Anyone else wondering what Andre Smith is thinking? The man just went from first or second pick overall to maybe not even being in the first round. He had better have the best pro day ever by a player, 'cause he has cost himself millions at the combine.
I’ve been keeping an eye on the combine, and it’s good to hear that Pat White stepped up. Earlier in the combines/workouts, the fact that he DIDN’T run any routes was a huge knock on him.
We all love an underdog.
The Saints released Deuce McAllister last week. Everybody knew it was coming, but I hated to see it. His knees are pretty much shot. He’ll probably never be an every down back again, but I’d like to see him get an opportunity to play somewhere else.
Of course, as soon as I say that, I remember what happened when the Saints let Morten Andersen get away. Guy went to Atlanta, and ended up kicking several game winners against us. Really don’t want to see Deuce playing for the Dirty Birds.
I think the Saints pick 14th overall, but do not have a 2nd or 3rd round pick this year. They’ll have to be active in the free agent market, as they were last year. I’d love to see them take “Baby Animal*” if he’s still on the board at 14.
*Ohio State LB Laurinitis is the son of former pro wrestler “Road Warrior Animal”.
Atlanta has Michael Turner. Don’t think you have to worry about Deuce going there.
It’s a really strange thing. I can’t believe no agent was kicking him in the ass and making him step up. Lots of people had him going #1 overall to the Lions. After how poorly he handled this there’s probably no way he goes in the top 10, even with a stellar pro day. The question that nags at me is if you’re the Bears at #18 needing a OT after the Tait retirement do you take a chance on this guy? Do you hope that the immaturity at the combine and apparent personal problems are just temporary and take the chance to snag a steal? The OT position is deep and there would be safer picks with less upside but I think they’d be wise to do some serious research on the guy and see whats up.
Seemed that most of the experts thought he did the right thing. He’s said that he’ll do the WR drills at his pro day, but that coming in here and competing against the QB was smart if he wants a chance at competing in training camp as a QB. Also it’s probably smart to not expose himself as a WR next to all the true WRs where he’d almost certainly compare poorly. Working out in isolation on campus is smarter. Had he performed poorly as a QB then he’d have been in deep trouble, but he dodged that bullet.
He’ll be available at 14 and probably still be available in the late 2nd round. He really underperformed at the combine and didn’t look very fluid in the position drills and shuttles. He’ll probably be the 6th LB off the board at best, OSU’s history with turning out LBs is going to really kill him and he’s the least accomplished of that group coming out. If he falls far enough I might be OK with the Bears testing him out as a replacement for Hillenmeyer at Sam, but I probably wouldn’t spend anything higher than a 4th on him.
He’s another “does the talent outweigh the questions” like Aqib Talib, Lawrence Phillips, or any of the dozens of other head cases out there. Personally, I think the big turn off on Andre is that he apparently just doesn’t give a shit. He didn’t prep for the combine, he came in out of shape, and he simply left the combine without telling anyone. Add in the fact that he was suspended for the Bowl game for not telling Nick Saban, his own coach, the full truth about his agent dealings, and he’s got not just one, but dozens of red flags flying. I wouldn’t take him in the first round (not with the talent level at OT this year), but he’d be too good to pass on in the second or so.
Personally, I think the Bears should grab Heyward-Bey, Aaron Maybin, Mark Sanchez, or Sean Smith, because those guys are waaaaay overrated.
I didn’t get a chance to watch any of the combine live, but some guys who intrigue me are Brian Robiskie, Donald Brown, and Cedric Peerman. It will be an interesting draft.
I thought I’d read that Andre Smith had agent issues and didn’t have an agent going into the combine. Which- at least partially explains things- as an agent can help a player with what to expect and preperation.
That being said- even without an agent- You would think anybody involved with football through college would know how to prepare themselves for a week of football practice and evaluation. Not to mention the fact, that you would think that millions of dollars would be motivation enough to keep yourself in shape at the very least through your pro day.
I will never understand why some of these kids look at a multi-million dollar contract in the face and just piss all over it. Is there some sort of psychological fear of being rich, or are they just dumb?
Not having an agent was part of his problem. Although, how a player widely expected to be the number 1 pick overall does not have agents breaking down his door to get him signed is beyond me. Maybe he just had too many options to make a choice. Right now, I see him as the fourth overall OT IF his pro day goes well. If he pulls more of this crap there, William Beatty and Ebon Britton are just breathing down his neck and coming off good showings at the combine. As Mike Mayock pointed out he has not shown a willingness or an ability to learn in this process and that will quickly overshadow his talent.
