One day, I was playing the video game, Madden 2009. I was looking at the free agents in the quarterback position and the worst quarterback was a fellow by the name of Bernard Morris. He was 6'4" and 211 pounds. He was fast and had an arm. He was pretty much a taller version of Michael Vick but a little slower, like five percent slower.And then I was thinking..."Why the hell does this guy have a 66 overall rating? Are you f***ing out of your minds?" Now I know why John Madden has retired from NBC Sports and I am hoping that he does with Madden also.
Morris has the talent, the size, the arm, and the speed. Why isn't he playing in the NFL? He was an un-drafted free agent right now, but after looking at an article that was made about five months ago (December 17, 2008) it shows that Bernard Morris will be playing for the Arena Football League Two (AFL2) in 2010.
But Bernard Morris deserves more than that. At least the role Dennis Dixon has, looking to be best backup NFL quarterback next year, according to Nick Signorelli. And you know that site called Wikipedia? They have every NFL player or former NFL player or just every football player that has a college football status or higher. Well, when I typed Bernard Morris, I didn't find anything!
Now I need to break down the remarkable, and a little bit of sadness, story of a football player that deserves a chance in the NFL. His name? Bernard Morris.
Scout.com rated him only two stars coming into the NFL draft of 2008. How can you? Why would you? He was coming off a season with 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions with a not-so-good college football team: Marshall. That is actually pretty good, on a bad team.
Let's start with Bernard Morris's biography, thanks to the official website. Bernard Raphael Morris was born in 1985 in the month of May and the day of 2009. His birthday is nearly in a month. He will be turning 24. Still young and still looks to be in the NFL. He is a major in sports marketing and management.
Morris's football days began in high school. He played for Jones High School in Orlando, as he earned a scholarship to Marshall. He played three sports for the school: football (of course), basketball, and baseball. In his senior year, it was probably his best year in sports. In football, he threw for 1,179 passing yards and threw for 14 touchdowns. In basketball, he averaged nine points points per game and ten rebounds per game, as he led the team to a 29-6 record. He was also a class 3A runner-up finish.
In 2003, Bernard Morris was in Marshall. He was a red-shirt, so he did not play. He only played in the spring game and he had completed 11-of-21 passes for 132 passing yards and had two passing touchdowns. He possessed great athleticism and talent like some other Marshall quarterbacks in the past that people have drawn comparisons to.
In 2004, Morris actually played and was a freshman. I don't if Morris could be a Kordell Stewart. He can play multiple positions and be fantastic at them. And that is what makes it infectious. He saw limited action, though. He only played three games and played quarterback and wide receiver. He only attempted one pass. In rushing, he had five carries for 21 yards with a 4.2 yards per carry average. He also had a season-long, 15-yard-run, against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Coaches saw him as a tremendous athlete and they wanted him to see what he does as he competes for the starting job next year, in 2005.
In 2005, in his sophomore year, Morris appeared in nine games and started six of them. He won the quarterback job over Jimmy Skinner, during week two but before the injury, late in the season. Morris passed for 1,121 passing yards and had six touchdowns and six interceptions with a 99.98 quarterback rating, in the College Football standards. He also completed nearly 53 percent of his passes and was sacked only 14 times. He also completed 114-of-216 passes. He was second in the Herd's rushing with 256 yards and four touchdowns. In his first career start, he was seven-of-twelve in completed passes and also had 73 passing yards. That was a pretty good first year, actually. He also had a season-long 40 yards and also had a 3.4 yards per carry.
In 2006, in his junior year, Morris looked to strike more. He was good in rushing, but not that good in the passing. He had 1,346 passing yards and eight passing touchdowns and twelve interceptions. He also had a 75-yard-pass. He also had completed 116-of-188 passes and had a College Football rating of 123.12. He was second in rushing, again, for the Herd. He had 82 carries for 324 yards and a four yards per carry average. He also had a season-long 42-yard run and had two touchdowns. He had a great season-opener with completing 12-of-22 passes for 168 yards and also had eight carries for 37 rushing yards against Pat White and West Virginia.
Then came 2007, which was the best season for Bernard Morris ever. He completed 253-of-398 passes for 3,149 passing yards. He also had 17 touchdowns and ten interceptions. He also had a season-long, 80-yard pass. He also had a College Football quarterback rating of 139.10. In rushing, he had 130 carries for 488 rushing yards, including 3.8 yards per carry. He also had four rushing touchdowns and a season long, 75-yard rush.
