Been gone for a bit just checking in once in a while. I have been one busy guy. It was time to kick the rust off and get a thread going to see how many Packer fans I can piss off. Also, if your team is flying into Minneapolis and ya want to go don't hesitate to contact me, Ill get ya tickets at a really good price, Except Green Bay.
First off these draft grades the experts give out mean diddly squat. Remember the year the Vikings traded Randy Moss then drafted Troy Williamson and Erasmus James? Every publication and Guru were giving the Vikings A draft grades even a few A plus and low and behold 4 years later nobody from that draft was on the roster and I can't even recall an impact play.
This year's draft is much more important to Green Bay regarding their immediate future while the Vikes are probably another year away and maybe more. (Seems like that gets said a lot) but anyway Green Bay is close, really close to punching the ticket to the Super Bowl.. NFL just isn't like it once was, the Packers have severe flaws and were a game away from the Super Bowl, thankfully Atlanta had something to say about that. Dallas, Atlanta, and Green Bay are in a race to find a consistent defense and all 3 teams emphasized defense early and I hate to say I think the Packers did an excellent job trying to bolster their defense but I'm no draft expert. Most say their top 3 picks fell to them and from what I have read is that second round pick CB Kevin King and third round pick DT Montavious Adams could be monster steals to have slid to the Packers. It will be tough to rely on 2 rookies in the secondary when you add in second rounder S Josh Jones to the mix but what choice to they actually have? Rodger's career will be winding down eventually and they need to get these guys seasoned even if they do take their lumps so they are playoff ready this season or ready to make a bigger impact next season.
Meanwhile west of Green Bay, purple headquarters sat idle round 1 thanks to a trade to get Sam Bradford but then GM Spielman moved up in the second round to take RB Dalvin Cook who some said was the most explosive back in the draft. ( No way, the guy from LSU is) Cook's potential is unquestioned but his off field antics have made him a risk that many teams would not deal with. Vikings signed former Raider RB Latavius Murray this off season but I see Cook starting on the early downs and having Murray in their for more pass blocking. To me I don't know what to think of the Pick, this team's offensive line sucks out loud and I wasn't impressed with any of the free agent signings. Third round the Vikings traded up to draft C/G Pat Elflein which made a lot of sense as I mentioned before. I have been calling for a center for several years as I think the Vikings have over valued C Joe Burger and John Sullivan before him. I wouldn't expect any Viking draft picks to make much of a first year impact and that may cost Spielman his job.
Both teams did a lot of wheeling and dealing in the later rounds moving down mostly and obtaining more picks which are all crap shoots. One thing is for certain Rick Spielman Vikings GM and Ted Thompson Green Bay GM are on the hot seat at least in the fan's eye. Ted Thompson has been lucky he landed a guy like Aaron Rodgers who has won him a Super Bowl and finishes a top the NFC North on a yearly basis. Thompson does not like to bring in free agents and rely solely on draft picks which has irked both Rodgers and Coach McCarthy at times. Thompson has struggled with first round defensive talent hasn't built a defense in quite sometime. Thompson is mostly known for finding late round and UFA gems.. Spielman has been able to build a defense but he hasn't been able to draft quality offensive players and can take the heat for picking QB bust Christian Ponder several years ago and then the sadly hurt Teddy Bridgewater. My biggest beef with Spielman is that he has neglected the offensive line taking only 5 offensive lineman the previous 5 years and only one in top 3, Matt Khalil who has since departed to the Carolina Panthers. His neglect has cost the team to overspend on marginal free agent lineman like Reiff this year or to bring in overpriced and washed up Veterans like Smith and Long last season. Last season's draft was lineman deep and they decided to take Treadwell in the first round and an undersized nickle corner from Clemson in the second round passing on starting Bears guard Whitehead not only once but twice. ( I advocated for the team to pick him before the draft)
In conclusion if the Packers are looking for a Super Bowl run,they will have to hope for immediate returns on a couple rookie defensive backs, Vikings draft success probably will be scoffed at for low production this year but it will be at least 2 - 3 years before this draft shows much potential.
