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Lombardi's Record

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  • After leaving the Browns, Lombardi spent one year with the Eagles as Pro Personell Director...again having no draft connection

    1998-2007 Senior Personnel Director. He was again in charge of the Raider entire roster....subject to the whims of Al Davis.

    I those 10 years, assuming he was in charge only the following players were Pro Bowl selections:

    Darrell Russell

    Charles Woodson

    Shane Lechler

    Sebastian Janikowsi

    Zach Miller

    Nnamdi Asomguha

    Roderick Coleman

    so, almost one third of that group was a punter and a kicker. Five Pro Bowl players drafted in 10 years at the helm. Woodson was a semi-no-brainer. The others, OK.

    But he also made these choices, just in his first rounds:

    Matt Stinchcomb

    Derrick Gibson

    Phillip Bucanon

    Robert Gallery

    Fabian Washington

    Jamarcus Russell.

    Some of these were outright busts. Others decidedly mediocre or underachievers.

    So, bottom line: The track record of our man in charge is, in my opinion, quite, quite bad. And it is no wonder he had to spend 5 years in the media. Who would hire someone with that poor of a track record?

    Well, Mr. Joseph Banner, with the blessings of his owner.

    It does not instill in one a sense of optimism. We can only hope that the years of sitting back and observing have improved this guy's eye for talent. But I have no great expectations that that is the case.

  • Mike Lombardi is our GM, the man with overall responsibility on this team for talent acquisition. Let's see where he came from and how he has done. I am only looking at his NFL career here. He spent a few years as a coach/scout in college:

    1984-1987 he was a scout for the 49ers. Not in control, only made suggestions.

    During those years the 49ers did draft some outstanding talent: Guy McIntyre, Jerry Rice, Charles Haley, John Taylor, Harris Barton. If Lombardi had been the guy that had been responsible for choosing Jerry Rice and these other guys, don't you think we would have heard about that? I have never heard about it.

    1987 -1991. Director or Pro Personnell for the Browns. This title I believe does not have him dealing with the draft, but with dealing with trades and "free agent" pickups. Though in those years FA wasn't like it was now. Free agency meant finding guys that have been cut that may be useful to your team.

    If anyone can recall any blockbuster trades or "free agent" pickups made from 1987-1991, please let us know.

    1992-1996 Director of Player Personnell for the Browns. Here he had overall control of the teams roster, including the draft. Here were his draft selections for the years he was in control of it:

    1992

    Tommy Vardell

    Patrick Rowe

    Bill Johnson

    Gerald Dixon

    Rico Smith

    George Williams

    Selwyn Jones

    Tim Hill

    Marcus Lowe

    Augustin Olibia

    Keithan McCant

    Tim Simpson

    1993

    Steve Everitt

    Dan Footman

    Mike Caldwell

    Herman Arvie

    Rich McKenzie

    Travis Hill

    1994

    Antonio Langham

    Derrick Alexander

    Romeo Brandiso

    Isaac Booth

    Robert Strait

    Andre Hewitt

    1995

    Craig Powell

    Eric Zeier

    Tau Papua

    Mike Miller

    AC Tellison

    FYI, not a single one of these players ever made a single Pro Bowl. The best players were a middle range WR in Alexander, a decent center in Everitt, and an average LB in Dixon.

    So, this record kind of speaks for itself.

    @the-gipper said:

    Mike Lombardi is our GM, the man with overall responsibility on this team for talent acquisition. Let's see where he came from and how he has done. I am only looking at his NFL career here. He spent a few years as a coach/scout in college:

    1984-1987 he was a scout for the 49ers. Not in control, only made suggestions.

    During those years the 49ers did draft some outstanding talent: Guy McIntyre, Jerry Rice, Charles Haley, John Taylor, Harris Barton. If Lombardi had been the guy that had been responsible for choosing Jerry Rice and these other guys, don't you think we would have heard about that? I have never heard about it.

    1987 -1991. Director or Pro Personnell for the Browns. This title I believe does not have him dealing with the draft, but with dealing with trades and "free agent" pickups. Though in those years FA wasn't like it was now. Free agency meant finding guys that have been cut that may be useful to your team.

