2014 NFL Draft

adrian522

There were no spoilers on NFL network last year, it was the year before that happened. There was a general agreement last year not to spoil picks on air or on social media.

Jason LaConfora was one guy who refused to abide by the agreement and posted up picks on twitter. So yeah, avoid twitter etc if you don't want to know in advance.

I follow on twitter but only scroll up to see tweets about 10 mins old, still a risky strategy though.

Paully D

adrian522 wrote: »

Don't think the 49ers would trade up that far, but there are rumours they have an arrangement with Baltimore to move up for OBJ if he is still there when Baltimore pick.

Not convinced on that but a lot more believable than moving up to number 5.

comes from the same source that was talking up SF taking Eric Reid last year.

Bit disappointing from a Ravens point of view that. I'd rather we took Beckham Jr ourselves if he's there at #17.

Out of realistic options who may fall to that position, if Lewan, Ebron, Clinton-Dix or Beckham Jr are there I'd want us to take one of them instead of trading back. Though I guess the Ravens might think they can snag a safety like Pryor or Ward by trading back and gaining an extra pick or two in such a deep draft.

HigginsJ

Paully D wrote: »

Sammy Watkins' tweets over the last couple of days:







You'd imagine the Cali visit would be for the Raiders at #5, but considering the 49ers have a mountain of draft picks in the near future and Watkins is talking about a team trading up for him outside the top 10, maybe? You'd also expect the Raiders to have met with him sooner than a week before the draft too considering they pick so early.

There's been plenty of talk about the 49ers wanting to move right up in this draft and they're searching for a WR too.

It's unlikely, but I wouldn't rule it out either.

The 49ers really have no choice but to trade up considering that they have 11 picks in the draft. 2 choices in the 2nd and 3 in the 3rd (one comp pick that can't be traded)

If memory serves me correctly the Raiders only received the Dolphins 2nd rounder to drop from 3 to 12 last year. If the 49ers offered their 1st rounder, both seconds and a 3rd I'd take it if I were Reggie McKenzie.

HigginsJ

Paully D wrote: »

Yeah, that's true. I was a bit disappointed last year as I didn't know whether it would be Fisher or Joeckel for sure though.

Clowney's gone down to 8/11 to be #1 now. He was 6/4 a few weeks ago. I think I recall a couple of posters saying they got on him at 6/4 so if you're one of them best of luck with it mate

I agree I think he's going to go #1 now too. I'd still take Bridgewater over him if I were Houston though. Clowney's a beast, going to be a great player in the NFL, but they had the player who should have been defensive player of the year and was head and shoulders above anyone on the defensive side of the ball last year in JJ Watt and they finished with 2 wins. They need a QB and Teddy's the best of the bunch by a distance.

I could end up looking very foolish in a couple of seasons time with my championing of Bridgewater, but whoever gets him will reap the rewards in the near future if not straight away IMO.

Betting on those sorts of things is not my cup of tea.

I'm 100% with you on Teddy, teams will regret passing on him for a long time

Chucky the tree

adrian522 wrote: »

There were no spoilers on NFL network last year, it was the year before that happened. There was a general agreement last year not to spoil picks on air or on social media.

Jason LaConfora was one guy who refused to abide by the agreement and posted up picks on twitter. So yeah, avoid twitter etc if you don't want to know in advance.

I follow on twitter but only scroll up to see tweets about 10 mins old, still a risky strategy though.

As pointed out there were definitely "subtle" spoilers last year from Mayock, it was cringe. A few times times he was asked who he thought the pick was before it was announced and then he'd say "Well it could be X,Y,Z" and then they moved to the other panelist and before the pick Mayock would but in with "It could also be X as well" and then X would get announced.

Paully D

I've seen a few people say that ESPN don't even 'not-so-subtly' give away the picks like Mayock does on NFL Network, so they might be worth a try this year.

The EJ Manuel pick was a perfect example of it. Mayock spent five minutes talking about Smith/Nassib, then he obviously had a word in his ear and suddenly switched to Manuel before congratulating himself after the pick :pac:

One of my posts from that night on Mayock revealing picks:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=84335520&postcount=1263

Hulk Hands

Paully D wrote: »

He said we were trying to move up last year as well as a player he liked kept on dropping. Any ideas who? I was looking through the players that seemed to fall a bit last year but can't put my finger on it. I was thinking maybe Eric Reid before the 49ers got in there but I don't think he fell at all at #18 really.

Shariff Floyd by any chance?


Those Watkins comments don't surprise me, but would still turn me off him a little. Surely agents can do their job well enough to keep the players off twitter for 2 weeks.

