Special Sports

World According to Me

NFL Draft 2007:

AFC East   Buffalo Bills B- Miami Dolphins C+ New England Patriots D New York Jets D+   AFC North   Baltimore Ravens C Cincinnati Bengals C+ Cleveland Browns C+ Pittsburgh Steelers C   AFC South   Houston Texans C Indianapolis Colts B+ Jacksonville Jaguars B Tennessee Titans C   AFC West   Denver Broncos D+ Kansas City Chiefs B Oakland Raiders B+ San Diego Chargers A

NFC East   Dallas Cowboys D- New York Giants A Philadelphia Eagles C+ Washington Redskins C-   NFC North   Chicago Bears D+ Detroit Lions D Green Bay Packers F Minnesota Vikings A-   NFC South   Atlanta Falcons A- Carolina Panthers B- New Orleans Saints B Tampa Bay Buccaneers A-   NFC West   Arizona Cardinals C San Francisco 49ers C- Seattle Seahawks C- St. Louis Rams C

My All-Can't Miss Team:                                                        My All-Favorite Longshot Team:

WR) Anthony Gonzalez, Ohio State, Indianapolis Colts      Rhema McKnight, Notre Dame, New Orleans Saints  

WR) Calvin Johnson, Georgia Tech, Detroit Lions              Derek Stanley, UW-Whitewater, St. Louis Rams

WR) Robert Meacham, Tennessee, New Orleans Saints      Eric Deslauriers, Eastern Michigan, Pitts Steelers

TE) Zach Miller, Arizona State, Oakland Raiders                 Michael Allen, Whitworth, Kansas City Chiefs

TE) Greg Olson, Miami, FL, Chicago Bears                          Joe Newton, Oregon State, Seattle Seahawks

OT) Joe Thomas, Wisconsin, Cleveland Browns                   Julius Wilson,  U.A.B., Miami Dolphins

OT) Levi Brown, Penn State, Arizona Cardinals                   Gabe Hall, Texas Tech, New York Giants

OG-T) Arron Sears, Tennessee, Tampa Bay Buccaneers      Ed McCarthy, Yale, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

OG) Ben Grubbs, Auburn, Baltimore Ravens                        Tucker Peterson, New Hampshire, Wash. Redskins

OG) Justin Blalock, Texas, Atlanta Falcons                          Brian Daniels, Colorado, Minnesota Vikings

C) Samson Satele, Hawaii, Miami Dolphins                           Lyle Sendlein, Texas, Arizona Cardinals

C) Ryan Kalil, USC, Carolina Panthers                                  Enoka Lucas, Oregon, Houston Texans

RB) Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma, Minnesota Vikings          Clifton Dawson, Harvard, Pittsburgh Steelers

RB) Tony Hunt, Penn State, Philadelphia Eagles                Oren O'Neal, Arkansas State, Oakland Raiders

RB) Kenny Irons, Auburn, Cincinnati Bengals                     Alonzo Coleman, Hampton, Dallas Cowboys

QB) Brady Quinn, Notre Dame, Cleveland Browns              Matt Gutierrez, Idaho State, New England Patriots

P) Danny Sepulvida, Baylor, Pittsburgh Steelers                  Branden Carey, Syracuse, Baltimore Ravens

K) Mason Crosby, Colorado, Green Bay Packers                  Andrew Wellock, E. Michigan, Carolina Panthers

DE) Tim Crowder, Texas, Denver Broncos                          C.J. Ah You, Oklahoma, Buffalo Bills

DE) Adam Carriker, Nebraska, St. Louis Rams                     Derrick Jones, DE Grand Valley State, Pitts Steelers

DT) Amobi Okoye, Louisville, Houston Texans                   Jeremy Clark, Alabama, Philadelphia Eagles

DT) Turk McBride, Tennessee, Kansas City Chiefs              Justin Frick, North Dakota State, Tampa Bay Bucs

DE-LB) Anthony Spencer, Purdue, Dallas Cowboys            Dedrick Harrington, Missou, Dallas Cowboys               

