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National Football League
Draft King Analysis
January 29, 2009
Lou Pickney, DraftKing.com
Reader feedback is always welcomed here. Send your thoughts to Draft King at LouPickney@gmail.com.
Super Bowl XLIII is three days away, and once the NFL crowns a new champion we'll have the first round draft order locked in for 2009. As it is, there is plenty of widespread speculation going on about the first thirty spots. It's an exciting time of year for NFL Draft fans.
It's mailbag time!
From: Robert Sawicki
To: LouPickney@gmail.com
Date: Sun, Jan 25, 2009 at 5:06 PM
Subject: Lions Offseason & Draft move
It's been awhile since i've wrote and there have been many changes with my Detroit Lions. First we promoted Martin Mayhew to GM, while at first i wasn't sure about the move but so far I think he's made some smart moves. 1st he got a lot for Roy Williams, who has been a bust for Dallas so far, he made a great coaching hire in Jim Swartz, who a smart football man (remember no experienced HC was coming here) . Scwartz then hired two very smart and experienced coordinators in Gunther Cunningham and Scott Linehan. So far I love the coaching moves, I would love to hear what you thought about these hires. These men to me appear they know football and they have a plan on what they want to do and they should work well together unlike the Matt Millen era. During the Millen era everyone had different thoughts of how the team should be ran and built. Seems like these guys have the same vision.
I'm curious to see what happens next, with free agency coming soon I don't think we will be able to get in any big names to come here. The possiblity and exception might be Albert Haynesworth since he has a connection with Scwartz, (I doubt it will happen). With that being said in free agency I would look for young hunger characther guys to fill needs and to fill out our depth chart and then turn the focus on the draft. Sure we have tons of cap room (30 plus million) so it would be nice to think we could get Peppers, Haynesworth, Ray Lewis, the Raiders DB and etc... But we can't, so we need to focus HARD ON THE DRAFT!!! We can't screw this draft up.
Since the draft is so important I don't think we can afford to miss on our #1 overall pick and I think Jim Scwartz is smart and realizes that himself thats why theres no way we are drafting Stafford with that pick. We will go with the can't miss prospect and thats not Stafford, he has some question marks. What I think will happen is that we will go Defense heavy this draft and then can get our QB of the future in next years draft (Colt McCoy). With the senoir bowl over, DT BJ Raji was a monster, 6' 1'' and 330 pounds, he likes a younger, faster and hungier version of Shaun Rogers and thats scary. Call me crazy but I project him or Aaron Curry being our guy. BJ Raji will shoot up drafts boards for sure. My dream senerio would be DT BJ Raji #1 overall, LB Rey Maualuga at #20(if he doesnt fall then the top LB on the board), GT DE Michael Johnson at #33 and then with the two 3rd round picks OG Herman Johnson and the best available TE. If my picks come true we can turn this francise around!!! Maybe i'm drinkin the kool-aid but I still love and have hope for my Lions.
I would love to hear your thoughts on my ideas and what you think of the players I just named on my draft wish list. I know a lot could change between now and April but as of today thats what i would do. Thanks Lou keep up the hard work.
|  | B.J. Raji performed very well at the Senior Bowl in Mobile last week. (Icon SMI)
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Lou: I think that the majority of the media has not yet figured out the implications of Albert Haynesworth being an unrestricted free agent. Arguably the best defensive tackle in the league and still young enough (DOB 6/17/1981) to have some great years ahead of him, Haynesworth should command a massive payday. Whether the Lions make a play for Haynesworth remains to be seen, but someone is going to pay Haynesworth a massive amount of guaranteed money in just a few weeks.
Ravens ILB Ray Lewis and Raiders CB Nnamdi Asomugha might be tempting, but I doubt at this point in his career that Lewis would want to join a rebuilding team. Asomugha will almost certainly be hit with the franchise tag for a second straight year by Oakland, so don't count on him getting a payday in Detroit.
Gunther Cunningham is another Titans coaching alum, and with him and Scott Linehan it seems that Jim Schwartz is bringing in talented, experienced coordinators. This is a good thing. Both moves make sense to me, and it shows Schwartz's confidence in his own ability to be the unquestioned leader despite this being his first head coaching gig.
