Bluecaterpillar
2006-04-16, 00:58
DUE TOFORMATTING, the END POLL is at the start... but you should vote after reading the column!!
Well, it had to happen, right? I mean, if I post for 1002, I have to do 1003. Minimum.
So there it is: a nice little grading of our rookie drafts at y+3 finished years (or, kids ready to attack their “Senior” NFL year).
This year is 2003, next year will be 2004, etc.
A few rules for this yearly exercise:
=> I will grade from A+ to F… B, C and D included!
=> teams are ranked by grade.
=> I will grade full drafts, as they happened – cut players, traded rookies are all part of the equation, since a good drafter took advantage of overachievers to trade them if need be.
=> I understand many owners are gone… still, the grades will hold. We’ll see how new owners fare with time.
=> I am keeping a copy of this file for a yearly update.
=> read the column until the end for a bonus commentary.
=> as always, dissents are not welcome!! :shock:
Cheerios!!
A rapid quick random thought: again and again, this is a fantastic league with a very strong core of long term owners… I hope we go through many more challenging, fun and engaging seasons. Thanks to all for making this so much fun! :cool::cool:
TEAM 9, ROAD RAGE 1003 (third owner so far)
[/b]Larry Johnson (1.9), Kevin Williams (2.8), Jason Witten (3.5), Wilbur McMullen, Kevin Curtis (nice 5.13 pick), Sam Aiken, Charles Tillman (very, very nice 7.9 steal!)…
A very, very solid, value draft and very nice use of spread picks… Larry seems to be a future stud, Williams did great, Witten has been very solid, Kevin Curtis is up and coming, Tillman has been stellar.
Overall, a great draft.
A+
[/b]
TEAM 14, ABSALOM x 2 (same original owner)
[/b]Yours truly, then a pure rookie, freshly out of the near F grade of 1002’s draft…
I tried to learn quickly from my mistake!! :D:D
Terrell Suggs (1.5), Al Johnson (3.14), Chris Simms (nice steal at 4.13), Robert Mathis (huge steal at 5.4), Bethel Johnson, Brett Williams, Shurron Pierson (Mr. Irrelevant – INDEED!!!!)…
Honestly, the first 4 picks were great picks and 3 steals for the value paid… the end is so-so, though Brett Williams still has a chance.
Looking at the near F effort in 1002 only 2 weeks prior to this 1003 draft, I am happy with the improvement and think an A[/b] is warranted.
[/b]
TEAM 12, NY MISFITS (same original owner)[/b]
EJ Henderson (1.12), Tyrone Calico (2.5), Osi Umenyiora (3.8, decent steal), Chaun Thompson (nice steal at 5.3), Dan Klecko, Nate Burleson, Eugene Wilson (nice 7.12 pick!)…
Although Henderson and Calico have not yet lived to the hype (and my repeated opinion that Henderson is a big fat pig ala Claiborne), this is a very solid draft. Not the stuff of legend, but Osi, Chaun, Eugene, Tyrone make it a successful first try.
B+
[/b]
TEAM 16, NECROMONGERS (same original owner)
[/b]Here is our College Guru at work… All those (wasted?) Saturday NCAA hours paying off?? Let’s find out!! :P
Willis McGahee (1.16), Troy Polamalu (2.1), Taylor Jacobs, Kawika Mitchell, Rien Long, Quentin Griffin, Lee Suggs, Gerald Hayes, Talman Gardner…
My take? Aside from the first 2 picks… you better start spending even MORE time watching NCAA ball games!!! LOL! :shock::shock::shock::shock:
Perfect start with McGahee and Polamalu… The rest is a between so-so and bust.
B+
[/b]
TEAM 5, PARK AVENUE (same original owner)[/b]
Rob had piled up 11 picks… another large amount to make good choices…[/b]
Michael Haynes (1.14), Justin Fargas (2.7), Jonathan Sullivan (2.11), William Joseph (2.12), Anquan Boldin (nice 2.16 pick… not the steal of league 1002, but good), Jeff Faine, Derrick Dockery, Cory Redding, Josh Brown, Rashean Mathis, Wayne Hunter…
Well, but for the DL picks, this would be an A+ effort… but… there had to be not one, not 2, not 3… but 4, yes, four DL picks. And all of them are either barely OK or busts.
