Northern Exposure: Feel the Draft from the NFC North...

Bruce

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Here is how Fox Sports rated each of the NFC North teams' drafts (the number represents their rank vs all 32 teams in the NFL

5. Green Bay: The Packers went for intelligent, all-around football players starting with all-everything linebacker A.J. Hawk, who can play the middle and also be a nickel linebacker. Boise State offensive tackle Daryn Colledge could end up being a starting guard this season while Jason Spitz of Louisville was another critical need at center. Green Bay lost its three best interior linemen from the 2004 season. Cory Rodgers of TCU and Will Blackmon of Boston College will be shooting to break the lineup as a receiver. The only knock on the Packers was giving up on Javon Walker, a former first-round pick and a Pro Bowl player, for a second-round choice. They could end up regretting that trade.
Grade: B+

14. Detroit: Nothing against Florida State linebacker Ernie Sims, but you have to wonder why GM Matt Millen didn't make an attempt to select Vandy quarterback Jay Cutler, the passer that offensive coordinator Mike Martz would have liked. The Lions need a franchise quarterback, but Millen opted to help his first-year head coach Rod Marinelli with Sims, who is a concussion waiting to happen, he plays so hard. Wisconsin running back Brian Calhoun ran a 4.35 40-yard dash and could be a special weapon as a third-down receiver. Millen also selected a hard-hitting safety in Daniel Bullocks and a potential starting tackle in Jonathan Scott of Texas.
Grade: C

30. Chicago: Danieal Manning didn't have the grades to stick at Nebraska and that's why he became a star at Abilene Christian, returning three turnovers for TDs and also six punt-kicks for touchdowns. Has raw ability and was such a good cornerback that opponents quit throwing his way. Manning will immediately be a star on special teams. That being said, we don't understand why the Bears would select another returner (Devin Hester) with their second overall pick? The Bears might win the NFC North, but they aren't that good to be trading out of the first round simply to save money. They could have taken a tight end, upgrading a position that has been weak ever since Mike Ditka played. We all thought the Bears needed some offense.
Grade: D

31. Minnesota: They took Iowa linebacker Chad Greenway in the first round and many teams thought he didn't have the sudden burst necessary to be a big-time NFL linebacker. Then they took a sixth-round center Ryan Cook with the 51st overall choice and traded up to select Alabama State quarterback Tarvaris Jackson with the 64th pick. Most teams had Jackson in the 7th round. Georgia safety Greg Blue will be a special teams' demon, but doesn't have good coverage skills and may be moved to weakside linebacker. Finally, if they wanted to select Oregon's Kellen Clemens in the second round, they were out-foxed by the inexperienced Jets. New personnel chieftan Fran Foley has more headaches than quite a few biographical mistakes in his resume.
Grade: D

BTW I gave them an A- (Solid A on Sat. and somewhere between a B and B+ on Sun.)
 

Packnic

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Another stellar performance by minnesota. Its gettin ridiculous, no matter who owns, or manages or coaches that team.... they just cant seem to get anything right.

hey lets have a firesale over two season with some of our best talent and then have crappy drafts, highlighted by not even showing up for one of our picks.... way to go guys. so now they have brad johnson throwing to who exactly??? we win both games this year against the queens.
 

big3

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fox sports writers are apparently completly retarded. Why would the lion's draft a quarterback when WE HAVE 5 ON THE ROSTER AS IT IS!!!!!!!!!???????? We took care of that position during free agency. There was no way Millen was going to draft another possible franchise qb who could turn out to be a bust when we haven't gotten rid of his first bust. Some writer's write about a team when they have no stinking idea what is going on with that team. The lion's have been looking for a franchise quarterback for almost 50 years, there is no way they would have found it in the draft. Alot of improvement needs to be made on this team before a young qb can be expected to succeed on it.
 

Robin Yount

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I must admit, the Foxsports writers have taken a fairly extreme stance regarding the north compared to other analysts.

I too question some of the Queens moves, but a D? I think they had about a C+ draft. T. Jackson could turn out to be quite a QB, but I think they could have still gotten him in the 3rd. As for Cook, not smart.

Foxsport's info seems to be a couple months old. What do you think Bruce? I don't think they updated their scouting info. before the draft.

