TigerHoya
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Post by TigerHoya on Jan 18, 2008 16:55:08 GMT -5
James Davis has applied for and been approved by the NFL and Clemson compliance to return to school after previously declaring for the draft. There's a 72 hour grace period expiring at midnight tonight that lets declared players who haven't been involved with an agent to withdraw.
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Post by HeartAttackHoya on Jan 22, 2008 12:56:14 GMT -5
clemson's backfield next year will be as good as Arkansas was this year. Too many good backs enter the draft, smart move for Davis to return and rejoin CJ Spiller. Still surprised the Ohio State kids went back to school. regardless, this draft should be a pretty good one, specially RB, DLine.
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Post by AustinHoya03 on Mar 26, 2008 14:53:40 GMT -5
Sooo...Mel Kiper has McFadden going #1 overall. I guess this would be the appropriate time to quote Bill Tobin:
"We got a guy up here ... and who in the hell is Mel Kiper, anyway? I mean, here's a guy who criticizes everybody, whoever they take. He's got the answers to who you should take, to who you shouldn't take. He tells us about your team. He tells us about the Rams. He tells us about Tampa and everything else. In my knowledge of him, he's never even put on a jockstrap, he's never been a player, he's never been a coach, he's never been a scout, he's never been an administrator, and all of a sudden, he's an expert. He's in our paper two days ago, telling us who we have to take. We don't have to take anybody that Mel Kiper says we have to take. Mel Kiper has no more credentials to do what he's doing than my neighbor, and my neighbor's a postman and he doesn't even have season tickets to the NFL."
IMO, there is too much emphasis on the combine these days, and McFadden is a perfect example of this. I doubt he's even the best RB in the draft, but all of a sudden all you hear is "4.3 40! 4.3 40!"
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TBird41
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Post by TBird41 on Mar 26, 2008 19:17:27 GMT -5
I think McFadden is getting a boost because of Adrian Peterson. No one really questioned Peterson falling as far as he did, despite his obvious talent, but after he had such an outstanding rookie season (and everyone remembers his big games, not the rookie wall he ran into, or the injury), teams are worried about passing on McFadden and missing out on the next Purple Jesus (or at least the pundits are assuming that they are).
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2008 8:15:30 GMT -5
I think McFadden is getting a boost because of Adrian Peterson. No one really questioned Peterson falling as far as he did, despite his obvious talent, but after he had such an outstanding rookie season (and everyone remembers his big games, not the rookie wall he ran into, or the injury), teams are worried about passing on McFadden and missing out on the next Purple Jesus (or at least the pundits are assuming that they are). Agree 100%. The same people who are touting McFadden (and I'm not saying either way whether he'll be a stud or a bust) are the same people who spent years touting the "you don't need a first round running back to be successful, there is value in the later rounds" line. My question: plenty of teams are high on Chris Long, but so many reviews I've read say "if he's taken by this team, he'll be moved to a rush-linebacker position" or some position not his own (end in a 3-4). Is it safe to draft a guy THAT HIGH with the intention of moving him to a new position? I'm sure a guy like Long with his skills and pedigre will adapt (even if it takes a year or two), but it seems like adding risk on top of an already risky proposition. All you college football freaks (unfortunately, I consider myself a Saturday-only freak)... who is the best WR in the draft? I've heard anywhere from Kelly to Sweed to Jackson to Thomas... ... for a team intersted in a WR (COUGH... Bills... COUGH) would it make more sense to trade down and take someone who might not be considered the best (a Sweed or Thomas)?
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TigerHoya
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Post by TigerHoya on Mar 27, 2008 8:50:25 GMT -5
Last I heard,Phillip Merling might go as high as #9 overall.
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TBird41
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Post by TBird41 on Mar 27, 2008 9:20:50 GMT -5
Last I heard,Phillip Merling might go as high as #9 overall. Without working out for any teams and coming off of surgery for a sports hernia? Most of the mock drafts I saw had him going to the Vikings at #17, and Harvey going ahead of him. Those were all before it was announced he was undergoing surgery though.