LB) Paul Posluszny, Penn State, Buffalo Bills                       Matt Muncy, Ohio Univ, Cincinnati Bengals

LB) Anthony Waters, Clemson, San Diego Chargers           Mike Alston, Toledo, Cleveland Browns

LB) Patrick Willis, Mississippi, San Francisco 49ers             Juwan Simpson, Alabama, Green Bay Packers

LB) Stewart Bradley, Nebraska, Philadelphia Eagles            Nick Roach, Northwestern, San Diego Chargers

CB) Darrelle Revis, Pittsburgh, New York Jets                     Chris Anzano, Pace, Green Bay Packers

CB) Leon Hall, Michigan, Cincinnati Bengals                       Travarous Bain, Hampton, Arizona Cardinals

CB) Aaron Ross, Texas, New York Giants                             Anthony Arline, Baylor, San Diego Chargers

S) Reggie Nelson, Florida, Jacksonville Jaguars                     Leonard Peters, Hawaii, New York Jets

S) Michael Griffin, Texas, Tennessee Titans                          Brandon Sharp, Louisville, Tennessee Titans

S) LaRon Landry, LSU, Washington Redskins                      Jeramie Johnson, Mississippi State, Atl Falcons/

                                                                                                   Darren Stone, Maine, Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills: B-

Needs:

CB: poor

RB: decent (Lynch and Wright)

LB: decent, but limited

WR: poor

TE: failed 

Wild Cards: Wendling and Ah You were steals.

Free Agent Tryouts:

Jemalle Cornelius, WR, Florida

Duane Coleman, CB, Clemson

Stacey Thomas, DB, Texas Southern

Trevor Hooper, S, Stanford

Johnny Quinn, WR, North Texas

Christian Gaddis, C, Villanova

Miami Dolphins: C+

Needs:

WR: failed to poor (with Ginn only pick and ailing)

DT: poor (Soliai is good, but only selection)

OT: decent (Julius Wilson could be a good one, but should have drafted)

LB: poor

C: decent to good 

 Marion Dukes, OT, Clemson

Mkristo Bruce, DE, Washington State*

Geoffrey Pope, CB, Howard+

Julius Wilson, OT, U.A.B.* (fave longshot)

Tala Esera, OL, Hawaii

New England Patriots: D

Needs:

S: poor

LB: poor (Rogers and Lua were way down on most lists)

CB: failed

QB: poor

OT: poor (Oldenburg and Hilliard were not highly rated)

Matt Gutierrez, QB, Michigan/Idaho State* (fave longshot)

New York Jets: D+

DT: poor

CB: decent to good

TE: failed

S: poor (although Peters is an excellent FA pick)

LB: excellent (Harris and Zalewski)

Mark Zalewski, LB, Wisconsin*

Leonard Peters, SS, Hawaii* (fave longshot)

Mike DeVito, DT, Maine* (decent longshot)

Andrew Wicker, OL, Ole Miss

Alvin Banks, RB, James Madison

Caleb Hendrix, CB, Southern Miss

Baltimore Ravens: C

OLB: good (Barnes, Burgess, & Martin)

OL: decent (if Yanda is versatile enough to play OT)

DB: failed (not even a selection in a very deep crop)

RB-FB: poor (McLain may be a great FB)

Wild Card: Figurs (if he can return)

Branden Carney, P, Syracuse (fave longshot)

Edgar Jones, DE, Southeast Missouri

Kendrick Ballantyne, TE, Northeastern

Cullen Finnerty, QB, Grand Valley State*

Joe Martin, LB, S.D.S.U. * (good longshot)

Cincinnati Bengals: C+

LB: decent (Everett, Muncy, & Siskowic are good FAs)

DT: poor

CB: decent (Hall excellent, but only pick)

S: decent

DE: poor (Jackson a good FA, but only one)

Earl Everett, LB, Florida*

Dan Coats, TE, B.Y.U. *

Cameron Siskowic, LB, Illinois State

Matt Muncy, LB, Ohio University* (fave longshot)