    If anyone can recall any blockbuster trades or "free agent" pickups made from 1987-1991, please let us know.

    1992-1996 Director of Player Personnell for the Browns. Here he had overall control of the teams roster, including the draft. Here were his draft selections for the years he was in control of it:

    1992

    Tommy Vardell

    Patrick Rowe

    Bill Johnson

    Gerald Dixon

    Rico Smith

    George Williams

    Selwyn Jones

    Tim Hill

    Marcus Lowe

    Augustin Olibia

    Keithan McCant

    Tim Simpson

    1993

    Steve Everitt

    Dan Footman

    Mike Caldwell

    Herman Arvie

    Rich McKenzie

    Travis Hill

    1994

    Antonio Langham

    Derrick Alexander

    Romeo Brandiso

    Isaac Booth

    Robert Strait

    Andre Hewitt

    1995

    Craig Powell

    Eric Zeier

    Tau Papua

    Mike Miller

    AC Tellison

    FYI, not a single one of these players ever made a single Pro Bowl. The best players were a middle range WR in Alexander, a decent center in Everitt, and an average LB in Dixon.

    So, this record kind of speaks for itself.

    Of this group, Steve Everitt and Antonio Langham were decent football players. If you ever watched ESPN's "SEC Storied" series they have one episode about one of the greatest college games ever played -- Alabama vs. Florida -- where Langham made one of the most interceptions in college football history to win the game. Langham is a god in Alabama and it was interesting to see him on that program talk about the famous INT and his pro career, too . Langham was the top DB coming out of college that year but had some injuries and never quite achieved the potential everyone expected of him.

  • After leaving the Browns, Lombardi spent one year with the Eagles as Pro Personell Director...again having no draft connection

    1998-2007 Senior Personnel Director. He was again in charge of the Raider entire roster....subject to the whims of Al Davis.

    I those 10 years, assuming he was in charge only the following players were Pro Bowl selections:

    Darrell Russell

    Charles Woodson

    Shane Lechler

    Sebastian Janikowsi

    Zach Miller

    Nnamdi Asomguha

    Roderick Coleman

    so, almost one third of that group was a punter and a kicker. Five Pro Bowl players drafted in 10 years at the helm. Woodson was a semi-no-brainer. The others, OK.

    But he also made these choices, just in his first rounds:

    Matt Stinchcomb

    Derrick Gibson

    Phillip Bucanon

    Robert Gallery

    Fabian Washington

    Jamarcus Russell.

    Some of these were outright busts. Others decidedly mediocre or underachievers.

    So, bottom line: The track record of our man in charge is, in my opinion, quite, quite bad. And it is no wonder he had to spend 5 years in the media. Who would hire someone with that poor of a track record?

    Well, Mr. Joseph Banner, with the blessings of his owner.

    It does not instill in one a sense of optimism. We can only hope that the years of sitting back and observing have improved this guy's eye for talent. But I have no great expectations that that is the case.

    @the-gipper said:

    After leaving the Browns, Lombardi spent one year with the Eagles as Pro Personell Director...again having no draft connection

    1998-2007 Senior Personnel Director. He was again in charge of the Raider entire roster....subject to the whims of Al Davis.

    I those 10 years, assuming he was in charge only the following players were Pro Bowl selections:

    Darrell Russell

    Charles Woodson

    Shane Lechler

    Sebastian Janikowsi

    Zach Miller

    Nnamdi Asomguha

    Roderick Coleman

    so, almost one third of that group was a punter and a kicker. Five Pro Bowl players drafted in 10 years at the helm. Woodson was a semi-no-brainer. The others, OK.

    But he also made these choices, just in his first rounds:

    Matt Stinchcomb

    Derrick Gibson

    Phillip Bucanon

    Robert Gallery

    Fabian Washington

    Jamarcus Russell.

    Some of these were outright busts. Others decidedly mediocre or underachievers.

    So, bottom line: The track record of our man in charge is, in my opinion, quite, quite bad. And it is no wonder he had to spend 5 years in the media. Who would hire someone with that poor of a track record?

    Well, Mr. Joseph Banner, with the blessings of his owner.

    It does not instill in one a sense of optimism. We can only hope that the years of sitting back and observing have improved this guy's eye for talent. But I have no great expectations that that is the case.

