St Louis Rams
#2 Overall
Chris Long (DE) Virginia
Not a bad pick, I don't think (barring injuries) there's anyway Chris Long ends up being a bust. With that being said I still would've taken Glenn Dorsey. He might have some medical red flags but when he's on he's an absolute monster. Chris Long will rack up a bunch of tackles from the end spot but I think Dorsey's presence inside would generate a better pass rush than Long on the outside. If the Rams ran a 3-4 I would've liked Long over Dorsey.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Jake Long (Michigan) #1 To The Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
#1 Overall
Jake Long (OT) Michigan
What this pick didn't surprise you? He signed before the draft for less guaranteed money than last years #1 overall pick. Best-case scenario he's a Hall Of Fame left tackle. Worst-case scenario he's a Pro Bowl right tackle. That makes him the pick here for me if I'm the Dolphins. I think this is the right pick.
#1 Overall
Jake Long (OT) Michigan
What this pick didn't surprise you? He signed before the draft for less guaranteed money than last years #1 overall pick. Best-case scenario he's a Hall Of Fame left tackle. Worst-case scenario he's a Pro Bowl right tackle. That makes him the pick here for me if I'm the Dolphins. I think this is the right pick.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
NFL Mock Drafts
The title link leads to the largest collection of current NFL 2008 Mock Draft links that I could find. Props to HailRedskins for the work and Google for the search. Tough job isn't it? It's definitely good work if you can get it. Anyway, back to work, or, whatever.
NFL MOCK DRAFTS
-99% of the mock drafts you see are for the fans. Writers need something to write about and fans need hope. Don't get me wrong, the writers are trying to get the picks correct so they look like they have some clue what they are talking about.
-Good luck drawing up an accurate mock draft anytime prior to 72 hours before the draft. It's such a fluid situation the teams themselves cannot be sure of anything until the picks start to fall into place. I've seen some very accurate mock drafts posted the night before the draft so if you're in one of those "Pick the draft picks" contests wait until the last minute to fill out your entry.
-NFL teams will actually look at some mock drafts in the days leading up to the draft. Will these teams put a great deal of stock into these projections? Probably not but they'll take any information they can get and there are things that you can learn from mocks.
-If about 75-100% of major mock drafts have the same player going to the same team at the same spot, it's probably going to happen. The team might try to move up or down and acquire the same player but where there's this much smoke there's a big ass fire.
-Pay attention to how certain teams historically run their first rounds. The Patriots almost always trade down, as do the Browns. Jerry Jones wheels and deals a ton. The Eagles draft linemen, Jon Gruden loves offense and Al Davis loves speed. Just a few examples but almost every team/GM has a pattern they stick to.
-Team needs do matter. Considering the number of teams that swear that they take the best player available regardless of position, few teams actually abide by the practice. You're gonna pay a first-rounder a ton of money and you need him to make an impact immediately both to get better on the field and appease the fans of any of the 31 teams who are not coming off of a Super Bowl victory.
-QB's are falling. So many teams already have made big investments in quarterbacks so there is a lot of hesitation to spend big money and use a high draft pick on one. So be ready for a few teams to attempt to trade back into the end of the first round for Henne, Flacco and Brohm. (Brohm might go earlier and supposedly some team is in love with Henne.)
-RB's are the wild-cards. There always seems to be a bunch of good ones at the front of the draft but the backs chosen later seem to do almost as well lately. Busts like Cedric Benson don't help the stigmata either.
-Plan on at least 4 trades going down in the first round, more likely 6-7. There will be a ton of action in the late-middle to the end of the first round. A team or two may try to trade up for Ryan or McFadden but everybody else will be going in the other direction.
-Don't believe a word a general manager says. Unless it's "we've agreed to a contract with Jake Long to make him the number 1 selection in this year's NFL Draft".
-Mel Kiper Jr will hit about 4 home runs on his last mock draft. He usually gets about 4 teams' picks correct that almost nobody else gets. Sometimes he lets the cat out of th bag early like connecting Brendan Albert to the Chiefs at #5 this year.
-The shortening of the rounds will not reduce the amount of activity one bit. I'm guessing that it actually increases the activity because teams will act first more rather than wait for their phone to ring.
-If you have the option to do so watch the NFL Network's draft coverage. I think that you'll find it more enjoyable than ESPN's.
Well there's some insight into the crazy world of mock drafts. Of course I will be publishing my own mock draft but not until tonight at the earliest, most likely more like Friday afternoon.
NFL MOCK DRAFTS
-99% of the mock drafts you see are for the fans. Writers need something to write about and fans need hope. Don't get me wrong, the writers are trying to get the picks correct so they look like they have some clue what they are talking about.