Jessie Holley, WR, North Carolina

Xzavie Jackson, DE, Missouri *

Harrison Nikolao, OG, Eastern Washington

Stan White Jr., FB, Ohio State

Cleveland Browns: C+

QB: good

RB: failed

CB: poor (Wright and McDonald both have issues)

OL: excellent (Thomas, w/ Pousson and Stephenson as FAs)

Brent Pousson, OT, McNeese State*

Tyrone Moss, RB, Miami-Florida 

Scott Stephenson, OC, Iowa State*

Bryson Davis, FB Mississippi State (try-out)

Jesse Ainsworth, K, Arizona State

Mike Alston, LB, Toledo (fave longshot)

Pittsburgh Steelers: C

OLB: good (Timmons was only one, though Derrick Jones might play there)

OG: poor

CB: poor

WR: poor (Baker not great, though Deslauriers and Fowler are intriguing)

C: poor to failing

Darnell Stapleton, OC, Rutgers*

Jason Capizzi, OT, Indiana (Pa.)

Cody Boyd, TE, Washington State

Derrick Jones, DE, Grand Valley State (good longshot)

Eric Deslauriers, WR, Eastern Michigan (good longshot)

Eric Fowler, WR, Grand Valley State

Houston Texans: C

OL: decent (Frye, Studdard, & Lucas)

WR: poor (the Joneses aren't enough)

DT: decent (Okoye could use help)

LB: poor (Diles, Abbate not very good)

S: poor

Onrea Jones, WR, Hampton

Jon Abbate, LB, W. Forest* (fave longshot)

Jared Zabransky, QB, Boise State* (good longshot)

Luke Smith-Anderson, TE, Idaho

Enoka Lucas, OC, Oregon* (good longshot)

Indianapolis Colts: B+

DT: excellent (Pitcock, Echols, & Meekins)

LB: very poor

WR: good (Gonzalez and Hall)

RB: poor (Clifton Dawson a good FA, but not enough)

OT: good (Ugoh was expensive, Lobdell may surprise)

Wild Card: Hughes and Coe are quality DBs

Ramel Meekins, DL, Rutgers* (good longshot)

Clifton Dawson, RB, Harvard (good longshot)

Jonny Harline, TE, B.Y.U. (good longshot)

KaMichael Hall, LB, Georgia Tech*

Quintin Echols, DT, Kansas State (good longshot)

Gijon Robinson, TE, Missouri Western

Joe Lobdell, OT, Northern Iowa

Justin Zwick, QB, Ohio State

Jacksonville Jaguars: B

S: excellent (Nelson & Gattis)

LB: decent (Durant was taken very early; Nkang is a project)

OL: decent (Carnahan, Nwaneri, & Parrish)

WR: good  (Walker and Woods)

D.D. Terry, RB, Sam Houston State (fave longshot)

Dan Parrish, OT, Florida A & M

Danny Murray, TE, Connecticut (good longshot)

Tony Pudewell, TE, Nevada

D'Juan Woods, WR, Oklahoma State* (good longshot)

Tennessee Titans: C

RB: decent (Henry and Ware, not enough)

DE: decent (Johnson and Ford)

WR: decent (all ifs and buts)

CB: failed

C: poor (Harris taken too early and only one)

Danny Ware, RB, Georgia

Brandon Sharp, S, Louisville* (good longshot)

Denver Broncos: D+

DE: good

LB: failed

DB: failed

WR: failed

OT: good (Harris and Duckworth)

Brandon Pace, PK, Virginia Tech

Marquay McDaniel, WR, Hampton

Tim Duckworth, OL, Auburn* (good longshot)

Selvin Young, RB, Texas*

Mark Fenton, C, Colorado

Kansas City Chiefs: B

WR: poor (Bowe only one)

OL: decent

DT: excellent (McBride, Tyler, & Batiste)

CB: failed

LB: failed

Wildcard: Medlock is an excellent K; Allen may be the best value pick of the draft

