Yeah – I don’t buy it, though. (Never rule out a “Ricky Williams Deal” of course, but last time I checked Mike Ditka wasn’t running the New England personnell department.) I don’t think Detroit has soured on rogers at all. I think they are soured on his agents, who have a history of protacted holdouts and difficult negotiations. I think the Lioins are just trying to apply some pre-draft pressure in hopes of getting a quick deal.
I also think they won’t be successful. It’s true that rogers will lose money if he drops a couple of slots, but frankly I think Houston takes him at 3 if the Lions trade down (Sorry, Jet fan–you’ll have to be happy with Johnson in that case.)
I’ve always kind of liked Banks writing, but I’ve never considered him a solid source for personnel moves, especially regarding trades/draft. Len is the man at ESPN (now) with JC and Mort just a bit behind. Nobody can replace Joel Buchsbaum, though. Damn, he was an obsessive misanthrope after my own heart.
elf6c, I was fairly sure I was in my own little world for the Lions conspiracy. It’s a differant twist, but the same result. The Kitty’s want qauntity, not quality.
Well, I’m off to the draft (which means standing in line in the rain for a couple hours). I’ll be back tonight with a full report.
Ok, scratch that. Circumstances have changed (I get to watch my little brothers instead . . . lousy brats), so I guess I’ll be watching on ESPN like a sucker.
Oh well. At least I’ll have free food and a readily accessible bathroom.
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(got up at 6:15 on a Saturday for nothing . . . grumble, grumble . . . shit.)
Dude – that’s just wrong. Somebody owes you a new Saturday morning.
Ok, the first 5 have gone just as everyone (myself included) expected. For Arizona at #6, I’m going to go out on a limb and say they pick Byron Leftwich, then Suggs to Minnesota. Wish me luck.
(And thanks for the sympathy, Spiritus.)
Jesus, Sullivan to the Saints at #5. He wasn’t even in my top 15. Shows what I know.
What’d I tell ya, Suggs will fall… 'Zona didn’t feel like taking Suggs at 6 :D.
WOW, what a draft!
The Vikings passed, and then everyone tried to beat them before they actually picked and you had like 5 picks in 10 minutes ;).
Cripes, Minny. Two years in a row! Get your shit together!
Well, they eventually got their guy, and two spots lower…
Ack! All the good DLs are going! Please, someone tell the Giants to trade up for William Joseph. Arizona’s gullible, they can get one of their two picks for a song.
Ahem…
THEY DIDN’T EVEN GET A CB? SON OF A…
Thank you.
I have to wonder about my Saints sometime. CBS had him ranked at 20-something overall, yet we trade that high for him?
Alright, the Giants got their man at #25, a good DT prospect. I’m satisfied. I do wish they could have moved up form from the second round to get G Steinbach or OLB Bailey as well, but I’ll take it.
I’m glad to see that Arizona screwed the pooch. Some things never change.
The Saints still haven’t gotten a CB (Patriots traded with Houston to steal one from them in round 2), but they did get a good replacement for Kyle Turley with T Stinchcomb.
I think the Ravens grossly overpaid for QB Boller at #19. Aside from the fact that I’m not that high on Boller anyway, they gave a high second round pick and next year’s number one. The Ravens aren’t that good a team; they could easily have traded away a pick in the 10-15 range (again, plus #41 this year) for this year’s #19. Don’t like the Ravens anyway, so this makes me happy.
Further updates as events warrant.
YOu know I was staring at the screen with my mouth hanging open. It would seem that they did it as a money saving feature. I would have figured they would take Kennedy and Suggs before Williams.
McGahee in the first, who’d a thunk it.
Didn’t intend to babble endlessly about the Giants in this thread, but . . .
Simms was available to them at #56, like I said I hoped in the OP. Had I gone to the draft today, I would have tried to start a “Simms” chant. I still think it was the right move (don’t have much confidence in Collins and, if nothing else, he could be used as trade bait down the line). Instead they took Osi Umenyiora, who apparently is a DE project with lots of “upside.” Fair enough, I guess, but I have a strong gut feeling I’ll never hear from this guy again. Oh well.
Varlos,
Sorry to hear about the change in plans. bummer.
Bad for us too as I wanted to hear about the experience.
As for MINN, does anyone think that they tanked to get their guy a few spots lower for bargaining purposes? It sounds like a cheap out. I read that they were trying to deal with BAL, but it sounds like a cover. I think his agent will negotiate like he was the #8(?) pick. Of course, the guy who got picked where MINN was supposed to pick will ALSO negotiate like HE was picked there (as he of course WAS!). Did ANY of that make sense? 
Willis to Buffalo was a SHOCKER! Travis Henry seems like a stud. And he is pretty young isn’t he?
I figured he’d go round one, but not to a team like BUF.
And Simms finally goes to TB in the third. You know? If his name had been Chris “Smith” that would seem right. He’d probably be pleased given his college career. But with all the hype, especially down here, it seems like a disappointment. I expected him to go at LEAST in the 2nd based on hype alone. This seems like the first accurate assessment of the guy since he was in high school.
Also, anyone have any thoughts on the Texans taking Johnson?
Oh, and is anyone gonna join me in a discussion of the NBA Draft in a few months? THAT is my favorite event of the year. I like it more than ANY sporting event, including the Super Bowl and NCAA Dance.
Ok, I’ve been out and not following the draft, but did you say that Tampa Bay took Chris Simms in round 3? So now the have: Brad Johnson (maybe?), Jim Miller, Shane Matthews, Sean King and Chris Simms as QBs on their roster going into training camp. Jeez, I wonder which of those would even make the team?
Well, that’s it for day one. I liked the Giants’ first pick (Joseph). It seems odd that they didn’t pick Kenny Peterson in the second if they were after a DE, but I’m not the one investing millions in scouting reports, so what do I know? What cheeses me off is the third round pick of a TE project. They needed a second TE, but why pick one as early as the 3rd round when you’ve got Shockey, and why not pick someone whose potential is already mostly realized? Mostly, though, Simms was still on the board. Alright, I’m biased since I grew up watching Phil Simms help the Giants win championships – he’s probably my all-time favorite player – and I’d kill to see another Simms in Giants blue. But . . . agh. Ok, no more bitterness.
Next year, definitely.
Conceivable, but the safest bet is that the Baltimore trade you mentioned just got screwed up. Here is the ESPN.com story on it. Actually, it looks like Baltimore would have to be complicit in the ploy if it were true, according to the quotes in the story.
They definitely needed help on offense, but their most glaring need was the offensive line, which was arguably the worst such unit in league history last year. Other than QB, moreover, I actually think WR is their most solid group on offense (not good, but not terrible either). The general concensus is that they would have taken Willis McGahee with the third pick if he hadn’t gotten hurt, which would have been better. As it is, they didn’t get O-line help until the third round, which is too late, IMO.
ShibbOleth: I’d guess that Sean King’s days with the franchise are numbered. I think Simms was a good pick-up for the Bucs; Miller and Johnson are on their last legs, and King and Matthews are of dubious quality.
I think it was best that Simms didn’t go to NY. I think it is best for him to be his own man.
He had enough trouble living up the hype in college. Imagine him having to play in the city that never sleeps…where his dad is a near god!
As for the Texans, if their OLine is healthy, hopefully they’ll have better luck.
I am not an NFL draft expert, but is it easier to get OL players in the mid first round as opposed to impact WRs?
I ask this because I would think the Texans will improve next year and probably pick around 8-12 in the first. They probably couldn’t get an impact WR there. Could they get an impact OL player?