Sportscenter: Kiper has us picking......

[CTPatsFan]

At #21,LB Bobby Carpenter Ohio State. Interestingly enough he has us passing up DE Mathias Kiwanuka Boston College and RB Laurence Maroney Minnesota. I think if Kiwanuka or Maroney are there, we pick one of them, despite Carpenter being a possible stud LB.

If that's the case, let's hope he's more Mike Vrabel and less Andy Katzenmoyer.

 

[mgcolby]

Scouts Inc. has New England Patriots (10-6): Paul Posluszny, OLB, Penn State


They rank him with a grade of 93 and as the 5th best OLB
Kiper doesn't have him going to anyone in the 1st round.

He blew his knee out in the Florida St game and is staying in college for his senior year because of it.

 

[mgcolby]

By the way just an FYI the last 2 times we drafted 21st we picked Wilfork and Graham.

 

[mgcolby]

If that's the case, let's hope he's more Mike Vrabel and less Andy Katzenmoyer.

How much of Carpenter's play is elevated by AJ Hawk's? Hawk is a beast.

 

[PatsRI]

He blew his knee out in the Florida St game and is staying in college for his senior year because of it.

Proves how up to date ESPN can be

 

[shakadave]

I just posted what unfortunately became a very looong post on the draft, so I'll be brief.

I want to draft OL in the first round, and again either in the 2nd or with the 2007 1st.

Its hard to use the term 'missing ingredient' with the 3 time Chamos, but I think the best way to guarantee a long term dynasty is to surround Brady, and BBs D (lets face it he'll find players anywhere he needs to to always have a top D) with the best OL in the NFL.

I think Light, Mankins, Kaczur and 2 potential all-pros could very well become the best OL in the NFL.

Who could beat Brady and a BB D that had the best OL in the NFL?

Brilliant! I've thought for years that the most important part of a team is its O-line, and wouldn't it be nice if we could assemble one that could stay together for 4-5 years? Hopefully you can add Koppen to your list above, as in "Light, Mankins, Kaczur, Koppen, and 1 potential all-pro."

 

[shakadave]

I believe that the use of Ashworth at TE and/or FB this season ensures he will be back. BB has invested too much into this skill diversity of Ashworth. Plus, where else would Ashworth be allowed to do all that?

 

[upstater1]

He blew his knee out in the Florida St game and is staying in college for his senior year because of it.

He actually didn't blow out his knee. He has no damage to it. No surgery, no nothing. He's got a clean minor tear in the PCL, and because it's minor and clean, it will heal naturally. No surgery, no rehab, no nothing. Doctors say it'll be healed in 4 weeks. Consider his injury a little more serious than Seymour's ligament strain. Seymour's was stretched. Poz's was torn a little bit.

 

[dryheat44]

Many topics...

The BC kid will be a bust like Mamula.

Um no. Mamula was unknown before the combine. Kiwi has dominated for two years, and he would have been a likely top 15 pick LAST year. He's made his bones in competition, not the weight room.

Yeah, Andy Katzenmoyer was a OSU LB. So was Chris Spielman.

Let's not knock Katzenmoyer for the same reason we don't knock Don Blackmon (noticed him coaching somewhere last week). It's unfortunate he had his neck injury, but he was fast becoming a great all-around linebacker. As a raw rookie he was impressive. In a BB scheme, fuggeddaboudit.

Both Kiwanuka & Hali ar college DE who could play OLB in BB's system. I could see either being drafted.

I like Wyche from Syracuse deeper in the draft. He's definitely under the radar, but he's got a great game that went nearly invisible due to team's suckatude.

Who could beat Brady and a BB D that had the best OL in the NFL?

