NFL 2011 - Pre-Draft Thread

I want the full draft list from *Legion* to print out and cross off as I go tomorrow night.

Rat Boy wrote:

I want the full draft list from *Legion* to print out and cross off as I go tomorrow night.

Mocks are brutal. One change at the top and the whole thing falls apart all the way down.

*Legion* wrote:
Rat Boy wrote:

I want the full draft list from *Legion* to print out and cross off as I go tomorrow night.

Mocks are brutal. One change at the top and the whole thing falls apart all the way down.

That's probably what Rat Boy's going for.

How about your top 32 players, which is what Mayock's been doing? I think that makes more sense.

gizmo wrote:

I tend to work off what I think teams should do, rather than what they are predicted by the pundits to do. I don't think there is any way that the Panthers should take a QB first overall. They have too many needs, including Offensive Tackle and Wide Receiver which are scary needs with a rookie QB.

Well, no, that's not quite right. OT (and center) is probably the area where Carolina is OK, relatively speaking. LB and RB are the other. But, yeah, the rest of the team needs some help.

Smart money is to go all in on Clausen and pick someone for the D-line -- as LEGION!!*!* points out, Clausen's not that bad, and he might eventually be a serviceable QB given some time to throw, some decent receivers and an O-coordinator who has a tiny bit of imagination. Carolina has maybe two of those three things, possibly all three if last year's WRs improve.

The problem with that, though, is just like the QB issue: Who would you pick? Just like Cam Newton isn't Andrew Luck or Sam Bradford, none of the D-line candidates are Ndamukong Suh. I guess you could pick a WR or DB at No. 1, but that's just throwing your money away.

So what's Marty Hurney going to do? He'll look at the other NFC South teams, all of whom are loaded at QB, and pick Newton.

Then he'll throw himself into traffic on the Billy Graham Parkway.

The only way that Carolina doesn't end up with Newton is if someone beneath them panics (my bet is the D.C. Snyders) and trades up at 6 p.m. tomorrow.

I think the d-line candidates look like better picks than any of the QBs at #1 just based on the relative volatility of the QB position.

Yeah, none of the are Suh, but they're mostly safer picks, if less flashy.

garion333 wrote:

I think the d-line candidates look like better picks than any of the QBs at #1 just based on the relative volatility of the QB position.

Yeah, none of the are Suh, but they're mostly safer picks, if less flashy.

If, god forbid, I was a Panther fan I would want Dareus. He can play up and down the line, so it would pretty much guarantee a #1 overall who is starting as a rookie.

gizmo wrote:
garion333 wrote:

I think the d-line candidates look like better picks than any of the QBs at #1 just based on the relative volatility of the QB position.

Yeah, none of the are Suh, but they're mostly safer picks, if less flashy.

If, god forbid, I was a Panther fan I would want Dareus. He can play up and down the line, so it would pretty much guarantee a #1 overall who is starting as a rookie.

I would agree; I'd take Dareus first, as he even fits a need for the Panthers. That being said, they're going to go Newton, who seems to me to be destined for "well, yeah, he was an awful draft pick, but JaMarcus was still worse" territory. Barring some bit of weirdness, he's in Carolina for good or ill (I vote "ill" with huge letters). I understand Carolina's desire for a QB considering the Brees-Ryan-Freeman trinity in that division, but Newton really doesn't seem worth it. At all.

gizmo wrote:

If, god forbid, I was a Panther fan ....

You're just jealous of our No. 1 pick. Admit it.

Enix wrote:
gizmo wrote:

If, god forbid, I was a Panther fan ....

You're just jealous of our No. 1 pick. Admit it.

People are jealous of the 2010 and 2012 No. 1 picks. Good thing it's not 2011.

Wait a minute . . .

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

People are jealous of the 2010 and 2012 No. 1 picks. Good thing it's not 2011.

Wait a minute . . .

Seriously. How depressed are Carolina fans going to be with the #1 overall pick in 2012, Andrew Luck sitting there waiting to be taken, but having already taken Cam Newton and committed all that money to the position?

