DM,
the case that somebody is able to blow away all the brown belts BUT then LOSE to all the average BB's is something i have never seen happen. i mean unless your area is one where the average BB at a tournament is nationally ranked then i dont get your point.
in most cases if somebody is a unique enough athlete to blow into tournaments like the level E events and medal within 2 years of doing judo-- that person is going to do just fine at the US Open.. now, what do i mean by that, simply that s/he will not get killed by the top dogs there and that this person could also stand a very real chance of winning a few matches.
-resnick