Well the time has come. The gauntlet has been dropped. The torch has been passed. Pralines and Dick are official bloggers now. Thanks for stopping by.
To celebrate this momentous occasion, we will be discussing this past weekend's draft because, honestly, there is no greater way to announce your presence with authority.
First things first, let's review what went down:
ESPN decided not to broadcast until 3:30 instead of noon as it has for years past. Personally, I don't like that one bit. I'm ok with shortening time between picks from 15 to 10 minutes in the first round and 10 to 7 minutes in the second, but I will not play the waiting game all day just because Chris Berman wanted to sleep in.
The Worldwide Leader in Sports (and the NFL, but I choose ignore that for now) also thought it wise to only air the first and second rounds on Saturday, effectively relegating the third round to the infamous realm of "second day pick."
Michael Smith of Around the Horn fame took it upon himself to unveil the next 3 selections after Jake Long before the Annual Player Selection Meeting even began. Look, I'm all for a go-getter spirit (no, I'm actually not), but he went too far. Where is the fun in knowing what will happen for the first 30 minutes? No suspense, no fun. Please put your phone down next year, Smith, and let Roger Goodell be the one to break the news.
Steve Young talked through one of the first round selections, and ESPN was on commercial for 2 more. This was enough to end my undying allegiance to them. Next year, I will watch the draft on the NFL Network with funny-man Rich Eisen. ESPN, you just lost a customer.
Despite of all my griping, this was actually a fairly entertaining event, as usual. A record 33 trades took place over the 2 days, although none involved veteran players. America was introduced to Caleb Campbell, a strong safety from the Army Black Knights of West Point Academy. His triumphant story and rousing applause (trying not to laugh at the word "rousing") from the Radio City Music Hall crowd were enough to bring me to tears...only in America. Mel Kiper shot down any notions that Todd McShay is the draft analyst of the new millennium. I swear to you, this man knows about every prospect from Division III to the Football Bowl Subdivision. It is simply astounding. Also, McShay is a pompous douche bag.
On to the Colts. Coming in to this weekend, anyone who follows the franchise with regularity knew of at least 3 areas that they would have liked to address: depth at pass rusher, depth along the offensive line, and depth at tight end. I also thought they should snag another speedy receiver in case of emergency like last fall and pick up a mid-to-late round running back to add to the stable. Allow me to be the first to say "mission: accomplished." Bill Polian showed why he has won multiple awards for his work as a personnel director and front office man. Even though I was holding out hope for a tallish corner to step in during nickel and dime packages, I would give this class a solid A-. I will now recap all 9 of their picks, accompanied by my Colts-only mock draft from a little while back.
Without further delay, here we go:
59. Second Round. My pick: Quentin Groves, Auburn defensive end. Actual pick: Mike Pollak, Arizona State center. I firmly believe that if our divisional rivals, the Jaguars, hadn't scooped up Groves a few picks earlier, he would be wearing royal blue next fall. What's done is done, however, and we still got a hell of a player. Pollak was the highest rated center coming into the draft, and the Colts were able to grab him at the end of the second round. Coach Dungy has already said that he will be given a shot at guard in an attempt to replace the departed Jake Scott. Good move.
93. Third Round. My pick: Steve Justice, Wake Forest center. Actual pick: Phillip Wheeler, Georgia Tech linebacker. I LOVE IT. Wheeler was my personal favorite linebacker, but I didn't think he would come to Indy simply because we have a fair amount of depth at the position already. If you have watched a Georgia Tech game over the last 2+ seasons, you have seen Phillip Wheeler. He was all over the field! I never use exclamation points, so you can tell how much I really dig this pick. Mark my words: Wheeler will make a substantial impact on the 2008 roster. I also may have reached a bit for Justice, but that's neither here nor there...
127. Fourth Round. My pick: Kellen Davis, Michigan State tight end. Actual pick: Jacob Tamme, Kentucky tight end. Tomato, tomahto. Tamme is a great athlete playing the tight end position, and is an ideal fit for Tom Moore's offensive scheme. He is not as fast as Dallas Clark, but he is a little taller and shows just as much reliability as a pass-catcher. He will be an upgrade over Bryan Fletcher, but he will struggle to be as effective as Ben Utecht in the blocking department. Davis was drafted by the Bears eventually.
