Answer: YOU. JUST. CANNOT.
NFL correspondent Paul Mac weighs in with his thoughts on the weekend's draft. Enjoy!
This draft honestly went fantastically at the top end for the Falcons. For Jerry to fall to us at 24 is unexpected and tremendous. It's exactly the proper fit. That said, Michael Oher was almost available and with the other DT's around I still think they have a rougher time deciding if he's still there. Unfortunately a lot of the first round fringe steals went in the top of the 2nd. That being said... The Falcons we most hurting at Strong Safety where the law dog just vacated due to old age. Now they'll have Thomas Decou compete with the arguably best SS prospect in THIS draft in William Moore. I have been consistently impressed with Dimitroff and Smith's honesty in the media. There is no smoke screen nor media hype other than for ticket sales. They tell you EXACTLY what they are going to do. Speed and Urgency have been the hit points all off season. They get much more urgent through the middle with this draft and give their 2nd year MLB much needed inside toughness. I feel like they will be out of position quite a bit this year but they will recover quickly. The offense should be productive enough to make up for some mistakes, and this defense will be vastly more opportunistic than they have been in the past. I feel like in the fall they will have 2 new starters on defense in the top two picks and two instant contributors with the next two picks. Chris Owens is sort of in the Chris Houston mold. Should be tough in run support with decent speed. They'll likely still play a lot of zone coverage and try to keep it in front as is Van Gorder's style. Middleton and the Miami kid scream special teams. They also pick up Lawerence "Sid Vicious" Sidberry.
Sidberry is going to back up Abraham and he'll probably play a lot if he shows he's physically ready for it. Smith feels he can get more out of Abraham if he plays less. It's also put up or shut up time for Three A's Anderson. With the 7th round pick of Vance Walker I think one of the emergency DT's from last season will be jettisoned shortly. Tony Gonzo just puts the icing on the cake.
OK, other thoughts on the draft. Tyson Jackson at 3? Seriously? SERIOUSLY? WTF? Oh scheme fit right. Ok. Did he miss Glenn Dorsey all that much? Guess so. That LSU defense was AWFUL last year then again I can lay that blame on the offense too I guess. DHB was going to be a Raider. I find it slightly curious they didn't like Maclin more. Crabtree could be better than both... but they aren't asking DHB to do more than run Go's Skinny Post's and square outs/in's so I think he'll be ok. No double moves, just out run your guy and run under it.... Under WHAT? You asked... yeah... vertical offenses don't work to well when your line sucks... but the good news for the black hole is that Tom Cable is a pretty good line coach... he also got them to beat two pretty good teams to end the year last year... washing off the stench of Lane Kiffin was difficult... Tom Cable might be better than we thought... he did great work overcoming the former coach and the OWNER/GM (almost never works attention idiots in Arlington) at the same time. Hint Hint... clock is ticking Jim Zorn.
Speaking of Zorn... freaking tremendous get in Orakpo. Super Value. He should fit right in next to the new man mountain they bought. Hopefully Jason Campbell can adequately convert first downs enough to give them breathers.
Philly and Cincinnati jumped out to me. Yeah Green Bay plugged some holes as well but these guys continue to overrate the ability of Aaron Rodgers to make it through the season.
Cincinnati definitely got the most accomplished Left Tackle in the draft... period. Yes we had a laugh at him and his gravy sweating work out run...but he was ready to start in the NFL out of High School. 95% of his time at Bama he was golden.... I'm not worried about him. Maualuga could have gone top 5 if that's where Aaron Curry went. Explain to me how Patrick Willis is less of a player than Aaron Curry. Is Curry good? Sure... but people have made him out to be Ray Lewis... I'm not ready for that yet. They get a very LOW risk HIGH reward in Johnson in the 3rd. They don't have to pay him much and if he decides to play hard... he could wind up in the John Abraham range of players. Luigs could start right now at center... he was probably the best in the SEC. Pick up Southerland in FA and they'll find the next Alstott. Someone is getting a bargain in Southerland...and you don't have to pay him 18 million over 3 years Rich Mckay.
Ok other ESPN made stories. Mark Sanchez... wow 5 players for a guy who looked really average in Corvallis and other road venues. Is it that difficult to out coach and out play a very talented but very bland Penn State defense in essentially your home town with a month to prepare. The Big 10 has yet to come into the 21st century though Penn State tried this year... ONE Safety deep vs 3 wide... really Joe Pa? REALLY? ESPN jumped on Sanchez because this draft was fairly boring.... we had the positions most teams would go very early even the Jackson pick was hinted on. Sanchez was the drama.. So the Jets did what they had to do and got him... for a crap ton of picks and players.... um... ok. He is the Perfect fit for NYC.. They haven't had a guy with looks and talent since Joe Willy Namath... but honestly...the man love that was poured over him vs Stafford was a little nay A LOT much. UGA plays a pro offense too, Stafford started 3 years and has more experience in games. As much as teams keep talking about oh USC is the second coming their defense is sooooo good in practice look at Cassel. Um. Cassel sat for what 6 years and practiced behind 2 Heisman winners and Tom Brady under the Tutelage of Belicheck. It's going to take Dirty a while to get NFL ready. These guys act like the Jets just won the super bowl. The lions did just as well getting Stafford... unfortunately they failed to fix Jeff Backus unless they drafted him some HGH too. Dirty Dirty will have the benefit of a very nice line. I think Detroit and the Jets did right by themselves. I'm just turned off by the man love attached to Sanchez... exactly what did he win at USC?... no mention of Character issues with this guy who has had numerous run ins with the legal system regarding things he did with women yet they drag down Maualuga... yeah ok. Dirty Dirty could...easily slip into the Matt Leinart hole... oh wait but he's the alpha male... yeah remember that when he's in a hot tub with hookers in New Jersey and telling members of the media in a drunken stupor that he wants to kiss them.
Philly had a great draft. They FINALLY get a WR with some ability in the first round... they filled some holes with Jason Peters and Hobbs. They still pickup a fat kid from BYU to fulfill the quota in FA. All in all they got a lot of guys I like though.
Ryan Succop is Mr Irrelevant... well not exactly... Yeah they had a lot of guys drafted late but I think that South Carolina's football program is a much more appropriate MR. Irrelevant. They win the prize for greatness in their heads though. Really Capt. Munnerlyn you came out after THAT season? Maybe you and Ko Simpson can hang out and tell people how great you are as they escort you to jail.
Oh and someone give Mike Leech a film of the Oklahoma game and the National Championship game. Mike. Your team is a product of your offense. You had an Elite receiver, a good line with a spread to keep most crappy teams off of your QB... Harrell was GARBAGE under pressure. Sorry. It's cute he can throw very accurately in the shotgun. Congrats, you beat Texas who played a terrible game and their Achilles heel (secondary) was exploited by your best player in the final second. The truth came out when you played Oklahoma... and that truth came out when they played Florida. You are NOT an Elite program. The Jones boys are foolish and ridiculous...who cares why they chose Stephen Mcgee. Grahame Harrell NEVER played under center. We've already seen him 5 times before remember Kliff Kingsbury? How did that work out? Just shut the hell up Mike Leech when people are talking to you... your program got more than enough respect last year. Blame YOURSELF for the reason Harrell didn't get drafted. Well that and his embarrassing performance in the Senior Bowl. Wide Receivers don't have the same value as other players... that's why Crabtree fell.. well that and Al Davis still makes picks on the other side of the Bay.
Cheers,
Paul Mac
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