I finally got the chance to listen to the whole thing. Wow, yous guys
do not like Timmons! :(
I think astute draft commentators are slowly learning a lesson that WhoDat and I have alluded to. The college game has really changed over the past 5-8 years. It's a bit old school and flawed to say, "That won't work in the NFL." What you see in the NCAA is what you'll see in the NFL, albeit diluted some. I know it's very tempting to use that cliche commentary when you don't care for a young prospect's prospects, but it's lazy evaluation. Cecil did explain what he didn't like in Timmon;s game, but I disagree with the conclusion that his "read and react" deficiencies are cause for him to outright fail in the NFL.
Timmons is a terrific athlete, one of few elite athletes in the draft, and Pittsburgh did the right thing by locking him up in such a spotty draft. I agree there are omens of the Tampa 2 in the plans, but Timmons plays much bigger than he is. He was terrific pass rushing from a DE stance. His superior athleticism has already been noted in minicamp. I don't love these LBs but I sure appreciate taking the most impressive athlete available.
Jene, if you go back and look at my original DT thread, I reported McBean being ideal as a 3-4 DE. In a 4-3, I still think he'd be best off on the end, but he can certainly play either. He is Carriker like in many ways, big strong, athletic, versatile. But, I always thought he was primarily a
great prospect for 3-4 DE. Many of us tabbed Woodley as a 3-4 OLB very early in the process. He can certainly be looked at in either scheme. Maybe these are transitional players. Maybe they should have done something different. But the defense they may be heading towards is that of the defending SB champ and what the new coach knows best. And this is the real kicker to me-- I think the Steelers personnel is not better off in that 3-4. Hampton is a beast anywhere and will be a Stroud Henderson dominator in at 4-3. Farrior, Foote, Hagans, Townsend and Taylor? Seem like nice fits to me, especially the corners. Polamalu is awesome regardless of scheme. The DEs aren't very good either way. Why all the resistance? The perceived growing pains of transition? Meh, they're going to hurt either way.
Finally. To Sigs last request. I think you guys should organized
The Beginner's Guide to IDP for the Audible. Get all the stuff out of the way we answer here every year and post it as a reference resource going forward. Cover valuation of each position in each scheme. Cover valuations for different positions in differrent scoring systems. Try to lay it all out there so anyone willing to try can apply the basic concepts to whatever their league does. With all that out of the way, I'd like to hear a "few" Audibles approaching the season that focus on IDP rankings, by position, addressing different scoring, with redraft and dynasty considerations. So there's 4 epsiodes, beginners, DL, LB, DB, that should get us ready to IDP in 07.
second - "IDP 101" is slated to be our next show :highfive:
