RugbyMuffin
ASFN IDOL
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- Apr 30, 2003
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Mock drafts at this time of year are completely worthless. With the smoke screens and the last minute changes, at this point, find your mock from 3 weeks ago, and keep that next to you while watching the draft.
The NFL draft is starting to really be like horse racing. You get your program and all the information on the horses is right there at your finger tips. The odds have been out for a week or more, and are in print before you ever get to the track. Then right before the race starts, the odds start jumping all over the place, and everything goes out the window, and you have till the race starts to make your choice. You follow the program, or the odds that are now right in front of you. The clock is ticking and you gotta put your money down.
Thus there is not much to talk about, we have our program so to speak, just waiting for the draft (race) to start. So, I will copy cat Mitch and throw out some thoughts.
1. This draft is going to be over-hyped when it comes to that actual football talent that it will produce. Calling a draft "deep", and the overall opinion that no one really knows what is going to happen in this year's draft are great and all that. But, in general I think there are is lot of opinions out there that are using the fact there is confusion and that there is talent interchangeably. Yes, there is general confusion on where players are going to go in the draft, but because of that there are a lot more players getting in depth analysis, leading to a feeling there is more talent in the draft than normal. I think this is going to result in a lot of "bust" talk come mid-season and next offseason when it comes to this draft. Yes, there is depth, but in my opinion there are also positions where the talent falls off a cliff after the second round.
2. Haason Reddick. I just do not see it, not in the first round, and not at #13. Fair enough, the kid is a great athlete, but right now, he is not a great football player. I start looking at the draft, and he wasn't on my radar. I saw, an inexperienced, light weight linebacker that misses A LOT of tackles, and hasn't even played the position that so many THINK he could play, which is ILB. Now that being said, this is almost a carbon copy of my thoughts about D.J. Humphries a couple of years ago. Humphries started the draft season as a 3rd or 4th round pick, much like Reddick did. His pure athleticism drove him up the draft, board, and SURPRISE, the Cardinals then picked him. I was not happy to say the least. But fair enough, the Cardinals coached up Humphries, got him NFL ready, and now he is a pretty damn good tackle in the NFL. Do you take that risk here ? Are the Cardinals really going to take a inside linebacker at #13 that will be a bit of a reach, need to learn the position and develop over a quarterback who will be a bit of a reach, need to learn the position, and develop ? Doesn't make sense to me. But that is why I am not working in the NFL. LOL.
3. The other quarterback. I am a huge fan of Drew Stanton. Never understood the flack this guy gets, he is a great backup, and all he does is come into games and win. What more can you ask for ? Yet, he is 32 years old, and even said himself, that he knows he is going to see his replacement come through the doors sooner rather than later. Absolutely no reason to cut him, and there is absolutely no reason that if a QB prospect is drafted that he cannot be the "#3" QB on the roster, and "#2" on game day. NONE. Drew knows this offense inside and out, and is just a another coach that a prospect can talk to about this position. Yeah, Palmer can help out too, but anyone that has ever trained a new employee can tell you, it is a weight on your outside your normal work load. Stanton is a luxury. If the chips fall in a way that the Cardinals do not get a starting quarterback of the future, do not be surprised if a Brad Kaaya, Nate Peterman, or Joshua Dobbs is not drafted, and ends up a backup here in the desert for a long time. Personally, I think Kaaya is a great fit. He has his shortcomings like all NFL backups do, but he has the skills that he can get the job done in this offense.
4. Athletes vs. football players. I think that is what will doom me in this draft, at least in regards to "who I think the Cardinals should pick". Which of course amounts to absolutely NOTHING, because I am not a scout, and my butt is not on the line on draft day. Still with all the fun we have before the draft we all have our assumptions on what will happen, what needs to happen, etc., etc. You would think in the NFL draft that football players would be the most important thing that teams look for......yet, look at NFL team's actions. They draft top flight athletes FIRST, and the top 10 is usually freakish athletes that are ALSO proven football players. But, think about it. Tony Jefferson didn't get drafted at all, because he was "too slow". But, Jefferson proved everyone wrong, why ? Cause he was a hell of a football player. When looking at safeties and cornerbacks, that is the only thing I have looked at to try and sort them out. Who is the football players, and who are the "great athletes". Didn't help much but a player like **** Tebor, will be interesting. He is the Marcus Cooper of this draft, no the best athlete, not the best tackler, but his ball skills are great, and his ability to play at the line of scrimmage is great. When the Cardinals look for football players over athletes they have been pretty successful. They keep talking about Arians and the 3rd round......I think the Cardinals are going to make some good and effective picks in the 4th, and 5th.
5. At this point, is there really anything to do other than wait ? That is it. Is there ? Nothing but smoke and mirrors being talked about today. All kinds of "last minute news" that teams have known for months will be put out there to generate internet interest, and keep people watching draft shows, like there is every year. But, the table is set, and the 32 teams are ready to eat. Right now they are probably just getting their travel plans together for the week. Thus all we can do is wait.
Looking forward to Thursday, as I said this draft is receiving a lot of hype, I question if the declaration of depth of talent is valid, but that doesn't mean the NFL was not successful and getting my interest up enough that I am now looking forward to next weekend.
