I'll have to disagree with you again here. Matthews is a better pass-rusher and tackler than either Cushings or Sintim. Both of which will probably be gone by our 2nd round pick.

Freeman can drop in a Zone, but I'd say that Matthews has the better ability of being able to match up in Man-to-Man coverage.

There will be a bit of learning for him at the next level because of the type of Defense he played in at USC. However, most players will go through some type of adjustment. His fundamentals are solid though, so he should not take long to make an impact.

If I didn't know better, I'd say you were from Tampa Bay or New England and was hoping he'd slide down to your slot. :cool:

Revision #27

1. LB Clay Matthews USC
2. OC Eric Wood Louisville
3. SS Chip Vaughn Wake Forest
4. FS David Bruton Notre Dame
4. DE Kyle Moore USC
5. LB Scott McKillop Pittsburgh
6. RB Ian Johnson Boise State
7. WR Demetrius Byrd LSU

FAs
RB Javarris Williams Tenn State 5' 9 1/2" 223 4.51
DE Victor Butler Oregon St 6' 2" 248 4.77
DT Myron Pryor Kentucky 6' 0 1/4" 319 5.08

Aren't you worried about Eric Wood's alligator arms, or do you believe arm lenght is less important in the interior line?

How short are his arms?

Of course, an OT needs to have longer arms than an interior OG or OC, but I don't necessarily want a T-Rex playing OC either.

Roy, I agree to disagree, and no, I'm not a troll from another team. I'm from Houston, but now reside in Katy.

Anyway, I don't understand how you can say Matthews has better man on man skills than Freeman when he has three times more experience and usually maned the OLB. Lets look at their Soph. and Junior years(2006,2007), for example.

After this I'm finished talking about CM till draft day.

Freeman was already a second year starter in 2007, he was second team all big ten, had 109 TT, 9.5 TFL, and 5 PBU. He started 11 out of 13 games in 2006, had 71 TT, 2.5 TFL, 1 SKS, 2 INT, and 6 PBU, also had 15 TKL in the BCS game that year.

Matthews was a backup linebacker in 2007, he started 2 games, had 17 TT , 3 TFL, 1 PBU. He was also a special teams player and had 2 FF and 2 BLK to his credit. In 2006 he had 15 TT and 1.5 TFL.

I don't know where his cover skills are gonna come from or how he's gonna be better than Freemans without real game experience. Freeman covered receivers and TE's frequently in the Texas vs OSU game, and did it well, check out youtube. Granted they both had good senior years, but Freeman is the more experienced and polished OLB43 at this point, IMO.

Also, OSU's pro day was the 17th, and he ran a 4.51 and 4.52 forty, 4.08 short shuttle, and a 6.66 three cone, surpassing all of Matthews times, and also Aaron Curry.:cool:

On a side note, I was thinking our rush defense was pretty pathetic last year, so here's my new mock emphasizing better rush protection:

1)Peria Jerry DT Ole Miss
2)Marcus Freeman OLB OSU
3)Andre Brown RB N.C. St.
4)Jason Williams OLB W. Ill.
4)Stryker Sulak DE Mizzou
5)Courtney Greene FS Rutgers
6)Sammie Lee Hill DT Stillman
7)D.J. Clark CB Idaho St

ok.

Me too.

This is why I only compare times at the Combine when everyone has had the same amount of time to prepare for the same conditions on the same turf.

And he played safety in HS. The kid is versatile and willing to work hard, also he chasing a ghost and he seems to willing to catch'em.

Now that I've updated my draft board once again, I ran it against the DraftTek mock.

15. WR Jeremy Maclin Missouri
46. FS William Moore Missouri
77. SS Chip Vaughn Wake Forest
112. CB Keenan Lewis Oregon St
122. LB Scott McKillop Pittsburgh
152. RB Javarris Williams Tenn State (I seriously considerd JP Wilson)
188. RB Ian Johnson Boise State
223. DT Roy Miller Texas (I thought about Victor Butler)

McKillop played MLB in college, but I think he'd be able to play SAM and be a HUGE contributor on Special Teams. Javarris Williams is my sleeper Big Back.

I think it's time to book this draft. Roy, I could live with this one. But our friends will all complain because you did not draft a DE.

or a C/G?

One of my predominate goals this off-season is for Kasey Studdard to not make this year's team. And, unfortunately, that draft isn't going to get it done.

dale, he is going to make this team even if we spend a 1st rounder on OG, you haven't figured that out yet?

In the one on one drill at the open practices Studdard had his ass handed to him on a constant basis, yet Frye, who looked better to me, was let go. Studdard has photos of Kubiak somewhere, otherwise it makes no sense.

