Funniest NFL draft story of 2009
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This is from TFY Draft, which is run by Tony Pauline, SI's draft guru:
It's becoming more apparent that the Pittsburgh Steelers are leaning towards an offensive lineman with their pick in round one. We alerted you to the teams affection towards Phil Loadholt and another, expected name has surfaced in conjunction with the team. Sources have told us Kevin Colbert, the teams Director of Football Operations, is hoping to pull the trigger on Alex Mack at the end of round one and is really excited about the Cal center.
Could be pre-draft disinformation, but the specificity of the report suggests it very well may be accurate info.
Aloysius said:
This is from TFY Draft, which is run by Tony Pauline, SI's draft guru:Could be pre-draft disinformation, but the specificity of the report suggests it very well may be accurate info.
Everything pre-draft is smoke and mirrors and you of all people should know and understand that best. I've read on more than one occasion Eric Wood was rated ahead of Mack and Loadholt wasn't on the radar at all in round 1 or 2 from what I've read.
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That sort of says it all to me...................................................
But hey, if this guy was in the war room with the coaches and they said they liked Wood and Unger better, you have to believe he is telling us the truth. Especially after the fact.............................LOL
Good find Aloy.
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That sort of says it all to me...................................................
But hey, if this guy was in the war room with the coaches and they said they liked Wood and Unger better, you have to believe he is telling us the truth. Especially after the fact.............................LOL
Good find Aloy.
That sort of says it all to me...................................................
But hey, if this guy was in the war room with the coaches and they said they liked Wood and Unger better, you have to believe he is telling us the truth. Especially after the fact.............................LOL
Good find Aloy.
What part of links were posted on my steeler board confirming what I'm saying don't you understand? Hey if it makes you feel better to think Mack was the most coveted player in round one fine. I'm not losing sleep over it. I'm just posting what I've read and the Steelers certainly wouldn't blow smoke POST draft sooooo hey sleep tight.
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That sort of says it all to me...................................................
But hey, if this guy was in the war room with the coaches and they said they liked Wood and Unger better, you have to believe he is telling us the truth. Especially after the fact.............................LOL
Good find Aloy.
What part of links were posted on my steeler board confirming what I'm saying don't you understand? Hey if it makes you feel better to think Mack was the most coveted player in round one fine. I'm not losing sleep over it. I'm just posting what I've read and the Steelers certainly wouldn't blow smoke POST draft sooooo hey sleep tight.
What part of links were posted on my steeler board confirming what I'm saying don't you understand? Hey if it makes you feel better to think Mack was the most coveted player in round one fine. I'm not losing sleep over it. I'm just posting what I've read and the Steelers certainly wouldn't blow smoke POST draft sooooo hey sleep tight.
You're right...post-draft it isn't blowing smoke - it's called responsible PR. What are they supposed to do, say "We couldn't get the guys we were really targeting, but please don't tell that to the players we actually drafted?"
I'm not saying I'm definite about how it actually was one way or the other, but I'll give more credibility to Aloy's take on it than I will to some phantom links.
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@snatch98 said:
why is it you covet a player more because the Steelers wanted him?It's called a rivalry....and I think you're taking some here a bit too seriously. Is it really a surprise to you that a rival would jump at any chance for the slightest "gotcha?" If so, then perhaps you need to take a step back to recognize that you and I (along with everyone else here) aren't playing the games. We're just fans (abbreviation of "fanatic") and you should take it as such.
....either way I'll dig up those links.
That's great. Bring your links all you want. I'll still give more credibility to Aloysius's assessment than I will to any of that. I'm just making an assumption here, but I'm guessing you pop in here every once in a while (consistent with your posting activity,) but don't really read the board either frequently or thoroughly. The only reason I bring that up is that if you were to do so over a period of time you would realize that Aloysius is the one who owns all the short buses on which he places many of the supposed draft "gurus" and scouts.
When Aloysius speaks, people listen...and for good reason.
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@snatch98 said:
I know there are Stains diehards but there are PLENTY OF FAIRWEATHER, FRONT RUNNING, NO CLUE fans amongst the Browns faithful. I love that for whatever reason you think it only exists in our base. Laughable.Really? So across the nation there are thousands of fans that just arbitrarily choose to spend their Sundays rooting for a team that has been rebuilding for half a century? That's the dumbest thing I've read in all of sports. Perhaps you should re-evaluate your statement.
