silvermike

I'm not really sure Brandon ever had a significant football role. He was Dick Jauron's boss on the totem pole, but it was DJ making the draft picks, choosing free agents, and all the rest. Russ negotiated contracts and set the budget, but he was never a scout and he was never really a football guy. I don't think his role has changed much in the past two years, it's just that he now has Buddy taking responsibility for all Jauron's non-coaching roles.

Note that both OJ and Tiki had significantly better rookie years than Spiller did. There are other promising parallels, but I don't think its insane to be very worried about CJ Spiller. Rookie seasons are more indicative for RBs than other positions. We'll all keep waiting and hoping, but I feel much less certain about Spiller's talents now than I did a year ago.

Juice?

He's really going to impress all those kids' dads. I just realized that a kid born the day Thurman signed his day-long retirement contract in Buffalo is finishing up 4th grade.

That's probably true, actually. But the big question for them will be if the Dolphins try to make a big splash by acquiring Carson Palmer, Donovan McNabb, Vince Young or Kevin Kolb, which would likely send Thigpen to the exits. Not that I think those would be good moves, but this is the Dolphins, who have brought in Daunte Culpepper, AJ Feely, and Trent Green to solve their QB woes. When Thigpen compares #3 in Miami to #2 in Buffalo, he might be interested, knowing that the coach here is in his corner. If we end up drafting a QB in 2012, Thigpen might have an equal shot to Fitz at sticking around in the backup/mentor role - Fitz is entering a contract year.

I think Chad Pennington was going to try to come back, too, but then he tore his ACL in a basketball game. So Thigpen's really the only other QB on Miami's roster, so I wouldn't be shocked if they tried to retain him. But I think he'll likely hit free agency, so we're free to outbid them.

I'm not going to load up on him too much for the Whitner pick. If he said that Donte was the best SS left on the board, I'm not sure that he was totally wrong. After that, it's up to Marv/DJ for picking him instead of a clearly better defensive lineman. It's the guys who were totally unproductive that bug me more than the obviously wrong positional choices.

An A+ from Rick Gosselin is worth more than any other draft grade - he's clearly the guy most in line with NFL scouts, given how accurate his mocks are every year. Also, how can you give a team a D on draft day when you give all their high picks better grades. Does anyone think a team can blow their draft in the 7th round? That seems to be his major damage.

Donahoe was head and shoulders above Levy. He was a mediocre GM, sure, but Levy was probably the worst in the league. While Williams and Mularkey didn't work out as HCs, both remain highly respected coordiantors around the league who will likely get a second chance. Jauron will never be an HC again. Bledsoe is the best QB the team has had since Kelly retired. Lynch, Jackson, and Spiller never lived up to the seasons Henry and McGahee had. Lee Evans is only now being passed by a post-TD player. Donahoe gave us our best offensive lineman of the decade in Jason Peters, and two of our best DLs - Schobel and Sam Adams. Spikes and Fletcher. Clements, McGee, Vincent, and Milloy. The only players Marv/Brandon acquired that could beat out their Donahoe counterparts are Kyle Williams and Stevie Johnson.

We spent our first pick in the 1998, 2003, and 2005 drafts on quarterbacks.

Franchise QBs are found after the first 5 picks. Recently, you've got Josh Freeman at #17 (who is still a bit questionable, I admit), Joe Flacco at #18, Jay Cutler at #11, Aaron Rodgers at #24, Big Ben at #11, Schaub in the third round, and Drew Brees at #32. If we go 8-8 or worse, I think we have a reasonable chance at getting a prime QB prospect. 6-10, and we'll definitely be in the running.

Corner, McGee, and McKelvin are the only CBs currently on the roster. McGee is on his last legs and Corner is a marginal pro at best. Those guys have to come from somewhere.

Look, we all hate New England. But we can probably express that without "Putridz" and "Bellysick" and just call them by their names, so our comments will at least be comprehensible.

Not a Chan guy, not a Belichick guy, not a Rex guy...and so on for all 32 teams. Ouch.

I'm glancing over the past few drafts for similar trades. None are right on point, of course, but here's the ballpark: 2010 30 --> 34 netted Minnesota a swap of 4ths (moving up 28 spots) and a 7th. 39 --> 42 was worth a 5th. 42 --> 44 was worth a 6th. 47 --> 58 was worth a 3rd. 51 --> 62 was worth a 3rd. 2009 37 was worth a 2010 1st. 40 --> 47 was worth a 4th and a 6th 51 --> 75 was worth a 4th. So I think our trade down expectations would have to be a bit skimpier. The best option is swapping out for a 2012 first, I think, though Oakland didn't have a first this year and probably wouldn't want to trade out again. OTherwise, we could get a 3rd, and maybe a late round pick. Don't expect more, and thus, I think it's probably worth standing pat.

Bradykiller.

Of course, now they need to use the picks to get better, and they don't have a great track record of that.

I'm trying to remember the last time they took the guy I wanted them to take when I woke up in the morning. Lynch was close, though for some reason I remember thinking we had a shot at Peterson falling. I guess I was on board with Mike Williams (shows what I know).

Hilarious. How did Aaron Rodgers not win this?

I assume you're referring to the Philly Phanatic?

I do agree that the Panthers are not likely to be his new home. But "the biggest interview of his life" really includes everything he does from the last play of the season to the time he hears his name out of the commissioner's lips. These things don't exist in a vacuum, and if he really did wake up too hungover for a meeting with a pro team, he's probably undraftable. Of course, that doesn't mean that he didn't really have food poisoning or whatever.

An obvious typo; he meant DVR. Everyone is such a grammar nazi.

And this is how EA Sports learned never to let the fans vote for anything.

While it's certainly hard to imagine that Nix will end up worse than Jauron at IDing talent, I'm forced to withhold judgment until I actually see him make a few great draft picks. He's got one solid hit so far in Arthur Moats, with significant question marks remaining for all other selections. That doesn't mean that he won't be vindicated, but that he hasn't been proven right *yet*. Once the labor situation is resolved, it will be time for his choices to prove themselves.

If I conditioned my love of football on the players and owners being respectable, forthright, generous people who put the fans first and themselves second, I would have given up on the NFL years and years ago. But I didn't expect anything different (we knew this was coming for at least three years, after all) and I'm not losing any illusions. To some extent, the NFL should probably get credit for arranging the labor deal to sacrifice the offseason first, and the games second. The NHL lockout began after a completed offseason, giving fans trades, the draft, and free agency then snatching away the season itself. The MLB strike *interrupted* a season already in progress. For the moment, this is the most painless work stoppage in recent sports memory; when they actually cost us games, we can worry about that then.