Fear and Loathing at the NFL Draft part II

More random thoughts from the first day of the draft.

Someone needs to round up Hugh Jackman and Anthony Hopkins to go on a mission into the heart of Raidervania and put a stake through Al Davis' heart. With the #7 overall pick the Raiders selected Darius Heyward-Bey. I liked DHB as a later round semi-sleeper WR, but his amazing 40 times was as good as spilt blood to Count Al. Instead of doing the smart thing and trusting he would be around later in the round The Raiders reached and took DHB as the first WR off the board.

In the second round Count Al, again enamored with the life giving nature of the 40 time, selected Michael Mitchell a safety out of Ohio University. This move prompted astonishment from the commentators. Mike Mayock of NFL network muttered "I had him listed as my 50th best safety!"

The Raiders now have a nice collection of players that are straight line fast but might never make it in the quick cuts, stop and start NFL. The Villagers are getting restless, don't be surprised if they aren't outside Count Al's castle with pitchforks and torches if the season goes south.

The Lions proved that, despite lip service being paid to advanced statistics as a means to move the team out of the incompetent shadow of the old regime, nothing had really changed. Matt Stafford got signed a contract worth $78 million/$42 guaranteed a large raise over what Matt Ryan was signed to last year as the #3 overall pick. Nothing endears a player to the destitute populace of the #1 most dangerous city in America like a hugely exorbitant contract, especially in the midst of a fierce depression.

I thought this was a terrible decision as the holes on defense and the O-Line were setting up a young QB with one target for terible failure. The Lions had the chance to look like geniuses with their second pick. Needing to redeem themselves for the Gosder Cherilus tackle debacle of last year and Michael Oher sitting for them at #20 it seemed like fate gave them a second chance. Instead, The Lions punched fate in the face, grabbed it and forcibly had their way with it. The Lions selected TE Brandon Pettigrew. As nice as a quality tight end is for a young QB, not having their head taken off every play is much nicer.

Scott McDaniel seems to be trying to get himself killed before the season even starts in Denver. After having signed Corell Buckhalter, JJ Arrington, and Lamont Jordan in the off-season the Broncos drafted Knowshon Moreno with the 12th pick. At a time when any number of defensive players could have helped the team, they decided to go with one of the easiest positions to fill. With their next pick they selected someone who seems will be out of place in their defensive scheme. Their next pick was on an undersized corner. And they traded next years first, likely a top 10-15 pick, to the Seahawks.

The Iggles selected Jeremy Maclin from Mizzou. This is interesting because Maclin seems to be Desean Jackson pt. 2. It's funny after never getting McNabb anyone to throw to the got him the same thing two years in a row.

Those are just my thoughts people. I sadly doubt I'll be able to do much of a recap on tomorrow's happenings but we'll see.