NFL Draft Neither Stafford or Sanchez belong in top 10 - Page 62

**chiefforlife** · 02-21-2009, 09:39 AM

SOME DON’T VIEW STAFFORD, SANCHEZ AS TOP TEN PICKS
Posted by Mike Florio on February 21, 2009, 8:21 a.m.

Our initial mock draft of the year created plenty of consternation among folks who regard such matters even more importantly that some of our other readers regard their chosen religion.

And, yes, we were trying to make a point with the thing. At this stage, none of the draft experts (i.e., guys who couldn’t get or hold a scouting job with an NFL team and who instead tried to create a niche in the media for the stuff no NFL team would pay them to do) know with any degree of certainty what will occur on draft day.

Apart from the premature nature of prognosticating the events of late April is the fact that every NFL team makes its own decisions for its own reasons, especially in round one. Some draft based on need. Others take the best available player. And when 32 teams have different views on how those available players are ranked from best to worst, the stage is set for all sorts of screwy stuff.

We could have created even more consternation by dropping Georgia quarterback Matt Stafford and USC quarterback Mark Sanchez out of the top ten. In some war rooms, it’s an accurate view of the two players.

Said one source, “In other years those guys aren’t first-round picks. Stafford played well in 2007 but was horrible in 2008. He stunk in all their big games.”

The source specifically pointed to the contests against Alabama, Florida, and Tennessee. Based on the numbers, Stafford was bad against Florida, mediocre against Alabama, and decent against Tennessee.

“He is an average leader at best,” the source opined. “When you put a lot of pressure on him, he pees his pants. Detroit has a new front office, but if they take him then it’s the same old stuff. I guarantee that if he goes in the top 20 he will never play to the level he was drafted.

“What he has is physical skills,” the source added. “He has a strong arm and is athletic but he also has poor instincts and poor decision-making.”

Some might disagree with that assessment. But the point is that, when you’ve got a bunch of different folks assessing the same players, there will be significant variations from person to person.

“As far as Sanchez,” the source said, “he is a more solid choice. He played in a pro style offense. He’s accurate and has a good arm. He’s smart and a leader.

“The negative is he was a one-year starter. Tell me the last time a quarterback who was a one-year starter in college made it big in the NFL? Game time is huge with quarterbacks. Granted, from a money standpoint he made the right decision, but from the standpoint of having a top career, his decision has to be questioned.”

(And, no, our source isn’t Pete Carroll.)

So there you have it. Evidence of how the viewpoints on supposedly top players can diverge dramatically. It makes the process of predicting draft picks even more precarious. So, in the end, we think the final tally of players taken two months from now would presently seem every bit as goofy and unrealistic as some viewed our initial Pre-Combine Mock Draft.

Sweet Daddy Hate · 02-24-2009, 01:05 AM

I think this guy knocked on my door once!

Utah defensive end Kruger knows his way around KC
By RANDY COVITZ
The Kansas City Star

INDIANAPOLIS | If the Chiefs draft Utah defensive end Paul Kruger, he won’t need a GPS to get around Kansas City.

Kruger, considered one of the most-promising pass rushers in the draft, spent his Mormon mission in Kansas City during 2005-06 before resuming his career at Utah, where he helped the Utes to an undefeated season last year.

Why, of all places, Kansas City?

“You’re just issued a call from the church,” Kruger said. “So you turn in your papers, and they say this is where we need you. You don’t have too much say in where you go. So why Kansas City for me? I don’t know, but I loved it there. It was an awesome place to serve.

“Usually you hear about guys going to Rome or India or South America … and when they said, Kansas City, I asked ‘Where in the world is that?’ ”

Kruger soon found out. His territory ranged as far west as Manhattan and as far east as Odessa, and he found himself doing everything from staging fund-raisers, to serving elderly people, arranging child care and transportation for single parents and teaching the gospel.

“I served a lot in Kansas,” said Kruger, a 6-foot-5, 263-pounder. “They were just down-to-earth, humble people. I also served right in the heart of Kansas City. So you were able to see a lot of different backgrounds and ethnicities. You’re out there serving people and seeing peoples’ lives change on your efforts.

“You’re there to serve people, whether their lawn needs to be mowed, or their spirits need to be lifted, we’re there to lift them up.”

While in Kansas City, he befriended Lynn Stiles, then the Chiefs’ vice president of football operations and also a Utah alum and fellow member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“He was a very impressive young man, a big guy … and he had a strong testimony of the church,” Stiles said. “He’d come over for dinner, and we’d get into talking football.”

