be successful because he can't block? Seriously, that's hogwash. How many TE's and WR's can't block? Gates sucks at blocking, Sharpe couldn't block and he was HOF caliber, (again not crowning James as HOF or saying he's on Gates level), but there are plenty of examples of WR's and even TE's that don't block well. Route running for big targets is a lot more simple than for a smaller route runner. It is entirely possible to learn to run routes (Fitz did), and he had a long stride as well. That's the part where dedication comes in, which is the onus of this conversation, the What if Lebron was dedicated to football? Would he be any good. I think so.

And who says just because he's tall means he'll break a leg? Moss is 6'4 with skinny legs compared to James, and he's been just fine. Gates is 6'5 and hasn't had leg problems. Gonzalez is also 6'5 and he's good. Does 4 more inches really equate to more leg injuries? Players go low all the time, in most cases it just trips a guy, maybe even causes a thigh bruise. Sure it ads risk, but it doesn't have to mean James would be running around with glass pegs. His legs wouldn't be at any more risk than the next guys.

[CCBrink]

IGN put him at TE on the Browns in one of their videos for madden 09.

[Shayn•Da•Pain]

IGN put him at WR on the Browns in one of their videos for madden.

I'll have to check that out, my old roommate works for IGN, btw.

[Shayn•Da•Pain]

Because a low hit always breaks legs.

[Archer]

Lol @ 4.9

Try 4.4 Jeremy

[Obst]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdMPNIgeuoQ"]YouTube- LeBron James: High School Football[/ame]

This might explain some things.
Must of been doing some things right in football if Miami, Ohio State, Michigan and USC all wanted him.