Less than great press
by KC Viking on Apr 29, 2009 6:04 PM CDT
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Although NBC Sports awarded our Vikings an A-, many other recent articles and features have not held Percy Harvin or the 2009 draft class in general, in high esteem.
Where would Percy Harvin rank among the top 10 impact rookies of 2009? This slide show says 11th or lower.
What about the top 10 rookie busts? Percy Harvin ranks among them. Not even so much about his drug use or character so much as being a Florida product.
Tom Curran called 2009 a lame draft just by the fact that one team traded out of the top 10. Rumors had been swirling for months that other teams were considering trading out, also.
That seems harsh, but it's difficult to argue with his point considering the drama 10 years ago when Mike Ditka, then the head coach of the New Orleans Saints, traded his entire draft to Washington so that he could move up 2 slots to select Ricky Williams just after the Colts picked Edgerrin James. Both moves were considered laughable by some at different times. Williams had enjoyed an amazing season and seemed to be the very best college running back ever by some accounts, and the hapless (dolts) Colts had selected Edgerrin James instead. James immediately became a perennial dual-threat out of the backfield on one of the great offenses of our time while Ricky was being traded to the Dolphins and/or retiring to smoke weed on a beach. The Redskins used the7th overall selection to draft Champ Bailey after Torry Holt had gone to St. Louis. Drafts like that one had too many playmakers to trade out of the top 10, and pundits could call a move like drafting Edgerrin James silly for drafting the wrong playmaker.
The following year, San Diego rebuilt overnight by trading the rights to the #1 pick to Atlanta so that they could take Michael Vick and stick the Martybolts with LaDainian Tomlinson with the 5th overall pick (and a short QB named Drew Brees with the 1st pick of round 2).
The last time 2 QBs were selected in the top 5, Eli Manning didn't want to be the #1 pick nor play on the same team as LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates. He was traded to the Giants for Philip Rivers and a 2005 first rounder. The Browns swapped picks with the Lions so that they could select Kellen Winslow II and Roy Williams 6th and 7th, respectively. No teams traded out of the top 10, however. Larry Fitzgerald and Sean Taylor were also drafted in the top 5. There were certainly some playmakers available that year, too.
I have to disagree with him about the 1988 draft, though. Neil Smith went to 6 Pro Bowls. Bennie Blades was a tough Pro Bowl DB and started for many years. Paul Gruber was a starter for 12 years. It gets better in the top 10 with future HoFer Tim Brown and multi-Pro Bowler Sterling Sharpe 6th and 7th overall, plus five-time Pro Bowl DB Terry McDaniel. 11th? HoFer Michael Irvin. The 4th WR taken that year was Anthony Miller, who wasn't as spectacular as Brown, Sharpe, or Irvin, but went to play in 5 Pro Bowls in his 10 seasons as a starter.
For the record, I really wanted Darius Butler, but I'm almost as happy to have Percy Harvin on the team instead. He doesn't need to be spectacular to be worthwhile (but he does need to stay in the league).
This FanPost was created by a registered user of The Daily Norseman, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of the site. However, since this is a community, that view is no less important.
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Find a QB, and keep Harvin healthy,
and it will be an interesting thing to watch in the North. But, if both of those things don’t get done, it may equal colossal disappointment…
Be nice. Flag comments that you think are offensive. Use the "reply" button. Drink plenty of water. Compliment others. Rec comments and posts you like. Don't call people names. If you don't like someone's comment, attack the comment and not the commentor. Learn the difference in your/you're, then/than, to/too. Exercise. Relax. Stretch often. Find good in the world.
by Dane Noble on Apr 29, 2009 8:44 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Hey...
At least whoever is throwing the ball will only have to hit Harvin on a two or three yard pass. Even they’re capable of that, aren’t that?
AREN’T THEY?!
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Woot Woot!
by Manimal on Apr 30, 2009 8:04 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
At least whoever is throwing the ball will only have to hit Harvin on a two or three yard pass.