Have a nice bit invested now in the drafted between clowney at 6/4, manziel to go before teddy and mccarron (39.5) and sam (79.5) over draft positions from a few months back. All looking rosy so far. One I missed out on was Jeremy Hill to be the first RB taken at 28s. 10s now. I'll consider taking the 21/10 Manziel first QB with Boyles tomorrow

franglan

Mayock now has Jimmy Garropollo and Mettenberger ahead of Bridgewater! I can't see either of those two going in the first round. So Mayock thinks Teddy is a secound round pick? I still believe Bridgewater will be drafted in the top 10 and most probably a lot higher than that. He has been the nailed on number 1 QB on the majority of draft boards for the past year. Ok he had a poor pro-day but I would think this equates to 10% of the overall evaluation process. The guy is NFL ready and even with talk of his physical stature and awful pro-day there's no comparison between taking him and say, Bortles. I have no idea how Manziel does in the NFL, think he'll take too may big hits. I know he has improved as a pocket passer since his freshman year - just think they're are too many variables to pick him as your number 1 QB.

eagle eye

Personally I haven't got caught up in the draft buzz like previous years. I agree that they just dragged it out too much this year. It was fine the way it was and changing it has just ruined it for me. I'll probably started getting excited about it midweek though.

JaMarcusHustle

If anything, the whole Bridgewater media drop should show you much of a sheep the majority of these writers are. Up to a month/six weeks, everyone was proclaiming Bridgewater as the best QB. It wasn't even in question with 99% of writers. Suddenly, one or two people started dropping him because of a pro day. All of a sudden, practically everyone is pointing out his flaws and how they rank others ahead of him.

It's bullshít, too many writers are afraid of their rankings being proved wrong. They want their top 5 QBs to be taken in that order in the draft so they can "toldyaso" everyone. Where were these concerns you had about Bridgewater back in March? After 3 years worth of game tape, are you seriously telling me that you've only spotted these concerns in the final couple of weeks before the draft, and it's a coincidence that all these so-called draft experts have as well?

It's a joke. Mayock's analysis of prospects might be better than anyone else, but he's as guilty as any of adjusting his ranking so as not to get his order of picks wrong. This gap between when the draft should have taken place and next weekend has done no favours for anyone. Apart from inexplicable risers like Garoppolo and Savage.

kennyb3

Paully D wrote: »

I can't wait for it now, I'm really looking forward to it.

The only thing I dislike about draft night is having to stay off social media during it as there's always a few media guys who have to try and show off by telling people the pick a few seconds before it happens, even though there was an agreement in the media I think. NFL Network ruined the #1 pick announcement last year FFS :pac:

Hopefully there'll be a gentleman's agreement between us on here not to spoil the picks either.

I've to stay away from media totally (facebook, e-mail, internet etc) until Sat morning as watching live isn't an option with twin babies in the house. Going to kill me! And praying there are no spoiler texts!

adrian522

Is it on SKy this year?

JaMarcusHustle

kennyb3 wrote: »

I've to stay away from media totally (facebook, e-mail, internet etc) until Sat morning as watching live isn't an option with twin babies in the house. Going to kill me! And praying there are no spoiler texts!

I'd like to propose the mods issue a no spoilers rule that night too. Even for posts "Rumours going around that X might be taking X". The thread should be a reactionary thread for what's been broadcast and nothing else, no other media sources allowed.

Morrison J

adrian522 wrote: »

Is it on SKy this year?

Think all they are showing is the first round. Heres the Thursday schedule on Sky Sports 1:

22:00
NFL Draft - Andrew Luck Master Class (Sport)
Neil Reynolds joins the Indianapolis Colts' Andrew Luck for a quarterback masterclass. Luck holds the record for the most passing yards by a quarterback in his first two NFL seasons.
(Dolby Stereo, Widescreen, High Definition)

23:00
NFL Draft - Story of the Draft (Sport)
NFL Films go behind the scenes at the 2013 NFL Draft and discover what the players go through during such a pivotal time in their careers.
(Dolby Stereo, Widescreen, High Definition)

00:00
NFL - Draft (Sport)
New York's Radio City Music Hall hosts the 2014 NFL Draft. This pivotal offseason event decides the futures of the top college football players in the country.
(Dolby Stereo, Widescreen, High Definition, Live)

kennyb3

Yeah first round only as with last year.

Knex*

Its gas the way some players stock rise and fall, all during a time when nobody is even playing games.

I can understand small changes in peoples opinions/rankings from season end to now as they have more time to study tape, interview, and pro day/combine affects it a bit too, but people putting the likes of Bortles and Carr ahead of Bridgewater is a little daft, surely.