Marlon Fair, DB, Hampton

Stanley Doughty, DT, South Carolina* (good longshot)

George Batiste, OG, Southern Miss

Oakland Raiders: B+

QB: good

DE: good

OT: decent (Henderson is good , Keele has promise)

RB: good (Bush and O'Neal could be steals)

WR: decent (Higgins and Holland)

Kyle Shotwell, LB, Cal-Poly*

Marquis Cole, CB, Northwestern

Larry Brown, DT, Oklahoma State

Eddie Keele, OL, B.Y.U.*

San Diego Chargers: A

WR: good (Davis, Naanee & Schroeder)

S: decent (Weddle, but nothing else)

LB: excellent (Waters, Siler, and Roach)

DE: decent (Coleman and Applewhite)

Wildcards: RB Race and Buckley could be diamonds; Arline could be good corner

Andre Coleman, DE, Albany

Antwan Applewhite, DE, S.D.S.U.

Nick Roach, LB, Northwestern* (fave longshot)

Eldra Buckley, RB, Tennessee Chattanooga

Mike Jones, OL, Iowa

Anthony Arline, CB, Baylor

Germaine Race, RB, Pittsburg State

Chad Schroeder, WR, Texas A&M

Dallas Cowboys: D-

OL: decent (Marton, Free, & Rissler, not enough)

DT: failed

S: failed

WR: poor

QB: poor

Matt Moore, QB, Oregon State (good longshot)

Alonzo Coleman, RB, Hampton

Steve Rissler, OC, Florida

Blair Phillips, LB, Oregon*

Jerard Rabb, WR, Boise State

Jackie Battle, FB, Houston

Dedrick Harrington, LB, Missouri* (fave longshot)

New York Giants: A

OT: excellent (Koets, Hall, Keenan)

LB: decent (DeOssie won't be enough)

DT: decent (Alford won't be enough)

CB: decent  (Ross only)

WR: good (Smith and Myles)

Wild Cards: Johnson and Dahl are very good safeties; Boss is an explosive TE.

Gabe Hall, OT, Texas Tech* (fave longshot)

Craig Dahl, S, North Dakota State* (good longshot)

Stefan Logan, RB, South Dakota

Brandon Myles, WR, West Virginia

Ryan Keenan, OT, Northwestern (good longshot)

Philadelphia Eagles: C+

LB: poor (Bradley is fine but not enough)

DE: poor (only Abiamiri)

DB: good

WR: failed

RB: decent

Marques Murrell, LB, Appalachian State

Jeremy Clark, DT, Alabama* (fave longshot)

Marcus Paschal, S, Iowa

Chris White, C, South Carolina* (good longshot)

Nick Graham, CB, Tulsa* (good longshot)

Washington Redskins: C-

DE: failed

DT: failed

DB: poor (even with Landry, could be decent if Sartz remains a db)

OL: good (Peterson, Heyer, Young and Jewell)

Taylor Sele, WR, Boston College

Tucker Peterson, OG, New Hampshire* (fave longshot)

Zach Latimer, LB, Oaklahoma

John Talley, CB, Duke

Stephon Heyer, OT, Maryland

Marcus Mason, RB, Illinois/Youngstown State

Carl Berman, WR, Indiana State

Kyle Young, OC, Fresno State (Try-out)*

Ryan Jewell, OC, Youngstown State (Try-out?) (fave longshot)

Justin Hickman, DE, U.C.L.A.*

Chicago Bears: D+

OL: poor (Beekman and Brant not enough)

DT: failed

LB: failed (Okwo not much)

DB: decent

QB: poor

Chris Leak, QB, Florida

David Ball, WR, New Hampshire

Justin Rascati, QB, Louisville/James Madison

Derrick Doyle, WR, Northwestern State

Jay Staggs, S, UNLV

Detroit Lions: D

QB: poor

LB: poor

CB: poor

DE: decent (Francis only)

