NFL Draft......

[Tricky_Falcon]

Apparently the Bears like what they see from the MAC, drafting two players on day 1. Bazuin from CMU and Wolfe from NIU.

[BGSU33]

Five players from the MAC were selected in the first three rounds of today's draft. CMU had a player taken in both the first and second round, while Kent State, Akron & Northern Illinois each had a player selected in the third round.

[Bleeding Orange]

I don't know how this conversation strayed away from the Browns, but please allow me to bring it all back home.

I am impressed with what Savage pulled today. The thing that I haven't heard many people mention having considered is the degree to which this type of move may or may not have been pre-meditated. I have a feeling that Savage sat down with his team weeks ago, evaluated the Browns' needs along with every other teams' needs in the top 20 and figured that they could pull a a pre-emptive move and get two top-5 picks in the same draft. After all, Savage knows just as well as you and I do that Charlie is not an NFL starting quarterback. If that is, in fact, true (and I have a feeling we'll find out early in the coming week if it is), that is a stroke of brilliance, in my opinion.

None of this has changed my opinion of relying on a schlub like Frye for 2 years, and I have not been sober enough to reason the logic for trading three picks for a 3rd round DB, but I'm still impressed.

[Falcon30]

She plays soccer at Miami.

And you could just TELL she was getting more irritated as the picks were passing Quinn by! With every passing pick, junior's income was dropping.

Side note: I think the Browns chose wisely.

She was good as the villain in High School Musical, though.

[BGGrad01]

The thing that I haven't heard many people mention having considered is the degree to which this type of move may or may not have been pre-meditated.

Based on the quotes that I read in the paper this morning, Savage was as surprised as everyone else that Quinn slipped past the Dolphins at #9.

I think I just heard one of the talking heads on ESPN say that Savage pulled a similar move in Baltimore to get Kyle Boller. Hopefully the results in Cleveland are a little better.

[BGSUVA]

I didn't mind the third round picks too much. IF we were gonna take an RB at that time, I would have liked Bush, though his durability is questionable, I think we could have gotten Wolfe today. I'm still pissed about our first two. WE should be getting an olineman sometime today, hopefully we get Markray.

[Warthog]

and I have not been sober enough to reason the logic for trading three picks for a 3rd round DB, but I'm still impressed.

They actually traded three picks to get two. They moved up from the third round to the second, down in the sixth and gave up their fourth. It is so much harder to judge this trade because you just don't know what other teams were thinking of Wright and where he would go. I still like this move though because Wright easily has first round talent as long as he can avoid the off-the-field issues.

[Flipper]

I like what Detroit did...Johnson is going to be a beast and with Roy Williams, we have two guys who will create some havoc in the secondary...if we have a QB that can get them the ball.

Mike Martz has been locked onto Drew Stanton as the QB he wants to build with for awhile, so that was no suprise. we'll see if he can be "coached up" by Martz.

The next two guys, Francis and Alexander are athletres that fill a need. Alexander is a cover safety that could play CB also...he should be the nickel guy from day one and francis is a project DE. He has good sped and looks like a heck of an athlete, but may find himself sliding inside if he fills out like they think he might.

So much fo rth enoition that marinelli and Millen as "defense" guys were going to go heavy defense all day. They left some marquee defenders on the baord when they picked Johanson and Stanton...I guess Mike Martz DOES have a lot of influence.

It looks like Atlanta might have blown it though...they really wanted CJ or Laron Landry. When Detroit asked for the Falcon's 2 # 2's and the Falcon's #3 to swap , the Falcons passed thinking Landry would certainly be there at #8. He wasn't...so, they get Jamaal Anderson. There's a pretty wide gulf twixt CJ and Jamaal Anderson in terms of potential....

[orangeandbrown]

I beg to differ. This is the worst Lions draft in recent memory.

Johnson--A fine player. Hard to go wrong at #2, though we have done it. Still, we had bigger needs than WR. He will spend his first three seasons jogging back to the huddle after the QB was sacked.

Martz will not be around to coach Stanton up. In a larger perspective, for the umpeenth straight year the Lions picked WR and QB.

Francis is a project. We need players and there were some available. We traded up to get a guy we could have gotten in a later round. And, he's a D-end, but not a pass rusher.

What need does Alexander fill, precisely? Or did we need an unathletic S when we already have two people there, and no one at CB whatsoever. No pass rusher picked yet, either.

Then, we pick a CB from NC State who wasn't even listed as one of the Top ten remaining CBs and doesn't like to cover run. I thought we got rid of Bly becausse he wasn't physical enough for our scheme. Tanard Jackson was picked in the very next pick.

The rest of the NFL must be laughing their a**es off.

[BGSUFootballFan]

The Packers suck at drafting. They would have been better off picking me or better yet my grandma.

[Flipper]

O&B...Alexander is "unatheletic"? The guy has a 41 inch vertical leap!! He has experience at CB and S in colllege. He should do well in the 2 deep zone the Lions play...I'd be shocked if he isn't the nickel guy at the outset.

