Don't Draft a QB
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They better go for defense. If Berry is there you have to take him.
Forget offense, we need a dominating defense.
No QB worth taking #1.
They better go for defense. If Berry is there you have to take him.
Forget offense, we need a dominating defense.
No QB worth taking #1.
I thank you for this post simply because you're right: there isn't a Peyton Manning coming out this year, as far as I know (don't quote me, I don't know Bradford or Pike that well). Based on pure talent, it does seem like Berry/Mays are the best coming out.
Besides, it's not like we're going to be outside of the top 5 in the 2011 draft.
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@shepwrite said:
Two ways to prove you really don't know shit about pro football:1. Say, "I'm sick and tired of trying to draft a franchise quarterback. We picked Charlie Frye in the third round, where so many greats are found, and that didn't work out. Then we picked Brady Quinn at 22 a few years ago. I'm just tired of it. I wanna turn this team around with an old free agent quarterback and Eric Berry."
Well, and some magic fairy dust.
2. Say, "I believe in drafting franchise quarterbacks high in round one, but there just isn't anyone out there." We heard that on this very board about Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Mark Sanchez, and Matt Stafford, among MANY others. Now we're already hearing it again about Bradford, Pike, Clausen, and McCoy.
God shep you really do get it.
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@shepwrite said:
Two ways to prove you really don't know shit about pro football:I have admitted to this! What are you trying to prove? It's like people going 'AHA BARNEY FRANK SO YOU DO SUPPORT SINGLE PAYER!!! HA! HA!' at the Town Hall meetings, when he'd admitted to it a long time ago.
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@shepwrite said:
Name a few guys who are hot young backups who excite you, who you've been reading a lot about. Who is the superstar in waiting stuck behind a franchise QB? Charlie Whitehurst?Matt Leinart?
Dennis
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At this point, I think Leinart is going to have to be moved if he's going to have a career. If he gets named the starter after this year, I would think that the book on him in Arizona is that he got the job because they thought he should just get the job as opposed to beating the other guy out. As to whether or not he'll succeed, who knows? As we've seen so far this year with the Browns, there's a world of difference between the preseason and when the games start counting.
As to your earlier point about people essentially saying, "Screw it, let's draft Eric Berry and sign somebody," I think you're being too quick to dismiss the argument for not drafting a QB next year. For one thing, if you think that a QB has serious questions regarding his value as a first round pick (Bradford's shoulder, Bradford and McCoy playing in a conference with no defenses, Clausen with the traditional Notre Dame questions about strength of schedule, etc.), then I think it's a mistake to say, "Look at these guys who were drafted early in the draft, and their teams turned out alright." It ignores a ton of variables, like the fact that all four QBs you mentioned (Flacco, Rodgers, Sanchez, and Ryan) took over teams that had been in the playoffs within a couple of years of their arrival. Alex Smith and Joey Harrington might be better examples of guys who walked into situations like the one facing the next Browns' QB.
At the end of the day, you have to take the guy you think will help the team both in the immediate future and long-term. If you think Eric Berry is going to be an impact player for ten years or more (and I think he is), then taking a QB because that's just what you do is just as much of a give-up as saying that you can just sign a backup from another team and run the ball a lot.
Dennis
And, as blasphemous as it seems to type this while sitting on the UT campus, my tendency would be to go with McCoy.
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@shepwrite said:
Dency, I don't agree on a lot of levels. First, we say that same thing every year, that there aren't franchise quarterbacks in the draft, that they have question marks... but there are 2-4 serious NFL starting quarterbacks in virtually EVERY draft. Guaranteed, Ryan, Flacco, Sanchez, and Stafford are a significant trend: Get a smart pocket passer from a pro style offense and play him immediately.They're also part of another significant trend--call it the Eli Manning principle: teams that go to the playoffs four out of five years, then have one bad year that either puts them in position to draft in the top five or trade into the spot, pick a guy, rebound in pretty much the same way they would have with the guys they had at QB, then bingo-bango, picking a QB is what turned the team around (which might be slightly premature in Staffor's case, since the Lions are 1-2 in franchise history with him as the starter)
Is picking Leinart what turned around the Cardinals? Harrington with the Lions? Alex Smith with the 49ers?