Of course, I think Fox got our grade close. As for the Walker move, it would have been pretty tough to get anything higher then a 2nd for him, honestly. He is coming off of a major injury. I was happy with the 2nd.
 
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Bruce

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Packnic said:
Another stellar performance by minnesota. Its gettin ridiculous, no matter who owns, or manages or coaches that team.... they just cant seem to get anything right.

hey lets have a firesale over two season with some of our best talent and then have crappy drafts, highlighted by not even showing up for one of our picks.... way to go guys. so now they have brad johnson throwing to who exactly??? we win both games this year against the queens.

The Vikings had actually gotten me to think that they may have gotten their front office together prior to this draft. Than after their first pick which was very solid, they returned to form and started shooting themselves in the foot/feet -- same old Vikes. I think FOX writers pretty much nail it across the board on their analysis of the NFC North team's drafts.

big3 said:
fox sports writers are apparently completly retarded. Why would the lion's draft a quarterback when WE HAVE 5 ON THE ROSTER AS IT IS!!!!!!!!!???????? We took care of that position during free agency. There was no way Millen was going to draft another possible franchise qb who could turn out to be a bust when we haven't gotten rid of his first bust. Some writer's write about a team when they have no stinking idea what is going on with that team. The lion's have been looking for a franchise quarterback for almost 50 years, there is no way they would have found it in the draft. Alot of improvement needs to be made on this team before a young qb can be expected to succeed on it.

I love the idea of the Lions continuing to stumble in futility without a QB. The word retarded might be able to Matt M (apologies to those who are actually Developmentally Disabled) but I think the FOX writers were spot on here.

BTW Please never fire your GM, he is insurance that the Lions will continue their Super Bowl streak perfect -- Zero for Zero.
 
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Bruce

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Robin Yount said:
I must admit, the Foxsports writers have taken a fairly extreme stance regarding the north compared to other analysts.

I too question some of the Queens moves, but a D? I think they had about a C+ draft. T. Jackson could turn out to be quite a QB, but I think they could have still gotten him in the 3rd. As for Cook, not smart.

Foxsport's info seems to be a couple months old. What do you think Bruce? I don't think they updated their scouting info. before the draft.

Of course, I think Fox got our grade close. As for the Walker move, it would have been pretty tough to get anything higher then a 2nd for him, honestly. He is coming off of a major injury. I was happy with the 2nd.

Greenway -- very solid pick

Griffin -- decent player with upside potential that should push for playing time in dime packages, but a bit of a reach

Cook -- I cannot stop laughing long enough to comment, let's just mark it an F- and move on.

Jackson -- another reach, who will need several years to develop, which makes no sense when you remember that Johnson is 38 yrs old. He could have been had 3 rounds later.

Edwards -- a roll of the dice. He has ability but is a high risk pick -- especially given this is one of the Vikings strongest positions. Left me scratching my head when they made the pick. He does offer decent risk/reward potential that warrented someone rolling the dice, but the Vikings seemed among the least likely.

Blue -- Tweener, who will contribute on special teams. I think he will be a slow conversion to LB.

Fox is not the most impressive group to get info from, but they seem to have nailed the evaluations here IMO

I think the Vikings once again went into panic mode and imploded after their first pick -- esp. when you consider what they gave up to reach for some of these guys.
 

big3

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So we should have drafted a qb? Young qb's will not succeed unless they have a strong team around them. The lions need veteran qb who can help the team because the team is not strong enough to make up for a young qb's mistakes. Any of you ever heard of Mike McMahon, or Charlie Batch, or Joey Harrington? The only young qb's who succeed are the ones who go to very strong and balanced teams that can win inspite of the young qb's mistakes. Does any of you think Kyle Orton is a great qb? How about Ben Rothlesburger? How many games would either of them have won if they had played for the texans or the 49ers? Both of them make ALOT of mistakes but the teams they are on are good enough to overcome that. The lions are not a good enough team to support a young qb. That is why it would have been a waste to draft a qb this year smart ***. (longtimefan)
 
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Bruce

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I am smart, but fail to see where I was being a smart *** -- which of course would still be preferable to being a dumb ***.

