Saturday, April 25, 2009

NFL Draft Live Blog

Again, Lyrad and I will be live blogging this throughout today at least. So feel free to join in comments.

LYRAD 8:57--Yes, very strange. Tomorrow will tell us more and, until then, I'm out.

ERIK 8:54--Very strange draft for Denver. That safety they took was pretty marginal and then taking a TE. 5 picks and they only deal with their defensive front seven once. I don't understand what McDaniels is doing here. Anyway, I'm done for the evening. Thanks for commenting! It was fun!

LYRAD 8:54--Goddamn it, a TE. I guess that pretty well solidifies the trade of Tony Scheffler.

LYRAD 8:50--Denver gives me one more pick...please be on defense...please.

LYRAD 8:47--This first day has gone by really fast. A very good draft, overall.

LYRAD 8:25--These guys can't get enough of calling guys "the poor man's...." Apparently, Vollmer is a poor man's Loadholt, despite the fact that both are fairly rich.

ERIK 8:12--Phil Loadholt is the best name for an offensive lineman ever.

LYRAD 7:58--Wade Phillips looks as stupid right now as a man possibly could.

ERIK 7:53--Seahawks have actually had a great draft. Curry, Unger, trading the 2nd this year and getting a 1st next year. Really quite nice. They gave up a 3rd and 4th for Unger, so they don't have a lot of picks left this year, but those are 2 very solid players.

ERIK 7:48--Oregon center Max Unger to the Seahawks! A perfect match. Hopefully it works out a little more satisfactory than the last time Seattle selected a Duck in the 2nd round, Maurice Morris. Morris is OK, but clearly a 3rd down back is not what you want to get out of your 2nd round pick.

LYRAD 7:47--You gotta be happy with that, Erik.

ERIK 7:47--So the Raiders are just pulling names from a hat, picking a safety out of Ohio U. that was expected to be a free agent. They did this in the 2nd round. Can the NFL just take a franchise away from an owner? God, I'm glad I'm not a Raiders fan.

LYRAD 7:32--Nothing says NFL like the Navy. This is stupid.

ERIK 7:31--I just took a look at the history of Seattle drafts. The best QB they have ever drafted is Rick Mirer. I am completely serious. Second might be Seneca Wallace.

ERIK 7:30--That's an interesting pick for White. Will they run weird formations with Pat White and Ronnie Brown both lining up somewhere under center?

LYRAD 7:28--A massively early selection for Pat White, but he could be really good at Miami. He's scary in their Wing-T...er..."Wildcat."

ERIK 7:20--I like Byrd, but that's a reach. He's really a 3rd round pick in my view. There are questions about his speed and I just don't think you draft a CB with marginal speed at that point. Still, the Bills have really stocked up on decent prospects early.

LYRAD 7:17--More Ducks! Byrd should flourish in Buffalo.

ERIK 7:14--The Patriots, recognizing that this is a deep draft that wasn't great at the top, have moved into having 4 2nd round picks. So far they've used the first 3 to rebuild their defense. This is a really good move, though they also haven't improved themselves at linebacker, which they desperately need.

LYRAD 7:11--Great value in Ron Brace. More great drafting from the stupid Pats. I'd have loved to have seen Brace on the Broncos.

LYRAD 7:00--Good value pick for the Bengals. It's shocking that Maualuga lasted so long...Laurenitis, as well, but I thought Maualuga was the best of the three Trojans.

ERIK 6:52--Normally I'd be uncomfortable with Seattle (my team) trading with Denver (Lyrad's team). But anytime they can fleece the Broncos by trading a 2nd this year for a 1st next year, and then the Broncos taking a cornerback they probably could have had 7 or 8 picks later is great! Let's do it again next year!!!

LYRAD 6:51--That's a weird trade and a weird pick. A high second for next year's first?! That seems pretty crazy. We'll see; we need help in the secondary, but jeez.

ERIK 6:37--I'm totally biased, but Chung is pretty awesome. Great pick for the Patriots. He can really hit and was the leader of the Oregon defense. Expect Duck linemen Max Unger to go soon as well. Ducks!

LYRAD 6:36--First Duck taken! Patrick Chung should be good on the Pats.

