I woke up this morning in a terrific mood. Why you may ask? The smell of victory was in the air as I "took down the tuna"! That's right, Neil went down last night. I might have been as indecisive as Dusty Baker trying to decide whether to lead off with Willy Taveras or Alex Gonzalez last season, however, when it came to crunch time I took care of business.
Now Neil "tuna-melt" Borders, will have to pay up, and buy me a delicious, medium-well, new york strip. Don't worry, there will be pictures taken and posted.....believe that!
Now to my first round thoughts....
- I just want to go ahead and get it over with right now, I am happy for Tim Tebow, but I don't see how you justify a first round pick on him. I know he has high character, he's a leader, a winner, and he might have been the best player in college football history (which is debatable), but his game just isn't relevant enough to waste a first round pick on. His mechanics are flawed, he doesn't get great reads on coverages, and the jump pass will get thrown down his throat in the NFL. In college he was a "man among boys" running over defenders at will, Tebow won't be able to do that in the NFL. Quite frankly, I hope the best for him because he is a natural born hero, but I don't see him ever starting in the NFL in any system.
- Josh McDaniels, what are you and the front office of the Broncos doing? You trade down to get your wide reciever in Demaryius Thomas, I understand that, but you trade back up to get Tebow, and make him your third option at quarterback? I just feel like the Broncos could have got a pocket-passer relevant to Josh McDaniels style in later rounds, the Broncos should have stayed put, and got some players to play in some need areas like a safety, Brian Dawkins isn't going bto stay young forever, or maybe another pass rushing outside linebacker to take some pressure off Elvis Dumervil. Will see how the "Tebow project" goes, because either way, your paying him first round money.
- Jacksonville takes Defensive Tackle Tyson Alualu with the 10th pick? Most didn't have him being taken until late in the first round or early in the second. This seemed like a bit of a reach to me, why not trade down and get some more pics? Why not take C.J. Spiller to boost your running game? I know the Jags have Maurice Jones-Drew, but two backs thrive in Jack Del Rio's system; take a look back at how good they were when they had Fred Taylor firing on all cylinders with Jones-Drew. Why not take Earl Thomas? You have a hole at safety, and Thomas has all-pro written all over him. Jacksonville was last in sacks last year in the NFL, why not take a pass rusher like Derrick Morgan or Jason Pierre-Paul? I guess DT John Henderson will have some company next year, or does that make him trade bait? This pick just sends a lot of mixed signals. Jacksonville should have stayed patient, traded down, picked up some picks, and got this guy later on in the first if they valued him that highly. How does Alualu make your team better? You took him at 10, for crying out loud! First round picks are supposed to instantly help from my vantage point, this pick just doesn't mold into that instant gratification.
- Al Davis has done it yet again. Davis takes an inside linebacker in Rolando McClain instead of addressing his offensive line, which was non-existent last year, or the Raiders dilemma at quarterback. I guess Al and that boys will address their issues in the later rounds? They now have plenty of linebackers after trading for Kamerion Wimbley. Instead of "Win, Baby, Win" it should be "Think, Baby, Think".
- Now that we have some of the sour stuff out of the way, lets get positive and talk about some teams who helped themselves:
- Detroit Lions- You get the best player in the draft in defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh to help your line and then you pick up a speedster running back at pick 30 in Jahvid Best. Great night for the Lions they picked up maybe the next Reggie White, and got another offensive weapon to go along with Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson, Brandon Pettigrew, and Kevin Smith. I'm not saying they are a playoff calibar team, but they did help themselves.
- San Francisco 49ers- Some question their picks of two offensive lineman in the first round, but I like it. Offensive tackle Anthony Davis has more upside than anyone in the draft and offensive guard Mike Iupati is a house, whose great in run blocking schemes. Mike Singletary is bringing back the "Monster's of the Midway" old school, Chicago Bears football to the bay.
- Dallas Cowboys- They just rolled out the carpet for Dez Bryant, Tony Romo must be the happiest man in Texas at this moment. They pick up arguably the best talent in the draft at 24 to go with Wide receivers Miles Austin and Roy Williams, not to mention the pass catching abilities of Jason Witten, and you still have Marion "Tugboat" Barber at running back and the lightning-fast Felix Jones, pretty good day for the 'Boys! In my book, they just moved up to the third best offense in football behind the Saints and Colts.
All in all, this first round had a lot of shifting, lot of head scratching picks, and best of all, enough drama for your momma! Oh, I almost forgot to mention the biggest winner of the draft, "ME" or did I already mention that? Either way, it was an entertaining first round and I can't wait for Borders to entertain me with a steak!
Until Next Time, Adios!
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The thing about the Raiders is even though it made little sense, they actually got themselves a fantastic player for a change. They still ignored all their problems (which they have plenty of), but McClain will be the cornerstone of that defense for years to come.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to Matt Stafford and Jahvid Best, as Detroit continues to ignore their O-line.
Still scratching my head with Jacksonville's pick at #10. They could've traded back, WAAAY back, and still got their guy.
The biggest mystery in this draft is that as of my typing this, we are 5 picks into the 2nd round, and nobody has drafted Jimmy Clausen. This guy was rated across the board as the #1 QB and nobody has pulled the trigger on him. Much more strange than Aaron Rodgers' and Matt Leinart's tailspins in previous drafts.