Who Is Freaky Jean?
October 9th, 2011
If the Bucs had a former seventh-round pick known for his brute strength making his first start today, there would be loads of Bucs fans giddy about what could be the next Mark Dominik gem-in-waiting seizing his shot.
Instead, though, it’s the 49ers with a manbeast nobody at nosetackle, Ricky Jean Francois, aka Freaky Jean, up against the well-paid veterans on the Bucs offensive line. So feel free to point fingers and believe Freaky Jean is a massive liability that is about to get a rude awakening.
Joe hopes this is the case, but who knows with an athletic third-year guy salivating for a chance? You can read more about Francois in a feature today in the Sacramento Bee, which leads us to believe Francois is a reformed partier.
It’ll be interesting to see what kind of holes open around this guy.
October 9th, 2011 at 11:49 am
Well maybe that picture is decieving but that guy has nowhere near appropriate 3-4 nose tackle size. Actually I just looked it up and he is only 295. Thats 3-4 defensive end size. Not 3-4 NT size. Guys like that may get a little extra pressure in pass rush from the NT spot but this dude is unlikely to hold the point of attack when Joseph and Faine hit him with the double team on run plays.
October 9th, 2011 at 12:04 pm
Joe here,
In the article linked above, it says he weighs 310.
October 9th, 2011 at 12:27 pm
Well, if he can get extra pressure, that will only add to the 63 pressures the 49ers have racked up so far this year.
October 9th, 2011 at 12:47 pm
Joe- Wikipedia and 49ers official website has him at 295 and thats exactly what he looks like in that photo at least. Unless he has put on some lbs. since that picture there is no way dude weighs 310 and even 310 is well undersized for a 3-4 nose tackle. 295 is ridiculously small for a 3-4 NT almost to the point of being comical.
October 9th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Joe her,e
@BecklesHeartsRuud — Just pointing out the weight in the story. Not saying one is right or wrong, or the guy’s big enough to be successfuly. From experience, usually when there’s a weight in a story that doesn’t match the roster, it’s because the reporter asked the guy what he weighs, which usually varies quite a bit from a “roster” weight.
October 9th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
“295 is ridiculously small for a 3-4 NT almost to the point of being comical”
unless the blocking schemes,by the visiting teams, do not address the lose turf…which has always been the 49er’s home field advantage.
Counter /cut back..any thing that makes the opposition have to go the other way to chase a play
October 9th, 2011 at 12:55 pm
Once Blount gets going, our O Line seems to start pancaking people. Tampa must stay committed to the run,and wear out the 49ers in the 4th quarter. I hope we END the 49ers streak of not allowing a 100 yard rusher in 20 some games today. Blount is the back to do it too.
October 9th, 2011 at 1:16 pm
Wikipedia also says Cody Grimm is 6’0″ 210lbs. I have stood next to the guy and he is neither 6’0″ or 210lbs. He is much much lighter and a little bit shorter.
October 9th, 2011 at 2:33 pm
If anybody here is using wikipedia, or nfl.com for that matter, for your official heights and weights, you’re in for a rude awakening. Number one, wikipedia is usually littered with opinions and completely wrong facts. The users write the articles and are free to change the articles…. Not a credible sourde at all.
Secondly, Cody Grimm, according to NFLdraftscout.com had him measuring in OFFICIALLY at the combine at 5’10 7/8″ and 203 lbs http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=75366&draftyear=2010&genpos=SS … yet the moment he was drafted he started being listed at 6’1 210 lbs… BS!
As for Pretty Ricky, he is and always was nothing close to a manbeast (that is editorializing fluff garbage if you believe any of that BS) is listed at 6’2 5/8″ and 295 at the combine http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=57236&draftyear=2009&genpos=DT.
Anyways, despite what some of the so-called “experts” on the site, 295 lbs is NOT too small to be an effective NT, particularly in a 3-4 scheme that slants their NTs (Ratliff of the Cowboys and Shaun Cody of the Texans) regularly have NTs at or under 300 lbs. Those NTs are still very effective.
This is not to say that Francois is anywhere close to the athlete that Ratliff or Cody are, he is absolutely NOT an explosive athlete. Francois is just another in a long line of overhyped LSU DTs that are touted as superathletic because they played reasonably well in the SEC but then turn out to not be nearly as athletic as advertised and never live up their press clippings in the pros (Glenn Dorsey, Tyson Jackson, Drake Nevis, with Booger McFarland being the prototype).
October 9th, 2011 at 2:44 pm
MH- I also checked 49ers.com and NFL.com. Maybe he’s a little bigger than 295 but that picture clearly shows a guy who doesn’t look anything like 3-4 nose tackle. Maybe he won’t suck but doubt he has any chance to have a Ngata(330lbs.), Raji(338 lbs.), Hampton(325 lbs) or Wilfork(325 lbs) like effect on our running game. Like I said maybe his being so undersized will allow him to get a little more penetration in the pass rush vs. your typical NT mammoth space eaters. Or maybe not.
October 9th, 2011 at 2:56 pm
Just look at the damn picture. If the guy is any bigger than GMC I’ll eat my hat. And GMC is playing at 295 this year per himself. But I guess if the niners are playing a 1-gap penetrating 3-4 like Dallas then he might suffice but considering the size of Sopoaga(330lbs) and last years 49ers NT Aubrayo Franklin(317 lbs.) I had assumed the niners were running a 2 gap scheme where “Freaky Jean” would need to be an immovable object and not a penetrator. I could be totally wrong about that.
October 9th, 2011 at 3:06 pm
@Beckles Your right about Franklin at the very least. He was nothing more than a big brick wall in their defense.
@Brandon Thanks for the research, brother. I knew Grimm was not that big. He is tops 190lbs now. I should mention that wikipedia is credible to a certain extent. The info of his background is pretty accurate. The weight part I can understand.
Watson came into the league around 225lbs but has since put on at least 20 lbs of sheer muscle since then. He is easily 245 now. He has said he is about 246, so a few months ago I changed his wiki according to that. Someone should change Grimm’s because right now it is absolutely a lie.
October 9th, 2011 at 4:59 pm
Is it just me or has Freeman looked really bad a lot of this year ?
October 9th, 2011 at 5:00 pm
And the receivers can get NO release
October 10th, 2011 at 6:50 am
Officially, Watson weighed in at 240 on the nose at the Combine then a month later he had dropped 14 lbs for his Pro Day and weighed 226. This is fairly normal for prospects to do as they want to run an even better time (Watson ran 4.55 at the Combine and 4.40 at his Pro Day).
The NFL has a vested in interest in making their players appear to be larger than life. The truth is that close to 75% of all players’ heights and weights are way off. I remember walking down in the tunnel to talk to Bobby Ross of the Detroit Lions and standing next to all the players. Despite the fact that the Lions had numerous players (Barry Sanders, Kevin Abrams, other CBs and a WR or two) listed between 5’8-5’10, they were all shorter or as short as I was (I’m 5’7). Standing next to Johnnie Morton (Listed at 6’0 190) I couldn’t get over the fact that he appeared closer to 5’9 175). Long-time NFL LB George Jamison was listed at 6’1 but there was no way he was over 6′.
As far as official heights and weights, they’re a scam, lies, and flat-out incorrect. If you want to know how tall or how big a player was when they were drafted, type that player’s name in your internet search engine and then type in nfldraftscout next to it and click on the nfldrafscout.com link that comes up next to it. It will list that player’s official height and weight as of the NFL Combine for that year or that player’s pro day.