So, all in all, Dockery, Boldin, Joseph, Haynes, Mathis were good picks with good value. That’s 50% A and 50% D… so?
B[/b]
TEAM 7, BARRY SANDERS FOR HEISMAN (same original owner)[/b]
Andre Johnson (1.7), Dallas Clark (2.10), LaBrandon Toefield (3.7), Teyo Johnson, Dave Ragone, Sam Williams…
A solid effort with limited picks and spread value… Johnson and Clark have major upside potential, still to this date. The rest is the standard hit and miss of all draft.
B[/b]
[/b]
TEAM 3, THE FROMUNDA CHEESE since changed to SACK EXCHANGE 1003 (2 owners total)[/b]
Talk about quantity here: 13 picks!!!!
It started with #1 bust, Mr. Charles Rogers himself, again at 1.1, Carson Palmer (1.3), Jimmy Kennedy (2.14), Kwame Harris (3.3), Artose Pinner, LJ Smith (nice 4.9), Jon Stinchcomb, Ken Hamlin, Tyler Brayton, JR Tolver, Aaron Walker, George Wrighster, Nnamdi Asomugha (7.8… nice steal!).
Well, 13 picks certainly expose the flaw in my grading exercise: even a blind squirrel can find a few nuts, can’t it? :P;):P;)
So, by the force of Palmer an LJ Smith and a couple of DBs, this thing is not a total waste.
But Rogers is a serious bust. Over half the guys have had no careers. So, what gives?
A for quantity. A- for the actual good picks. D for the rest.
That’s a B[/b] draft and that’s being nice.
[/b]
TEAM 15, BELLIES since changed to BANDITS (2 owners total)[/b]
Boss Bailey (1.15), Marcus Trufant (2.2), Ty Warren, Bennie Joppru, Jordan Gross, Dan Koppen, Kliff Kingsbury…
Decent picks all around and good job on the OLs… All in all, a good targeted draft based on needs rather than BPA.
B-[/b]
TEAM 2, QUAD CITY LIGHTNING since changed to CC&7 (3 owners total)[/b]
9 picks here… so is quantity better than quality? Well, be the judge: Jerome McDougle (1.2), Bryan Scott (2.15), Antwan Peek, Sammy Davis, Seneca Wallace, Matt Wilhelm, Victor Hobson, Montrae Holland, BJ Askew…
Honestly, here, quality went a bit wasted but here’s an oxymoron: the more tries you have, the least likely for them to be all busts! This draft, though not dramatic nor traumatic, was very average at best, especially with 9 picks… Some guys are OK but only serviceable.
However, their careers could still be all right: Peek, Scott, Hobson, Holland… McDougle at 1.2 was a waste as compared to Suggs.
But all right… It’s Easter, I am being nice… Let’s give this thing a C+
[/b][/b]
TEAM 11, CA UNITED (same original owner)[/b]
Another 11-pick team…
Dewayne Robertson (1.4), Kyle Boller (1.8), Terence Newman (1.11), Onterrio Smith (1.13), Mike Doss (2.6), Steve Sciullo (2.9), Calvin Pace, Pisa Tinoisamoa (nice 4.6 steal), Vince Manuwai, Cie Grant, Drew Henson…
Well… CA UNITED sure had loaded on 1st rders… but considering he picked Robertson over Williams at DT or Suggs at DE, Boller before Larry Johnson or Nick Barnett, Onterrio Smith before McGahee was selected… all in all, that’s a huge collection of missed picks and opportunities.
All in all, out of 11 guys, most are serviceable at best and again, considering the guys picked after each respective picks… this is a below average draft effort.
C-[/b] for the quantity and for the few guys saving this thing… barely.
[/b]
TEAM 13, MARAUDERS FORE (same original owner)[/b]
Byron Leftwich (1.6), Bryant Johnson (2.3), Andre Woolfolk, Terrence Kiel…
Yawn… 50% mark, about… though again, wrong Cards’ WR to pick so high, eh?