I think letting Brandon Frye go last season is the biggest off-field mistake the organization has made since early 2006. I'm still pissed about it. Why on earth these guys can't tell that Studdard has no business playing professional football, I have no idea. I would love to sit down with Kubiak and watch the Cowboy preseason game from last season on the coaches tape while he explains Studdard's play each snap. That would make for some interesting conversation!

Do you remember the Arnold Schwartzenegger movie with Danny Devito? Twins! Anyway, I like to refer to Studdard as Vince Young's twin... you know, the leftover DNA kind of accidently formed a blob of crap after producing Vince Young. That's why those two guys are so chummy. They're related!

If we traded down and got an extra 3rd and 4th round pick, I could draft Bruton to play FS, get Wood in the 2nd round, and get a DE in the 3rd like Sidbury or Cody Brown.

I've got a feeling Sidbury is going a lot earlier than most people think. Casserly said a scout is calling him a late 1 to mid 2nd type player. Maybe that scout was really his agent, but he has made a name for himself since they misspelled his name at the Shriners game.

Damn it! I wanted Sidbuby in the 3rd! :mad:

Okay, here's my first stab at things playing around with two early trade downs. I didn't get too specific with my trades, so here are two approximated trades:
1. 15 - 26, 57
2. 26- 37, 68

so, here you go:

37. Larry English
46. Eric Wood
57. W. Moore
68. Shonn Greene
77. Ellerbe
112. Bruton
122. Terrence Taylor
148. J. Knox
185. Javaris Williams
226. PJ Hill


thoughts?

as for me, it seems clear that we really need to work hard to trade down into those middle rounds. I don't have the chart in front of me, but I'm pretty sure those values are quite attainable.

15 for 26 & 57 makes us short 20 points, so maybe we get an extra 6th rounder (185 for example). Is that your Javarris Williams pick? We already have #188.

26 for 37 & 68 is 80 points to valuable, so we'd have to give up #112 (70 points) to make it comparable.

Here's a mock with only one trade: 15 to Phillie for 28 and 53.

28. Clint Sintim
46. Sean Smith
53. Eric Wood
77. Shonn Greene
112. David Bruton
122. Terrence Taylor
5th. Javaris Williams
6th. Quann Cosby
7th. Lydon Murtha

I really love this one. But, I'm skeptical about Sean Smith lasting that late after his pro day results and certainly I've been skeptical about Shonn Greene last into the third round. Thoughts?

I like the players but I think its even more unlikely that Wood is still available in the middle of the third round than Smith in the second.
Re Smith, yea Utah doesn't have that same ring to it as "The Ohio state" university when it comes to football pedigree, but the reality is Smith is very comparable to Malcolm Jenkins but even bigger.

Sintim played for Virginia right...since there's a law that we take at least one Virginia player every year I've been thinking that we somehow end up with him. SLB/RDE type right?

pick #53 (Eric Wood) is the 21st pick of the 2nd round... certainly, he could be gone by then, but I think it's reasonable that he could be there.

Woops ! You're right, I shot without aiming. I saw your first 3 picks but didn't check the trade and assumed it was rounds 1, 2 , 3 for those 3 picks. Sorry !
Anyway, I'd love to make that trade and end up with 2 second rounders no matter who we might end up taking.

I took a long look at Shonn Greene vs. Rashad Jennings in my mock. I also considered Andre Brown at #53. This is who I selected...
Sel--Pos--Name-----------School---------Index
28.--DT--Ziggy Hood-------Missouri-------5.79
46.--OC--Eric Wood--------Louisville------5.00
53.--DE--Paul Kruger-------Utah----------4.82
77.--RB--Rashad Jennings--Liberty--------5.76
112.-SS--David Bruton-----Notre Dame----5.75
122.-LB--Scott McKillop----Pittsburgh-----5.58
5th.-FS--Chris Clemons----Clemson--------5.09
6th.-DT--Roy Miller--------Texas----------5.31
7th.-CB--Don Carey-------Norfolk State---4.84

I am under the impressions that Ziggy Hood and Okoye can both play at the same time, moving TJ to the bench as part of a rotation. When we need to stop the run on goal line situations, Roy Miller can play a more traditional NT.

Paul Kruger is my situational pass-rusher. He is a cheaper version of Clint Sintim, in my opinion. Kruger is also better against the run.

As I said, I debated Greene vs. Jennings at #77. I took Jennings because he's a little more agile and explosive. He also is younger, so we may see him continue to improve. Greene was productive last year in college, but he may be at his maximum potential since he's already 24 years old.

