The NFL Draft

Yeah it's been a while since I've made a blog post. I meant to make a bunch for the championship games and the Super Bowl, but I've had too much to do.

But here I am again, and it's everyone's favorite time of year (second only to the Super Bowl): the NFL Draft. The Draft gives the worst teams a chance to snag some remarkable talent from the NCAA, and this year, we have some great talent, like Andre Smith, Michael Crabtree (hopefully), Mark Sanchez, and many many more. 

I'll spend a good deal of time talking about Detroit in this blog post because they are their pick is crucial. They're at a fork in the road, only it's not really a fork. It's like map and you're looking for the right road to take, only there are a couple thousand other roads right near it and train tracks on top of them too. There are a zillion different ways the Lions can do this Draft and only one or two that they really need to take. 

Many people say that Detroit should take a quarterback like Matt Stafford or Mark Sanchez with their first pick and use the rest to build up everything else. This would probably be suicide, considering the quarterbacks right now are only average compared to what they could get next NFL Draft, like Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy, and maybe a few others. If anything, the Detroit Lions should definitely just stick with Daunte Culpepper, a kind of underrated QB ever since he blew out his knee one season and hasn't been able to play the same since.

That being said, here's what Detroit should do: take anything but a quarterback. ANYTHING. Take a punter if you have to (don't, but you get the idea). The QBs now are good, but patience is a virtue, and you'll be rewarded with the goddlike powers of McCoy or Tebow next season, who are exceptional quarterbacks and can take Detroit to their first Super Bowl victory if they're coached right. So what should Detroit take? I'm leaning towards offensive tackle to protect Daunte Culpepper (or, by sheer luck, God blesses Detroit and throws them Michael Vick). With training and patience, Culpepper can do what he did a few years back with the Vikings. 

Now I want to focus on a few other teams (not too many, but a few). If anyone needs a new quarterback, it's Cleveland, possibly Jacksonville, Tampa Bay, and Kansas City if they really hate Tyler Thigpen (but I think he's good for now). 

St. Louis Rams: I think their offense is pretty outstanding, as far as 2-14 teams go. Marc Bulger just probably had a bad season. It happens. Brett Favre had a 4-12 season not too long ago, and Tom Brady went 9-7 in his second season (the horror!) . That being said, it's defense defense defense. Find a good defensive player in the Draft and pray to whichever God you pray to for a good free agency (I hear Haynesworth is possibly available?).

Minnesota Vikings: a quarterback. No offense to Tarvaris Jackson or Gus Frererottererroteterotte, but seriously. If they can't land Michael Vick, get one of the quarterbacks mentioned earlier (assuming they're still available, which I kinda doubt, sadly). They have an explosive offense and an even better defense (their wild card game proved that). The Vikings should focus on just building those up by fixing holes they have in certain positions (WR, offensive line, etc.). 

Oakland Raiders: I'm about to give up on these guys. They just signed Nnamdi Asomugha to a $45 MILLION DEAL. I mean, he's good, but seriously he's not Jesus. That money should go towards getting a better everything else. At least they're improving. 5-11 isn't THAT bad, compared to last year, when they were....4-12. Crap nevermind. JaMarcus Russell is still very young, and Darren McFadden is even younger, so they've got a bit more time before they're considered a threat. With the right coaching, this team could very well be a playoff team. They just need to pick good players this Draft (I have no idea what they need really, so I can't say). 

Dallas Cowboys: Dallas DEFINITELY has the talent, hands down, no questions asked. What happened this year was...I don't even know. It was just a bad season with bad calls and moves (1st pick for another reciever, anyone?). But, they can really improve next season. They now know what they need to work on (which is everything). To top it off, Felix Jones is coming back from his injuries, so you know that they're already going to the Super Bowl now (Felix Jones is tiiiight). All Dallas needs to do is take advantage of the Draft with whatever picks they have left, and especially the free agency. Then Dallas fans no longer have to be ashamed at their team (last game of the regular season says it all).  

2009 NFL Draft Order (list and stats taken from nfl.com):

1 Detroit Lions 0-16 .000 .559 143-113
2 St. Louis Rams 2-14 .125 .533 136-119-1
3 Kansas City Chiefs 2-14 .125 .537 137-118-1
4 Seattle Seahawks 4-12 .250 .498 127-128-1
5 Cleveland Browns 4-12 .250 .572 145-108-3
6 Cincinnati Bengals 4-11 (1 tie) .281 .553 141-114-1
7 Oakland Raiders 5-11 .313 .520 133-123
8 Jacksonville Jaguars 5-11 .313 .537 137-118-1
9 Green Bay Packers 6-10 .375 .504 129-127
10 San Francisco 49ers 7-9 .438 .447 114-141-1
11 Buffalo Bills 7-9 .438 .453 116-140
12 Denver Broncos 8-8 .500 .457 117-139
13 Washington Redskins 8-8 .500 .479 121-132-3
14 New Orleans Saints 8-8 .500 .496 127-129
15 Houston Texans 8-8 .500 .518 132-123-1
16 San Diego Chargers 8-8 .500 .516 132-124
17 New York Jets 9-7 .563 .471 120-135-1
18 Chicago Bears 9-7 .563 .475 121-134-1
19 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-7 .563 .480 123-133
20 Detroit Lions (from Dallas) 9-7 .563 .498 126-127-3
21 Philadelphia Eagles 9-6 (1 tie) .594 .514 131-124-1
22 Minnesota Vikings 10-6 .625 .504 129-127
23 New England Patriots 11-5 .688 .480 123-133
24 Atlanta Falcons 11-5 .688 .459 117-138-1
25 Miami Dolphins 11-5 .688 .461 118-138
26 Baltimore Ravens 11-5 .688 .521 132-121-3
27 Indianapolis Colts 12-4 .750 .498 127-128-1
28 Philadelphia Eagles (from Carolina) 12-4 .750 .488 125-131
29 New York Giants 12-4 .750 .502 127-126-3
30 Tennessee Titans 13-3 .813 .459 117-138-1
31 Arizona Cardinals 9-7 .563 .486 124-131-1
32 Pittsburgh Steelers 12-4 .750 .525 133-120-3

I also want to applaud New England. This team was probably the most injury-plagued team out there, and they managed to finish off 11-5 with a quarterback who never started since high school. High school. My kudos to Matt Cassel and his ability to be incredible, but most of the credit goes to Bill Belichick. If anyone doubted him earlier, they can't saying anything now.

(Side note: If Detroit picks another wide reciever for their first pick, I will fly up to Detroit and kick every single manager there.)

(Other side note: Will also start writing about basketball soon.)

That's all for now.