KCChiefs.com gets you ready for the draft!

shaneo69 · 04-25-2006, 11:29 AM

DAWES: MYTH, EXAGGERATION & UTTER NONSENSE
Apr 25, 2006, 4:09:31 AM by Rufus Dawes

Currently, there are many television pundits and ex-players appearing in frenetic fashion on television talking endlessly about the annual NFL draft. Sometimes they hype their knowledge or offer sharp rebukes to a team’s past picks. Sometimes they drop language that as self-proclaimed experts only they can truly understand.

Apart from the legitimate questions involved in showcasing a media appearance by offering an “inside” view when you aren’t on the inside and have spent only a couple of weeks thinking about a subject that others far more qualified have spent years on, what is striking is the empty nature of this talk rehashed ad nauseum.

Here are commonly held exaggerations, myths, and outright errors made by the media about the National Football League draft. They fall in no particular order:

1. The draft is less important now thanks to unrestricted free agency. At first blush, it might be natural to ask if it is less important why do the people who say so spend so much time talking about it? As fellow columnist Bob Gretz points out in his excellent series, NFL’s Best Defenses, “of all the major defensive contributors on (Pittsburgh and Baltimore’s teams in the 21st century Super Bowls), 22 were drafted or developed by the clubs. The Steelers had just two major contributors that came to them from other teams.” Fourteen starters from New England’s championship team the previous season came from the draft. Chicago had the number one defense in the NFL last year and allowed the fewest touchdowns. “They did all that and the Bears were also the youngest group among the league’s top defenses, averaging just 3.4 seasons of NFL experience and having only one major contributor who joined the league before the 2000 season,” according to Gretz’s research.

Why are media more infatuated with free agents than drafted players? My goodness, ESPN’s pundits and agent house-men have practically built their careers on them. Well, for starters, they feel more confident writing or talking about free agents. They know what they look like. They know what a Terrell Owens can do. The unknown, however, scares them.

2. Draft projections are accurate. Mock drafts are at best a media exercise in name-dropping and at worst simple plagiarism. (see number 3.) The greatest disservice to the media was the untimely death of draft guru Joel Buschbaum. Mel Kiper may be the media’s darling, but Buschbaum, as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette aptly put it, was “the anti-Kiper.” (April 24, 2003) Buschbaum’s book was the draft bible for discriminating media. A man who preferred anonymity and seldom came out of his Brooklyn apartment except for draft weekends, Buschbaum was only interested in giving concise information on available players. With his passing, much of the information that remains is little more than jargon and bombast and is of limited use other than a listing of the players available at each position.

3. Draft grades are a legitimate form of analysis. Do you suppose if you were a parent you would protest if someone handed your son or daughter a grade and that person had no more than a surface knowledge of the subject he was grading? I imagine you would if you were any kind of parent. Like mock drafts, these evaluations are picked up from some fellow media member or what others believe the team didn’t address over the course of two days. The devil’s in the details, as they say, and there is precious little detail when the teachers in this respect can’t see beyond the first 32 picks if, indeed, it extends that far.

4. Productivity counts when evaluating a potential player. NFL teams in the first round draft “measurable” not “productivity.” How fast does he run? How tall is this quarterback? Rex Grossman had plenty of productivity but he was 6'1". Carson Palmer, however, was 6'5". Who fits the NFL prototype is what counts to NFL personnel people, if not to the media, especially in the first round. April is the month for measurables; August is for productivity.

5. You must take a quarterback in the first round if he’s there. Not if you expect immediate rewards you don’t. Apologies to the Kansas City Star writer Randy Covitz, who does expose the risks in taking a quarterback with the first pick, but he’s in the minority among media, or so it seems. (April 23, 2006) Any quarterback is at least a year away. The most prepared quarterback to come to the NFL in the last quarter of a century was Peyton Manning and his team lost 13 games his first year behind center and he threw 28 interceptions. By contrast, Ben Roethlisberger had immediate success because his team already had a powerful defense and an accomplished running game. Everyone is searching for a quarterback, but don’t expect him to come in and produce the first year. Better to pick one somewhere in the draft and hope to develop him over time.

6. ESPN is the best place to follow the NFL draft. Follow the draft? I suppose it is since you can find the results as they happen. But ESPN’s coverage also includes all the excesses included in the above. Give anyone on TV too much time to fill and the blather and blame far exceeds knowledge and gain.

7. Media draft payoffs have a long shelf life. What happens to those players who were chosen in a team’s last draft? What about a draft from three year’s past? You’ll never find out by following the media. Hits and misses are in short supply from the media’s perspective and teams that were chastised moments after the draft but who receive payoffs down the road from a particular draft class are ignored. Quick to jump on a soapbox, they’re just as quick to forget what they said three days later.

I think much of life comes down to incentives and deterrents, and right now there are no deterrents to just blurting out statements like the above. Will it ever change? Not in a world of 24-hour news cycles where reporters and pundits are always on the clock and find it tough keep from writing or speaking before they think.

http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2006/04...tter_nonsense/

**Rain Man** · 04-25-2006, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaneo69

4. Productivity counts when evaluating a potential player. NFL teams in the first round draft “measurable” not “productivity.” How fast does he run? How tall is this quarterback? Rex Grossman had plenty of productivity but he was 6'1". Carson Palmer, however, was 6'5". Who fits the NFL prototype is what counts to NFL personnel people, if not to the media, especially in the first round. April is the month for measurables; August is for productivity.

