What Do U Guys Think of This Offseason?

[Ceasaleo88]

Free Agent Signings:
Adam Vinateri K
Jason Fabini RT
Will Demps FS
Ma'ake Kemoetu NG
Akin Ayodele OLB

Re-Sign:
Dan Campbell TE
Scott Fujita OLB

Draft(First Day):
1. Bobby Carpenter OLB
2. Nick Mangold C
3. Demetrius Williams WR

 

[Pokes28]

I've rarely been a fan of drafting the guys that play next to the consensus studs in college.

Looking over history and when you have a team that has two guys that play next to each other and both are considered amazing players, the NFL history points that rarely will they both turn out to be good players or at the very least live up to the expectations.

Cases in point:

North Carolina - 2001 - Julious Peppers and Ryan Sims. Peppers has met expectations and Sims is a scrub.

Tennessee - 2001 - John Henderson and Albert Haynseworth. Henderson is a stud and Haynesworth is still little more than flashes of brilliance and a lot of talk about potential.

Penn State - 2000 - Courtney Brown and Lavar Arrington. Brown was taken first because of the perception of the value of DL over tweaner DE/LB types. Brown has been a major bust and Arrington has been a head case but still a multiple time pro-bowler.

Miami - 2002 - Jerome McDougle and William Joseph. Though neither are great players (neither one of them is a consistent starter), they were great together in college and parlayed that into draft day success. Neither of these guys have lived up to first round billing.

I know there are more examples, but all of these guys played side by side in college and you have one bust and one great player taken in the first round the same year. I'm aware there are some tandems out there that have gone on to NFL success, but I think history shows that to be the exception not the rule.

So with that in mind, I'm really not interested in Carpenter.

David Harrell - Pokes
dwh

 

[Hostile]

Free Agent Signings:
Adam Vinateri K
Jason Fabini RT
Will Demps FS
Ma'ake Kemoetu NG
Akin Ayodele OLB

Re-Sign:
Dan Campbell TE
Scott Fujita OLB

Draft(First Day):
1. Bobby Carpenter OLB
2. Nick Mangold C
3. Demetrius Williams WR

Make it Todd Watkins in the 3rd round and I'm on board right now. Good choices top to bottom. Nice job.

 

[Phoenix-Talon]

If the COwboys GM is truly working up a deal that will send Ray Lewis to the Dallas, that would definitely squelch any contract negotiations with TO.

BTW, 5 days left and ...no TO!

 

[Jay]

Pokes, I think your logic is a little too general. There are many busts in the NFL, that depend on many factors.

If you watched Carpenter, you would know he's worth the hype. There's no doubt about it. Has nothing to do with playing near AJ Hawk. Yes, Hawk is a special player, but Carpenter is gonna be a good one.

 

[Pokes28]

I tend to look for trends in everything. It is part of my upbringing I think. But trends happen for a reason. I can give you a ton of generalizations that I firmly believe. There is a reason that Michigan WRs consistently bust going back to Anthony Carter (other than Toomer). There is a reason that other than Larry Johnson, there hasn't been a great RB from Michigan or Penn State since Curt Warner. I can't tell what the reason is, but I'm a believer that if the results are the same time after time, you shouldn't be betting that you can buck the odds.

I'm not saying that Carpenter isn't good. I think he is. However, I do not think he is a good fit in the 3-4. He's not a great pass rusher, and when he has rushed the passer, he's not been blocked by OT. He doesn't make many wrong steps which is another way of saying that he has a high football IQ and he's good decent football speed. I think he will drop because his 40 speed isn't going to be as good as some anticipate.

Were we running a 4-3, I probably still wouldn't take him in the first round, but I'd be much more likely to.

David Harrell - Pokes
dwh