Unfortunately, I was unable to garner a WLB in this draft. McKillop is a run-stuffing SAM. I was holding out hope that McGrath would be on the board at #112, since I was unable to draft Matthews in the 1st round.

I am pleased to have Bruton, Clemons, and Carey to add to the Secondary.

Wood is my favorite pick because he can play RG or OC.

Well, I wouldn't worry about WLB in the draft now, we just signed Cato June in addition to Buster Davis. That give us 8 LBs that I think belong in the NFL (perhaps Buster Davis doesn't, we'll see) and all of them, with the exception of Chaun Thompson can play WLB: DRyans, Bentley, Adibi, Diles, Coley, CJune, BDavis

Outside of Bently though I don't think we have a true Sam on the Roster.

I imagine that it kinda looks like this now:

SLB:

Bentley competes with Diles and Coley

MLB:

Ryans is the starter with Diles, Cato June and Possibly Coley as the backups

WLB:

Adibi competes with Cato June, Buster Davis, and Diles

DRyans, Bentley, Adibi, Diles, Coley, CJune, BDavis

I would guess that if we do not draft any LBs, we are looking at Bentley, Ryans, June as the starters.

Chaun Thompson is a true SAM. He got hurt in pre-season and was forgotten about. But, his playing weight is about 255 lbs. He's a good pass rusher and is also athletic enough to deal with many TEs. He's still young, under contract, and has had some NFL success. In 2005, starting for Cleveland, he had 5 sacks and 84 tackles playing ROLB. He lost his starting job with the coaching change in 2006.

I think Adibi is the favorite to start at WILL. Also, I think CThompson has a shot at SAM. Supposedly, Adibi has added some good weight and looks much more the part. I think Cato June is likely to sub in on passing downs.

Diles was the leading tackler on the team until he was hurt, do you see him getting beat out if he comes back 100%?

Diles is not a very good football player. I don't understand why there is opinion to the contrary.

I seriously hope that he gets beat out.

Going just on the stats, which I understand can lie. In 8 games last year he had 66 tackles, 1 sack, 2 passes defended, and 1 int. Double that and you have an idea of what his totals for the year may have been. That would put him almost in the top 10 LB column stat wise.

I dont have tape to go back to, but I seem to recall that he made some pretty good plays. I would like to know why you dont think he is a good football player though.

And now to get us back on Tek, their draft for April 6th, number 33, has us taking:
15 Knowshon Moreno RBF Georgia
46 DJ Moore CB Vanderbilt
77 Patrick Chung SS Oregon
112 Ricky Jean-Francois DT43 LSU
122 Scott McKillop ILB Pittsburgh
152 Richard Quinn TE North Carolina
188 Andrew Gardner OT Georgia Tech
223 Sammy Stroughter WRS Oregon St

Time for a my cherry pick with the 28 and 53:
28 Connor Barwin OLB34 Cincinnati
46 Eric Wood OC Louisville
53 William Moore FS Missouri
77 Patrick Chung SS Oregon
112 Kevin Barnes CB Maryland
122 Gregory Toler CB St.Paul Virginia
152 Johnny Knox WRS Abilene Christian
188 Javarris Williams RBF Tennessee State
223 Ryan Purvis TE Boston College

Barwin will be a pass rush specialist as he learn the SAM LB position.
Woods will get time at both RG while he learn the line call.
Moore and Chung, why? Because. Hindsight I go Andre Brown RBF North Carolina St instead of Moore.

Tolar is the pet small school project to soon guy.
Oh and Knox is to small WR guy, bye bye Jacoby.
Williams because he is the best RB available in 3 round and I was starting to panic.
Purvis can block inline and has receiving skills.,

Did you think Foreman was to ten LB? he had a couple of years with huge stats? I'm not saying Diles is bad, I'm just saying high tackle total is not the whole story.

Do teams have to game plan around a player, until they do that player can be upgraded.

I don't think anyone was saying that. Statistics don't tell the whole story but they do indicate production. Myself and others wonder why so much draft focus has been at LB, not because we have 3 all-pros starting there. Instead, it's because I think we all see youth, some depth, and a number of players that looked like they belonged in the NFL. Meanwhile, if you look at our serious lack of depth at RB, interior OL, and a real lack of production and athleticism from the saftey position then LB hardly seems like a position to be targeted in the first round.

We aren't spending a 1st round pick on a RB to be Slaton's relief, according to the coach. Generally speaking, you don't spend a 1st round pick on an interior lineman. Lastly, there really isn't a 1st round quality Safety in this draft. So, that why concentration has been on LB.

We've spent 1st round picks on TJ and Okoye, so I'm sure that there would be much grumbling about doing that again, especially after signing Shaun Cody (unless we trade Travis during the draft).

