Posts tagged NflDraft at FanHouse

"Old School" is the College Football FanHouse's irregular look back at the rich history of college football, usually through the medium of embeddable flash video. Check out the Old School archive for more famous plays and infamous hair.

"Big Daddy" Dan Wilkinson, that is. The Ohio State defensive tackle would go on to be the #1 pick in the NFL draft after performances like this in 1993. There are actual offensive highlights to watch, but I recommend you focus on the center of the Ohio State defensive line as Wilkinson proceeds to collapse and devour the Washington Husky interior like a black hole chewing up massive galaxies.

Both leave me in terrified awe.

Yesterday, I went to the Texans draft party. Texans fans were happy with the trade down in the first round to acquire two more picks, but were generally disappointed in the Virginia Tech left tackle Duane Brown-who? choice in the first. A brief but good summary of the pick can be found here, and more Texans draft analysis will come later.

At the draft party, most Texans fans were happy with the announcement of the new Texans Cheerleaders. Above is a picture of them when they first learned they were on the squad after the final day of tryouts, and the video below shows their dancing introduction to the fanbase. You will like the video if you like watching cheerleaders dance. The SI swimsuit cheerleader twins are back, and I've been told that there are also sisters who are not twins on the squad.

video link

There has been a significant amount of speculation over the last few days about New York Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey and his status with the team. Several reports have indicated that the often out-spoken, tattoo bearing Oklahoma native had grown tired of his role in New York and wanted a trade, while others have continued to insist it's nothing more than mass speculation.

Somewhere amidst all the hoo-ha is the truth and it appears that someone may have finally found it. According to Pro Football Weekly, Shockey will soon call New Orleans home.

Maybe. Possibly. Could be.

PFW believes that Giants TE Jeremy Shockey has been traded to the Saints for multiple draft picks, including the team's second-rounder (No. 40). We'll try to confirm this as soon as we can.

For what it's worth, my cousin's third uncle twice removed heard from his step-daughter that some guy in a bar in Miami had a gardener who heard from his sister's boyfriend that Shockey's dentist said he was going to play for the Nigerian national football team next year.

There are also rumors floating around that Shockey will soon land on the moon.

Previously on FanHouse:
The Seahawks Have Unofficially Entered the Jeremy Shockey Sweepstakes
Jeremy Shockey Would Like a Role That Doesn't Involve Backing Up Kevin Boss
Jeremy Shockey OK With Trade Talk; Giants General Manager Won't Rule It Out
Jeremy Shockey Searches for New Real Estate, Saints Might Have Moved On
New York Post Refutes WWE Announcer's Claim That Jeremy Shockey Will Be Traded

I hated this guy so much while he was at Louisville, I take great joy in knowing that I will never have to write about him again. And by hate, I mean respect if you look at what he did the last three years to West Virginia.

WHAT NFL SCOUTS ARE SAYING

Pro Football Weekly Ranking the Quarterbacks

Brohm – Pop gun arm incapable of drilling NFL throws into tight NFL windows – I can envision him now getting picked off left and right trying to hit the deep out on the next level. Cannot throw on the run. Marginal athleticism - struggles to evade the rush. Pushes the ball and accuracy consequently suffers.

PROBABLY GETTING DRAFTED..

Even after that assessment, will probably go in the late first early second round.

GUY WHO WATCHED HIM FOR THREE YEARS IS SAYING

If all you knew of Brian Brohm was his performance last year, then I would say most of the above is spot on. However, there is a reason he was considered a top five pick if he would have come out for the draft after his junior year. He really is that good. And Louisville really was that bad last year. Most everyone will point out to you that a large part of the problem last year was that the defense put the offense in bad positions by letting teams score at will on them. And that's certainly true. But he didn't get a lot of help from the offense either. The rushing game got scary bad to nonexistent through the meat of the schedule. Harry Douglas was hurt in the middle of the season, and Mario Urrutia wasn't Mario Urrutia. Despite that, he completed 65% of his passes for 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns. Pop gun arm or not that's pretty good. Last year wasn't an easy year for Brohm, but he took it all in stride and did everything he could to help the team win.

His numbers and Louisville's record in 2006 and 2005 speak to what he is capable of when surrounded with adequate players. And while he might not have the OMG! skills that impress everyone leading up to the draft.

Pro Football Weekly's 2008 NFL Draft Guide (found at most news stands) has assigned draft grades to 242 collegiate players. Among the conferences, the ACC is tops with a projected 43 drafted players.

ACC: 43
SEC: 38
Big 12: 34
Pac 10: 32
Big 10: 29
Big East: 21
All other conferences and divisions: 45

Keep in mind these are the grades of just one (well-respected) publication and the draft is still weeks away. That said, this is a good starter projection for how the draft will shake out as far as talent allocation among the conferences.

Last year, the SEC led all conferences with 42 players chosen in the NFL draft. The ACC and Big 10 tied for second place with 32 players each.

This is good news for the ACC, but reflects poorly on its coaches given the conference's rapid decline in national prestige.

No doubt about it.

Missouri's redshirt freshman receiver (slash running back slash returnman) Jeremy Maclin just set an NCAA record today and how. Maclin returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, simultaneously setting the NCAA frosh all-purpose yards mark. He came into today's game 78 yards off the mark and was well on his way even before the return after hauling in a touchdown pass the previous possession.

Maclin is hyped as one of the fastest players in the NCAA and it's hard to argue. Every time I see him break into the open (which happens quite often lately), he reminds me of Ted Ginn in both speed and gait. I mean he's a mirror image for that weird lean and forward leg kick Ginn has. No surprise, both dabbled in track which has helped discipline their running style.