Francis is a project...but his upsde is so much higher than the other DL on the board when he was. I'm looking forward to seeing what Marinelli does with him.

So Martz may not be around after this year....that means you draft guys with tle next, unnamed OC in mind? Even if Stanton onoy gets a year under Martz...he'll be mcuh better off because of it.

The CB Davis is another guy who looks suited to the two deep zone. as thin as they are at CB, he could play right away.

The years of lsoing have left you far too pessimistic....

[orangeandbrown]

O&B...Alexander is "unatheletic"? The guy has a 41 inch vertical leap!! He has experience at CB and S in colllege. He should do well in the 2 deep zone the Lions play...I'd be shocked if he isn't the nickel guy at the outset.

Francis is a project...but his upsde is so much higher than the other DL on the board when he was. I'm looking forward to seeing what Marinelli does with him.

So Martz may not be around after this year....that means you draft guys with tle next, unnamed OC in mind? Even if Stanton onoy gets a year under Martz...he'll be mcuh better off because of it.

The CB Davis is another guy who looks suited to the two deep zone. as thin as they are at CB, he could play right away.

The years of lsoing have left you far too pessimistic....

Perhaps. On the other hand, you have a tendency to view write ups at this stage (same with recruits) and take an optimistic view. The writeups (and recruit film sessions) are intended to make these guys look good. Every team can make a case at this point that there guys have upside. (No offense intended).

A couple more points, and then I'll wait and hope you're right.

No, I am not saying you draft guys for the next OC. I'm saying you don't draft guys on the theory someone is going to coach them up when he probably won't be there to do that. The Lions had bigger needs at that point in the draft than another QB.

CB Davis could play right away. Almost anybody could. That doesn't make him a good pick at that point. Others have observed that he will fit in our zone. I have not seen one piece of evidence for this, other than he can't cover man, and people figure he must be able to do something right.

Alexander--yes, he has a nice leap. He is also relatively slow, doesn't tackle well, and isn't good in coverage. He was an unproductive CB at Boise, which is why they moved him. He won't play effective corner in the NFL. Beyond this guy specifically, my point is we could have used a pure corner here much more than a safety. I think Marinelli sees John Lynch everywhere he looks.

Francis--That was an early pick to get a guy like this. I'm fine with his upside, but he doesn't fit anything we need. And remember--he was unproductive at Hawaii.

I liked the Guard we picked, FWIW.

I just sense that we are flailing around here. Our defense is on track to outright blow next year, and we do what we always do---a WR and a QB. Then, we pick defensive guys who aren't ready to contribute and don't have the skill sets we need. There's no pass rush, the LBs are bad and the CBs are worse. S is the strongest position, and we pick one.

[GMBG2006]

It almost didnt even surprised me when i heard that the Browns traded down with the cowboys to switch 6th rounders and the Browns pick up another 7th. The Browns turn around and used that pick to add more depth to the DL taking a big guy from Hawaii, only other thing I could hope for now is maybe taking a RB and a speed recivever or another DL.

[Flipper]

I think francis might have been a reach. I don't have a problem with either Alexander or Davis. While neither has the eye popping numbers, they both have experience playing in zone systems and it isn't llike they're slooooow. In terms of measurables, davis is a tad slow ad a tad small, but neither of those shortcomings are fatal in our system. Alexander was moved to safety because they wanted to take advantage of his athleticism (at least that's what I heard) the fact that he has exposure in a zone sytem at CB and Safety is a plus. Some say that pick was a reach but ohters had him moving into the second round pre draft

I don't hink Martz is going anywhere...he's here at least another year so I really don't see the issue with drafting the QB he wants. QB IS a need as we have Kitna and Orlovsky at QB. Kitna isn't going to be any better than he was last year...ever. Orlovsky has been in the league for a few years now and hasn't asserted himself as anything more than a thrid string QB. Getting a young QB with the talent to start (even if it isn't developed yet) was a must.

So far as what the write ups or film says...like the recruiting videos...i don't put much stock into the highlights. The only film I've seen on ANY of these guys is CJ. It looks/sounds like there's a rationale for picking these guys and that is an improvement for Detroit.

The Lions got the best player in the draft...that alone is a good thing. The DB's I disagree with you on...they were drafted to fit the system.

So far as the LB's go...we're ok on the outside with Sims and Bailey. ILB is a concern, but you aren't going to patch every hole. WR was a need...maybe not as big a need as some, but a need nonetheless.
The worst thing they coulld have done was let the failures of Rogers, Mike Williams and Harrington convince them to not draft a guy like Calvin Johnson or the young QB their OC really likes (Stanton). As bad as our DL is...I would much rather thave a guy like CJ than the big bag of question marks named Gaiens Adams

[hammb]

I absolutely agree with Flipper. I didn't think Millen would have the balls to do the right thing and take Calvin, but he surprised me. Congrats to him and good for the Lions. Roy & Calvin together will be nearly unstoppable.