*Legion* wrote:
MilkmanDanimal wrote:

People are jealous of the 2010 and 2012 No. 1 picks. Good thing it's not 2011.

Wait a minute . . .

Seriously. How depressed are Carolina fans going to be with the #1 overall pick in 2012, Andrew Luck sitting there waiting to be taken, but having already taken Cam Newton and committed all that money to the position?

Totally. The good news is somebody will want to trade with them to get their #1 pick next year for Andrew Luck, so they should have a really good 2013 draft with all those extra picks.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

The good news is somebody will want to trade with them to get their #1 pick next year for Andrew Luck, so they should have a really good 2013 draft with all those extra picks.

And hopefully Jimmy Clausen will have developed into a good QB by then.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

The good news is somebody will want to trade with them to get their #1 pick next year for Andrew Luck.

I'm pretty sure Luck won't be available at No. 32, which is where the Panthers will pick after they win the Super Bowl with their new two-QB set.

[size=11]Gah. I think I'm going to be ill.[/size]

Enix wrote:
MilkmanDanimal wrote:

The good news is somebody will want to trade with them to get their #1 pick next year for Andrew Luck.

I'm pretty sure Luck won't be available at No. 32, which is where the Panthers will pick after they win the Super Bowl with their new two-QB set.

[size=11]Gah. I think I'm going to be ill.[/size]

Completely plausible. I can see it happening.

[size=11]Assuming a lengthy lockout, continuing labor unrest, and replacement players. Plus, all the other stadiums in the league are destroyed by meteors, and Carolina wins by default.[/size]

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

[size=11]Assuming a lengthy lockout, continuing labor unrest, and replacement players. Plus, all the other stadiums in the league are destroyed by meteors, and Carolina wins by default.[/size]

"Three or four plane crashes and we're in the playoffs" -- John McKay

Hillis is on the Madden cover. Good job, boys.

Misinformation on Twitter.

Madden cover reveal on ESPN2...

They drug it out until the end of the show of course...

Whew. Hillis

Stele wrote:

Madden cover reveal on ESPN2...

They drug it out until the end of the show of course...

Whew. Hillis

They had the man on the show, so it's hard to believe they wouldn't have been him.

Not bad for the college blocking back for Felix Jones and Darren McFadden who wasn't good enough to play for the Donkeys.

Not Bad.

I'm starting to figure out why the mad Hoodie didn't keep boy wonder on his coaching staff in New England.

Warren Moon is 90% sure Carolina will take Cam Newton. But if not...

IMAGE(http://buriedplanet.com/userfiles/thats_racist_animated1.gif)

As an Aggie and a Texans fan, I'm dying for them to trade up high enough to get Von Miller. Screw the later picks, trade away whatever it takes - even the cheerleaders.

garion333 wrote:
Stele wrote:

Madden cover reveal on ESPN2...

They drug it out until the end of the show of course...

Whew. Hillis

They had the man on the show, so it's hard to believe they wouldn't have been him.

They were both there...

Stele wrote:
garion333 wrote:
Stele wrote:

Madden cover reveal on ESPN2...

They drug it out until the end of the show of course...

Whew. Hillis

They had the man on the show, so it's hard to believe they wouldn't have been him.

They were both there...

Ah, well Twitter was all afuss over Hillis being on set. All I heard about Vick was that if he didn't win they weren't going to buy the game.

garion333 wrote:

All I heard about Vick was that if he didn't win they weren't going to buy the game. :?

Anyone who won't buy the game because Vick didn't win the cover contest is doing the rest of the Madden community a favor by removing themselves from it.

Now, if only the game were any good...

