I've got to think that Josh McDaniels is intentionally trying to destroy the Broncos. Seriously, the main knock against Shanahan was his terrible first round picks, and now McDaniels is going to pay Tebow first round money to take 20 snaps a year in the wildcat. I guarantee that he will never be a starting NFL quarterback.
As a Packer fan, I was yelling at the TV for them to draft Kindle or Kyle Wilson. I never could've fathomed Kindle slipping to GB, and for him to be there made my mouth fucking water. I was dreaming of a LB corp of Barnett, Hawk, Matthews, and Kindle for years to come terrorizing the NFC North. But, instead they went with the "unsexy" pick of Bryan Bulaga. And I'll be damned if that wasn't the RIGHT pick, for all the help the Packers needed on the O-Line. I guess that's why they're paid the big bucks. Now let's get some "sexy" picks for us fans in the next couple rounds!
C.J. Spiller to the Bills. Why exactly did they need him at number 9? The only position on offense not dangerously depleted is running back. I am PRAYING that Clausen somehow slips to number 9 in round two. Can't see them grabbing him without trading up though. Freakin' Tebow to the Broncos... Orange and blue through and through. I will admit it, I'm bummed. Denver paid a high price though. The dagger was Eisen talking about how Buffalo was scratching to trade up to get him.
I'll never understand this idiotic thinking that's prevalent throughout forums on the internet. Nobody, not even Al Davis, would pay first-round money to a guy to play a role in a gimmick offense. They wouldn't give up 3 picks to get the guy if they didn't think he could be the starter someday. It'll take a couple years, but it can happen. Tebow's fits the type of player McDaniels has been getting the past two offseasons. I haven't been a fan of the guy either, but he's vastly improved his mechanics leading up to the draft. At the very least, I'd say his ceiling is higher than Clausen's by virtue of his work ethic and willingness to listen. If Denver had drafted this guy, I'd most certainly be looking for a new favorite team right now. They had possibly the worst offensive line in the league last year. Getting Davis and Iupati will give Smith more time in the pocket and allow Gore to pound it up the middle. If Smith still doesn't pan out, whoever they get in next year's FA/draft will have a solid line in place.
As I said earlier, I wasn't paying attention to the draft, but it was interesting seeing the results. Who did Colt McCoy fuckover? I'm not a hardcore college watcher, I know he hurt his shoulder, I think he fits McDaniel's team feeling also. He also cried like Tebow when he couldn't compete. Someone explain this to me. Oh I can easily explain the Tebow pick. Remember before he fixed his arm they popular talk was maybe the Patriots taking him and building him? You know Josh couldn't have that. Hello. Not surprised about Clausen, ESPN with the help of giving Jon Gruden reaming, Clausen did have that special on national TV basically caused him to admit to being "lazy" on a play. That haircut isn't helping either, and of course he had all the blessings (see: curses) of Mr. Weis.
Even before he hurt his shoulder, a lot of people felt he was a early- to mid-second round pick anyway.
Say what you want about Tebow the worst pick of the Draft was Tyson Alualu. I have no clue why the Jags did that with better talent available. I'm so happy Clausen didn't get drafted, Mel Kiper probably had a stroke last night because of it.
Are you really surprised that the Jaguars drafted questionably, though? As long as Jack Del Rio is at the helm of the Jaguars, that ball club is going to be in the shitter every year.
McCoy didn't cry, dude. You're talking about the national championship game? That guy sucked it up, like any of us would, but he wasn't crying.
And that type is "mediocre." I get the feeling that McDaniels is trying to imitate Belichick, but doesn't really understand why Belichick does what he does. He loaded up the defense with aging "win-now" players, then completely blew up one of the top offenses in the league. The only thing that kept the offense above water last year was Marshall and those two stud OT's that he inherited from Shanahan. Tebow had a great college career, but the guy is not a quarterback. Every time I ever saw him in a situation where he had to throw the ball and march his team down the field, he completely shit the bed. He flat-out struggles to fit the ball in a window that isn't 10 yards wide, and I guarantee that when the rushers are in his grill that the ball starts to dip below his waist again.
Nice try, but no. McDaniels wants players with a team-first mentality. The biggest problem I have with McDaniels' detractors isn't that they don't like him (everyone's entitled to their opinion), but their reasons for it. He's described as an 'egomaniac' or 'tries to be like Belichick' just because he has a plan and is sticking to it. The downside of trading away players for far more than their worth (Cutler and Marshall) is that he's made out to be "trying to destroy the Broncos." I'd be far more enraged if he had stood pat with the mediocrity that was on the roster he inherited. He didn't "blow up one of the top offenses in the league." Yards don't mean shit when you can't score points. Their offense was average in 2008. It's also well-known that McDaniels is switching from a zone blocking scheme to a power blocking one. Denver's centers and guards (except for Kuper) were too small to play that scheme, and it showed. It's one of those things that take time before results are seen, which is 99% of the case with rebuilding. As for Marshall, you're overestimating what he meant to that offense. A lot. Sure, he caught 101 passes, but if you're targeted 174 times and don't catch at least 100 of them, you don't belong in the NFL. 2008 was worse: he led the league in targets (184) and had only 104 receptions. Look at his YAC: only 11.1 yards, which ranked 82nd last season. In the previous two years he ranked 57th and 93rd. He's a good player, but he's not $47.5M good.