All in all, this is very similar to STL3 or CA UNITED…
C-[/b], thanks to Leftwich.
TEAM 8, ST. LOUIS 3 (same original owner)[/b]
Only 3 picks… Terry Pierce, Musa Smith, George Foster (nice 4.10 steal)…
30% success rate… what’s that? A C-, thanks to Foster, especially selected 58th.
C-, very minus, very D-ish
[/b]TEAM 10, CAROLINA MOONSHINE (same original owner)[/b]
5 picks to do a little bit of magic…
Nick Barnett (1.10), Shaun McDonald, Wade Smith, Anthony Adams, Bruce Nelson.
Nick Barnett was snatched at 1.10 and thus, not as big a steal as in 1002… As a matter of fact, this high, this is a very savvy pick. Smart and spot on.
The rest is underwhelming and overall, 20% success is a D[/b] in my book.
TEAM 6, GREYRIDERS 1003 (same original owner)
[/b]Chris Brown (2.4), Rex Grossman (2.13), Chris Kelsay, Bradie James, Dewayne White, Brandon Lloyd, Dennis Weathersby, Alonzo Jackson…
A very underwhelming, below average draft but not disastrous.
Yawn… :P
D
[/b]
TEAM 1, TJ GRINGOS (same original owner)
Only 5 rookie picks, so it was slim pickings, really. Kelley Washington (3.1), Eric Steinbach (4.16), Kenny Peterson, Hunter Hillenmeyer, Justin Gage…
Well, it was a lousy hand and a lousy draft… however, grabbing Steinbach with the 64th pick saves this disaster from a naked F and earns a D-[/b]
[/b]
TEAM 4, 3 owners including Mr. Wacko Zabel lead to 0 picks in 2003…[/b]
Let’s hope HOMETOWN HEROES will do a better job over time.
F[/b] in the meantime… by default.
Voila!!
That’s it for 2003....... see you all next year… but before, one last bonus, a quick poll for the fun of it…
Well, it had to happen, right? I mean, if I post for 1002, I have to do 1003. Minimum.
So there it is: a nice little grading of our rookie drafts at y+3 finished years (or, kids ready to attack their “Senior” NFL year).
This year is 2003, next year will be 2004, etc.
A few rules for this yearly exercise:
=> I will grade from A+ to F… B, C and D included!
=> teams are ranked by grade.
=> I will grade full drafts, as they happened – cut players, traded rookies are all part of the equation, since a good drafter took advantage of overachievers to trade them if need be.
=> I understand many owners are gone… still, the grades will hold. We’ll see how new owners fare with time.
=> I am keeping a copy of this file for a yearly update.
=> read the column until the end for a bonus commentary.
=> as always, dissents are not welcome!! :shock:
Cheerios!!
A rapid quick random thought: again and again, this is a fantastic league with a very strong core of long term owners… I hope we go through many more challenging, fun and engaging seasons. Thanks to all for making this so much fun! :cool::cool:
TEAM 9, ROAD RAGE 1003 (third owner so far)
[/b]Larry Johnson (1.9), Kevin Williams (2.8), Jason Witten (3.5), Wilbur McMullen, Kevin Curtis (nice 5.13 pick), Sam Aiken, Charles Tillman (very, very nice 7.9 steal!)…
A very, very solid, value draft and very nice use of spread picks… Larry seems to be a future stud, Williams did great, Witten has been very solid, Kevin Curtis is up and coming, Tillman has been stellar.
Overall, a great draft.
A+
[/b]
TEAM 14, ABSALOM x 2 (same original owner)
[/b]Yours truly, then a pure rookie, freshly out of the near F grade of 1002’s draft…
I tried to learn quickly from my mistake!! :D:D
Terrell Suggs (1.5), Al Johnson (3.14), Chris Simms (nice steal at 4.13), Robert Mathis (huge steal at 5.4), Bethel Johnson, Brett Williams, Shurron Pierson (Mr. Irrelevant – INDEED!!!!)…
Honestly, the first 4 picks were great picks and 3 steals for the value paid… the end is so-so, though Brett Williams still has a chance.
