Ha. The whole point of these fan forums is to second guess management! You would have us take all the fun out this stuff. There is a whole industry based on second guessing the Red Sox. Luckily there are precious few legit opportunities with Belichick or Terry Francona. Brace is one.
I don't buy this bunk about needing a few years to evaluate DL players; Pryor could have been the second and Brace the 7'th at this point and it would not have been too far off (a little high for Pryor but about right for Brace). Pryor showed a lot year; Brace nothing.
The weird thing is that BB has shown that he is very very good at picking DL personnel; probably the best in the NFL. How could he make such a whiff on Brace? Was he fooled by offense's rolling toward Raji? Hard to believe? Was Brace injured? Slow learner?
As far as Crable I have to believe that BB applied his (what I think) is unrealistic height requirements for an OLB instead of getting a good tough athlete.
Meriweather was considered a bust too until last season. One year isn't enough.
As for BB whiffing on the DT position, it seems like a lot of people have done the same recently. If you look at all the DTs drafted in the top-2 rounds over the past 3 years, you don`t get a lot of production. Raji, Peria Jerry (injury), and Evander Hood were all drafted before Brace last season, and none really stood out. It`s still too early to say, but I think Green Bay is more disappointed in Raji as a top 10 pick than we should be in Brace.
In 2008, Glenn Dorsey, Kentwan Ballmer and Trevor Laws were selected in the first two rounds and didn`t contribute much, with Sedrick Ellis being the only guy who isn`t seen as a bust. And apparently New Orleans had offered to trade up to take Dorsey instead, but KC declined the offer.
In 2007, Amobe Okoye, Justin Harrell, Alan Branch and Turk McBride were drafted in the first two rounds and again, not much production.
Brace is not only learning a new position, but also a new technique. He hasn`t been great, and I could see him being a bust when all is said and done. But it is too early to tell. I don`t mind people predicting if he will be or not, but no one can be definitive about it, BB and Ron Brace included.