Grade Your Team's Draft

[calgaryballer]

Does anyone on the Bears understand a route tree besides Earl Bennett?

Devin Hester's route tree consists of a streak. Does that count?

 

[ATL Jones Bro]

Even though they not my team I give the Raiders an F for their 1st round pick. I really missed alot of the draft but i saw the 1st round.

 

[FirstTimer]

Does anyone on the Bears understand a route tree besides Earl Bennett?

Devin Hester just wants to know if you can smoke this mythical route tree......

I know, I was actually pissed for a while about this, with two 4th rounders, I was really hopeful.
And I will be VERY pissed if Moore ends up a bust... 'cuz that could have been Murphy.

I think Moore will be fine, plus tough to label a 4th rounder as a bust really but the Cover 2 seems to suit this guy well.

Basically I would have been happy with Murphy but really wanted someone else. In the end it doesn't matter to me that they didn't take him because I'm not as sold on him as I was on some other guys.

 

[dboy_dc]

Dallas got depth at Defense for a very cheap price, am I upset sure but I'm looking at the positives

 

[Saluki]

Ya not looking very good at all for getting Boldin now, but the simple fact that they were actively pursuing a veteran WR makes me think they may try to make a move for Edwards. Especially since NY seems to have drafted to fill that need and they were the favorite in those talks.

 

[Helicopter]

Bingo.

Right now they are so deep on the line that their starting left guard from last year isn't even in the starting equation.

Pace
Omiyale
Kruetz
Garza
Williams

That's the projected starting lineup right now. That means that Beekman, who start all 16 games last season at guard and was the most promising OL, isn't going to start. And Schaffer, who started for Cleveland last year won't be starting this year either. the Bears didn't need OL depth in this draft. That problem was taken care of in FA.

lol, people here in Nashville have recently renamed the Chicago Bears, the Chicago Commodores. I can't believe how many Vanderbilt players are on that team. Cutler, Bennett, Williams, Moore, Hillenmeyer (sp?), and undrafted George Smith, I believe. There aren't many players in the league from Vandy, and the Bears have all of them! Its rather odd.

 

[Helicopter]

That was another guy I was hoping the Bears were targeting. After Robiskie went off the board I was hoping to see Ramses Barden or Patrick Turner's name come up. With the trade down I thought it even more possible to get one of them in the 3rd and stockpile an extra pick.

Sadly, it didn't happen.

I was rather disappointed in the way that Patrick Turner's career at USC unfolded. I thought he would have been much more to that team and put up better numbers than what he did. I watched him play in a few games here at Goodpasture when he was in high school and thought he had all the tools to really bust out on the college level. Who knows? He may end up being one of those guys thats a better pro than a collegiate athlete.

 

[Saluki]

Edwards is going to frustrate the hell out of Jay Cutler, just a little FYI after three years of watching the guy. The only receivers he hasn't thrown bitch fits at are Scheffler, Royal and Stokley. Bennett could go for over 1,000 yards this year if nothing else comes in, because he is solid fundamentally.

Cutlers still young he should mature as time goes. If not then he'll never be an elite QB.

 

[calgaryballer]

I was rather disappointed in the way that Patrick Turner's career at USC unfolded. I thought he would have been much more to that team and put up better numbers than what he did. I watched him play in a few games here at Goodpasture when he was in high school and thought he had all the tools to really bust out on the college level. Who knows? He may end up being one of those guys thats a better pro than a collegiate athlete.

TBH I didn't even know Turner had turned pro.

 

[Helicopter]

Devin Hester's route tree consists of a streak. Does that count?

lol, I guess if the tree you are talking about is a redwood. No branches, straight as an arrow.

 

[Helicopter]

TBH I didn't even know Turner had turned pro.

Yea, I didn't think he would after the way his USC stint went. The Dolphins picked him in the 3rd round. I couldn't believe it either.

 

[Rayman]

Dallas got depth at Defense for a very cheap price, am I upset sure but I'm looking at the positives

In case you missed it:

Let's break it down.

I think the J. Williams pick is solid. Dude's very raw but already shows flashes of being a playmaker. 14 Forced fumbles for his career. Former safety. Dude could be our Joker next to Bradie James for a long time.

Not crazy about Brewster, but let's be honest, when was the last time we drafted a quality offensive lineman? Par for the course.

Really like the McGee pick. Heard many a scout say McGee was cast in the wrong offense and will be a solid pro with some fine tuning. Might be the guy to run some wildcat stuff, but otherwise won't see the field as long as Kitna's here and Romo stays healthy.

Butler will be a good special teamer if nothing else. This and B.Williams starts to signal the end of Greg Ellis' tenure.

