OldTimer1960

If I was a Carolina fan, I wouldn't like the Funchess pick.

Could be great or could be suspended before training camp opens

Was hoping Preston Smith might be available for the Bills, guess not.

Doesn't look like any OTs will last till Bills' pick... Maybe RBs are back in style with 3 gone already.

Bit of a surprise Yeldon went before some other RBs.- that's 3 RBs already. Maybe RBs are back in style?

Doesn't look like there will be any OTs left by Bills' pick this round...

Trade up to where? Petty shouldn't go before the 3rd or 4th round IMHO

+1. Nix laid the foundation by starting to build the defense and stabilizing the OL w Cordy Glenn in round 2.

That is quite admirable and I take your word on your size and shape. Agreed that attitude and effort counts for a lot, but don't underestimate how TRULY bone-rattling the hits from NFL players are. That would adjust the courage of most mere humans. At any rate, congratulations on being in such good shape.

REALLY? are you saying that you could perform at the level of an NFL football player?

mediocre - of only ordinary or moderate quality; neither good nor bad; Maybe you should call your old teacher and tell him he was wrong.

I think you are waaaaay too harsh here. First, the guy is a professional athlete - that is 1,000x more than you or I (or most of us on this message board) could do. Next, you have NO IDEA how hard he played and whether he had heart. Now, you can take issue with his running style, particularly trying to bounce everything wide, but I do not think that in any way equates to playing "weak".

Excellent insights!

What does Doug Williams have to do with Tyrod Taylor?

Stop - he got a few sniffs form the NFL years ago. He wasn't good enough then, now he is old too

In Bower's case, the combine physical showed a significant physical problem (I think it was a knee). Clausen is a pretty good example of the "hype" from draft experts not correlating to what NFL teams think of a player. To be fair to NFL scouts, GMs and even draft "analysts", scouting is very difficult. "Tape doesn't lie" is too simplistic because teams need to take into consideration how other factors affected how a player played on tape including, but not limited to: 1. Level of competittion - How do you compare a player who played mostly SEC competition against a player who played in the MAC or other lower level league? 2. Talent around the player - Does the player have other great players on his team that divide the oppostions attention and allow the player to look better than he is? This can also go the other way - if there are many other great players on the same team, it could limit a player's opportunities to shine. 3. Scheme - Does the scheme that a player plays in highlight his strengths and hide weaknesses that could be exploited at the NFL level? Alternatively, does the scheme not highlight a player and thus make a him not look as good as he could be? Other factors that have to go into player rankings include: 1. Growth potential - Can the player get physically stronger/faster or is he already max-ed out? Can the player improve with better coaching and more experience? 2. Injury factors - Is there a significant injury or condition that (isn't widely known) might make the player more prone to injury in the NFL? 3. Character Issues 3a How bad does a guy want it? How hard will he work at the next level? This is VERY difficult to project 3b Is the guy at risk for missing time/not being productive due to off-field issues (drugs, crimes, etc)? 3c How good of a teammate will the guy be (think Jay Cutler - terrific talent, but some say not a good teammate). 4. How good of a fit will he be for what you need? - Does he play a position of great need? Does his skill-set match what you need/want at the position? For example, some teams want smaller faster LBs and others want bigger guys and will trade off speed/agility to get the size. Some teams want super-sized powerful drive blocking OGs while others are happier with smaller (they still aren't really small) guys with more agility because they need them to pull and also need them to engage LBs at the second level of the defense. With QBs there are even more things to consider: 1. How quickly can he see the field and process what he sees? This might be the most difficult thing to assess when rating QBs and is almost surely the most important - much more important than having a cannon for an arm. 1a. Can he make good risk-benefit decisions almost instantaneously? Do you go for the big play to the guy that is being covered well or do you take the lower risk/lower return play to the safety-valve? 2. Has he demonstrated the ability to throw into tight spots against top competition? Most great QBs in college are also on very good teams - often times they have outstanding Offensive lines that give them all day to choose which of their wide-open receivers to throw to. For sure, they won't have that much time and receivers won't that that open in the NFL I am sure that there are many other things to consider when rating players, but just considering the above, it should be pretty clear that scouting is hard and different teams will have different ratings based on needs, schemes/preferences and organizational risk taking profile.

Not to be too argumentative as I haven't really watched Poe play much in the NFL, but weren't the Bills an awful run D a few years ago and they had Marcel Dareus and Kyle Williams. My point is that it is *possible* that Poe was doing his job tying up blockers, but his teammates weren't capable of holding up their end. Agreed. Once in a while, one of the "experts" is offered a job. Russ Lande used to publish "GM Jr" draft guide, now he is chief scout (maybe GM?) of the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL. Lande might not be a great example because he actually was a scout in the NFL prior to doing his draft guides, but still he was likely offered the Montreal job based on his work as a draft analyst rather than his scouting background from years earlier.

You know this how? That is, IF they were run under same conditions as combine

Thanks, but NEEDING a QB and there Being a DECENT prospect available in rounds 2 or later are two VERY different things. Wasting a 2nd or 3rd round pick on another questionable QB prospect doesn't help get this team closer to contention.

This is a great thread! My view is that Thurman Thomas was a great player - Hall of Fame caliber. But, he played with MANY more weapons than Simpson did. As I said earlier, the only guys that I've actually seen play that could compare with Simpson were Dickerson, Earl Campbell and Barry Sanders. Based on records and highlights that I've seen, Jim Brown and Gayle Sayers were in that group, too. Finally, Walter Peyton probably belongs on that list, too. Everyone else was a notch below these guys.

On the flip side, because of the heavier emphasis on passing today, the field is more spread out - more space for RBs when they do run.

I am not sure that kaepernick is above average himself

Yes Kenny Davis belongs in the top 10 somewhere, too. Jim Braxton was the FB when Simpson was here and he was a very good runner for a FB I recall very well watching Simpson play. In my estimation, only Barry Sanders, Erik Dickerson and Earl Campbell were as unstoppable.

So why are the Skins considering trading this great QB that they traded a bounty of high draft picks for?

The truth is that Washington has had him and doesn't want him in spite of what they paid for him. I truly believe that if Washington thought that there was even a 20% chance that he could recover and be a top 15 NFL QB, they wouldn't even be considering trading him.