Just because a team drafts a QB does not mean they have to throw him to the Wolves immediately. As you say, you have Vet QBs that he could have learned from and eased into the job. If your goal is mediocre than your logic adds up, if you want to run with the big boys you have to find a QB to lead your team -- ala Wolf giving up a #1 to trade for a #3 QB from Atlanta. Big Ben made the Steelers a far better team -- without him they are still struggling to make the playoffs.

big3 said:
So we should have drafted a qb? Young qb's will not succeed unless they have a strong team around them. The lions need veteran qb who can help the team because the team is not strong enough to make up for a young qb's mistakes. Any of you ever heard of Mike McMahon, or Charlie Batch, or Joey Harrington? The only young qb's who succeed are the ones who go to very strong and balanced teams that can win inspite of the young qb's mistakes. Does any of you think Kyle Orton is a great qb? How about Ben Rothlesburger? How many games would either of them have won if they had played for the texans or the 49ers? Both of them make ALOT of mistakes but the teams they are on are good enough to overcome that. The lions are not a good enough team to support a young qb. That is why it would have been a waste to draft a qb this year smart ***. (longtimefan)
 

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i fully support the tavarius jackson pick... i wish we would have gotten him or marcus vick, but i also didnt think ingle martin was a possibility and im very happy with that decision.
 

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I agree with Big3 on that, while their current group of Quarterbacks don't strike fear into anybody's hearts, they won't be ready for a young quarterback to start until they have a strong running game and are just overall better. I would think it would've made sense though to use a late round pick on a developmental quarterback so that they could have a guy developing and will be prepared once they are ready, but definitely no on a high round quarterback who would be expected to start if the team does bad the first half of the year.
 
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Bruce

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Yeah, he makes a good point about waiting. The Lions have been waiting for how many years without a Championship??? 48 years! I guess that would make a team patient and pretty much an expert on waiting. Why not wait 50!!!

I say we keep contributing to the Keep MM the GM in Detroit for life fund :wink:

The Lions fans are spoiled with draft rating. Every year they draft in the top 10 and usually get rave reviews, only to be disappointed when it comes to on the field production.
 

big3

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We have a late round qb who we are developing. Ever here of Dan Orlovsky? Why would we draft a late round qb to develop when we already have one that we drafted last year? We also have Kitna and McCown. Neither on of them are great, but neither was Warner, Bulger, or Green until they worked with Mike Martz. Rothlisburger really helped his team win the superbowl! Look at his stats.

attempts 21 completions 9 yards 123 touchdowns 0 Interceptions 2 rating 22.6

The steelers won despite Ben's terrible play.
 
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Bruce

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big3 said:
We have a late round qb who we are developing. Ever here of Dan Orlovsky? Why would we draft a late round qb to develop when we already have one that we drafted last year? We also have Kitna and McCown. Neither on of them are great, but neither was Warner, Bulger, or Green until they worked with Mike Martz. Rothlisburger really helped his team win the superbowl! Look at his stats.

attempts 21 completions 9 yards 123 touchdowns 0 Interceptions 2 rating 22.6

The steelers won despite Ben's terrible play.

Without him they don't get to the game.

I did not say that they should have drafted a late developmental project -- quite the opposite. When all is said and done I wonder how many playoff games Dan Orlovsky will appear in?

The boy from Connecticut does have good size, but I am not sure he will ever be a starting NFL QB

BTW the Lions finished 2nd in draft ratings by these guys -- I would have probably given them a C+. I am not sure what has your undies in a bunch. What was your take on their draft?
 

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Packnic said:
i fully support the tavarius jackson pick... i wish we would have gotten him or marcus vick, but i also didnt think ingle martin was a possibility and im very happy with that decision.

I fully support the Tavarious Jackson pick for the vikings :wink:
 

big3

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My ******* aren't really in a bunch, It just pissed me off they said we should have taken a qb. I'm actually really happy with the draft. I thought Sims was a great addition considering we couldn't get Hawk. Bullock should be a big help at safety since I don't think Holt is all that great. Calhoun should fit in perfectly to Martz's offense because he is supposed to be a great reciever out of the backfield. I was really surprised Scott fell to us in the 5th as I thought he was projected to be 3rd or 4th rounder. God knows we need help on the offensive line. I really don't know much about the rest of the picks, but they may not make the team anyway. As far as meeting the teams needs, I would grade the lions draft A.
 