B.Williams led the Big 12 in sacks last year. Same conference as Orakpo. I look forward to this guy being a future in our rush packages. He's gonna contribute. Room to grow.

Smith compares to Scandrick in some ways and if he's anything like Scandrick, we got good value. Might be a contributor at FS.

Hamlin - No comment. I was hoping McBath would fall to us, couldn't believe we passed on Sean Smith.

Buehler? Buehler? (lol) Seriously, I was irate when I first heard this one too, but upon further evaluation, this pick makes sense. Why? Well, as clutch as Nick Folk has been, his kickoffs have been shit. Buehler can boom them, sending 54.4% for touchbacks in his collegiate career. Not only that, but he's not going to be a target to be run over should a returner break one on us. The guy can tackle and as stated, is a physical specimen (outbenched a few top tier linemen at the combine). This could be a boon for our special teams (more on that in a moment).

Hodge is camp fodder.

Phillips is an upgrade to Tony Curtis. Can play H-back as well. Solid pickup for his draft position.

Mickens if healthy could be the steal of the draft. Meniscus is a concern, but our training staff is among the best. This guy makes the 53 for sure.

Manuel Johnson - More special teams fodder. Decent returner, has potential to be something more, but let's cross that bridge when we get there.

All in all, this draft wasn't sexy at all, as we've been accustomed to. But to me, there were three significant weaknesses over the last year with this football team:

Crippling mistakes - This is penalties, miscues, blown assignments, whatever. This falls on the coaching staff. Can't say what's gonna happen this year, but if those guys have any pride, I would think they would place emphasis on fixing this issue. Also, someone has to reign in Romo, and if we move towards a ball control offense like I think we should, that goes a long way toward doing so.

Depth at key positions (QB, LB) - Guys got hurt, we couldn't deal. Brad Johnson blew goats, Bollinger wasn't much better. Kitna is a massive upgrade behind Romo. McGee I think really has a chance to be special. All these new LBs won't pay immediate dividends, but they will be contributers and they have the potential to have long careers.

Special Teams - Contrary to popular belief, this killed us more than just about anything last year. Singlehandedly cost us the Arizona game. Bruce Read was awful. Kickoff and kick coverage were putrid. We consistently lost the battle for field position, except for punting, because IMO Matt McBriar is the best in the league. And then he broke his foot and we were royally fucked on ST.

We now have a kicker who can actually boot the ball past the 10 and potentially get many touchbacks which will go a long way with our defense continuing to improve under Wade (one of the few things he's doing right). Also, every single one of these players is capable of providing a boost on kick coverage and most importantly, they're all hungry. That's exactly the type of guys you want on you coverage teams. Let's face it, talent is not the Dallas Cowboys' problem. We have the biggest OLine in football. We have the best QB in the conference. We have the best TE. We have a guy who may not be the best WR in the league, but has to potential to be up there. We have this three headed monster at RB. And like it or not, we have a very solid D which continues to get better. Our biggest weakness was clearly special teams and with these kids and the firing of Bruce Read (Joe DeCamillis is considered one of the best in the game), that hopefully won't be an issue.

Yeah, the Giants and Eagles had great drafts. Sexy picks. That's fine. The Eagles will always concern me, but I believe that when focused, they can be handled. Our guys can cover Maclin and Jackson. We just have to keep the pressure on McChunky.

I still believe we're better than the Giants and it's been proven that when we bring our A game, they can't touch us.

We'll see how we look in camp.

C+

 

[dboy_dc]

^^^ I seen that lol....



Side Note: Bears will Not, I repeat will NOT get Boldin or any other Big Name WR... THe NFC North is big on tradition and the Bears tradition is Strong Defense and a Excellent Run Game... They were never know for a QB and/or WR's.

 

[Tailback U]

I was rather disappointed in the way that Patrick Turner's career at USC unfolded. I thought he would have been much more to that team and put up better numbers than what he did. I watched him play in a few games here at Goodpasture when he was in high school and thought he had all the tools to really bust out on the college level. Who knows? He may end up being one of those guys thats a better pro than a collegiate athlete.

PT was a huge disappointment at USC. He will be another Mike Williams/Dwayne Jarrett in the NFL.

USC WRs rarely ever develop in the NFL. I don't know what it is but none of them make it in the NFL despite having good to great college careers. Kerry Colbert, Steve Smith (NYG), Dwayne Jarrett, Mike Williams, etc., etc.

Turner has average speed, soft hands, doesn't use his body to shield off DBs, doesn't catch the ball at its highest peak, doesn't run good routes..I could go on forever, if he wasn't 6'5" he wouldn't have been taken in the 3rd round, that is certain.

 

[Goober]

^^^ I seen that lol....



