DSRTSV - 12/2/08

And you might recognize this one. This weekend Ryan Clark was accused of laying a vicious and illegal hit on Wes Welker.

I say, yes it was vicious and yes it was illegal (he did leave his feet). But meriting a significant fine or suspension? I don't see it. Given the speed of the game and the tipped ball, I'm not too upset.

Out-Drafting Bonanza Part 1 - Philadelphia Eagles & Andy Reid

Welcome to part one of our Out-Drafting Bonanza, where we'll hope to compare a few different "successful" NFL regimes and discover who's good, who's bad and where the hell we'll put Andy Reid.

In case you don't remember, here's a look at our Scoring System again.

And here's the regimes we'll be looking at:

• Philadelphia Eagles (Andy Reid)
• Detroit Lions (Steve Mariucci/Dick Jauron/Rod Marinelli...all under Matt Millen and we'll use this is the baseline/epitome of crap)
• Seattle Seahawks (Mike Holmgren)
• New England Patriots (Bill Belichick)
• Jacksonville Jaguars (Jack Del Rio)
• Dallas Cowboys (Jerry Jones err Wade Phillips, though we'll be counting the Parcells years because of how involved Jones was regardless)
• Denver Broncos (Mike Shanahan)
• Chicago Bears (Lovie Smith)
• San Diego Charges (Norv Turner...but all the A.J. Smith era)

Want to read it from the beginning? Can you Out-Draft Andy Reid? and The Scoring Update.

So without further adieu, I give you the Andy Reid Drafts:

Year	Round	Name	Score (1-5)	Bonus	Note
2002	1	Lito Sheppard	5	0	Regardless of what you think of him, he's a two time all-pro, if you add up Brown and him, they're definitely a 9/10
	2	Michael Lewis/ Sheldon Brown	4	0	See Above. Lewis was another in the group of 3 very good/great Dbs
	3	Brian Westbrook	5	0	The guy's an all-pro and a top 3 RB in the league 3 years running
	4	Scott Peters	0	0	Never took the field as an Eagle, now a Cardinal
	5	Freddie Milons	0	0	A receiver I felt could be a real threat when drafted. Total bust, never took a snap with the Eagles
	6	Tyreo Harrison	1	0	Well, he suited up 12 games with the Eagles but only registered 6 tackles
	7	Raheem Brock	0	0	Brock is actually pretty good and was a nice piece of the Colts Super Bowl team. Yeah, the Eagles cut him before the 02 season
	During the 2001 draft the Eagles traded their 3rd and 6th round selections to the Dolphins for their 2nd round selection in the 2002 draft.

The 2002 draft was probably the best of Reid's post-Modrak years. His first four picks (Sheppard, Brown, Lewis & Westbrook) featured four Pro-Bowlers and three All-Pros at some point in each of their respective careers. The second day selections yielded nothing, not even a serviceable backup.

2002 Score: 14 Points. First Round Hit Total: 1/1. Quality Players Selected (total): 4/8

Year	Round	Name	Score (1-5)	Bonus	Note
2003	1	Jerome McDougle	2	0	This really should merit a loss of points. McDougle was a real flop. Worst of all, they traded up to get him
	2	L.J. Smith	3	0	I was stuck between giving Smith a 3 and a 4, but the guy's certainly a starter
	3	Billy McMullen	2	0	McMullen was a real stiff. His only merit was he was traded for Hank Baskett
	4	Jamaal Green	1	0	He showed up for 8 games during the Eagles Super Bowl Run.
	5	Traded	0	0	This pick was traded for 2004 picks (6,7) which netted Andy Hall and Dominic Furio. Hall never played a down and is now in the AFL while Furio never played and is now in the AAFL, whatever that is
	6	Jeremy Bridges	0	0	Never played a down for the Eagles, but is a nice backup for the Panthers
	7	Norman LeJeune	1	0	LeJuene was a practice squadee his rookie season but suited up once. He was cut the next year and is now in the AFL
	Technically the 6th and 7th rounders were acquired via trade, but since the Eagles took picks in each round, we'll count them for simplicity's sake

From good to bad. This draft yielded little more than L.J. Smith, a starting quality Tight End and nothing more (as it stands right now), with stone hands to boot.

