2009 NFL Draft thread

[Flying Headbutt]

Todd McShay, aka NOT Mel Kiper, had Stafford falling to the Browns earlier Friday. Who the **** is Todd McShay? And when Monday comes will his carcass be the only thing Mel Kiper's hair hasn't eaten?

 

[Beef03]

What i would give for the Lions to pull a 180 and draft Crabtree. Oh the hilarity that would ensue. I mean if you are going to crash and burn anyways, you might as well go down in flames.

Really though they are failing by not improving their O-line or their Defence with that pick. Both are much larger needs than a QB right now. And ****, chances are that next year they will be drafting in a similar position, they should be at least in position to move up and get one of the big 3 next year. Utter fail. But as a Bears fan it's nice to have that buffer there keeping them out of the basement.

 

[pallister]

Who the **** is Todd McShay?

Bill Tobin smiles.

 

[Mark2010]

Stafford agrees to 6-year million contract with Lions according to Lions. Guarantees him $41.7 million, could be worth $78 mil if he achieves all playing incentives. Richest deal given to a draft choice in history.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4097641

What a colossal waste of money! Even worse than a GM bailout!!

As one of the TV talking heads pointed out, Stafford is going to make more money than Ben Roethlisberger, who has been in the NFL for five years and won two Super Bowls.

These rookies should have to earn that kind of money, not have it handed to them on a silver platter.

As for the Lions, I can distinctly remember 2002, when you chose Joey Harrington with the third overall pick and labeled him your quarterback of the future. Then you booed him, benched him, ran him out of town. Now seven years later, you are right back in the same spot. Same spot, different name. Do you really think the result is going to be any different?

The guess here is that you'll be drafting No. 1 again in, say, 2014 and salavating over yet another quarterback. Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

 

[JakeandElwood]

That contract is utterly ridiculous. Rookie salary structure is badly needed.

 

[DanOregon]

The best player at QB in a down year overall for the draft, Lions would have been better off spending that money on Ray Lewis to give the team an attitude adjustment. The contract isn't going to do Stafford any favors.

 

[Mark2010]

Who was the last QB taken No. 1 overall to even make a Pro Bowl? Was it Peyton Manning in 1997?

I know it wasn't JaMarcus Russell (2007), Alex Smith (2005) or David Carr (2002). I guess Eli Manning was a No. 1, when he forced a trade from San Diego to the Giants on draft day in 2004. Michael Vick was a No. 1 in 2001, but I can't recall if he ever made the Pro Bowl before the dog fiasco.

My point is we see more QBs who are busts than who make it in the NFL. And for the kind of money you wind up paying to a QB taken at that spot, I'm just not sure how good of an investment it is.

 

[bostonbred]

He's going to make more guaranteed money than any player in NFL history, edging out Albert Haynesworth's recent contract by $700,000. It's insanity to pay that to an unproven commodity, somebody who failed to impress many pundits in a mediocre college career at Georgia.

Quite frankly, if I was Detroit's GM, I would have dumped this pick for the best offer, whatever it may have been.

 

[Oz]

Stafford agrees to 6-year million contract with Lions according to Lions. Guarantees him $41.7 million, could be worth $78 mil if he achieves all playing incentives. Richest deal given to a draft choice in history.

What a colossal waste of money! Even worse than a GM bailout!!

As one of the TV talking heads pointed out, Stafford is going to make more money than Ben Roethlisberger, who has been in the NFL for five years and won two Super Bowls.

Not sure that's possible. Roethlisberger's cap hit for the Steelers last season was something like $27 million, tops in the NFL, after he signed an eight-year, $102 million contract last March.

 

[spnited]

Sure is a good thing the Lions fired Millen and got someone competent in there.

 

[Oz]

Sure is a good thing the Lions fired Millen and got someone competent in there.

The fact that he got a first- and third-round pick from the Cowboys for three months' worth of Roy Williams was a nice start.

