2011 NFL Draft

[dfwabel]

Anyone know when the draft grades should be out? I saw a few articles about them but they were all on "the site that shall not be named".

And you act just like someone who wants immediate grades from college recruiting classes which is a slightly larger mistake.

You cannot grade something like this immediately, judge it from performance within a two or three year window since there still is a chance that a 6th or 7th round pick may not make the team. Plus, since teams cannot sign rookie free agents. That's another part of a teams strategy which you cannot put into place. With the lockout reinstated and the appeals process still ongoing, there is no idea on how some drafted players will appear at OTAs or camp when they can hit the practice field.

[BlueSky]

Other than the steep price for Julio Jones, I'm pretty happy with the Falcons draft. Dimitroff & Smith both stated that their goal during the offseason was to make the offense more explosive, and they've taken strides towards that goal w/ a few picks in this draft. Julio Jones is a stud & is gonna give Matt Ryan yet another weapon, & Jacquizz Rodgers should step into Jerious Norwood's role of lightning to Michael Turner's thunder. Talk about explosive, those are two guys with big play potential right there. Akeem Dent was solid @ UGA & should be a very viable replacement for Mike Peterson. The other 3 picks were solid as well (even the punter, which made me mad at first since they passed on Virgil Green, but since it's come out that Green is damaged goods, I'm kinda happy that the Falcons addressed what could be a need at that position.).

Me too.

Frankly, I don't get it. Obviously Jones and most of those other guys can't sack Brees or Freeman or Rodgers, chase down Pierre Thomas or Cadillac, or cover Colston or Mike Williams or Greg Jennings. Was any Falcon fan left wondering what might have been last year if they'd just had one more outstanding WR? Any WR only gets about 10 touches a game max, is it worth giving up those 4 picks (swapping 1's is a wash) for that? I'm no GM but Atlanta's needs are clearly on defense.

Of course I may eat those words if Julio makes a habit of torching the Saints the way Steve Smith has.

BTW, Roddy White agrees, in his own Tweetastic and grammatically challenged way...

"Well we got julio jones I'm excited"

then moments later...

"Well I was wrong we give up our draft"

[Gothamite]

And not just this draft.

I understand for that one final piece. I guess. But is that really the hole that needed plugging? Does this make them that much stronger?

Very risky. If jones is anything less than a first-ballot Hall of Famer, this will be a disastrous move.

[Lights Out]

I'd give the Chargers a C- at best. Corey Liuget instead of Cameron Jordan was a really bad move. Then they topped that by drafting a safety (which we don't need), followed by a ridiculous reach for Jonas Moulton, who they could have drafted in the later rounds if they really wanted him. Although the Chargers made some great value picks later on in the draft (Vincent Brown, Jordan Todman, Steve Schilling), the first three picks were inexcusably awful.

AJ really needed a good draft this year, and he failed miserably. Can't wait until he's out the door, hopefully he takes Norv with him. Now, can the media stop calling AJ a "great talent evaluator"? Because, on draft day at least, it doesn't appear to be true.

[BBTV]

Anyone know when the draft grades should be out? I saw a few articles about them but they were all on "the site that shall not be named".

And you act just like someone who wants immediate grades from college recruiting classes which is a slightly larger mistake.

You cannot grade something like this immediately, judge it from performance within a two or three year window since there still is a chance that a 6th or 7th round pick may not make the team. Plus, since teams cannot sign rookie free agents. That's another part of a teams strategy which you cannot put into place. With the lockout reinstated and the appeals process still ongoing, there is no idea on how some drafted players will appear at OTAs or camp when they can hit the practice field.

Not only that, but usually you grade a draft based on what the team's needs were and how well they addressed them. In this case, we don't even know what each team's needs were because there hasn't been free agency or trades yet. You can really only grade the entire offseason this year, not the draft or free agency separately like in the past.

[Billy B]

I'm pretty jazzed about the Saints' draft so far. Cameron Jordan and Mark Ingram will make their sides of the ball better immediately.

They also have a damn good track record with 3rd round+ picks (Jahri Evans, Marques Colston et al). Check out their first 3rd-rounder...Martez Wilson of Illinois. Have to admit, in game pics he looks more like a safety than an LB, but he's 6-4 and 250 and ran a freakin' 4.49 at the combine, fastest of all LBs.

I thought the exact same thing about Wilson. I watched the guy every week and somehow still thought he was small for a linebacker. I thought it was a bad decision for Wilson to come out early, but his prospects as an NFL player have been rising slightly since then. The Saints may have gotten themselves a very solid linebacker. And the Saints have had a solid collection of Illinois players for the past few years.

Yes, including Pierre Thomas, one of my favorite Saints of all time and one of the most underrated players in the league...