Nobody. But that's not easy to do. Those O-linemen tend to get paid a lot more than BB wants to pay them. Which means you have to hit a bullseye on the draft picks and cheap free agents and rely on coaching. The Coaching I'm confident in. But spending a first day pick on Adrian Klemm or Eugene Chung is disastrous. So I don't think you're going to get the best OL by spending most of your high picks on rookies. The line we have now isn't great, but it's adequate and unlikely to be improved much by booting out the existing crew and bringing rookies in. BB seems to build his line for the run and screen game. All of our linemen have above average athleticism and are good-to-excellent in getting their blocks on the second level. BB seems to prefer those types over the stout pass blockers, and rely on his QB to get rid of the ball quickly. Sometimes you get a stud who's great at both, but they're rare and expensive.

Who is this shutdown corner you think the Pats are going to take? Everything I have read has said that the CB position is one of the weakest its been in years.

I agree. There are no "shutdown" corners out there, with the possible exception of one: Cromartie. It seems most of the well regarded CBs project out to Safeties in the NFL. And somebody's going to take a risk with Cromartie with a high pick, but I doubt it will be Belichick.

 

[mgcolby]

He actually didn't blow out his knee. He has no damage to it. No surgery, no nothing. He's got a clean minor tear in the PCL, and because it's minor and clean, it will heal naturally. No surgery, no rehab, no nothing. Doctors say it'll be healed in 4 weeks. Consider his injury a little more serious than Seymour's ligament strain. Seymour's was stretched. Poz's was torn a little bit.

Thanks for the info. I was going off of the info provided during the game and the reports that were put out shortly after.

 

[wilycoyote]

If Kiwanuka is there, it would be hard for me to pass on him just because pass rushers are such a premium in this league and they are usually the first guys off the board with elite LT's and shutdown corners and big DL. I would be thrilled with getting him at 21. With Carpenter, it's always scary getting a guy from a D that has another stud in that same defense. Is he Simeon Rice or Kevin Hardy? Sometimes they are both studs like Richard Seymour and Marcus Stroud and soemtimes they are both average like Duane Clemons and I forget the other guy that year that Cal had all those D players go on the 1st day.

 

[bunzoburns]

LInebacker

Beware of the Ohio State Stud Linebackers, I don't want to draft another Katzenmoyer! haha

Forget about Kiwi, he is a 4-3 type DE. Although I am interested to see where Blackmon goes in the draft. Very versatile.

 

[AzPatsFan]

A Carpenter fits the blueprints...

He certainly has size doesn't he, but is he an OLB or ILB ? I thought Mike D'Andrea was Ohio State's MLB, I could be wrong, I'm not in draft mode just yet.

Carpenter is a combo of what we want. He played OLB and has the speed and agility to rush the passer and even does a fairly good job in coverage. But his best position may ultimately be ILB. He shared the linebacking with four great palyers,all of whom will be high draft picks. AJ Hawk, youngster Mike D'Andrea, and Tony Schlegal; Hawk is very good, if a smidgeion small for the Pats at 6-1 240# and sub 4.5 speed. Andre hasn't reached his full growth but he's big enough, and Schlegal is slower but reminds me of a TJ, run stuffer ILB.

Carpewnrter at 6-3 255# fast mean and instinctual has BB linebacker written all over him. 21 at this point seems too early but look at Mankins; He was good everyone knew it and BB took him and isn't sorry. OTOH, maybe they trade down a few spots, toss in a 4th or 5th and and get a higher second to go with him. That I would especially like. (How about Manny Lawson with the early #2). Then the Pats #2 @ 54 could be used for a SS or RB...

Carpenter will be that fifth LB starter quality LB, able to play everywhere like Tedy and Vrabel, just what we want and it gives the Pats the heir to Willie and/or Tedy in one pick. I'd also like Schlegal in about the 4th or 5th for the specialist TJ role.

 

[AzPatsFan]

Scouts Inc. has New England Patriots (10-6): Paul Posluszny, OLB, Penn State


They rank him with a grade of 93 and as the 5th best OLB
Kiper doesn't have him going to anyone in the 1st round.

