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dj_swearengen t1_ja9jjvw wrote

What do you call the syndrome when a pro athlete has a excellent rookie year, but afterwards the league catches up to them and they can never repeat their initial success. It happens in all professional sports. I’m trying to think of other examples.

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dbarrc t1_ja9rq9p wrote

well not an exact match, but RG3 comes to mind, only because as a rookie he was wild

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Doggleganger t1_ja9s6qb wrote

That one was due to injury. He was never the same when he came back. Tragic.

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swankytortoise t1_ja9yoxj wrote

Wentz also had a bad injury in fairness

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Doggleganger t1_ja9z1yt wrote

That's true but he didn't have any notable physical decline in his second or third years, whereas RG3 fell off a cliff in terms of speed/agility. He lost that electrifying speed from his rookie season.

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swankytortoise t1_ja9z6vd wrote

It was the end of his 2nd year he got it and there was absolutely a noticable physical decline

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Morkins324 t1_jaa55j0 wrote

With Wentz, I suspect that there was some sort of mental issue that resulted from the injury. Maybe some sort of fear of getting hurt again that impacted his reaction times and decision making. A torn ACL hurts like a motherfucker and depending on someone's pain tolerance, it could easily cause some sort of anxiety disorder. There are plenty of supremely talented athletes that struggle due to something mental rather than physical (Ben Simmons in the NBA is another example)

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thebullyofbroadst t1_jaaowk1 wrote

Eagles fan here. There was some speculation that there was a physical addiction to pain meds. Dude couldnt catch a break with the injuries. He was always talking about god has a plan for him. Every step he falls further I keep wondering what that plan is.

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LimerickJim t1_ja9w3s8 wrote

He had that one sprint to the hospital when his wife went into labor during bowl season.

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cycoivan t1_ja9z7bu wrote

Jeff Francoeur is the first guy that comes to mind for me (thanks Jon Bois). If he wasn't a great clubhouse guy and great defensively he probably would have been out of the league by year 3-4.

EDIT: LOL, I see you even mention him further down. As a Brewers fan I pray Keston Hiura can bounce back but I think he's going the way of Frenchy (minus the defense)

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ethan52695 t1_jaaddjf wrote

I mean he has more than just a good rookie year of your referring to Wentz. He honestly had a good rookie contract and then turned to shit. He was also still pretty good even after his acl tear in 2017. He was a top 4 qb for most of his rookie deal. He got a big contract and then he really started to turn to shit.

People blame it on the knee and it’s hard to know what it really was, but honestly I think teams just figured him out. He loved to play hero ball and extend plays. Defensives figured out how he moved and how to play against him and he could simply never adjust. He played one way and struggled to change. You have to constantly be adapting in the nfl or people will figure your shit out.

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earthtonemalone t1_ja9zt24 wrote

Devin Bush is similar for the Steelers, also a significant injury and hasn’t really looked the same since.

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adsfew t1_jaa1i3l wrote

Akin to a sophomore slump?

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dj_swearengen t1_jaa2sud wrote

Yeah, but more permanent. Some players re-adjust and recover

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CornWallacedaGeneral t1_ja9npl4 wrote

Is it a syndrome tho? Or is it circumstances regarding something like a knee injury,losing starting job,lacking confidence and never regaining it due to possibly rushing to get back but knowing the writing was on the wall compounded with trying to prove that others were wrong to cast you aside only to realize that you were always a system QB who had a back up whose Job you took only to watch that back up be the reason you got a ring while you personally thought that back up was a trash basket until you find out that you too were the result of a great system for Garbage bin QB's with average processing skills.

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dj_swearengen t1_ja9t9rb wrote

I would discount injuries which are a whole different factor. I think other players and coaches figure out what the young player can and cannot do. Where their strengths and weaknesses are.

In baseball an example of such a player is Jeff Francoeur of the Braves. He had a great first two seasons then his production dropped dramatically in his third year never to recover. They watch films on players and change how they approach them. It goes for all sports. They start to take away what makes a player successful and that player has to adjust. They force them to do something else, to change their timing and the defensive looks they get. Some players can’t adjust, their talent only goes so far.

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CornWallacedaGeneral t1_ja9x0su wrote

Agree whole heartedly....some hurdles are mental but those mental hurdles are sometimes way bigger than physical hurdles

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