This is actually getting a little weird...from nola.com:

===

The New Orleans Saints selected linebacker Nate Bussey out of Illinois with their final selection in the 2011 NFL draft...

===

Remember that Payton attended Eastern Illinois which is less than an hour from Champaign so with his roots there, he has more people to get information from regarding talent.

Fun fact about Sean Payton, when my dad used to go to Illinois he had a bunch of friends at Eastern. Sean Payton was the same age and they were kind of friends. So my dad went on a few double dates with Payton and a couple girls back in the day. About the pick, I honestly didn't think Nate Bussey would get drafted. He's a very athletic player, though, and made some really big plays this year.

[HedleyLamarr]

Other than the steep price for Julio Jones, I'm pretty happy with the Falcons draft. Dimitroff & Smith both stated that their goal during the offseason was to make the offense more explosive, and they've taken strides towards that goal w/ a few picks in this draft. Julio Jones is a stud & is gonna give Matt Ryan yet another weapon, & Jacquizz Rodgers should step into Jerious Norwood's role of lightning to Michael Turner's thunder. Talk about explosive, those are two guys with big play potential right there. Akeem Dent was solid @ UGA & should be a very viable replacement for Mike Peterson. The other 3 picks were solid as well (even the punter, which made me mad at first since they passed on Virgil Green, but since it's come out that Green is damaged goods, I'm kinda happy that the Falcons addressed what could be a need at that position.).

So yeah, I'm definitely pleased with the Falcons picks, despite the price of Julio Jones. But hey, if they can find a way to shore up the defense via free agency, all will be forgiven on that front. Considering who the GM is, I 100% trust the guy to get the job done. And so ends my opinion on the Falcons' draft, which I'm sure only about 4 or 5 of you care about. How about Ponder going to Minnesota in the 1st, though?!

Think the Falcons make a pitch for Reggie Bush? I'm sure Bush would love to get a little revenge against the Saints, and what better way to do so than by playing for the Saints' archrival?

He won't have the lead role, but put him alongside Turner, Snelling, Rodgers, and Mughelli, and the Falcons would have one very stout backfield.

[HedleyLamarr]

Other than the steep price for Julio Jones, I'm pretty happy with the Falcons draft. Dimitroff & Smith both stated that their goal during the offseason was to make the offense more explosive, and they've taken strides towards that goal w/ a few picks in this draft. Julio Jones is a stud & is gonna give Matt Ryan yet another weapon, & Jacquizz Rodgers should step into Jerious Norwood's role of lightning to Michael Turner's thunder. Talk about explosive, those are two guys with big play potential right there. Akeem Dent was solid @ UGA & should be a very viable replacement for Mike Peterson. The other 3 picks were solid as well (even the punter, which made me mad at first since they passed on Virgil Green, but since it's come out that Green is damaged goods, I'm kinda happy that the Falcons addressed what could be a need at that position.).

Me too.

Frankly, I don't get it. Obviously Jones and most of those other guys can't sack Brees or Freeman or Rodgers, chase down Pierre Thomas or Cadillac, or cover Colston or Mike Williams or Greg Jennings. Was any Falcon fan left wondering what might have been last year if they'd just had one more outstanding WR? Any WR only gets about 10 touches a game max, is it worth giving up those 4 picks (swapping 1's is a wash) for that? I'm no GM but Atlanta's needs are clearly on defense.

Of course I may eat those words if Julio makes a habit of torching the Saints the way Steve Smith has.

BTW, Roddy White agrees, in his own Tweetastic and grammatically challenged way...

"Well we got julio jones I'm excited"

then moments later...

"Well I was wrong we give up our draft"

The Falcons were middle-of-the-road yardage-wise, but were 5th-best in points allowed in the NFL last year....which is the most important category for defense. And this was with a pretty young defense. So I'm not as worried about the defense as most are. That Packers game was an abberation. No need to make a slew of knee-jerk reactions because of how one game went.

The offense, as solid as it was, was also rather predictable. Very little big-play potential (at least, those that didn't involve missed tackles), and that's what Julio Jones brings.

[BlueSky]

Other than the steep price for Julio Jones, I'm pretty happy with the Falcons draft. Dimitroff & Smith both stated that their goal during the offseason was to make the offense more explosive, and they've taken strides towards that goal w/ a few picks in this draft. Julio Jones is a stud & is gonna give Matt Ryan yet another weapon, & Jacquizz Rodgers should step into Jerious Norwood's role of lightning to Michael Turner's thunder. Talk about explosive, those are two guys with big play potential right there. Akeem Dent was solid @ UGA & should be a very viable replacement for Mike Peterson. The other 3 picks were solid as well (even the punter, which made me mad at first since they passed on Virgil Green, but since it's come out that Green is damaged goods, I'm kinda happy that the Falcons addressed what could be a need at that position.).