Bring on the draft!
The NFL draft is starting to really be like horse racing. You get your program and all the information on the horses is right there at your finger tips. The odds have been out for a week or more, and are in print before you ever get to the track. Then right before the race starts, the odds start jumping all over the place, and everything goes out the window, and you have till the race starts to make your choice. You follow the program, or the odds that are now right in front of you. The clock is ticking and you gotta put your money down.
Thus there is not much to talk about, we have our program so to speak, just waiting for the draft (race) to start. So, I will copy cat Mitch and throw out some thoughts.
1. This draft is going to be over-hyped when it comes to that actual football talent that it will produce. Calling a draft "deep", and the overall opinion that no one really knows what is going to happen in this year's draft are great and all that. But, in general I think there are is lot of opinions out there that are using the fact there is confusion and that there is talent interchangeably. Yes, there is general confusion on where players are going to go in the draft, but because of that there are a lot more players getting in depth analysis, leading to a feeling there is more talent in the draft than normal. I think this is going to result in a lot of "bust" talk come mid-season and next offseason when it comes to this draft. Yes, there is depth, but in my opinion there are also positions where the talent falls off a cliff after the second round.
2. Haason Reddick. I just do not see it, not in the first round, and not at #13. Fair enough, the kid is a great athlete, but right now, he is not a great football player. I start looking at the draft, and he wasn't on my radar. I saw, an inexperienced, light weight linebacker that misses A LOT of tackles, and hasn't even played the position that so many THINK he could play, which is ILB. Now that being said, this is almost a carbon copy of my thoughts about D.J. Humphries a couple of years ago. Humphries started the draft season as a 3rd or 4th round pick, much like Reddick did. His pure athleticism drove him up the draft, board, and SURPRISE, the Cardinals then picked him. I was not happy to say the least. But fair enough, the Cardinals coached up Humphries, got him NFL ready, and now he is a pretty damn good tackle in the NFL. Do you take that risk here ? Are the Cardinals really going to take a inside linebacker at #13 that will be a bit of a reach, need to learn the position and develop over a quarterback who will be a bit of a reach, need to learn the position, and develop ? Doesn't make sense to me. But that is why I am not working in the NFL. LOL.
3. The other quarterback. I am a huge fan of Drew Stanton. Never understood the flack this guy gets, he is a great backup, and all he does is come into games and win. What more can you ask for ? Yet, he is 32 years old, and even said himself, that he knows he is going to see his replacement come through the doors sooner rather than later. Absolutely no reason to cut him, and there is absolutely no reason that if a QB prospect is drafted that he cannot be the "#3" QB on the roster, and "#2" on game day. NONE. Drew knows this offense inside and out, and is just a another coach that a prospect can talk to about this position. Yeah, Palmer can help out too, but anyone that has ever trained a new employee can tell you, it is a weight on your outside your normal work load. Stanton is a luxury. If the chips fall in a way that the Cardinals do not get a starting quarterback of the future, do not be surprised if a Brad Kaaya, Nate Peterman, or Joshua Dobbs is not drafted, and ends up a backup here in the desert for a long time. Personally, I think Kaaya is a great fit. He has his shortcomings like all NFL backups do, but he has the skills that he can get the job done in this offense.
4. Athletes vs. football players. I think that is what will doom me in this draft, at least in regards to "who I think the Cardinals should pick". Which of course amounts to absolutely NOTHING, because I am not a scout, and my butt is not on the line on draft day. Still with all the fun we have before the draft we all have our assumptions on what will happen, what needs to happen, etc., etc. You would think in the NFL draft that football players would be the most important thing that teams look for......yet, look at NFL team's actions. They draft top flight athletes FIRST, and the top 10 is usually freakish athletes that are ALSO proven football players. But, think about it. Tony Jefferson didn't get drafted at all, because he was "too slow". But, Jefferson proved everyone wrong, why ? Cause he was a hell of a football player. When looking at safeties and cornerbacks, that is the only thing I have looked at to try and sort them out. Who is the football players, and who are the "great athletes". Didn't help much but a player like **** Tebor, will be interesting. He is the Marcus Cooper of this draft, no the best athlete, not the best tackler, but his ball skills are great, and his ability to play at the line of scrimmage is great. When the Cardinals look for football players over athletes they have been pretty successful. They keep talking about Arians and the 3rd round......I think the Cardinals are going to make some good and effective picks in the 4th, and 5th.
5. At this point, is there really anything to do other than wait ? That is it. Is there ? Nothing but smoke and mirrors being talked about today. All kinds of "last minute news" that teams have known for months will be put out there to generate internet interest, and keep people watching draft shows, like there is every year. But, the table is set, and the 32 teams are ready to eat. Right now they are probably just getting their travel plans together for the week. Thus all we can do is wait.
Looking forward to Thursday, as I said this draft is receiving a lot of hype, I question if the declaration of depth of talent is valid, but that doesn't mean the NFL was not successful and getting my interest up enough that I am now looking forward to next weekend.
Bring on the draft!