2003 Score: 9 Points. First Round Hit Total: 1/2. Quality Players Selected (total): 4/14

Year	Round	Name	Score (1-5)	Bonus	Note
2004	1	Shawn Andrews	5	0	Hard to argue with a pro-bowl guard, even if he's a little crazy right now
	2	Traded for Andrews	3	0	Since Andrews is an All-Pro, I figured I'd consider the trade a good move.
	3	Matt Ware	2	0	He played with the team, but really sucked ass
	4	J.R. Reed/ Trey Darilek	2	0	Reed was a kicker returner who suffered a freak knee injury. He resigned years later (after stints with other teams) and started to suck. Darilek also saw spot duty and is now in the CFL
	5	Thomas Tapeh	3	0	Tapeh was a serviceable FB
	6	Dexter Wynn	2	0	Serviceable backup, but when you're waived for William James, you must suck
	7	Adrien Clarke /Bruce Perry	2	0	Clarke was a reserve guard who dressed, while Perry showed flashes at RB and PR and even started once. He was converted to CB and ironically released for Dexter Wynn.

The irony of this draft can be seen today, as Reid actually traded away a 2nd round pick to move up rather than trade a first to move down/get more picks. Andrews is an All-Pro for sure, beyond this, the draft was total crap.

2004 Score: 19 Points. First Round Hit Total: 2/3. Quality Players Selected (total): 5/22

Year	Round	Name	Score (1-5)	Bonus	Note
2005	1	Mike Patterson	3	0	Patterson is a solid starter at DT and is a tough dude, regardless of his transgressions
	2	Reggie Brown/ Matt McCoy	3	0	The Brown pick is actually from the A.J. Feeley trade – Its plausable to say that was smart but Brown has been a starter/serviceable backup. McCoy on the other hand sucked total ass even though he started a few games.
	3	Ryan Moats	2	0	Moats was expected to spell out Brian Westbrook and even started in his spot after an injury, but never stuck after a good game or two.
	4	Sean Considine	2	0	Considine has started, fans are unsure why
	5	Todd Herremans	3	1	Herremans is a competent starter and was a rare project that worked out
	6	Trent Cole/ Scott Young/ Calvin Armstrong	3	2	Y'all know Cole was a pro-bowler, Young was a serviceable backup and Armstrong never played a down. For the sake of the score, I assumed Cole will be a 4
	7	Kenyota Marshall/ David Bergeron	0	0	Neither played an NFL down.

Right now, its hard to argue this draft as total crap because they acquired five current starters on the roster (Considine started the season). Cole was an absolute phenom and great late round pick (a rarity for Reid, actually). Beyond that, Patterson is a quality starter in a group of otherwise much maligned players (such as Brown or Considine).

2005 Score: 19 Points. First Round Hit Total: 3/4. Quality Players Selected (total): 6/33

Year	Round	Name	Score (1-5)	Bonus	Note
2006	1	Brodrick Bunkley	3	0	As is, Bunk is just a regular starter.
	2	Winston Justice	2	0	Justice is currently a backup at best
	3	Chris Gocong	3	0	Gocong is a 2 year starter, but the jury is out
	4	Max Jean-Gilles	3	0	MJG appears to be primed as a solid starter, but again, the jury is out. I didn't award any bonus points because of this
	5	Jason Avant/ Jeremy Bloom/ Omar Gaither	3	0	Avant is part of the Eagles WR rotation and a decent slot receiver, Gaither is a starter at the WILL, though Akeem Jordan has been after his spot and Bloom was a waste
	6	LeJaun Ramsey	0	0	Never played a down, went back to skiing
	7	Traded to get Gocong	1	0	I gave one point because the Reid acquired a starter for a 3rd and 7th round pick which seems reasonable to me

This draft was almost marquee, with Bunkley expected to be the all-world DT the Eagles needed, Justice and Jean-Gilles to be cornerstone OLs, Gocong primed to be a fine LB replacement and Jeremy Bloom to cure all the punt return issues plaguing the Eagles. It never materialized. Bunkley is a good starter at best, Jean-Gilles is a nice player and could start next year and Gocong appears to be a decent LB at SAM. Beyond that Justice has been pure crap and Bloom was the most overhyped Eagle since Mike Mamula. Perhaps between Avant, Gaither, Gocong, Bunkley and Jean-Gilles this draft could work out, but I just dont see it.

2006 Score: 15 Points. First Round Hit Total: 4/5 (3 or better). Quality Players Selected (total): 6/41 (4 or better)

And there you have it. Andy Reid/Tom Heckert scored a 76. Our next stop will be the Detroit Lions to set the baseline for draft crapiness. Questions, concerns, comments, errors, Omissions? Please leave in the comments for send to Justin@badnewsbloggers.com

Why Not??

For the moment, it appears that Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel wants to win a few more games this season.

After losing QB's Brady Quinn (broken right index finger) and Derek Anderson (Torn MCL) for the season, Crennel signs former Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB, Bruce Gradkowski, to a two-year contract.

Crennel obviously doesn't trust third-string QB Ken Dorsey, who had a solid career at the University of Miami back in his hey-days. But then again, who would trust Dorsey?! The 27-year old has a 61.6 QB rating and a 53.4 completion percentage in his short four-year NFL career.

