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Ram Bytes: NFL Draftniks can't be trusted
• Bernie Miklasz
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_5b9a41f3-d5fd-52cd-8135-01af3786d074.html
Up front, let me say this: for what the Rams wanted to accomplish in the 2014 draft, they have a reason to be happy. As I've written already, they stocked up on the kind of players that fit coach Jeff Fisher's blueprint for a winning team.
Yeah, I would have drafted WR Sammy Watkins, but I'm not analyzing the Rams' draft based on what I wanted. Or what you wanted. It's about what they wanted. It's about finding players that fit their schemes.
(Related update: Rams' second-year WR Stedman Bailey has been suspended by the NFL for four games for violating the league's policy banning the use of performance-enhancing drugs. But the Rams insist they're all set at WR. Gotcha.)
But as you may know, I have an aversion to post-draft report cards and everybody rushing in to slap "A" grades on some teams, and declaring other teams a failure for their picks. It's ludicrous. We won't know about the success of these draft classes for at least two seasons, and more likely three seasons.
So why am I so crabby about these instant, breathless snap judgments?
Well, here's why ...
I did some Google searches and came up with a few perfect examples that highlight the foolishness of the endeavor.
* I really do believe offensive lineman Greg Robinson has everything you'd want in an offensive tackle, even if the Rams probably will start him out at guard. Robinson was the No. 2 overall pick. But let's hold off on the Hall of Fame predictions.
Remember the 2009 draft? The Rams took Baylor offensive tackle Jason Smith at No. 2 overall.
Here's what ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. said about Smith in the days before the draft: "The OT spot is strong at the top with Smith, a former tight end who is supremely athletic and exactly what you want in a left tackle: someone you can count on to protect the blind side of your quarterback."
Here's what ESPN's Todd McShay said about Smith: "The top offensive lineman in the 2009 class. He possesses the agility, power and work ethic to solidify the left tackle spot for years to come in St. Louis."
And ESPN quoted "an NFC general manager on Smith. The GM said: "He is really one of those 10-year left tackle type guys. He is really in my eyes a No. 1 guy. You'd love to have a guy like that. He's a Walter Jones left tackle who could play forever. He's got it all with the size and athletic ability."
Result: Bust.
• Here's Kiper after the Raiders made QB JaMarcus Russell the No. 1 overall pick in 2007: "Three years from now you could be looking at a guy that’s certainly one of the elite top five quarterbacks in this league… look out because the skill level he has is certainly John Elway-like."
John Elway?
Result: Bust.
• Kiper on Jimmy Clausen, the Notre Dame QB that he rated the fourth-best player (any position) in the 2010 draft: "If Clausen is not a successful starting quarterback in the NFL, I’m done. That’s it. I’m out."
Result: Bust.
• The Bleacher Report shredded Seattle's 2012 draft which included the outstanding MLB Bobby Wagner, effective pass-rusher Bruce Irvin, and QB Russell Wilson:
"As if the day wasn't bad enough, Seattle selecting Russell Wilson, a QB that doesn't fit their offense at all, was by far the worst move of the draft. With the two worst moves of the draft, Seattle is the only team that received an F on draft day."
Result: Wilson and the 2014 Seahawks won the Super Bowl.
• Pete Prisco of CBS Sports gave the Seahawks a "D" for their choice of Wilson in the 3rd round, writing, "Why does Seattle take him? They paid Matt Flynn and have two others. Strange pick."
Result: Super Bowl.
• Kiper on Cincinnati's pick of QB Akili Smith with the No. 3 overall choice in 1999: "Smith will be a great NFL player and will finally give the Cincinnati Bengals with the passer they’d lacked since Boomer Esiason."
Result: Bust.
• Here's Kiper after the Lions picked WR Mike Williams 10th overall in 2005: "I'll see you at his Hall of Fame induction."
Result: Or maybe not. Bust.
• Kiper after the Chargers took QB Ryan Leaf No. 2 overall in 1998: "His attitude will be an asset in the NFL and give him a mental advantage over other players in his draft class."
Result: Bust.
• Some others:
— Kiper ripped the Colts for drafting RB Marshall Faulk instead of taking QB Heath Shuler or QB Trent Dilfer.
— McShay said that Blaine Gabbert would be a better NFL quarterback than Cam Newton.
— Paul Zimmerman of Sports Illustrated gave the Rams' 2006 draft a B+ grade, one of the best in the league that year. To refresh your memory, here were the Rams' picks in the first three rounds: CB Tye Hill, TE Joe Klopfenstein, DT Claude Wroten, LB Jon Alston, TE Dominique Byrd.
(That draft class was a complete disaster.)
• Let's end where we began, with the 2009 draft. SI's Peter King loved the Rams' '09 draft that included Smith at No. 2 overall. The Rams have only one player left from that '09 class, LB James Laurinaitis.
Wrote King: "I can't be happier for the fans of the Rams that this team did the right thing and took a 10-year tackle. Why? The tackle situation was as bad as any single position for any team in football, and getting Jason Smith to replace Orlando Pace was essential."
Sigh.
I've written things like that, too. I also liked the Smith pick.
Which is why I got out of the report card business.