Having signed a DE to replace Weaver, I'm not sure if it would be a good strategy to draft a 1st round player with the amount of guaranteed money he'd make, to come in on 3rd downs.

The CB situation with Dunta may make a 1st round pick on one possible. However, Jenkins doesn't appear to fit our system and Davis has some issues that need to be looked into. Maybe Darius Butler, but I'm not sure how much of an "impact" he'd have.

It's kind of a logical deduction that LB is the place to go, which makes the Cato June signing a little remarkable.

Well, hopefully that is a bit of misdirection because it sure is foolish to make those kinds of announcements before the draft. Also, if they are going to target a specific position (LB), then they had better be willing and determined to trade down instead a reach for the guy. I like what they did last year with Duane Brown... they sat at their spot hoping someone like Brandon Albert would fall to them, then, instead of reaching for Brown they traded down and took him later. Perhaps it was still a reach, but I don't have a problem going after him after they accumulated some extra picks.

I just hope the Bills don't draft our guy at #11.

IMO, I think the positions on our team that need the most help now are the D-line, O-line, and RB.

We are pretty well stocked at CB/S with players like Barber, Harrison, and Molden jockeying for some PT and our LB corp has recently been stockedpiled through FA. I believe one pick per would suffice, we have so many other needs to address.

If I was Kubiak, I would move T.J and Okam to the practice squad to send a clear message that their time here could be in jeopardy if they don't pick it up. Shaun Cody is a backup, at best. Detroit was happy to see him go.

Also, our O-line has been terrible, regardless of what our offense did. Schaub and Sage were on their backs and getting injured too often to have any real chance of success, and I'm sure part of that stems from a real lack of depth at the RB position, but it(O-line) also could could stand to be bolstered as well in this draft.


28. Peria Jerry DT
One of the best DT available who has a real chance of being there

46. Ziggy Hood DT
Excellent size with a non stop motor. Our D-line would be set for a decade if we could materialize those two picks alone, though very unlikely. (Backup pick-Jarron Gilbert) Any two out of three would be a success to me. We have to start putting pressure on QB's in order to win close games.

53. Rashad Jennings RB
Very strong runner who keeps himself in excellent shape, could be pro-bowl RB(he won't be there in the 3rd)

77. Mike Mickens CB
Impressive playmaker with good instincts that could play CB and FS

112. Zach Follett WILL
Cerebral player, EXPERIENCED, excellent blitzer that will give Bush the OLB to make plays in the backfield

122. T.J. Lang OG/C/OT
Tough, hardworking player, very versatile that fits our ZBS

152. S. Vollmer OT
Intriguing prospect that would provide depth at R or LT

188. Patrick Turner WR/TE
Texans steal a player late in the draft

223. Gantrell Johnson RB
Powerful runner, "bowling ball", downhill runner, sure handed

UFA Phillip Hunt DE
Kubiak really liked this kid when he got a chance to see him practice at Reliant everyday, good against the run

UFA Robert Francois OLB
Insurance for Diles, Adibi, or Bentley

UFA Ryan McKee OT
More depth with good speed for the ZB

I rarely would make this argument but in this case I have to:

We would have too much money tied up into one kind of player at one position: Okoye, TJ, PJerry, Ziggy Hood. DT isn't like DE. With a DE, you can move them inside on passing downs and create mismatches to get to the QB. However, the only advantage to all these smallish DTs is the ability to keep them fresh. Even so, they are all vulnerable against the run. So, we'd have 4 guys that are all ideal for passing downs and nobody that is good on the run downs. And, the team will only keep 4-5 DTs on the 53 man roster so all kinds of problems would result from that draft.

You say that we are pretty well stocked at S/CB and then suggest that we draft 2 more 3-Technique DTs? One pick at DT, I could see for rotational purposes. Two picks if you have given up on Travis Johnson and want to trade or cut him (sending him to the PS would be like cutting him). However, I wouldn't suggest using our two top picks to garner two more DTs. Shaun Cody was more productive than the guys we suited up if you take a look at tackles per play and he may be more of a force this season than Ziggy Hood.

Our O-Line has been terrible in the past. It wasn't terrible last season. We don't very good production from Slaton and the yards per game that our QBs combined for last season with a terrible O-Line. I'm not saying that they were dominant by any stretch, but they were at least average. While it would be nice to be able to convert more 3rd downs, the worst problem the offense had was with fumbles and interceptions and the blame for those can be spread further than just the O-Line.

With all of that "criticism" I don't think your draft is a bad one. I could understand getting Jerry in the 1st, but would go with a play making S instead of Ziggy (perhaps his teammate William Moore).