Report: Ryan Mallett Traded to Houston for late pick

[Ivan]

Wow.

You overwhelm me, Brother Ivan.

That may be the greatest Compliment I've ever received around these parts...

And many of you have been very kind, indeed.

Thank you, my Brother.

*I have indeed laid the groundwork for pulling forward my own hilarious Mock Drafts, going back to 2010, and will follow through in the months and Years to come, to the Amusement of us all!!

*And I have also initiated "BackDrafts" or "Final Exams" ~ Post-Draft "Mocks" that correspond with the way the Drafts actually played out. Nobody at all responded in 2013, but many Brave Souls Stepped Up And Put It On The Line this Year, and I'm hoping that that's just the Beginning!!

As you know Grid i really like the draft and I have followed it pretty closely for years, however i am not in the league with guys like you, manx, mayo etc.. at this point in time because I simply don't have the time to spend on it. i respect the time and effort you guys put into it and I appreciate the knowledge that it gives all of us on these prospects but my one overriding b.tch has been the draftniks who believe they are always right and that their level of knowledge puts them on par with NFL front offices, who clearly have far more knowledge and resources than the average person has in making the choices. they are also dealing with far more complexity in terms of team building for all of their respective units and future cap considerations that make their decisions far more complicated than simply taking the obvious guy at the obvious need, so while i am thinking pass rusher when they are picking 17th they take Solder because they know they are going to need their next franchise OT in two years to replace Matt Light. So I tend to be highly critical of those who constantly say (e.g...) "Belichick should have taken Antonio Brown but he took Price instead, what an idiot.........," and when you actually tried to find out who that poster wanted at that point in the draft there is no record of it, and in fact with a number of them they never even went on record and spend little to no time in the draft forum. However i also realize that a few of them are just trolls and are only talking sh.t to talk sh.t. because it's how they roll. So when i see you criticize picks and moves i give it credibility because you at least go on record and do a ton of work to make good decisions and when i am criticizing the "draftniks" realize it is not intended for you manx or mayo etc...but for the posters who know everything in hindsight but nothing in reality. Thanks for all your efforts and i look forward to this year's version and all of your continuing efforts.

Thanks again,

Ivan

 

[Ivan]

For anyone who's really upset, here's a mental exercise to ease your mind a bit:

Compare the relative experiences of the Pats drafting Mallett in the 3rd, never needing him, and trading him for a conditional 6th/7th

versus

(1) the Jets experience with Mark Sanchez, Geno Smith, or (2) the disastrous and expensive roster situation the Bills are enjoying with EJ Manuel

There... isn't that better?

Right on the money, great post.

 

[Ivan]

We never saw Mallett play as a starter - practicing with the first team and executing a game plan tailored to his strengths and weaknesses. My guess is that (like Matt Cassel), he'd probably play a bit better than we would have thought.

And that is what it would have taken for Belichick to actually get something decent for him in return. I had hoped BOB had seen enough of him and wanted him enough to give them more but he was smart, waited them out, and got Mallett for a low cost. Good job by BOB imo, if only Al davis were still alive................we would have had the pick that got them Kahlil Mack......... I wish he had lived forever.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

The Mallett draft pick was terrible all around, including from the point of being sensible or not. Hoyer was already on the team. And, while you bag on those $5mm backups, Orton can win games, and he has. Mallett had a hard time moving the ball against the future valets of America.

But on the last year of his rookie contract. They had to find a QB3 to groom.

You and OTG are entitled to your opinion, but IMO drafting Mallett wasn't a mistake, and certainly not "senseless." Not the best pick of all time by any stretch, but certainly not a mistake.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

For anyone who's really upset, here's a mental exercise to ease your mind a bit:

Compare the relative experiences of the Pats drafting Mallett in the 3rd, never needing him, and trading him for a conditional 6th/7th

versus

(1) the Jets experience with Mark Sanchez, Geno Smith, or (2) the disastrous and expensive roster situation the Bills are enjoying with EJ Manuel, or (3) the Dolphins wasting second-round pick after second-round pick on QBs

There... isn't that better?

How many did they spend? 5 in a row? 6 in a row?

 

[Oswlek]

But on the last year of his rookie contract. They had to find a QB3 to groom.

You and OTG are entitled to your opinion, but IMO drafting Mallett wasn't a mistake, and certainly not "senseless." Not the best pick of all time by any stretch, but certainly not a mistake.

You could make a strong case that Mallett was a mistake even if the drafting of a QB was not. That is probably the fence upon which I sit.

 

[Deus Irae]

Mallett sucked. That doesn't mean every rookie will suck. I just don't see a $4mm difference between your average 4th round QB and whatever backup dregs are floating around, particularly when you get to keep the rookie for 4 years if he proves worthy.

If you want to hope that your drafted QB can do as good a job as a blooded veteran, that's on you. I'll just point out that BB's devotion to this is a recent one, after years of making sure that he had a Huard/Testaverde/Flutie around. But you were claiming that the pick made sense when it didn't. Like the O'Connell pick, it was an absolute cluster from general rationale all the way to specific choice.

