Guys, I am so sorry for the lack of posting the last week, but since I’ve got back, I’ve had real trouble getting back to a standard sleeping pattern and not being tired during the day, plus I’ve had a Post-Offer open day to attend as well as some last minute offer conditions to fill and send off, so please bear with me. I do have the first half of a post regarding the Vikings draft writen, and I will try get it posted out tomorrow at the latest. In terms of the promised holiday review post, that could come as early as Sunday, as late as next week, or possibly not at all :S. I haven’t got an OHP set up for Sunday, and it’s unlikely I will get one out, but I will try and get one started at the very least (possibly Nickelback or Chevelle).
One final thing – I created an Addenda Provided Facebook group, so feel free to join and become a noted fan of the blog. Find it HERE.
Until next time, live loud everyone.
So whilst I’m waiting for my airport ride to get here at 3pm, I’ve compiled draft grades and analysis on the first round of the draft from last night. Due to travel, it’s likely I won’t have anything else to say on it until Sunday at the earliest. Until then, read and comment.
1. STL: Sam Bradford – A
Unlike some non-ESPN analysts, I believe that Sam Bradford is the better prospect than Jimmy Clausen. St. Louis needed to take a QB and duly delivered on draft day.
2. DET: Ndamukong Suh – B
You can’t argue with his talent, and he will keep John Sullivan’s hands quite full during our two meeting with them every season for the next decade. But what about Okung? Backus is not the answer at OT and you can’t win if Matt Stafford is picking himself from the turf every 5 seconds.
3. TB: Gerald McCoy – A
McCoy is just as good as Suh, and fit Tampa’s defensive system better than Suh. I’m glad they were shoehorned into this pick, because they will see that it was the right one down the line.
4. WAS: Trent Williams – C
Right position, but wrong player. Okung is going to be incredible in this league as a left tackle and has the measurable and athleticism to be dominant for at least a decade. Trent Williams is a bit more hit and miss in terms of what his calibre will be. It may be a pick in terms of system skills, but I feel they made the wrong pick here.
5. KC: Eric Berry – A
Eric Berry in any other draft class would be the best defensive player hands down. As it happens, if Suh and McCoy are 1 and 1A, then Berry would be a very close 2. As with Detroit, Okung would probably have been better, but KC’s secondary needed dire help as well. As it’s fallen, they will be able to get a good LT in the second round.
6. SEA: Russell Okung – A
Another great opportunity for a team where best player available meets the most dire need. Seattle will be ecstatic they got Okung without trading up, and Hasselbeck will be happy he won’t be on the ground as much and will be playing at least a year or two more than expected.
7. CLE: Joe Haden – A
Could Clausen have gone here? Probably, but with how he fell, and how bad the Browns secondary is, I think this was probably the right call. Look for the Browns to be moving up to 33 in Round 2.
8. OAK: Rolando McClain – D
Um…I think Al Davis has lost the plot. He normally drafts mediocre players way too high at positions of need. This year, he has seemingly reversed it by drafting an excellent player (albeit still a little too high) to a position of absolutely no need. They brought in Kamerion Wimbley to boost the linebacking corp (although that was a pass rush issue). They should have taken either an OT or DT.
9. BUF: C.J. Spiller – C
Spiller is a great back, but he’s not a straight away No. 1 player, which is what you should be drafting in the top 10. With Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch on the roster already, look for one of those guys (looking at Lynch) to be shipped out soon. Again, Clausen could have gone here.
10. JAX: Tyson Alualu – F
Congratulations Jacksonville, you have officially guaranteed yourselves that you will be in L.A within 5 seasons. This is a major reach, and considering they wanted to try and get Tebow, I find it odd they didn’t trade down or at least draft someone like Pierre-Paul or Morgan.
11. SF: Anthony Davis – F
They really liked the players athletic ability, but he has no intangibles which you would want on the team. He has no work ethic, and will likely be out of the league very quickly.
