Spunky Misunderstood Geniuses: Draft
the 2004 draft is over and it was a relatively quick affair -- seven rounds in two weeks of emailing. young talent was at a premium and there were plenty of reaches (philly D in round three?) and plenty of steals. here with this year's grades is your guest draft guru: mel kiper junior, my bitch. big round of applause everybody.
green team. travis henry, kevan barlow, hines ward, santana moss, charles rogers. this is the green team's year. after year after year of being an average team, the dream green team is finally getting some legs. those legs belong to RB kevan barlow -- who has been with the team from the beginning and is only now getting the full time job. between him and travis henry (who should remain a stellar back, even if mcgahee overtakes him eventually), the green team had the makings of a stud RB core. add in first round pick thomas jones and this position should cause no drama this year. the receiving corps is pretty outstanding too, with underrated hines ward and santana moss anchoring an aerial attack that also features promising sophmore charles rogers. new addition tony gonzalez should provide support in case rogers falters while sleeper pick justin gage is just that, a sleeper. the one position that was glaringly vacant heading into the season was at QB and the green team moved quickly to snatch up its signal caller in round two: chad pennington. with pennington and favre on board the greenies have as solid a lineup on paper as anybody. special teams isn't usually worth mentioning but the green team secured itself a top three D and K in rounds five and seven by selecting ravens D and jeff wilkins. this version of the green team has no weaknesses and if this year's push doesn't lead to more success, look for fans to be calling for the coach's head. grade: B+
battle angels. tom brady, curtis martin, eddie george, randy moss, steve smith. the angels had a pretty horrific season last year. the upside is that this is a new year but the downside is that old stalwart RBs curtis martin and eddie george are one year older and declining. GM vu dinh knew this and worked to address the situation early, leading off his draft with young RBs julius jones and travis minor. with george and jones, the angels should have one above average back for the season given bill parcell's proclivity for pounding the ball. travis minor is the heir apparent to ricky williams and nobody can really predict what he's capable of -- but nobody is really touting him as a bonafide star. with a somewhat questionable running game, a team needs a superior passing attack. and a superior passing attack is exactly what the eponymous angels have. with QB tom brady and WRs randy moss and steve smith, the angels are capable of one of the finer aerial shows in the league. new additions keenan mccardell, rod gardner and rod smith (picked up in exchange for a draft pick) may not raise too many eyebrows or sell too many tickets but they are steady WRs that will serve very well as complements to moss and smith. who knows? even sleeper WR rashaun woods might get in the mix. the angels addressed their needs with this draft, time to see if those picks pan out. grade: B
skool. daunte culpepper, deuce mcallister, stephen davis, chad johnson, peerless price. quagmired in mediocre season after mediocer season, skool is clearly working towards a break through season this year. veterans charlie garner, duce staley, keyshawn johnson and jeff garcia provide little long term potential but all are poised for a decent outting this year. relying on the triangle offense, skool has an explosive one two three combination in culpepper, mcallister and johnson. but three players does not a team make, although this might be the best young trio in the league. RB stephen davis is no slouch himself, after a stellar 2003, but he tends to show some wear and tear and could be giving up carries to deshaun foster. if this happens, garner and/or staley will really have to step up. this year, the loqacious chad johnson will be joined by another loud mouthed johnson -- keyshawn. between the two of them they should do enough talking for the rest of the team combined. even backup QB jeff garcia is talking some, trying to establish a leadership role with his new team after his rude boot out by the forty-niners. the key to this year's draft will be enigmatic WR koren robinson, who slipped from a possible first pick all the way to number six in the first round. koren is an ultra-talented player with great upside and one season of superstardom, but the jury is out on whether he was a flash in the pan or merely inconsistent. if he turns out to be an all pro, skool will have solidified his WRs and have two great young WRs in (chad) johnson and robinson. if all this happens and stephen davis remains effective, look for skool to have a wrecking ball of a year. grade: B