Penn State LB Paul Posluzny,a great future pro, tore up his knee at his Bowl game. As a third year soph he apparenrtly plans on going back to school and mend. He has not declared to come out, as I understand.

 

[workhorse]

Here is a site that has a lot of mock drafts for your browsing entertainment.

 

[patsfaninpa]

I can see the Pats picking a lb early. Carpenter is also a very
bright kid. Don't judge a book by it's cover. The OSU lb's grew their
hair long to honor Pat Tillman. I think 21 is too high for Carpenter.
I think Lawson is an interesting possibility. He has a track background
and still good size. The cb's projected to go high are 3rd yr jr's.
T.Hill,A.Cromartie,A.Yabouty. I want to see his 40 time. But, I
think Zemaitis from PSU(I'm biased) would be a good 2nd round pick
if we lb in first. History has shown us that rb's tend to drop in the
draft. Pass-rushers tend to rise. If we want an elephant olb/de,
we might have to take one at 21

 

[upstater1]

Penn State LB Paul Posluzny,a great future pro, tore up his knee at his Bowl game. As a third year soph he apparenrtly plans on going back to school and mend. He has not declared to come out, as I understand.

He'll actually be a senior next year. It's his last year. He's out of eligibility after next season. His 4th year, he never took a redshirt.

 

[PatsRI]

Interesting tidbit from Pats.com, I know they're talking later rounds but it's a name to watch who is familiar with the system and should be there in the later rounds, ala Givens. He's also one of the tallest guys in the draft for what that's worth:


"One name to keep on the radar screen is Notre Dame’s Maurice Stovall. Stovall wasn’t used right at Notre Dame until Charlie Weis got there but he exploded on the scene this season, making a ton of big plays for the Irish. Stovall is a big receiver who has a knack for going up and outfighting defenders for the ball and because Weis and Belichick are so close, Stovall is a player the Patriots could become more intrigued with as the draft draws near. "

This from Scouts:

Stovall played in all 13 games as a reserve receiver during his true freshman season. He started three of the 12 games that he played as a sophomore in 2003, finishing third on the team with 23 receptions. He only played in nine of 12 games in 2004 and finished with 22 receptions for 313 yards and one TD, but is experiencing a breakout season as a senior in 2005. Stovall was a career underachiever prior to his senior season in 2005, when he flourished in coach Charlie Weis' offensive scheme. Stovall still has room to improve in terms of his recognition skills and route running, but he has made great strides in those areas. Stovall has a terrific combination of size, speed and athletic ability. He shows the potential to develop into a matchup nightmare, especially in the red zone. There will be some concerns regarding his overall consistency at the collegiate level, but we believe he has shown enough as a senior to warrant consideration in the late-second or third round of the 2006 draft.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Let's not knock Katzenmoyer for the same reason we don't knock Don Blackmon (noticed him coaching somewhere last week). It's unfortunate he had his neck injury, but he was fast becoming a great all-around linebacker. As a raw rookie he was impressive. In a BB scheme, fuggeddaboudit. Blackmon was LB coach for Buffalo, he's on the market at the moment.

I like Wyche from Syracuse deeper in the draft. He's definitely under the radar, but he's got a great game that went nearly invisible due to team's suckatude. I bookmarked his profile on one of the sites I was perusing because he sounded like an OLB conversion project...I recall hearing Syrcuse's defense wasn't considered to be too bad despite the team's overall performance.

10 characters

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Hali is purely a DE. He can't play at OLB. Hali is at his minimum weight right now. Remember, this kid played three years at DT at 290 pounds. In the NFL, he will rise to 275 280. I see him more as a Ty Warren type who could easily play end in a 3-4. I've yet to see a 275 OLB in this league. if one comes along, everybody better run the other way.

If we pick Hali this year, that means we ain't signing Seymour.

Hali, by the way, was an excellent run stuffer during his years playing DT.

OLB Willie McGinest 6-5, 270
OLB Shawne Merriman 6-4, 272