Looking at the near F effort in 1002 only 2 weeks prior to this 1003 draft, I am happy with the improvement and think an A[/b] is warranted.
[/b]
TEAM 12, NY MISFITS (same original owner)[/b]
EJ Henderson (1.12), Tyrone Calico (2.5), Osi Umenyiora (3.8, decent steal), Chaun Thompson (nice steal at 5.3), Dan Klecko, Nate Burleson, Eugene Wilson (nice 7.12 pick!)…
Although Henderson and Calico have not yet lived to the hype (and my repeated opinion that Henderson is a big fat pig ala Claiborne), this is a very solid draft. Not the stuff of legend, but Osi, Chaun, Eugene, Tyrone make it a successful first try.
B+
[/b]
TEAM 16, NECROMONGERS (same original owner)
[/b]Here is our College Guru at work… All those (wasted?) Saturday NCAA hours paying off?? Let’s find out!! :P
Willis McGahee (1.16), Troy Polamalu (2.1), Taylor Jacobs, Kawika Mitchell, Rien Long, Quentin Griffin, Lee Suggs, Gerald Hayes, Talman Gardner…
My take? Aside from the first 2 picks… you better start spending even MORE time watching NCAA ball games!!! LOL! :shock::shock::shock::shock:
Perfect start with McGahee and Polamalu… The rest is a between so-so and bust.
B+
[/b]
TEAM 5, PARK AVENUE (same original owner)[/b]
Rob had piled up 11 picks… another large amount to make good choices…[/b]
Michael Haynes (1.14), Justin Fargas (2.7), Jonathan Sullivan (2.11), William Joseph (2.12), Anquan Boldin (nice 2.16 pick… not the steal of league 1002, but good), Jeff Faine, Derrick Dockery, Cory Redding, Josh Brown, Rashean Mathis, Wayne Hunter…
Well, but for the DL picks, this would be an A+ effort… but… there had to be not one, not 2, not 3… but 4, yes, four DL picks. And all of them are either barely OK or busts.
So, all in all, Dockery, Boldin, Joseph, Haynes, Mathis were good picks with good value. That’s 50% A and 50% D… so?
B[/b]
TEAM 7, BARRY SANDERS FOR HEISMAN (same original owner)[/b]
Andre Johnson (1.7), Dallas Clark (2.10), LaBrandon Toefield (3.7), Teyo Johnson, Dave Ragone, Sam Williams…
A solid effort with limited picks and spread value… Johnson and Clark have major upside potential, still to this date. The rest is the standard hit and miss of all draft.
B[/b]
[/b]
TEAM 3, THE FROMUNDA CHEESE since changed to SACK EXCHANGE 1003 (2 owners total)[/b]
Talk about quantity here: 13 picks!!!!
It started with #1 bust, Mr. Charles Rogers himself, again at 1.1, Carson Palmer (1.3), Jimmy Kennedy (2.14), Kwame Harris (3.3), Artose Pinner, LJ Smith (nice 4.9), Jon Stinchcomb, Ken Hamlin, Tyler Brayton, JR Tolver, Aaron Walker, George Wrighster, Nnamdi Asomugha (7.8… nice steal!).
Well, 13 picks certainly expose the flaw in my grading exercise: even a blind squirrel can find a few nuts, can’t it? :P;):P;)
So, by the force of Palmer an LJ Smith and a couple of DBs, this thing is not a total waste.
But Rogers is a serious bust. Over half the guys have had no careers. So, what gives?
A for quantity. A- for the actual good picks. D for the rest.
That’s a B[/b] draft and that’s being nice.
[/b]
TEAM 15, BELLIES since changed to BANDITS (2 owners total)[/b]
Boss Bailey (1.15), Marcus Trufant (2.2), Ty Warren, Bennie Joppru, Jordan Gross, Dan Koppen, Kliff Kingsbury…
Decent picks all around and good job on the OLs… All in all, a good targeted draft based on needs rather than BPA.