    Thinking about the present I, like many others, was willing to say, hey, Lombardi may have learned some things over the years as he gained maturity and experience. The draft picks the Browns made you can argue about, but they are not horrible. But what really dismayed me was the trading of the 4th and 5th rounders. There are different schools of thought on that strategy, I understand, but I would have preferred using those picks to acquire talent now that I could use in 2013 to develop them in a rebuilding year, rather than wasting another year to use those picks in 2014. I really don't know if the Browns will get any better players in 2014 than they could have gotten in the draft this year. Now, people say they will use those two extra picks to move up and get a great QB.

    But what happens if Weeden has a good year? That's not inconceivable. I think Weeden is going to have chip on his shoulder coming in to this season after the way he was savaged both locally and natoinally by the media and the fans. When you watched some of Weeden's college games, this guy did get it done in the clutch in some really big games. He did not display that ability with the Browns last year, to say the least. But I wouldn't give up on Brandon and if he passes muster in 2013 that makes getting a #1 QB less of an urgency. It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out.

  • After leaving the Browns, Lombardi spent one year with the Eagles as Pro Personell Director...again having no draft connection

    1998-2007 Senior Personnel Director. He was again in charge of the Raider entire roster....subject to the whims of Al Davis.

    I those 10 years, assuming he was in charge only the following players were Pro Bowl selections:

    Darrell Russell

    Charles Woodson

    Shane Lechler

    Sebastian Janikowsi

    Zach Miller

    Nnamdi Asomguha

    Roderick Coleman

    so, almost one third of that group was a punter and a kicker. Five Pro Bowl players drafted in 10 years at the helm. Woodson was a semi-no-brainer. The others, OK.

    But he also made these choices, just in his first rounds:

    Matt Stinchcomb

    Derrick Gibson

    Phillip Bucanon

    Robert Gallery

    Fabian Washington

    Jamarcus Russell.

    Some of these were outright busts. Others decidedly mediocre or underachievers.

    So, bottom line: The track record of our man in charge is, in my opinion, quite, quite bad. And it is no wonder he had to spend 5 years in the media. Who would hire someone with that poor of a track record?

    Well, Mr. Joseph Banner, with the blessings of his owner.

    It does not instill in one a sense of optimism. We can only hope that the years of sitting back and observing have improved this guy's eye for talent. But I have no great expectations that that is the case.

    @the-gipper said:

    After leaving the Browns, Lombardi spent one year with the Eagles as Pro Personell Director...again having no draft connection

    1998-2007 Senior Personnel Director. He was again in charge of the Raider entire roster....subject to the whims of Al Davis.

    I those 10 years, assuming he was in charge only the following players were Pro Bowl selections:

    Darrell Russell

    Charles Woodson

    Shane Lechler

    Sebastian Janikowsi

    Zach Miller

    Nnamdi Asomguha

    Roderick Coleman

    so, almost one third of that group was a punter and a kicker. Five Pro Bowl players drafted in 10 years at the helm. Woodson was a semi-no-brainer. The others, OK.

    But he also made these choices, just in his first rounds:

    Matt Stinchcomb

    Derrick Gibson

    Phillip Bucanon

    Robert Gallery

    Fabian Washington

    Jamarcus Russell.

    Some of these were outright busts. Others decidedly mediocre or underachievers.

    So, bottom line: The track record of our man in charge is, in my opinion, quite, quite bad. And it is no wonder he had to spend 5 years in the media. Who would hire someone with that poor of a track record?

    Well, Mr. Joseph Banner, with the blessings of his owner.

    It does not instill in one a sense of optimism. We can only hope that the years of sitting back and observing have improved this guy's eye for talent. But I have no great expectations that that is the case.

    My biggest fear with Dumtardi is his poor talent evaluation will eventually negate all of the good Norv and Horton are doing for this football team..The future of this team does look as bright as it once appeared back in January...but I was not fond of hiring Joe Banner either.

  • @the-gipper said:

    Mike Lombardi is our GM, the man with overall responsibility on this team for talent acquisition. Let's see where he came from and how he has done. I am only looking at his NFL career here. He spent a few years as a coach/scout in college:

    1984-1987 he was a scout for the 49ers. Not in control, only made suggestions.

