Building a NFL Team (Article from 2007)

[Tune]

I found this article while roaming and has a lot of great points to consider. May also need to forward it to Randy Lerner, so we can check progress against this article.

Part 1—Picking a Coach

Now that the 2006 season is officially over (the Pro Bowl doesn’t really count), it’s time to start thinking about next year. For most teams, this just involves considering what players are available through free agency and the draft. Six teams this year had to start with a new coach. Of these teams, Pittsburgh and Dallas have enjoyed recent success and they are searching for coaches because their coaches have retired. They will essentially keep the players and coaches intact. Other teams like the Raiders have been so consistently bad, they should just blow it all up and start from scratch. I started to wonder how I would do this if I were a general manager say of an expansion team.

The first step would be to find your head coach. Generally this means hiring an assistant, usually a successful offensive or defensive coordinator, a previous head coach, or a successful college coach. The NFL landscape is littered with successful, even legendary college coaches who made the jump to the NFL, usually for a lot more money. The most recent are Nick Saban, Steve Spurrier, Rich Brooks, Jimmy Johnson, Butch Davis, Dennis Erickson, Bobby Ross, Mike Riley, Barry Switzer, Tom Coughlin, and Steve Mariucci. Others from way back include Tommy Prothro, Lou Holtz, Bud Wilkinson, Dick MacPherson, Darryl Rogers, and Frank Kush. Most of these have failed rather miserably in the NFL, though Johnson and Switzer both won Super Bowls with Dallas; Switzer did it basically with Jimmy Johnson’s team. Those of you who think Pete Carroll may be the savior for your team should look at his NFL record prior to going to USC. He was considered a joke in New York while coaching the Jets before going to the Patriots where he did enjoy some success. His overall NFL record is 33-31 which is respectable, but not worth 10 Million a year. Every year it astounds me that any general manager even considers a college head coach, or in Oakland’s case, a college assistant, for an NFL head coaching job. This year, it’s Bobby Petrino’s turn in Atlanta to break the string of failures. I give him 3 years in Atlanta, 4 years tops. Lane Kiffin will last no more than 2 years in Oakland.

Probably the best bet is to hire a previous NFL head coach, preferably Marty Schottenheimer, Jimmy Johnson, or Bill Parcells if they were available. They all have proven track records of resuscitating moribund teams. Cowher may be available this year for the right price. He has only coached one team, but that team was successful through several cycles of player turnover. Norv Turner always seems to be available, but has not been particularly successful at any of his head coaching stints.

The current trend is to go with a young coordinator. Most of the hires last year were coordinators with the exceptions of Herm Edwards who was head coach of the Jets before moving to Kansas City, Rod Marinelli who was the defensive line coach in Tampa Bay, and Art Shell who was working in the NFL front office, but had previously coached the Raiders. The strongest candidates for coach of the year this year, Sean Payton and Eric Mangini were successful coordinators the prior year. Once you’ve decided to go with a coordinator, the question becomes who to pick. Every year there are hot assistants who are snatched up, and usually fail, but certain coaching trees provide a higher probability of success. In Today’s NFL, there are 4 main coaching trees, the Parcells, Walsh, Schottenheimer, and Dungy trees. Since all these coaches got there start somewhere, for example Dungy got his first coaching job with Chuck Noll who was an assistant under Don Shula, etc, etc, they can all be traced back to Pop Warner, so I consider a tree starting with the coach who was a relative unknown until he established himself. The Walsh tree includes Sam Wyche, Mike Holmgren, Dennis Green, John Gruden, Andy Reid, Mike Shanahan, Steve Mariucci, Brian Billick, Mike Sherman, and Marty Morningweg. Several defensive assistants such as George Seifert and Ray Rhodes have also come from this tree, but since Walsh was an offensive guru, they are not considered true Walsh protégés. These are proponents of the West Coast offense and have won 5 Super Bowls among them, not including Walsh’s 3.

The Parcells tree includes his most famous, and successful protégé, Bill Belichick who begat Romeo Crennel and Eric Mangini. Nick Saban and Ray Handley also belong in this tree. Tom Coughlin was also influenced by Parcells. Belichick has 3 championships to Parcell’s two. Their trademark is a confusing 3-4 defensive scheme.

