Anyone else hate the mock draft "catfishing" that goes on this time of year?

[dollars 2 donuts]

15 hours ago, HOUSE said:

I apologize

 

 

Great...now I feel like a d***.  

 

No, I apologize. 

 

However, when my wife asks me when I get home, as she does invariably, "Was House as funny as he always is today?"

 

I can stare into the distance and tell her, "He...was human today...Now, are the hot dogs and beans ready?"

 

 

 

 

Edited April 20, 2023 by dollars 2 donuts

[Sierra Foothills]

3 hours ago, inaugural balls said:

A Doobie-ous post to be sure… 

 

Oh brother... 

 

1 hour ago, Yawning Frog said:

All this mock draft  is getting tiresome. Then these morons start on the Sunday after the draft for next year  

 

On the other hand, no one's forcing anyone to read anything.

 

Better too many mock drafts than not enough... ditto with scouting reports and also draft rankings. More viewpoints are better when it comes to this sort of stuff.

 

[msw2112]

1 hour ago, BillsNutHawaii said:

Will do.

 

On a somewhat more serious note, I see some people giving others grief for looking ahead to future drafts.  Speaking for myself only, I like to look ahead for a few reasons:

 

- I know Bills management is looking ahead, and being a fan of the team I enjoy speculating what they may be planning / observing.

- Future mock drafts (1-2 years out) give me an idea who to pay attention to in college football.  So many teams, so little time, the future mock drafts help me to narrow my focus when watching the college FB action.

- On a personal level, I enjoy the planning process.  In fact, I do it for a living for the US Government here in Hawaii.  So that extends to my hobbies like following the Bills.

 

Government hours, government benefits, and living in Hawaii!  Congrats to you, friend.  You have it figured out and I am jealous.  And while I agree that mock drafts can be riduculous and a waste time, for some, it's entertainment and it's OK for people who are interested to spend time looking at them, preparing them, etc.  For me, I will occasionally look at them, for two reasons a) just to get an idea of who are the consensus top players out there; and b) to forumate my own opinions on who the Bills might be interested in.  I don't invest a lot of time in them, but I don't have a lot of free time to begin with.

[HurlyBurly51]

[Yawning Frog]

11 minutes ago, Sierra Foothills said:

 

Oh brother... 

 

 

On the other hand, no one's forcing anyone to read anything.

 

Better too many mock drafts than not enough... ditto with scouting reports and also draft rankings. More viewpoints are better when it comes to this sort of stuff.

 

I'm not reading any of the boring mock drafts they just keep getting thrown in my face anytime I click on anything I want to read. If you like the endless sea of mock drafts more power to you but to me, they are as interesting as watching grass grow.

[ColoradoBills]

Catfish Hunter belongs with Pop.

 

 

[Fan in Chicago]

5 hours ago, Buffalo03 said:

Pretty mama, gonna make everything all right
And I ain't got no worries
'Cause I ain't in no hurry at all

Stop hitting on her. 😀

1 hour ago, TampaBillsJunkie said:

Catfish Hunter. 7th Round flyer.  They are bringing him in as a QB for Terrell Owens. It's age appropriate. 

Catfish Rising. The last good Jethro Tull album from 30 years back 

[TheBrownBear]

6 hours ago, Beck Water said:

Maybe catfishing not the right word. 

 

Example: I'm scrolling on my phone and "Chargers trade Austin Ekeler to Eagles for late 1st" strikes my eyeballs.

 

Then I read "Seven Round Mock Draft" and "Chiefs take 3 WR".

 

Oh.

 

Wish I were savvy enough to adjust my newsfeed to not show me shite like that.

Well, you just ensured that you'll get 3x as many of these articles going forward.

[cwater10]

 

Please DO NOT use that word...

[BillsNutHawaii]

1 hour ago, msw2112 said:

 

Government hours, government benefits, and living in Hawaii!  Congrats to you, friend.  You have it figured out and I am jealous.  And while I agree that mock drafts can be riduculous and a waste time, for some, it's entertainment and it's OK for people who are interested to spend time looking at them, preparing them, etc.  For me, I will occasionally look at them, for two reasons a) just to get an idea of who are the consensus top players out there; and b) to forumate my own opinions on who the Bills might be interested in.  I don't invest a lot of time in them, but I don't have a lot of free time to begin with.

I know you wont believe it, but I'm jealous of you (Assuming you're in the Western NY area?)  In fact, I'm planning to leave Hawaii as soon as possible to go retire in Rochester / Webster NY.  And further, Western NY is where I go on vacation 1-2 times per year.  Who would think that - right ? LOL.

[Sierra Foothills]

1 hour ago, Yawning Frog said:

I'm not reading any of the boring mock drafts they just keep getting thrown in my face anytime I click on anything I want to read. If you like the endless sea of mock drafts more power to you but to me, they are as interesting as watching grass grow.

 

As an ardent Bills fan of many years I easily recall the days before Joel Buschbaum and Mel Kiper... the early "draftnicks."

 

I remember the complete desert that used to exist around the draft and I want to assure all, that when you have professionals who devote their careers to providing free draft content to those who have an appetite for it... it's a much better world. Please take it from me that it's much better than reading Milt Northrop or Larry Felser writing about players they've never even seen play. I remember asking Felser about Tim Couch once. Talk about disappointment...

 

Put differently it's much better to ignore the abundance (aka "riches") than it is to live with scarcity... or to complain about having too much of a good thing.

