You were remarking that the Packers haven’t dealt with some of their LB problems. Now they have the mighty Nate Palmer, so it’s all good. Fear him. FEAR HIM!!!
Buccaneers dealt LeGarrette Blount to the Pats for Jeff Demps and a 7th rounder. No idea why.
Gotcha, but the main issue is in the middle, Palmer is a crappy edge rusher. I will tremble at the thought of the mighty Redbird suiting up in green.
Blount was gonna be cut either way. Now they get a potential Harvin type should he decide to actually try at football plus a 7th rounder in a deep draft. Makes a lot of sense to me. The Pats are the confusing part of this, with Ridley and Vereen I’m not sure what role Blount will play, just as a hammer on short yardage? It’s not like Blount is any good as a 3rd down back or change of pace guy.
Wrong, good sir! Palmer, who summons lightning with his right fist and fire and brimstone with his right, will simply stare threateningly at Martellus Bennett, who will then fall to the ground trembling in fear of Nate’s righteous anger.
Only 7 QBs drafted so far, wonder how many teams take fliers here in the 7th on projects.
The Packers grab a DIII WR to go with their FCS OLB.
Jordan Poyer just got drafted by the Eagles. Looks like a steal according to the experts, played with the Bears Brandon Hardin.
A 6’2". 215 lb. Division II, WR who was the 7th best ypg average and who ran a sub 4.4 40 at his pro day.
He’s a size/speed guy. 7th round is about right for that. At least they’re not grabbing Brian Quick in the second round.
I have a bias against guys with cool names that I think would probably bear out if it was analyzed statistically.
NFL drafting is clearly an inexact science. Sure, if you give 32 scouting teams/GMs in complete isolation film and combine stats, there would be a lot of correlation. But I think public perception also shapes their view - the idea that pundits are saying so and so is a top prospect or that they’re overrated I think makes its way into the public consciousness and in some form transfers to the actual decision makers. They aren’t able to completely evaluate in a vacuum, their perception of what other people are thinking and noticing affects them.
So guys with cool names get free extra publicity due to that fact, which I think ends up boosting their status amongst actual GMs and stuff as people who they hear being talked about or rumors about other teams considering them bring them to the forefront of their mind. So I actually think that guys with cool names may actually get overdrafted by a few slots, maybe even by a full round towards the end of the draft.
Its not just cool names. Guys with famous relatives, cool stories and who are good interviews get boosted up the board too. Hell guys that play for big programs get boosted higher than they would taken in isolation based solely on tape.
That said, some GMs try to block all that out and have their own board completely isolated from the rest of the world and ignore consensus to their own detriment. Inexact science.
I don’t think Blount would have been cut. We signed Brian Leonard in the offseason, but he’s a nothing kind of player. It’s true that Blount doesn’t work well as a 3rd down back, but he’d be a superb fourth quarter clock killer. Schiano just didn’t use him very well last season (and admittedly he didn’t do much when he was on the field). Beyond that, he’s excellent insurance for Doug Martin; he was dominant in a number of games his rookie year.
Demps isn’t even a poor man’s Harvin. He’s faster- probably faster than anyone else in the league, in fact- but he has terrible hands and doesn’t know how to run routes. He caught 55 passes in four years at UF, for most of which he was the Gators’ primary tailback. In the NFL, he’s a kick returner, and that’s it (assuming he plays football at all). They might line him up in the slot and send him downfield just to draw safeties deep, but he’ll never catch anything.
ETA: If I had to guess, I’d say the Pats will trade Shane Vereen to someone looking for a full-time tailback. He’s not good enough to supplant Ridley, but good enough to start somewhere.
It looks like the Bucs have already traded the pick to Minnesota - whose it was to begin with anyway:
Chadron State in the Hizzouse.
Who was the Bears first round pick again?
You shut your whore mouth! Leonard is a great 3rd down back, blocks and catches well, is an all-out-effort guy…
I’ll never forget his all out effort in 2009 to get that first down in the waning moments against the Steelers on 4th down.
Seriously though, he’s actually pretty good. Plays really hard.
Last Packer pick. Give me Keith Pough or give me death!
Shit, there goes Dysert.
Bears grab Marquess Wilson. I like the pick, he’s a downfield threat that the Bears don’t really have, but he can’t really line up in the slot at his height. Guess they think the guys on the roster can help there. Wilson has off field issues and iffy hands, so he’ll have to improve a lot to make the squad, but it’s an area where we can use help.
Wonder why Rogers isn’t the choice here, he seems like a better fit with similar off field issues.
Packers are done. But now one of the areas in which they excel. Getting undrafted free agents. Should be fun to see who the latest crop of camp fodder with potential are. Tramon Williams. Sam Shields. Tim Masthay. Don Barclay. Bret Goode. Who will be next?
And there it is folks. All the way up until Mr Irrelevant, Justice Cunningham.
I’m not as pissed about the Bears draft this year as I have been i years past, but those OTs and LBs better pan out. I’m guessing the “experts” will give the Bears B-/C+ like grades and I would have a tough time disagreeing mostly because Long is a reach and they didn’t have a 3rd rounder due to the Marshall trade. It’s unlikely there’ll be a really exciting rookie from this class, but if we get 3 starters and a role player/teamer it’ll be a success and the Bears will be significantly better because those were building block type positions.
I’m pretty happy with the Raiders draft, filling needs. I’m worried that it still leaves the important part, both lines, somewhat empty - Menelik Watson is a project and we didn’t grab any defensive linemen until late - but got lots of solid players. Should be a bunch of contributors that can help the team be good a few years down the road.
Not sure how to feel about UCLA guys splitting between two NFC North teams. I still Jonathan Franklin turns out to be a better pro than Lacy, but the two will probably split time like Ridley/Vereen in NE.
Because that study probably didn’t account for all the guys unemployed due to their criminal history. You have to be good at your job to hold onto it with a rap sheet.