Splendid_Splinter

It's a little surprising that the Lions didn't draft Michael Oher in order to protect Matt Stafford.

Somewhere truffle's gotta be smiling. That's lethal. Factor in the upgrades that they have made to their offensive line and their offense has improved tremendously this offseason.

Donavon McNabb just got a new weapon with Jeremy Maclin.

Guess I was wrong about TT.

B.J. Raji on the phone. Good job TT! :D

Eugene Monroe looks to be Jacksonville's pick. Please Ted don't screw this up and draft Michael Crabtree. :beg:

I wouldn't worry about that too much. Ted Thompson will find a way to screw this up.

I feel sorry for Raider fans.

Andre Smith is off the board! :yahoo:

I agree. I hate having to watch the draft with Radio City Music Hall infested with Jets fans. It's amazing that they didn't boo when Sanchez was announced. Hell must have frozen over. Some did, Hell is still alive. When it was announced over the loud speaker what the Jets gave up for the pick it was a lot more noticeable. Jets fans didn't let me down.

I agree. I hate having to watch the draft with Radio City Music Hall infested with Jets fans. It's amazing that they didn't boo when Sanchez was announced. Hell must have frozen over.

The Cleveland Browns have made a trade with the New York Jets.

Things got a little more interesting now. I still think that moving to a 3-4 Curry was the best pick. Oh well I am not a Chiefs fan so it doesn't matter too much too me. I was worried that the Chiefs were going to take Curry since his versatility as a LB would be perfect to ease their transition. Also Scott Piolo should understand the importance of a good ILB with Jerod Mayo last year. But it looks like he prefers to find his own Richard Seymour. And now the Seahawks have smashed any hope that Curry would fall to the Packers.

Whatever pundit said that Tyson Jackson would go in the Top 5 was right. It might be a reach on the part of the Chiefs, but Jackson is an ideal 5 tech if they are moving to a 3-4.

And of all the WR they want Heyward-Bey? He's the fastest WR available. All Al Davis really cares about is a player's speed.

I'll admit that I don't put a lot of emphasis on interior linemen or right tackles, so drafting Smith to fill a spot other than left tackle is a huge waste of a finite asset in my opinion. If the Packers didn't have as many holes as they do this year maybe I wouldn't care as much, but there are plenty of defensive players in the top ten that represent a much better overall value. Knowing how demanding Saban is of his players it is a good sign that Smith was able to last the final two years that he was at Alabama. Still the one thing that you probably will never convince me on are the questions regarding his ability to stay in shape. From every scouting report I've read they all say he has had to battle the issue of gaining too much weight for his own good, but that he did respond to tough coaching in order to stay in shape. While it's nice that he does respond to coaches, I don't like players that have to be constantly prodded with a stick in order to do something. To have to have a coach make sure that Smith keeps his weight at a suitable level is a completely avoidable problem. All I'm doing is making a prediction about how I think Andre Smith's career will play out given the information that is available to me at this given point in time. Unfortunately with the draft one can't wait until a player has a few years under their belt to label them. Flames is doing no different when he calls Smith "an anchor on the offensive line for the next decade." If the Packers do indeed draft Smith I will not automatically label him a bust. I may not like the pick but at the very least I would give him time to prove me right or wrong. It's just that right now I don't think he will ever be able to fulfill the expectations of the a top ten draft pick. It's not so much that the Packers don't want Smith, it's that I don't want Smith on the Packers. Yet that doesn't mean that he won't have a good career. The history of the NFL is full of guys that had good careers who were one dimensional run blockers. I'm sure that he will be able to find a home somewhere. To say otherwise would be silly of me at this point.

I don't know what rumors about the Packers scares me more, this one or the one about the Packers picking Andre Smith if he is still on the board. At this point it would probably be best to prepare myself for the worst. Next to Curry, Andre Smith would be my favorite pickup at #9 (if available of course). Overall, he's the best player in the draft and we'd have an anchor on the offensive line for the next decade. I agree with you wholeheartedly about Aaron Curry being my favorite pick for the Packers. The speculation that he may fall tomorrow gives me a glimmer of hope that the Packers could have a chance to draft him. His versatility would be a huge asset for the new defense. On the other hand I disagree about Andre Smith, especially for Green Bay. One of the reasons why I hope the Packers don't pick Smith is he probably won't be able to stay at LT. In my opinion he just does not have the lateral movement that is needed in order to defend against the best speed rushers of the NFL. With how much the Packers throw the ball I would not feel comfortable at all with him defending Aaron Rodger's blind side. Although I do think that the Packers would probably adjust their playbook to include more running plays. While there is a chance that Smith could play RT or OG, his value as the ninth pick diminishes substantially. Then there are even questions if he could do well in a different positions that he has never played in. The next concern I have with Smith is his work ethic. While it's nice that he could be motivated by coaches to do well that does not cut it with me. I'm of the philosophy that if a player can't motivate himself to perform at a high level, then that is not a player I want on my team. Add to that weight concerns, I feel the chances of him eating his way out of the league are too high to risk for such a high draft pick. There is no denying that Smith performed extremely well while at Alabama, but college football is not the NFL. Smith was able to dominate opposing players simply with his size and athleticism, but in the NFL he will not be able to get away with that most of the time. Like every other rookie he will have to make the necessary changes in his game in order to excel in the NFL. With the questions about his ability to motivate himself I don't think he will be able to ever reach full potential. When all of these factors are added together, for me personally, I feel the risk far outweighs the benefits with Smith. That's not to say that he doesn't have a chance to a great player in the league. There are plenty of teams that love fat guys that can drive block, but cannot do much else at all well. Unless Mike McCarthy is willing to completely revamp the Packers' playbook I don't see Smith as a good fit for Green Bay.

I don't know what rumors about the Packers scares me more, this one or the one about the Packers picking Andre Smith if he is still on the board. At this point it would probably be best to prepare myself for the worst.

I was just about to ask if anyone knew what caused the delay. Thanks for the explanation.

First walk of the season for the Cubs!

Great play by Bradley to get the double play!

ALFONSO!

I think the term was bucket of spit, but I might be wrong. I know when we discussed the Vice Presidency in one of my Poli Sci classes the professor used the "bucket of warm spit," but then said that the original quote was something worse. In the context of the quote I don't think it really makes a difference which one is used. The Yankees are now slowly making a comeback. The score is now 6-3 Orioles.

Wrong! He casts the tie-breaking vote in the Senate!! John Adams said of the Vice Presidency that it was "the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or in his imagination conceived." Wasn't it John Nance Garner who also said that the Vice Presidency "wasn't worth a bucket of warm piss?"

Now C.C. walks in a run.