Sometimes frosh players who start out hot hit a wall. Maclin is the exception here as he's been Missouri's big playmaker these last few games and a big reason why the normally puckered up Tigers are playing so well this late in the year.

Is it all that outrageous to wonder if he might be gone to the NFL after next season? Maclin will be a redshirt sophomore next year, making him draft eligible as he is three years out of high school (think Michael Vick). Ted Ginn is the template as a fairly unpolished underclass receiver/returnman/rusher and he was an easy first round pick in last year's draft. We shall see . . .

Finito. No mas. Retire the jersey time. Done.

Dennis Dixon completely tore the ACL in his left knee in Oregon's win over Arizona State on Nov. 3, and convinced Oregon's coaches and doctors to let him try and play in the Arizona game last night.

After leaving last night's loss in the first quarter when the knee faltered again, Dixon will now have season-ending surgery, bringing his UO career to a close. That was the word on a conference call featuring UO coach Mike Bellotti and team physician Dr. Bob Crist this evening.

It was fun while it lasted but that show just came to an end. Oregon's a different team without him and it showed last night. Their runaway Pac-10 Championship and BCS game hopes are now teetering. Dixon's Heisman Trophy crashed the minute he crumpled to the turf last night and Arizona's victory obviously ended their BCS Championship Game hopes.

What a cruel blow to both Dixon and the team. The senior was a middling draft prospect to begin with but this late-season injury will deeply interfere with his ability to train and test ahead of next April's draft. Fortunately for Dixon he has a minor league baseball opportunity to fall back upon, but even that won't last much longer unless he learns to hit the curve ball.

Dixon's final line:

172/254 passing (.677), 2136 yards, 20 touchdowns, 4 interceptions,161.2 rating
105 carries, 583 yards (5.6 average) 9 touchdowns

Sorry, No Photos

Four LSU Tigers were selected in the first round of last week's NFL draft. Conventional wisdom says that means four unprepared backups are filling in for great players and a drop-off from last season's record. Maybe conventional wisdom is wrong?

Of the eight teams with four or more players chosen in the first round of the draft in the last 10 years, good results abound. One team (2001 Miami) won a national championship and two teams (2002 Miami, 2006 Ohio State) were national runner-ups. Not bad.

Only two of the eight teams so much as had records worse than 9-3: last year's Florida State squad that went 7-6 and the 2003 Penn State Nittany Lions who had a depressing 3-9 encore.

That bodes well for the Tigers' chances next year, although expectations are already through the roof as most fans feel they'll be the preseason No. 2 team behind USC.

Matt Millen wasn't lying when he said he'd try to trade down in last weekend's draft. Though the Lions eventually stayed put and wound up taking Calvin Johnson, it wasn't because they were personally locked into that possibility. They just didn't get any phone calls.

"I spoke with McKay prior to the draft, maybe an hour before," Millen told WDFN-AM (1130) on Tuesday. "And he said ... 'You're going to want both twos and a three, and we won't be able to do that.' "

Millen said he made a counteroffer to Atlanta that asked for at least three Atlanta picks, including a second-rounder in 2008.

Millen said McKay told him, " 'That's a little rich but, OK, we'll call you back.' "And I never heard from him."

Not returning a call is in poor taste, but I'd expect no better from the man who assembles a team of dog-haters. Peter King notes that Millen was also expecting calls from the Redskins and Buccaneers, neither of which came. But the Lions did get at least one pretty substantial trade offer a month before the draft, and turned it down.

A month earlier Denver had offered two first-round picks, a second-rounder and two third-rounders, plus veteran linebacker Al Wilson, but when the Broncos wouldn't substitute another second-round pick for the injured Wilson, Millen turned them down. With that, the bar was set high.

Millen followed common (albeit flawed) logic in turning that deal down. You never want to make a deal that far in advance of the draft, hoping that the value of the pick will rise. But recent history has indicated that the opposite is happening, as teams are more reluctant to trade that high up in the first round because the value of the pick doesn't match the contract he will receive. Say all you want about Johnson, but the bounty Denver was offering was .... wow. I think it's been proven that anytime you can get that much for one player, you take it. Eek.

As Brady Quinn made his way south down the draft board, general manager Ozzie Newsome gave serious consideration to drafting him. The Browns altered those plans and the Ravens addressed a more immediate need with their first-round pick: offensive line. The club also added depth at linebacker, drafted Ovie Mughelli's replacement, and still got a quarterback before the weekend was over.

The Good
Ben Grubbs was the best guard in the draft and he should be a starter Week 1. LeRon Mclain measures 6-0, 257 pounds and is basically a glorified tackle playing fullback. It's not surprising the Ravens drafted a kid they described as "reminding us of Ovie." Four months ago, Troy Smith lasting until the fifth round would've seemed impossible, but that's how it happened. And now, he's a Raven will a good shot to not only make the team, but see some playing time in the next few seasons.

The Bad
Yamon Figurs fills a return specialist needs, especially if B.J. Sams doesn't fully recover from a broken foot. But taking him in the third round may have been a reach (Of course, that's what people said about the Bears and Devin Hester, a second-round pick last year -- and that worked out.) The club added depth at linebacker, but didn't take a cornerback or safety. Yes, the starters are set in the secondary, but there's not a lot of depth behind them. But if that is the biggest gripe about this draft, then Newsome did a pretty good job.

The Grade: B
Baltimore did a nice job of drafting for need (Grubbs), and finding players who can grow into starters (Smith, OLB Antwan Barnes). They also got one of the best return men available (Figurs), though he might've been available later. Nonetheless, another solid effort from the Ravens' personnel department.