Gradkowski's numbers really aren't much better but he is two years younger, and he really can't play much worse than Anderson and Quinn at this point. Gradkowski is more mobile than Dorsey, an obvious plus in an offense like Cleveland's.

I say, why not sign Gradkowski, at this point? Even if Dorsey ends up starting over him. Nothing wrong with a little depth at the QB position, especially with the injury bug spreading.

Nice move, Romeo.

Tired Tuesday Daily "Linkin' Logs" (12/2/08)

You know what you get when you mix to 4-7 teams on Monday night...

Shit.

Anyways, Bill Simmons has declared that the NBA season is down to six title contenders. So Philly, New York, half of Los Angeles, Detroit, Denver and so on and so forth can just stop watching. And this is why I hate both of them (Basketball and Simmons) to a certain degree. The basis of Simmons's argument is that teams like Boston, L.A. (Lakers), Cleveland, San Antonio, New Orleans and Utah all have had "reps" at being good. Which would be awesome...except Detroit has had a lot of reps and they don't even get addressed. Add to that, Simmons egotistical nature of knowing more than you (a common theme amongst writers who piss me off...a paradigm I will explain another time) and finally a dash of "Celtics basketball" to fellate himself. But my favorite part:

The Celtics survived a grueling championship campaign, gained a noticeable swagger, embraced the Lloyd Neal Memorial "That's right, we're the f------ champs" mentality and aced their three biggest tests in November (two against Detroit, one in Houston). They're getting those Defending Champ reps.

You see, Simmons uses an oboscure reference to make you believe he knows what's up, and if you know anything about Neal (I looked it up), you'll discover that all and in all, he was just an untalented but hard working player...I guess that adds up.

But really, They're the "Fucking Champs."

Now the other part the pisses me off is simpler: How can the NBA give off the feeling that only six teams are capable of winning it all. Maybe this is why that league will never be tops. In the NFL, the league thrives on the parity that anyone can win and you can go from rags to riches (to rags again...) in a three year span. In the MLB, it is a little be harder, and perhaps why they're second fiddle right now, but there are as many as 15 to 20 teams who appear to be able to put it together an eighth of the way through the season and, as was the case this year, any of 8 teams capable of winning it all (when the playoffs started, would you have been surprised to see any team win it all...I wouldn't have) and even Hockey has seen 8 seeds upset ones and is beginning to experience its own salary cap parity soon enough.

This is what makes college ball so much more appealing. If Stephen Curry can lead Davidson to the sweet 16, and a team like Villanova can win it all, then why would you skip any of the tourney games you could watch...

The NBA sucks...

• If someone can explain to me, how Pacman is back and Plaxico could be suspended (for a significant period of time...like a season), I'd like to know. Its not that I agree with Plax or think what he did was in any way intelligent (though getting shot in the league sucks as is), but between Michael Bloomberg throwing the book at him because he is a football player is already ridiculous and if Goodell follows suit in his typical fashion, I'd be just as outraged for Plax, as I would be for not being heavy-handed with Jones.
• Michael Bloomberg seems intent on throwing the book at Plax. Now typically, we're outraged by athletes getting away with things, but being heavy-handed with Burress is just a case of the opposite. He should be treated just like any other person/criminal in his position. I'm well aware of the 3.5 year minimum, but the fact of the matter is; rarely does a first time offender of said law ever spend 3.5 years in prison; why should Plax be the exception? I say, punish him like you'd punish me or Joe the Plummer
• Nice for the fans of Houston, but frankly that game sucked.
• From bad to worse in Cleveland. Kellen Winslow is out for at least a week, though the season was over a few weeks ago and Derek Anderson appears to be done as well. While Winslow's injury doesn't really matter (and a high ankle sprain wouldn't be something you'd play through unless it mattered), the Anderson injury may be a blessing in disguise. The Browns appear to be moving into the Quinn era and the injury to Anderson provides them with a reason to leave him on the bench and get Quinn ready without hurting Anderson's trade value any more (though between his poor play and injury, an MCL tear, he certainly isn't at the same point he was when he signed a three year deal last year).
  
• Arbitration day in the MLB, as 24 players were offered it.
• The Phillies appear to be ready to coast off their World Series run, by not offering arbiration to anyone. While they still are working to retain Jamie Moyer's services, it appears as though the Pat Burrell era is over in Philly. A sad ending to a much maligned player who finally found his niche.
  
• AA takes another jab at Emmitt Smith and Plaxico "Berries" (their word, not mine). Man, they're ridin' Emmitt hard, though its not their fault the man can ran through gaps in the English Language
• And finally, EC's DMtShooter gives us 10 ways to end the "Warbury" issue in New York.

Send me hate mail: Justin@badnewsbloggers.com