    During those years the 49ers did draft some outstanding talent: Guy McIntyre, Jerry Rice, Charles Haley, John Taylor, Harris Barton. If Lombardi had been the guy that had been responsible for choosing Jerry Rice and these other guys, don't you think we would have heard about that? I have never heard about it.

    1987 -1991. Director or Pro Personnell for the Browns. This title I believe does not have him dealing with the draft, but with dealing with trades and "free agent" pickups. Though in those years FA wasn't like it was now. Free agency meant finding guys that have been cut that may be useful to your team.

    If anyone can recall any blockbuster trades or "free agent" pickups made from 1987-1991, please let us know.

    1992-1996 Director of Player Personnell for the Browns. Here he had overall control of the teams roster, including the draft. Here were his draft selections for the years he was in control of it:

    1992

    Tommy Vardell

    Patrick Rowe

    Bill Johnson

    Gerald Dixon

    Rico Smith

    George Williams

    Selwyn Jones

    Tim Hill

    Marcus Lowe

    Augustin Olibia

    Keithan McCant

    Tim Simpson

    1993

    Steve Everitt

    Dan Footman

    Mike Caldwell

    Herman Arvie

    Rich McKenzie

    Travis Hill

    1994

    Antonio Langham

    Derrick Alexander

    Romeo Brandiso

    Isaac Booth

    Robert Strait

    Andre Hewitt

    1995

    Craig Powell

    Eric Zeier

    Tau Papua

    Mike Miller

    AC Tellison

    FYI, not a single one of these players ever made a single Pro Bowl. The best players were a middle range WR in Alexander, a decent center in Everitt, and an average LB in Dixon.

    So, this record kind of speaks for itself.

    Of this group, Steve Everitt and Antonio Langham were decent football players. If you ever watched ESPN's "SEC Storied" series they have one episode about one of the greatest college games ever played -- Alabama vs. Florida -- where Langham made one of the most interceptions in college football history to win the game. Langham is a god in Alabama and it was interesting to see him on that program talk about the famous INT and his pro career, too . Langham was the top DB coming out of college that year but had some injuries and never quite achieved the potential everyone expected of him.

    Skeptical2013 said:

    Of this group, Steve Everitt and Antonio Langham were decent football players. If you ever watched ESPN's "SEC Storied" series they have one episode about one of the greatest college games ever played -- Alabama vs. Florida -- where Langham made one of the most interceptions in college football history to win the game. Langham is a god in Alabama and it was interesting to see him on that program talk about the famous INT and his pro career, too . Langham was the top DB coming out of college that year but had some injuries and never quite achieved the potential everyone expected of him.

    While most Browns fans liked Langham..me too, and while he did some big things in Alabama, he was just an average guy here. That is an example of why you cannot get totally invested with a guy that had a big college career.

    Being the BMOC in college don't mean bo diddly in the NFL.

  • @the-gipper said:

    After leaving the Browns, Lombardi spent one year with the Eagles as Pro Personell Director...again having no draft connection

    1998-2007 Senior Personnel Director. He was again in charge of the Raider entire roster....subject to the whims of Al Davis.

    I those 10 years, assuming he was in charge only the following players were Pro Bowl selections:

    Darrell Russell

    Charles Woodson

    Shane Lechler

    Sebastian Janikowsi

    Zach Miller

    Nnamdi Asomguha

    Roderick Coleman

    so, almost one third of that group was a punter and a kicker. Five Pro Bowl players drafted in 10 years at the helm. Woodson was a semi-no-brainer. The others, OK.

    But he also made these choices, just in his first rounds:

    Matt Stinchcomb

    Derrick Gibson

    Phillip Bucanon

    Robert Gallery

    Fabian Washington

    Jamarcus Russell.

    Some of these were outright busts. Others decidedly mediocre or underachievers.

    So, bottom line: The track record of our man in charge is, in my opinion, quite, quite bad. And it is no wonder he had to spend 5 years in the media. Who would hire someone with that poor of a track record?

    Well, Mr. Joseph Banner, with the blessings of his owner.

    It does not instill in one a sense of optimism. We can only hope that the years of sitting back and observing have improved this guy's eye for talent. But I have no great expectations that that is the case.

