How do you think the rest of the AFC EAST did?
 

It'll be awhile til we can fully assess how our own team did, let alone others, but here are my initial reactions to the other AFC East team's drafts

MIAMI -generally Miami seemed constrained by having only 3 picks out of the top 114 - it's somewhat surprising to me given the way the draft shook out that they couldn't wouldn't find a trading partner to move out of 16. Picking up a 2nd rounder would have been a good thing for Saban.

Jason Allen's a bit of a head scratcher. If he's fully healthy its a good pick - and if not its a waste. Why Saban would go all or nothing at 16 rather than trade back and gain an extra pick is surprising to me.

Hagan might wind up being a decent posession back - looks like a tough, but not fast WR

BUFFALO - A+... Marv Levy really knows what he's doing!!! (NOT!) They over-reached with both their top 2 picks... I think everyone agrees that Buffalo botched this one - 2 of the top 3 QBs there for them - but they put the franchise in Los(t)man's hands instead - then over-reach for a S when they could have traded back and still got him. Same with McCargo.

I think with good coaching their 3rd round pick Ashton "Sheik" Youboty will be a decent reciever for them. S Ko Simpson will either be good or a bust - I think they will find out soon.

NY JETS - Magnini and Co played the draft well in my opinion. They resisted the urge to go QB in round one, but still got a top tier QB in Clemmons - who I think can give noodlearm a real run for his money.

They come out of the draft with two likely OL starters, a possible QB of the future, an MLB who could be a 3rd round steal, and a backup QB/WR prospect in Smith, and an RB who could be good if he can stay healthy for a full season for a change.

Hey, they even drafted a guy named "Titus" which is worth it for the giggle factor alone - a decent draft for a rebuilding team.



Overall, the Stongest got stronger as the Pats played the draft to perfection. Miami, deemed by many the 2nd best team in the division did little to improve. Buffalo continues its run of poor drafts, and the Jets helped themselves significantly, but it won't be enough this season to make a big difference.


Any other thoughts about the rest of the AFC East out there?

Good Eval JSP.

You could really see BB's tree growing wider with Mangini's draft. Titus Adams was an all-conference academic scholar, too.

JSP, you pretty much nailed it. Love the sarcasm (A+) on Buffalo. I do think day two was better for the Bills than day one, but like you said time will tell. The Jets did very well. I expected alot more out of Miami. Not much to get excited about with them.

More or less as you say.

It is hard to compare Jets draft and Phins draft because of the disparity of # of picks. Sure the Jets came away with better players. They shuld have. Did mangini draft better than saban? I don't know. I guess they were about equal.

I thought the Bills were a little weird with their first pick until they moved up for waht's-that-guy's-name? It's good not to be a Bill's fan :D

I think the Jersey Jests made some pretty solid foundation-building picks. New regime had a pretty good first draft.

good post Joe
 

Good overall assessment Joe......This is why BB is BB and Saban is Saban......I was shocked that Miami didn't trade down and get more picks and that they burned a 1st rounder on a guy that has serious durability issues and although he is a decent CB......does not seem to have that big play/INTERCEPTION factor as he is prone to bat the ball away rather than make a play on it....even when he IS IN PERFECT position to make the pick.......anyways.....agree also on Jets and Bills......Mangini had a decent draft (although I am sure there a$$es are still burning over not being able to move up to get Bush).....and Buffalo's draft was sorry.........GO PATS!!

Buffalo
1 8 Whitner, Donte SS 5-10 203 Ohio State
1 26 McCargo, John DT 6-2 301 North Carolina State
3 70 Youboty, Ashton CB 6-0 188 Ohio State
4 105 Simpson, Ko FS 6-1 208 South Carolina
5 134 Williams, Kyle DT 6-1 298 Louisiana State
5 143 Butler, Brad OT 6-7 309 Virginia
6 178 Ellison, Keith OLB 6-1 229 Oregon State
7 216 Pennington, Terrance OT 6-7 325 New Mexico
7 248 Merz, Aaron G 6-3 346 California

There is madness to their method: They are going for a fast ball hawking secondary and quick penetrating DL; Jauron is remaking the defensive line to his taste, while going with a lot of speed at S. CB and LB was not a concern for Beefalo though they took good depth with Youboty and an excellent coverage LB in Ellison. Over reaching or not, they are going for a heavier version of the Indy defense and will be a more challenging then I had hoped. They grabbed three heavyweight run blocking OL, I don't know much about their FA signings on OL, but McGahee looks to be the feature weapon whomever is sentenced to QB.

