patchick

I've been traveling and missed most of the discussion here, so forgive me if this is well-trodden ground, but...

We were all wrong, eh?

Were you convinced that Connor Barwin was The Chosen One at OLB?

Did you think the key to the whole draft was trading up for Maualuga?

Or maybe you were focused on college production over size (E. Brown), or readiness in the system over athleticism (Sintim)? Or you were smitten by the athletic potential of Gilbert (who, me?) or the balletic feet of Beatty?

Whichever was you, you were wrong.

Sure, you could argue that we didn't get answer on Larry English...except for BB's comments about the OLBs being either short or slow. English is both. And yes, they took Butler...after passing on him multiple times.

So next year, as you're locked in mortal combat over some prospect, the good news is you can feel confident that your opponent is dead wrong. And he can know the same about you.

Thanks as always to all the draft diehards, see you here next year!

stinkypete

Somewhere the Patrick Chung crowd is smirking.

patchick

But everybody was on the "SS in the 2nd-3rd, preferably Chung" bandwagon. And nobody was on the "first player drafted should be Chung" bandwagon!

So wrong, wrong, wrong.

BelichickFan

I liked Maualuga. Although I did realize that in Nickel he would be off the field which was an issue.

I also liked Butler, though, and I posted that he was a "fit" IMO. I was never huge into Chung as I worry he'll be James Sanders - not quite the athleticism to be top caliber. Despite the occasional "go for it" pick, I still claim it's clear that Belichick's top picks tend to be safe, long term producers at schools from major conferences who have played their position for an extended time. Butler, Chung and Brace all fit this - we didn't swing for the fences until 2d. This is why I never considered Barwin an option early.

ctpatsfan77

FWIW: Yes, I was convinced that the Patriots should draft Barwin. I was also convinced that it was a long shot that they actually would.

The good news is that we'll be able to see how he does. . . . and if he's as good as some of us think, so will Peyton Manning. Twice a year.

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bakes781

English is not slow! He may not be lightning fast like Barwin, but since when did we become the Oakland Raiders?

Anyway I think I made it pretty clear I liked Darius Butler. I didn't feel we could get both so I chose English as my #1 choice at #23. I was surprised that Butler fell as far as he did.

I did like Tate early on, but after the failed drug test I took him off my radar.

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mayoclinic

As usual, no one predicted the unpredictable things that BB would do, though the gist of what he did was predicted by many - trading around and down, acquiring some 2010 picks. I think that none of us expected him to be as driving by cost-effectiveness as he was.

I think the Chung pick at 34 wa a bit surprising. Most of us had safety going #47 or 58. I think that Detroit surprised everyone by taking Delmas at #33(especially with Maualuga and Laurinaitis on the board), and that BB had Delmas and Chung rated considerably ahead of the other safeties, including Moore, so he decided not to risk missing out on his guy.

Many people thought Butler was a terrific Pats prospect, and were obviously right. I was personally snookered by the logjam at CB, which BB solved by trading Hobbs. Once that happened, it made perfect sense to take Butler, and getting him at 41 was a steal, is pretty much all of us expected him to come off the board between 23 and 34.

The biggest surprise was obviously the lack of an OLB. I think we all underestimated how comfortable BB is with the current roster (or that he has an alternate plan in mind). I think a lot of people's favorites (Everette Brown, and I personally think Larry English) weren't seriously considered by BB because they didn't fit his profile. I think some others may have been on his board (Barwin, Maybin) but he obviously thought better value could be had elsewhere. In it's just a guess.

I think many people expected OL depth, DL depth, a mid-round SILB candidate, and youth and talent on the secondary, all of which happened. It's too much to expect anyone to target picks precisely, particularly in a draft like this when the talent was so densely packed and we were positioned to move around so much.

So far I'm batting 1.000 on my 2010 picks. Optimism reigns eternal.

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"OVER Loading at ANY position can create a Fatal Advantage. THAT is what interests ME. Attacking With Concentrated Force. THAT is what WINS. In the words ~ more or less ~ of General Patton: 'I'm fighting a WAR, here. Let the B*****ES worry about their FLANKS.' " - Off the Grid

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WhiZa

For his size his 40 is slow. His playing speed may be different.

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bakes781

Well guess what? We didn't draft the track guy either, so what does that tell you?

You just can't let it go can you? lol You assume English wasn't a consideration, but you believe Barwin was? How do you figure that?

I don't care how many draftnik graders say that English was a reach and Barwin was a steal. The fact is English went 16th overall and Barwin went 46th. And guess what? That's about right where they both should've gone.

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maverick4

Barwin went right about where he should have. He received major (irrational) love here because of the Vrabel comparisons.