The Schottenheimer tree is one of the biggest but least successful. His most successful protégé is Bill Cowher who could have his own tree having given us Dom Capers, Jim Haslett, Mike Mularkey, Marvin Lewis, Jack del Rio, Chan Gailey, Dick Lebeau, and Ken Whisenhunt. Cam Cameron and Gunther Cunningham were also Schottenheimer assistants. Schottenheimer and Cowher are known mostly for their defenses, though Gailey, Whisenhunt, Mularkey, and Cameron were offensive coordinators. Of these, only Cowher has a championship.

Tony Dungy was actually an assistant under Dennis Green who comes from the Bill Walsh tree, but learned defenses under Chuck Noll. Noll used a 4-3, cover- 2 type scheme in fashioning Pittsburgh’s famed Steel Curtain. Dungy took this to Tampa Bay and modified it to give us the Tampa-2. His defensive assistants have recently spread throughout the NFL bringing the Tampa-2 with them, so Dungy gets his own tree. Current head coaches from this tree include Lovie Smith, Herm Edwards, Rod Marinelli, and now, Mike Tomlin. Dungy owns the only Super Bowl ring in this group.

Which tree you choose from will likely dictate what type of offense or defense your team will employ. Looking purely at past successes, the Walsh tree and a West Coast type offense would be the safest choice. Coaches from the Schottenheimer and Parcells trees favor the 3-4 defenses which recently have proven the most successful, though this year; there were two Tampa-2 defenses in the Super Bowl.

Part 2—Picking a Scheme

Your choice of head coach will likely dictate your offensive and defensive strategies, so this decision may actually need to be made before your choice of coach.

Offensive Strategy:

Over the years, several offenses have become so successful and popular, they deserved their own names. The most famous is the West Coast offense popularized by Bill Walsh and run to perfection by Joe Montana. Basically, this was the first offense to primarily set up the run with the pass. At the time of it’s development in the early 80’s, this was a radical thought. Most coaches set up the pass with the run. Walsh used short accurate passes to move the ball methodically down the field with the occasional run or bomb to keep the defense off balance. The advantage is that, when run properly, it’s almost impossible for the defender to stop a short pass, especially in today’s NFL where a receiver can’t be touched outside of five yards. The disadvantage is that it requires the quarterback to be very consistently accurate with very sure handed receivers. The best example of this today is Tom Brady. Though the Patriots do not run a pure west coast offense, Brady began his career throwing almost exclusively short, high percentage passes. He has developed into a great long and midrange passer as well, but his short accurate passes are what make the Patriot’s offense so dangerous.

K-gun: Also known as the no huddle, this was invented by Sam Wyche in Cincinnati, but made famous by Marv Levy and Jim Kelly in Buffalo. Ironically, Marv Levy actually publicly complained about the use of the no huddle against his team before he saw the light and decided to make this his primary offense. He then rode it to the Hall of Fame. Today, almost every team runs a version of the no huddle which differs from the “hurry up” offense in that the no huddle generally allows for more offensive options. The advantage of the hurry up is that it dictates the tempo of the game and does not allow for defensive substitutions. In addition, it fatigues the defensive lineman who must remain in a three point stance until the ball is snapped. If the opposing defense attempts a substitution, there is the possibility of getting caught with 12 men on the field. From what I’ve read, the biggest disadvantage is that it tires out your own defense. Apparently, this offense scores so quickly, your defense does not have time to rest. I don’t buy this argument, and think that every offense should be a no huddle. The only disadvantage I can see is the inability to kill the clock, though if your team is in a position to kill the clock, you probably have a big lead. This offense does require a quarterback who can run the whole offense independently and call audibles at the line. Peyton Manning is the quintessential no huddle quarterback.

The Run and Shoot popularized by Jack Pardee and June Jones sent Warren Moon to the Hall of fame. Basically, this involves a lot of 4 wide receiver sets with ample presnap motion. The advantage is that it spreads the defense and with 4 wideouts, one will usually get open. The disadvantage is that there is no tight end, so makes scoring in the red zone more difficult. It places huge pressure on the quarterback because there are fewer blockers kept in for protection; Buddy Ryan called this the “Chuck and duck” offense. With so much passing, it’s hard to develop a running game. In addition, like the K-gun, it places pressure on the defense because they tend to be on the field more. Currently, no team in the NFL employs the run and shoot, though most teams have some kind of “spread” set employing 4 or 5 receivers.

