MichiganCardinal

At the end of the day I think it comes down to how Holmes and his scouting department see not only London/Wilson/Hutch/Thib, but also how they see the draft class as a whole, in efforts to maximize their value at each pick. To be overly simplistic for a second, if they grade Hutch at 93 and Johnson/Ebiketie at 88, but have Drake London at 91 and Pickens/Dotson at 80, it might make more sense to go London early and Johnson late, even if you think Hutch could develop into a better player than either. In a similar circumstance last year, the Bengals took Chase over Sewell. Most (at least in the media) had Sewell graded higher than Chase, but the Bengals needed both OT and WR help and thought they could wait to address the O-Line in the 2nd round. They ultimately picked up Jackson Carman out of Clemson, who himself had 1st Round grades. It worked out for them last year (even though Carman hasn't been that great so far and had to switch to Guard), until the Super Bowl, where their line cost them. If we pick up an elite WR at #2 (or early to mid 1st round) and a good edge rusher in the late 1st or early 2nd, I'm perfectly okay with that. I would expect for that 1st round WR to be really good though - clearly better than a Golladay or St. Brown.

I think it's all in the eyes of the beholder. If the Lions scouts have London graded as Mike Evans 2.0 as Campbell speculated, then yes, I suppose he likely is graded that much better than Burke and Bell. I don't really get your point about good WRs vs. Pro Bowl DEs in the 30s. Of course that's true, but it's also true that it is easier to find a good DE in the 30s than a Pro Bowl WR. Your #2 pick, whether a WR, DE, or otherwise, should be better long-term than your #32 pick... Maybe we disagree, but I do think there is some truth to the notion that there is more depth to the top tier of the EDGE class this year than the WR class. Jermaine Johnson, Drake Jackson, Arnold Ebiketie, and Travon Walker could each be there at #32 and/or #34, and I think each has the potential to develop into being the best EDGE rusher from this class. It's less likely they do than Hutch, Thib, Ojabo, or Karlaftis does, but it's still possible... Personally I don't think it's as likely that someone other than Garrett Wilson, Drake London, Chris Olave, or Jameson Williams turns into the best WR from this class. I'm not holding my breath on any of them being there at 32, unless we get real lucky with Williams.

Walt Cherepinsky of WalterFootball is Captain ClickBait. To his credit, he built his site and business by being brilliant about the future of internet searches and catalogs. When I was younger, if you searched "NFL mock draft" on Google, Yahoo, or Ask Jeeves (lol), this random site, WalterFootball.com, would appear, because he would get people to share his URL on their page in exchange for posting their mock draft or whatever on his site. He blasted his URL everywhere, got a lot of people to share his "product", and it basically tricked the search engine into improving his search results to the top of the list. Not ESPN or NFL.com or CBS. This random dude's site. He was way ahead of the search engine algorithm and made a lucrative career out of it. Today, he is still just a random computer nerd, who has racist tendencies and whose site has grown into being borderline unreadable because he sells every square inch of webspace. His information should not be taken to heart. That said, he does employ a very savvy team of insiders, in particular Charlie Campbell. Campbell has very little vested interest in clickbait, has an ear in multiple NFL circles, and historically hits a large percentage of his final mock draft picks. Campbell was actually the first to mock London to the Lions at #2, and he did so shortly after the Senior Bowl, which he attended. This is what he wrote about the Lions after the Senior Bowl: That last line about being open for trade offers was stated publicly by Holmes, but everything above that sounds like somebody within the Lions was talking. I tend to believe it though. That's not to say that the Lions are going to take London at #2, but it could mean they are in a similar position as we were a few years ago with Okudah where it did not make sense to take Okudah at #3, but it was claimed no one wanted to move up, so they just took Okudah. I don't believe the Quinn regime that there were just no possibilities to move down from the #3 pick in 2020 with the goal of still picking Okudah. It might not have been a perfect trade on the chart, but someone would have given up a little to move up. The same could be the case this year. I could see us "losing" a trade by dropping to somewhere around #6 - #13 and "only" getting a 2nd or 3rd round pick back, or even less... But then picking up one of London or Wilson at that first pick, and getting what they really wanted anyway.

