Indy!
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Couldn't be happier - hated to see him go 7 years ago - great to have him back. It would be wonderful if he still had enough juice to give us a Rod-like season, but honestly? If he never makes it onto the field I still think it's a good move. When you're rebuilding, you need a couple serious players in there with the young guys to show them how it's done. How to prepare, how to practice, how to carry yourself. We can find great players anywhere - but someone has to be the leader and show them the way. Woodson will be great in that respect - especially with our rebuilt backfield. I hope he retires a Raider with another ring on his finger!
On top of that - we kept him away from Denver!
CHARLES WOODSON! WOO-HOO! HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL YEAH!
Now that's the kind of move we need - bring in some SERIOUS players! Just the kind of help these young guys need in the back field - someone to show them how it's done... HoFer... Super Bowl Champion... one of the best ever... yes - respectable leadership is something we've been missing. Whatever he has left in the tank is pure gravy. WAY TO GO, REGGIE - NOW WE'RE TALKIN'!
Gonna be weird not having Lechler.
He would really have to show something to start imo. Flynn has the job to lose. Of course he lost it in Seattle, so Wilson has a shot. I'd be surprised if we didn't shop for another QB in the offseason if Flynn flops though.
You have to wonder why Tebow chose NY over the offer to go to Jacksonville when Denver gave him the choice. I don't see how he thought there was a "better chance" to start in NY. I would wonder if he was more concerned with spreading his "message" to a bigger audience. Jax is where he belongs. They don't have a QB, it's Gator country and they understand what he brought to Florida that made the team work. They could build a team that compliments his skill set and - more than anything - they could sell more tickets (which - let's face it - is what they really need).
His only other option - imho - is to switch to tight end or running back which he doesn't seem to desire. I would imagine some innovative OC could figure out a way to use him behind the QB or in the TE slot and mix it up with his limited QB skill set. I hate the wildcat - always thought it was nothing more than a cheap gimmick - but Tebow is built like TE. If he could learn the position AND bring a little QB skill to the position - I would think he could be useful.
UCF plays in the smaller conference and against lesser opponents, but they've been kind of moving up the Florida food chain - they're more less next in line after the big ones - Miami, Florida, FSU. What that means is they end up getting a lot of the Florida kids who - for whatever reason - didn't make it into a bigger national school or one of the Florida U's. That area basically breeds football players. Edgerrin James, Anquan Boldin, Rickey Jackson, Andre Waters, Fred Taylor, Santonio Holmes and a ton of other players came from the Belle Glades / Pahokee area - which is just south of UCF. So they're getting some pretty good undiscovered gems at that school by picking up kids right from their back yard. They're also coached by George O'Leary who was going to be Notre Dame's coach if you remember - until they found something he fudged on his resume and decided to go with someone else. So UCF has good coaching as well. They're ripe for moving into a bigger conference imho.
Bulls are a bunch of pussies. First off - anytime a team says they're "not intimidated" by Miami - it means they ARE intimidated. The Bulls are playing the same highschool games the Pacers tried in the playoffs last year - let's try to piss off Lebron and get him tossed. Do you see who's getting tossed? It aint Lebron. All we hear from Chicago is whine - whining about the refs, whining about all the players they're "missing" (you have 15 guys on a roster... minus 3 = 12, NOT "6" as the media - via the Bulls - keep claiming). Whining about Rose. Rose has been out all SEASON - it's not like they're "missing" him - he hasn't been playing! And - news for Chicago - he's been cleared to play for months. If the Bulls are so "tough" why isn't the Media's Darling out on the floor? Cuz he looks so cute in a suit?
Bottom line... if Chicago is "tough" - then the Heat are so obviously so much tougher. Word of advice to Bulls fans? Quit crying and start playing some basketball. This should have been a sweep - you guys are lucky you caught the Heat when they were rusty from a long layoff in game 1.
Interesting breakdown - thanks. I'm okay with all the picks down to the last 3 - but that's where you can start taking some risks so it doesn't matter. The asterisk being I think we could have got more for trading down in round 1. I'd rather not have picked 2 TEs - but that is a need for us and at least they are different types of players so they could compliment each other if both make the roster. I like the Wilson pick - we needed another QB and considering our position - might as well bring in someone fresh and hope they pan out. The only players available in the FA market are guys with huge question marks like Tebow (and Sanchez - sooner or later).
Bottom line - we should get some mileage out of this draft.
Overall I'd give the draft a B. I don't give Reggie a pass on the #1 trade and here's why. You say he did good because he was going to pick Hayden at 3 anyway. I say you'd have to be insane to waste a 3 on a CB unless he's the second coming of Mike Haynes. Hayden is a little too short and he hasn't played since a life threatening injury. Hey - he might BE the second coming of Mike Haynes - who knows? But that's the problem with considering him for the 3 slot - we don't know. And considering the shape of the Raiders - there were plenty of players that could make a bigger impact at the 3 spot. I would also add that Jeff Ireland is not exactly a genius or some great negotiator. If he got the best of Reggie - it brings into question Reggie's ability to manage personnel (again).
