The Sporting News Draft Grades

[mikgaes]

The Sporting News 2007 Draft Grades (http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AgEFpNVkMUy1oujIb74iDJL.uLYF?slug=gradin gthenfldraft&prov=tsn&type=lgns)

What do you make of this?

Miami Dolphins A+

NE Patriots C


Head scratcher.

[Phil3782]

I didn't care for either teams draft. Miami must have been drinking too much Ginn & tonic.

[Merk]

I'm sorry but there is no way the Dolphins deserve an A+ and I wont even talk about the Ginn pick


Beck makes little sense for me when they picked him. I like him and I think he is talented but at 26 years old he was more suited for a team w/ an established vet looking for a good number 2 they could bring along. If they get Green then they have 4 QB's, Daunte would be the fav to be traded but I doubt there will be takers, The HC allegadly like Lemon and hes young and cheep, Beck you really isnt a long term project, and if Green lands there he will be your starter. IMO even though I think Beck is the better QB right now I thought they should have picked Stanton. He has a ton of raw ability and is someone who could have benifitted greatly by sitting and learning for a couple of years

Satele is decent but I think it was a little bit of a reach after they lost out on Kalil. IMO they should have gone up for Kalil. They had the picks to do it.

Booker doesnt make any sense either and either does this sporting news quote "RB Lorenzo Booker will help immediately as a third-down back."
. You have a RB in Brown who is known for his pass blocking and recieving above anything else, so why would you draft a 3rd down back that high?

Change of pace, ok, but you cant tell me there were not bigger fish to fry (no pun intended on that team) on that team then getting a change of pace 3rd down back in the third round.

I havent looked over there day 2 selections so i wont comment on it but looking over day 1 A+ is not the grade they deserve



Also NE deserves at least a B+. They got the 2nd best S in this draft who I had ranked only slightly below Landry, got Moss, and added a 2008 1st rounder in which most would consider a much deeper class than this one

[dmoney]

They gave the Eagles an A also?!!

Did they watch this years draft, or one from seasons past?

I haven't heard anybody praise both the Eagles and the Dolphins draft but this article....

Hell... who cares what these people say anyway right?!?!?!

[bozman949]

I wonder what the fish fans think?

[mikgaes]

I wonder what the fish fans think?


I don't think they have stopped booing the new coach yet.

[FknGvna]

laughs, laughs for everyone.

[FinNasty]

I wonder what the fish fans think?

I think an A+ is a little rediculous...

Dont get me wrong... I liked our draft alot... but an A+? If we had traded down from 9, got Ginn, and then had the rest of our draft plus a player with our extra pick for trading down... I could possibily see an A.

The Ginn pick was a little of a reach... however Adam Schefter from NFLN reported that Houston was going to take Ginn at 10. The Fins tried to trade down (I couldnt figure out at the time why the hell they were taking up their whole clock). He was a top 10 pick before the injury started causing some doubts... and he was a projected mid-first at the time of the draft. Did I like the pick? Not particularly. There were other players I would have loved at that spot (like Carriker), but they wanted to go offense... and I can live with the Ginn pick.

The reason there was originally such a backlash from the pick was because we passed on Quinn for him. Had Quinn not been there, it wouldnt have been as big of a deal. I dont care that they passed on Quinn at all. If they liked Beck better, then thats the QB they should have gone with. I love Beck's accuracy, anticipation, and timing. All 3 are extremely important to the Coryell offense.

Satele was a great pick here. Good value as Kiper's #1 BPA at #60... and he is a perfect fit for our blocking scheme. I would have loved Kalil here too... but he got taken 1 pick before us. However, Satele might be a better fit for our power blocking scheme... where as Kalil is more of a technician. I would have been happy with either at #60...

Lorenzo Booker was always one of my targets in the 3rd. He adds a Leon Washington to our offense... with slightly more versitility b/c you can line him up out wide... I dont think Washington can line up wide. We both got our versions of Thunder and Lightning in this draft.


