I'm not sayin'; I'm just sayin':Quarterback A, 2008
After watching just about all of the NFL Draft proceedings, here would be my terribly important thoughts:
This would be the best draft from Packers in Ted Thompson era. While I like Aaron Rodgers, Brian Brohm would be a great insurance policy who could potentially replace him down the road in a couple of years. Jordy Nelson may not have the upside of a Devin Thomas or Malcolm Kelly, he should be a solid NFL receiver with great character and little downside. Also, his size at 6-3, 217 complements the smaller Donald Driver and Greg Jennings. Patrick Lee really came on during the draft process, and should be a nice initial complement and eventual replacement for Al Harris and Charles Woodson. Adding athletic tight end Jermichael Finley later on, along with a heady potential third QB in Matt Flynn makes this a strong effort from the Pack.
While the Vikings did have a ton of picks in abundance, they made them count by getting the best safety on the board in many people's eyes in Arkansas State's Tyrell Johnson, along with USC QB John David Booty (who could eventually push Tarvaris Jackson for Vikes starting job). Notre Dame C John Sullivan had an awful senior season, but his form as an underclassmen showcased nice NFL potential and he could be a good value in the sixth round if he can revert back to old form.
Detroit finally started to re-evaluate their drafting policy for the better, and had a mixed bag of results. The run on offensive tackles forced them to reach on Gosder Cherilus a bit, but he could be a solid RT who can thrive in the run game. Speaking of reaches, LB Jordan Dizon probably got taken 1-2 rounds too early, and Detroit passed on strong prospects in Tavares Gooden, Dan Connor and Xavier Adibi to take the undersized (6-0, 229) Colorado linebacker. Kevin Smith should be a solid pro, but he already has a ton of carries under his belt and may be more prone to injury than your typical rookie. Major props to Matt Millen for taking Army S/LB Caleb Campbell in the seventh round, and I have a sneaking suspicion that he may be one of the Lions best picks in an otherwise underwhelming effort.
Finally, I don't hate the Bears draft, so that would be a marked improvement over a lot of years. Chris Williams should be a solid NFL LT, and after Ryan Clady went off the board to the Broncos, he was the probably the best available prospect at a spot the Bears sorely needed to address. Tulane RB Matt Forte should be solid pick, and he will get a chance to get major carries from day one (especially with rumors that Cedric Benson's leg injury has been slow to heal and may permanently affect him). Jerry Angelo has always been a good second day drafter, and guys like WR Earl Bennett, DT Marcus Harrison and S Craig Stelts should have an opportunity to compete for immediate playing time. TE Kellen Davis would be an intriguing athlete that could potentially be moved in the NFL (also played DE in college), and WR Marcus Monk has nice upside for a seventh round pick (has the size and skills to be effective in the redzone). My one major complaint would be passing on a QB like Erik Ainge in the fourth or fifth rounds, but this could be the draft that infuses the Bears with much needed young talent.
Other random thoughts:
Kansas City "won" the draft, but as long as the Chiefs keep Carl Peterson and Herman Edwards around, they should have plenty of chances to repeat this distinction.
Matt Ryan over Glenn Dorsey will be one of those picks that will haunt the Falcons for years, especially if Dorsey has a Warren Sapp like career and Ryan's mimics Kyle Boller.
Santana Moss will finally have some nice receiving friends in Washington (besides Chris Cooley), and this could make Jason Campbell an intriguing player to follow next year.
"I was there when Gayle Sayers hurt his knee. I have great memories of Soldier Field."
-Brad Childress, Vikings head coach on his homecoming to Chicago on Sunday
(context: The previous sentence, Childress mentioned watching games at Wrigley Field. Sayers hurt his knee in 1970, a year before the Bears moved to Soldier Field. Still hilarious.)
Looking through the statistics of today's games, a noticeable trend would be the unbalanced pass-run ratios with teams who had success on the ground today. The most obvious example of this would be San Diego, where a sub par Philip Rivers effort led to baffling 30-16 loss at home to lowly Kansas City. Through the first four weeks, the major strength of the Chiefs defense would be their pass coverage. Despite their starting corners Ty Law and Patrick Surtain averaging 200 years old, they have limited the big play save one long Andre Johnson TD catch in week one. That said, Rivers put the ball up 42 times. Meanwhile, Cedric Benson and the real Adrian Peterson each ran for over 100 yards against Chiefs, and LT had 132 yards on 20 carries. Simply put, you run LT until KC proves they can stop him, and then you give them a dose of the Burner. Needing a TD late in the game to get within a score, the Chargers call four pass plays from the 5 yard line despite having the best goal line rusher in the history of the game. While I thought the Chargers could improve on Marty Ball, they replaced him with one of the worst head coaches in the history of professional sports, Norv Turner. Chargers fans will really enjoy going 6-10 with one of the NFL's five most talented rosters.
Not to be outdone, a couple of other genius play callers really put their best foot forward today. Speaking of the real Adrian Peterson, AD ran for 112 yards on 12 carries today in the Vikes 23-16 loss to the Packers. Despite averaging close to 10 yards a rush, Peterson received 12 fucking carries. The returning Chester Taylor added 40 yards on 8 carries. Your backs gave you 152 yards on 20 carries, yet you have Kelly Holcomb throw the ball 39 damn times. While Mike McCarthy has done an excellent job in reviving the Packers to join the NFC's elite (sort of like tallest midget club), the brilliance of Norv Turner and Brad Childress has nicely aided the process.
Finally, we take a trip to the mind of the notoriously pass happy Andy Reid. No wonder Donovan McNabb no longer buys into his plan, what with Reid calling 31 passes despite an O-Line that clearly had no interest in pass blocking the Giants. After getting sacked 12 times (an incredible six by Osi Umenyiora, who had yet to register a sack on the season coming in), McNabb will enjoy spending this next week in the team whirlpool. Of course, Correll Buckhalter admirably filled in for the injured Brian Westbrook, rushing for 103 yards on 17 carries. Apparently, Andy Reid had the over on Giants sacks tonight, as that would be the only conceivable explanation as to why you had McNabb consistently going back to pass despite atrocious pass blocking and a back averaging six yards a carry.
In all three cases, the game situation did not call for this imbalance, as the Eagles and Vikings consistently played around a TD behind, and San Diego had a 16-6 lead before allowing the Chiefs to score 24 unanswered points (a month's allotment for them). Instead of playing to that day's strength, these teams kept pulling the ball up come hell or high water. Because of that, they each received well deserved losses despite having a clear advantage over their opponents.
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