Boomer's Top 15

[Boomer]

That's one of the best big boards I've seen in quite some time, Boomer. And a finde read as well, I might add. Thanks for the effort.

I understand that you ranked the players according to talent, instead of value, which is why I can't (and won't) question you ranking Willis in front of Carriker, which struck me as odd at first glance. Personally, I have Carriker ahead of Willis because he's more versatile and plays a "value position". In terms of pure talent, however, it's absolutely legitimate to rank Willis ahead of Carriker.

I'm still not that big a fan of Levi Brown (I like Joe Staley better), but you can't argue about him being in the top 20. The one player I have some problems with in your list is Ted Ginn. As long as he doesn't run the 4.2 or 4.3 you mentioned, I don't see him there. He's definitely a wildcard who could easily crack the top 10, but at the moment, there's just too many questions for my taste. In addition, I don't see you mentioning his questionable route running, which I'm rather concerned about. Getting separation in the NFL, in my opinion, is as much a question of route running as it is a question of pure speed. Even if he clocks at 4.2 during his workouts, I'd be concerned if he can manage to get open on a regular basis. I definitely think that you can work on the running, but I'm not sure if he's got top 10 written on him with this concern.

If it's not too much to ask for, I'd be curious about which players you have on your list for the #40 pick. I'm currently working on a list for a mockdraft game I'm taking part in, and I'm having a hard time getting together more than five or six players I really like at this position.

Thanks.

With regards Brown, he's much more ready to start week 1 than Staley is. For all Joe's athleticism, he currently lacks fundamental strength to hold up against the bigger defender's he's going to face. Brown, whilst needing hand work in terms of placement and with regards staying square to his target, which he does too often, meaning he lunges too often, is only a coach away from being a valuable asset on the OL. He's a terrific run blocker, he's strong at the point and he's mobile. Plus he's a tremendous leader. My concern with Joe is that if you're picking a guy from a small school, who is a converted tight end, are you guaranteed he can start week 1?

The Ginn thing, check out my thread on him.

As for targets at 40:

Kevin Kolb, Drew Stanton, John Beck, Dwayne Jarrett, Jason Hill, Craig Davis, Anthony Gonzalez, Zach Miller, Justin Blalock, Arron Sears, Andy Alleman, Josh Beekman, Ben Grubbs, Tony Ugoh, Tank Tyler, Justin Harrell, Quentin Moses, Tim Crowder, Anthony Spencer, Ikaika Alama-Francis, LaMarr Woodley, Marcus McCauley, Jonathan Wade, Brandon Meriweather, eric Weddle.

That might be a target group.

 

[BlueFin]

Thanks.

With regards Brown, he's much more ready to start week 1 than Staley is. For all Joe's athleticism, he currently lacks fundamental strength to hold up against the bigger defender's he's going to face. Brown, whilst needing hand work in terms of placement and with regards staying square to his target, which he does too often, meaning he lunges too often, is only a coach away from being a valuable asset on the OL. He's a terrific run blocker, he's strong at the point and he's mobile. Plus he's a tremendous leader. My concern with Joe is that if you're picking a guy from a small school, who is a converted tight end, are you guaranteed he can start week 1?

The Ginn thing, check out my thread on him.

As for targets at 40:

Kevin Kolb, Drew Stanton, John Beck, Dwayne Jarrett, Jason Hill, Craig Davis, Anthony Gonzalez, Zach Miller, Justin Blalock, Arron Sears, Andy Alleman, Josh Beekman, Ben Grubbs, Tony Ugoh, Tank Tyler, Justin Harrell, Quentin Moses, Tim Crowder, Anthony Spencer, Ikaika Alama-Francis, LaMarr Woodley, Marcus McCauley, Jonathan Wade, Brandon Meriweather, eric Weddle.

That might be a target group.

Speaking of pick 40, I have seen a lot of Sidney Rice and have been very impressed with him, do you not like him or do you just think he will be gone by number 40?

 

[Boomer]

Boomer,

Given your rankings, and if Quinn is gone by the 9th pick, would you select Willis over Ginn despite Miami's obvious offensive needs? There is a school of thought that unless players are very closely ranked, a team should choose the higher ranked player over the need position or the teams overall talent level will ultimately suffer. Your thoughts?