Zone Blocking is a method of blocking for the run game utilizing smaller, quicker offensive linemen. This is the type of offensive line play preached by Alex Gibbs, formerly an offensive line coach at Denver and Atlanta. During his tenures at each location, that team’s running game was consistently ranked among the top 5. Basically, this involves mobile offensive lineman. Two will initially attack a single defensive lineman at the snap, then once that defensive lineman is neutralized, one of the offensive lineman moves on to block a linebacker. The running back should then have a gap to hit. It sounds simple, but is very hard to perform properly because it requires great synchronicity and communication among the offensive linemen. In addition, this scheme is often synonymous with cutback blocks, which are legal, but are considered by most defensive linemen to be dirty. Since the offensive linemen are smaller, it’s more difficult to hold up against the rush in pass blocking.

In my opinion, a west coast type attack using no huddle would be the ideal offense.

Defensive Strategy:

Like the offenses, there are multiple varieties of successful defenses. Most are unnamed, but some, either due to their success or a catchy name have been popularized by the press.

The first decision to make in deciding on a defensive scheme is whether to employ a base 4-3 or 3-4. I say “base” because these are not mutually exclusive, but simply represent the primary defensive alignment. The 4-3 uses 4 defensive lineman, 2 tackles and 2 ends, and 3 linebackers. The 3-4 uses 3 down linemen, a nose tackle and 2 tackle/ends, and 4 linebackers. Both alignments use 4 defensive backs. The advantage of the 3-4 is this it replaces a lineman with a linebacker who is presumably a better athlete. The tradeoff is in mass; the lineman is usually bigger and stronger. The 3-4 alignment allows much more versatility both in coverage and in pressuring the quarterback. The pressure usually comes from blitzing one or both of the outside linebackers. In the 4-3, since the defensive line is overall bigger, it should hold up better against the run. Philosophically, the 3-4 is designed to create mismatches, while the 4-3 requires more “mano a mano” battles.

Most defenses in the NFL today employ the 4-3 alignment with only Pittsburgh, New England, Baltimore, Cleveland, San Diego, and Dallas employing a base 3-4. This in itself gives the 3-4 an advantage in that most teams do not know how to play against a 3-4 defense. Peyton Manning, for example, usually has trouble reading the disguised blitzes and coverages found in a 3-4. In addition, because so few teams play the 3-4, there is less competition for certain players, specifically the huge athletic nose tackle, or the big fast outside linebacker that would normally be considered too small to play defensive end in a 4-3 scheme. There are also salary cap advantages to playing a 3-4. Aside from the top quarterbacks or shut down corners, the highest paid players are top defensive ends. The 3-4 essentially replaces this end with a relatively inexpensive outside linebacker. Since the 3-4 is a gambling type scheme designed to pressure the quarterback, it requires big fast cornerbacks who can play both the run and the pass. These tend to be more expensive, but since they are useful in both the 3-4 and 4-3 schemes, there is no real cap advantage at corner. The 3-4 also requires bigger linebackers, but these are not necessarily more expensive than the smaller linebackers used in the 4-3. John Clayton of ESPN argues that the 4-3 is not as complex as the 3-4 so a younger and cheaper player can come in and contribute sooner than a young player in the 3-4. This may be true, but I’d argue that good coaching probably makes more of a difference here than the scheme. The winners of the previous 3 Super Bowls played the 3-4, and every one of the 3-4 defenses this year, except for Cleveland, was ranked in the top 10.

Zone Blitz: Devised by Dick Lebeau and made famous by the Blitzburgh defense in the early 90’s, this devious scheme takes advantage of the athleticism of the players in the 3-4 scheme. A zone blitz is a blitz, like any other blitz, where any player, can be sent in to rush the quarterback. Normally this would leave a deficiency in the coverage usually provided by the blitzing player, but in a zone blitz scheme, players who are not normally involved in coverage, drop back into coverage, so there can be the same number of players involved in coverage. The huge advantage this provides is a mismatch in numbers. For example, so many blitzers can be sent from the outside that the running backs and tight ends normally kept in to pick up these blitzers cannot block them all. The territory normally protected by these blitzers is then covered by another player, even possibly the nose tackle, leaving offensive lineman with no one to block. The disadvantage is in ability. The blitzers are not necessarily the best pass rushers on the team and the players back in coverage are not necessarily the best at that, so if the blitzers do not sack or pressure the quarterback, the offense has the advantage. This type of defense is more of a chess game between the offensive and defensive coordinators rather than individual matchups between players. From a fan’s perspective, it’s more fun to watch because it’s so unpredictable. This has been the Steelers’s signature defense for the past decade and they have been consistently ranked amongst the top 5 defenses through that period. Probably every team has their own version of the zone blitz, but Pittsburgh lives and dies by it.

