- Messages
- 79,281
- Reaction score
- 45,652
When Bill Belichick watches you play in person, you know you're going to get drafted
Got a good story from Brad Blank, a well-respected Boston-based agent, this morning. Blank, a Brown graduate, said he was attending the Brown-Harvard game this past season at Harvard Stadium, when who sits next to him ... but Bill Belichick.
"Bill doesn't scout college games (in person) during the season, but he was there to see Zak (DeOssie, who is now Blank's client), so I asked him, 'Are you here for business or pleasure?' He said both. Zak was Bill's ballboy (during the 2002 and '03 training camps) with the Patriots."
The Patriots will take a long look at DeOssie, who also, as many know, is the son of former Giants LB Steve DeOssie, whom Belichick coached from 1989-93. The elder DeOssie also works for radio giant WEEI in Boston, breaking down Patriots games with Fred Smerlas; the two both later played with the Patriots.
Blank thinks LB Zak DeOssie, who is nearly 6-5 and 250 pounds and who tested well at the Combine, will fit into the fourth round and could go to a team that employs the 3-4. Scouts feel he has the athleticism to be a "Sam" 'backer and play special teams. In case you're wondering, the Patriots pick 127th overall in that round.
Posted by Eric Edholm on April 20, 2007 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |
Lions aren't getting nibbles for No. 2, Bucs content to wait for Johnson at No. 4
We’re a week away, and so little seems settled with the first round, especially the first five picks. Can you remember a year in which the top of the first round looked so murky, despite all the apparent fascinations and rumors that run rampant this time of year?
Honestly, the only thing I know that will happen for sure next Saturday is that Calvin Johnson, JaMarcus Russell and Adrian Peterson will go in the first five picks. That’s about it.
So much surrounds the Raiders’ decision at the top perch. If they select QBs JaMarcus Russell or Brady Quinn (likely Russell), I figured the Buccaneers would make a concerted effort to move up and grab Johnson. Their strong interest in the draft’s best player has been one of the worst kept secrets in the last month. Jon Gruden and the Bucs’ brass is drooling over Johnson, more so than anyone else, and that’s saying a lot. I would have expected the Bucs to try to strike a deal with the Lions, who are eager to move down. But that was until I heard Bucs GM Bruce Allen isn’t too eager to give away a second-round pick or DE Simeon Rice to move up and believes Johnson will be there at No. 4.
His reasoning: The Raiders and Browns (No. 3) will take Russell and Peterson, respectively, and the Lions have more pressing needs to fill than to take another receiver in the first round (i.e. Roy Williams, Charles Rogers and Mike Williams). The Lions aren’t especially keen on Quinn, but do like Clemson DE Gaines Adams a lot. He fills a huge void and could bolt up that far from what we hear.
And the Lions have failed thus far to drum up a lot of interest in the second pick, as most teams would prefer to move down, acquire more picks and soften the blow in terms of guaranteed money. I’m a little surprised the Lions haven’t received more phone calls, but second- and third-round picks are serious commodities in the NFL these days with the value they bring.
Would Allen’s potential calling of Detroit’s bluff be gutsy? You bet. He’s banking on Johnson not being taken by the Raiders, Lions or Browns, and banking on no team trading up into one of those spots with an eye on drafting a future All-Pro receiver.
But that’s what this time of year is all about. You don’t have to show the best poker face or have the most chips. You just have to hope your instincts are good enough to rake in the profits.
Posted by Trent Modglin on April 20, 2007 5:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |
Got a good story from Brad Blank, a well-respected Boston-based agent, this morning. Blank, a Brown graduate, said he was attending the Brown-Harvard game this past season at Harvard Stadium, when who sits next to him ... but Bill Belichick.
"Bill doesn't scout college games (in person) during the season, but he was there to see Zak (DeOssie, who is now Blank's client), so I asked him, 'Are you here for business or pleasure?' He said both. Zak was Bill's ballboy (during the 2002 and '03 training camps) with the Patriots."
The Patriots will take a long look at DeOssie, who also, as many know, is the son of former Giants LB Steve DeOssie, whom Belichick coached from 1989-93. The elder DeOssie also works for radio giant WEEI in Boston, breaking down Patriots games with Fred Smerlas; the two both later played with the Patriots.
Blank thinks LB Zak DeOssie, who is nearly 6-5 and 250 pounds and who tested well at the Combine, will fit into the fourth round and could go to a team that employs the 3-4. Scouts feel he has the athleticism to be a "Sam" 'backer and play special teams. In case you're wondering, the Patriots pick 127th overall in that round.
Posted by Eric Edholm on April 20, 2007 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |
Lions aren't getting nibbles for No. 2, Bucs content to wait for Johnson at No. 4
We’re a week away, and so little seems settled with the first round, especially the first five picks. Can you remember a year in which the top of the first round looked so murky, despite all the apparent fascinations and rumors that run rampant this time of year?
Honestly, the only thing I know that will happen for sure next Saturday is that Calvin Johnson, JaMarcus Russell and Adrian Peterson will go in the first five picks. That’s about it.
So much surrounds the Raiders’ decision at the top perch. If they select QBs JaMarcus Russell or Brady Quinn (likely Russell), I figured the Buccaneers would make a concerted effort to move up and grab Johnson. Their strong interest in the draft’s best player has been one of the worst kept secrets in the last month. Jon Gruden and the Bucs’ brass is drooling over Johnson, more so than anyone else, and that’s saying a lot. I would have expected the Bucs to try to strike a deal with the Lions, who are eager to move down. But that was until I heard Bucs GM Bruce Allen isn’t too eager to give away a second-round pick or DE Simeon Rice to move up and believes Johnson will be there at No. 4.
His reasoning: The Raiders and Browns (No. 3) will take Russell and Peterson, respectively, and the Lions have more pressing needs to fill than to take another receiver in the first round (i.e. Roy Williams, Charles Rogers and Mike Williams). The Lions aren’t especially keen on Quinn, but do like Clemson DE Gaines Adams a lot. He fills a huge void and could bolt up that far from what we hear.
And the Lions have failed thus far to drum up a lot of interest in the second pick, as most teams would prefer to move down, acquire more picks and soften the blow in terms of guaranteed money. I’m a little surprised the Lions haven’t received more phone calls, but second- and third-round picks are serious commodities in the NFL these days with the value they bring.
Would Allen’s potential calling of Detroit’s bluff be gutsy? You bet. He’s banking on Johnson not being taken by the Raiders, Lions or Browns, and banking on no team trading up into one of those spots with an eye on drafting a future All-Pro receiver.
But that’s what this time of year is all about. You don’t have to show the best poker face or have the most chips. You just have to hope your instincts are good enough to rake in the profits.
Posted by Trent Modglin on April 20, 2007 5:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) |