We think that we have the future MLB on the roster in Channing Crowder. But Willis could easily be that guy. If that's the case though, you're not really going to get value on the 9th overall pick in terms of being able to come in and contribute immediately which is clearly a pre-requisite with Miami. But the thinking might be that Willis is a better WLB than Crowder and so he starts there.

But in my mind that's addition by subtraction, because you haven't filled a hole at all; you've just put one of your better young players on the sidelines.

 

[Boomer]

Speaking of pick 40, I have seen a lot of Sidney Rice and have been very impressed with him, do you not like him or do you just think he will be gone by number 40?

I like him a lot and just forgot him. He'd definitely be a target, IMO.

Thanks

 

[Boomer]

nice job boomer very good analysis just think your spot for russell is to low and i like landry over nelson,ginn at 7 lets see how he runs first but you could be right on

No worries.

The Russell thing is a personal issue. I just don't buy that he's the #1 pick based on beating an average Irish team and throwing a few lasers in shorts and a t-shirt, when you weigh up the mistakes in his game and the work ethic.

You know, I can take a guy who's ****y or who's a bit different. But what I can't abide is a guy who turns up to the biggest job interview in his life looking the way he did. That turned me right off. And Lane Kiffin was right the other day at the league meetings when he said that Russell had a great arm, but in reality, how often do you throw it 70 yards? Twice a game?

As for Teddy, if he's running 4.37's at 85%, then the time is no issue. In fact really the time is no issue anyway, because if scouts don't see how quick he is on tape, then they have no business scouting in the 1st place.

 

[Boomer]

Just as good, if not better than alot of draft publications out there. You rock BOOM!!!!

:)

 

[Boomer]

Excellent as always Boomer. These forums are better for having knowledgable people like you around this time of year. :happydrin

Thanks dude.

 

[GRYPHONK]

Thanks alot for the info Boomer. I always enjoy your posts and definiitely value your analasys of players over just about nyones on here lol.

I have a couple questions for yah.

In your opinion with the new direction in coaching and GM of this team, do you see the Phins drafting BPA or need at 9?

Also, do you think Brady Quinn will be the Phins QB of the future? Do you see Cam mking a move to get him?

Lastly- If Quinn is not an option and Landry is on the board. Do you think Miami would take him nd if so would it be the right call in your opinion?

I am sorry, I know I am asking as if you're the coach. I would just like to know your opinion on that.

 

[Boomer]

Blue,

Just thought I'd quantify what I mean about Rice, a kid I really like. The question over him in my eyes, with regards Miami, is can he play flanker? I think he can, although I know some don't. But look at his numbers - he ran a 4.41 at the Combine at 6034 and an even 200lbs. Straight off the bat that makes me think he can play there. I think it's not really up for debate that Robert Meacham can play that position and Meach ran a 4.42 and a 4.47 in Indy and then ripped a 4.41 at the Vols Pro Day this week in front of Mueller. Rice chose to stand on his Combine time. Buster only ran a 4.44 in Indy and as Meach ran the fastest time at the UT Pro Day, he clearly didn't match Rice's time, whilst Gonzo busted a 4.33 and a 4.38, I don't ever see him playing up to that speed and he never makes a big play. I see him as a possession type and not a number 1, whereas I can envisage Rice being that in time. One thing that, whilst not concerning me, interests me is that Rice's 2nd time was 4.50. That's quite a large differential between 1st and 2nd run. Only Reggie Ball, a converted QB had a bigger two time differential and frankly I don't count Ball's time as he's not going to factor in at the next level. I bet if I looked at TB and CB, the other two high speed positions, there wouldn't be a .09 differential. (OK, so I was wrong, Tyrone Breckenridge of Wazzu and Chaz Williams of Louisiana Monroe had .10 and .09 differentials at CB.) But the point remains.

When I watch him, he can get down the field and he's not afraid to give his body up for the ball. He gets to top speed in a hurry, but when you expect him to shift up a gear, he lacks that elite gear to really run away from people. But he's a long strider and as I said, he has a lot of TO in his game, although he looks a little high cut and could do with filling out that frame some up top. A guy with those measurables should be bigger than a flat 200lbs, I could see him in the 212/215 range without any discernable loss in speed. And you can't knock the exceptional hands.

