The Official 2009 NFL Draft Thread

pizzatyme · Post by **pizzatyme** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 9:13 am

Prediction on the Colts draft from a homer...

They take Moreno, Jerry, or Hood at #27 and then trade up in the second to get the pothead but talented Percy Harvin or Laurinitas.

Fingers crossed...

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 9:45 am

Ormond, I think when the opportunity presents itself to improve the talent level of your team in a significant fashion you do it.

Here's an example:

In 1995, the Packers had a much better defense then they do now and they had a Pro Bowl-caliber TE in Mark Chmura. Despite that, the GM (Ron Wolf) traded for a player at the same position because he believed that player would provide his team with a significant talent boost and help them become better. He made the trade even though the player the team acquired made it clear that he did not want to play for the Packers and would not report to the team.

That players' name?

Keith Jackson.

Jackson stayed true to his word and did not report until late in the season. He quickly realized the situation was better than he anticipated and he grew to like playing for the Packers. The following season, the Chmura-Jackson TE tandem was one of the most lethal in the league and one of the reasons why the Packers went to the Super Bowl and ultimately won the game.

Now, I realize it's not fair to compare Thompson to Wolf. Wolf was in my opinion the best GM of his era. But one of the reasons why Wolf was so good was because he was aggressive. When he saw the opportunity to improve his team, he pounced. Thompson is the anti-Wolf. He's passive and lacks the type of assertiveness that I believe his team needs from its GM.

This was the second time Thompson had the opportunity to bring in Gonzalez for a reasonable cost. And this is the second time Thompson has sat on the sidelines. This time, he watched another team act quickly and make the type of improvement that could result in that team contending for the Super Bowl.

That's the kind of move I wish Thompson had the stones to make. Sadly, he doesn't.

KOTRAX · Post by **KOTRAX** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 10:13 am

YEAH THAT IS A GREAT POINT ABOUT KEITH JACKSON BUT HOW MUCH DID HE REALLY HELP THAT PACKERS TEAM IN WINNING THE SUPERBOWL?

DID HE CONTRIBUTE? YEAH SOMEWHAT. BUT THAT WAS YET ANOTHE MVP SEASON FOR FAVRE.

ANTONIO FREEMAN WAS HOT. DORSEY LEVENS WAS ONE OF THE TOP BACKS DURING THAT TIME NOT TO MENTION THE GREAT SPECIAL TEAMS PLAY FROM DESMOND HOWARD.

BY CONTRAST A TEAM THAT DOESN'T SIT ON THE SIDELINES ARE THE WASHINGTON REDSKINS. THEY ARE ALWAYS PAYING FOR WHAT IS BELIEVED TO BE "HIGH QUALITY" TALENT AND WHERE HAVE THEY BEEN YEAR AFTER YEAR?

MEDIOCRE AT BEST. SO NOT GETTING GONZALES WASN'T THE WORSE THE PACKERS COULD HAVE DONE.

GO GET SOME DEFENSE TO HELP RODGERS AND THE PROLIFIC OFFENSE AND THEY'LL BE A CONTENDER.

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 10:19 am

Jackson added another weapon. Defenses had to account for that which made the Green Bay offense stronger and his talent made the Packers' offense even better. That made the defense even better because less pressure was placed upon it. Combine the two and you have a much better team with him than you would have had without him.

Same thing with Gonzalez. And keep in mind, Gonzalez is much better now than Jackson was then and, unlike 95, adding Gonzalez directly addresses an area of need on the team. Lee is nothing without Favre and the rest of the TEs haven't shown anything. So trading for Gonzalez would significantly upgrade an area of need.

Unfortunately for the Packers, Ted Thompson lacks the aggressiveness to make these types of moves. And the team is suffering for it in my opinion.

[ April 24, 2009, 04:19 PM: Message edited by: Tom Kessenich ]

KOTRAX · Post by **KOTRAX** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 10:28 am

O.K. I'LL GIVE THAT IT ADDS ANOTHER WEAPON BUT IF THEY WANT TO BE THE ST. LOUIS RAMS OF 1999 AND TRY AND OUT SCORE EVERYONE IN AN ATTEMPT TO TAKE PRESSURE OFF THE DEFENSE THAT IS NOT GOING TO WORK.