Though Stiles is no longer affiliated with the Chiefs, he has stayed in contact with Kruger and his family and even recommended that Kruger, just a third-year sophomore, return for another year of college.

But Kruger, 23, believed this was the time to come out. Kruger had 7 1/2 sacks for the Utes last season and three as a freshman, even though he has been a defensive end for just two seasons.

Kruger was a four-year starter at quarterback in high school and was recruited to Utah as a tight end by former Utes coach Urban Meyer, who is now at Florida. Kruger’s relentless style has been compared to former Chiefs’ defensive end Jared Allen, and he is most comfortable playing the right end in a 4-3 front.

“It was an easier transition than people would assume,” Kruger said. “Just the fact I was tall and big and athletic. Once I mentally decided this is what I’m doing, it was pretty soon.”

After all, Kruger has overcome a lot more than a position change. He has survived two life-threatening incidents.

When he was 13, Kruger was in a jeep accident in the mountains, where the vehicle flipped, rolled over him and smashed his spleen and a kidney. Both organs had to be removed, and Kruger plays with a pad that wraps around his abdomen to protect his remaining kidney.

“It’s something I’m used to, something I’ve dealt with since junior high,” he said. “The main thing from a medical standpoint is just keeping my diet and hydration regulated.”

That was nothing compared to what happened on Jan. 19, 2008. Kruger, trying to play peacemaker in a road-rage incident, was stabbed in the stomach, something he didn’t realize until he returned to the car.

Fifty staples were required to close the wound, and while doctors operated for four hours, removing his bowel and intestines to check for damage, they discovered a cracked rib, nicked artery and collapsed lung.

Kruger missed all of spring football and began lifting weights in June. He regained the 10 pounds he lost and was one of the primary contributors to Utah’s going 13-0 and finishing No. 2 in the nation last year.

“I learned a lot from that, that life is short,” Kruger said of the stabbing, in which his younger brother, Dave, also a Utah football player, was punched in the face with brass knuckles.

“Especially being a football player, you kind of think the world revolves around you. That mind-set is definitely cut short once you have something like that. You realize you always want to watch out where you are, who you’re around, what kind of setting you’re in.

“Every day I think about you’re lucky to be alive. It’s terrible to be in situations like that, but after you recover from them, you understand a lot of things about life and are very grateful to be in the situation you’re in.”

Hammock Parties · 02-24-2009, 01:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darth CarlSatan

I agree. What I'm looking so forward to is that first momentum shift where the rest of the NFL looks to KC and says "Uh Oh".

The Donk fans will wail and gnash their teeth in lamentation.

Quote:

And the very thought that we could surpass even that and achieve a Greatness For The Ages....I can't even wrap my head around that at this point.

I'm getting verklempt...

Sweet Daddy Hate · 02-24-2009, 01:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Buddha

This is so uplifting and inspirational... I like it

Thank you.

Look, when the Chiefs are rolling and there's true greatness on the field, you will NEVER find a bigger Homer than me. I will raise hell, bust heads, and all points in between.

I just want that next level for this franchise, you know? Watching all the bad cards unfold in 97' and then losing Derrick shortly thereafter was very hurtful for me. I think it was a soul-killer for a LOT of people. And that's why a good portion of us on this board are so adamant about no shortcuts and no bullshit; we DON'T want to go through that again.

Mecca · 02-24-2009, 01:12 AM

I like Sean Smith from Utah more than I like Kruger but that's another topic.

'Hamas' Jenkins · 02-24-2009, 03:02 AM

Kruger has really short arms. Seems like a high motor, character guy, but he'd get eaten alive by left tackles.

**chiefforlife** · 02-24-2009, 09:42 AM

So, are you guys going to freak out if the Chiefs dont take a QB in the first round? Serious question.
Is the rebuild wildly off track in your opinions?

Sweet Daddy Hate · 02-24-2009, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfl

So, are you guys going to freak out if the Chiefs dont take a QB in the first round? Serious question.
Is the rebuild wildly off track in your opinions?

It would be illogical as all hell, but my team is still my team. I'm more upset about this piss-poor, mass-hire of low-grade coaching talent than anything else.

Pioli Zombie · 02-24-2009, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darth CarlSatan

I agree. What I'm looking so forward to is that first momentum shift where the rest of the NFL looks to KC and says "Uh Oh".
You're about 10 years younger than me, and though you got your groove on in school during Vermeil, I can't begin to describe what it was like to be with other fans in a bar or at the game when DT was tearing shit up; it was just electric.
And the very thought that we could surpass even that and achieve a Greatness For The Ages....I can't even wrap my head around that at this point.