Paul Soliai as possibly my favorite pick of all of these guys. GREAT value here... and he can be our NT of the future with Fred Evans. He is a stud...

In Rd 6, we got a BEAST of a FB in Reagan Mauia out of Hawaii. The guy used to be a 350lbs NT.... but he lost 80lbs and is now a 270lbs FB. He is freakin huge... and could also take some goalline carries.

The Center, Drew Mormino, we got in Rd6 I dont know much about... but he has great lower body strength and should add solid depth to our line... as he can play both G and C...

Rd7...

We got a LB, P, and OLB/DE. I cant argue with any of these...



Overall, I dont mind the Ginn pick, but he was taken about 6 spots ahead of where he was projected at the time of the draft. The "reach" wasnt that bad, but I cant give that pick an A.

So here are my grades...

Rd 1 - B-
Rds 2-7 - A

Overall grade - B

And I dont know why you guys are rated below us. You had a better draft. I would give you guys a B+/A-. Had you taken Hughes in Rd 3, I would have probably given you an A.

[treydawg]

You're far too generous FinNasty. Your first and second round should be a C. The last part I'd give a B because you missed on Kalil.

[FinNasty]

You're far too generous FinNasty. Your first and second round should be a C. The last part I'd give a B because you missed on Kalil.

Say again? Not too sure what you meant.

[SWAG™]

You're far too generous FinNasty. Your first and second round should be a C. The last part I'd give a B because you missed on Kalil.
Samson Satele from The almighty UH Warriors was their pick

[nehemiah]

:rofl:

awesome.

[FinNasty]

You're far too generous FinNasty. Your first and second round should be a C. The last part I'd give a B because you missed on Kalil.

nvm... I was reading your post wrong...

I can definatly understand a C for Ginn.

But a C for Beck and Satele in Rd 2? How?

[treydawg]

nvm... I was reading your post wrong...

I can definatly understand a C for Ginn.

But a C for Beck and Satele in Rd 2? How?

I goofed that up. I think Beck is a little old for a team in rebuilding mode. I also think you reached on Satele because you missed Kalil. You should've traded up and grabbed him like the Bills did for Poz.

[FinNasty]

I goofed that up. I think Beck is a little old for a team in rebuilding mode. I also think you reached on Satele because you missed Kalil. You should've traded up and grabbed him like the Bills did for Poz.

Beck's age doesnt bother me. If we had taken him with our first... then the age would bother me somewhat... but we will still get plenty of years out of Beck. A great starting QB for about 7 years (from age 27-34) is well worth a 2nd IMO. And plus, w/ the age comes maturity... which will also help... especially in a city that has South Beach, which could be a big distraction for a young QB.

I wouldnt have minded trading up for Kalil, but Satele was far from a reach at #60. I mean, he was Kiper's #1 BPA when we were on the clock. He wasnt a steal... but it was still great value.

[stepsukie]

Beck = Weinke

[Polish Rifle]

USA TODAY -- — ONE STAR *

Miami *

Dolphins fans booed coach Cam Cameron heavily for taking versatile WR-KR Ted Ginn Jr. instead of QB Brady Quinn. John Beck can be groomed at QB, but the trade for Trent Green hasn't materialized. Miami got needed OL help from C-G Samson Satele in Round 2.


SO USATODAY has miami at a one star, the bills were three stars.

Ted Ginn Jr. is the next Peerless Price

heres the link----> http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/draft/2007-04-29-team-grades_N.htm

I love the trent edwards pick, JP will only be stronger with this guy on nipping at his heels...

No one lights a fire like Marv Levy

[Flan]

It just goes to show how subjective all of this is. Even Mel Kiper only got 8 firstt round picks correct. Nobody knows who is going to succeed. Have you noticed how some drafts can be rated drastically differently by these experts.

[FinNasty]

USA TODAY -- — ONE STAR *

Miami *

Dolphins fans booed coach Cam Cameron heavily for taking versatile WR-KR Ted Ginn Jr. instead of QB Brady Quinn. John Beck can be groomed at QB, but the trade for Trent Green hasn't materialized. Miami got needed OL help from C-G Samson Satele in Round 2.


