NFL 2008

[shiznitz]

I am happy (as an Eagles fan) to see the Cowboys wallow in franchise disputes and idiocy.

[Paelos]

Tony Gonzalez gets traded to Atlanta for a 2nd round draft pick in 2010. Dumbest move ever by the Chiefs? 

[HaemishM]

He is getting a bit long in the tooth, and for a team that's looking to rebuild, he's probably not in the 3-4 year outlook. Whereas Atlanta could use him RIGHT NOW and maybe next year to give some coverage to that good young QB. KC won't be making the playoffs, Atlanta probably will. Probably should have gotten something in this year's draft for him, though, but there might have been salary cap considerations.

[Rasix]

Tony Gonzalez gets traded to Atlanta for a 2nd round draft pick in 2010. Dumbest move ever by the Chiefs? 

Second round pick seems to be the standard price for good players that you can't realistically resign and have no desire to play for your team.  And yah, bonus points if they're considered past their prime.

Randy Moss, Matt Cassel, etc.  Ohh hey, they all have Scott Pioli's  stamp on it.

[naum]

Tony Gonzalez gets traded to Atlanta for a 2nd round draft pick in 2010. Dumbest move ever by the Chiefs? 

Eh, his value declined precipitously after 2008 season.

I'd say that's a fair trade for a guy with fading star power that might be apt to perform at above-average replacement level for a season or two.

[Abagadro]

Two Utes go in the second round.

What's a Ute?

[Rasix]

Are the Raiders retarded?

There were relatively few dumb picks, but theirs shone like a beacon on a hill.  Feel free to quote and mock me once Darius Heyward-Bey becomes the next Jerry Rice instead of just another speedster bust. The other guy they picked might have ended up not drafted at all.

Cardinals pick was a bit dicey.  I hope Beanie can hold up.  Would have been nice if Donald Brown would have fallen a few more spots.

[JWIV]

Are the Raiders retarded?

There were relatively few dumb picks, but theirs shone like a beacon on a hill.  Feel free to quote and mock me once Darius Heyward-Bey becomes the next Jerry Rice instead of just another speedster bust. The other guy they picked might have ended up not drafted at all.

Cardinals pick was a bit dicey.  I hope Beanie can hold up.  Would have been nice if Donald Brown would have fallen a few more spots.

I really hate the money being demanded at the top of the draft.  41M guaranteed as  a rookie is ludicrous.

[Abagadro]

Are the Raiders retarded?

Yes. Next question.

[naum]

I really hate the money being demanded at the top of the draft.  41M guaranteed as  a rookie is ludicrous.

Would make me want to trade top pick status for multiple lesser rank picks…

…but then I'm no NFL GM.

[HaemishM]

Are the Raiders retarded?

Yes. Next question.

Seconded. FFS, just look at the years since they were in the Super Bowl with the Bucs. They've performed horribly, made shitty draft picks, bad trades, and fired multiple coaches. I really think Al Davis has gone completely off the deep end, even more so than he already was.

[Bungee]

I really hate the money being demanded at the top of the draft.  41M guaranteed as  a rookie is ludicrous.

Would make me want to trade top pick status for multiple lesser rank picks…

…but then I'm no NFL GM.

Unless the Raiders are outside the top 10, no one will want your pick. Except for the Jets maybe.

[Paelos]

Drafts are funny because almost everyone who picks a skill player ends up looking like an idiot, or they are constantly judged. While everyone who takes a lineman (like you should) rarely takes any shit because real fans realize where the NFL actually hinges.

HINT: Trenches.

[JWIV]

Drafts are funny because almost everyone who picks a skill player ends up looking like an idiot, or they are constantly judged. While everyone who takes a lineman (like you should) rarely takes any shit because real fans realize where the NFL actually hinges.

HINT: Trenches.

Baltimore is as good an example as any.  There's a serious vocal minority that is screaming bloody murder over not picking up a WR in the draft while everyone else is thrilled that we picked up what appears to be a solid upgrade for the O-Line in Oher.

[HaemishM]

Why would Baltimore choose a wideout? There weren't any standout WR in this draft, meaning anybody you get should be a 3-year development project. They did well with really 2nd tier and older receivers last year. Protect the young QB, get a running game and make sure any WR you get, you bring along slowly. I swear, some fans are fucking retards.

[Nebu]

99% of fans don't understand the game on the X and O scale.  It's complicated. 

All I have to say about the draft is who is getting paid to scout for Oakland?   

[Rasix]

Why would Baltimore choose a wideout? There weren't any standout WR in this draft, meaning anybody you get should be a 3-year development project.

Crabtree and Nicks I though were NFL ready and stud-potential wideouts. But Crabtree was gone and Nicks would have been a reach.  If a stud OL is available and you need one, you better take him. Hell, Jacksonsville took 2 of them.  There were a lot of decent WR available late in this draft.  Ones that I think will all have better careers than Harvin, Bey, Robiske or others taken ahead of them.  WRs in the first round are always dicey; I saw an article last year in SI that showed very few manage not to be busts.  It's probably as bad as drafting a QB #1.

