This Board Did a Great Job Preparing for the NFL Draft.

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Originally Posted by Ravenswintitle

It was a great experience. A lot of work productivity lost but it was worth it :)

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I beg to differ sir. What Hodge and Bayless do is loss of work productivity. What ya'all do is a public service ... well kind of. ;)

Seriously, thanks for all the information and analysis. I was never a fan of the draft but loving reading people's inputs and ideas. Great stuff guys!

At one of the London games they interviewed a Brit who said he was an avid fan of NFL football & when asked why, replied (I paraphrase):

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It's like watching a high-speed chess match between two masters where the board gets reset for a new game every 45 seconds.

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Which is about how I view it.

The neat thing about hanging on RSR through the year is being introduced to (& educated about) the chess games revolving around contracts & the salary cap & free agency & the draft & more free agency & camp & camp cuts &.... More leisurely but if anything even more intricate--like a free-for-all through the mail between 32 correspondence-chess grandmasters.

I'm definitely in awe and respect the talented and dedicated minds sharing knowledge on here.

I'm more of a lurker here that gets more than he gives. I have greatly enjoyed what everyone has posted and the well versed opinions. No doubt I was better prepared for the draft from coming here. I look forward to it always. Thanks.
At some point I hope to have the opportunity to contribute with some depth.

Good thread. I was a lurker for awhile and still new to this whole forum and posting thing.

I appreciate a lot of the insights of folks on here.

Thanks

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Originally Posted by BcRaven

Thanks, I did (according to my wife) a great job prepping for the draft. I got a close shave, took a hot shower, combed what's left of my hair, and slapped on some manly smelling after shave lotion. Put on my Ravens sweatshirt. Beer was chilling in the fridge, my friends (all Giants and Jets fans) came over, then several pizzas were ordered. By midnight, the Jets fans were flying high with two 1st round picks, the Gints fans were not (with Pugh), but I was happy as a clam with Elam (oh, that rhymes)... Bc

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Pugh's going to do better in New York than anybody the Jets drafted

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Originally Posted by jonboy79

I AGREE. all 3 of our first picks were very common names we(as posters) targeted. We are collectively thinking more and more like Ravens scouts with each passing draft.

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Yea, but most of us wanted Cyprien over Elam who was clearly the Ravens man all along but
we mentioned those two names early on and had no idea both would be there to chose from.

Nobody on any of the boards mentioned KJ, Simon,Wagner and Mellette as possibilities. I
had no idea who they were but I'm glad we got them.

The Draft Room thread at the top of the forum was great and gave more info than all
the boards combined.

I would even venture to say that we are improving in the area of slotting players. For example, Torrey Smith may have been drafted in the second round, but the Ravens admittedly had a first round grade on him.

Where we get caught up in the hype, which is where I try to remind everyone on a yearly basis, which is also where Ozzie ends up reminding us all by how he handles the draft, is with who will and will not be available in the first. I always like to remind everyone that only 32 people can go in the first.

Other than a few surprises, a couple of risers and fallers, the first round grades won't change.

I was really upset this year, because Tavon Austin would have fallen in previous drafts. However, Patterson was extremely raw, Allen had knee issues, Patterson had maturity issues and Hopkins did as well. With that in mind, perhaps I am giving teams too much credit for sending him to the top ten. It was a no brainer after you consider all of that.

Linebackers like Brown and Minter slotted right where we generally expected. If the Ravens wanted either, they would have to have moved up in the second, which they did.

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Originally Posted by AirFlacco

Yea, but most of us wanted Cyprien over Elam who was clearly the Ravens man all along but
we mentioned those two names early on and had no idea both would be there to chose from.

Nobody on any of the boards mentioned KJ, Simon,Wagner and Mellette as possibilities. I
had no idea who they were but I'm glad we got them.

The Draft Room thread at the top of the forum was great and gave more info than all
the boards combined.

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As it turns out, these were the two guys that the Ravens targeted in the first round. They didn't expect both to be there either. You can tell that they were both closely graded. I think that Elam got the edge due to familiarity with the coaching staff and playing in the SEC. If Elam weren't there, Cyprien would have been the guy.

I trust Ozzie to know the Board.

I trust the board to know Ozzie.

Great work all around.

These are the good times.

BS

Agree...this board really shined going into the draft. As someone who doesn't follow college football closely, I learned alot about almost everyone potential draftee. Thanks to all for the hard work everyone did. Alot of amateur GM's on this board.