 

[Mark2010]

Was watching NFL Network and they were discussing QBs taken in the top 5 who turned out to be busts. Ryan Leaf, Heath Shuler, Akili Smith, Tim Couch, David Carr, Joey Harrington, etc.

While the jury is still out on Russell and Alex Smith, the percentage seems to have gone up quite a bit in the last 10 years or so. Yes, I know, there have always been picks that didn't pan out as hoped, but I wonder if the fact that so many of these kids are leaving school early contributes to that.

Face it, quarterback is a damn hard position to learn, all the moreso at the pro level. It takes time and coaching to help a player master the skills needed to be successful at the position. I see so many teams picking underclassmen, paying them a ton of money and just throwing them in right away. And then wonder why they fail?

 

[Michael_ Gee]

There was no early leaving in 1983, and teams picked Tony Eason, Todd Blackledge and Ken O'Brien instead of Dan Marino in the first round. Quarterbacks have always had a nasty risk-reward ratio.
And yes, there's Tim Couch. But there's also Troy Aikman, Terry Bradshaw, Peyton, Carson Palmer, and guys who had long if not Hall careers like Bledsoe and Testaverde. All first picks in the draft.
For what it's worth, even back in the 1930s-1950s, when rookies didn't make as much as copy editors, quarterbacks and number one picks in general crapped out at about the same rate they do today. The names Gary Glick, Bobby Garrett, and Bob Fenimore don't ring a bell, and shouldn't, but they were all number one picks, and Garrett was a quarterback, too.
PS: A little trivia. The first college quarterback to be the number one overall pick in the draft AND make the Hall of Fame? That would be Paul Hornung, who of course didn't QB at Green Bay.

 

[JackReacher]

I hope this blows up in the Lions' face. Immediately.

 

[JackReacher]

According to PK (yes, I know, I know), the Chiefs aren't trading out of their pick at 3, but the Rams got a call from someone (Redskins?) about their pick at 2.

Should be an interesting day.

****.

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

Was watching the replay of Red Sox-Reds Game 6 last night and saw on Mel Kiper's draft board he has Andre Smith, the combine flop, as a top six pick (at Cincy?) and several others draft "experts" list him as a top 10 pick...
This boggles me.

I could see Matt Millen drooling over this guy .. but a reputable GM? No. Way.

 

[Barsuk]

According to PK (yes, I know, I know), the Chiefs aren't trading out of their pick at 3, but the Rams got a call from someone (Redskins?) about their pick at 2.

Should be an interesting day.

****.

I hope PK is wrong, because if the Chiefs pick Tyson Jackson at 3, I'm going to flip. They could trade down to the Redskins' spot and still get him.

 

[doubledown68]

According to PK (yes, I know, I know), the Chiefs aren't trading out of their pick at 3, but the Rams got a call from someone (Redskins?) about their pick at 2.

Should be an interesting day.

****.

I hope PK is wrong, because if the Chiefs pick Tyson Jackson at 3, I'm going to flip. They could trade down to the Redskins' spot and still get him.

Yup. I also wonder if KC's ability (or inability) to trade down will affect other things they want to do. Namely, going out and getting Boldin or some receiver of consequence.

 

[Madhavok]

Dear Buffalo,
Don't do something stupid.
Sincerely,
The few Buffalo fans left.

 

[novelist_wannabe]

Vick did go to the Pro Bowl, FWIW.

Whatever you think of Jon Kitna, the fact is the Lions boxed themselves in by cutting him loose. They had to take a quarterback, and Stafford is the best option in a field that isn't particularly deep. He and Sanchez are pretty equal talent wise (Stafford's arm is better, Sanchez is a little more mobile, I'm guessing they're about equal on the mental side), but Stafford has 20 more college games played.

As for the money, there was much ado about Ryan's contract last year, and I'd submit that he's already worth every penny, though he owes a lot of his success to Michael Turner. Whether that's fair to more experienced players isn't his or his team's concern. Next year will be the same thing, though it could very well be the last.