SO USATODAY has miami at a one star, the bills were three stars.

Ted Ginn Jr. is the next Peerless Price

heres the link----> http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/draft/2007-04-29-team-grades_N.htm

I love the trent edwards pick, JP will only be stronger with this guy on nipping at his heels...

No one lights a fire like Marv Levy

The Trent Green thing will eventually materialize. The Cheifs cant afford to keep Green for 7.2mil. They will have to cut him or trade him. At this point... the Fins might have just walked away from trading for him at all... and might just wait until the Cheifs eventually cut him. Green knows our offense... so it wont take him long to fit in our offense. Plus, Beck can get all the reps in the mean time... which will help his development.


What about Ginn reminds you of Price?

[Polish Rifle]

In the end it may not matter, I fear that the patriots will kill us all!

[dmoney]

Hey Fin....

who do you see Miami keeping as far as QB and RB goes...seem to have a lot there...

[FinNasty]

Hey Fin....

who do you see Miami keeping as far as QB and RB goes...seem to have a lot there...

Well, we really didnt have any other RBs on our roster other than Ronnie. Sammy Morris is now on the Pats, and Minor is on the Rams.

So our RBs are:

Ronnie
Ricky
Lorenzo


As far as QBs... who the hell knows with Pepper. I think once Green ends up in Miami... and he will... Pep probably gets cut. Cameron hasnt been too high on him at all ever since he got here. Cleo Lemon definatly stays. He will be a solid #2 in the future. And of course Beck.

So our QBs are:

Green
Lemon
Beck

[twosheds]

Any grade is ridiculous.

[Buffalo1]

In the end it may not matter, I fear that the patriots will kill us all!

I agree, but I am hoping that Moss blows that whole team wide apart with his antics.

[FinNasty]

I agree, but I am hoping that Moss blows that whole team wide apart with his antics.

Arnt we all...

[TigerJ]

New England had a lot of picks, but after Merriweather, their next pick was in the fourth round. All but three of their picks came in the last two rounds. I don't know if that was by design, but with late round picks there are always going to be question marks. They are guys who aren't as athletic, underachieved in college, played at a lower level of competition etc. The onus is on the team scouts at that point to be able to see though the warts and find potential that others might have missed, and on coaches to help these players get past their warts. I don't know how you grade a draft higher than a "C" when a team has that high a percentage of day two picks. However, New England has a strong history of solid drafting and coaching to get the most out of players, so I wouldn't sell them short just yet.

Now Miami, on the other hand, had ten picks in the draft. Half of those were in the last two rounds, but they also had 4 picks in the first two rounds. I thought Ginn was a reach, that Miami got seduced by his speed and overlooked his flaws. It will be interesting to compare the careers of Beck and Trent Edwards over time. Beck is older, but had more success in college because of better talent around him at least compared with the talent level of BYU's opponents, but Buffalo had Edwards rated higher. We'll have to wait and see who guessed right since Miami was in a position to take Edwards if they had wanted to. I think Satele was a solid pick as was Booker. I think Booker can be a role player in an NFL offense if not an every down back. Soliai and Mauia are very interesting picks with some potential upside. I don't mind their last four picks either. The last guy, is obviously too small for an NFL DE, but he has enough timed speed to become a linebacker. I think on the strength of their last 8 picks, I think I would give them maybe an A-. I gave them points off for reaching on Ginn, and taking the wrong QB in round 2 LOL. Hard to blame them though since Marv Levy is smarter than their GM.

[Jetsy]

The Sporting News 2007 Draft Grades (http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AgEFpNVkMUy1oujIb74iDJL.uLYF?slug=gradin gthenfldraft&prov=tsn&type=lgns)

What do you make of this?

Miami Dolphins A+

NE Patriots C


Head scratcher.