Cover 2: This is a base 4-3 defense in which the safeties play back and tries to keep everything in front of them. This makes it very difficult to make a big play. A team must sustain long drives in order to score against this type of defense. The biggest vulnerability in the cover 2 was the deep middle, so the Tampa 2 was devised by Tony Dungy and Monte Kiffin in the late 90’s. This assigns a speedy linebacker, known as the “Mike” linebacker to cover this area. The Tampa 2 is a safer type of defense which requires the defensive linemen to generate pressure on the quarterback, thus the need for star defensive ends, such as Simeon Rice in Tampa and Dwight Freeney in Indianapolis. This defense has become very popular and has spread throughout the NFL by coaches influenced by Tony Dungy. This year, both participants in the Super Bowl played a Tampa 2 defense.

46: I used to think that Buddy Ryan’s 46 defense which the Bears used to terrorize the NFL in the 80’s, was named for a certain alignment, like the 4-3, but it was actually named the 46 for the number worn by the safety, Doug Plank, who acted as an additional linebacker. This is a gambling type defense from a 4-3 alignment designed to pressure the quarterback with multiple blitzes. When executed properly, the opponents’ quarterback should require several diaper changes a game, just ask Ben Roethlisberger. The defensive backs are exposed, so they need to be able to play great bump and run coverage. Last year, the Ravens, whose defensive coordinator is Rob Ryan, Buddy’s son, employed the 46 and were the top ranked defense in the NFL.

In my opinion, a 3-4 scheme using the zone blitz is the ideal defense and makes the most sense in today’s salary cap conscious NFL.

[Tune]

Part 3—Acquiring Personnel

Once you’ve decided on coach and system, you need to find assistant coaches and players. Acquire the majority of your players through the draft and fill holes through free agency. You’re going to also need a good cap guy to manage salaries.

The first thing you need to build is your offensive line. Any quarterback can pick apart a secondary with time to throw, and any running back can look great with giant gaps to run through. To me the secret to having a great offensive line is finding a great line coach. The best in the NFL today are Russ Grimm (formerly in Pittsburgh, now in Arizona), Hudson Houk (Miami), Alex Gibbs (most recently in Atlanta), and Dante Scarnecchia (New England). Do whatever it takes to build your line. Spend in free agency and draft offensive linemen high in the draft. It may take a few years to get the line to work as a unit, but once it does, any quarterback or running back will look better. In addition, offensive lineman, except for franchise left tackles, are relatively cheap in comparison to top quarterbacks or running backs. They also tend to have long careers.

Find a good special teams coach: For example, Bobby April, now in Buffalo always seems to have top special teams wherever he goes. Special teams are often an afterthought, but a guy like Devin Hester can change a game in an instant. In the 2001 AFC championship game, multiple special team gaffs cost Pittsburgh a trip to the Super Bowl. Special teams, specifically the foot of Adam Vinatieri, won all three Super Bowls for the Patriots. While on the subject of kickers, spend the money in free agency to find a good one. They are relatively cheap and can be one of the most valuable players on your team. Consider having a kickoff specialist rather than just one place kicker. Most coaches hate using up a roster spot on a guy who just kicks off, but with the preponderance of guys like Hester in today’s NFL, it makes sense to get as many touchbacks as possible. A kick off specialist will probably be more valuable than a fourth running back. Don’t hesitate to use a roster spot on a position player who is really only a special teamer. Spend the money on a top punter. A team can win 2-3 games a year, simply by playing a good field position game, ie, having a good returner to set up your offense and a good punter and a special team’s gunner to pin back the opponent’s offense.

Free Agency:
Use this sparingly, and only for positions you can’t fill in the draft. The only caveat to this is at quarterback. It would be too expensive to try to lure away a franchise quarterback, but there are many examples of quarterbacks who languished with one team, only to blossom with another. Rich Gannon is the perfect example. He was basically a journeyman before going to the Raiders and earning league MVP. A guy like Gannon would be relatively inexpensive compared to a high first round quarterback. In today’s NFL, quarterbacking is more about intelligence and experience rather than physical ability. Veteran quarterbacks bring that and can tutor a young quarterback should you choose to draft one. If you do choose to draft a young quarterback, have him carry a clipboard for at least one and preferably two season. Brady, Palmer, Pennington, and Rivers hardly ever saw the field early in their careers, but excelled after watching and learning for a year. Eli Manning, Kyle Boller, David Carr, and Joey Harrington never got this opportunity and their careers have languished. Ben Roethlisberger is the exception to this rule, having won 15 games his first year and the Super Bowl his next, but he paid the price with a very poor third year.