Kansas City is a great place. I think a lot of people with not much sense of history think it's just another Toledo or Dayton in the mid west. It's not. A lot of greatness and worldly influences have converged there, and been created there.

I'm ready for the Chiefs to raise the bar on an epic scale, and attain true immortality alongside the other great people and institutions that have come from the place I call Home.

Print It!

Wow. That was really a great post. I mean it.

I'm excited for kansas city too

Its already a great football town and I can't wait to see what its like with a rising team.

Look, I'm a sucker for the underdog and I get a little riled when I think people are getting beat up on who just want to talk football

If I came across as arrogant I apologize to you guys. I'm just very excited for the chiefs and what pioli will bring

If I'm argumentitive its not you, its THAT BITCH that I'm so angry about

Anyways maybe we can start over

Btw. Who the **** is Laz??
Posted via Mobile Device

**chiefforlife** · 02-24-2009, 10:39 AM

I am encouraged by Pioli's record of late round QBs and therfore think it would be wise to take a defender in round one. That doesnt seem to be a popular opinion around here but I dont like either QB at the top.
If we still had a decent vet QB with a year or two left, I would be more excited about Stafford/Sanchez coming to the Chiefs. A junior QB needs more time and a good mentor to help him along. We dont have that.
A lot can happen in a year and maybe next year some of the QBs who will be seniors, step up.

Reerun_KC · 02-24-2009, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfl

I am encouraged by Pioli's record of late round QBs and therfore think it would be wise to take a defender in round one. That doesnt seem to be a popular opinion around here but I dont like either QB at the top.
If we still had a decent vet QB with a year or two left, I would be more excited about Stafford/Sanchez coming to the Chiefs. A junior QB needs more time and a good mentor to help him along. We dont have that.
A lot can happen in a year and maybe next year some of the QBs who will be seniors, step up.

Sweet Daddy Hate · 02-24-2009, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfl

I am encouraged by Pioli's record of late round QBs and therfore think it would be wise to take a defender in round one. That doesnt seem to be a popular opinion around here but I dont like either QB at the top.
If we still had a decent vet QB with a year or two left, I would be more excited about Stafford/Sanchez coming to the Chiefs. A junior QB needs more time and a good mentor to help him along. We dont have that.
A lot can happen in a year and maybe next year some of the QBs who will be seniors, step up.

Gray didn't get much snap time, and I'd be very interested in watching him play a couple of drives at least.

Huard, Martin and Croyle should be kicked to the curb. I know some people really like Damon, but I'd like to see a more solid vet in the lineup, maybe someone who's won more than 4 or 5 games?
But not some over priced guy like McNabb.

**chiefforlife** · 02-24-2009, 10:46 AM

Awww Jeez, someone who doesnt want a QB in round one? Why doesnt everyone think the same!

ChiefsCountry · 02-24-2009, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfl

I am encouraged by Pioli's record of late round QBs and therfore think it would be wise to take a defender in round one. That doesnt seem to be a popular opinion around here but I dont like either QB at the top.
If we still had a decent vet QB with a year or two left, I would be more excited about Stafford/Sanchez coming to the Chiefs. A junior QB needs more time and a good mentor to help him along. We dont have that.
A lot can happen in a year and maybe next year some of the QBs who will be seniors, step up.

You know there is this little thing called free agency. We can get a vet QB.

Chiefnj2 · 02-24-2009, 10:49 AM

Even if KC took Sanchez at #3, I wouldn't be completely shocked if they took a bigger project in the 7th round as a backup plan for 3 years down the road. My bet is the kid from Buffalo, I think his name is Willy. Hopefully Dick Curl can come back so I get to hear Madden talk about Dick Curl playing with his Willy on the sideline.

**chiefforlife** · 02-24-2009, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darth CarlSatan

Gray didn't get much snap time, and I'd be very interested in watching him play a couple of drives at least.

Huard, Martin and Croyle should be kicked to the curb. I know some people really like Damon, but I'd like to see a more solid vet in the lineup, maybe someone who's won more than 4 or 5 games?
But not some over priced guy like McNabb.

I agree. Maybe someone like Garcia?