OG: poor

Rodney Burgess, TE, Coastal Carolina

Daniel Bettis, TE, Appalachian State

John Deraney, PK, North Carolina State

Alex Miller, C, Massachusetts (Try-Out)

Green Bay Packers: F

The ineptitude of the Packers draft is reprehensible and should be offensive to the league, fans of the game, and the citizens of the great state of Wisconsin.  Fans in other cities can complain about their team's drafting players too early or too late, ignoring needs or top players still on the board, but at least those teams were drafting All-Americans and All-Conference picks.  The Packers seemed to limit most of their draft to players who were not only not the best players in the country, but were not even the best players in their conferences or even their own teams.  Not that those players may not turn out to be a good fit for the NFL, but there's an avenue for acquiring those players.  It's called the "after draft" free agent market.

While other teams were selecting top runners like Tony Hunt and top receivers like Jason Hill, the Packers selected Brandon Jackson, a guy who shared time with two other backs and had a recurring shoulder problem.  In the next round, they drafted a receiver who was once 2nd team All-WAC.  In the 5th, they got a small, fast receiver from Va. Tech who started all of four games for them his senior year and whose name may turn out to be an historical adjective for this disastrous draft.  "Remember 2007, the Clowney draft."

Any fantasy league player in any sport learns the basics of selecting players in a draft.  Your early selections must come from the positions with the smallest pool of exceptional players. After Calvin Johnson,  Dwayne Bowe and Robert Meacham were far and away the only truly exceptional talents at WR.  After Okoye, most draft boards had Alan Branch of Michigan as the only other DT with first round status.  Following those two was a logjam of players including Harrell, Tank Tyler, Quinn Pitcock, Derek Landri, Marcus Thomas, Jay Alford, Brandon Mebane, and Paul Soliai pretty much lumped into the same talent range.  In fact, many boards had Harrell's faster tacklemate, Turk McBride rated ahead of him.  As it turned out, all of them except Branch and McBride were available when the Packers made their second pick.  Obviously, Bowe and Meacham were gone.  Harrell better turn out to play like his last name is Williams or this draft should score an F-.

The team used later round picks to select several players who all but certainly would have been available after the draft: Korey Hall, Desmond Bishop, DeShawn Wynn.

Admittedly, the team did get a steal with Mason Crosby in the 6th round, but he's a kicker.  Barbre is a very athletic kid, but taken way too early.  Clark Harris was high on some boards in a very down year for tight ends.

What a draft!!!!  This sort of incompetence is tolerated at the CEO level of American corporations, but it should be rooted out in the NFL where fans actually pay some attention.  Unless, you want your team to be the Cardinals or Texans.

Juwan Simpson, LB, Alabama* (good longshot)

Rory Johnson, LB, Mississippi

Larry Birdine, DE, Oklahoma

Tristan Burge, S, Eastern Illinois (Try-Out)

Chris Anzano, CB, Pace (Try-Out) (Fave longshot)

Minnesota Vikings: A-

WR: excellent (Rice, Allison, & Williams. good crop to choose from)

QB: poor (Thigpen is an intriguing dice roll, but not enough)

OL: good (Moszes, Johnson and Daniels are great FAs, but no picks)

LB: poor (Alexander is a good value pick, but little else)

DE: decent (Robison is tough and mean and Bolston may be able to play the edge)

Wild Card: Peterson is a difference maker!

Dan Mozes, OC, West Virginia* (good longshot)

Chase Johnson, OT, Wyoming*

Brian Daniels, OL, Colorado* (fave longshot

Braden Jones, TE, Southern Illinois

Arkee Whitlock, RB, Southern Illinois 

Conrad Bolston, DT, Maryland

Marcus Taylor, LB, Fordham*

Atlanta Falcons: A-

S: good (Stone and Johnson are strong, intuitive players)

LB: decent (Nicholas and Taylor could be good)

DE: good (Anderson and Burchette)

WR: decent (Robinson and Weems are both developments)

OG: good (Blalock is a lock; Quarterman may help)