12. SD: Ryan Mathews – D
Would probably have been available at their initial pick without trading up, and some are saying Javid Best may have been a better selection. Running back was going to be the pick, but regardless of whether you think it’s the wrong player or the way they got him, this is a poor pick.
13. PHI: Brandon Graham – C
Drafted on the assumption he will perform in a similar way to LaMarr Woodley. Linebacker was a need for Philly, but I think they would have been better served by drafting Pierre-Paul or Morgan.
14. SEA: Earl Thomas – B
Great pick in terms of player quality and what he can provide in re-energising the Seattle secondary. But I can’t help but wonder if Clausen should have been the pick, and have him sit behind Hasselbeck for a year or two.
15. NYG: Jason Pierre-Paul – A
Position of need on a surprisingly poor Giants defense last year. Great athlete and a system fit. Look for them to shift Osi Umenyiora in the coming round.
16. TEN: Derrick Morgan – A
Position of need and the best player available at the position and fits their defensive system as well. As with Seattle and Okung, very lucky to have him fall this far.
17. SF: Mike Iupati – C
I think Iupati will be a beast eventually, but he needs a little technique work first. I’m surprised Clausen wasn’t the pick, as Alex Smith and Shaun Hill are not the long term solution.
18. PIT: Maurkice Pouncey – A
Massive need for the Steelers, who desperately need help up front on the O-line. Pouncey can play Center or Guard, which will defiantly help them this coming season.
19. ATL: Sean Weatherspoon – A
Great fit for Atlanta at a position of relative need for them.
20. HOU: Kareem Jackson – B
Great player, who may have a better carrer than Kyle Wilson. Could be the move that gets Houston into the playoffs.
21.CIN: Jermaine Gresham – A
Perfect pick. Cincinatti have had Tight End trouble for several seasons now, so this will look to remedy them once and for all.
22. DEN: Demaryius Thomas – C
I can understand why McD didn’t draft Dez Bryant, but whilst Thomas has less character concerns, he also has a lot less talent than Dez. He has trouble running routes – I think Josh is trying to out-belichick Belichick.
23. GB: Bryan Bulaga – A
Great left tackle at 23? Great move by the Pack. Bulaga looks as if he was born to play for the Packers as well, so great move overall.
24. DAL: Dez Bryant – A
If his character concerns can be sorted out, this is going to make Dallas a lot more potent (not that they weren’t the begin with.
25. DEN: Tim Tebow – F
McDaniels is a fucking idiot. A 2, 3 and 4 for Tebow, a project? Give me a break.
26. ARZ: Dan Williams – C
This pick is good in terms of value/talent, but with Lineart on the roster, I can’t help thinking Clausen might have been the choice – obviously they want their investment into the hot tub offense to pay off.
27. NE: Devin McCourty – B
Good special teamer and good talent at CB, but Jerry Hughes should have been the pick to help the pass rush.
28. MIA: Jared Odrick – B
Good value/talent pick, but as with NE, Jerry Hughes should have been the pick to help the pass rush. Good job moving down and still getting this guy
29. NYJ: Kyle Wilson – A
Kyle Wilson, Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie on one team? Wow.
30. DET: Jahvid Best – B
No OT still? Stafford will be begging for the season to end if they don’t draft one soon. Don’t think they needed to trade up to get Best though.
31. IND: Jerry Hughes – A
Great value pick and an awesome talent on pass rush, making Indy’s unit (inc. Mathis and Freeney) that more vicious
32. NO: Patrick Robinson – B
OK player, but will allow Jenkins to move back to safety, which strengthens the back end in the absence of FA Darren Sharper.
As promised, here is the mock. Thanks again to FFToolbox for saving me the trouble of writing this out with their neat little tool.
1 – STL: Bradford, Sam – QB – Oklahoma
2 – DET: Okung, Russell – T – Oklahoma St.