LYRAD 6:30--I like the Wells pick. He won't have to touch the ball too much, so he should remain effective and healthy, one of the big cuts on him.

ERIK 6:27--Not sure about that Beanie Wells pick. I know the Cardinals can't run the ball, but I'm not sure how a big power back works in more of a spread offense.

LYRAD 6:22--I'm really glad they cut the time between picks down to ten minutes. Only three hours and change for the entire first round.

LYRAD 6:10--Ahhhh, that's a refreshing Moosehead, buddy! I feel like Alex Trebek drinking this beer.

ERIK 6:01--I guess the Colts are giving up on Joseph Addai.

ERIK 5:59--Just like baseball and God Bless America, I guess the NFL decided they needed to break up the fun with some pointless patriotism. Awesome.

ERIK 5:55--So every year the Patriots trade down and stock picks in future drafts. OK, but in the end, why? If you just keep doing this, what's the long term gain? I do like the Packers trading up for Matthews. Solid guy, though they just drafted AJ Hawk a couple of years ago. Kind of missed there, but 2 first round linebackers in 3 or 4 years is not ideal.

LYRAD 5:54--This is a live blogger who needs beer. I'll be back in a few.

LYRAD 5:48--If Davis can stay out of trouble, he's a great pick for the Dolphins. They lost a lot of their secondary in the off-season, so this shores up a big hole. He should have an immediate impact, assuming he's not suspended.

LYRAD 5:37--No surprise about the Patriots trading away their pick, and the Ravens got good value out of the pick. Shoring up the line is always a solid idea.

LYRAD 5:35--I'm really surprised Wells has fallen this far. Minnesota's not going to take him, but somebody has to think that he'll be successful. Is it a reputation issue?

ERIK 5:28--So the Vikings take Percy Harvin. A poor man's Reggie Bush. And I mean that as a pejorative. Now they have a super-athletic wide receiver who isn't a real wide receiver with their super-athletic but crappy receiver. Adrian Peterson must be thrilled....

ERIK 5:25--Very interesting pick by the Browns. I like Alex Mack a lot--he was dominant in the Pac-10 this year. Thing is, I don't know that couldn't have traded down yet again because I didn't think that many people were interested in Mack before Pittsburgh at 32.

LYRAD 5:23--Good pick from the Lions in Pettigrew. He looks like he could be a very successful tight end. The Lions haven't had a good TE in years.

ERIK 5:21--I wonder if the Browns keep trading down, intending on drafting Beanie Wells. He's still available and they are up.

LYRAD 5:15--Who will the Roy Williams pick be? I'm waiting with baited breath to see the extent of the Cowboys' fuckup.

LYRAD 5:13--Fuck Steve Young and Keyshawn Johnson. They're bitter and stupid.

ERIK 5:08--Steve Young and Keyshawn Johnson are taking every chance to slam on Josh McDaniels and the Broncos. Both picks, Young and Johnson have ignored the actual person picked and talked about how stupid it was to trade Cutler. Useful commentary here. Where's Tom Jackson? Meanwhile, the Broncos drafted Tennessee Volunteer Robert Ayers, which is a pretty obvious pick at this time. Probably the best guy out still available for the 3-4.

LYRAD 5:06--Great pick. They really needed a guy like Ayers. Good call, Karthika!

ERIK 5:05--Why did the Bucs trade up for Freeman? Did they really think Denver was going to take him? I know they only gave up a 6th, but still. Also, the Browns are having a great draft for having not picked anyone yet.


LYRAD 5:01--Thank goodness. Please draft a D-Lineman, McDaniels. I'm thinking they're taking Boston College's other DT.

LYRAD 5:00--The Broncos had better fucking not draft Freeman or I'm calling Bowlin personally.

LYRAD 4:57--Trading madness. I have no idea what's what right now.

LYRAD 4:45--Jenkins to the Saints and Cushing to the Texans are both great picks. The Texans are turning into one of the toughest defenses in the league. It's too bad they're in such a hard division, because they'd be near the top of any other division in the league.

LYRAD 4:37--I hope they're planning to deal J.J. Arrington for low round draft picks now. That's shores up a hole, but I think on the wrong the side of the ball.