02-21-2009, 09:39 AM
chiefforlife Colorado Chief Fan Join Date: Feb 2006 Casino cash: $5493147	Neither Stafford or Sanchez belong in top 10 SOME DON’T VIEW STAFFORD, SANCHEZ AS TOP TEN PICKS Posted by Mike Florio on February 21, 2009, 8:21 a.m. Our initial mock draft of the year created plenty of consternation among folks who regard such matters even more importantly that some of our other readers regard their chosen religion. And, yes, we were trying to make a point with the thing. At this stage, none of the draft experts (i.e., guys who couldn’t get or hold a scouting job with an NFL team and who instead tried to create a niche in the media for the stuff no NFL team would pay them to do) know with any degree of certainty what will occur on draft day. Apart from the premature nature of prognosticating the events of late April is the fact that every NFL team makes its own decisions for its own reasons, especially in round one. Some draft based on need. Others take the best available player. And when 32 teams have different views on how those available players are ranked from best to worst, the stage is set for all sorts of screwy stuff. We could have created even more consternation by dropping Georgia quarterback Matt Stafford and USC quarterback Mark Sanchez out of the top ten. In some war rooms, it’s an accurate view of the two players. Said one source, “In other years those guys aren’t first-round picks. Stafford played well in 2007 but was horrible in 2008. He stunk in all their big games.” The source specifically pointed to the contests against Alabama, Florida, and Tennessee. Based on the numbers, Stafford was bad against Florida, mediocre against Alabama, and decent against Tennessee. “He is an average leader at best,” the source opined. “When you put a lot of pressure on him, he pees his pants. Detroit has a new front office, but if they take him then it’s the same old stuff. I guarantee that if he goes in the top 20 he will never play to the level he was drafted. “What he has is physical skills,” the source added. “He has a strong arm and is athletic but he also has poor instincts and poor decision-making.” Some might disagree with that assessment. But the point is that, when you’ve got a bunch of different folks assessing the same players, there will be significant variations from person to person. “As far as Sanchez,” the source said, “he is a more solid choice. He played in a pro style offense. He’s accurate and has a good arm. He’s smart and a leader. “The negative is he was a one-year starter. Tell me the last time a quarterback who was a one-year starter in college made it big in the NFL? Game time is huge with quarterbacks. Granted, from a money standpoint he made the right decision, but from the standpoint of having a top career, his decision has to be questioned.” (And, no, our source isn’t Pete Carroll.) So there you have it. Evidence of how the viewpoints on supposedly top players can diverge dramatically. It makes the process of predicting draft picks even more precarious. So, in the end, we think the final tally of players taken two months from now would presently seem every bit as goofy and unrealistic as some viewed our initial Pre-Combine Mock Draft.
Posts: 5,717