TRUE THE RAMS WON A SUPER BOWL LIKE THAT BUT WAS ONE YARD AWAY FROM GOING TO OVERTIME WITH TENNESEE
AND THEN WAS BEAT BY NEW ENGLAND.

LOOK AT THE HIGH OCTANE VIKINGS TEAM WHO WERE UP BY 10 LATE AT HOME AGAINST THE FALCONS IN THE NFC CHAMPIONSHIP.

WHAT HAPPENEND?

THEIR DEFENSE COULDN'T STOP THEM LATE IN THE GAME.

I SEE YOUR POINT TOM BUT AT THE SAME TIME IF YOUR OFFENSE CAN SCORE 26 POINTS A GAME THERE MUST BE ACCOUTABLITY FROM THE DEFENSE TO GET IT DONE.

[ April 24, 2009, 04:34 PM: Message edited by: KOTRAX ]

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 10:32 am

It's not about trying to become the next Rams, Ormond. It's about seizing the opportunity to make a dramatic improvement to your team at a reasonable cost. A second-round pick for a player who remains no worse than the second-best player at his position is not a steep asking price in my opinion. I am willing to wager that whoever Thompson drafts in the second round will not be as good as Tony Gonzalez. And if that's the case, then he wouldn't have given away too much in such a trade.

He had a higher draft pick than Atlanta possessed. He had a glaring need for a quality TE on the roster. He has a team that badly needs more impact players, regardless of which side of the ball they line up on. Everything was there for Thompson to make a strong, assertive move to improve his team but he failed.

Again.

KOTRAX · Post by **KOTRAX** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 10:43 am

O.K. WE CAN AGREE TO DISAGREE WHICH I WAHT IS GREAT ABOUT THE BOARDS. THE BEST WAY THEY CAN IMPROVE THEIR TEAM IS DEFENSE.

BEING THE FIFTH HIGHEST SCORING TEAM IN THE NFL LAST YEAR HOW MUCH MORE CAN YOU IMPROVE. FYI THE NUMBER 1 TEAM WAS NEW ORLEANS AND WHERE WERE THEY?

THEY TRADED FOR SHOCKEY LAST YEAR TO IMPROVE THEIR T.E. POSITION. DID IT HELP THEM BECOME A BETTER TEAM?

NO STILL MISSED THE PLAYOFFS WITH ALL THAT OCTANE.

THE THING IS THAT GONZALES IS THE "SEXY" PICK. IF THEY CAN GET A GOOD DEFENSIVE LINEMAN OR MIDDLE LINE BACKER WITH THAT PICK TO STOP THE RUN SINCE EVERYONE RAN ON THE PACKERS LAST YEAR THAT WOULD HELP THE TEAM MORE THAN GONZALES.

[ April 24, 2009, 04:46 PM: Message edited by: KOTRAX ]

Route Collectors · Post by **Route Collectors** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 10:53 am

Originally posted by Just Russ:
Prediction on the Colts draft from a homer...

They take Moreno, Jerry, or Hood at #27 and then trade up in the second to get the pothead but talented Percy Harvin or Laurinitas.

Fingers crossed... if you would've returned my call yesterday I could have told you the Colts pick will be Donald Brown.

pizzatyme · Post by **pizzatyme** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 10:56 am

Originally posted by Route C:
quote:Originally posted by Just Russ:
Prediction on the Colts draft from a homer...

They take Moreno, Jerry, or Hood at #27 and then trade up in the second to get the pothead but talented Percy Harvin or Laurinitas.

Fingers crossed... if you would've returned my call yesterday I could have told you the Colts pick will be Donald Brown.

[/QUOTE]Sorry bro, was tied up, literally. We'll talk soon and I'm definitely up for the live auction!

Route Collectors · Post by **Route Collectors** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 2:31 pm

Originally posted by Route C:
quote:Originally posted by Just Russ:
Prediction on the Colts draft from a homer...

They take Moreno, Jerry, or Hood at #27 and then trade up in the second to get the pothead but talented Percy Harvin or Laurinitas.

Fingers crossed... if you would've returned my call yesterday I could have told you the Colts pick will be Donald Brown.

[/QUOTE]BAM!!! and I don't even have a web site for this stuff