And Mallett never proved worthy.

 

[Deus Irae]

But on the last year of his rookie contract. They had to find a QB3 to groom.

You and OTG are entitled to your opinion, but IMO drafting Mallett wasn't a mistake, and certainly not "senseless." Not the best pick of all time by any stretch, but certainly not a mistake.

It was moronic. It was the kind of stupidity that gets GMs fired.

 

[Deus Irae]

Not to say that Mallet could have done it, but I expect you would have said exactly the same thing preseaon 2008.

I was one of the few Cassel defenders, so you would expect wrong.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Mallett has a head start on the other 2 QB's there in that he knows the offense that BOB is installing. I wouldn't be suprised to see him leapfrog Savage on the depth chart and eventually getting a chance once Fitzpatrick hits a bad streak as he always seems to do.

Excellent point. Very possible..

 

[Triumph]

There must be a Triumph on every other message board ripping some coach for not drafting Brady and drafting one of 198 players before him.

And there are homers on every board that spin every move into gold.

 

[Oswlek]

If you want to hope that your drafted QB can do as good a job as a blooded veteran, that's on you. I'll just point out that BB's devotion to this is a recent one, after years of making sure that he had a Huard/Testaverde/Flutie around. But you were claiming that the pick made sense when it didn't. Like the O'Connell pick, it was an absolute cluster from general rationale all the way to specific choice.

And Mallett never proved worthy.

The drafting of a QB makes perfect sense. It might have been higher than I wanted and I hated the actual player, but it is absolutely defensible.

As for the vet, that isn't entirely accurate. Cassel knocked Davey off the roster with Flutie only showing up later in the year. Same deal with Testaverde who was only around for part of a year. Since 2007, the backup has been either a rookie or a guy on his rookie deal. And all along Bill has regularly brought in late round and UDFA QBs to see if the pipeline can be replenished on the cheap.

It is also notable that Bill was doing this a decade ago when backup QBs were inexpensive. Now that they are a $5mm proposition, fans should expect a 3rd or 4th to be invested in a QB every fourth year.

 

[Triumph]

We never saw Mallett play as a starter - practicing with the first team and executing a game plan tailored to his strengths and weaknesses. My guess is that (like Matt Cassel), he'd probably play a bit better than we would have thought.

Based on what?

There was never any indication that Mallet would be good hence no buyers and low return on investment.

 

[Bruins29]

And there are homers on every board that spin every move into gold.

No question. And ***wipes that are 100x annoying as they act like management hasnt done anything right.

 

[Triumph]

No question. And ***wipes that are 100x annoying as they act like management hasnt done anything right.

Someone has to counter balance the ****** *******.

 

[Bruins29]

Someone has to counter balance the ****** *******.

Feel free to point out the homers, as I would like to see if they are as bad as you say.

 

[ATippett56]

But on the last year of his rookie contract. They had to find a QB3 to groom.

You and OTG are entitled to your opinion, but IMO drafting Mallett wasn't a mistake, and certainly not "senseless." Not the best pick of all time by any stretch, but certainly not a mistake.

Brian Hoyer was not a restricted free agent until calendar year 2012.

 

[Danger Zone]

Feel free to point out the homers, as I would like to see if they are as bad as you say.

No really Triumph, point out the homers that think Belichick can do no wrong.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Brian Hoyer was not a restricted free agent until calendar year 2012.

My initial statement was not wrong. His rookie contact was a 3-year deal, meaning in 2012 the Pats had to choose between giving teams a chance to get him for nothing and overpaying him.

 

[50-yard-line]

According to that logic, they could have drafted me and it would have been a good pick. I can carry a clipboard with the best of 'em.

Sure, if you could gain BB's confidence that in a needed situation, you could come in and hold down the fort to keep the team competitive, as Cassel did in 2008, as Mallett clearly had done for the last three years, and as JAG apparently managed to do this year.

The difference between a kid coming out of college and a guy with no real resume (backup QBs) after 3-4 years is enormous, in that if the talent is there, the salary cost will be much higher. If Mallett goes in and plays well in Texas, he'll be getting a deal north of 5 million per year starting in 2015. you get that, right?
And it could be much more (see Cassell).

Is JAG Brady's replacement? Truth is, he may not get on the field for the the years of his rookie deal (we all hope not, because that means Brady is still lighting it up). In that hoped-for instance, at the end of that rookie deal, he won't be worth much on the trading block, even though he was worth a 2nd, or certainly a 3rd, round pick to more than one team this year (the Pats and reportedly the Texans).

Regarding Mallett, we're simply never going to know how good he would have been playing regularly in the Pats' system, becuase he never got the chance - and I doubt anyone here wanted him to get the chance. Having a cost-controlled back-up whom BB trusted over the last 3 years cost the patriots less than half the cap room than Orton will cost the Bills this year alone. To put a vet on your bench behind Brady is expensive - to have a guy you can trust on his rookie deal there is a great luxury, and well-worth a mid-round pick.