My ideal situation (right now) for the draft is trading down in the first round, and picking up Drake London or Garrett Wilson somewhere in the 6-12 range, followed up with a speed threat in the 3rd round like Wan'Dale Robinson (if we are lucky enough to see him available). At that point between say London/St. Brown/Robinson, you're only looking for depth and role players behind them. Reynolds, Cephus, Raymond, Hodge, Kennedy, and I guess Benson would all have a chance at those roles in camp. Another St. Brown could compete for that 4th/5th spot, but I am not sure he would get it, which would likely become another Benson-like trade. I'd consider a mid-round pick for Ridley if we cannot get both London/Robinson (types), but definitely not if we can get both.

Upon further review I take back the foster/adopt line. Everything else stands as sage advise. 😉 😂

I don't think he's the best QB in the league. He's top five, possibly the most valuable, but he's not the best. I agree that no one player can win a Super Bowl (or even a playoff game for that matter - see Stafford). If I were a Green Bay supporter though, I would be so sick of this limbo, and this narrative that he'll make a decision when he makes a decision. He's had good teams. He's made one Super Bowl in his career. I don't think he's earned the "wait in awe" that he seems to be expecting like Lebron when he took his talents to South Beach. I can blame the media, but he's the one releasing this to the media. He's the one telling everyone about his cleanse on Pat McAfee. I'm not debating that a bunch of teams would love to have him, but I wouldn't want my team holding out our future, our front office, and everything we have because he doesn't know what he wants to do.

Dude thinks he is Lebron James yet he doesn’t win anything. I would be so sick of this circus if I were the Packers.

Don't have kids. Don't work with kids. Don't foster kids or adopt kids. Don't interact with kids. Don't look at kids. Kids do not actually exist. It's a great day here. 😇

I remember when mock drafts had him as a possible #1 overall pick. Little did they know.

I don't know, I think it just depends on your expectations for the pick. You can't expect your 6th round QB to ever become your starter (i.e., Brady), but that is also the case for most positions in the 6th and 7th rounds (special teams excluded). If you pick up EJ Perry and he turns into a serviceable backup QB in the NFL with a ten-year career, perhaps with some rare packages as a rotational athlete where both he and Goff/Whoever are on the field, I think that's a much better outcome than picking up a 6th Round depth lineman who ultimately doesn't make the team out of camp. And if Perry does turn into Kayaa, well it's really no different than if they had taken that 6th round tackle. Fun fact I learned today, Jeremiah Ledbetter and Pat O'Connor were the two players taken before and after Brad Kaaya in the 2017 NFL Draft, at 6.205 and 7.250, respectively. Both were out of Detroit by the start of the 2018 season. Both now have Super Bowl rings from time with the Buccaneers. Doesn't help my argument, but it was too good not to share.

Weak. I hope more is done behind the scenes that isn’t seen by the public. A Michigan-Wisconsin rematch in the B1G tourney is a real possibility, can Juwan keep his cool for that? The more time passed, the more I wanted to see him fired, or at least indefinitely suspended through the postseason.

EJ Perry, QB from Brown intrigues me as a late-round developmental pickup. Should be available in the 6th/7th round. Athletic as all get-out and tough as nails. Expected to run a 40 in the 4.5s, and the biggest concern is a propensity to make bad decisions (high number of picks). I would be interested to see what he could do with proper NFL coaching. I could see his ceiling as a Taysom Hill type, who can play QB but also be on the field with another QB as just a plain weapon. He's got the smarts to be a career backup too if that doesn't pan out, which is not a bad get from the 6th or 7th round.

Maybe hanging up is hyperbolic, but I think it’s widely known that there is no bluechip can’t-miss prospect in this class. If the Eagles were desperate for a QB and RG3 or Goff were sitting at 1.2 it would be a different story. I don’t see them sacrificing three starters for Hutch or Thib. Maybe two, but not three.

Likewise. I think the majority of the academics who pull the strings at Michigan are the same, but at the same time, money talks. In a big money sport, money yells. Schools across the US are perfectly content to contribute to questionable ethics within athletics on one hand while publicly praising their commitment to integrity and academic excellence on the other. Seldom are they put into a position where they have to choose though, and that’s where M finds themselves now.