If this was '81, or '89, I might actually entertain the notion that that wasn't the dumbest thing I've ever read in my life. As it stands, you're 20 years late. And still an idiot.
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"Squeeler Steroidnation encompasses it all?
ROF,LMAO ! Way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Ooooooh, he must be an expert - he went to Kent State.
ROF,LMAO !
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I guess this is what Snatch kept talking about but never actually provided a link to:
Q&A: Bruce Arians
Q: You wrote down the names of Wallace and Kraig Urbik three weeks ago and then sat back and watched them come to you. What moved you to do that?
A: Well, as an offensive staff we do it every year. We put down our dream drafts. If we can get these five guys out of this draft, it’d be the perfect draft for us. In the first round we loved Max Unger and we loved Eric Wood, especially Eric Wood, and then Ziggy Hood was way too good to pass up and we tried to go back up and get Max. As things fell to us, Kraig is a guy who’s just a blue-collar, tough, Wisconsin lineman who can play a couple of positions. Smart and tough is what we’re looking for, and both guys are extremely healthy. They don’t have any nicks on them. So it was real clean for us.
I see why someone would read that and think the Steelers had both guys rated higher than Mack, but it just doesn't make sense. If you're going to downgrade Mack, it's because you think he can't handle big defensive tackles...which is something Unger is even worse at. And I get the position versatility argument, but Mack showed at the Senior Bowl that he's capable of playing guard at the next level. Unger, by contrast, showed up with scouts thinking he could play anywhere on the line, then had tackle scratched off the list when his arms measured out at at 32 1/2" and had center seriously questioned when he got mauled by Brace & Raji.
Seattle is actually a very good fit for him, as they're moving to a zone blocking scheme and are planning on using him initially as a backup at left guard and center. As I think Sobo at the OBR said, Unger could end up being the best interior lineman to come out of this draft, but he could also be a huge bust if he's put in the wrong situation. In my view, Pittsburgh would have been one of those bust-producing places.
Most likely, the Steelers had Mack and Wood both rated very highly, perhaps with Wood given a slight edge. But because we took Mack, the Bills - who really, really wanted Mack - ended up taking Wood instead.
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I guess this is what Snatch kept talking about but never actually provided a link to:
Q&A: Bruce Arians
Q: You wrote down the names of Wallace and Kraig Urbik three weeks ago and then sat back and watched them come to you. What moved you to do that?
A: Well, as an offensive staff we do it every year. We put down our dream drafts. If we can get these five guys out of this draft, it’d be the perfect draft for us. In the first round we loved Max Unger and we loved Eric Wood, especially Eric Wood, and then Ziggy Hood was way too good to pass up and we tried to go back up and get Max. As things fell to us, Kraig is a guy who’s just a blue-collar, tough, Wisconsin lineman who can play a couple of positions. Smart and tough is what we’re looking for, and both guys are extremely healthy. They don’t have any nicks on them. So it was real clean for us.
I see why someone would read that and think the Steelers had both guys rated higher than Mack, but it just doesn't make sense. If you're going to downgrade Mack, it's because you think he can't handle big defensive tackles...which is something Unger is even worse at. And I get the position versatility argument, but Mack showed at the Senior Bowl that he's capable of playing guard at the next level. Unger, by contrast, showed up with scouts thinking he could play anywhere on the line, then had tackle scratched off the list when his arms measured out at at 32 1/2" and had center seriously questioned when he got mauled by Brace & Raji.
Seattle is actually a very good fit for him, as they're moving to a zone blocking scheme and are planning on using him initially as a backup at left guard and center. As I think Sobo at the OBR said, Unger could end up being the best interior lineman to come out of this draft, but he could also be a huge bust if he's put in the wrong situation. In my view, Pittsburgh would have been one of those bust-producing places.
Most likely, the Steelers had Mack and Wood both rated very highly, perhaps with Wood given a slight edge. But because we took Mack, the Bills - who really, really wanted Mack - ended up taking Wood instead.