flaming shrapnel. domanick davis, michael bennett, terrell owens, anquan boldin, eric moulds. on paper, the shrapnel are really good. last year, they were really good. but now, the shrapnel are beset on all sides by the inequities of the poor and the tyranny of evil men. rising superstar anquan bolding is out for eight weeks, a huge blow to the franchise. even though the shrapnel have one of the best receiving combinations in the league (with TO, boldin, moulds), it isn't particularly deep. now the shrapnel will have to rely on unproven youngster brandon lloyd or the top TE, todd heap, until boldin's return. but there is good news in shrapnel land. the additions of QBs marc bulger and aaron brooks will pay huge dividends as both work in outstanding offenses. young RBs domanick davis, michael bennett, chris brown and william green will have space to frolic and run and hopefully, pick up some touchdowns. this isn't an overly stable RB group, despite it's talent, mainly because each back has some issues. brown is unproven (but a surefire starter), davis has to prove himself again (with all indications saying he will), bennett will be featured but will split time, and william green has on and off the field issues. regardless, put enough fish in a barrel and you'll hit one right? the shrapnel didn't get a whole lot in the draft in terms of proven production, so it'll have to rely on potential turning into gold. grade: B-
philadelphia phreaks. donovan mcnabb, clinton portis, jamal lewis, brian westbrook, javon walker. coming off an inglorious last place finish -- despite the presence of a potent running attack -- the phreaks needed some major upgrades in the WR department. did they get them? maybe. for one, third round pick david boston (a player this guru thinks is anathema and the ultimate tease) is already out for the season. the other three WRs drafted (marty booker, marcus robinson, quincy morgan) are all virtual unknowns heading into the season. booker is one year removed from a monster season and should return to prominence while quincy morgan could play well as a second fiddle in cleveland. marcus robinson is at best randy moss' wingman, which might not be too bad but he isn't a young buck anymore. even if all three pan out, this WR corps isn't going to scare anybody, and with no true number one -- unless javon walker goes crazy -- the phreaks will have to rely on that ground game. but oh what a ground game, with jamal lewis, clinton portis, brian westbrook and new rookie addition kevin jones, the phreaks are definitely going to be using the run to set up the pass. let's hope that translates to a few more wins this time around. grade: C+
green team. travis henry, kevan barlow, hines ward, santana moss, charles rogers. this is the green team's year. after year after year of being an average team, the dream green team is finally getting some legs. those legs belong to RB kevan barlow -- who has been with the team from the beginning and is only now getting the full time job. between him and travis henry (who should remain a stellar back, even if mcgahee overtakes him eventually), the green team had the makings of a stud RB core. add in first round pick thomas jones and this position should cause no drama this year. the receiving corps is pretty outstanding too, with underrated hines ward and santana moss anchoring an aerial attack that also features promising sophmore charles rogers. new addition tony gonzalez should provide support in case rogers falters while sleeper pick justin gage is just that, a sleeper. the one position that was glaringly vacant heading into the season was at QB and the green team moved quickly to snatch up its signal caller in round two: chad pennington. with pennington and favre on board the greenies have as solid a lineup on paper as anybody. special teams isn't usually worth mentioning but the green team secured itself a top three D and K in rounds five and seven by selecting ravens D and jeff wilkins. this version of the green team has no weaknesses and if this year's push doesn't lead to more success, look for fans to be calling for the coach's head. grade: B+
battle angels. tom brady, curtis martin, eddie george, randy moss, steve smith. the angels had a pretty horrific season last year. the upside is that this is a new year but the downside is that old stalwart RBs curtis martin and eddie george are one year older and declining. GM vu dinh knew this and worked to address the situation early, leading off his draft with young RBs julius jones and travis minor. with george and jones, the angels should have one above average back for the season given bill parcell's proclivity for pounding the ball. travis minor is the heir apparent to ricky williams and nobody can really predict what he's capable of -- but nobody is really touting him as a bonafide star. with a somewhat questionable running game, a team needs a superior passing attack. and a superior passing attack is exactly what the eponymous angels have. with QB tom brady and WRs randy moss and steve smith, the angels are capable of one of the finer aerial shows in the league. new additions keenan mccardell, rod gardner and rod smith (picked up in exchange for a draft pick) may not raise too many eyebrows or sell too many tickets but they are steady WRs that will serve very well as complements to moss and smith. who knows? even sleeper WR rashaun woods might get in the mix. the angels addressed their needs with this draft, time to see if those picks pan out. grade: B