Thanks for reading ...
— Bernie
• Bernie Miklasz
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_5b9a41f3-d5fd-52cd-8135-01af3786d074.html
Up front, let me say this: for what the Rams wanted to accomplish in the 2014 draft, they have a reason to be happy. As I've written already, they stocked up on the kind of players that fit coach Jeff Fisher's blueprint for a winning team.
Yeah, I would have drafted WR Sammy Watkins, but I'm not analyzing the Rams' draft based on what I wanted. Or what you wanted. It's about what they wanted. It's about finding players that fit their schemes.
(Related update: Rams' second-year WR Stedman Bailey has been suspended by the NFL for four games for violating the league's policy banning the use of performance-enhancing drugs. But the Rams insist they're all set at WR. Gotcha.)
But as you may know, I have an aversion to post-draft report cards and everybody rushing in to slap "A" grades on some teams, and declaring other teams a failure for their picks. It's ludicrous. We won't know about the success of these draft classes for at least two seasons, and more likely three seasons.
So why am I so crabby about these instant, breathless snap judgments?
Well, here's why ...
I did some Google searches and came up with a few perfect examples that highlight the foolishness of the endeavor.
* I really do believe offensive lineman Greg Robinson has everything you'd want in an offensive tackle, even if the Rams probably will start him out at guard. Robinson was the No. 2 overall pick. But let's hold off on the Hall of Fame predictions.
Remember the 2009 draft? The Rams took Baylor offensive tackle Jason Smith at No. 2 overall.
Here's what ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. said about Smith in the days before the draft: "The OT spot is strong at the top with Smith, a former tight end who is supremely athletic and exactly what you want in a left tackle: someone you can count on to protect the blind side of your quarterback."
Here's what ESPN's Todd McShay said about Smith: "The top offensive lineman in the 2009 class. He possesses the agility, power and work ethic to solidify the left tackle spot for years to come in St. Louis."
And ESPN quoted "an NFC general manager on Smith. The GM said: "He is really one of those 10-year left tackle type guys. He is really in my eyes a No. 1 guy. You'd love to have a guy like that. He's a Walter Jones left tackle who could play forever. He's got it all with the size and athletic ability."
Result: Bust.
• Here's Kiper after the Raiders made QB JaMarcus Russell the No. 1 overall pick in 2007: "Three years from now you could be looking at a guy that’s certainly one of the elite top five quarterbacks in this league… look out because the skill level he has is certainly John Elway-like."
John Elway?
Result: Bust.
• Kiper on Jimmy Clausen, the Notre Dame QB that he rated the fourth-best player (any position) in the 2010 draft: "If Clausen is not a successful starting quarterback in the NFL, I’m done. That’s it. I’m out."
Result: Bust.
• The Bleacher Report shredded Seattle's 2012 draft which included the outstanding MLB Bobby Wagner, effective pass-rusher Bruce Irvin, and QB Russell Wilson:
"As if the day wasn't bad enough, Seattle selecting Russell Wilson, a QB that doesn't fit their offense at all, was by far the worst move of the draft. With the two worst moves of the draft, Seattle is the only team that received an F on draft day."
Result: Wilson and the 2014 Seahawks won the Super Bowl.
• Pete Prisco of CBS Sports gave the Seahawks a "D" for their choice of Wilson in the 3rd round, writing, "Why does Seattle take him? They paid Matt Flynn and have two others. Strange pick."
Result: Super Bowl.
• Kiper on Cincinnati's pick of QB Akili Smith with the No. 3 overall choice in 1999: "Smith will be a great NFL player and will finally give the Cincinnati Bengals with the passer they’d lacked since Boomer Esiason."
Result: Bust.
• Here's Kiper after the Lions picked WR Mike Williams 10th overall in 2005: "I'll see you at his Hall of Fame induction."
Result: Or maybe not. Bust.
• Kiper after the Chargers took QB Ryan Leaf No. 2 overall in 1998: "His attitude will be an asset in the NFL and give him a mental advantage over other players in his draft class."
Result: Bust.
• Some others:
— Kiper ripped the Colts for drafting RB Marshall Faulk instead of taking QB Heath Shuler or QB Trent Dilfer.
— McShay said that Blaine Gabbert would be a better NFL quarterback than Cam Newton.
— Paul Zimmerman of Sports Illustrated gave the Rams' 2006 draft a B+ grade, one of the best in the league that year. To refresh your memory, here were the Rams' picks in the first three rounds: CB Tye Hill, TE Joe Klopfenstein, DT Claude Wroten, LB Jon Alston, TE Dominique Byrd.
(That draft class was a complete disaster.)
• Let's end where we began, with the 2009 draft. SI's Peter King loved the Rams' '09 draft that included Smith at No. 2 overall. The Rams have only one player left from that '09 class, LB James Laurinaitis.
Wrote King: "I can't be happier for the fans of the Rams that this team did the right thing and took a 10-year tackle. Why? The tackle situation was as bad as any single position for any team in football, and getting Jason Smith to replace Orlando Pace was essential."
Sigh.
I've written things like that, too. I also liked the Smith pick.
Which is why I got out of the report card business.
Thanks for reading ...
— Bernie