    Thinking about the present I, like many others, was willing to say, hey, Lombardi may have learned some things over the years as he gained maturity and experience. The draft picks the Browns made you can argue about, but they are not horrible. But what really dismayed me was the trading of the 4th and 5th rounders. There are different schools of thought on that strategy, I understand, but I would have preferred using those picks to acquire talent now that I could use in 2013 to develop them in a rebuilding year, rather than wasting another year to use those picks in 2014. I really don't know if the Browns will get any better players in 2014 than they could have gotten in the draft this year. Now, people say they will use those two extra picks to move up and get a great QB.

    But what happens if Weeden has a good year? That's not inconceivable. I think Weeden is going to have chip on his shoulder coming in to this season after the way he was savaged both locally and natoinally by the media and the fans. When you watched some of Weeden's college games, this guy did get it done in the clutch in some really big games. He did not display that ability with the Browns last year, to say the least. But I wouldn't give up on Brandon and if he passes muster in 2013 that makes getting a #1 QB less of an urgency. It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out.

    Skeptical2013 said:

    Thinking about the present I, like many others, was willing to say, hey, Lombardi may have learned some things over the years as he gained maturity and experience. The draft picks the Browns made you can argue about, but they are not horrible. But what really dismayed me was the trading of the 4th and 5th rounders. There are different schools of thought on that strategy, I understand, but I would have preferred using those picks to acquire talent now that I could use in 2013 to develop them in a rebuilding year, rather than wasting another year to use those picks in 2014. I really don't know if the Browns will get any better players in 2014 than they could have gotten in the draft this year. Now, people say they will use those two extra picks to move up and get a great QB.

    Yea, sure, we could have used those picks to get guys like Herman Arvie and Romeo Brandison.

    And get a great QB? Jamarcus Russell was #1 overall, Ryan Leaf #2. Who knows if you are going to get a good QB.

    Where in the above posts have you seen where Mike Lombardi has ever had a hand in drafting even a mediocre QB?

    I mean, Eric Zeier and Jamarcus Russell.

    But what happens if Weeden has a good year? That's not inconceivable. I think Weeden is going to have chip on his shoulder coming in to this season after the way he was savaged both locally and natoinally by the media and the fans. When you watched some of Weeden's college games, this guy did get it done in the clutch in some really big games. He did not display that ability with the Browns last year, to say the least. But I wouldn't give up on Brandon and if he passes muster in 2013 that makes getting a #1 QB less of an urgency. It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out.

    BW3 damned well better work out because from all evidence having Lombardi having a say in the selection of a QB could be fucking disastrous.

  • I like him. I dig that he's into analytics because I'm a nerd for that stuff. Like that he has a clear sense of what's going on in the league today, what wins ballgames. Like that he's popular with his colleagues who say he's a good guy, easy to work with, first in and last out.

    But for the record: Lombardi has basically never had final word. Al Davis decided who the Raiders drafted... and I believe it was Ernie Accorsi who was the Browns GM during those years?

    For what it's worth, he has a lot of fans, obviously including Banner and Belicheck. Banners gives a lot of credit to Lombardi for building those Eagles teams.

    Oh, listing Russell as a Lombardi pick has been shot down repeatedly, including by Pluto. He had zero involvement in that draft, was on his way out the door. And everybody who ran under a 4.4 was Al Davis' pick, including Fabian Washington.

  • I'll add this: Lombardi was part of a sequence of drafts for the Browns that were horrible indeed and contributed to the Browns leaving town. I really had no idea who did what for the Browns back then, to be honest, but I figured it out later. And also that he never had final word. Really never has.

  • I like him. I dig that he's into analytics because I'm a nerd for that stuff. Like that he has a clear sense of what's going on in the league today, what wins ballgames. Like that he's popular with his colleagues who say he's a good guy, easy to work with, first in and last out.

    But for the record: Lombardi has basically never had final word. Al Davis decided who the Raiders drafted... and I believe it was Ernie Accorsi who was the Browns GM during those years?

    For what it's worth, he has a lot of fans, obviously including Banner and Belicheck. Banners gives a lot of credit to Lombardi for building those Eagles teams.

