Miscellaneous observations from the Draft:
1) Shout out once again to the great people at GMC who sponsored us at the event. When I got to the media room, about 10% of the seats were taken. I went up to the front row, set myself down and figured this must be a press conference for some D-list reality show. About 45 minutes later, the room was packed and I had the best seat in the house.
2) Good things come to those who wait. And the Giants must have been thinking that too, as Marc Ross believes that the Prince fell into their lap. But fully SIX WEEKS AGO, Wonder valued this guy in Round 2. This site is objective to a fault. We can get more hits by drinking Pat Hanlon’s kool aid, but we do it the way you need to get it, which is straight and unemotional. We have Amukamara as a very good player- but we’re not going to do cartwheels, ok?
3) You’d think the NFL could afford to have better internet service within the building. Oh wait, money is tight, I forgot, they are fighting over $9B.
4) We talk about how there are so many good things that go on on Draft Day, and so many bad ones. Interlopers who come over to this site challenge us on it, asking, hey, how would YOU do better. To that, I give you Exhibit A, the New Orleans Saints, who do well to take Cameron Jordan at 24. But then moments later they want another bite of the apple, so they trade NEXT YEAR’S #1 and this year’s #2 for New England’s LATE #28 pick. Oh, but you see, it is Mark Ingram, the wildly amazing Future Hall of Famer that 27 others foolishly passed up. Er, wait, we were one of those at 24 who passed him over for Jordan. This goes back to Thaler, Massey and UltimateNYG, teams overpay for the right to choose. The rich get richer, once again. NE gets a 1 and 2 for a late 1. Why can’t our Giants make a deal like this? Ever ask why NE seemingly always has these extra bites at the apple? Because every year they find some s*cker who overpays for the right to choose. That is called discipline.
5) I asked Corey Liuget why he came on so well in his final year, catapulting himself to the elites of the NFL Draft. His answer was simple- he lost 30 lbs. to go from 320 to 290, giving him more quickness and much more energy. Great stuff. But here is where it gets confusing- why would a lighter DT that NEEDS TO BE LIGHTER be taken for a 3-4 by the San Diego Chargers?! Where is he going to play? As a NT? Nope. As a 3-4 pass rushing DE? No, since he was never known for his pass rushing as a DT in his great ascent. When someone has an answer, let us know.
6) MIN taking Ponder at 12? NE taking Solder at 17? PHI taking Watkins at 23? Carpenter at 25? TENN TAKING LOCKER AT 8? It is called “reaching” folks. The Draft is a very high stakes game about VALUE. Yes, there will always be great stories about some team in some year “knowing” the diamond in the rough had to be taken super soon, lest someone else grab him. 2 years ago Oakland took Heyward-Bey at 7. How is that for “must having” a player? Or Ginn to MIA in 2007 at 9?
7) Some very nice moves? SF- Smith, DET-Fairley (best DL in football?!!), CLE got the 3-4 beast NT Phil Taylor, IND gets Castonzo at 22 (now that is what I call falling in your lap), NYJ- Wilkerson, PIT- Heyward, GB- Sherod. And the best move of the night, in my opinion? AZ (5) not going in for all the QB mayhem and taking beast Patrick Peterson, arguably (he and Dareus) the best player in the draft. If they take QB Colin Kaepernick at 38 today, it will complete a slam dunk.
7) If the Giants decided to trade up for Martez Wilson at the beginning of R2 today, it would be a move equal in praise to when the Jets went for the 1st pick of Day 2 (Round 3 before the format changed) for Shonn Greene.
8) Do you see those Draft Boards that now show Da’Quan Bowers at the top of Day 2, having fallen and fallen and fallen all through Round 1? He’s a reasonable risk in Round 2, but our analysts had him ranked as 26th and 54th due in LARGE part to medical questions, so no surprise he fell.
9) Who was the most engaging player with the media on Day 1? The guy who had the entire room wrapped around his finger, charming everyone effortlessly? Cameron Jordan of Cal. Smart, witty, a twinkle in his eye, relaxed, personable, and just super nice. Cam Newton was a very distant second.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
