Walters Mock 4-17-08

[regoob2]

http://walterfootball.com/draft2008.php

Why do you keep giving the bears Charles in the 2nd? Felix Jones is a better RB and Flacco is also available.

[PuppyPuncher]

-I still don't like the Ryan Clady pick because it's the Bronco's, and they drafted Ryan Harris in the 3rd.

- I have a feeling Derrick Harvey would be rated higher than Chris Williams on the Panther's big board.

- After Pacman Jones, I don't think the Titans will touch another player with character concerns again

[Matt McGuire]

-I still don't like the Ryan Clady pick because it's the Bronco's, and they drafted Ryan Harris in the 3rd.

- I have a feeling Derrick Harvey would be rated higher than Chris Williams on the Panther's big board.

- After Pacman Jones, I don't think the Titans will touch another player with character concerns again

LenDale White? Mike Williams? Franchised Haynesworth?

[Drumsteroo]

http://walterfootball.com/draft2008.php

Why do you keep giving the bears Charles in the 2nd? Felix Jones is a better RB and Flacco is also available.

I will throw up in the chili bowl, and then re-eat it if they take Charles. Another Texas bust, er, RB. No way.

He also likes to give us John David Booty in rd 4. We have enough crappy QB's on our team.

[regoob2]

JD i'm fine with but imo Felix Jones is a much better RB. I think he just doesn't feel like re-writing the analysis lol.

[PuppyPuncher]

LenDale White? Mike Williams? Franchised Haynesworth?

Hmmm... good point though LenDale White was drafted before Pacman really started getting into trouble.

[Drumsteroo]

How does Haynseworth have character issues? I think that whole episode was taken out of context and editied to make him look like the bad guy. Hes really just a big teddy bear

[starqb14]

How does Haynseworth have character issues? I think that whole episode was taken out of context and editied to make him look like the bad guy. Hes really just a big teddy bear

hahaha a big teddy bear who kicks your helmet off and stomps on your face with a pair of size 16 cleats

[Walter]

JD i'm fine with but imo Felix Jones is a much better RB. I think he just doesn't feel like re-writing the analysis lol.

Yeah, re-writing stuff is overrated

[noidroid]

Bears fans on here are impossible to please imo

[Craig Smith]

Bears fans on here are impossible to please imo

Lions fans are the same way, when you need half your team replaced, it is hard to please...

[EL Guapo]

Albert to the Pats is interesting. Doesn't feel right but definitley thought provoking.

[scar988]

3) Atlanta Falcons: Jake Long, OT, Michigan

good pick

34) Atlanta Falcons: Pat Sims, DT, Auburn

bad pick. only because I believe that Dre Moore will wind up being our 3rd highest rated DT.

37) Atlanta Falcons: Tracy Porter, CB, Indiana

good pick

48) Atlanta Falcons: Joe Flacco, QB, Delaware

good pick

68) Atlanta Falcons: Tavares Gooden, ILB/OLB, Miami

good pick. but I still think Keith moves to WLB. that and I think Phillip Wheeler is a better fit for Atlanta's new defense with Mike Smith as Wheeler can play all 3 spots on the LB.

98) Atlanta Falcons: Craig Steltz, SS, LSU

good pick

103) Atlanta Falcons: Barry Richardson, OT, Clemson

great pick

138 Atlanta Falcons: Martin Rucker, TE, Missouri

bad pick. Only because we need more of an H-Back than Rucker is. Kellen Davis is the pick.

Atlanta Falcons: Cody Wallace, C, Texas A&M

I don't disagree that we need OL help. but we need it at future G. not future C. we have C covered for now with Todd McClure, Doug Datish, Alex Stepanovich and Ben Wilkerson. we have scrubs like D'anthony Batiste as our backups at OG. we need a WR/KR though and get Anthony Aldridge here.

1) OT Jake Long
2a) NT Dre Moore
2b) CB Tracy Porter
2c) QB Joe Flacco
3a) LB Phillip Wheeler
3b) SS Craig Steltz
4) OT Barry Richardson
5) TE/H-Back Kellen Davis
6) WR/KR Anthony Aldridge

[ZN0rseman]

Here is my take on the Vikings first selection...