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Bruce

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big3 said:
My ******* aren't really in a bunch, It just pissed me off they said we should have taken a qb. I'm actually really happy with the draft. I thought Sims was a great addition considering we couldn't get Hawk. Bullock should be a big help at safety since I don't think Holt is all that great. Calhoun should fit in perfectly to Martz's offense because he is supposed to be a great reciever out of the backfield. I was really surprised Scott fell to us in the 5th as I thought he was projected to be 3rd or 4th rounder. God knows we need help on the offensive line. I really don't know much about the rest of the picks, but they may not make the team anyway. As far as meeting the teams needs, I would grade the lions draft A.

I thought Calhoun was a great pickup for the Lions -- in fact the Packers were set to take him when the Lions took him off the board. In the draft room the Pack ripped up their card and went with a slight reach plan B selecting Jason Spitz after the Lions took the guy they wanted.

You might sell me on a grade of a B -- but I cannot stretch it any way to look like an A.

Regardless, the grades days after the draft are next to meaningless. It is what happens once they put on the pads and over the next couple of seasons that will make the report cards meaningful.
 

Packnic

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big3 right on... mike martz has made 3 rags look like pro bowlers. and you guys should not have drafted a qb. yall did the right thing with sims. he could give yall some much needed attitude on defense.

but i think big ben is over rated as hell... i think that steelers team could have won with john kitna in there. or any other back up qb. outstanding defense, solid offensive line, solid run game. chalk that up as a playoff team. add a back up qb who wont kill you with mistakes, and you got a superbowl. Add a brett favre and you have a dynasty... which brings me to GBs recent patterns... we could be setting up a seriously nice team. with great d, and a run game... throw in brett favre and we are contenders.
 

LambeauEast

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big3 said:
We have a late round qb who we are developing. Ever here of Dan Orlovsky? Why would we draft a late round qb to develop when we already have one that we drafted last year?

Living here in CT I know quite a bit about Orlovsky, and think in time, he could be a capable NFL QB. I'd take him over McCown right now, and well, Kitna...ah, nevermind.
 

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The thing that scares me about Dan O is that as much as the management praises him, they didn't even think enough of him to let him play the last 4 games when Joey and Jeff stunk up the place. I keep telling myself it was just so he wasn't thrown to the wolves. He might be the future of this fanchise, but he might be a back up for life. No one has seen enough of him in the NFL to decide which.
 

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I'll give you my analyze of Dan Orlovsky from watching him playing in college and practicing with the Lions.

He's a pretty tough guy, and he will stand under pressure. He's not afraid to take hits and will get right up and get right back at you. He is a commanding presence, but he will make bad judgements and throw the ball into coverage when his primary target isn't open, his vision is not as good as it should be because he has problems switching from target to target finding the open man and taking what the defense is giving you. His short passing game is very accurate and he has a zip, but his deeppasses way too often gets to the defender, but he has a strong arm. He is not good on the run and will make bad reads when flushed out of the pocket as he isn't that mobile. Yes he is a pretty fast runner, but he isn't a good runner and scrambles poorly, and most of his turnovers will come when he is pressured out of the pocket. He needs to put more air under the passes when his receivers are open even though he always steps into the pass.
 

LambeauEast

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I didn't even know UConn had a football team until a few years ago...I thought they were strictly basketball (yes, I'm kidding).

UConn - where the men are men, and so is the women's team.
 

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Thanks Bruce, this Rating seems to reflect the public opinion at the moment, things are looking up !!!

5. Green Bay: The Packers went for intelligent, all-around football players starting with all-everything linebacker A.J. Hawk, who can play the middle and also be a nickel linebacker. Boise State offensive tackle Daryn Colledge could end up being a starting guard this season while Jason Spitz of Louisville was another critical need at center. Green Bay lost its three best interior linemen from the 2004 season. Cory Rodgers of TCU and Will Blackmon of Boston College will be shooting to break the lineup as a receiver. The only knock on the Packers was giving up on Javon Walker, a former first-round pick and a Pro Bowl player, for a second-round choice. They could end up regretting that trade.
Grade: B+
 

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