I do think it’s interesting that Mary Sue has already become involved in this. After two decades of very steady growth as a university, building a reputation as a top-five public school with a very solid athletic department that excels academically and mostly doesn’t make bad press off the playing field, they’ve been thrown into total turmoil in the last year or so. Between Dr. Anderson, firing Schlissel, and the hockey team’s latest fiasco, they can’t seem to get the crisis management team off the payroll. MSC was brought back to right the ship, and her publicly apologizing to Wisconsin mere hours following the incident is interesting, and not something I think Schlissel would have done. For an institution that fancies itself as being a peer institution to the Ivies, their response will be telling. If this had happened to Stanford or Harvard men’s basketball, the coach would be gone, no doubt about it. If this had happened to UM women’s gymnastics, the coach would similarly be gone without second thought... OTOH, if this had happened at Ohio State or Gonzaga, the coach would be slapped on the wrist with a couple game suspension and be back by tournament tip-off. They’re in it to win it, not be the morality police. Does Michigan care more about its outer facing image and how their athletic department portrays them as a university, or do they care more about winning games and making money? Time will tell.

I will say I think Holmes should at least engage Philadelphia (and pretty much every team in between us and Philly) in conversation about their interest in moving up. Not all three picks, they’d hang up on him. If they would consider trading two of 15/16/19 for #2 though, I would strongly consider it, even though the draft chart says we would be losing that trade by quite a bit. Having two prospects in the teens is greater than having one in the top five this draft. IMO.

I don’t think he’ll be fired. I think he’ll be suspended the rest of the season and tournament (if M makes it).

The smoke coming from the City of Philadelphia burning after a trade like that probably wouldn’t be good for the environment.

The new American Dream

That sailed right over my head on first read.

They offered her $500k *after* a jury awarded her $3 million. And she took it. As sagnam said though originally she only wanted $20k. I tend to agree that the legal system fails more often than it succeeds. I can’t say it’s the worst in the world because I have no experience elsewhere. I can say the criminal system is certainly no better than the civil system.

The McDonald's coffee lady was actually a very legitimate suit. She had 3rd degree burns on her legs that required multiple surgeries resulting from outrageously hot coffee - like 200*, nearly boiling hot. She also wasn't the first person to complain, hundreds had complained of injuries from the coffee temp before she sued. McDonald's only offered her like $1000 to pay for her medical bills, and the jury found that McDonalds was negligent. They fined them two-days coffee sales, about $3 million. She ended up settling for about $500k and McDonalds lowered the temperature of their coffee. Then when the corporate lawyers actually lost to the everyday American, they launched this massive (and extremely successful) smear campaign to make everyone think "oh the system is so broken, she spilled coffee, launched a frivolous lawsuit, and got off with millions!" when really, she was the personification of the legal system actually working. The more you know.

I don't think the 3-4 / 4-3 distinction means as much as it did 10-20 years ago. Almost every NFL team nowadays uses the nickel (4-2-5) as their primary base package. The only exception I can think of is the Packers, who AFAIK still use more dime (4-1-6). Whether you envision that 4th up-man with their hand in the dirt like a DE (in the 4-3) or you keep them upright like an OLB (in the 3-4), their purpose is generally the same at the end of the day. In a perfect world that 4th man is crashing in on runs like a DE and creating pressure on passes like an OLB, no matter what you call them. How you start doesn't matter if you can finish in the backfield. That said, O'Connell coming in as a supposed offensive guru and picking a defensive scheme a half second after he's picked a defensive coordinator is a little alarming if I am a Vikings fan. Good thing I'm not.

This made me laugh. The turnover rate on those reps is so high that you barely get to know their first name before a new one is assigned. I would guess that people who pay more (club seats especially) get the better/tenured reps, but I got a happy birthday message from mine last week and had to scroll back to remember who they were.

Both. This is only my second season as a STM, so I could lie in the future if Holmes/Campbell works out and claim I knew it from their announcement. In truth though, when I moved back to Michigan in early 2020 I would have gotten season tickets for the 2020 season if there were fans. I don’t have any intention to not renew based on performance, though obviously the product is better when we win, and I’m sure I will tire of it at some point if we are consistently winning 6 or less games. For me, it’s been a way to do something I enjoy (the entire experience) and reconnect with various friends and family. I brought someone different to every game last season, some of them were even old friends from school who flew in. My seats are pretty decent (section 109 row in the 20s on the aisle). They go for more than I pay on the resale market. There are only 8-9 games, so it’s not like I’m “burdened” with 80 trips to Detroit for the Tigers or 40 for the Pistons/Wings. I’m satisfied with the product I get. Might change with age, guess we will see.