Mik , Is this for real? Dolfags fans seemed to disagree based on the press conference afterwards. The Ginn pick was a total joke. Who picks a punt returner #9 overall? 41% of USA Today's pollsters (12700+) voted Miami the WORST drafting team this year. Patzies deserve their C based on only getting 1 pick on the drafts 1st day and even he is a ?

[jaymitch84]

Also NE deserves at least a B+. They got the 2nd best S in this draft who I had ranked only slightly below Landry, got Moss, and added a 2008 1st rounder in which most would consider a much deeper class than this one

I believe that when you grade team's drafts you shouldn't include ratings based on players acquired. It should be "the Patriots had no fourth rounder because of the Moss deal."

Otherwise, you will get more ratings than there are picks. I'm sure if you flop over to the Raiders, the player they picked with the 4th they got from New England is also being graded. Two players getting graded over one pick?

These are "draft grades." Include Moss in "team grades," but not draft.

[FinNasty]

New England had a lot of picks, but after Merriweather, their next pick was in the fourth round. All but three of their picks came in the last two rounds. I don't know if that was by design, but with late round picks there are always going to be question marks. They are guys who aren't as athletic, underachieved in college, played at a lower level of competition etc. The onus is on the team scouts at that point to be able to see though the warts and find potential that others might have missed, and on coaches to help these players get past their warts. I don't know how you grade a draft higher than a "C" when a team has that high a percentage of day two picks. However, New England has a strong history of solid drafting and coaching to get the most out of players, so I wouldn't sell them short just yet.

Now Miami, on the other hand, had ten picks in the draft. Half of those were in the last two rounds, but they also had 4 picks in the first two rounds. I thought Ginn was a reach, that Miami got seduced by his speed and overlooked his flaws. It will be interesting to compare the careers of Beck and Trent Edwards over time. Beck is older, but had more success in college because of better talent around him at least compared with the talent level of BYU's opponents, but Buffalo had Edwards rated higher. We'll have to wait and see who guessed right since Miami was in a position to take Edwards if they had wanted to. I think Satele was a solid pick as was Booker. I think Booker can be a role player in an NFL offense if not an every down back. Soliai and Mauia are very interesting picks with some potential upside. I don't mind their last four picks either. The last guy, is obviously too small for an NFL DE, but he has enough timed speed to become a linebacker. I think on the strength of their last 8 picks, I think I would give them maybe an A-. I gave them points off for reaching on Ginn, and taking the wrong QB in round 2 LOL. Hard to blame them though since Marv Levy is smarter than their GM.

Fair assessment. I loved Rds 2-7 in our draft (and btw, I think we got the best QB out of the 2 ;) ). I will be doing a write up later this week on the Ginn pick... fully breaking it down and giving my honest opinion on it... so I wont get into it too much right now.

However, as far as it being a reach... it has been documented that Houston was going to take Ginn at 10... and tried to trade down once we picked him.
* Let's be clear about this: Miami might have made a mistake drafting wide receiver Ted Ginn ahead of Brady Quinn, but it did not reach for him. Had the Dolphins passed on Ginn, the Houston Texans very likely would have taken Ginn one pick later at No. 10. Ginn was the player the Texans wanted. They envisioned lining him up as the home-run threat opposite Pro Bowl wide receiver Andre Johnson and giving them a pair of receivers that almost could equal Indianapolis' Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne.
http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork/story/10162719

Considering the injury, I think he was taken a few spots too high. However, he is a top 10 talent, and was projected to be in the top 10 before the foot started to gather concern...

[JLB]

Who did Miami pick up ( undrafted free agents )??

[FinNasty]

Here are the ones Merk posted a few days... but it could be out dated...

Miami
Undrafted Free Agents:

Marion Dukes, OT, Clemson

Tuff Harris, CB, Montana

Mkristo Bruce, DE, Washington State

Geoffrey Pope, CB, Howard

Julius Wilson, OT, U.A.B.

Tala Esera, OL, Hawaii

Stephen Parker, OG, Arkansas

Ed Miles, LB, Iowa

Gabe Hatchett, WR, Southern Oregon