>>No, the Browns will not become a complete team overnight, but they'll be able to do some work at other positions, just as the Falcons did prior to 2008. But they MUST prioritize correctly. Safety does not go ahead of quarterback, for instance, in any GM's playbook. The order is: Quarterback, left tackle, cover corner, pass rusher, #1 WR. Safety isn't on the list. <<
I never said take a safety instead of a QB. I said look at the particular players that are available and make a decision. Look at 1991--the Browns took Eric Turner #2. They did not take Dan McGwire or Todd Marinovich, who went later. Was that a failure at the GM level? Should the Browns have taken one of those guys, and the team got bailed out because one turned out to suck and their other was a head case?
As I said, if there's a franchise QB there, take him. If not, taking one because there's probably one who will eventually develop out of the draft isn't smart strategy, it's fetishizing the position.
Dennis
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@shepwrite said:
Well, then, the answer is "yes" on the quarterback virtually every year, as we've seen. They're almost always there.I'm not trying to be a dick, but this is a non-conversation if you polled GMs in the NFL. Here are the serious contenders in the NFL right now, many of them perennial contenders:
Patriots (Brady)--6th Rd.
Colts (Manning - #1 overall)
Chargers (Rivers - #2 overall)
Steelers (Rapelisberger - #10 overall)
Jets (Sanchez - #5 overall)
Ravens (Flacco - 1st round )
Eagles (McNabb - #2 overall, Kolb)
Packers (from Favre to Rodgers - first round)--First guy a 2nd rounder acquired through a trade
Falcons (Ryan - #2 overall?)
Saints (Brees - via f/a)--2nd rounder acquired via FA
Giants (Manning - #1 overall)
Cowboys (Romo)--UDFA
Vikings (Favre)--FA
Bengals (maybe?) (Palmer - #1 overall)
You have to ask yourself, what is this other road to Mecca? Is it based on anomalies? Or is it pretty clear how successful organizations are built, and a centerpiece of that architecture is a franchise quarterback.
A couple of things here. First, I never said a team doesn't need a QB...you're substituting my argument for a straw man. What I said, again, is that if you think your next franchise QB is available, take him--sweet Jesus, you're criticizing me for agreeing with you.
Second, it's dishonest to say that you need to take a QB #1 because teams are built around franchise QBs, and then list franchise QBs who were either drafted way later or acquired via trade or free agency.
Third, it's also problematic to include several guys who are teammates of the guys you always point to in your list of RBs who haven't played in the Super Bowl as evidence of why teams shouldn't take RBs high in the draft. The Chargers take LaDanian Tomlinson and don't win the Super Bowl? That's what they get for taking a RB. They take Phillip Rivers? That's how you become an elite team. Rivers throws three picks in a playoff loss? Great job, Tomlinson--that's why you don't take an RB in the draft.
Finally, I would wait until the Saints prove they can be successful in the playoffs (which could very well be this year) or the Cowboys actually win a meaningful game (the last time was when they had a real franchise QB) before holding them up as examples of how to put together a successful franchise.
Dennis
J.P. Losman--Now more than ever.
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Keep in mind that this team is very bad - and will probably be bad for at least 2 more years.
With so many needs, trading back from #1 to between 5-10 should get a proven starter plus additional value.
Waiting until 2011 might give the added benefit of a franchise QB at a time when a new CBA is keeping rookie salaries more reasonable
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Keep in mind that this team is very bad - and will probably be bad for at least 2 more years.
With so many needs, trading back from #1 to between 5-10 should get a proven starter plus additional value.
Waiting until 2011 might give the added benefit of a franchise QB at a time when a new CBA is keeping rookie salaries more reasonable
Keep in mind that this team is very bad - and will probably be bad for at least 10 more years.
With so many needs, trading back from #1 to between 5-10 should get a proven starter plus additional value.
Waiting until 2011 might give the added benefit of a franchise QB at a time when a new CBA is keeping rookie salaries more reasonable
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