02-24-2009, 01:05 AM	#916
Sweet Daddy Hate Unsparing Join Date: Aug 2008 Casino cash: $10004900	I think this guy knocked on my door once! Utah defensive end Kruger knows his way around KC By RANDY COVITZ The Kansas City Star INDIANAPOLIS \| If the Chiefs draft Utah defensive end Paul Kruger, he won’t need a GPS to get around Kansas City. Kruger, considered one of the most-promising pass rushers in the draft, spent his Mormon mission in Kansas City during 2005-06 before resuming his career at Utah, where he helped the Utes to an undefeated season last year. Why, of all places, Kansas City? “You’re just issued a call from the church,” Kruger said. “So you turn in your papers, and they say this is where we need you. You don’t have too much say in where you go. So why Kansas City for me? I don’t know, but I loved it there. It was an awesome place to serve. “Usually you hear about guys going to Rome or India or South America … and when they said, Kansas City, I asked ‘Where in the world is that?’ ” Kruger soon found out. His territory ranged as far west as Manhattan and as far east as Odessa, and he found himself doing everything from staging fund-raisers, to serving elderly people, arranging child care and transportation for single parents and teaching the gospel. “I served a lot in Kansas,” said Kruger, a 6-foot-5, 263-pounder. “They were just down-to-earth, humble people. I also served right in the heart of Kansas City. So you were able to see a lot of different backgrounds and ethnicities. You’re out there serving people and seeing peoples’ lives change on your efforts. “You’re there to serve people, whether their lawn needs to be mowed, or their spirits need to be lifted, we’re there to lift them up.” While in Kansas City, he befriended Lynn Stiles, then the Chiefs’ vice president of football operations and also a Utah alum and fellow member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “He was a very impressive young man, a big guy … and he had a strong testimony of the church,” Stiles said. “He’d come over for dinner, and we’d get into talking football.” Though Stiles is no longer affiliated with the Chiefs, he has stayed in contact with Kruger and his family and even recommended that Kruger, just a third-year sophomore, return for another year of college. But Kruger, 23, believed this was the time to come out. Kruger had 7 1/2 sacks for the Utes last season and three as a freshman, even though he has been a defensive end for just two seasons. Kruger was a four-year starter at quarterback in high school and was recruited to Utah as a tight end by former Utes coach Urban Meyer, who is now at Florida. Kruger’s relentless style has been compared to former Chiefs’ defensive end Jared Allen, and he is most comfortable playing the right end in a 4-3 front. “It was an easier transition than people would assume,” Kruger said. “Just the fact I was tall and big and athletic. Once I mentally decided this is what I’m doing, it was pretty soon.” After all, Kruger has overcome a lot more than a position change. He has survived two life-threatening incidents. When he was 13, Kruger was in a jeep accident in the mountains, where the vehicle flipped, rolled over him and smashed his spleen and a kidney. Both organs had to be removed, and Kruger plays with a pad that wraps around his abdomen to protect his remaining kidney. “It’s something I’m used to, something I’ve dealt with since junior high,” he said. “The main thing from a medical standpoint is just keeping my diet and hydration regulated.” That was nothing compared to what happened on Jan. 19, 2008. Kruger, trying to play peacemaker in a road-rage incident, was stabbed in the stomach, something he didn’t realize until he returned to the car. Fifty staples were required to close the wound, and while doctors operated for four hours, removing his bowel and intestines to check for damage, they discovered a cracked rib, nicked artery and collapsed lung. Kruger missed all of spring football and began lifting weights in June. He regained the 10 pounds he lost and was one of the primary contributors to Utah’s going 13-0 and finishing No. 2 in the nation last year. “I learned a lot from that, that life is short,” Kruger said of the stabbing, in which his younger brother, Dave, also a Utah football player, was punched in the face with brass knuckles. “Especially being a football player, you kind of think the world revolves around you. That mind-set is definitely cut short once you have something like that. You realize you always want to watch out where you are, who you’re around, what kind of setting you’re in. “Every day I think about you’re lucky to be alive. It’s terrible to be in situations like that, but after you recover from them, you understand a lot of things about life and are very grateful to be in the situation you’re in.” __________________ 1. Merciless, severe. 2. Given freely and generously. 100% refusal to overrate 20 year Head Coaches with ZERO **ing rings as a Head Coach. CP's Official Professor of 'Dem Blues for 2019/2020!**
Posts: 77,135

02-24-2009, 01:12 AM	#919
Mecca Hockey Town Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Kansas City, Missouri Casino cash: $-702950	I like Sean Smith from Utah more than I like Kruger but that's another topic.
Posts: 115,373

02-24-2009, 03:02 AM	#920
'Hamas' Jenkins Now you've pissed me off! Join Date: Jan 2006 Casino cash: $7139572	Kruger has really short arms. Seems like a high motor, character guy, but he'd get eaten alive by left tackles. __________________ "When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read 'all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics.' When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty – to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.”--Abraham Lincoln
Posts: 75,083

02-24-2009, 09:42 AM	#921
chiefforlife Colorado Chief Fan Join Date: Feb 2006 Casino cash: $5493147	So, are you guys going to freak out if the Chiefs dont take a QB in the first round? Serious question. Is the rebuild wildly off track in your opinions?
Posts: 5,717

02-24-2009, 10:39 AM	#924
chiefforlife Colorado Chief Fan Join Date: Feb 2006 Casino cash: $5493147	I am encouraged by Pioli's record of late round QBs and therfore think it would be wise to take a defender in round one. That doesnt seem to be a popular opinion around here but I dont like either QB at the top. If we still had a decent vet QB with a year or two left, I would be more excited about Stafford/Sanchez coming to the Chiefs. A junior QB needs more time and a good mentor to help him along. We dont have that. A lot can happen in a year and maybe next year some of the QBs who will be seniors, step up.
Posts: 5,717

02-24-2009, 10:46 AM	#927
chiefforlife Colorado Chief Fan Join Date: Feb 2006 Casino cash: $5493147	Awww Jeez, someone who doesnt want a QB in round one? Why doesnt everyone think the same!
Posts: 5,717

02-24-2009, 10:49 AM	#929
Chiefnj2 In Search of a Life Join Date: Mar 2007 Casino cash: $6654388	Even if KC took Sanchez at #3, I wouldn't be completely shocked if they took a bigger project in the 7th round as a backup plan for 3 years down the road. My bet is the kid from Buffalo, I think his name is Willy. Hopefully Dick Curl can come back so I get to hear Madden talk about Dick Curl playing with his Willy on the sideline. __________________ Mismanaging the clock.
Posts: 22,541

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