I think you HAVE to have some form of reservations about a WR coming out of that system. But he was no mug coming out of high school - I think I remember correctly that he was the #1 rated offensive player in the state and was snared by Lou Holtz. This is a highly recruited kid who was down to SC, Florida, Miami, Tennessee, Georgia and Syracuse. And of course, playing in Spurrier's system rather than Holtz's means he's more liable to be a product of the Fun 'N Gun or whatever The Visor is calling his offense these days, but look at those other teams on that list; three of the four biggies are Georgia, Miami and Tenneessee, all running pro style systems. They had to believe that he wasn't going to be simply a guy that would flourish in a specific, rare type of offense. Also, he only played 2 seasons, which makes me think that any traits he's learned, can be unlearned.

As for his last season, which people have questioned, well, I'm not sure he dropped off the face of the earth. In 2005 he had 70 receptions for 1,143 yards (16.3 avg.) and 13 touchdowns, whereas last year he had 72 receptions for 1,090 yards (15.1 avg.) and 10 touchdowns. That's 2 more grabs, 53 less yards and 3 less touchdowns. Plus, with Newton and Blake Mitchell and Uncle Tom Cobbley and All at QB, that didn't help. What I did note of interest was how he played Chris Houston in 2006. In 2005, he struggled and was held to 4 catches, although one was a monstrous TD leap in the back of the endzone. In 2006, he dominated Houston, had him in fits to the tune of 7-126. And of course, Houston man handled every high round WR he faced this year.

I think, as I said, he needs to fill out and hit the weight room to get up to around 210/212 adding about a stone of muscle, but I think he can be a player at the next level. He's still raw in all aspects of his game, so I wouldn't expect a lot out of him in year 1. But a nice player.

 

[Boomer]

Outstanding again

Cheers mate.

 

[Boomer]

Nice board Boom, not much to argue with there.

I am one that is beginning to wonder if passing on Patrick Willis may be the type decision that harkens back to bypassing Ray Lewis for Daryl Gardener.

Not to say that Gardener wasn't a fine prospect or a very good player, but I think we can agree on which of those two will be enshrined in Canton one day.

I have this uneasy feeling Patrick Willis may end up being that good of a Pro.

I sort of agree, although you wonder in this era of FA and early contributing, just how quickly he'll make an impact considering he'd either be behind Zach or Channing and if he replaces Channing, then that's not really added to our team, per se, just taken a good, young player out of the line-up.

He's a hell of a player though.

 

[Vendigo]

My concern with Joe is that if you're picking a guy from a small school, who is a converted tight end, are you guaranteed he can start week 1?

I agree with your concerns. From what I've heard and seen, though, my impression is that Joe will (or or at least has the potential to) eventually be the better LT one or two years down the road. In the worst case, you would have a decent left guard. In the best, you'd have a franchise LT. Levi Brown on the other hand has a lot of Vernon Carey in my opinion. He might become a good (albeit not great) LT or he might "just" be a decent RT. He's probably the better short term prospect, I agree, but he hasn't written "greatness" over him like Joe does under the right circumstances. So the question would be if you prefered a good starter in week 1 or a stud LT in two years. With almost every other position, I'd take the week 1 starter, but with LT, it might be wise to grab the more talented player to be set for the next decade, even if that means grooming him for one year. I see very little bust in Joe.

The Ginn thing, check out my thread on him.

Will do. Thanks.

As for targets at 40 ... That might be a target group.

I appreciate it. Thanks again. It's good to see that you're high on Eric Weddle as well. He seems to be flying under the radar a bit and I like him a lot. I also like Wendling in the 3rd, so it's going to be a tough call which one I'll target ...

 

[shiznet]

boom has good thoughts
hi my name is shiznet

 

[Fingers]

We think that we have the future MLB on the roster in Channing Crowder. But Willis could easily be that guy. If that's the case though, you're not really going to get value on the 9th overall pick in terms of being able to come in and contribute immediately which is clearly a pre-requisite with Miami. But the thinking might be that Willis is a better WLB than Crowder and so he starts there.

But in my mind that's addition by subtraction, because you haven't filled a hole at all; you've just put one of your better young players on the sidelines.

Fair enough. I appreciate your input.

 

[Dfan33]

Boomer:

Like you, I am fairly high on Ginn. However, IMO I would utilize him as a #1 CB most of the time, and then as a flanker on 3rd down situations and on the 2 minute drills. I think with his speed and hands, in time he could literally shut down one side of the field like Champ Bailey. As a QB I would be scared of throwing the ball to his side of the field. Thus, he could potentially solve two issues for us (#1 CB and opening up the passing game in passing down situations). Your thoughts?