There didn't seem to be a lot of "ohh, shit" type talent in this draft, but solid players could be found for a number of rounds.

[HaemishM]

Sure, but for Baltimore, they don't really even need a top-tier wideout to be successful, so them pissing away a first-round pick on one would have been idiotic. Like you said, first-round WR's are dicey and always expensive.

[Nebu]

I think this brings up a question that I've debated for many years when it comes to the NFL (or any draft): 

Do you take the best player at a needed position or do you take the best available talent regardless of need?   I'm likely to err on the side of the latter since you can always trade for what you need and perceived value seems to be everything in the NFL. 

[Hoax]

Bengals had a great draft until after the 5th round, then it became fucking silly.  Two more RB's when you can't keep the ones you've got on the roster?  The fuck?

Raiders clearly had the worst draft of the year, I get to see Crabtree a bunch and Beanie twice a year minimum, that is exciting.

[Montague]

Cardinals pick was a bit dicey.  I hope Beanie can hold up.  Would have been nice if Donald Brown would have fallen a few more spots.

If he does hold up you have a true stud. Those Ohio State offensive lines were total shit (3 seniors graduated this year and none were drafted), teams stacked 8-9 in the box to stop him and Pryor, and he still got 6 yards a carry.

[HaemishM]

I was surprised by the Cardinals' pick of Wells. Shouldn't they have gotten some O-linemen, considering that's been their biggest problem for years now?

[Rasix]

I was surprised by the Cardinals' pick of Wells. Shouldn't they have gotten some O-linemen, considering that's been their biggest problem for years now?

They needed an every down back.  They're not convinced that Tim Hightower is that guy as he seems to be more of a short yardage back at the moment.  Wells has the potential to be a standout. 

Their line right now isn't that bad.  They just hadn't been healthy at all until last year. They likely didn't have anyone rated high enough for them to justify that pick over Wells or Brown.  They did pick guards in rounds 5 & 7.

[Hoax]

I think Freeman may have a better career with the Bears then Wells will have in Arizona.  I'd love to see him be dominant but he's always seemed too much like Clarett mentally for me to be comfortable.

[JWIV]

Oh for gods sake.

GO SELL SOME JEANS OR SOMETHING BRETT.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4142857

Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress and quarterback Brett Favre plan to meet at an undisclosed location later this week to discuss the possibility of the former Packers and Jets quarterback renouncing his retirement from the NFL to play the 2009 season with the Vikings, according to a source with direct knowledge of discussions between the two parties.

[Nebu]

Sadly, Favre or even Elway for that matter, are still better than half of the QB's in the NFL.   Can't say that I blame the vikings.  They need the experience and a passing threat to go with the ground game.

[Paelos]

If he comes back again, the league should just hire somebody to break his legs. That would put a stop to this nonsense.

[HaemishM]

Are you kidding? The league LOVES the publicity. And Favre I think just really really really wants to stick it to the Packers. He has got some serious sand in his vagina against that franchise (or at least its current management) and would love nothing better than to win a Super Bowl with a rival team, especially if that rival is Minnesota. It's gotten sad, though. The last games of this past season proved that it's really time for Favre to not play football anymore. He doesn't need the money, and I don't think his arm can hold up for a full season.

[WayAbvPar]

It is getting to the point that I will be rooting for a career ending injury for Brett, and I have always liked him. I am just fucking sick of his coy bullshit.

[Nebu]

Damn you guys are hostile.  It's tough to stop being an athlete when you've known nothing else.  Favre played well last year.  He may very well have 2-3 more seasons in him.  If he can get a paycheck for doing what he loves, why the hell not?

[WayAbvPar]

I don't begrudge him playing until he is 50 if he wants. I am just sick and fucking tired of every single offseason being about him retiring and then unretiring. Don't fucking go through the whole song and dance if there is even a chance you will change your mind 3 months later.

[Rasix]

Favre played well last year.

He played well for 4 games. If you take out only the Cardinals game, he threw 16 TDs and 21 interceptions.  His last 5 games the split was 2 TDs 9 ints. 

Like Way, I'd just like him to stop treating football like boxing. Teary retirement speeches should be a once in a career type thing.  To don the tin foil hat, this all seems orchestrated since he couldn't pick his team later year.

[Nebu]

I stand corrected.  Favre did have a better QB rating in 2008 than 10 or 11 other regular starters.  You're correct in that's not exactly a Hall of Fame benchmark.  For someone at the end of their career, that's not terrible.  His QB rating was over 80.  Better than Flacco, Collins, and Roethlessberger.

[Rasix]

Guess what those 3 guys did that he didn't do?  I'll give you couple guesses. 

Those are horrible examples anyhow.  You should know why.

[Nebu]

I'm just saying that for a guy in the waning years of his career, he put up a respectable showing.