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NFL Draft Review: 2003-2008

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by KevinmH9, Apr 16, 2009.

  1. KevinmH9

    KevinmH9 Active Member

    FOX Sports released their overall "draft grades" for each team spanning this six-year period.

    Figured this would fire off some discussions.

    http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/9453994/Draft-review:-How-every-team-ranks-from-2003-'08?gt1=39002
     
  2. Bubbler

    Bubbler Well-Known Member

    Man could I not give two lesser shits than I do over the draft ... past and present.

    Draft day? Fine. Every other day? Who gives a fuck?
     
  3. KYSportsWriter

    KYSportsWriter Well-Known Member

    Todd McShay and Mel Kiper on Line 1 for you, Mr. Bubbler.
     
  4. KYSportsWriter

    KYSportsWriter Well-Known Member

    One thing I've never fully understood: Why is the draft held so early in the offseason? Is there no way for it to be held later?
     
  5. Hank_Scorpio

    Hank_Scorpio Active Member

    Tim will be out with his draft review from these years any day now. [/old school SportsJournalists.com reference]
     
  6. Cosmo

    Cosmo Well-Known Member

    Tim?

    [​IMG]
     
  7. Bubbler

    Bubbler Well-Known Member

    A pet peeve of mine for all sports is the nerdish fans who care more about what goes into building the teams than watching the games themselves.

    For the pros, its draftniks. For college its the recruiting geeks.

    There's no sense of a wait-and-see perspective. In its place is the hype of the draft, or recruiting, which creates pre-determined destinies for athletes that have little to do with reality. How many Youtube videos for a recruit have you ever seen that actually breaks down their game? Warts and all? No ... you see a bunch of ankle-breaking crossover moves! Or, golden-armed QB throwing a 55-yard touchdown. Much of it is a steaming pile of bullshit when it comes to getting an actual representation of how good or not good the athlete actually is.

    Once those hyped-up, often inaccurate, hype-fueled assessments aren't met, the athlete is deemed a failure/bust for failing to live up to the fake-ass expectations put upon them by those who are too into the process and not into the games.

    Too many of these nerdish fans can't see beyond that process, or trust it too implicity. They can't see beyond star ratings and idiotic draft analyses that change by the day for absolutely no good reason. Seriously ... why would Mel Kiper's draft analysis change from last week to now? What new information is out there that would change it? It's an idiotic hype machine that has to feed itself to survive.

    I'm not saying the draft/recruiting aren't important, but at the end of the day, I far prefer the GAMES to the process which determines who plays in the GAMES.

    Rant over.
     
  8. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    As a former draftnik, I think I can answer some of that.

    For one thing, I NEVER cared more about the process than the actual games. But I used to read Kiper's magazine. It was kinda fun to know who the guys were when the Steelers drafted them, not just in the first or second round, but at the end of the draft. But it was never anywhere near as interesting to me as the actual games.

    Now I'll check in here and there during the draft, check out the Steelers' picks when it's over, then forget about them until it's time to start playing for real.

    Draft ratings change because it is all about perception, which can easily change. Maybe a player comes off like an asshole in an interview with a team and word starts to get around about him being a prick and that hurts his value. Teams find out about an injury that slowed a player at the combine but now he is healthier. There is a medical update that is positive or negative on a player recovering from an injury. Or word gets out that a coach really wants a certain player, so teams realize they might have to take that player earlier than they thought.

    I compare it to fantasy sports drafting. You can't just go by the value you place on a player. You have to consider how other teams value that player. That means things can change right up to draft time and even during the draft.
     
  9. Michael_ Gee

    Michael_ Gee Well-Known Member

    I am old enough to remember that the draft used to be two weeks after the Super Bowl. It worked fine. Obviously, you couldn't do that now because of free agency if for no other reason, but I am convinced all the extra time does is give teams the space to talk themselves out of good ideas. It's a collective icing the kicker concept.
     
  10. pallister

    pallister Guest

    Go keep score at a MLB game, dork. :D
     
  11. Sam Mills 51

    Sam Mills 51 Well-Known Member

    There's also the matter of a player, no matter how good or bad his skills are, being a fit for a coaching staff, organization and teammates. And like the draft, there's NO WAY to analyze this. If there was, the teams would pay dearly to miss on fewer picks.

    A great player can be a horrible fit on a contender. An undrafted player can make the difference on a team building from the ground up.

    Captain Obvious take now over ...
     
  12. pallister

    pallister Guest

    I've always loved watching the draft because it's one of the few ways to learn about players throughout the league, but I've never ordered or read a draft magazine. I'll check the mock drafts from time to time and occasionally read an article, but the two days of coverage is where it's at. Of course, this year won't be quite as much fun because there's no anticipation of who the Bears will pick in the first round. On the flip side, there's also no anticipation that they'll fuck the pick up, either. Basically, it'll be a slightly more productive Saturday at work now.
     
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