My two cents on the first round of the draft

I am pretty amazed by how much talent there is in the draft this year.  I felt that most teams made reasonable picks.  Obviously, it is impossible to tell which players will work out and which will flame out, but very few teams made head scratchers.  I'm going to run down what I think are the best picks, and the worst picks.

Best picks:

Texans, Jadeveon Clowney - Kudos to them for not panicking and taking a second-rate QB first overall.  This guy is the most talented player to enter the draft in years.  They had to take him.

Browns, Justin Gilbert - They traded back and got a pretty nice bounty, then traded up a spot to get Gilbert.  He is a very good cover corner.  The Brows defense looks formidable, especially with Haden and Gilbert at the corners.

Rams, Robinson (2), Donald (13) - What a haul for the Rams.  They have really cashed in on the RGIII trade.  Robinson is a day one starter, and Aaron Donald might be a difference-maker immediately.  I loved both of these picks.  I was hoping (I know there was no chance!) that Donald would fall to 21 and the Packers would be forced to take him.  I love that guy.

Ravens, CJ Mosley - Awesome pick.  They chose the best player available.

Vikings, Teddy Bridgewater - I hate the Vikings.  Their fans annoy me with their persistent "we are going to go at least 15-1 this year" attitudes.  They are a great fan base, in part because they are so delusional about their team.  Well, the time may finally be coming that they are no longer delusional.  Teddy Bridgewater is the best QB in this draft.  It isn't close.  Don't fall into the Mike Mayock trap of "the tape looks wonderful, but I just hated that pro day."  What a bunch of crap.  The guy came up big in big games.  He was the only QB that I thought was a first round QB.  He will likely not start day 1, which may benefit him, but he will the QB for that team for the next 10-12 years.  Great job by Spielman the last two years drafting really good players, especially by trading back into the first round.

Worst Picks:

Jaguars, Blake Bortles -  This pick reeks of Blaine Gabbert.  It also shows how much scouts can hype themselves into a pick between the end of the college football season and the draft.  Blake Bortles is a big dude.  He has a so-so arm.  In addition, he has displayed very little ability to move through progressions.  He is a major project, and by all accounts a nice guy.  However, it's really funny how a guy with so-so arm talent and questionable instinct at the position becomes viewed as a guy (these are things I heard on the broadcasts last night) "big arm" "great athlete" (4.9 40?).  I just don't think this is going to work out well for the Jaguars.  They could have continued to build their defense, or taken a WR.  The QBs later in the draft aren't really any different than this guy.

Browns, Johnny Manziel - I just don't think the guy can play in the NFL.  He reminds me of Cade McNown.  Terrible personality, not the best passer, undersized, etc.  The only difference is he isn't left handed.  I could be way off, but I don't think I've ever disagreed more with scouts.  The only thing Manziel will bring to the Browns is hype and media attention, which is good for the franchise, but I think the best quarterback on their roster is still Hoyer.

Those are my opinions.  I'm probably wrong on all of them.  I'll check back on this in 3-4 years and see just how wrong I was!

Last bit of trust in Mayock lost...

Watching the end of the first round, and Mayock has officially lost it.  He hates Teddy Bridgewater so much, that he is trying to find an alternate reason that the Vikings traded back into the first round (32nd pick).  I don't know who the pick is, but he literally said "I need to look at my draft board and see if it could be anybody else" then buried his face in his paperwork.  On TV!  Seriously?  He literally just went blank and stared down at his paperwork.   Just saw it is Bridgewater... Good pick by the Vikings... Excellent job by Mayock just plain losing the ability to function on TV because he doesn't like a player.

Navigating Life to Watch the Draft?

I'm a complete loser.  I like to watch the draft.  When it was on Saturdays, and I was in grad school living 110 miles away from my wife, this was a pretty easy thing to accomplish.  Now that we are in the same home, with a 2 year old, all I can do is hope and pray that the kid is in bed and the wife hasn't planned something better for us to do so that I can watch the draft.  Pretty much anything is less of a waste of time, so I think my odds are about 25% that I am actually watching when the Packers pick at 21, and about 40% when Bridgewater inexplicably is not selected at the end of round 1.  Good luck to me!

