I'm not sure which is real and which the smokescreen, the interest we obviously had when we showed up at his pro day, or the disinterest Herm showed last week.

My guess is that we want him, and the trade down talk is also smokescreen, as well as due diligence in the event he's gone before we pick.

I'm with you. I think we want him and will take him if he's available, but I'd bet that St. Louis takes Dorsey and Atlanta ends up taking Ryan. I hope I'm wrong.

I think the huge interest WAS the smokescreen.

When was the last time an organization sent eleventy-billion people to a player's pro day and then actually took him?

Hell, the Broncos didn't even INTERVIEW Jay Cutler, and still took him.

I think the supposed interest is to make teams think long and hard about trading up.

JMO.

Which team are they gonna smoke into trading? Baltimore basically can't move and the Chiefs moving basically takes the other best players out of their hands also.

I want Chris Long/Sedrick Ellis/or Glenn Dorsey at #5...even Vernon Gholston I suppose...nothing else.

I wouldn't mind trading back a few spots and gaining an extra 2nd...then we can use our early 3rd and combo it with the 17 and move up to the 11 and take Chris Williams...Ellis at #8 and Williams at #11 would be huge...and still have two 2nd's and two 3rd's...

We have the leverage to literally do ANYTHING...hopefully we have some creative minds working at 1 Arrowhead Dr. tomorrow...but I doubt it.

If that's the case, I think they did it backwards. They needed to show recent interest if that's the ploy, and it really is a smokescreen.

Go back and listen to Herm Friday:That to me is too low-key, which makes me suspicious. Herm is a very talkative guy. When he shuts up like that is when I think you have to pay attention, this time of year.

I went from the 'I won't be disappointed, but won't be happy with Matt Ryan at 5' to 'I really don't want Matt Ryan at 5' bandwagon a few days ago...

And Herm might be telling the truth...he knows everyone is playing poker, so he can tell the truth all he wants and people still won't believe him because of said tactic.

I think he would have said that about any player they asked about.

They've done a damn good job so far about keeping everyone guessing about what they're really going to do.

I don't think he'd get too chatty OR too quiet about a player and give anyone a clue this late.

Again, JMO.

They've done a better job. There were indications we'd take Hali in 2006 and Bowe last year. It's harder to tell this time around.

My gut just tells me they have genuine interest in Ryan, and there are going to be an awful lot of disappointed people here if he isn't taken at 3 or 4. Disappointed because KC took him at 5, that is to say.

I'm not saying that because it's what I want to happen, fwiw. That's just what my gut's telling me.

My gut's also telling me if they don't take Ryan, they're taking Henne at 17.

(And I hate, hate, hate that).

I don't think you're gonna be able to get Ellis at 8......you'd have the Bengals and Saints who both covet him offering tons of things to the Pats to move.

IIRC King Carl said the same thing earlier this week, though he was saying why one of the other teams (Atlanta?) wouldn't take a QB.

I've had the exact same evolution. I really like Matt Ryan and think he'll succeed. I just don't think it's the right time for KC to take their franchise QB.

This is sort of a separate issue from Ryan, but if there's one in the draft, I'd say this is the perfect time for KC to take a flyer on a franchise QB. They have 13 picks, which means they can rebuild their line and acquire their QBotF this year, a luxury they will probably never, ever have again. Bench the QB as a rookie (which IMO all teams should do), give the new line a year to mature with Croyle/Huard taking the punishment, and then start the new 'savior' in 2009. And if Croyle plays well (not likely IMHO, but certainly possible), we're in a situation where he'd have great trade value in 2009, an offseason which will feature what might be the worst crop of QBs we've seen to date in the draft. The QBotF gets his feet wet in 2009 and then we're primed for a playoff run in 2010.

Those 6 high picks give them a ton of flexibility.

That's really bad logic, under that teams like the Colts or anyone that took a QB 1 shouldn't have because "our whole team is bad it wasn't the right time"

Ryan/Ravens...ESPN is reporting the Baltimore Ravens are willing to move up in the draft to take the one player they covet - Boston College QB Matt Ryan.

-say hello to Kyle Boller