First off these draft grades the experts give out mean diddly squat. Remember the year the Vikings traded Randy Moss then drafted Troy Williamson and Erasmus James? Every publication and Guru were giving the Vikings A draft grades even a few A plus and low and behold 4 years later nobody from that draft was on the roster and I can't even recall an impact play.
This year's draft is much more important to Green Bay regarding their immediate future while the Vikes are probably another year away and maybe more. (Seems like that gets said a lot) but anyway Green Bay is close, really close to punching the ticket to the Super Bowl.. NFL just isn't like it once was, the Packers have severe flaws and were a game away from the Super Bowl, thankfully Atlanta had something to say about that. Dallas, Atlanta, and Green Bay are in a race to find a consistent defense and all 3 teams emphasized defense early and I hate to say I think the Packers did an excellent job trying to bolster their defense but I'm no draft expert. Most say their top 3 picks fell to them and from what I have read is that second round pick CB Kevin King and third round pick DT Montavious Adams could be monster steals to have slid to the Packers. It will be tough to rely on 2 rookies in the secondary when you add in second rounder S Josh Jones to the mix but what choice to they actually have? Rodger's career will be winding down eventually and they need to get these guys seasoned even if they do take their lumps so they are playoff ready this season or ready to make a bigger impact next season.
Meanwhile west of Green Bay, purple headquarters sat idle round 1 thanks to a trade to get Sam Bradford but then GM Spielman moved up in the second round to take RB Dalvin Cook who some said was the most explosive back in the draft. ( No way, the guy from LSU is) Cook's potential is unquestioned but his off field antics have made him a risk that many teams would not deal with. Vikings signed former Raider RB Latavius Murray this off season but I see Cook starting on the early downs and having Murray in their for more pass blocking. To me I don't know what to think of the Pick, this team's offensive line sucks out loud and I wasn't impressed with any of the free agent signings. Third round the Vikings traded up to draft C/G Pat Elflein which made a lot of sense as I mentioned before. I have been calling for a center for several years as I think the Vikings have over valued C Joe Burger and John Sullivan before him. I wouldn't expect any Viking draft picks to make much of a first year impact and that may cost Spielman his job.
Both teams did a lot of wheeling and dealing in the later rounds moving down mostly and obtaining more picks which are all crap shoots. One thing is for certain Rick Spielman Vikings GM and Ted Thompson Green Bay GM are on the hot seat at least in the fan's eye. Ted Thompson has been lucky he landed a guy like Aaron Rodgers who has won him a Super Bowl and finishes a top the NFC North on a yearly basis. Thompson does not like to bring in free agents and rely solely on draft picks which has irked both Rodgers and Coach McCarthy at times. Thompson has struggled with first round defensive talent hasn't built a defense in quite sometime. Thompson is mostly known for finding late round and UFA gems.. Spielman has been able to build a defense but he hasn't been able to draft quality offensive players and can take the heat for picking QB bust Christian Ponder several years ago and then the sadly hurt Teddy Bridgewater. My biggest beef with Spielman is that he has neglected the offensive line taking only 5 offensive lineman the previous 5 years and only one in top 3, Matt Khalil who has since departed to the Carolina Panthers. His neglect has cost the team to overspend on marginal free agent lineman like Reiff this year or to bring in overpriced and washed up Veterans like Smith and Long last season. Last season's draft was lineman deep and they decided to take Treadwell in the first round and an undersized nickle corner from Clemson in the second round passing on starting Bears guard Whitehead not only once but twice. ( I advocated for the team to pick him before the draft)
In conclusion if the Packers are looking for a Super Bowl run,they will have to hope for immediate returns on a couple rookie defensive backs, Vikings draft success probably will be scoffed at for low production this year but it will be at least 2 - 3 years before this draft shows much potential.