That's an interesting take. Bad, but interesting.

**Mr. Kotter** · 04-25-2006, 11:35 AM

Rufus: "Fans of the NFL are idiots, and don't know nothing about anything."

SBK · 04-25-2006, 11:38 AM

**morphius** · 04-25-2006, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rain Man

That's an interesting take. Bad, but interesting.

Yeah, that one was pretty disturbing.

shaneo69 · 04-25-2006, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by morphius

Yeah, that one was pretty disturbing.

If personnel guys would look more at college production and less at the measurables, you'd probably see a lot less first round busts.

jspchief · 04-25-2006, 11:45 AM

Dawes already wrote this article last year. Somebody please bump it so I can copy and paste my response to this rehashed article.

**Mr. Kotter** · 04-25-2006, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaneo69

If personnel guys would look more at college production and less at the measurables, you'd probably see a lot less first round busts.

I agree with that, but Rufus needs work his tone and "voice."

shaneo69 · 04-25-2006, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Kotter

I agree with that, but Rufus needs work his tone and "voice."

I wasn't agreeing with Rufus.

Chiefnj · 04-25-2006, 11:47 AM

In other words, ignore the reporters at ESPN who scratch their head in disbelief this Saturday when KC grabs some reaches in the 1st and 2nd round.

htismaqe · 04-25-2006, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Kotter

Rufus: "Fans of the NFL are idiots, and don't know nothing about anything."

He's right...just ask Laz.

jspchief · 04-25-2006, 11:52 AM

Here's my response from when he wrote this article last year:

Quote:

Originally Posted by jspchief

Funny that he calls the draft as a TV event unimportant.
How many people on the Planet alone watched at least a portion of the draft? How many people posted mock drafts, or commented on mocks, or participated in mocks? How many of us are here now pouring over draft grades?

Seems to me that it appeals to a lot of football fans. We create mocks that are pure speculation, based on mostly opinion, then we watch teams speculate and opine on players in the draft, then we read and create grades that are pure speculation based on opinion.

Yes, It's mostly a load of crap. But judging by the industry it's created, it's a product that the NFL fan is buying. We're in the middle of the off-season, getting our NFL fix.

I'm always amazed that these media guys can be critical of our fanaticism. If we weren't as fanatical as we are, there would be a lot less need for the Rufus' of the world. The fan's never-ending thirst for sports related information and conversation is the sole reason that there are TV and Radio stations dedicated to sports, and countless journalists whose job is to cover only sports.

http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showt...3&page=1&pp=15

shaneo69 · 04-25-2006, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chiefnj

In other words, ignore the reporters at ESPN who scratch their head in disbelief this Saturday when KC grabs some reaches in the 1st and 2nd round.

Yeah, when those stupid ESPN guys were ripping us for taking Siavii and Bartee in the 2nd round, all they were looking at was their lack of college production. They weren't smart enough to see the great measurables that only our scouts could be genious enough to spot.

**Rain Man** · 04-25-2006, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaneo69

Yeah, when those stupid ESPN guys were ripping us for taking Siavii and Bartee in the 2nd round, all they were looking at was their lack of college production. They weren't smart enough to see the great measurables that only our scouts could be genious enough to spot.

And seven years later, Bartee still has great measurables, and he still has no production.

KCTitus · 04-25-2006, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Kotter

Rufus: "Fans of the NFL are idiots, and don't know nothing about anything."

Yeah, he must read this BB...

