Draft-site follies: HuddleReport and ILBs

[patchick]

In the thread on Jon Abbate...
http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/showthread.php?t=52717&page=2
...I talked about the kind of tenacious, football-loving guy who's not physically gifted but becomes a linchpin of the team at ILB. And how you root hard for those guys, but they seldom make it at the next level.

Well I was just reading thehuddlereport.com and it struck me: Drew Boylhart is an absolute sucker for those guys. Falls for them hard every year, rates them much higher than everybody else, watches them sink like stones, then comes back and does the same thing next year.

Remember Robert McCune of Louisville in 2005?
"Robert is a leader and has excellent football instincts. He makes the players around him better and he is very strong and can play any one of the LB positions...In my opinion, he is one of the best linebackers in this draft and may be the best MLB."

How about Spencer Havner of UCLA in 2006?
"This kid plays his heart out on every single down, which is his best attribute. I would guess that when he goes to the combine, he won’t wow you with any special times or measurables, but believe me, the team that needs an LB in the first round will be sorry if they pass on this kid."

This year, we have Mark Zalewski of Wisconsin whom he grades as a 1st-round talent:
"Mark will start for the team that drafts him right away. He will make players around him better and he will gain their respect the third time he puts them in the right position to make a play. His teammates will get up off the ground from making a tackle, look for Mark and point to him because they know he is the one that saw the play coming all the way. Mark is one of the few every-down LB’s in this draft. He understands situational football and like I said before, he is like a coach on the field."


Anybody notice other idiosyncrasies in particular draft sites? Tendencies to be aware of or discount?

 

[PonyExpress]

In the thread on Jon Abbate...
http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/showthread.php?t=52717&page=2
...I talked about the kind of tenacious, football-loving guy who's not physically gifted but becomes a linchpin of the team at ILB. And how you root hard for those guys, but they seldom make it at the next level.

Well I was just reading thehuddlereport.com and it struck me: Drew Boylhart is an absolute sucker for those guys. Falls for them hard every year, rates them much higher than everybody else, watches them sink like stones, then comes back and does the same thing next year.

Remember Robert McCune of Louisville in 2005?
"Robert is a leader and has excellent football instincts. He makes the players around him better and he is very strong and can play any one of the LB positions...In my opinion, he is one of the best linebackers in this draft and may be the best MLB."

How about Spencer Havner of UCLA in 2006?
"This kid plays his heart out on every single down, which is his best attribute. I would guess that when he goes to the combine, he won’t wow you with any special times or measurables, but believe me, the team that needs an LB in the first round will be sorry if they pass on this kid."

This year, we have Mark Zalewski of Wisconsin whom he grades as a 1st-round talent:
"Mark will start for the team that drafts him right away. He will make players around him better and he will gain their respect the third time he puts them in the right position to make a play. His teammates will get up off the ground from making a tackle, look for Mark and point to him because they know he is the one that saw the play coming all the way. Mark is one of the few every-down LB’s in this draft. He understands situational football and like I said before, he is like a coach on the field."


Anybody notice other idiosyncrasies in particular draft sites? Tendencies to be aware of or discount?

Everyone fell in love with McCune more for his combine measurables and military background than anything else... the Redskins drafted him.

It's too early to give up on Havner. BTW, the Reskins signed him too (speaking of patterns; Hmmmmm...), but he is now with GB. I liked Havner coming out and could see him developing inot something.

Zalewski is an unknown. But I'm still holding out hope for Havner over the next couple seasons.

 

[dryheat44]

In the thread on Jon Abbate...
http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/showthread.php?t=52717&page=2
...I talked about the kind of tenacious, football-loving guy who's not physically gifted but becomes a linchpin of the team at ILB. And how you root hard for those guys, but they seldom make it at the next level.

Well I was just reading thehuddlereport.com and it struck me: Drew Boylhart is an absolute sucker for those guys. Falls for them hard every year, rates them much higher than everybody else, watches them sink like stones, then comes back and does the same thing next year.

Remember Robert McCune of Louisville in 2005?
"Robert is a leader and has excellent football instincts. He makes the players around him better and he is very strong and can play any one of the LB positions...In my opinion, he is one of the best linebackers in this draft and may be the best MLB."

How about Spencer Havner of UCLA in 2006?
"This kid plays his heart out on every single down, which is his best attribute. I would guess that when he goes to the combine, he won’t wow you with any special times or measurables, but believe me, the team that needs an LB in the first round will be sorry if they pass on this kid."

This year, we have Mark Zalewski of Wisconsin whom he grades as a 1st-round talent:
"Mark will start for the team that drafts him right away. He will make players around him better and he will gain their respect the third time he puts them in the right position to make a play. His teammates will get up off the ground from making a tackle, look for Mark and point to him because they know he is the one that saw the play coming all the way. Mark is one of the few every-down LB’s in this draft. He understands situational football and like I said before, he is like a coach on the field."


Anybody notice other idiosyncrasies in particular draft sites? Tendencies to be aware of or discount?

And Havner wasn't even drafted.

I remarked in another thread that I liked Boylhart because he goes out on a limb quite regularly. But it seems that there are roughly 175 guys every year that he thinks should go in the first round.

I like Zalewski, but let's face it, at under 6'2" and under 235 lbs, slow, weak, and relatively unathletic, he's going to be hard pressed to take defensive snaps this year, let alone become a starter from day one and first round pick.

As good as it is, the Big Ten is a far cry from the AFC East

 

[everlong]

Kiper is a sucker for Wide Receivers. He always has them over valued and puts them ahead of where they will go.

I was reading the mocks today at CBS Sportsline for laughs. Prisco and Judge are bad football writers but as draft experts they are serious jokes. If you want a laugh go check those out.