Mock Drat 2007

Here is my mock draft. I will try and predict trades, knowing that not all of them will be correct.

1. Oakland Raiders: JaMarcus Russell QB LSU
2. TRADE: Atlanta Falcons (via Detroit): Calvin Johnson WR GT
3. Cleveland Browns: Brady Quinn QB Notre Dame
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Joe Thomas OT Wisconsin
5. Arizona Cardinals: Levi Brown OT Nebraska
6. TRADE: Denver Broncos (via Washington): Gaines Adams DE Clemson
7. Minnesota Vikings: LaRon Landry S LSU
8. Detroit Lions (via Houston through Atlanta): Patrick Willis MLB Mississippi
9. Miami Dolphins: Amobi Okoye DT Louisville
10. Houston Texans: Leon Hall CB Michigan
11. SF 49ers: Adam Carriker DE Nebraska
12. Buffalo Bills: Adrian Peterson RB Oklahoma
13. St. Louis Rams: Alan Branch DT Michigan
14. Carolina Panthers: Michael Griffin S Texas
15. Pittsburgh Steelers: Jarvis Moss DE/OLB Florida
16. Green Bay Packers: Marshawn Lynch RB California
17. Jacksonville Jaguars: Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas
18. Cincinnati Bengals: Paul Posluszny OLB Penn St.
19. Tennessee Titans: Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU
20. New York Giants: Darrelle Revis CB Pittsburgh
21. Washington Redskins: Justin Harrell DT Tennessee
22. Dallas Cowboys: Joe Staley OT Central Michigan
23. Kansas City Chiefs: Robert Meachem WR Tennessee
24. New England Patriots: Aaron Ross CB Texas
25. New York Jets: TE Greg Olsen Miami
26. Philadelphia Eagles: Reggie Nelson S Florida
27. New Orleans Saints: Chris Houston CB Arkansas
28. New England Patriots: Lawrence Timmons LB Florida St.
29. Baltimore Ravens: Tony Ugoh OT Arkansas
30. San Diego Chargers: Dwayne Bowe WR LSU
31. Chicago Bears: Ben Grubbs OG Auburn
32. Indianapolis Colts: Jon Beason LB Miami

Trade Explanations:
(a) Atlanta trades #8, #39, #44, and #109 to Detroit for #2: Arthur Blank loves Georgia Tech product Calvin Johnson both for his talent, and his ability to sell tickets in Atlanta. Detroit desperately wants to move out of the #2 spot, and they are able to get Patrick Willis, who they love at #8.
(b) Washington trades #6 to Denver for #21, #56, and #70: Washington makes this deal desperate for more picks, while Denver gets Gaines Adams, satisfying their desperate search to help their pass rush.

The NBA Playoffs are Ridiculous

So this past Saturday, April 21st (keep that in mind) began the NBA playoffs. This waste of talented basketball players simultaneously playing 5 games of 1 v. 1 disguists me every year. Not only are most of the games dumb, but the fact that half the teams in the league make the playoffs, and that every round is a 7 game series is just absurd. There is no reason, other then the monitary incentives for the league, for the NBA playoffs to require any 7 game series, not to mention in the 1st of 4 rounds. At each game, you will notice a huge sign stating that the NBA Finals begin June 7th. LET THAT SINK IN. THE PLAYOFFS BEGIN IN THE 3RD WEEK OF APRIL! They do not finish until the middle of June?!?!?! I know that people say that David Stern is one of the most powerful men in sports, but he should use all his glorious power to save the mediocrity of his league, and turn it into real exciting basketball again, by cutting down the length of some of these series. It is just un-necessary, and it dulls what should be great match-ups. Look at how fantastic march madness is. It isn’t because there are better players in college than in the NBA, it’s because it has urgency. Game 7 NBA basketball is exciting. Game 1 is worthless. Shorten the playoffs; If you want to have series, make them best of 3, and MAYBE even best of 5 for the finals, and up the quality and urgency of the play. Maybe then the players themselves will start to care.

Oden v. Durant

Alright, now that it is essentially official that both of these players will pass up their final 3 years of the college experience in order to pursue a life in The League I feel safe discussing (a) who I think is the correct pick at the #1 spot (b) who will actually get picked at that spot (c) and who i think will in the long run be the better NBA player. Here goes:

(a) In my opinion, who should go at this spot depends on what team wins the lottery. That being said, in most situations, the top pick should be Greg Oden. About a month ago, I would have argued that in any situation Kevin Durant should be the #1 man, simply due to the fact that I am not a believer in drafting on potential, and Kevin Durant, at the time, was a better player. However, while watching the tournament, particularly in the Final Four, I was very impressed by Oden’s play, and his ability to take a team out of their game plan. Though he is still inconsistent at time, he is only going to get better from here on out. Also, while looking at the past NBA champions, almost all of those in the past decade have had a dominate big man. I think that both Durant and Oden will be dominate players in the league in the near future, and if I was a GM I might hope for the 2nd pick so I wouldn’t have to make this choice, but for the majority of the teams in the NBA, Oden is the #1 choice.

(b) These teams will take Durant if they win the lottery: The Minnesota Timberwolves (assuming they don’t do something idiotic such as trade KG) and The Los Angeles Clippers; also possibly the Boston Celtics, cus they are all about doing the exact opposite of the right thing for their team.

Everyone else I imagine would take Oden

(c) Before I go into who I think will be the better player when all is said and done and they retire, I would like to say that I think both of these players will be elite players in their careers, excluding unfortunate events such as catestrophic injuries or being coached by Isiah Thomas. That being said, I think Kevin Durant will be the better NBA player. In my opinion, he can be the best player in the league post-kobe, while something tells me Oden just does not have that un-matchable scoring ability that comes with being the best player in the NBA. Both are very complete players, but I watched Durant play about a dozen times this year, and each time I was more amazed at the many different ways he can beat a team on both ends of the court (Oden can do the same, but I just personally find Durant to be better). Also, he isn’t afraid to be the best and to take over a game, which except for the National championship game, is a problem that faces Greg Oden.

So there you have it. The “answer” to Oden v. Durant. If only NBA GM’s were as smart as me, this process would be so simple.

Welcome

Hello and welcome to The Sporting Rambler. This blog will offer my thoughts about the sports world, whenever I find something that I feel is important enough to comment on. Feel free to leave your comments on my opinion, and offer your own. I’m just getting started now, so give me a while to get the full hang of this.