Sidebar: The author of the cornerback article is correct - a solid defense is going to have at least 1 guy who can play man coverage. Two guys who can play man will shut down any passing game - that's why Al always looked for those two guys he could put together... Willie Brown and Skip Thomas, Hayes and Haynes, Woodson and Allen. He tried it with Nnamdi and DeAngelo Hall and we found out Hall couldn't cover my mother in her sleep.
So far as the other picks - I like the 2nd round pick and disagree that all 2s have to be starters. If you can find a starter in that round - great. But I think the "experts" are wrong on that old wive's tale. I'd guess about half of 2nd rounders actually end up starting the first year. If they never start - bad pick. But they don't have to start immediately. This guy is big, fast and looks like he can be a force with a little polish (plus he went where everyone rated him). It's a bonus that he played at FSU and has been exposed to better players and the bigger stage - good solid pick imho. The rest seem reasonable enough to me - we picked up a couple extra players and a couple will probably stick. The exception would be McGee. We're supposed to be changing the culture - don't bring in problem guys when we just dumped McClain.
Glad we didn't get Barkley too. Come on - how many Trojans do we need to see implode before we accept the idea USC is not a quarterback school? It's like they have a school lab where they breed QBs destined to disappoint NFL fans...
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/777753-usc-football-top-10-trojan-quarterbacks-in-school-history
If you want to judge cornerbacks - look no further than the Raiders history books. The way you can tell if a DB is a great back is he played for the Raiders.... Charles Woodson, Eric Allen, Hayes & Haynes, WIllie Brown, Rod Woodson, Ronnie Lott - all the greats end up on the Raiders eventually. For size you want a guy somewhere in the 5'11" - 6'2" range somewhere around 200lbs who can cover man to man. Using those guidelines, Hayden looks like a winner pick. And we certainly needed DBs after last years toast fest. I'm a little concerned about that life threatening injury he had just a few months ago and how that will affect his play - but if he turns into a solid corner - it's not a bad pick at 12.
Now - that said, allegedly Reggie wanted to pick him at #3(!) if he could get a trade. That would have been a reach. The real problem here however is pretty obvious - we didn't get enough for the #3 spot. I live in South Florida - so I see Dolphins news all the time, and let me tell you - they're basically celebrating how cheap they got the pick. Everyone agrees there should have been at least one other 2 thrown in and some are saying it should have been another 2 and a 6 or 7 as well. The value chart and history both say we should have got more. I think everyone agrees Miami blew it by picking the wrong guy - still... they had a lot of picks and a lot of money - we could have got more.
Now - THAT said - I still like the draft. Another high pick would have been nice and would have helped - but overall? We got some interesting players who look like they can contribute. I wouldn't have picked 2 QBs and 2 TEs - but generally the 6th and 7th rounds are crapshoots anyway. That's where you reach for the sky and hope you get a star.
Mixed emotions on the pick. Doesn't seem like a game changer to me - seems kind of dicey based on the guy's heart surgery just 6 months ago. But rumor had it we were going to pick Hayden at the #3 spot if we couldn't make a trade down. So at least we added a 2 to the deal. My thinking is we could have got more for the 3 spot though - Miami has a lot of picks and a lot of money right now.
I think a lot of those axioms are tied to one idea - that the AVERAGE life span of an RB is 4+ years due to all the hits they take. But there are plenty that have been traded and still produce or have got past their initial contract and continued to produce. Willis McGahee is now on his third team (and I would assume third contract) and you can make the argument he's as effective as he's ever been (4.4 yds per carry last year - his 9th season). And this is a guy who had a career-threatening knee injury in college and everyone thought was a real gamble to draft. Imho, each back should be treated as a unique case and there are no real generalities that apply to the position overall.
Another thing that we should forget about is the 1000 yd standard. When it was a 14 game season (yeah - I remember) - 1000 yds was a great year. In a 16 game season? That's only 63 yds per game folks. A starting level back (20 carries a game) has to average what? 3.1 yds per carry. Not all that impressive if you ask me.
@jazzhessian Oh geez well let me get right to work on MY mock draft - it's so hard to pick names out of thin air and order them from 1 to 7. That probably took you all of 15 minutes with your mom's help.
The NFL doesn't "think" anything because they're not a person - they're a freakin' football league. Try not to be a dumbass - if that's possible for you. You're a blogger, my friend - that's all. You own a computer and know how to type - congratulations. I'm sure you've seen a lot of football games in your 17 or 18 years on this earth, but your opinion - sorry - is not on the same level as the people who scout and evaluate players on the pro level. Especially since you can't even follow a conversation or understand the simplest of points I've made in the last few posts.