LYRAD 4:31--Knowshon?! A crazy pick!

LYRAD 4:31--Another good D-lineman taken...go Broncos, they're picking now.

LYRAD 4:21--It's about damn time. It's just too bad there's nobody throwing to him in SF.

LYRAD 4:14--Damn it, 2 of 3 of my hopes are gone. Who will the Broncos draft? Raji, however, will get his fair share of brats up in Green Bay, so good for him on that.

LYRAD 4:12--My god, are John Gruden and Steve Mariucci the worst duo ever? I miss Terrell Davis.

ERIK 4:05--Eugene Monroe has the biggest and most sparkly watch I have ever seen. Also, how has no one selected Michael Crabtree yet?

LYRAD 3:59--That's the classic Davis pick. He's fucking senile and I'm so glad. 2-14 this year, Oakland, good luck with the fast, just keep in mind that this is football not a track meet.

ERIK 3:56--Jesus, the Raiders are stupid. Al Davis should be institutionalized. I think he just looks at the 40 times at the Combine and then picks the fastest. I could do a better job. Of course, given that it's the Raiders, I love it! JaMarcus Russell, Darren McFadden, Darrius Heyward-Bey--a whole lot of skill position fail there!

LYRAD 3:53--Ah, Smith got a bum rap at the combine. He'll bust faster than Jason Smith, probably, but I think this is a good pick.

ERIK 3:51--I guess the Bengals didn't have enough guys with questionable character on their team. So they drafted Andre Smith. Their team chemistry is so great as it is. Marvin Lewis does such an effective jobs of molding these guys and keeping them under control. I think only like 13 guys got arrested last year. Bengals=Fail.

ERIK 3:44--Just in case Eric Mangini hadn't destroyed the Jets franchise enough while he was in New York, now he cons them into trading a 1st, a 2nd, and three players for Mark Sanchez. Wow.

ERIK 3:43. Fuck you Marshall Faulk. What USC QBs have had great NFL careers? Leinart? Carson Palmer for like 12 games? Rodney fucking Peete?

LYRAD 3:41--"Kellen Clemens just has to sit there and take it. Once again, an SC quarterback trumps an Oregon quarterback." Fuck you Marshall Faulk

LYRAD 3:39--Jets=Fail...forever.

LYRAD 3:36--Why does Deion continually ask about players' relationships with their mothers? It's creepy...stay away from my mom, Primetime!

ERIK 3:34--Excellent! Go Seahawks! Aaron Curry with Lofa Tatupu, that's a mean linebacking corp. If it wasn't 85 degrees out, I'd put on my Seahawks sweatshirt I've had since 1988 to celebrate.

LYRAD 3:32--You're lucky, Erik

LYRAD 3:30--Jackson at 3 may be too high, but he's going to be a really good player. Get ready Erik, with the fourth pick in the draft, they will be drafting Sanchez.

ERIK 3:26--Now that the Chiefs stupidly took Tyson Jackson way too high at #3, please Seattle, please take Aaron Curry. Or at least not Mark Sanchez. Please.

LYRAD 3:22--What! We should now switch and live blog our memories of Bea. This is devastating news.

ERIK 3:20--I think the draft should be dedicated to the late great Bea Arthur. RIP.

LYRAD 3:15--St. Louis picks Baylor's Jason Smith. That's a great pick. Bulger may not have what he used to, but this guy's going to step right into Orlando Pace's shoes. This is a pick for the future...and a good one.

LYRAD 3:03--Roger Goodell...oh, how I hate you

LYRAD 2:56--Deion is such a loser. The guy still gets off on being booed. I swear that's the only reason he's still on TV. Stafford's going to be terrible on the Lions. Didn't they already do this with the great Joey Harrington? How does nobody learn that, while the QB may be the "most important position on the field," he's worthless on his back.

ERIK 2:53--Glad to see Detroit flush more money down the toilet with Matthew Stafford. Quarterbacks have a 50% failure rate. Yet, coaches can't resist getting a new one as soon as they take a job. Given the terrible odds, why do GMs allow this to happen? Why isn't there a Billy Beane in the NFL that thinks about player personnel is a somewhat rational way?