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TBird41
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Post by TBird41 on Mar 27, 2008 9:22:29 GMT -5
I think McFadden is getting a boost because of Adrian Peterson. No one really questioned Peterson falling as far as he did, despite his obvious talent, but after he had such an outstanding rookie season (and everyone remembers his big games, not the rookie wall he ran into, or the injury), teams are worried about passing on McFadden and missing out on the next Purple Jesus (or at least the pundits are assuming that they are). Agree 100%. The same people who are touting McFadden (and I'm not saying either way whether he'll be a stud or a bust) are the same people who spent years touting the "you don't need a first round running back to be successful, there is value in the later rounds" line. My question: plenty of teams are high on Chris Long, but so many reviews I've read say "if he's taken by this team, he'll be moved to a rush-linebacker position" or some position not his own (end in a 3-4). Is it safe to draft a guy THAT HIGH with the intention of moving him to a new position? I'm sure a guy like Long with his skills and pedigre will adapt (even if it takes a year or two), but it seems like adding risk on top of an already risky proposition. All you college football freaks (unfortunately, I consider myself a Saturday-only freak)... who is the best WR in the draft? I've heard anywhere from Kelly to Sweed to Jackson to Thomas... ... for a team intersted in a WR (COUGH... Bills... COUGH) would it make more sense to trade down and take someone who might not be considered the best (a Sweed or Thomas)? I think Kelly's better than Sweed (Sweed has some concentration lapses/drops that Kelly doesn't--Kelly supposedly only had one drop in the last two years), and Jackson would be a bad idea, since you already have a short WR in Roscoe Parrish. I don't know much about Thomas though. NFL.com has some good breakdowns on all the players that attended the combine: www.nfl.com/combine/players
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vcjack
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Post by vcjack on Mar 27, 2008 10:29:52 GMT -5
I think McFadden is getting a boost because of Adrian Peterson. No one really questioned Peterson falling as far as he did, despite his obvious talent, but after he had such an outstanding rookie season (and everyone remembers his big games, not the rookie wall he ran into, or the injury), teams are worried about passing on McFadden and missing out on the next Purple Jesus (or at least the pundits are assuming that they are). I believe the trademark phrase is the "Devin Hester-Ted Ginn Jr effect"
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kchoya
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Post by kchoya on Mar 27, 2008 11:04:57 GMT -5
Just hoping Jake Long falls to the Chiefs at #5...
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Post by AustinHoya03 on Mar 27, 2008 14:13:32 GMT -5
All you college football freaks (unfortunately, I consider myself a Saturday-only freak)... who is the best WR in the draft? I've heard anywhere from Kelly to Sweed to Jackson to Thomas... ... for a team intersted in a WR (COUGH... Bills... COUGH) would it make more sense to trade down and take someone who might not be considered the best (a Sweed or Thomas)? It would make the most sense to trade down. There is not one receiver in this draft who is an absolute star. Kelly and Sweed will be good, and it might be worth taking one of those guys at #11, but if the Bills have other needs (I really don't know) it would probably be wise to fill those with the first-round pick.
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hifigator
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Post by hifigator on Mar 27, 2008 16:08:09 GMT -5
Austin, what is the early feedback on that stud running back who left early?
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Post by AustinHoya03 on Mar 28, 2008 0:18:52 GMT -5
Austin, what is the early feedback on that stud running back who left early? I assume you're referring to Jamal Charles. Feedback is about what was expected -- there about 5 or 6 other running backs better than him in the draft. He's great when he gets into the open field -- it's getting there that's the problem for Charles. Also, as I have noted with some frustration in the past, he has trouble hanging onto the football.