@jazzhessian Yes - I'm copying and pasting so you can see I'm not the only one who thinks these guys are problematic choices. If you want to see the strengths - I gave you the links - go check it out. The weaknesses are enough to show you we should NOT be drafting these guys. We're in rebuild mode - we need safe, solid picks - not guys who have huge question marks attached to them.
Look what THE NFL thinks about Ansah...
"Fatigue is noticeable after a few plays of rushing the passer."
This is the guy you want at the #3 pick? Please. And that's against the sorry ass teams BYU plays. Wait until he faces the NFL OLs.
1. Ezekiel Ansah, DE, BYU
WEAKNESSES Has admitted to a lack of stamina. Fatigue is noticeable after a few plays of rushing the passer. In those circumstances, does not chase the play down from the backside, instead staying at the line of scrimmage to knock down the pass. Technique is not always there, specifically on the edge against the run. Frequently gives up the wrong arm or shoulder to blockers, takes himself out of the play. Hand fights at the line against the run rather than driving or penetrating to disrupt. A hit or miss player on the field but consistency is growing.
The then-sophomore conceded to being worried of how much contact occurred in a football game and noted he always considered his body "a delicate flower."
ROFLMAO!
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2013/profiles/ziggy-ansah?id=2539931
To be fair - he grades higher than most BYU players. I'd still look for something better at #3 though.
3. Brandon Williams, DT, Missouri Southern
WEAKNESSES Doesnt make a lot of plays outside the box because of average effort and closing speed. Inconsistent at finding the ball, lowers his head at times trying to win gaps, allowing himself to get ridden out of plays. Slow to spin off blocks, and double-teams can move him. Must prove himself against stronger linemen, also that he has the stamina to be more than a rotational player.
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2013/profiles/brandon-williams?id=2539645
There's probably someone better at this slot too.
Sorry dude - I gave it a look as you suggested. Hope Reggie listens to reason and picks more effective players.
Oh so now competition IS part of the equation? You're all over the board, dude. Whatever. I explained why every draft pick is playing the odds - if you can't grasp the concept, it's because you haven't been watching the game long enough.
Reggie so far has not impressed me at all with his draft picks - he picked a freakin' WR last year - a position where we were flush when we were short on picks. Even you must understand that was a wasted pick.
Or maybe not.
@jazzhessian Every time you draft - you're playing the odds. You're taking ALL the available info - the specific on field traits, his personality type, his background, his IQ, his competition - EVERYTHING you can find out about the guy - and betting he's going to be a keeper. Of course competition matters. If you're a QB and you're playing Cleveland every week - are your stats going to be better than if you played New England every week? Absolutely. The #3 draft pick last year was Trent Richardson who signed for around $20 mil for 4 years. That's $5 mil a year - you don't think the team looked at every possible angle before they spent that much on him - including who he played in college? Of course they did - they had probes up every orifice.
@jazzhessian Anecdotal evidence. That would be the same as saying every BYU QB is going to be the next Steve Young. THAT would be "foolish". When you draft - you are essentially playing the odds. The odds tell us this...
The Southeastern Conference has consistently had the most NFL players. In 2007:
The SEC had 263 players on NFL rosters.
The ACC had 238 players,
Big Ten 234 players,
Pac-10 183 players,
Big 12 176 players
Big East 84 players.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/15488-what-college-conference-has-most/#ixzz2QkQogwAm
Mountain West is not even on the list. Why? Because they are playing to the level of their competition. Let's take a quote from your post below...
"Ansah overpowers OTs at the point of attack - he's spectacular at sealing the edge."
Yes - but he's playing against smaller, slower guys. So he's overpowering guys who will be lucky to play in the CFL or Arena Football after they graduate - he's not playing NFL quality linemen at BYU. This is why you pick guys who are playing against the top competition at the college level. Because you get an ACCURATE assessment of their abilities. Does it mean those skills will absolutely translate to the NFL? No - because anyone could be the next McClain or Jamarcus (or Robbie Bosco or Ty Detmer or insert any other BYU player not named Steve Young here). You have much higher odds that their skills WILL translate well to the NFL if you pick a player playing in a top conference (as evidenced by the numbers posted above). The other obvious point is the SEC, ACC and PAC-10 players are playing for championships in college as well - so they are playing the best of the best along with their solid regular season schedule.
Ansah might be a decent pick - a late round 1 pickup or round 2 project you hope is a steal. He's not the #3 pick. Of course - as always - that is jmho.
Of those choices Arizona seems obviously the best. But I think you're underestimating Miami's position - they believe they are in a win now situation (playoffs - not the SB). They've made a lot of FA pickups which usually means problems, but the character quality seems rather high with most of their new guys and they grabbed some young and up and comers like Wheeler who should play at a high level because they're still hungry. They have the picks, the FAs and the base players to do some damage this season and I believe they could be serious contenders in 2014 if they stay on this track. Especially if the league decides to finally crack down on New England's incessant cheating.