NFL Draft 2015: Dorial Green-Beckham and the “It Factor” in Kansas City!

The “IT FACTOR.” The great Howie Long said it best, comparing it to what a Supreme Court judge said about pornography: “I can’t tell you what it is, but I know it when I see it.” And so it is true with professional sports.

Of all the sports, football may be the hardest to judge talent.

Many positions involve simply hitting, blocking and pounding play after play, game after game, season after season, until the body breaks down and the player simply cannot perform to an acceptable level. These players are harshly judged by their failures, but not given proper credit for their successes.

Welcome to the NFL, boys.

So how do you judge the “It Factor”? Your Arrowhead Adventurer cannot explain that one either. But when it comes to judging the “It Factor,” I proclaim myself to be one of the best.

Tony Gonzalez had it. Boy, how he had it. If a ball needed to be caught, he would catch it. Period. Game over. And then we got one hell of a show afterwards, a dunk through the goal posts, a proud wave to the crowed. SOMETHING cool.

Priest Holmes had it. I watched Priest sail over the defensive line in his last play in his last game at Arrowhead. Boy, was that something to see. If he had a good run, I praised him for it. If he had a bad run, I said, “That’s OK, pal.” And he would smile, wave back and say, “I’ll do better next time, Randy.”

Nobody else could see him do that, but I did, so that’s all that matters. Well, one time a cheerleader agreed with me as I hung over the wall and asked her.

Derrick Johnson has it. He showed us in that game when he returned two interceptions for touchdowns against the donkeys.

Smoking weed? Beating up their wives or girlfriends? You better not say that to my face, I’ll fight you right there. Being good guys like they are might be a part of the “It Factor,” I don’t know.

Dwayne Bowe never had it. He came to our little corner of prayer before each game season after season. And I saw what most fans never did. Fear in his eyes and doubt in his heart.

He MIGHT catch a ball that needed to be caught, but he might not. And if he failed, he would just shake his head when I asked him why. Like it was no big deal.

I took his hat one time when he gave us a leap. I took it home and put it in a drawer, and felt like I would frame it with his jersey sometime. But I never did. It’s still in the drawer and the frame is still at Hobby Lobby. Likely they both will be there for a while.

Alex Smith doesn’t have it. But that’s OK.

It is rare for a player to have it, and many, many quite serviceable players have taken our field in the red and gold that did not. But we needed them anyway.

Dante Hall had it. I miss him. The announcer would yell “HEEEERE WE GOOOO!” and Dante would score a touchdown at least as many times as he didn’t, it seemed.

Of course that is not the case, but I think it is. He would point at me and say “There you go, Randy” and I’d scream, “Good job, man!” Nobody else could see him do it either, but I could. That is all that matters.

A player can have the “It Factor” and be a bad guy, then turn into a good guy,

Many have done it, but many more didn’t. It seems that everyone thinks they can turn a bad guy around. Nobody ever does. Well one time I guess, Jared Allen.

He was a troubled young man who was shining with the “It Factor” like a UFO. The Minnesota Vikings took a chance on him, and he showed them they put their trust in the right guy. And so the teams take more chances on troubled players.

And the owners, and the players, and the fans learn a lesson the hard way. A lesson that is soon forgotten when the next troubled youth enters the draft.

Dorial Green-Beckham could have it. I don’t know yet.

It seems like at every level he has played, he has screwed up. So does that mean he will in the NFL? No.

But to take a chance on him, he would need to be flashing the “It Factor” as bright as those cannons that blast at the opening of a home game. And he would need to be blasting the heat that those things do, too. And he doesn’t.

So I wish the young man good luck, I hope he turns his life around and has a long successful career in the NFL. But not on our team, and not in our division.

The “It Factor.” What does it mean to you?