Draft:
Unlike the drafts for baseball and hockey, this one really matters. A single player can reverse the fortunes of a perennial NFL loser in single year. Alternatively, a bad draft pick can handcuff a team for years. The NFL draft is why there is talk of parity, and hope on “any given Sunday.” The best teams build through the draft. Industries have been built around the NFL draft making celebrities of Kiper, Mayock, and Abromowitz. Like the stock market though, the draft is an inexact science. Mere tangible measures of height, weight, and speed cannot foretell the success a player may have in the NFL. For every Peyton Manning, there is a Ryan Leaf, and players like Tom Brady, Marques Colston, and Willie Parker slip through the cracks every year. A good scouting department may be more valuable than a good coach.

“Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” If only every NFL general managers had heeded these ominous words by George Santayana, then players such as Kyle Boller would not have been drafted 16th overall. History has shown that certain patterns hold true when drafting:

The quarterback is the most important position on the team. A great quarterback can lead a team to a championship despite any weaknesses that team may have while a poor quarterback can negate all the other strengths of a team. What would the Patriots and Colts be without Brady and Manning? What could the Bears have accomplished had they even an average quarterback? For this reason, quarterbacks are the most coveted players in the draft. A quarterback has been drafted number one overall more than any other position. Unfortunately for many ex-general managers, it’s also one of the most difficult positions to evaluate. The bust rate for first round quarterbacks is about 50% over the years, yet general managers continue to draft them highly for their potential upside. In my opinion, gambling on a first round quarterback is worth the risk, but certain rules should be followed:

Never draft a Jeff Tedford quarterback. What do Trent Dilfer, Akili Smith, Kyle Boller, Joey Harrington and David Carr have in common? They were all high first round draft picks who were phenomenal busts in the NFL, and they were all coached by Tedford. Aaron Rodgers is another who waiting in the wings to fail in Green Bay. Tedford is currently head coach at Cal, but has also coached at Oregon and Fresno State. His offenses are very quarterback friendly, so his QB’s have spectacular stats which attract the NFL. Once out of their Tedford cocoon though, these quarterbacks regress. This comes up every time a Tedford quarterback comes up in the draft, and every year, a general manager thinks he is smarter than all the other general managers who failed with a Tedford QB, only to find he is not. Where then do you find a quarterback? In the 80’s, the University of Miami was known as quarterback U. providing Jim Kelly and Vinnie Testaverde to the NFL. Today, that’s probably USC, giving Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. Recently though, the safest place to find an NFL caliber quarterback is the Mid American Conference, MAC. The SEC (Peyton and Eli Manning, Jason Campbell, Grossman, Cutler), Big East (Vick, McNabb, Bulger, Hasselbeck), Big 10 (Brady, Trent Green, Brees) are also well represented, but MAC quarterbacks seem to have the highest probability for success. The MAC is a collection of smaller schools which has produced more current starting NFL quarterbacks than any other conference. Ben Roethlisberger, Chad Pennington, Byron Leftwich, Charlie Frye, Bruce Gradkowski and Daunte Culpepper are all quarterbacks who came out of the MAC. Charlie Batch, a former starter in Detroit and now a top backup in Pittsburgh is also from the MAC. Even though it has been a rather down year for MAC quarterbacks, four from that list are genuine stars, and three are former Pro Bowlers. As of yet, there have been no big first round busts from this conference. I’m not sure why these quarterbacks have done so well in the NFL while quarterbacks from larger schools and stronger conferences have not. I’ve heard a theory that these quarterbacks are on predominantly passing teams, but so are WAC quarterbacks, and they have not done particularly well in the NFL. All these MAC quarterbacks seem to be good game managers and are, in general, do not throw many interceptions. It may simply be coincidental, but for now anyway, I’d play the odds and take a MAC quarterback if one is rated highly. You may also want to consider drafting quarterbacks with roots in western Pennsylvania. This area around Pittsburgh has produced Hall of Famers Joe Montana, Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, Johnny Unitas, George Blanda, and Joe Namath. Current NFL quarterbacks who hail from this area include Marc Bulger, Gus Frerotte, Charlie Batch, Mike McMahon, and Bruce Gradkowski. Jeff Hostetler also came out of this region.