Green Bay Packers Draft Priorities

The NFL draft is today, so my Packers fanboy tendencies are really going to show today!  I read a lot of mock drafts, and believe very few of them.  They are never very clear if they are placing players at spots because they think the teams will take them or because they think the player should be taken at that spot by that team.  In addition, none of these guys are in the room and know the draft board (except Peter King, who apparently lives in the St. Louis Rams draft room... Wonder if they have good coffee...).

I see a lot of steam for the Packers considering a CB at 21.  The last thing they need is a corner.  Even if they move Micah Hyde to safety (which is apparently an option), they still do not need a first round corner unless it is a huge value.  The Packers have three very good CB options (I am going to assume they all stay healthy... You can't predict injuries).  Tramon Williams played very well last year.  He is hot and cold as a tackler, but is generally reliable in coverage.  Sam Shields held his own against AJ Green and Calvin Johnson last year despite being significantly shorter than both.  He is a very good corner, and gets better every year.  In addition, he has become a more willing tackler.  Finally, Casey Hayward is an excellent slot corner, and could probably play outside as well.  When healthy, he may be the best of the three.  This combination of players makes CB a position of strength, not weakness.  In fact, in watching games last season, it was obvious that poor safety play made everybody on the defense look bad.  In addition, they may not be the best group of tacklers, but AJ Hawk and the rest of the ILB group are so unathletic that the DBs are asked to make far too many open field tackles.

With that said, the Packers need an ILB.  If CJ Mosley falls to them, who cares about the injury history!  They need to pull the trigger.  He is the best LB in the draft, and would immediately upgrade that position.  They could also choose to address the safety position, although I don't see much of a difference between the players in the first round (Pryor or Clinton-Dix) and later round players like Brock Vereen.  Bottom line, the Packers will take the best player available or trade to positions that allow them to select picks that fit needs at appropriate value.  I'm very excited, and hoping that Mosley falls to 21.

One last note.  It will not happen, but if Aaron Donald somehow falls to 21, take him.  I'm calling it now, he is the best player in this draft (not a huge stretch, but still).  I don't care if he is better suited to a 4-3.  He is disruptive and aggressive and athletic.  You alter your defense for players like him.

Enough said!  Let's get this thing started!

Mark Jackson Fired

Today the Golden State Warriors fired Mark Jackson after a 51-31 season.  This is a team that has been nearly invisible since Chris Mullen retired. They lost to the best Clippers team ever in seven games. Winning in the Western Conference is extremely difficult as evidenced by 5 wins earning the 6 seed. I'm pretty sure the Warrior didn't lose because of Mark Jackson but because they ran into a better team. I think they will regret this move.

Boxing

I've never been a big fan of boxing. It was interesting mostly because of the personalities that were at their peak during the '90s and early 2000s. Tyson, Holyfield, Oscar De la Hoya, Lewis, etc etc. But nowadays I don't think i've ever cared less about a single sport in the entire world. I've caught myself watching bull fighting, darts, bowling on espn the last year. Not really paying attention but somewhat being an observer. It's the only sport where the top two fighters don't fight but yet one can remain the "champion." Why a network (showtime) paid mayweather 90 million dollars a year I will never know. Even MMA was entertaining to a degree. I got really into it a few years ago and now...eh....not really. But at least I respect those fighters way more than i do boxers. Boxing reminds me of people playing home run derby and than the dude that hit the most bragging about how he is the best baseball player. No, hitting is one element of baseball, just as boxing is of fighting. Mixed martial arts at least at the elite levels has so many fighters, using so many techniques and styles. Boxing is one element of many, that make me respect these fighters way more than boxing. Tell me I'm wrong but boxing is boring, out dated, and when you have a title fight set up that's not between the top fighters it's not a championship fight.

Damn you NHL! You are a train wreck!

I got very excited when the Wild one their first round series against the Avalanche.  I'm not much of a hockey fan, but I enjoyed getting behind the local team.  I got really excited to see them play the Blackhawks tonight.  As such, I used the DirecTV guide to find the game, and it was on NBCSHD.  Great!  Tune to channel!  What?  I don't get that channel?  The local team is not available to an individual who is paying $60+ per month?  It should be available on broadcast television.  If NHL players are wondering why they had their salaries severely cut during the last collective bargaining negotiations, just take a look at the number of casual fans who don't give a crap about your sport because you horribly-run organization doesn't even allow local fans to watch the games.  Oh well.  At least I have Rockets vs. Blazers to watch.  If only Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje was still a Trailblazer, then I would be completely content!