If nothing they did during the past two seasons in college ever put them ahead of him then, what's changed since?

adrian522

JaMarcusHustle wrote: »

I'd like to propose the mods issue a no spoilers rule that night too. Even for posts "Rumours going around that X might be taking X". The thread should be a reactionary thread for what's been broadcast and nothing else, no other media sources allowed.

Yeah, but then you will have some watching on Sky, some streaming, some gamepass. You'd need to stay off the thread if you are using a streaming site or gamepass.

Silver-Tiger

adrian522 wrote: »

Is it on SKy this year?

Wade Philips with Kev and Neil.

Great guest.

I recently started listening to The "Inside the Huddle" Sky podcast.
After months of listening to the boys from ESPN/PFT/NFLN it was refreshing to hear some familiar voices. Obv Neil as an "expert" on Sunday evening is bad but he does a pretty good job as a host of a podcast and leaves all the expertise to Reinbold and he's very good. Love how he pretends to know everyone in the game.

I'd love to know more about Reinbold. I'd say he's had a few rough years in between teams.

franglan

Jeff doesn't only know everyone in the NFL, he knows everyone on a first name basis in the NFL. He actually visits everyone weekly too!

Would really appreciate if they had at least day two on the red button - doesn't sound like it though :-(

SameOleJay

Did Jeff work with Trestman (in the CFL maybe) ? He seems to be very fond of him anyway.

Pumped for the draft anyway, at last.

HigginsJ

Seems like a lone voice in the night when it comes to Teddy Bridgewater.

Take a bow Doug Farrar

http://nfl.si.com/2014/04/29/2014-nfl-draft-top-64-teddy-bridgewater/

Paully D

JaMarcusHustle wrote: »

If anything, the whole Bridgewater media drop should show you much of a sheep the majority of these writers are. Up to a month/six weeks, everyone was proclaiming Bridgewater as the best QB. It wasn't even in question with 99% of writers. Suddenly, one or two people started dropping him because of a pro day. All of a sudden, practically everyone is pointing out his flaws and how they rank others ahead of him.

It's bullshít, too many writers are afraid of their rankings being proved wrong. They want their top 5 QBs to be taken in that order in the draft so they can "toldyaso" everyone. Where were these concerns you had about Bridgewater back in March? After 3 years worth of game tape, are you seriously telling me that you've only spotted these concerns in the final couple of weeks before the draft, and it's a coincidence that all these so-called draft experts have as well?

It's a joke. Mayock's analysis of prospects might be better than anyone else, but he's as guilty as any of adjusting his ranking so as not to get his order of picks wrong. This gap between when the draft should have taken place and next weekend has done no favours for anyone. Apart from inexplicable risers like Garoppolo and Savage.

I'd love to see an analyst, as a joke, just get completely behind a player who is almost certainly going to be an UDFA or late round pick as an experiment to show how much group think plays a part in the draft. Then pen an article on the subject.

Though with Tom Savage being spoken about as a player who could sneak into the first or go early second round, I'm starting to think someone is already running with that idea.

franglan

It goes both ways though, look at the analysis of Ryan Nassib and the "NFL insider" love-in that happened. He was still a 4th round draft pick, who is now fighting for his roster slot with Curtis Painter.

adrian522

He'd probably get drafted in the first round if we did that sicessfully as I'm sure some GM's pay far too much attention to the "expert" chatter.

kennyb3

adrian522 wrote: »

He'd probably get drafted in the first round if we did that sicessfully as I'm sure some GM's pay far too much attention to the "expert" chatter.

Jerry Angelo admitted as much here. Thank f'uck we are done with him!

Long article - so here is the extract

'I was in Chicago in 2003 and we were hell-bent on taking a defensive lineman in the first round. We were a 4-3 scheme at the time and relied more upon big-bodied defensive linemen than slender ones. Michael Haynes, a defensive end from Penn State, was the player we drafted in the first round. To my recollection, no one loved him, including me. But he was the best available lineman in the eyes of many. Haynes had the credentials, led the Big Ten in sacks that year, played well at the Senior Bowl and was a bright kid. There was another player out of Troy State I really liked who was much more exciting to watch than Haynes in college. He was more of a conventional 4-3 defensive end.

It was ultimately my decision and I opted to select "the people’s choice” and passed on Osi Umenyiora, who the New York Giants selected in the second round. The point I’m trying to make is that it’s easy to get caught up in perception and need, but in the end, if you did your work and you have a strong conviction, do what you believe is the right thing for the club.'