Other draft trends:
Do not draft a receiver in the first round. Every year, some receiver wows the scouts with a 4.2 forty, etc., etc., but first round receivers are even riskier than first round quarterbacks. Since 2000, 39 receivers have been picked in the first round. Of these, 20 are starters, and only 4 have made the Pro Bowl. 5 are outright busts (drafted in the top 10 and no longer playing). Compare this to first round tight ends in the same period. There were 12 drafted, 4 have made the pro bowl, and all are starters with their original teams. If you must draft a receiver, do not draft a Florida Gator receiver highly. Chad Jackson, Reidel Anthony, Jabar Gaffney, Reche Caldwell, Ike Hilliard, Darrell Jackson, Jacquez Green, Travis Taylor, and Taylor Jacobs were all 1st or 2nd round draft picks. None are stars and only Ike Hilliard and Darrell Jackson are having decent NFL careers. Tom Brady, with three receivers from this list, may eventually reverse this trend, but for now, look elsewhere for a receiver. Instead, find your receivers at Syracuse (Marvin Harrison, Qadry Ismail, Rob Moore, Rob Carpenter, Art Monk), Tennessee (Willie Gault, Stanley Morgan, Peerless Price, Tyrone Calico, Kelley Washington, Cedric Wilson), Ohio State (Chris Carter, Santonio Holmes, Terry Glenn, Joey Galloway, David Boston), or recently the state of Oregon (Chad Johnson, TJ Houshmanzadeh, Demetrius Williams).

Draft a Samoan. Baseball has the Dominican Republic and the NFL has American Samoa. Both are small Islands in which sport is a religion. My fingers would cramp trying to type the names of successful Samoans in the NFL. This trend started in the 70’s with players like Jack Thompson (the Throwin’ Samoan) through the 90’s with Junior Seau, and into today’s NFL with Troy Polamalu. They all tend to be high character, high effort, very strong and tough players; the offensive and defensive linemen in particular.

Draft a running back from the University of Miami: The last 4 running backs from Miami are Frank Gore, Willis McGahee, Clinton Portis, and Edgerrin James. All have become outstanding NFL running backs. Next in line is Tyrone Moss who is not rated particularly highly, but is probably worth a mid to late round pick. Other safe picks are Miami wide receivers (Reggie Wayne, Santana Moss, Sinorice Moss, Devin Hester, Rosco Parrish, Micheal Irvin) and tight ends (Bubba Franks, Jeremy Shockey, Kellen Winslow, Kevin Everett)

Do not draft a Penn State running back in top of the first round. Larry Johnson is the latest Penn State running back to go in the first round and he has done well, but before him was: Curtis Enis, Ki-Jana Carter, and Blair Thomas. All were drafted in the top 5 and all were huge busts. Prior to Thomas, Curt Warner was drafted third overall and had a good career. It’s safe to pick a Penn State running back later in the first round. Curt Warner, DJ Dosier, and Franco Harris as well as Larry Johnson were selected later in the first round and all did well.

Take a highly rated safety in the first round. Recent safeties picked highly are: Roy Williams, Ed Reed, Sean Taylor, Bob Sanders and Troy Polamalu. These have all become cornerstones of their defenses.

Take a highly rated tight end in the first round: Recent tight ends picked highly are: Jeremy Shockey, Kellen Winslow, Heath Miller, Ben Watson, Dallas Clark, Bubba Franks, Alge Crumpler, Jerramy Stevens, Vernon Davis, and Todd Heap. Tony Gonzalez was also a first rounder. These are all stars. There have been very few highly drafted tight end busts, so this may be one of the safest picks.

If there is a franchise type left tackle, take him early. Players like Tony Boselli, Orlando Pace, and Jonathan Ogden are more difficult to find than franchise quarterbacks. This used to be a pretty safe position to draft highly with players like Boselli, Pace, and Ogden being the best of all time, but recent busts, Robert Gallery, Mike Williams, and Kenyatta Walker have made the position more risky. Also don’t invest a high first rounder on a tackle from the University of Texas as this school has produced recent high round busts in Mike Williams and Leonard Davis.

Finally, when in doubt, go with a player from Ohio State or Miami.

[Grump]

this guy is a nimrod.....

[KCLV]

Originally Posted by Grump

this guy is a nimrod.....

you actually read all that?

[Grump]

yea....it took me like 3 or 4 attempts, but yea.