[*]Excited about Jerry Hughes to Indy. For the first time since the switch to the Tampa-2 in 2002 the Colts ability to defend the pass won't live and die with Freeney and Mathis' health. Plus plugging Hughes instead of Raheem Brock into the Joker role in the 3-4 look that Coyer put in on a number of 3rd downs will be deadly. [*]Jags reached for a good, but nothing special player (having a lot of laughs at Jags fans who didn't think he was a first rounder before the draft now comparing his stats and combine numbers to Gerald McCoy to try to justify the pick). [*]Raiders found a way to shock again, taking a just ok athlete at a position where they have some talent (though it's been clear since RFA tenders went out that Al Davis HATES Kirk Morrison). [*]No idea why the Bills would go RB when they didn't have a tackle and desperately need defenders that fit a 3-4. [*]Very happy to see the Chargers leverage their coup with the Whitehurst trade into getting a player I thought would fall to them anyway. [*] Was surprised the Eagles went up to get him, but Brandon Graham is a BEAST. You could argue that he wasn't back to full speed at the time, but Graham drank Bulaga's milkshake last year, and his total production was absurd the last two years. [*] Packers got a great pick in Bulaga. Even if he can't stay at LT as hoped, 23 isn't too early to grab a stud RT. [*] Even Pete Carroll couldn't screw up with what fell to the Seahawks. Okung there at 6 and choice of Thomas, Morgan or Graham at 14? Too easy. [*] Broncos gave up a lot for two serious projects. McDaniels laid his job on the line with this. It could definitely pay off. No one denies that Tebow and BayBay have skills, but they are both so far from being NFL ready products. EDIT: oh and on Sergio Kindle, he's dropping like a rock with the news that his knee needs microfracture surgery. He gets to join O'Brien Schofield in the "productive talented rushers that no one will touch early because their knee is fucked" camp.
Most of the philly talking heads are upset about this pick. The overall opinion is that he is too small. Nobody wants to hear about how big the Big Ten O-lineman are, this is the Pros. Regardless of his football IQ, 262 is small for an end. I guess will see........................ <a class="postlink" href="http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/graham_brandon00.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/ ... don00.html</a>
Tell that to this guy. Or this guy. Or him or him. They all ranked among last year's sack leaders. Besides, he's just a rookie. With the right strength and conditioning coach, he could easily put on 5-10 lbs. if he needed to. Talent outweighs size at that position, anyway. How many big and fast DE prospects have washed out of the league because they don't have proper technique to get to the quarterback?
Please God, let the Bills have Clausen fall to them in the second round. Personally, I can't stand McCoy and I'm a biased Notre Dame fan, so yeah...
I'm a bit perplexed by Belichick's choices. McCourty's big selling point was special teams play. That's a great thing for your 4th round pick to have, not 1st. Gronkowski was awesome when he could play, but balky backs don't get better via 16+ NFL games. You need to shore up your rush, so you pick up Cunningham instead of Dunlap? He disappeared for stretches while not being the focal point of the defense (Dunlap and Spikes mostly took care of that). Granted, they played that goofy 3-3-5 a lot that a lot of times sacrificed upfield rush for better zone coverage, but still. Spikes was a good pick, and I only saw Price one game so I really don't know what to make of the kid, although supposedly he's a burner.
Excited about the Colts prospects. I already gushed about Jerry Hughes. I'm a huge fan of Angerer and though the analysts insisted on comparing him to Zach Thomas, I think Angerer was picked because the Colts saw a ton of Gary Brackett in him. Undersized, not an elite athlete, but more than get's the job done thanks to being a smart, instinctive and high effort player. Kevin Thomas is a high potential guy, but needs work, which fits nicely with the Colts since they have a solid top 3, but needed depth. Everything I read about Jacques McClendon makes him sound like a monster of athlete (sub 5 40 at 325lbs and 37 bench reps at his Pro Day), Colts need to turn that into on the field performance better than the Tennessee staff did. Could be a mauler of a guard who can actually move a bit. Brody Eldridge should get fucking Gijon Robinson off the field. Eldridge won't be a big receiving threat, but Gijon wasn't either and wasn't nearly the blocker Eldridge was. At 260lbs Oklahoma gave him 5 starts on the OL! That's how good his blocking is. 7th rounders were nothing sexy until they finally got a returner with the last pick. They might not have the worst return teams in the league this year! Damn, now it's baseball season. Counting the days until TCs open.
I'm still shocked at how many teams traded away picks. This was one of the deepest drafts in years. Carolina's win now mentality is absolutely going to cost them dearly in the future when they have no marquee draft picks to use. Did anyone else love the new draft format? What a stellar move. I tuned in for all three days on NFLN. And, Rob4Broncos, I love your posts, you're clearly informed. However, you seem incapable of saying anything negative about a McDaniels regime that rode a hot start, cooled off, and now I feel has a year or two of rebuilding to do. What do you think McDaniels has done wrong, if anything?
I admit it, I'm fucking mystified that Michigan corner Donovan Warren went undrafted. Former five-star recruit with tons of potential, and NFL teams ALL say no? Come on, the corner class wasn't THAT deep. Yes, he had average to poor numbers at the combine, but that isn't nearly enough of a reason to not get picked up on Day 3. Hell, even Morgan Trent was drafted last year.
Exactly. There is nobody in the NFL better than Josh McDaniels at developing quarterbacks. If he thinks he can take someone like Tebow and turn him into a legit franchise quarterback, I tend to believe him. Tebow practically wills himself to success and with McD guiding him along I can see a very potent player in the near future, especially considering we have two guys now (Orton and Quinn) who will make sure Tebow doesn't see the field until he's ready. Excellent post, and I agree with all of it. What's funny is that Shanahan and Jeremy Bates openly admitted that they copied alot of our 2008 offense from McDaniels record setting 2007 offense. We did very well from a yardage stand point and laid a couple smoke shows on some bad defensive teams early on, but overall we were exactly average in scoring. Now we got the guy who actually ran that record setting offense and he's tooling us to be up to that level now.