Ayt wrote:TT could certainly be learning on the job. I think he regrets not getting the Moss trade done and I think that will affect his willingness to be less conservative going forward in aspects besides his drafting. You can't really say he's a conservative drafter considering all the "reaches" he makes on guys he's convinced are the right ones to take.
Agreed, but I'm not really sure what a "conservative" drafter is though?
I think his drafting philosophy is pretty clear. If you have followed his few interviews and comments he brings up what New England has done a lot. I think he uses them as a model, as they like to say in the NFL this is a "copy cat" league.
I think he is conservative in the sense that he doesn't gamble on many boom or bust players. Players that come into the combine and put up great #'s /have a lot of talent, but have "character" issues. He brings in guys that usually are labeled as hard workers that should be "productive" pros. I think that is a pretty good philosophy. Sherman was a guy that would take chances on some talented guys that had character "issues" when they came into to the league. We saw how that unfolded- Ahmad Carrol, Joey Thomas, Kenny Peterson, Donnel Washington, etc. (all drafted in 3rd or better, now all OUT of the NFL).
I don't think Ted is conservative in taking a guy who has been injured basically all year and has an injury history a mile long at a position of strength. That is where I think his ego on being the smartest guy in the room took over. It doesn't look like he will contribute much this year. If you want to be completely honest about it - based on what he did in camp and preseason games he probably doesn't make the roster if he had been a free agent rookie.
Again, overall I like Ted drafting I just don't have much confidence in how he conducts free agency/trades (or the lack of). What would I have liked to see?
RB-Tatum Bell(trade), Turner (Trade), C. Brown, etc.
TE-McMichael
WR-Moss
Draft Round #1: With Safety being a top need and Reggie Nelson having similar "value" I thought that would be a no-brainer. I have to admit I haven't followed his progress, but that was a pick that seemed to make a lot of sense. When you can't get ANY production from your mid 1st round pick in year one, you are already in the hole.