Maybe at first, but defenses would wise-up to that pretty quickly. Plus, going over the middle might be the worst place to run an injury-prone WR. Harvin will be dangerous in the open-field, but (and I hate this term) “dinking and dunking” will not work for too long….
Be nice. Flag comments that you think are offensive. Use the "reply" button. Drink plenty of water. Compliment others. Rec comments and posts you like. Don't call people names. If you don't like someone's comment, attack the comment and not the commentor. Learn the difference in your/you're, then/than, to/too. Exercise. Relax. Stretch often. Find good in the world.
by Dane Noble on May 1, 2009 2:10 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think...
I think the point of those short passes is to keep defenses honest. If they’re jumping the three yard pass, he makes a move and goes out. Or Berrian goes deep. Or AP has one less guy to beat. Know what I mean?
It won’t be strictly a, and I hate the term as well, “dink and dunk” offense. Instead, it will (hopefully) be about maximizing any potential mis-matches (really unsure how to spell that word, hm).
With Harvin, a two yard pass would be a quick screen or whatever, not necessarily a slant over the middle. Of course, that’s an option, but not the be-all end-all type of play for him. Just part of his unique abilities to line up, well, everywhere but the offensive line.
Visit:
http://www.vikingvigil.com
Skol Vikings!
Woot Woot!
by Manimal on May 1, 2009 3:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
My recolection
was that most of the pre draft talk of trading out of the top ten had more to do wtih the economie then talant at those positions, lots to pay to unproven talent that might bust. safer, and cheaper to draft later in the round.
Will the Real Thor Please Stand Up ... ?
by the Real Thor on Apr 29, 2009 9:58 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I heard that, too
…and I don’t buy it! Drafting whomever an organization considers the best QB of the draft with a top 5 pick is probably cheaper than the bidding war which would surely commence whenever a true franchise QB hits the free market again. Look how far down the list Flacco’s 2009 salary ranked. Matt Ryan’s isn’t on there for some reason, but his 6 year/$72M deal would be 6th or 7th with the first 3 years paying less than $12M each and the last 3 paying more than $12M each. What was Atlanta’s other option to get a QB better than Matt Ryan for the same money? None. They could have paid more for Brees in theory, but the truth is that bad teams with high draft picks generally don’t have many other high salaried veterans anyway and would have to pay something crazy like another $5M/yr over a good team to attract the same player.
As for the bust rate, look at those top salaried veteran QBs. Tom Brady tore his ACL. Carson Palmer has struggled to stay healthy long after proving himself. Brett Favre cost $12M last year and may have led the league in INTs. Hasselbeck was terrible when he played.
I suppose some would say that Cassel was a huge bargain at less than a mil, but considering that the Pats didn’t have many significant roster changes other than QB last year (11-5, missed the playoffs) compared to 2007 (16-0, lost the SB), I’d say that Cassel represented at least -3 wins.
According to this article, the NFL already has a rookie salary cap within each team’s salary cap, and if that holds true, then perhaps the best idea is to have 2-3 first round picks in odd years and lots of 2nd round picks in even years…basically what the Patriots have been doing for some time.
by KC Viking on Apr 29, 2009 10:54 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
You forgot
That with the exception of maybe Eli Manning, all those big move ups have pretty much been mistakes. I looked at the top 10 rookie impact article and it was pretty much speculative garbage with nothing to back it up. They picked a TE at #10 that came out of the same system as Harvin and hasn’t played a game in over a year. Not to mention the college QB of one of the most talented teams in the nation who was beat out by JDB when they were on the same team.
http://vikingsmashfootball.wordpress.com/
by BeardedAxe on Apr 29, 2009 10:44 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Yes
I think that was the point: in a year with fewer sure things or impact players, the teams holding the top picks are more likely to trade them away, and the team that moves up has a better chance of selecting a bust.
The Eli move wasn’t so great, either. Obviously, it didn’t stop the Giants from winning a Championship, but surely Phillip Rivers would have taken them there (and perhaps again). The Giants gave up the following year’s 1st rounder, Shawne Merriman, just to get the negative difference between Rivers and Eli.
by KC Viking on Apr 29, 2009 11:00 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
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