Me too.

Frankly, I don't get it. Obviously Jones and most of those other guys can't sack Brees or Freeman or Rodgers, chase down Pierre Thomas or Cadillac, or cover Colston or Mike Williams or Greg Jennings. Was any Falcon fan left wondering what might have been last year if they'd just had one more outstanding WR? Any WR only gets about 10 touches a game max, is it worth giving up those 4 picks (swapping 1's is a wash) for that? I'm no GM but Atlanta's needs are clearly on defense.

Of course I may eat those words if Julio makes a habit of torching the Saints the way Steve Smith has.

BTW, Roddy White agrees, in his own Tweetastic and grammatically challenged way...

"Well we got julio jones I'm excited"

then moments later...

"Well I was wrong we give up our draft"

The Falcons were middle-of-the-road yardage-wise, but were 5th-best in points allowed in the NFL last year....which is the most important category for defense. And this was with a pretty young defense. So I'm not as worried about the defense as most are. That Packers game was an abberation. No need to make a slew of knee-jerk reactions because of how one game went.

The offense, as solid as it was, was also rather predictable. Very little big-play potential (at least, those that didn't involve missed tackles), and that's what Julio Jones brings.

We shall see. But I was at the MNF game and after Atlanta took the lead then intercepted Brees (again) with 12 minutes left, that place was rocking and I thought the Saints were so done. But they overpowered the Falcons D, retook the lead, then kept the ball away from Ryan by making several key first downs. Doesn't matter if you lose by 3 or 30, it's still clear their needs are on defense.

In the "things have changed somewhat" department, here's a pic taken immediately following the first overall selection in the 1965 NFL draft:

From this gallery of NFL draft historical pics.

How about Tony Dorsett sporting a Cowboys jacket? Well, at least until somebody peeled the decal off.

[YessSir32]

Damn Scariest Line in the NFL

RE - Da'Quan Bowers

DT - Gerald McCoy

DT - Brian Price

LE - Adrian Clayborn

Sorry, the Lions win there.

RE- Kyle Vanden Boesch

DT- Ndamukong Suh

DT- Nick Fairley

LE- Clif Avril/Corey Williams

[rvrdgsfn]

Damn Scariest Line in the NFL

RE - Da'Quan Bowers

DT - Gerald McCoy

DT - Brian Price

LE - Adrian Clayborn

Sorry, the Lions win there.

RE- Kyle Vanden Boesch

DT- Ndamukong Suh

DT- Nick Fairley

LE- Clif Avril/Corey Williams

Agreed, a few years from now, Detroit's defense is going to be a force to be reckoned with.

[YessSir32]

Damn Scariest Line in the NFL

RE - Da'Quan Bowers

DT - Gerald McCoy

DT - Brian Price

LE - Adrian Clayborn

Sorry, the Lions win there.

RE- Kyle Vanden Boesch

DT- Ndamukong Suh

DT- Nick Fairley

LE- Clif Avril/Corey Williams

Agreed, a few years from now, Detroit's defense is going to be a force to be reckoned with.

Especially if they can sign Nnamdi Asomugha (or however it's spelled) he would be great for them. Although about every team is after him.

[Gothamite]

I'm sure not looking forward to those Lions games. Yikes.

[NJTank]

The Lions are going to be dangerous next year.

[DDR]

The Lions are going to be dangerous next year.

The Lions aren't gonna be dangerous until Stafford can stay healthy and they can add some quality to their secondary.

[Gary]

The Lions are going to be dangerous next year.

The Lions aren't gonna be dangerous until Stafford can stay healthy and they can add some quality to their secondary.

I think they can get their secondary in check if the lockout ever ends. If they can get a good O-Line they will be scary. But right now, they are a 7-8 win team at the moment

[YessSir32]

With the Lions talk, I'll catch you guys all up since well, this team is my life. For one, this team more potential then any team there is. Their success relies on many aspects as of now.

1. Stafford staying healthy- This guy has a rocket for an arm and knows how to use our weapons the best

2. Consistent running game- Last year Jahvid Best was injured and he should be able to give us some big plays. Mikel Leshoure will be able to power them on 3rd down and 2 like they couldn't before

3. Offensive line success- This is the biggest component to keeping Stafford healthy, hopefully free agency can fix this problem

4. Secure secondary- These guys were getting burned last year and signing a lockdown corner is key to them this year. Our best hopes are Nnadmi Asomugha

If all things click this year and they fix these problems, watch out for a legit playoff run from the Lions.