Against the Grain: Draft edition

2009-04-28T13:28:27-04:00

2009-04-26T22:46:02-04:00

2009-04-28T13:28:27-04:00

misplif

Pleasanton 766696

60 49ers: Everyone says receiver Michael Crabtree has shown he can done it on tape. But can you trust what you see in Mike Leach's offense at Texas Tech? Crabtree seems a bit slower and shorter than some of the other elite WRs he's been compared to. Jerry Rice, Chris Carter, Steve Largent....Top 3 receivers in terms of TD's and all ran 4.5+ 40's. And don't forget Wes Welker a slow short receiver from Texas Tech, who led the NFL in receiving last year. ???Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin are among the top 10 wideouts in the league even though they couldn't run a 4.5 coming out of college???. ???Like anything else that can be measured in numbers at the combine, the 40 is meaningless.??? http://www.fannation.com/si_blogs/super_bowl_blog/posts/45101-fitzgerald-boldin-prove-how-stupid-40-yard-dash-is 5216403

2009-04-28T13:09:48-04:00

misplif

Pleasanton 766696

59 49ers: Everyone says receiver Michael Crabtree has shown he can done it on tape. But can you trust what you see in Mike Leach's offense at Texas Tech? Crabtree seems a bit slower and shorter than some of the other elite WRs he's been compared to. Jerry Rice, Chris Carter, Steve Largent....Top 3 receivers in terms of TD's and all ran 4.5+ 40's. And don't forget Wes Welker a slow short receiver from Texas Tech, who led the NFL in receiving last year. Do a little research before you put pen to paper it will give you more credibility or better yet go read your own work (http://www.fannation.com/si_blogs/super_bowl_blog/posts/45101-fitzgerald-boldin-prove-how-stupid-40-yard-dash-is). 5215984

2009-04-28T11:21:36-04:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/746/936/thumb/piper.gif 1168 KS

PieEyedPiper

Manhattan 747596

58 Who said Welker is faster and quicker than Crabtree? Quicker, maybe, but faster? Crabtree can run a 4.4, Welker was clocked at 4.7. There's reason Welker doesn't do deep post routes. Also, I think the Broncos had a good draft despite what all the sportswriters say. Only time will tell, but I think Moreno could be a LT/Marshall Faulk type back, where the whole offense is him 60% of the plays. Remember, LT's best years are when he had Neal at FB, and Moreno has Hillis. I think Ayers will turn out to be a stud in the 3-4 also, he could be another DeMarcus Ware. 5213674

2009-04-28T11:17:22-04:00

Franchise123

Kirkland 654700

57 Who wrote this? Point #8...the NFC West is not a conference. Must of left high school early!! I am sure Sam Bradford will not regret getting his college degree. 5213526

2009-04-28T10:20:16-04:00

redrock221

No City 590262

56 Bradford would not be the number quarterback. Spread quarterbacks do not get drafted high. He's looking good right now only because he plays for Oklahoma. Once they see he's a spread guy, he'll drop, like every other one of them. 5212262

2009-04-28T10:18:35-04:00

redrock221

No City 590262

55 All of the writers have Bradford way too overrated. He runs the spread offense. Show me a QB from the spread who's been drafted high. Show me. It's only because he's at Oklahoma that he gets the press, but once the grading starts, he'll slip far. 5212231

2009-04-28T10:10:12-04:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/168/046/thumb/Shamrock.png 11 ma

markofachamp

i told you 168346

54 N.E Patriots have no 1st rd. pick and still get 6 players on the top 100 of every teams list Plus they aquire 2 more 2nds next yr. That is the mark of a champion. End of story. Also getting Tom Brady back is kind of good too 5212043

2009-04-28T10:07:24-04:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/168/046/thumb/Shamrock.png 11 ma

markofachamp

i told you 168346

53 Pats get 6 top 100 players with no 1st rd. pick. Clearly winners again. Big surprise there huh 5211980

2009-04-28T06:52:35-04:00

akmessiah

Kenai 137170

52 "Seahawks: Another linebacker? Just because Aaron Curry fell to No. 4 doesn't mean you have to take him." You are an idiot. They are obviously having issues with hill, and they traded away Peterson, this pick makes all the sense in the world. Curry has the kind of character the Seahawks look for in a player and this pick allowed them to free up cap room and sign Ken Lucas to help their secondary. If they manage to sign Hill then imagne having Hill, Tatupu and Curry? If not, they will still be very solid at the position. 5210517

2009-04-27T23:57:48-04:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/531/24/thumb/FZ2.jpg 298 TX

Fuzzy

Houston 53364

51 "8. The NFC West did a good job of solidifying its spot as one the worst two conferences in the NFL. " The NFC West is a division. The NFC is a conference. 5210086

