Peppers says he wants to explore free agency

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

I think at this point I'm getting pretty far off topic (especially when you consider this is a Peppers thread), so I'll just say that I can't agree that we did our homework on all three of our second round picks and didn't rely on outside advice more than we should have.

I still say they really wanted receivers so as a result they drafted 3 pass catchers with their second round picks and decided that the best player available approach was an easy way to get off the hook for not looking at players at other positions. Either way it comes down to one of two explanations for me.

1. They outright lied and claimed that Thomas, Davis, and Kelly were the highest rated players on their board to justify their actions.

2. Or as Gtripp alluded to their evaluation process is at the very least, incompetent, and they really did overvalue all three prospects.

What really happened will probably always be a mystery, but at the very least I'm scared that this years draft will have me feeling like all those past clips they show of Jet fans every year during the draft.

[GMScud]

Originally Posted by Dirtbag359

I still say they really wanted receivers so as a result they drafted 3 pass catchers with their second round picks and decided that the best player available approach was an easy way to get off the hook for not looking at players at other positions. Either way it comes down to one of two explanations for me.

1. They outright lied and claimed that Thomas, Davis, and Kelly were the highest rated players on their board to justify their actions.

2. Or as Gtripp alluded to their evaluation process is at the very least, incompetent, and they really did overvalue all three prospects.

What really happened will probably always be a mystery, but at the very least I'm scared that this years draft will have me feeling like all those past clips they show of Jet fans every year during the draft.

I think it's sort of a combination of the two. I think they had each prospect overvalued, and even if each player wasn't their "best available" at the time, Vinny is BS-ing and saying as much.

I love that we traded down and added extra picks, I just don't like what we did with those picks at this point (they could pan out well, who knows).

What pissed me off was how shy we were about cutting draft picks (having all 10 make the 53-man was a bit of a reach). To me, that had Vinny trying to save face for his draft written all over it. Further evidence was cutting Torrence mid-season and keeping Tryon. Dumb, stubborn, and counterproductive.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Dirtbag359

I still say they really wanted receivers so as a result they drafted 3 pass catchers with their second round picks and decided that the best player available approach was an easy way to get off the hook for not looking at players at other positions. Either way it comes down to one of two explanations for me.

1. They outright lied and claimed that Thomas, Davis, and Kelly were the highest rated players on their board to justify their actions.

2. Or as Gtripp alluded to their evaluation process is at the very least, incompetent, and they really did overvalue all three prospects.

What really happened will probably always be a mystery, but at the very least I'm scared that this years draft will have me feeling like all those past clips they show of Jet fans every year during the draft.

If you allow me to defend them for a second, I imagine that there's excruciating pressure to take players that the TV draft analysts like more highly than you have them rated. Because that's how most fans value their prospects. And, frankly, they are right more than someone in their position probably should be.

So it is not unforgivable, to me, if Vinny says "we heard DT was a top 20 talent, and we like his physical abilities, and thought we could take a stab on him at No. 35".

That's bad drafting, yes, but I'd be okay with it if he would just come out and say that. I understand the pressure that he's under, and you absolutely need to take some risks in the draft, albeit more calculated ones than this one. I don't expect them to pick 100% by any means.

Now that I've defended them, it is unforgivable if they don't learn from this and make a similar mistake again. I saw what the TV analysts were doing to DT, and I said, "wow, some team is going to get screwed by that pick." I don't feel good about calling that, because I happen to root for that team. But I'm also a realist, and I can't pretend I didn't say any of tha stuff pre-draft once this guy ends up on the Redskins.

I feel like the rest of the draft after Devin Thomas was uninspired, but I know we'll get our fair share of players out of it. But if they don't learn from what they did in the second round last year, history is bound to repeat itself.