More draft grades

[eball]

Yahoo Grades

 

I don't know Cole's background, but to me he summed up the Bills' draft perfectly:

 

"Not the sexiest draft, but it should be effective." Grade: B+

[BillsFan Trapped in Pats Land]

Yahoo Grades

 

I don't know Cole's background, but to me he summed up the Bills' draft perfectly:

 

"Not the sexiest draft, but it should be effective." Grade: B+

That about nails it.

[The Cincinnati Kid]

Agreed

[beausox]

Yahoo Grades

 

I don't know Cole's background, but to me he summed up the Bills' draft perfectly:

 

"Not the sexiest draft, but it should be effective." Grade: B+

The experts applaud a Best Athlete Available and critize when same team disregards Need. Why do I listen to their drivel?

[Reddy Freddy]

With all their reaches, I am annoyed that the Patriots are getting relatively good grades for their draft.

 

I agree with most here that grading a draft a day after it ends is downright silly. But if you're going to do that then you can only base it on 1) whether the team got good value and avoided reaching, and 2) whether the team filled positions of need. The Patriots did terribly by the first measure and only adequate by the second measure, so the good grades they receive are solely on the basis of their track record and the media's lovegasm with the Pats.

[JasoninMT]

If you trade down - draft media love your move...

 

If you trade up - they think you're reaching...

 

I think a B+ is appropriate for the Bills. We didn't draft a Center... Oh well, we can try the FA market... We didn't draft a backup QB.. I guess they really like Edwards and think he'll be amazing - so next year when JP doesn't sign w/ us and we draft a rookie we won't have to start from scratch... This wasn't the best draft for QBs anyways - and we weren't going to spend a high pick on one... I'm glad they didn't trade up, and I like the picks for the most part. Restocked some ST players, grabbed a top CB who'll help right away. And got a red zone threat... Maybe a better TE candidate would have been more sexy, but at least they got a red zone threat in Hardy. I think he'll be the #2 this year - maybe not at the start of the season, but we'll see how camp goes.

[Pyrite Gal]

With all their reaches, I am annoyed that the Patriots are getting relatively good grades for their draft.

 

I agree with most here that grading a draft a day after it ends is downright silly. But if you're going to do that then you can only base it on 1) whether the team got good value and avoided reaching, and 2) whether the team filled positions of need. The Patriots did terribly by the first measure and only adequate by the second measure, so the good grades they receive are solely on the basis of their track record and the media's lovegasm with the Pats.

Though the Pats appear have done on the test by cheating (or even if they did not cheat have come off to their opponents as snotty which simply makes the game less entertaining to lose to them) I think rationally we have to admit that this test has a curve to it for grading purposes.

 

There are either more than the two methods you suggest of measuring whether it was a good draft or not, or at the very least different measures which should be used for assessing adequacy based on where a team is in terms of achievement.

 

The Pats (like it or not but amusingly to me because losing only the last game his a hilarious comeupance for their snottiness) simply have a different standard for judging their draft than those of us at 7-9. This is true not simply because the Pats think they are special (which they are not and going 18 and ONE shows this) but simply because they need different things to potentially come back than we do. An example of this same phenomena is the Jags who struck me as reaching a lot to trade up merely to get Harvey, but I understand that they feel they are merely a pass rusher away from reaching the Big Show so in this case a reach beyond getting a good value may be just what they need to do in order to achieve their goals.

 

Likewise I agree the Pats reached for some of their picks, but their need to retool after doing some things like having a bunch of old men lead them at LB to the SB means the piper needs to be paid somehow. The Pats have made a rational attempt to build on some phenomenal assets (Brady/Moss/Welker for example) by reaching and taking longshots to fill as quickly as they can holes created by their decisions at LB and holes created by the decisions of now non-Pats like Samuel and Gay at DB.

 

The neat thing about this for us Pats dislikers is that because of their rational reaches, they stand a far better than even chance of crashing and burning this season. This fall will made even harder by the lofty Icarian levels they reached with the ONE-18 record and by Pats ball washers declaring this draft so wonderful.

 

BB is like it or not a master tactical coach. However this is a team which has had clear weaknesses in their OL and pass protection schemes shown in the last SB and these weaknesses allow for nullification of one of their prime assets (Brady/Moss/Welker). Its easy for me to see the possibilities with the rookies developing more slowly than they wish, a couple of strategic injuries and opponents picking on the areas of weakness they showed to see them go south in a hurry in 08.

 

Who knows maybe BB can lead them to reverse these deficits with good work and some luck. However, this is a situation where the margins are thin enough that even with good work they may end up with a much worse W/L. 08 may be a very fun year for those who dislike the Pats and those who sing the praises of their draft have simply made the fall harder and the shangfreude of defeat even more fun to experience.

[BuckeyeBill]

Pats grade was too high... probably because they are the Patriots. No way that Mayo will be better for the Patriots than McKelvin would have been. I think they made a blunder there and the Bills are the team that benefits.