<div class="photo_container image_right"> <div class="photo"><img src="http://img.fannation.com/upload/si_blog_post_images/33241/mark-sanchez-blog.jpg" alt="Mark-sanchez-blog" width="298" height="287" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">Could Mark Sanchez be in for a bumpy rookie season? AP</div> </div> An NFL breakdown that heads in the opposite direction of your average pro football analysis. 1. Draft report cards are almost always backwards. Teams with the high picks get good grades, when they should all get C's, D's and E's. How could anyone congratulate the Lions for having to guarantee $41 million to an unproven player in Matthew Stafford? The dominant teams of the decade, New England and Pittsburgh, benefit tremendously from never having to make that kind of investment. The Steelers have been trapped in the top 10 once in the last 19 years (Plaxico Burress at No. 8 in 2000), and the Patriots have been there only twice this decade (Jerod Mayo at No. 10 last year and Richard Seymour at No. 6 in 2001). So even if I've never heard of some of the guys Pittsburgh and New England took, based on history and financial positioning I'm giving them strong A's. <div> 2. The class of 2009 is going to be loaded with expensive busts. Along with 2005 (Alex Smith No. 1), it will go down in as one of the two worst of this decade. 3. Someone needs to go down to Norman, Okla., grab Sam Bradford and shake him really, really hard. How could he have not gone to the NFL this year? He would have been No. 1 and gotten that $40 million. Now he'll be picked apart for a year, like Brian Brohm or Matt Leinart who both stayed a year too long and fell in the draft. And he could come into an NFL with significantly less money for rookies.  4. I don't buy Pete Carroll's reversal of opinion on Mark Sanchez's future. At first Carroll said Sanchez wasn't ready. The QB claims his coach only said that so he'd stay at USC. I tend to believe the image-conscious Carroll was telling the truth. He didn't think Sanchez is ready. I wouldn't be surprised if Sanchez had some rough bumps his rookie year.  5.  Atlanta's Matt Ryan and Baltimore's Joe Flacco were able to transcend expectations as rookie quarterbacks because they had strong running games and defenses around them. The three first-round QBs in this year's draft (Stafford, Sanchez and Josh Freeman) don't have that luxury. Sanchez is the only one with even a slim chance of playing for a playoff team. 6. In Moneyball terms, it seems that “character issues” are another opportunity for the wise teams to get more value out of a pick. The Patriots are better at choosing personnel than anyone, and they seem to add a character risk every year now (Corey Dillon, Randy Moss, Brandon Meriweather, etc.). This year they chose North Carolina WR Brandon Tate, who reportedly failed  a marijuana test at the combine, in the third round. If a team has strong enough leadership, adding character issue players is clearly not a problem. 7. The Chargers' A.J. Smith scares me. He's like a cold-blooded shark. Taking DE/LB Larry English at No. 16 to send a message to Shawne Merriman shows once again that Smith doesn't care what a player has done. I'll bet it took half the organization to convince Smith to keep LaDainian Tomlinson. 8. The NFC West did a good job of solidifying its spot as one the worst two conferences in the NFL. Consider some of the bust potential in the first round … Seahawks: Another linebacker? Just because Aaron Curry fell to No. 4 doesn't mean you have to take him. Rams: How can anyone compare Jason Smith to Orlando Pace? Pace was a once-in-a-generation player. Did Smith really show that much in college, or did he just benefit from being decent in a weak draft? 49ers: Everyone says receiver Michael Crabtree has shown he can done it on tape. But can you trust what you see in Mike Leach's offense at Texas Tech? Crabtree seems a bit slower and shorter than some of the other elite WRs he's been compared to. 9. The other malfunctioning division, the AFC West, is right there for bust potential … Raiders: Who would have ever thought Cliff Branch would be the NFL's hardest man to replace? Broncos: New head coach Josh McDaniel ran arguably the best passing offense in NFL history. So he comes to Denver and jettisons the Pro Bowl QB and drafts a running back (Knowshon Moreno) too high in the first round. Huh? I do, however, like their second first-round pick, Robert Ayers, and here's why … 10 . For the time being, I'll believe anything NFL Network's Mike Mayock says. He was dead on about offensive and defensive rookies of the year Ryan and Mayo last year. His defensive player to watch in this draft is the Tennessee defensive end Ayers. If Mayock's wrong, I'll never believe him again.   </div> http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/397/2/thumb/Perloff.jpg 684 NY

Andrew Perloff

New York 3992 62721 <div class="photo_container image_right"> <div class="photo"><img src="http://img.fannation.com/upload/si_blog_post_images/33241/mark-sanchez-blog.jpg" alt="Mark-sanchez-blog" width="298" height="287" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">Could Mark Sanchez be in for a bumpy rookie season? AP</div> </div> An NFL breakdown that heads in the opposite direction of your average pro football analysis. 1. Draft report cards are almost always backwards. Teams with the high picks get good grades, when they should all get C's, D's and E's. How could anyone congratulate the Lions for having to guarantee $41 million to an unproven player? The dominant teams of the decade, New England and Pittsburgh, benefit tremendously from never having to make that kind of  investment. The Steelers have been trapped in the top 10 once in the last 19 years (Plaxico Burress at No. 8 in 2000), and the Patriots have been there only twice this decade (Jerod Mayo at No. 10 last year and Richard Seymour at No. 6 in 2001). So even if I've never heard of some of the guys Pittsburgh and New England took, based on history and financial positioning I'm giving them strong A's. <div> 2. The class of 2009 is going to be loaded with expensive busts. Along with 2005 (Alex Smith No. 1), it will go down in as one of the two worst of this decade. 3. Someone needs to go down to Norman, Okla., grab Sam Bradford and shake him really, really hard. How could he have not gone to the NFL this year? He would have been No. 1 and gotten that $40 million. Now he'll be picked apart for a year, like Brian Brohm or Matt Leinart who both stayed a year too long and fell in the draft. And he could come into an NFL with significantly less money for rookies.  4. I don't buy Pete Carroll's reversal of opinion on Mark Sanchez's future. At first Carroll said Sanchez wasn't ready. The QB claims his coach only said that so he'd stay at USC. I tend to believe the image-conscious Carroll was telling the truth. He didn't think Sanchez is ready. I wouldn't be surprised if Sanchez had some rough bumps his rookie year.    </div>