[Thurman#1]

9 hours ago, Beck Water said:

Maybe catfishing not the right word. 

 

Example: I'm scrolling on my phone and "Chargers trade Austin Ekeler to Eagles for late 1st" strikes my eyeballs.

 

Then I read "Seven Round Mock Draft" and "Chiefs take 3 WR".

 

Oh.

 

Wish I were savvy enough to adjust my newsfeed to not show me shite like that.

 

 

 

I didn't see that, but it would have irritated the crap out of me too.

[Thurman#1]

5 hours ago, hondo in seattle said:

Sportswriters need content.  So when there is no news, they invent some:  mock drafts, trade rumors, refuted trade rumors, speculation...

 

 

This stuff I don't mind at all.

 

To me, making your mock different is totally sensible, because there will absolutely be major surprises in the draft. 

 

When people mock the same sorts of things everyone else is, people scream "Oh, he's just copying Kiper," or whoever. I understand that stuff totally.

 

What I hate is what I think Beck Water was angry at, the headline implying that the move in the mock had really happened. Really frustrating. But it's mostly the headline writers rather than the content providers at fault when I get pissed.

Edited April 20, 2023 by Thurman#1

[Thurman#1]

1 hour ago, Sierra Foothills said:

 

As an ardent Bills fan of many years I easily recall the days before Joel Buschbaum and Mel Kiper... the early "draftnicks."

 

I remember the complete desert that used to exist around the draft and I want to assure all, that when you have professionals who devote their careers to providing free draft content to those who have an appetite for it... it's a much better world. Please take it from me that it's much better than reading Milt Northrop or Larry Felser writing about players they've never even seen play. I remember asking Felser about Tim Couch once. Talk about disappointment...

 

Put differently it's much better to ignore the abundance (aka "riches") than it is to live with scarcity... or to complain about having too much of a good thing.

 

 

Yes. I remember that too.

[Beck Water]

20 minutes ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

This stuff I don't mind at all.

 

To me, making your mock different is totally sensible, because there will absolutely be major surprises in the draft. 

 

When people mock the same sorts of things everyone else is, people scream "Oh, he's just copying Kiper," or whoever. I understand that stuff totally.

 

What I hate is what I think Beck Water was angry at, the headline implying that the move in the mock had really happened. Really frustrating. But it's mostly the headline writers rather than the content providers at fault when I get pissed.

 

Exactly.  You understand completely. 

I have nothing whatsoever against mock drafts.  They're not my personal football coverage of choice, but I "get it" that they have a market, some people enjoy them and love to discuss them.  I appreciate all the effort guys on this board like @Virgil and @GunnerBill put into them and I've told them so!

 

But they aren't pretending to be anything but what they are: a fan mock draft.

 

What grinds my gears a bit is what I call "catfishing", trying to draw people in pretending to be something else, writing as though a trade that's part off a mock draft has actually happened.  And yeah, you're right, it's probably on the headline writer if different than the content creator.

3 hours ago, TheBrownBear said:

Well, you just ensured that you'll get 3x as many of these articles going forward.

 

How is that?  Enquiring minds wish to be enlightened regarding the mysteries of content curation on the Interwebs. 

 

All I know is I'm seeing a lot of Sam Fricker reels on Facebook and every time I yell at the screen "No!  That's @GunnerBill 's content!"

Edited April 20, 2023 by Beck Water

[Freddie's Dead]

11 hours ago, Beast said:

Got ya!

 

You beat me to it.

[Yawning Frog]

13 hours ago, Sierra Foothills said:

 

As an ardent Bills fan of many years I easily recall the days before Joel Buschbaum and Mel Kiper... the early "draftnicks."

 

I remember the complete desert that used to exist around the draft and I want to assure all, that when you have professionals who devote their careers to providing free draft content to those who have an appetite for it... it's a much better world. Please take it from me that it's much better than reading Milt Northrop or Larry Felser writing about players they've never even seen play. I remember asking Felser about Tim Couch once. Talk about disappointment...

 

Put differently it's much better to ignore the abundance (aka "riches") than it is to live with scarcity... or to complain about having too much of a good thing.

[Big Turk]

Once April rolls around I assume if someone is talking they are lying.

[Einstein's Dog]

I agree the deliberately misleading headlines are annoying.  Had one in this forum and the admins took care of it. 

 

I do however love looking at the mocks put out by the various sites.  I wish the forum had a running tab of these, and this is different than the ones done by posters in simulators.  Like the Kiper one.

 

For instance, this morning's CBS one by Chris Trapasso had the Bills move down to #29 from the Saints and take the man Jack Campbell.  In this one Addison went #17, Q Johnston went #22, at #27 went D Kincaid, and after the Bills pick at #30 went D Wright.  Second round Bills took the TE S Laporta, pick 71 (from Saints) took Colby Wooden DL, and pick 91 took Warren McClendon OT.

[msw2112]

16 hours ago, BillsNutHawaii said:

I know you wont believe it, but I'm jealous of you (Assuming you're in the Western NY area?)  In fact, I'm planning to leave Hawaii as soon as possible to go retire in Rochester / Webster NY.  And further, Western NY is where I go on vacation 1-2 times per year.  Who would think that - right ? LOL.

 

I don't live in WNY, but would love to find my way back there.  So, yes, I get it!  That said, Hawaii does sound like a nice place to be.  Hopefully, you make it back to Rochester (my dad's hometown) and have a nice government pension to enjoy in your retirement there.