The Vikings desperately need help at quarterback, safety, offensive tackle and defensive end. Brian Brohm is an option, but the Vikings are a veteran team ready to win now. They need someone with experience under center. They actually just offered a third-round pick to the Texans for Sage Rosenfels. The Texans have declined for the time being, but I have a feeling this deal will eventually happen.

Minnesota must acquire someone like Phillip Merling to help an anemic pass rush that lacked anyone with more than five sacks in 2007. Defensive end was a position of need even before Kenechi Udeze's bout with Leukemia. With Kenny Phillips slipping and all the top offensive tackles off the board, the Vikings will look at Merling.

Some may question Merling's ability to get to the quarterback. I don't. Merling isn't known for his pass rushing, but he had seven sacks in 2007, compared to Derrick Harvey's 8.5, so I'm not sure where that mindset is coming from.

As for the Merling pick... I said it once, and I'll say it again. I just don't think he addresses the Vikings needs as a pass rusher. He doesn't have the explosiveness or speed to scare anyone off the edge like Harvey, Jackson, Groves or Avril. Although his size and strength are there, his pass rushing technique isn't as good as other guys either... some of whom are going to be available when the Vikings draft in the 2nd round.

The Vikings need a QB... a good one (i.e. NOT Andre Woodson or Colt Brennen) right now. If the Rosenfels trade goes through, then yes, I could see them passing on Brohm or Ryan in round 1. If Harvey falls to them, then yes, I could see them taking Harvey and targeting a QB later. Other than those two scenarios, the Vikings must grab either Brohm or Ryan in this years draft or there will be hell to pay.

I keep hearing the pundits say "the Vikings are built to win now" but I disagree with that philosophy. Sure, the coach wants to win now... because he's on the hotseat, but Wilf and Speilman are the guys who really run the show, and they are the ones who have a long-term interest in seeing the team be successful. They surely must know that the Vikings cannot go into 2009 with no real QB on the roster. The fans have had enough... they need to get a QB on the team that will put butts in the seats, instead of driving away disgusted fans like their current QB.

Tarvaris Jackson (fondly referred to in some Twin Cities circles as "Affirmative-Action Jacskon") is a terrible QB, one of those worst in the league. Bollinger has shown flashes, but he doesn't have the arm strength to be a regular starter in the league. As for Ferrotte... well, picking him up was just plain dumb. The Vikings must make a move at QB now, because the cupboard is as bare as it gets.

I know many pundits have the Vikings taking Woodson... but I think that they are suggesting him, mainly due to Minnesota's extensive history with taking black QB's. (IE: Jackson, Cullpepper, Cunningham, Moon, ect.) The Vikings run a WCO and that requires a very smart QB with extremely good throw accuracy. From an NFL perspective, Woodson's accuracy is questionable at best, but the straw, scratch that, the massive bail of hay, that broke the camels back was when his Wonderlic score came out (the test that measures a players intelligence) and it was painfully low, lower than any of the other major quarterback contenders this year. So, not only do I think that he doesn't fit their system, I even would go so far as to question his ability to play the game at the next level, at all. Plus, the fact that you have the team taking him in the 3nd round, which I think is still a reach... it's like they'd be drafting Tarvaris Jackson all over again. (Ugh.) Same smarts problem, same terrible accuracy, and another reach on draft day. (Did I already say 'Ugh'?) If the Vikings passed on Brohm, Ryan and Flacco, and then followed that up by taking Woodson with any pick above the 4th round, you should expect 85% of Vikings fans watching the draft to throw their remotes through the TV.

The bottom line is this, the Vikings have nobody on their roster right now who is going to push Tavaris Jackson for the starting job next year. Considering how God-awful Jackson is, that's a terrible sign for the Viking Nation. Matt Ryan and Brian Brohm are the only players who can be drafted that can even remotely push for the starting role in 2008, and either one of them would be a lock to take over in 2009.

That's the whole point really... 2008 is probably going to be a wash, because we're not going to win a championship with an incompetent QB like Jackson under center. So, barring the addition of Sage Rosenfels, the Vikings first shot at a championship won't come until 2009... and so that's what we should be planning for.

$0.02,

--Z

[princefielder28]

I don't understand a LB going to Green Bay in round 2