Heyward-Bey is the most likely candidate and the only one of that group that’s even a remote possibility. If it’s not a WR it’ll be a OT, not much doubt of that. Of course knowing Angelo, he’ll pick the one OT with injury and effort issues.
You also have to remember, these are 20 year olds (+/- a year or two).
Where I come from we have a name for 20 year olds. They’re called “adults”.
I would also point out that 300+ other athletes managed to show up for the Combine ready and in shape. If he is not out of diapers enough to get the Combine right how does a GM know he will remember to stay in shape between the Draft and minicamp? or minicamp and training camp? It is not like his college season ended that long ago.
Yes, they’re adults, but a 20 year old can still be flighty.
I think Andre Smith did some damage to his draft stock and it’s a bummer because he supposedly has some game, but he’s being handed millions of dollars here and he can’t be bothered to show up for it.
No one is saying he’s a bad person. No one is saying that people his age don’t make mistakes or mature slowly. What everyone is saying is that people don’t hand out $60 Million contracts to flighty, immature 20 year olds. And it takes a certain level of cluelessness to ignore that fact, and when you consider that he had to have had agents pounding down his door desperate to represent him and advise him it almost seems willfully self-destructive.
The most baffling part is that he was suspended for Alabama’s Sugar Bowl game 3 months ago for improper contact with an AGENT!.
NFL.com has two new mock drafts up now that the combine is over with. They are wildly different and both have some very interesting scenarios.
Charles Davis Mock Draft.
He has QB Stafford going 1st. OT Andre Smith going 6th to the Bengals, which would be hilarious! Crabtree sliding to Oakland at 7. Raji fortuitously slipping to Denver at 12. And in the steal of the draft, Maclin falling to the Bears at 18. I can’t articulate how excited that would make me. Then a WR run to end the round with Harvin, Heyward-Bey and Britt going to the Colts, Giants and Titans respectively which is pretty scary on all counts for the rest of the league.
Pat Kirwan Mock Draft.
This one has the Lions playing it safe and taking OT Jason Smith at #1. Stafford slides to the Jags at 8 and it has 4 WRs going in the top 17 picks. 8 of the first 15 picks are defensive guys. The Bears get the OT they need in Michael Oher which is probably the OT I’m most comfortable with in that range. The Lions get lucky and Sanchez slides to them with their second 1st rounder at 20 so they get a OT and a QB in the first round and people are doing backflips in Motown.
Both drafts have WRs and OTs going heavy in the first round and both have my 2nd round hope for the Bears WR Kenny Britt going early. Both have Andre Smith staying in the top half of the 1st round. Beanie Wells goes 8th in one and not at all in the other, I think the one he’s not in is the accurate one.
Discuss folks.
I think Pat Kirwan’s draft is alot closer to what reality will be. Beanie is an excellent runner when healthy, but he is not an every down back. While it makes sense to put him in a 2 RB setup like he would have in Jacksonville, the Jags can get him in the second round.
I also don’t see A. Smith regaining top 10 pick status without showing a hell of a lot more maturity then he has demonstrated so far before the draft. I do think he can stay in the top half if he shows up well at his pro day. Beyond that, he has holdout and locker room poison written all over him and if Oher, Beatty and Britton do as well in their pro days as they did at the combine he could be hurt even more. He has great skills, but the character issues would be more palatable as a low first-round or high second-round cost.
I do like that Heyward-bey and Britt are moving up. They did close some distance between themselves and McClin, but I think 10 may be stratching a bit. If any team should do it, much as Pat Kirwan reasons, I think the 49ers would be the one to give them an outside threat to open the field more for Gore.
Buccaneers trade up to take Crabtree. At least, in my fantasy universe. It will never happen, but for my money Crabtree is the rare can’t miss wideout (like Megatron, who we missed out on by one goddamn pick)…
A man can dream, Really Not All That Bright, a man can dream. 
I have a very bad feeling about this Heward-Bey fellow. If Maclin isn’t available at 10 and BJ Raji is, wait until the second round for a WR.
Talib is hardly a head case on a Lawrence Phillips level. He smoked a couple of times in college. Oh noes! By that standard, we’re pretty much all head cases.
I like Crabtree a ton, he’s going to be excellent, but he’s not in Megatron’s class. CJ is a physical freak, Crabtree is much more of an execution/effort guy. I think Crabtree has the talent to be a Pro Bowler early and often, but Calvin Johnson with a decent QB/OL will be a combo of TO and Moss. Crabtree’s ceiling is probably in the mold of Sterling Sharpe.
That said, with the Bucs paying Bryant, I’m not sure why they’d have much motivation to take Crabtree.