Why Jordan Richards is a Top 64 Pick in the Patriots' NFL

AndyJohnson said:

Do you really think 32 teams share their draft analysis with the media?
Really?

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Not all 32, and not with all the media. Belichick is one of the few coaches who does NOT use a scouting service used by other teams.

However, there are many, many media types who have good sources on various teams. We used to wait for the Dallas paper to come out because their media guru had late information from various teams. Curran used to have pretty good information on the patriots.

But, yes, I think that some media have good information from some teams. And yes, I definitely believe that the scouting service information of many other teams may be available to some of the media.

mgteich said:

Not all 32, and not with all the media. Belichick is one of the few coaches who does NOT use a scouting service used by other teams.

However, there are many, many media types who have good sources on various teams. We used to wait for the Dallas paper to come out because their media guru had late information from various teams. Curran used to have pretty good information on the patriots.

But, yes, I think that some media have good information from some teams. And yes, I definitely believe that the scouting service information of many other teams may be available to some of the media.

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Perhaps I misunderstood your point. I was under the impression that you were saying the media did a good job of assessing and grading players in the draft.

AndyJohnson said:

Perhaps I misunderstood your point. I was under the impression that you were saying the media did a good job of assessing and grading players in the draft.

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Very few media types do a good job. None do a better job then Belichick.

Personally, I think that the Dallas media (Gosselin?) usually do a decent job. I recall them ranking Vollmer as a 2/3 where everyone else ignored him. Persaonlly, I like Mayock's analyses.

There certainly are times when the media has MAJOR misses going both ways.

Sometimes the media considerably over-rate a player. Perhaps they have missed something that the GM's know. It seems that this was the case with DT Jarrett and WR Green this year. The media apparently missed something.

Obviously, there are many time when the media and most teams miss a talent. They rate someone low and he turns out to be a star. When a team recognizes talent and fit not recognized by the media, we call this a "reach". IMHO, the player is indeed a reach if no other team was going to draft the player for 3 more rounds. HOWEVER, the player is NOT necessarily a reach with regard to his talent level. Sometimes, Belichick takes the player (Richards and Grissom) much higher then where he is rated. Other times, Belichick takes the chance, trades down or waits and still get players like Gronk or Collins.

We celebrate Belichick when he takes the chance and wins. We second guess him when he "reaches" and lots of top rated picks are drafted before the reach might have been drafted. Belichick assessing the risk and makes the choice. Obviously, on balance, Belichick is one of the top 5 drafters in the NFL.

THIS DRAFT
IMHO, Belichick risked losing Jackson. But how can I complain? Belichick got him anyway.

Belichick saw a great weakness at DE/OLB where most here thought that we had solved the "issue" by drafting Sheard. We liked Buchanan and/or Moore. Belichick thought differently drafting Grissom, Flowers, Wells and ****son.

BOTTOM LINE
For me, this draft class is a very promising set of players. Belichick didn't see anything he wanted at CB or WR. That shouldn't be a criticism. I see only one player who I think has no chance at making the 53 (Derby). The first 7 picks will almost surely make the 53 (perhaps later for Cardona). Add a couple of late rounders or UDFA's and we have a pretty impressive set of upgrades to a very young Super Bowl team.

The player I wanted them to take was taken with the very next pick by the damn Colts.

mgteich said:

You seem to think that "the media" relies on height, speed and other measurables to determine their rankings, and that Belichick does not.

I strongly disagree. It is posters that rank based on measurables. The media folks have teams that have looked at the tapes of the players, their bowl and combine workouts and performance, and personal interviews with the players and with staff of the 32 teams.

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*chuckle* Many posters rank based on what the media Draftniks rank. And despite these media draftniks looking at tapes of games, East-West Shrine, Senior Bowl, Combine, performance, personal interviews, etc, they aren't working for teams. They're there to sell you an NFL product. They are providing a general analysis based on measurables, production and perceived intangibles. Nothing more. Not a single media Draftnik scouts players from the viewpoint of a particular team because the teams each have their own scouting system. By this, I mean, each team rates things differently as to what is and isn't important. And most sites don't give a lot of the pertinent information.. Such as Matthew Wells being "legally" blind in his right eye.

It's foolhardy to think that the teams share ANY information with the media draftniks. They consider that information to be top secret. Even a decade after a player has stopped playing.

And before you mention Patriots Reign or War Room, remember that only the generic information was given. No actual scouting information on a particular player was given.

And your point is?