I just love drafts. Mostly the NHL or NFL drafts. I love studying up by buying the guides and trolling the internet for information, and mock drafts. Normally I'd arm myself with lots of snacks and drinks and sit my ass down for 5-6 hours, whilst video tapeing the whole event to watch again later on down the road. But today I had to teach a stupid cotillion, but I still video'd the whole thing.
IMO the best drafting stratagy will always be going with the best player available. Drafting for need is short sighted and not maximizing value, especially in the NHL draft where drafting 17 and 18 yr olds trying to project 5 years down the road is basically the equivelent of throwing darts at a list of names. I still remember the stretch that the Canucks drafted 14 centres over three years (7 in one year) ,and no goalies, out of a possible 21ish picks. This year the Seahawks positioned themselves beautifully to draft the bpa.
With the Hawks obvious needs at Rush end and at ILB and OLB, I thought drafting D would be a no brainer. BPA netted them centre Chris Spencer. Not the sexy pick I was expecting but he is described as the best interior linemen to come out of college the last decade. Experts are predicting probowls giving us 3 probowlers from C to left tackle for the next decade. Mind boggling.
In the second round we moved up to snag ILB Lofa Tatupu. Slightly undersized but the definition of a gamer. The leader of the 2 time national champion USC defence. Speed. Tenacity. Might be considered a reach at that spot in the draft, but the Hawks had him targeted. Compared to Miami's Zack Thomas.
Third round was strange. With some tantalizing talent at rush end and blitzing LB (Blackstock) still available we took QB and an Anthony Simmons clone at OLB. David Greene was considered a Heismen candidate before the season started but failed to live up to the expectations. Still he broke Peyton Mannings (39)record for wins in Div1 (42) and passing yards. Basically he sounds alot like current starter Matt Hasselbeck. Leroy Hill is undersized but FAST. Esentaially I believe he's a faster more pollished Blackstock. His 40 from the combine matched blackstock's 4.7 but I read a report that he was sick at the time. His Pro work out was in the 4.56 range with another timeing at 4.62. Rediculous for a LB. Before the draft I had a hard-on for Blackstock in the first round but feared he was too one dimentional. I think I'll like Hill better than even Simmons.
Well, that enough for now. Rhoel.
posted by R @ 12:38 AM
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