    Oh, listing Russell as a Lombardi pick has been shot down repeatedly, including by Pluto. He had zero involvement in that draft, was on his way out the door. And everybody who ran under a 4.4 was Al Davis' pick, including Fabian Washington.

    @shep said:

    I like him. I dig that he's into analytics because I'm a nerd for that stuff. Like that he has a clear sense of what's going on in the league today, what wins ballgames. Like that he's popular with his colleagues who say he's a good guy, easy to work with, first in and last out.

    But for the record: Lombardi has basically never had final word. Al Davis decided who the Raiders drafted... and I believe it was Ernie Accorsi who was the Browns GM during those years?

    For what it's worth, he has a lot of fans, obviously including Banner and Belicheck. Banners gives a lot of credit to Lombardi for building those Eagles teams.

    Oh, listing Russell as a Lombardi pick has been shot down repeatedly, including by Pluto. He had zero involvement in that draft, was on his way out the door. And everybody who ran under a 4.4 was Al Davis' pick, including Fabian Washington.

    Yes, we do need to cut Lombadi some slack over J. Russell. But to imply he had minimal influence on the Raiders draft selections is untrue.

  • @shep said:

    I like him. I dig that he's into analytics because I'm a nerd for that stuff. Like that he has a clear sense of what's going on in the league today, what wins ballgames. Like that he's popular with his colleagues who say he's a good guy, easy to work with, first in and last out.

    But for the record: Lombardi has basically never had final word. Al Davis decided who the Raiders drafted... and I believe it was Ernie Accorsi who was the Browns GM during those years?

    For what it's worth, he has a lot of fans, obviously including Banner and Belicheck. Banners gives a lot of credit to Lombardi for building those Eagles teams.

    Oh, listing Russell as a Lombardi pick has been shot down repeatedly, including by Pluto. He had zero involvement in that draft, was on his way out the door. And everybody who ran under a 4.4 was Al Davis' pick, including Fabian Washington.

    Yes, we do need to cut Lombadi some slack over J. Russell. But to imply he had minimal influence on the Raiders draft selections is untrue.

    Didn't say he had minimal influence. I said Al Davis made all final decisions and we know he doesn't delegate. And I just wanted to set the record straight on J-Fat.

    Skeptical2013 said:

    Yes, we do need to cut Lombadi some slack over J. Russell. But to imply he had minimal influence on the Raiders draft selections is untrue.

  • I think it can't be understated how much control Al Davis had on the Raiders. For better or worse, I honestly believe Lombardi was around with Oakland for so long because he was a yes man to big Al.

  • If Al was breathing, Al was deciding.

  • If Al was breathing, Al was deciding.

    @shep said:

    If Al was breathing, Al was deciding.

    So if Lombardi's input was dismissed by Lombardi, and had no impact or influence as GM of the Raiders, as you say, then that's another reason NOT to hire him!

  • Honestly, that's a much better case to make, Skeptical. It's always fascinated me that Lombardi is really respected around the league (and I do like his general philosophies)... but he's never really been given the keys.

    Heckert made some nice finds but I just don't agree with his "vision" of team building. It's gonna take one helluva lot to make sense of trading up to get a back at #3 overall in a passing league. They get hurt (check) and they're easily found all over the draft (check).

    You just need to run the ball well enough to run out the clock and hold a lead. That's really it. Being good on the ground is better than being bad but not at any kind of premium price of dollars or draft picks. I love what the Packers did in the last draft.

  • everyone knows Davis made all the decisions.

    Same with jerry jones. since jimmy Johnson left jerry has done the drafting and well the proof is in the pudding

  • Honestly, that's a much better case to make, Skeptical. It's always fascinated me that Lombardi is really respected around the league (and I do like his general philosophies)... but he's never really been given the keys.

    Heckert made some nice finds but I just don't agree with his "vision" of team building. It's gonna take one helluva lot to make sense of trading up to get a back at #3 overall in a passing league. They get hurt (check) and they're easily found all over the draft (check).

    You just need to run the ball well enough to run out the clock and hold a lead. That's really it. Being good on the ground is better than being bad but not at any kind of premium price of dollars or draft picks. I love what the Packers did in the last draft.