In 2008, he declared for the NFL draft. I checked out his numbers from his Pro Day, thanks to NFL Draft Scout. He had a 40-yard-dash time of 4.68 seconds. Wow! Now that is pretty fast for a football player. No wonder he has about an 88 speed rating in Madden. His 40-low was 4.62 and his 40-high was 4.80. His 20-yard-dash time was 2.80 seconds. and his 10-yard-dash time was 1.65 seconds. He also had 18 225-pound reps. In the vertical jump, he had 24 and a half. The times were recorded on March 26, 2008, exactly one month after my birthday. He was ranked the twelfth best quarterback out of 107. Now that is real good. But the bad thing is that he was projected as a seventh round pick.
In the draft, he wasn't picked at all. I have given you all the information. This guy has everything. He is going to the AFL2 but what is that going to do? He needs the NFL. He deserves to be at least a backup quarterback. So in life, you can't get what you always want. Life isn't always fair but for Bernard, it had to be.
Does Bernard Morris deserve a chance? Fans, what do you think? Say your word!
Morris's football days began in high school. He played for Jones High School in Orlando, as he earned a scholarship to Marshall. He played three sports for the school: football (of course), basketball, and baseball. In his senior year, it was probably his best year in sports. In football, he threw for 1,179 passing yards and threw for 14 touchdowns. In basketball, he averaged nine points points per game and ten rebounds per game, as he led the team to a 29-6 record. He was also a class 3A runner-up finish.
In 2003, Bernard Morris was in Marshall. He was a red-shirt, so he did not play. He only played in the spring game and he had completed 11-of-21 passes for 132 passing yards and had two passing touchdowns. He possessed great athleticism and talent like some other Marshall quarterbacks in the past that people have drawn comparisons to.
In 2004, Morris actually played and was a freshman. I don't if Morris could be a Kordell Stewart. He can play multiple positions and be fantastic at them. And that is what makes it infectious. He saw limited action, though. He only played three games and played quarterback and wide receiver. He only attempted one pass. In rushing, he had five carries for 21 yards with a 4.2 yards per carry average. He also had a season-long, 15-yard-run, against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Coaches saw him as a tremendous athlete and they wanted him to see what he does as he competes for the starting job next year, in 2005.
In 2005, in his sophomore year, Morris appeared in nine games and started six of them. He won the quarterback job over Jimmy Skinner, during week two but before the injury, late in the season. Morris passed for 1,121 passing yards and had six touchdowns and six interceptions with a 99.98 quarterback rating, in the College Football standards. He also completed nearly 53 percent of his passes and was sacked only 14 times. He also completed 114-of-216 passes. He was second in the Herd's rushing with 256 yards and four touchdowns. In his first career start, he was seven-of-twelve in completed passes and also had 73 passing yards. That was a pretty good first year, actually. He also had a season-long 40 yards and also had a 3.4 yards per carry.
In 2006, in his junior year, Morris looked to strike more. He was good in rushing, but not that good in the passing. He had 1,346 passing yards and eight passing touchdowns and twelve interceptions. He also had a 75-yard-pass. He also had completed 116-of-188 passes and had a College Football rating of 123.12. He was second in rushing, again, for the Herd. He had 82 carries for 324 yards and a four yards per carry average. He also had a season-long 42-yard run and had two touchdowns. He had a great season-opener with completing 12-of-22 passes for 168 yards and also had eight carries for 37 rushing yards against Pat White and West Virginia.
Then came 2007, which was the best season for Bernard Morris ever. He completed 253-of-398 passes for 3,149 passing yards. He also had 17 touchdowns and ten interceptions. He also had a season-long, 80-yard pass. He also had a College Football quarterback rating of 139.10. In rushing, he had 130 carries for 488 rushing yards, including 3.8 yards per carry. He also had four rushing touchdowns and a season long, 75-yard rush.
In 2008, he declared for the NFL draft. I checked out his numbers from his Pro Day, thanks to NFL Draft Scout. He had a 40-yard-dash time of 4.68 seconds. Wow! Now that is pretty fast for a football player. No wonder he has about an 88 speed rating in Madden. His 40-low was 4.62 and his 40-high was 4.80. His 20-yard-dash time was 2.80 seconds. and his 10-yard-dash time was 1.65 seconds. He also had 18 225-pound reps. In the vertical jump, he had 24 and a half. The times were recorded on March 26, 2008, exactly one month after my birthday. He was ranked the twelfth best quarterback out of 107. Now that is real good. But the bad thing is that he was projected as a seventh round pick.
In the draft, he wasn't picked at all. I have given you all the information. This guy has everything. He is going to the AFL2 but what is that going to do? He needs the NFL. He deserves to be at least a backup quarterback. So in life, you can't get what you always want. Life isn't always fair but for Bernard, it had to be.
Does Bernard Morris deserve a chance? Fans, what do you think? Say your word!