Elliottx's Excellent Mock Draft:

1.Carolina: Cam Newton - Just too poor a choice to pass up. His Gruden's QB camp had me cringing.
2.Denver: Patrick Peterson - This is a passing league and Fox will take the best player available.
3.Buffalo: AJ Green - With Buffalo's dynamic offense of Ryan Fitzpatrick and CJ Spiller, they want to keep building on that.
4. Cincinnati: Blaine Gabbert - Carson Palmer is done in Cinci, they need a QB which the other Palmer brother isn't.
5. Arizona: Von Miller - I swear half of Arizona's defense will be pro-bowlers and the other half will be scrubs.
6. Cleveland: Marcell Daereus - I for some odd reason like the Browns and would enjoy them getting this pick.
7. San Fran: Prince - I'm not going to look up how to spell his last name.
8. Tennesse: Nick Fairley - They think he'll be Haynesworth but what made Haynesworth was Jeff Fischer.
9. Dallas: Julio Jones - The more skill players you have the more games you win.
10. Washington: Jake Locker - Who is their QB if they don't draft one now?
11. Houston: Robert Quinn - They need the D.
...
15. Miami: Mark Ingram - I can't think of a stupider pick, a team with needs everywhere else.
16. Jacksonville: Some character jerk nobody planned for them to take.
17. New England: Some jerk who will be good no matter what.
...
20. Tampa Bay: Da'quan Bowers - He's going to be a monster for them and hopefully his knees hold up.
...
Lots of trading, I'm mocking that there will be 5 trades between pick 21-32.
Oh and since I guess I should pick for my team:
25. Seattle: I think they'll trade down, but if they can't: Jimmy Smith - Give us the CB that Kelly Jennings was supposed to be.
...
32. Green Bay: Big fat white guy for their OL. This should be their strategy every round, Aaron Rodgers is too valuable. Sure The Office has decreased in quality the past two seasons but he won the Super Bowl this year so I'll cut him some slack.

3.Buffalo: AJ Green - With Buffalo's dynamic offense of Ryan Fitzpatrick and CJ Spiller, they want to keep building on that.

Are they being run by Matt Millen?

9. Dallas: Julio Jones - The more skill players you have the more games you win.

Whoa. That's ballsy. And if they do draft him, I'll be drafting the entire Cowboy's team in fantasy football this year.

Also, are they being run by Matt Millen?

Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone touches on Jerry Richardson and John Fox's karma in his mock draft:

Matt Taibbi wrote:

1. Carolina - CAM NEWTON, QB, Auburn

After being the chief asshole of the lockout process Panthers owner Jerry Richardson doubles down and takes with the first overall pick the kid with the alien musculature and the painfully fake smile who looks like he might end up being the A-Rod of football. ...

It goes on. Fun stuff.

That's a great article. I especially liked the bit about De'Quan Bowers.

[size=11]12. Minnesota - DA'QUAN BOWERS, DE, Clemson

This is a good place to introduce a draft concept I call the “Dog Rule.” Out of a possible pool of hundreds of draftable players, you get to make seven picks a year on average – and the difference between success and failure for most teams is how many times you spend one of those precious picks on a player who gives you nothing at all. Think of Jarvis Moss, Derrick Harvey, Ted Ginn and Jamaal Anderson: upon such names the careers of GMs have died. The only way to keep your NFL front-office job is to consistently pick guys who maybe aren’t stars but will at least play in the league, and at the same time avoid spending high picks on Matt Leinart and Tye Hill. So your number one task is to avoid dogs.

To me, that means being aggressive and uncompromising in eliminating tons of guys from your draft board. If there are 300 players on most teams’ boards, have only 50 or 60 on yours. That means instantly eliminating anyone who’s hit his girlfriend in the head with a pipe, has had a rod inserted into his femur, or is a running back with 4.8 speed, and so on. The Patriots reportedly had a rule for years: “No assholes.” This is good policy. You might pass on a star or two by removing so many people from your board. But you’ll avoid a lot more dogs if you stick to picking healthy, productive, non-assholes who try hard.

I don’t know a whole lot about Da’Quan Bowers as a person, but it seems to me that if you’re sh*tting your pants about your new first-round pick’s rebuilt knee the night after the draft, it’s automatically not a good pick. Somebody is going to pull the trigger on this poor kid – I hope he pans out, but why risk it?[/size]

It's Grandparents' Day at the elementary school. My parents are in town. My son has a music program at school starting at 7:15 tonight.

I'm skipping it to watch the draft.

You have to set your priorities . . .