    @shep said:

    Honestly, that's a much better case to make, Skeptical. It's always fascinated me that Lombardi is really respected around the league (and I do like his general philosophies)... but he's never really been given the keys.

    Heckert made some nice finds but I just don't agree with his "vision" of team building. It's gonna take one helluva lot to make sense of trading up to get a back at #3 overall in a passing league. They get hurt (check) and they're easily found all over the draft (check).

    You just need to run the ball well enough to run out the clock and hold a lead. That's really it. Being good on the ground is better than being bad but not at any kind of premium price of dollars or draft picks. I love what the Packers did in the last draft.

    Nice, thoughtful post.

  • If Lombardi was so respected why was he not even given a sniff for a job for 5 years. Haslam and Banner

    said everyone they talked to said "if you have a chance to hire Mike Lombardi hire him". Where were these

    experts for 5 years. Why was Lombardi never even mentioned for a GM job? His track record speaks for

    itself. He will be out of a job when Haslam is forced to sell. Hopefully he does not do much damage until

    then.

  • Well, he had a job and I've read that he was really into his family and didn't want to move just anywhere to do just anything. People say the same about Mayock, that he can't be a genius if nobody's turning over their franchise to him... but you make a lot of money in television and you don't have to leave home all the time. And it has been suggested that Lombardi has turned away jobs.

    The people who dig him say he's undergone a lot of growth and development as a person and as a personnel guy, embracing the ways the league has changed and what that means as far as building a franchise to last. He's also more fun to be around, to shoot the shit and talk shop. There were a lot of young guns in and around the Browns at that time and most of them needed to grow up, including Belicheck.

    Everything we've heard about him since he joined the team has supported that. No sense in committing to hating a guy, right? Let's see how it plays out at least.

  • @shep said:

    Honestly, that's a much better case to make, Skeptical. It's always fascinated me that Lombardi is really respected around the league (and I do like his general philosophies)... but he's never really been given the keys.

    Heckert made some nice finds but I just don't agree with his "vision" of team building. It's gonna take one helluva lot to make sense of trading up to get a back at #3 overall in a passing league. They get hurt (check) and they're easily found all over the draft (check).

    You just need to run the ball well enough to run out the clock and hold a lead. That's really it. Being good on the ground is better than being bad but not at any kind of premium price of dollars or draft picks. I love what the Packers did in the last draft.

    Nice, thoughtful post.

    Skeptical2013 said:

    Nice, thoughtful post.

    Grassy ass, amigo.

  • I like him. I dig that he's into analytics because I'm a nerd for that stuff. Like that he has a clear sense of what's going on in the league today, what wins ballgames. Like that he's popular with his colleagues who say he's a good guy, easy to work with, first in and last out.

    But for the record: Lombardi has basically never had final word. Al Davis decided who the Raiders drafted... and I believe it was Ernie Accorsi who was the Browns GM during those years?

    For what it's worth, he has a lot of fans, obviously including Banner and Belicheck. Banners gives a lot of credit to Lombardi for building those Eagles teams.

    Oh, listing Russell as a Lombardi pick has been shot down repeatedly, including by Pluto. He had zero involvement in that draft, was on his way out the door. And everybody who ran under a 4.4 was Al Davis' pick, including Fabian Washington.

    @shep said:

    I like him. I dig that he's into analytics because I'm a nerd for that stuff. Like that he has a clear sense of what's going on in the league today, what wins ballgames. Like that he's popular with his colleagues who say he's a good guy, easy to work with, first in and last out.

    But for the record: Lombardi has basically never had final word. Al Davis decided who the Raiders drafted... and I believe it was Ernie Accorsi who was the Browns GM during those years?

    For what it's worth, he has a lot of fans, obviously including Banner and Belicheck. Banners gives a lot of credit to Lombardi for building those Eagles teams.

    Oh, listing Russell as a Lombardi pick has been shot down repeatedly, including by Pluto. He had zero involvement in that draft, was on his way out the door. And everybody who ran under a 4.4 was Al Davis' pick, including Fabian Washington.

    As I pointed out, he had control of the draft....subject to the whims of Al Davis. It was not my intent to understate Davis's whims. Still, these guys stand as part of Lombardi's record...be it that he had final say or not.