Paully D

adrian522 wrote: »

He'd probably get drafted in the first round if we did that sicessfully as I'm sure some GM's pay far too much attention to the "expert" chatter.

Over on the soccer forum a couple of years ago we made up a rumour that Newcastle were trying to sign a North Korean striker. After a few days of Twitter and passing it around, journalists started to pick up on it and the Daily Mail ran a story on it :pac: Here's a Newcastle blog and the Mail discussing the potential (completely made up) transfer:

http://www.nufcblog.com/2012/06/06/newcastle-linked-with-north-korean-striker/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2155866/Transfer-latest-Luiz-Adriano-Tottenham-Liverpool-eye-Victor-Moses-Newcastle-target-Jong-Il-Gwan.html

Here's a comprehensive list of all places that covered it, about 40 articles, Serbian and Dutch websites started reporting that Newcastle face competition from Partizan and PSV for his signature :pac:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/group.php?do=discuss&group=&discussionid=1384

It might be fun to do something like that for the NFL draft. Just pick a 6th/7th round prospect, start tweeting NFL guys saying he looks really impressive on his tape, make up a few things about his attributes and see how far we can get him bumped up? :pac: If anyone knows or speaks to someone with links to draft guys via social media or something it might be an idea to see if we can get them involved in such an experiment?

Knex*

Had forgotten about that, Paully. Ridiculous how easy it was to get it into mainstream media.

Have to go the route of doing it through a social group (they still exist?), as you can't have it on a public forum.

glued

JaMarcusHustle wrote: »

If anything, the whole Bridgewater media drop should show you much of a sheep the majority of these writers are. Up to a month/six weeks, everyone was proclaiming Bridgewater as the best QB. It wasn't even in question with 99% of writers. Suddenly, one or two people started dropping him because of a pro day. All of a sudden, practically everyone is pointing out his flaws and how they rank others ahead of him.

It's bullshít, too many writers are afraid of their rankings being proved wrong. They want their top 5 QBs to be taken in that order in the draft so they can "toldyaso" everyone. Where were these concerns you had about Bridgewater back in March? After 3 years worth of game tape, are you seriously telling me that you've only spotted these concerns in the final couple of weeks before the draft, and it's a coincidence that all these so-called draft experts have as well?

It's a joke. Mayock's analysis of prospects might be better than anyone else, but he's as guilty as any of adjusting his ranking so as not to get his order of picks wrong. This gap between when the draft should have taken place and next weekend has done no favours for anyone. Apart from inexplicable risers like Garoppolo and Savage.

Writers aside I would of thought it was fairly obvious how a player can suffer a huge drop. Yes, the game tape is nice but that is only one aspect of what these GM's and coaches are looking for. If Mayock says that Bridgewater's stock is dropping you can be sure that his stock really is dropping and there is probably good reason behind it.

The new concerns about Bridgewater may be ones that only coaches at an elite level are concerned about. Perhaps he interviewed very poorly. Maybe he was poor at taking on a more dynamic level of instruction. Maybe lots of teams don't see him as a 'good fit'. We don't and might never know why exactly his stock is dropping but we do know that it's not without merit.

My own opinion is that Bridgewater's poor performance at his Pro Day was a catalyst for criticism. As you say - Everybody was high on Bridgewater until March but from a Pro Day he's gone from #1 Overall to potential 2nd Rounder. At the start everybody was saying "how great he'll be at the next level", "he has all the intangibles", "safe pick" etc.... It's all draft hyperbole. The answer is that his true value lies somewhere in the middle. He's not a Top 5 prospect but he's not a second rounder either as he's one of the top QB prospects this class.

As a result of his Pro Day he obviously came under more scrutiny. He was probably asked more questions and had more focus than Manziel, Bortles and Carr put together as he was the #1 QB prospect. He's suffering now because he was ranked so high initially. The same people who ranked him so highly are now putting him lower and lower down the draft by the day and that's why I pay little heed to mocks.

nerd69

thats a fair point interviews and how a guy works out for a team (i would imagine there is coaches- players who have lots of chemistry or no chemistry or any where in between) would play a big part in evaluating a player chip kelly and howie roseman seem to love the interviews they said the interviews and there character are the reasons they drafted bennie logan and matt barkley last year. so bridgewaters pro day may not be the issue

spencer long out of nebraska is a guy iv read could be drafted higher than he would have due to interviewing well and having a "high character"

Paully D

Audio and transcript from Mayock's conference call today. I only caught the last quarter but it was interesting as always:

http://nflcommunications.com/2014/05/01/transcript-audio-file-of-conference-call-with-nfl-network-analyst-mike-mayock-5114/