Noland Burchette, DE, Virginia Tech

Tony Taylor, LB, Georgia

Jeramie Johnson, S, Mississippi State* (good longshot)

Kurt Quarterman, OL, Louisville

David Patterson, DL, Ohio State

Eric Weems, WR, Bethune-Cookman

Carolina Panthers: B-

S: poor

LB: good (Beason and Shaw)

TE: failed (Rosario was drafted as a FB)

WR: good (Jarrett and Robinson)

DE: poor (Johnson only taken)

Billy Latsko, FB, Florida

Nathan Bennett, OG, Clemson*

Jessie Daniels, SS, Louisiana State*

Andrew Wellock, PK, Eastern Michigan* (fave longshot)

Theodric Watson, OT, South Florida*

New Orleans Saints: B

CB: good (Young and Jones)

LB: poor (Mitchell and Ismael not enough)

WR: excellent (Meacham and McKnight)

DL: poor (Thomas is a big project)

OL: good (Alleman, Bushrod, and Kuresa)

Tyler Palko, QB, Pittsburgh

Rhema McKnight, WR, Notre Dame** (fave longshot)

Walter Thomas, DT, Northwest Mississippi CC

Brett Bergstrom, PK, Eastern Washington

Jake Kuresa, OL, B.Y.U.

Ameer Ismail, OLB, Western Michigan* (good longshot)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: A-

DL: good (Adams, Peterson, Frick)

OL: good (Sears, Denman, & McCarthy)

S: excellent (Piscitelli and Jackson are both potential all pros)

WR: failed

LB: excellent  (Black, Hayward and Olajubutu)

Wild Cards: CBs Hamilton,  Scott, and Williams were great additions.

Justin Frick, DT, North Dakota State* (fave longshot)

Zac Taylor, QB, Nebraska

Matt Herian, TE, Nebraska

Sam Olajubutu, LB, Arkansas

Kenny Scott, CB, Georgia Tech (Try-out)*

Chaz Williams, DB, Louisiana-Monroe

Ed McCarthy, OT, Yale*(good longshot)

Arizona Cardinals: C

CB: poor (picked up Bain as FA)

OL: decent (Brown, Vallejo, and Sendlein)

DL: poor

LB: decent (Davis, Holloway, and Tagafau)

RB: failed

Travarous Bain, CB, Hampton (good longshot)

David Holloway, OLB, Maryland

Ricky Schmitt, P/K, Shepherd University

Evan Prall, WR, East Stroudsburg

Elliott Vallejo, OT, U.C.L.A./Cal-Davis*

Lyle Sendlein, OC, Texas* (fave longshot)

Pago Togafau, LB, Idaho State

St. Louis Rams: C

DL: excellent (Carriker, Ryan, Jackson, and Peltway)

CB: poor

OG: poor

FB: decent (Leonard is a good one)

LB: decent (McLee and Culberson could both make the team)

David Thompson, OG, Massachusetts

Kevin McLee, LB, West Virginia

Drew Tate, QB, Iowa

Quinton Culberson, LB, Mississippi State

Alton Pettway, DL, Albany State

San Francisco 49ers: C-

WR: poor

DL: decent

LB: good (Willis and Moore)

OL: poor (Staley is good, but he's only one guy)

TE: poor (Herald probably won't be enough)

Luke Getsy, QB, Pitt/Akron

Zac Herold, TE, Nebraska-Omaha

Darius Sanders, DE, Oregon

Seattle Seahawks: C-

OG: decent (Wrotto and Vallos)

TE: decent (Newton is a steal undrafted)

DT: poor (Mebane only one)

DE: poor (Atkins only one)

LB: good (Herring and Jensen)

Wild Cards: WR Taylor, Kent, and Payne are a nice mix.

Joe Newton, TE, Oregon State* (fave longshot)

Cameron Jensen, LB, B.Y.U. (good longshot)

Tim Mixon, DB, Cal-Berkely

Logan Payne, WR, Minnesota

Kyle Stringer, P, Boise State