The Lions need help on defense, to be sure, but the one defensive player who the Lions took in the first round this decade is OLB Ernie Sims, the #9 overall pick in 2006. Sims played through shoulder and knee injuries in 2008, and he has had triple digit tackles in all three of his seasons in the NFL. And while Detroit could draft Curry and utilize them both, with the team having so many needs it would seem odd to take a player at the one position on defense where the Lions have a blue chip player. It's not outside the realm of possibility, though.
|  | Herman Johnson is a massive offensive guard. (Icon SMI)
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While Boston College DT B.J. Raji is a strong prospect, I couldn't fathom him rocketing all the way up to the #1 overall spot. Raji, at 6'2" 335, is a huge presence, and as you referenced he looked fantastic at the Senior Bowl being almost unblockable going up against some great center prospects such as Oregon's Max Unger and Cal's Alex Mack. Raji arguably helped his cause more than anyone else at the Senior Bowl, and he might end up as a top ten pick. But #1 overall? I just don't see it happening.
If Rey Maualuga and/or James Laurinaitis are on the board when Detroit's pick (via Dallas from the Roy Williams trade) comes up at #20, I think it's a distinct possibility that the Lions would draft one of them. Either one would make a tremendous addition to the team, and the idea of Maualuga/Sims or Laurinaitis/Sims in the same linebacking corps would be most appealing.
If Georgia Tech DE Michael Johnson does fall to the second round, I could easily see Detroit pouncing on him at that spot. As for massive OG Herman Johnson (6'8" 380), he is relatively inexperienced but he is not only a huge physical presence but he also has more athleticism than you might think. The concern for him is his weight (when he showed up at LSU out of high school he weighed more than 400 pounds), and while he has been able to get down to the 335-350 range, he weighed in at 382 pounds at the Senior Bowl earlier this month. He may or may not be there in round three, but if he does then I could see the Lions drafting him. Going with a tight end from there makes sense as well.
From: Benjamin (no last name given)
To: LouPickney@gmail.com
Date: Wed, Jan 28, 2009 at 8:41 PM
Subject: bands at the fiesta bowl
Halftime was especially hellish with FOX showing the bands of both schools (someone at FOX is obsessed with marching bands in my opinion)
We respect our bands and they are a part of our tradition, both at Texas and Ohio State. I really don't expect outsiders like yourself to understand but thats ok, I understand you're just trying to run your draft web page. But when I got home from Glendale I was happy to see such coverage of the two marching bands. It was refreshing that Fox has a grasp on the fact that college football is deep in tradition and has been around a hell of a lot longer than the NFL. Sorry the bands offended you, but like I said you just don't get it.
Lou: HAHAHAHAHAHA. This may be my all-time favorite Draft King e-mail. I forwarded it to friends and family, and we have had many laughs over it in the past 24 hours.
Let me be clear, I have no problem with marching bands. They add a great element to college football games, and having the band play its school's fight songs during the game is one of the great things that differentiates college football from the pro sport.
Here is the problem: FOX had the exclusive rights to show highlights from the first half of the game, taking the stingy approach by putting an embargo on highlights until after the broadcast ends. So people like me who cared a great deal about seeing replays and analysis of what happened in the first half were out of luck. It was either watching ESPN's hodgepodge roundtable of talking heads discussing the game without being able to see highlights or watching marching bands on FOX. That was a tedious 20 minutes, let me tell you.
Luckily this will all go away soon. The BCS will move from FOX to ESPN beginning in the 2010 season, and the 2009 BCS Title game (in January 2010) will air on ABC. FOX, which has never been properly equipped to cover college football (since it airs zero regular season college football games), in my estimation has always been a misfit partner with the BCS. And, hopefully, ABC/ESPN will do what they usually do well in showing highlights and analyzing what happened in the first half when they do their halftime shows.
Let them put the bands on a special feed on ESPNU or something -- I don't begrudge people the opportunity to see that if they want. But denying the football audience the chance to see football highlights at halftime will remain something that just doesn't make any sense to me.
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