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RDF
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Post by RDF on Mar 28, 2008 0:42:53 GMT -5
Austin, what is the early feedback on that stud running back who left early? I assume you're referring to Jamal Charles. Feedback is about what was expected -- there about 5 or 6 other running backs better than him in the draft. He's great when he gets into the open field -- it's getting there that's the problem for Charles. Also, as I have noted with some frustration in the past, he has trouble hanging onto the football. If you think Charles is sloppy with the ball--which you know I've mentioned in past Austin--check out the amount of fumbles McFadden had last year--13!!!! 13 damn fumbles in a season? I know he played glorified option QB at times--but that is ridiculous. Protect the ball. Any team who trades up for a RB in this draft is an idiot-there is plenty of talented guys and RB is an easy position to fill to get enough productivity. Anyone clamoring for Ahmad Bradshaw last year? He was as important to Giants winning in postseason as anyone else on their team. He could actually impact a game in various ways and learned to pick up a blitz--unlike many decorated guys who still don't have a clue who to block.
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hifigator
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Post by hifigator on Mar 28, 2008 10:38:35 GMT -5
I agree with you 100% RDF. Running backs don't seem to generally justify their draft position and probably more than any other position, can become stars from lower draft status.
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SFHoya99
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Post by SFHoya99 on Mar 28, 2008 11:08:05 GMT -5
First Round Wide Receivers probably have the worst track record.
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Post by HeartAttackHoya on Mar 31, 2008 11:01:57 GMT -5
Austin, what is the early feedback on that stud running back who left early? he has trouble hanging onto the football. thats an understatement if i ever heard one. Put together a nice string of games last year where he was getting the bulk of his yards on breakaway runs. He is olympic speed fast specially once he actually gets to top speed while there might be some players who accelerate better than he does. In my opinion, Charles will never be a everydown back. poor man's reggie bush or for the sake of comparing him to another Texas product, the next coming of Eric Metcalf (who i loved)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2008 8:32:15 GMT -5
Devin Thomas vs. Malcom Kelly vs. Limas Sweed.
Anyone care to dissect? To ME, Kelly has a few red flags, what with his knees, quad, surgery, etc. Sweed has that bum wrist, but its just a wrist. And I seem to recall he was a top WR prospect until that shortened his season.
Thomas seems most intriguing to me, though. I saw a few Spartan games last year and always remember him making plays. I know I'm showing my bias, but he reminds me of Eric Moulds in that he's got great upper body strength, can break tackles, can use his body like a big WR should... and Moulds WAS one of the top WR in the league those years he and Flutie were playing together. Hell, he even produced well through most of the Drew Bledsoe era.
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TBird41
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Post by TBird41 on Apr 2, 2008 9:21:20 GMT -5
Devin Thomas vs. Malcom Kelly vs. Limas Sweed. Anyone care to dissect? To ME, Kelly has a few red flags, what with his knees, quad, surgery, etc. Sweed has that bum wrist, but its just a wrist. And I seem to recall he was a top WR prospect until that shortened his season. Thomas seems most intriguing to me, though. I saw a few Spartan games last year and always remember him making plays. I know I'm showing my bias, but he reminds me of Eric Moulds in that he's got great upper body strength, can break tackles, can use his body like a big WR should... and Moulds WAS one of the top WR in the league those years he and Flutie were playing together. Hell, he even produced well through most of the Drew Bledsoe era. They all have their red flags. Kelly's the most polished receiver (2 drops in 2 years, great routes) but has some question about his speed (4.5 40) and the red flags w/ the injuries. Sweed isn't as polished, drops the ball/runs poor routes b/c of a lack of concentration, but he's got the speed and big play making ability. Thomas has had one great year, so there's a lot of question if it was bc he finally got a good coach, or if its a fluke. I haven't done Thomas yet, but I've written breakdowns for Kelly and Sweed at my Vikings' site: vikingsragnarok.blogspot.com/2008/03/solving-our-problems-malcom-kelly.htmlvikingsragnarok.blogspot.com/2008/04/solving-our-problems-limas-sweed.html
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2008 9:36:39 GMT -5
Great write-ups, TBird, thanks. Are you going to bother writing one up for Thomas? If so, let me/us know...
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