-Good luck drawing up an accurate mock draft anytime prior to 72 hours before the draft. It's such a fluid situation the teams themselves cannot be sure of anything until the picks start to fall into place. I've seen some very accurate mock drafts posted the night before the draft so if you're in one of those "Pick the draft picks" contests wait until the last minute to fill out your entry.
-NFL teams will actually look at some mock drafts in the days leading up to the draft. Will these teams put a great deal of stock into these projections? Probably not but they'll take any information they can get and there are things that you can learn from mocks.
-If about 75-100% of major mock drafts have the same player going to the same team at the same spot, it's probably going to happen. The team might try to move up or down and acquire the same player but where there's this much smoke there's a big ass fire.
-Pay attention to how certain teams historically run their first rounds. The Patriots almost always trade down, as do the Browns. Jerry Jones wheels and deals a ton. The Eagles draft linemen, Jon Gruden loves offense and Al Davis loves speed. Just a few examples but almost every team/GM has a pattern they stick to.
-Team needs do matter. Considering the number of teams that swear that they take the best player available regardless of position, few teams actually abide by the practice. You're gonna pay a first-rounder a ton of money and you need him to make an impact immediately both to get better on the field and appease the fans of any of the 31 teams who are not coming off of a Super Bowl victory.
-QB's are falling. So many teams already have made big investments in quarterbacks so there is a lot of hesitation to spend big money and use a high draft pick on one. So be ready for a few teams to attempt to trade back into the end of the first round for Henne, Flacco and Brohm. (Brohm might go earlier and supposedly some team is in love with Henne.)
-RB's are the wild-cards. There always seems to be a bunch of good ones at the front of the draft but the backs chosen later seem to do almost as well lately. Busts like Cedric Benson don't help the stigmata either.
-Plan on at least 4 trades going down in the first round, more likely 6-7. There will be a ton of action in the late-middle to the end of the first round. A team or two may try to trade up for Ryan or McFadden but everybody else will be going in the other direction.
-Don't believe a word a general manager says. Unless it's "we've agreed to a contract with Jake Long to make him the number 1 selection in this year's NFL Draft".
-Mel Kiper Jr will hit about 4 home runs on his last mock draft. He usually gets about 4 teams' picks correct that almost nobody else gets. Sometimes he lets the cat out of th bag early like connecting Brendan Albert to the Chiefs at #5 this year.
-The shortening of the rounds will not reduce the amount of activity one bit. I'm guessing that it actually increases the activity because teams will act first more rather than wait for their phone to ring.
-If you have the option to do so watch the NFL Network's draft coverage. I think that you'll find it more enjoyable than ESPN's.
Well there's some insight into the crazy world of mock drafts. Of course I will be publishing my own mock draft but not until tonight at the earliest, most likely more like Friday afternoon.
Playoffs?
Anyway were back. Seriously, we were right over there over there, where were you? Anyway, here's the Official NBA Playoff Predictions.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Round 1
Boston over Atlanta (In 4)
Cleveland over Washington (In 6)
Orlando over Toronto (In 5)
Detroit over Philadelphia (In 6)
Round 2
Boston over Cleveland (In 5)
Detroit over Orlando (In 7)
Round 3
Boston over Detroit (In 4)
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Round 1
Lakers over Nuggets (In 5)
Jazz over Rockets (In 4)
Suns over Spurs (In 7)
Hornets over Mavericks (In 7)
Round 2
Jazz over Lakers (In 7)
Suns over Hornets (In 7)
Round 3
Suns over Jazz (In 7)
NBA FINALS
Boston over Suns (In 4)
Well there you have it. It's not how my heart wanted to pick but it's how my handicapping brain wanted it. I know this is a late post but my bracket has been on my door since last Monday.
And yes I did choose to hate on the Celtics in the pre-season and most of the regular season. But they are way better than any other team in the East and they shouldn't have to kill themselves to get to the Finals. Whoever comes out of the West is gonna be fatigued and beat up. Good luck beating a fresh Celtics team. If the Celtics get stretched for a couple of series and the West champs sweep a round or two it could be a whole different ballgame.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Round 1
Boston over Atlanta (In 4)
Cleveland over Washington (In 6)
Orlando over Toronto (In 5)
Detroit over Philadelphia (In 6)
Round 2
Boston over Cleveland (In 5)
Detroit over Orlando (In 7)
Round 3
Boston over Detroit (In 4)
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Round 1
Lakers over Nuggets (In 5)
Jazz over Rockets (In 4)
Suns over Spurs (In 7)
Hornets over Mavericks (In 7)
Round 2
Jazz over Lakers (In 7)
Suns over Hornets (In 7)
Round 3
Suns over Jazz (In 7)
NBA FINALS
Boston over Suns (In 4)
Well there you have it. It's not how my heart wanted to pick but it's how my handicapping brain wanted it. I know this is a late post but my bracket has been on my door since last Monday.
