Well, being a Hokie myself, I’m no fan of BC football, but I have to admit that the Falcon’s choice of Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan to replace the idiot (C)Hokie Michael Vick is a good one. Last October, Tech went to the God-forsaken “prevent defense,” and Ryan took advantage of that stupidity in brilliant fashion. (In the Dec. 1 rematch for the ACC Championship, however, Tech did not repeat their earlier stupidity, and kept the pressure on Ryan the whole game, winning 30-16.)
The Rams have also made a fantastic choice in UVa’s defensive end Chris Long, son of Hall-of-Fame Raider Howie Long.
I am very impressed that the first round was dominated by linemen. “Seven tackles were taken in the draft’s first 21 picks, and eight in the first round. Seven defensive linemen were selected in the opening round.” (WaPo) It does a team no good to have and excellent quarterback and receivers if the receivers cannot run their routes before the quarterback is sacked or flushed out of the pocket. It does no good to have a running back without a line to make holes and provide lead blocking.
One of the most impressive wins I’ve seen was a few years back when the underdog Redskins crushed the Dallas Cowboys. On each running play, the Redskins linemen were getting five yards upfield before the running back passed through the holes they made. On the other hand, in Virginia Tech’s national championship game in 2005, the Hokies took the lead by rushing the football. They had a bigger and stronger offensive line than Florida State’s defense could handle. But it was Vick’s last game, and they wanted to make it the Michael Vick Show, so they went back to the pass. The Criminol’s defensive line, smaller and faster than the Chokie’s offensive line, ran right around the outside and sacked Vick. Game over.
I’ll take the best lineman and with a mediochre backfield over the reverse any day.
Long, like his old man will be an impact player from day one. The Rams got one hell of a football player in this kid.
AH, now I see that our Washington idiots have chosen THREE receivers in the second round. (They traded away their first-round pick.) The HAVE receivers already. Oh, well, looks like another losing season.
football is won and lost AT the line of scrimmage. It appears the Washington Doofuses will never figure that out.
Washington has a history of fumbling drafts. One striking parallel, Dallas got 5 draft picks for Hershall Walker and built a dynasty. Washington got all of New Orleans’ draft picks and built a perennial loser.
It will be same same this year, the starting o line will be on the bench due to injury midway through the season.
It will be a long year for Skins fans, as Snyder again repackages his product.
If I recall, Minnesota got walker for those picks. The could not beat a solid HS team that year.
Think the Skins second day was more productive than their first. Added an o lineman, a corner, and Colt Brennan ..
Goodbye to Carlos Rodgers and Jason Campbell I hope..
and oh, Jack, the The U is going to beat up on VT real bad this coming year..
go Canes !
I’ll make a bet with you similar to the one I have with Jacob. I’m and Eagle fan; he’s a Giants fan. So, I bet on the Giants to win, and he on the Eagles. The loser buys lunch. That way, either your team wins or you get a free lunch.
Same bet with Hokies and Hurricanes?
Jack,
You gonna be buying lunch for years, and years and years …
Jack, you mean to say put my money where my mouth is ?
Jacob — are you agreeing with Dan, or dreaming of your Giants?
Dan — exactly!
Jack,
The chokies will be beating the sugarcanes
Jack, what did you think of the Eagles’ draft? The experts seem to think it was a good mix of immediate impact + future building.
The Eagles had no 1st round pick, so there was nothing to comment on. Now, here are their picks.
Their first went to a fast defensive tackle — consistent with their emphasis on defense and the blitz. Second was a wide receiver, which McNabb has been missing since T.O. was given the bum’s rush out of town.
Back to the blitz, they picked an outside libebacker third. In the rest of their picks were THREE offensive tackles, two linebackers, and two defensive backs.
Looks like their emphasis is on giving McNabb a receiver and the protection he needs to throw, and on the 4-3 part of their 4-3-4 defense, which speaks to their blitz defense.
Jacob — the Giants-Eagles games (THREE this year, at least) look to be defensive slug-fests again.
“Giants-Eagles” Giants by 14 easy..
sugarcanes ? What you say ? The U is coming back, two years away from another national championship.
Cheap Lawnmower Parts…
I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you….