161. Fifth Round. My pick: Antoine Cason, Arizona cornerback. Actual pick: Marcus Howard, Georgia defensive end/linebacker. This is where I wipe the egg off my face, as Cason was taken by the San Diahgo Chargers at number 30 overall in the first round. Woops. In my defense, while I was writing up my original mock draft, I put Wisconsin corner Jack Ikegwuonu here but changed my mind when I saw many draft experts saying his torn ACL in January would knock him out of the 7 rounds entirely. Oh well. However, Marcus Howard is a beast. He has haunted Colt Brennan's dreams since his 3 sack performance in the Sugar Bowl. This is the next Robert Mathis, and he will absolutely thrive in the Colts' defense. At the risk of repeating myself: I LOVE IT.
196. Sixth Round. My pick: Mike Hart, Michigan running back. Actual pick: Tom Santi, Virginia tight end. This, dear reader, is where the Colts found their new blocking tight end. I am mostly unfamiliar with Mr. Santi, as the only Virginia game I caught this year was their bowl game against Texas Tech. I do like that he played for Al Groh, a former NFL head coach, and that he has the big body to come in and assist Tony Ugoh with some speed rushers. I like the pick, but I don't have much else to say. Stay tuned for more about Hart.
201. Sixth Round. My pick: Dorien Bryant, Purdue wide receiver. Actual pick: Steve Justice, Wake Forest center. Ok, so he wasn't exactly worthy of a third round pick like I had said before, but the Colts still managed to get the second-rated center on the board after already nabbing the highest-rated Pollak. Justice, unlike Pollak, I believe will stay at center and learn from the master. Jeff Saturday can't play forever, as horrible as life will be without him. Justice is a great fit for our zone-blocking scheme, and he will take the reins from Ole 63 when he departs...just hopefully not for a while. Bryant went undrafted.
202. Sixth round. My pick: Pedro Sosa, Rutgers guard/tackle. Actual pick: Mike Hart, Michigan running back. I'm not usually one to toot my own horn, but BEEP BEEP. I nailed this. Facing criticism from Pralines, I stuck by my guns and turned out to be right. Ok, enough gloating. As I correctly predicted (sorry...), Hart will step in and back up Joseph Addai. He is small and slowish, but he is a tremendous competitor and the most prolific rusher in the history of Michigan football. I'm no historian, but I think they have had a decent program over the years. Sosa also went undrafted.
205. Sixth round. My pick: Derek Lokey, Texas defensive tackle. Actual pick: Pierre Garcon, Mount Union wide receiver. This was bound to happen. The Colts' scouts are so extensive and thorough; they find a small school guy every year. Pierre Garcon and his awesome name fit that bill. You don't see many D-III prospects in the NFL draft, but Garcon is nearly 6' tall, 210 pounds, and runs a 4.4 40 yard dash. He should be able to fill a variety of menial roles while he adjusts to the speed of the pro game, but don't count this guy out for the future. Lokey was also undrafted.
236. Seventh round. My pick: Wesley Woodyard, Kentucky linebacker. Actual pick: Jamey Richard, Buffalo center. Richard will also be moved to guard to compete for a spot on the line. If nothing else, he just provides more depth. He is a perfect fit for the Colts, size-wise, and he is already an effective run-blocker. Give Howard Mudd some time, and Richard will be a solid lineman all around. Wouldn't you know it...Woodyard was undrafted too.
Because one cannot release a mock draft without also providing a "winners and losers" perspective after the draft, I will follow the protocol. I think the Ravens put together a very fine draft class. Joe Flacco, Ray Rice, Tom Zbikowski, and Tavares Gooden could all be future starters on that team. John Harbaugh got his tenure off to a good start, in my opinion. Even though I am biased against them for having the audacity to play the Colts twice a year, I still feel that the Jags and Titans put together a mediocre weekend at best. Tennessee needs to sign a good receiver if they ever want Vince Young to develop as a passer, and I'm not sure that they did. Lavelle Hawkins was the only WR they picked up, and that was in the fourth round. Jacksonville went trade crazy for two pass rushers, Derrick Harvey and the aforementioned Quentin Groves. Sure, playing in the AFC pretty much requires a heavy pass rush, but they gave up a lot of picks for those 2 guys. Eggs in one basket, anyone? Oh well. Thanks for handing the AFC South title to Indy again, fellas. We appreciate it.
That, ladies and gentlemen, will wrap up the Dick version of the inaugural blog here at Pralines and Dick. I now turn the floor over to my esteemed colleague, Mr. Pralines.