B-[/b]
TEAM 2, QUAD CITY LIGHTNING since changed to CC&7 (3 owners total)[/b]
9 picks here… so is quantity better than quality? Well, be the judge: Jerome McDougle (1.2), Bryan Scott (2.15), Antwan Peek, Sammy Davis, Seneca Wallace, Matt Wilhelm, Victor Hobson, Montrae Holland, BJ Askew…
Honestly, here, quality went a bit wasted but here’s an oxymoron: the more tries you have, the least likely for them to be all busts! This draft, though not dramatic nor traumatic, was very average at best, especially with 9 picks… Some guys are OK but only serviceable.
However, their careers could still be all right: Peek, Scott, Hobson, Holland… McDougle at 1.2 was a waste as compared to Suggs.
But all right… It’s Easter, I am being nice… Let’s give this thing a C+
[/b][/b]
TEAM 11, CA UNITED (same original owner)[/b]
Another 11-pick team…
Dewayne Robertson (1.4), Kyle Boller (1.8), Terence Newman (1.11), Onterrio Smith (1.13), Mike Doss (2.6), Steve Sciullo (2.9), Calvin Pace, Pisa Tinoisamoa (nice 4.6 steal), Vince Manuwai, Cie Grant, Drew Henson…
Well… CA UNITED sure had loaded on 1st rders… but considering he picked Robertson over Williams at DT or Suggs at DE, Boller before Larry Johnson or Nick Barnett, Onterrio Smith before McGahee was selected… all in all, that’s a huge collection of missed picks and opportunities.
All in all, out of 11 guys, most are serviceable at best and again, considering the guys picked after each respective picks… this is a below average draft effort.
C-[/b] for the quantity and for the few guys saving this thing… barely.
[/b]
TEAM 13, MARAUDERS FORE (same original owner)[/b]
Byron Leftwich (1.6), Bryant Johnson (2.3), Andre Woolfolk, Terrence Kiel…
Yawn… 50% mark, about… though again, wrong Cards’ WR to pick so high, eh?
All in all, this is very similar to STL3 or CA UNITED…
C-[/b], thanks to Leftwich.
TEAM 8, ST. LOUIS 3 (same original owner)[/b]
Only 3 picks… Terry Pierce, Musa Smith, George Foster (nice 4.10 steal)…
30% success rate… what’s that? A C-, thanks to Foster, especially selected 58th.
C-, very minus, very D-ish
[/b]TEAM 10, CAROLINA MOONSHINE (same original owner)[/b]
5 picks to do a little bit of magic…
Nick Barnett (1.10), Shaun McDonald, Wade Smith, Anthony Adams, Bruce Nelson.
Nick Barnett was snatched at 1.10 and thus, not as big a steal as in 1002… As a matter of fact, this high, this is a very savvy pick. Smart and spot on.
The rest is underwhelming and overall, 20% success is a D[/b] in my book.
TEAM 6, GREYRIDERS 1003 (same original owner)
[/b]Chris Brown (2.4), Rex Grossman (2.13), Chris Kelsay, Bradie James, Dewayne White, Brandon Lloyd, Dennis Weathersby, Alonzo Jackson…
A very underwhelming, below average draft but not disastrous.
Yawn… :P
D
[/b]
TEAM 1, TJ GRINGOS (same original owner)
Only 5 rookie picks, so it was slim pickings, really. Kelley Washington (3.1), Eric Steinbach (4.16), Kenny Peterson, Hunter Hillenmeyer, Justin Gage…
Well, it was a lousy hand and a lousy draft… however, grabbing Steinbach with the 64th pick saves this disaster from a naked F and earns a D-[/b]
[/b]
TEAM 4, 3 owners including Mr. Wacko Zabel lead to 0 picks in 2003…[/b]
Let’s hope HOMETOWN HEROES will do a better job over time.
F[/b] in the meantime… by default.
Voila!!
That’s it for 2003....... see you all next year… but before, one last bonus, a quick poll for the fun of it…