Miami
1 16 Allen, Jason CB 6-1 208 Tennessee
3 82 Hagan, Derek WR 6-2 209 Arizona State
4 114 Toledo, Joe OT 6-5 337 Washington
7 212 Evans, Fred DT 6-5 307 Texas State
7 226 Wright, Rodrique DT 6-5 306 Texas
7 233 Aromashodu, Devin WR 6-2 202 Auburn

Which conference does Tennessee play in? Which conference did Saban coach in? Now tell me he had no clue what he was getting when he took Jason Allen in round one. Hagan was a favorite of many here and Aromashodu is another SEC WR Nick knows well. Toledo has a fighting shot at winning the RT slot, a former TE with little experience at OT going to work for an outstanding O-line coach. Two DT just the right size for 3-4 DEs, don't look now but Tricky Nicky did nothing to hurt his team with this draft.

New York
1 4 Ferguson, D'Brickashaw OT 6-6 313 Virginia
1 29 Mangold, Nick C 6-4 299 Ohio State
2 49 Clemens, Kellen QB 6-2 223 Oregon
3 76 Schlegel, Anthony ILB 6-0 251 Ohio State
3 97 Smith, Eric SS 6-1 209 Michigan State
4 103 Smith, Brad WR 6-2 212 Missouri
4 117 Washington, Leon RB 5-8 202 Florida State
5 150 Pociask, Jason TE 6-3 267 Wisconsin
6 189 Coleman, Drew CB 5-8 173 Texas Christian
7 220 Adams, Titus DT 6-3 305 Nebraska

Tangini started with a natural advantage thanks to Herm the magnificent, whom I greatly miss. No. one need, O-line - looks like they did okay. No. two need, QB - another decent choice with good value. No. three need, secondary - I don't know either player, but who was that secondary coach NE used for plug and play with their young CBs? Schlegel is a smart run stuffer to play alongside lil Vilma inside. Leon Washington is quick, fast, and has decent hands out of the backfield. The Pats looked closely at Pociask, not a bad player to back up Jolly. Adams is an okay run stuffer and Brad Smith was known for his running ability if I recall. They also got the Skins 2nd rounder in 2007 and does anyone know if they got another 2007 pick with their second day trades?

There is nothing in the AFCE draft to urge any complacency for New England. The Pats are going to be playing a much tougher schedule then people hoped because these three clubs are getting back into the business of playing football. :(

I won't repeat those two detailed workups, and I won't try to top them. If I may, I'll boil them down, but first, caveat: WE DO NOT KNOW yet. Nobody in this draft has played a snap in the NFL. Still here's how it looks to me:

NE: A. Big surprise there, huh? But I'm not just being a homer. The days when we lose 4 games because Corey can't go the distance are over. It's been pointed out that we've got some extra red zone presence with Jackson, not to mention yet another crop of tight ends/h-backs/full backs. And then the beef... hey, one or more of those guys can make it, who knows.

JEST: A-/B+. I think they gain ground on everybody but NE, maybe hold the gap with the Pats unchanged.

Miami: C+/B-. They only had so much to work with, and only Saban knows how it's all supposed to fit together. Nothing they did struck me as incredibly brilliant or incredibly intelligent.

Buffalo: D, on the face of it. Again, I consider myself a rank amateur compared with these guys, but I think they've shot themselves in the foot with this draft. I'll be surprised to see them gain ground on the Pats based on what they did this year.

Full impact will be observed between 2007 and 2009 on most picks - we can talk then. I fully expect two out of three of our divisional opponents to have drafted well, based on their Belichick pedigrees ;). But then you can't spit anymore without hitting an offshoot of the Belichick coaching tree. Hell, his old sock puppet is head coach in Dallas!

PFnV

Yup. Now if you count Tuna and BB's combined tree at least six come immediately to mind:

BB
Romeo
Tuna
Mangini
Saban
Coughlin

That's a pretty impressive number. Did I forget any?