04-25-2006, 11:29 AM
shaneo69 Smug Weasel Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Bleachers at Busch Casino cash: $10004900	KCChiefs.com gets you ready for the draft! DAWES: MYTH, EXAGGERATION & UTTER NONSENSE Apr 25, 2006, 4:09:31 AM by Rufus Dawes Currently, there are many television pundits and ex-players appearing in frenetic fashion on television talking endlessly about the annual NFL draft. Sometimes they hype their knowledge or offer sharp rebukes to a team’s past picks. Sometimes they drop language that as self-proclaimed experts only they can truly understand. Apart from the legitimate questions involved in showcasing a media appearance by offering an “inside” view when you aren’t on the inside and have spent only a couple of weeks thinking about a subject that others far more qualified have spent years on, what is striking is the empty nature of this talk rehashed ad nauseum. Here are commonly held exaggerations, myths, and outright errors made by the media about the National Football League draft. They fall in no particular order: 1. The draft is less important now thanks to unrestricted free agency. At first blush, it might be natural to ask if it is less important why do the people who say so spend so much time talking about it? As fellow columnist Bob Gretz points out in his excellent series, NFL’s Best Defenses, “of all the major defensive contributors on (Pittsburgh and Baltimore’s teams in the 21st century Super Bowls), 22 were drafted or developed by the clubs. The Steelers had just two major contributors that came to them from other teams.” Fourteen starters from New England’s championship team the previous season came from the draft. Chicago had the number one defense in the NFL last year and allowed the fewest touchdowns. “They did all that and the Bears were also the youngest group among the league’s top defenses, averaging just 3.4 seasons of NFL experience and having only one major contributor who joined the league before the 2000 season,” according to Gretz’s research. Why are media more infatuated with free agents than drafted players? My goodness, ESPN’s pundits and agent house-men have practically built their careers on them. Well, for starters, they feel more confident writing or talking about free agents. They know what they look like. They know what a Terrell Owens can do. The unknown, however, scares them. 2. Draft projections are accurate. Mock drafts are at best a media exercise in name-dropping and at worst simple plagiarism. (see number 3.) The greatest disservice to the media was the untimely death of draft guru Joel Buschbaum. Mel Kiper may be the media’s darling, but Buschbaum, as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette aptly put it, was “the anti-Kiper.” (April 24, 2003) Buschbaum’s book was the draft bible for discriminating media. A man who preferred anonymity and seldom came out of his Brooklyn apartment except for draft weekends, Buschbaum was only interested in giving concise information on available players. With his passing, much of the information that remains is little more than jargon and bombast and is of limited use other than a listing of the players available at each position. 3. Draft grades are a legitimate form of analysis. Do you suppose if you were a parent you would protest if someone handed your son or daughter a grade and that person had no more than a surface knowledge of the subject he was grading? I imagine you would if you were any kind of parent. Like mock drafts, these evaluations are picked up from some fellow media member or what others believe the team didn’t address over the course of two days. The devil’s in the details, as they say, and there is precious little detail when the teachers in this respect can’t see beyond the first 32 picks if, indeed, it extends that far. 4. Productivity counts when evaluating a potential player. NFL teams in the first round draft “measurable” not “productivity.” How fast does he run? How tall is this quarterback? Rex Grossman had plenty of productivity but he was 6'1". Carson Palmer, however, was 6'5". Who fits the NFL prototype is what counts to NFL personnel people, if not to the media, especially in the first round. April is the month for measurables; August is for productivity. 5. You must take a quarterback in the first round if he’s there. Not if you expect immediate rewards you don’t. Apologies to the Kansas City Star writer Randy Covitz, who does expose the risks in taking a quarterback with the first pick, but he’s in the minority among media, or so it seems. (April 23, 2006) Any quarterback is at least a year away. The most prepared quarterback to come to the NFL in the last quarter of a century was Peyton Manning and his team lost 13 games his first year behind center and he threw 28 interceptions. By contrast, Ben Roethlisberger had immediate success because his team already had a powerful defense and an accomplished running game. Everyone is searching for a quarterback, but don’t expect him to come in and produce the first year. Better to pick one somewhere in the draft and hope to develop him over time. 6. ESPN is the best place to follow the NFL draft. Follow the draft? I suppose it is since you can find the results as they happen. But ESPN’s coverage also includes all the excesses included in the above. Give anyone on TV too much time to fill and the blather and blame far exceeds knowledge and gain. 7. Media draft payoffs have a long shelf life. What happens to those players who were chosen in a team’s last draft? What about a draft from three year’s past? You’ll never find out by following the media. Hits and misses are in short supply from the media’s perspective and teams that were chastised moments after the draft but who receive payoffs down the road from a particular draft class are ignored. Quick to jump on a soapbox, they’re just as quick to forget what they said three days later. I think much of life comes down to incentives and deterrents, and right now there are no deterrents to just blurting out statements like the above. Will it ever change? Not in a world of 24-hour news cycles where reporters and pundits are always on the clock and find it tough keep from writing or speaking before they think. http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2006/04...tter_nonsense/
Posts: 4,910

04-25-2006, 11:35 AM	#3
Mr. Kotter The Dude Abides Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Dakota Country Casino cash: $5915285	Rufus: "Fans of the NFL are idiots, and don't know nothing about anything." __________________ "I've always said I worry about legacy and winning rings more than making money at this moment...We see what's going on around the league, but at the same time, I'll never do anything that's going to hurt us from keeping the great players around me.”
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04-25-2006, 11:38 AM	#4
SBK Curry is the pick??? Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Georgia Casino cash: $10004900
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04-25-2006, 11:45 AM	#7
jspchief BAMF Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Your Face Casino cash: $9998710	Dawes already wrote this article last year. Somebody please bump it so I can copy and paste my response to this rehashed article. __________________ Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all.
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04-25-2006, 11:47 AM	#10
Chiefnj MVP Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Willis, Harris and Davis. Casino cash: $10004900	In other words, ignore the reporters at ESPN who scratch their head in disbelief this Saturday when KC grabs some reaches in the 1st and 2nd round. __________________ "I always tell (the assistant coaches), 'Make it simple, 'cause I'm stupid,'" Edwards said. "This ain't computer football." Herm Edwards, 3-20-07 Q: Herm, back on December 25th you were asked if Trent Green was your starter going into next season and you said, ‘yeah, why wouldn’t he be?’ Have you changed your mind on that? EDWARDS: No, I have not.” (1-11-07)
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