3 – TB: Suh, Ndamukong – DT – Nebraska
4 – WAS: Williams, Trent – T – Oklahoma
5 – KC: Bulaga, Bryan – T – Iowa
6 – SEA: McCoy, Gerald – DT – Oklahoma
7 – CLE: Berry, Eric – FS – Tennessee
8 – OAK: Campbell, Bruce – OT – Maryland
9 – BUF: Clausen, Jimmy – QB – Notre Dame
10 – JAX: Morgan, Derrick – DE – Georgia Tech
11 – DEN: Pierre-Paul, Jason – DE – South Florida
12 – MIA: Williams, Dan – DT – Tennessee
13 – SF: Haden, Joe – CB – Florida
14 – SEA: Bryant, Dez – WR – Oklahoma St.
15 – NYG: Thomas, Earl – SS – Texas
16 – TEN: Graham, Brandon – OLB – Michigan
17 – SF: Davis, Anthony – T – Rutgers
18 – PIT: Mcclain, Rolando – ILB – Alabama
19 – ATL: Hughes, Jerry – DE – TCU
20 – HOU: Jackson, Kareem – CB – Alabama
21 – CIN: Gresham, Jermaine – TE – Oklahoma
22 – NE: Spiller, C.J. – RB – Clemson
23 – GB: Brown, Charles – T – USC
24 – PHI: Wilson, Kyle – CB – Boise St.
25 – BAL: Odrick, Jared – DT – Penn State
26 – ARI: Kindle, Sergio – OLB – Texas
27 – DAL: Iupati, Mike – OG – Idaho
28 – SD: Mathews, Ryan – RB – Fresno St.
29 – NYJ: Griffen, Everson – DE – USC
30 – MIN: Mays, Taylor – FS – USC
31 – IND: Pouncey, Maurkice – C – Florida
32 – NO: Dunlap, Carlos – DE – Florida
OK, I’m useless. Despite plenty of false warnings before I went away, it’s taken my three week vacation to put a stop to my meaningful posting. I have been super busy with loads of fun stuff, like the opening of Target Field, the Minnesota Wild finishing their season and some guest appearances on the Power Trip Morning Show on KFAN, where I did my third show (and final for this trip) this morning.
I’m flying down to Orlando, FL tomorrow afternoon, and then it’s a pretty intense event schedule, including the the Nickelback/Breaking Benjamin gig at the Amway Arena. This obviously means that my blogging will, again, come to a standstill. However, I cannot ignore the fact the NFL Draft is next week, so I will try and get at least one final mock draft out either today or tomorrow (plenty of time to waste on the plane), and I will try put the finishing touches on my Muse ‘One Hour Playlist’ and get that scheduled for later in the week.
The promised holiday review won’t be until I get back (the 23rd), because I simply don’t have time to create two seperate posts and shortlist pictures, so I’ll do a proper one when I get back.
So until my mock gets done, live loud everyone.
Hey everybody, holiday is going sweet at the moment, and I’ll try get my first check-in post later tonight or tomorrow, but I’ve got a little pet peeve that I want to express, even though I know that it will do shit all difference.
Can all the Viagra spammers please fuck off. I’ve got better things to do with my time than keep deleting your comments and having to see your shitty jokes. I get enough humour in my life as it is, and I have no trouble in getting it up, so go find another blog to spam.
I mentioned it earlier in the week, but just to say again, on Monday (about 1435 GMT), I’m flying from London Heathrow to Minneapolis-Saint Paul for my three week US vacation, which starts with two weeks in the Twin Cities to watch the Wild Season Finale (and watch them end their season), the Timberwolves vs. the Lakers (and watch them get destroyed), the opening of Target Field (M+M in session), along with Bon Jovi and a few trips to the Mall of America (one of the largest malls in the world). Following that, I’m flying down to Orldndo for a week for a band I have waited to see for around about 5 years. It’s a Nickelback headliner, but I am there to see the one and only BREAKING BENJAMIN in concert. Following that, it’ll be a couple days rest in the sun and finishing up some shopping before heading back on the 23rd.
I will try get some posts out during the week, but it will deffo be less than I would like, and probably more of a diary than anything. I’ve got a Daughtry OHP lined up for tomorrow though. So until my next post – Live loud everybody.