And yes I did choose to hate on the Celtics in the pre-season and most of the regular season. But they are way better than any other team in the East and they shouldn't have to kill themselves to get to the Finals. Whoever comes out of the West is gonna be fatigued and beat up. Good luck beating a fresh Celtics team. If the Celtics get stretched for a couple of series and the West champs sweep a round or two it could be a whole different ballgame.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Bracket?
Bracket? The word itself has been responsible for many decisions throughout my life. Usually where to eat or who I'd play in the first round of the foosball tourney. You know, life and death shit. Seriously though, I've definitely used a bracket to determine where I was going to go eat and where to go/what to do for an evening. So you would think that I'd be loving it at this time of the year considering they say "bracket" every five words on ESPN right now. But it's started to oversaturate my mind. It's not as bad as the two week build up to the Super Bowl or the debacle that is the BCS but it's bad.
Some random March Madness thoughts:
-I do not want to hear about your "unbeatable system" you use to select your bracket. This tournament is the living proof that shit happens. Pick most of the top seeds to win and flip a coin for the rest. How's that for a system? If I won't listen to the ESPN guys why am I gonna listen to some guy at the bar?
-Please make the regions make sense. Is there a home-court edge to the higher seeds or not? Is it really fair to make a team like Temple go from Philly to Denver for the first round? Make the trips as convenient as possible for the teams or make every team travel. These are supposed to be neutral court games and all teams should be equally fatigued and jet-lagged in the name of fairness.
-Please make some Final Four tickets available to the actual public. Less than 10% of the available tickets were made available for purchase by the public. And it's not like thousands of tickets are going to the students of the schools involved. This is worse than trying to get Super Bowl tickets.
-Keep the officiating teams intact. I don't know why some sports do this. Good teams are generally better than groups of all-stars who are not familiar with one another. For proof just look at Team USA Basketball since 2000.
-I don't like the play-in game. I wish there was some way to play the NIT first and give the NIT winner the 64th bid. I know it's not very practical but it would create the ultimate Cinderella storyline.
-Allow drinking at the tournament games. I went to the first round in Buffalo and half of the people with tickets were at the bars around the corner from the stadium. This is college correct?
-Televise all of the first round games. CBS has a good start on this, they are making all of the first round games available via the Internet.
-Start the championship game earlier. It starts after 9 PM ET. I'm OK with staying up later but it's kind of impractical. Even 8 PM ET would be a large improvement.
-Ban the word "Cinderella" from use during the month of march. Perhaps the only word more overused in the English language is the word "sale" during December.
-Let one pool reporter in the room with the selection committee. This isn't a fraternity initiation. Unless they're hiding something in that room. Or they just think they're that far above everybody else.
-No announcer is allowed to orally pleasure Duke or UNC on the air. C'mon, it's not like we're naming names here.
Tune in next time for our bracket picks. C'mon do it. We'll name names and everything.
Whurly.
Some random March Madness thoughts:
-I do not want to hear about your "unbeatable system" you use to select your bracket. This tournament is the living proof that shit happens. Pick most of the top seeds to win and flip a coin for the rest. How's that for a system? If I won't listen to the ESPN guys why am I gonna listen to some guy at the bar?
-Please make the regions make sense. Is there a home-court edge to the higher seeds or not? Is it really fair to make a team like Temple go from Philly to Denver for the first round? Make the trips as convenient as possible for the teams or make every team travel. These are supposed to be neutral court games and all teams should be equally fatigued and jet-lagged in the name of fairness.
-Please make some Final Four tickets available to the actual public. Less than 10% of the available tickets were made available for purchase by the public. And it's not like thousands of tickets are going to the students of the schools involved. This is worse than trying to get Super Bowl tickets.
-Keep the officiating teams intact. I don't know why some sports do this. Good teams are generally better than groups of all-stars who are not familiar with one another. For proof just look at Team USA Basketball since 2000.
-I don't like the play-in game. I wish there was some way to play the NIT first and give the NIT winner the 64th bid. I know it's not very practical but it would create the ultimate Cinderella storyline.
-Allow drinking at the tournament games. I went to the first round in Buffalo and half of the people with tickets were at the bars around the corner from the stadium. This is college correct?
-Televise all of the first round games. CBS has a good start on this, they are making all of the first round games available via the Internet.
-Start the championship game earlier. It starts after 9 PM ET. I'm OK with staying up later but it's kind of impractical. Even 8 PM ET would be a large improvement.
-Ban the word "Cinderella" from use during the month of march. Perhaps the only word more overused in the English language is the word "sale" during December.
-Let one pool reporter in the room with the selection committee. This isn't a fraternity initiation. Unless they're hiding something in that room. Or they just think they're that far above everybody else.
-No announcer is allowed to orally pleasure Duke or UNC on the air. C'mon, it's not like we're naming names here.
Tune in next time for our bracket picks. C'mon do it. We'll name names and everything.
Whurly.
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