Side Note: Bears will Not, I repeat will NOT get Boldin or any other Big Name WR... THe NFC North is big on tradition and the Bears tradition is Strong Defense and a Excellent Run Game... They were never know for a QB and/or WR's.

Well they did just pick up an elite QB.

 

[Helicopter]

PT was a huge disappointment at USC. He will be another Mike Williams/Dwayne Jarrett in the NFL.

USC WRs rarely ever develop in the NFL. I don't know what it is but none of them make it in the NFL despite having good to great college careers. Kerry Colbert, Steve Smith (NYG), Dwayne Jarrett, Mike Williams, etc., etc.

Turner has average speed, soft hands, doesn't use his body to shield off DBs, doesn't catch the ball at its highest peak, doesn't run good routes..I could go on forever, if he wasn't 6'5" he wouldn't have been taken in the 3rd round, that is certain.

True, but all those other WRs you just listed had better college careers than Turner did. I hardly ever saw his name brought up while he was there. He seemed to regress from his freshman year.

You're probably right about USC WRs and their transition to the pros. The last one I remember that ever amounted to anything was Meshawn...and he was drafted when? 96? Thats quite a drought.

 

[Bmore]

- Baltimore Ravens -

Overall - B+

First Round - Michael Oher - Tackle - A
- We opted to build depth on our offensive line, which is never a bad thing. Specially when you have a young quarterback. I'm one of those Ravens fans that didn't care if we addressed the receiver position early in the draft. Oher was a top 10-15 pick and we got him at 23. As the 3rd best tackle in the draft, I think we got huge value at 23. We could have had Nicks the Wideout from North Carolina here, but in my opinion you can't pass up on a chance Oher if he is there. Which he was!

Second Round - Paul Kruger - DE - B
- Just watch the Utah/Bama bowl game and you can see how dominant Kruger is. We could have had Michael Johnson here, but I liked Kruger more. While Johnson is the better athlete, Kruger is the better football player. He will fit into our ever changing defensive scheme nicely. He can rush the passer (6'4" 263lbs) and can even drop back and play the zone. (which we do alot with our d-lineman)

Third Round - Ladarius Webb - CB - B
- Webb is a ball hawk and huge play maker. He played Safety and Corner in college, so he can be a huge dual threat for us. (5'10" 179) Webb is about the same size as Ed Reed and ran a 4.62 40 at the combine. We have huge depth at Corner and Safety already and he just adds to it. We could have taken Jauquin Iglasius (sp?) with this pick, but while Iglasius is a decent receiver; his speed isn't all to great.

Fifth Round (1) - Jason Phillips - ILB - C
- Phillips was rated top 10 on almost every scouts ILB list. He played for TCU, who ended the college season with a top 10 defense (had the #1 until they played Oklahoma). Phillips was the 3rd fastest ILB at the combine. On top of this all, he has only been injured once in his college career and missed 1 game. He will square off against Gooden and Mcclain at ILB. He'll wind up being the #3 ILB and a great special teams player.

Fifth Round (2) - Davon Drew - TE - C-
- Drew is a decent pick up. Todd Heap isn't getting younger and has declined statistically every season. Heaps health is shot, he misses at least 3 games every season. Infact now-a-days the only thing Heap contributes to is the running game, as Heap has been known as one of the better blocking TE's for awhile now. Davon Drew doesn't block well, but he is very athletic. Ozzie said he drafted Drew because Cam Cameron turned a TE just like him into a star (Antonio Gates). While I am skeptical, anything is possible.

Sixth Round - Cedric Peerman - HB - C
- Peerman is a good pick at this point in the draft. He catches out of the backfield very well and is a good return man. He'll probably wind up on the practice squad, but we shall see where he falls.

 

[Palooza]

New York Giants - A+

 

[dboy_dc]

Well they did just pick up an elite QB.

and he quoted that he didnt see himself as that spark that the Bears needed.

 

[Tailback U]

True, but all those other WRs you just listed had better college careers than Turner did. I hardly ever saw his name brought up while he was there. He seemed to regress from his freshman year.

Exactly my point. Those other guys actually had great college careers at USC and still managed to fail in the NFL. So if Turner couldn't even succeed at USC, how the hell is he going to make it in the league?

You're probably right about USC WRs and their transition to the pros. The last one I remember that ever amounted to anything was Meshawn...and he was drafted when? 96? Thats quite a drought.

I can't put my finger on it because it doesn't make sense. USC gets freakish athletes at the WR spot but the guys never seem to pan out in the pro's. It can't be the offense because we run a pro-style O. The only thing I can think of is that these guys rely too much on their raw natural ability and never improve their route running while at USC and by the time they hit the league they can't separate from anyone because they are so far behind the curve.