Aloysius said:
I guess this is what Snatch kept talking about but never actually provided a link to:I see why someone would read that and think the Steelers had both guys rated higher than Mack, but it just doesn't make sense. If you're going to downgrade Mack, it's because you think he can't handle big defensive tackles...which is something Unger is even worse at. And I get the position versatility argument, but Mack showed at the Senior Bowl that he's capable of playing guard at the next level. Unger, by contrast, showed up with scouts thinking he could play anywhere on the line, then had tackle scratched off the list when his arms measured out at at 32 1/2" and had center seriously questioned when he got mauled by Brace & Raji.
Seattle is actually a very good fit for him, as they're moving to a zone blocking scheme and are planning on using him initially as a backup at left guard and center. As I think Sobo at the OBR said, Unger could end up being the best interior lineman to come out of this draft, but he could also be a huge bust if he's put in the wrong situation. In my view, Pittsburgh would have been one of those bust-producing places.
Most likely, the Steelers had Mack and Wood both rated very highly, perhaps with Wood given a slight edge. But because we took Mack, the Bills - who really, really wanted Mack - ended up taking Wood instead.
Different Q&A but I can't find it and it's driving me nuts. Believe me I'm not going to come anywhere close to saying something bad about Mack, he's going to be a great center and I would have loved to have him in the black and gold. I just don't see the point behind the "we got em and you didn't" attitude when the Steelers typcially get their man or at least one of them each and every draft. The Q&A I read was Colbert talking about the draft board not Arians but Arians was involved in the other exchanges. As far as Unger was concerned they obviously didn't think he was a first round type of gamble which is why they passed on him at 32.
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If you watch this video from inside the Patriots' war room, you hear Belichick talking about the Steelers trying to trade up to #23.
The Steelers could have been trying to trade up for Oher, but Wood's also a distinct possibility. The Falcons brought Wood in for a pre-draft visit, so the Steelers may have been trying to move up ahead of Atlanta to get their guy.
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If you watch this video from inside the Patriots' war room, you hear Belichick talking about the Steelers trying to trade up to #23.
The Steelers could have been trying to trade up for Oher, but Wood's also a distinct possibility. The Falcons brought Wood in for a pre-draft visit, so the Steelers may have been trying to move up ahead of Atlanta to get their guy.
Aloysius said:
If you watch this video from inside the Patriots' war room, you hear Belichick talking about the Steelers trying to trade up to #23.The Steelers could have been trying to trade up for Oher, but Wood's also a distinct possibility. The Falcons brought Wood in for a pre-draft visit, so the Steelers may have been trying to move up ahead of Atlanta to get their guy.
I so BADLY wanted Oher especially after reading "The Blind Side" now I'll be almost forced to sorta pull for him as a Rat Bird. Thanks for the info though and it was definitely Oher or Wood IMO.
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Oher got drafted where he deserved to be taken. There were too many questions about his play to play consistency for him to be a top ten pick, as some were predicting. He's got the raw tools to be a damn good right tackle, but he may end up having to move inside to guard.
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I don't need links, reports, confirmation from this or that or any kind of proof to know that Pitt was stoked to take a center. It is the staple of their franchise and always has been. They lucked out winning the SB last year on a lot of other factors including Big Gay saving them over and over, their line sucked and center has sucked for a couple years.
Nobody can tell me this isn't eating at Colbert not having a real center. He knew this draft was his chance but it didn't happen. No longer are the Stillers the only team that get how important a big time center is.
Small price to pay picking last after winning it all.
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Oher got drafted where he deserved to be taken. There were too many questions about his play to play consistency for him to be a top ten pick, as some were predicting. He's got the raw tools to be a damn good right tackle, but he may end up having to move inside to guard.
Aloysius said:
Oher got drafted where he deserved to be taken. There were too many questions about his play to play consistency for him to be a top ten pick, as some were predicting. He's got the raw tools to be a damn good right tackle, but he may end up having to move inside to guard.Fantastic story about this kid and the wonderful people who took him in.
The kid has a ton of potential given his limited experience, plus he seems very driven I think. That would be as long as money don't change him, but he seems to love getting better as a person and a player.
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