skool. daunte culpepper, deuce mcallister, stephen davis, chad johnson, peerless price. quagmired in mediocre season after mediocer season, skool is clearly working towards a break through season this year. veterans charlie garner, duce staley, keyshawn johnson and jeff garcia provide little long term potential but all are poised for a decent outting this year. relying on the triangle offense, skool has an explosive one two three combination in culpepper, mcallister and johnson. but three players does not a team make, although this might be the best young trio in the league. RB stephen davis is no slouch himself, after a stellar 2003, but he tends to show some wear and tear and could be giving up carries to deshaun foster. if this happens, garner and/or staley will really have to step up. this year, the loqacious chad johnson will be joined by another loud mouthed johnson -- keyshawn. between the two of them they should do enough talking for the rest of the team combined. even backup QB jeff garcia is talking some, trying to establish a leadership role with his new team after his rude boot out by the forty-niners. the key to this year's draft will be enigmatic WR koren robinson, who slipped from a possible first pick all the way to number six in the first round. koren is an ultra-talented player with great upside and one season of superstardom, but the jury is out on whether he was a flash in the pan or merely inconsistent. if he turns out to be an all pro, skool will have solidified his WRs and have two great young WRs in (chad) johnson and robinson. if all this happens and stephen davis remains effective, look for skool to have a wrecking ball of a year. grade: B
flaming shrapnel. domanick davis, michael bennett, terrell owens, anquan boldin, eric moulds. on paper, the shrapnel are really good. last year, they were really good. but now, the shrapnel are beset on all sides by the inequities of the poor and the tyranny of evil men. rising superstar anquan bolding is out for eight weeks, a huge blow to the franchise. even though the shrapnel have one of the best receiving combinations in the league (with TO, boldin, moulds), it isn't particularly deep. now the shrapnel will have to rely on unproven youngster brandon lloyd or the top TE, todd heap, until boldin's return. but there is good news in shrapnel land. the additions of QBs marc bulger and aaron brooks will pay huge dividends as both work in outstanding offenses. young RBs domanick davis, michael bennett, chris brown and william green will have space to frolic and run and hopefully, pick up some touchdowns. this isn't an overly stable RB group, despite it's talent, mainly because each back has some issues. brown is unproven (but a surefire starter), davis has to prove himself again (with all indications saying he will), bennett will be featured but will split time, and william green has on and off the field issues. regardless, put enough fish in a barrel and you'll hit one right? the shrapnel didn't get a whole lot in the draft in terms of proven production, so it'll have to rely on potential turning into gold. grade: B-
philadelphia phreaks. donovan mcnabb, clinton portis, jamal lewis, brian westbrook, javon walker. coming off an inglorious last place finish -- despite the presence of a potent running attack -- the phreaks needed some major upgrades in the WR department. did they get them? maybe. for one, third round pick david boston (a player this guru thinks is anathema and the ultimate tease) is already out for the season. the other three WRs drafted (marty booker, marcus robinson, quincy morgan) are all virtual unknowns heading into the season. booker is one year removed from a monster season and should return to prominence while quincy morgan could play well as a second fiddle in cleveland. marcus robinson is at best randy moss' wingman, which might not be too bad but he isn't a young buck anymore. even if all three pan out, this WR corps isn't going to scare anybody, and with no true number one -- unless javon walker goes crazy -- the phreaks will have to rely on that ground game. but oh what a ground game, with jamal lewis, clinton portis, brian westbrook and new rookie addition kevin jones, the phreaks are definitely going to be using the run to set up the pass. let's hope that translates to a few more wins this time around. grade: C+
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