Official 2011 NFL Draft Thead Vol. Lions winning.... Niners losing...

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at Casey Matthews going to Philly.
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He wanted to be in Green Bay with big brother.
 
From inSider
[h1]Behind Patriots' Ryan Mallett strategy[/h1][h3]Former Arkansas QB could become valuable trade bait down the road[/h3]

By Seth Wickersham
ESPN Insider
Archive

espn_g_mallet_sy_576.jpg
Matthew Stockman/Getty ImagesRyan Mallett dropped to the third round but he is considered the draft's best passer.

If you're wondering why the New England Patriots picked former Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett, it's not that complicated. He makes New England better, in the short term and long term.

No? Well, first consider what the Patriots got: At the league's most important position -- the most valuable position -- they picked the top-ranked pure passer on not only their own board, according to Adam Schefter, but on other teams' boards, too. They got a bargain in terms of third-round value and salary. Nobody knows what the presumed rookie scale will be, but let's say Mallett signs a deal for $1.25 million a year. When was the last time a team drafted its top-ranked QB that cheap?

Mallett could come into Foxborough well-capable of beating out Brian Hoyer as Tom Brady's backup. And that position has currency. Can Mallett win games? Nobody knows. But if he does, every team in the NFL will be watching and wondering what type of trade it will take to pry Mallett away, just as it worked with Matt Cassel.

That is why Bill Belichick trades down. That is why he trades veterans for second-day picks. You're almost guaranteed to find bargains in the second and third rounds. Of course, he is not alone in the philosophy. Most data-driven teams -- the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers, to name a couple -- have complicated formulas that assign value to each pick. It takes into account a player's position, his expected compensation, the team's need, the team's future needs and a host of other factors.

But Belichick pulls the trigger when others don't because, in the end, he can always fall back on winning. The Pats were 14-2 last year. Yes, they have holes, but when it comes to cheap, talented quarterbacks, value supersedes need, especially in the third round. It puts Belichick in a permanent position of treating the draft as if his team is in rebuilding mode -- after all, picks are currency -- without the baggage of, you know, rebuilding.

Yes, Mallett has character concerns. He comes off, as a friend of mine said, "like a guy I knew in high school who sharpened pens in the pencil sharpener and lit cigarettes in class on a dare." Again, though, Belichick can fall back on his strengths. Nothing serves as a better corrective for NFL problem children than winning and being challenged mentally. Winning changes their attitudes; football knowledge gains their respect. Yes, a malcontent might always be a malcontent (See: Randy Moss), but rookies, especially ones who lost millions on draft day, know they have the most to gain.

[h3][/h3]
Belichick is one of the NFL's most underrated quarterback tutors. ... Tom Brady has told people close to him that, no offense to other Patriots coaches, nobody matches Belichick's acumen.

Not for nothing: He might not be on the QB coach level of Mike Martz, but Belichick is one of the NFL's most underrated quarterback tutors. He assumed the role in 2001, when **** Rehbein died, and has since met with the quarterbacks, alone, three times every week in what one Pats employee once told me were "unbelievably high-level game-planning sessions." As I wrote in a 2009 story about Belichick's coaching tree, Brady has "told people close to him that, no offense to other Patriots coaches, nobody matches Belichick's acumen."

In an otherwise forgettable story I wrote in 2008 about the difficulty in predicting a QB's pro potential from college performance, then-Niners GM Scot McCloughan, who was taught by former Green Bay Packers architect Ron Wolf, said someone "who's had two out of every 10 quarterbacks he's drafted turn into Pro Bowlers -- he's a genius."

Well, guess what. Belichick has drafted seven quarterbacks in his career as a head coach, and two -- Brady and Cassel -- have made it to the Pro Bowl. Obviously, there's a lot of luck involved. But Mallett will get better from Belichick's instruction and Brady's example. Assuming he can keep his personal issues in check, Mallett will erase the biggest cause of his slide in this year's draft. Let's say Brady stays healthy for the next few years. What kind of value will Mallett have, if his arm is the same as the one that most scouts love, if his head is clear and if he's been witness to one of the most successful QB-coach combos ever?

Today's third-rounder will become tomorrow's first.

Which you just know they'll trade out of.

Seth Wickersham is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine.


Click to expand...
 
From inSider
[h1]Behind Patriots' Ryan Mallett strategy[/h1][h3]Former Arkansas QB could become valuable trade bait down the road[/h3]

By Seth Wickersham
ESPN Insider
Archive

espn_g_mallet_sy_576.jpg
Matthew Stockman/Getty ImagesRyan Mallett dropped to the third round but he is considered the draft's best passer.

If you're wondering why the New England Patriots picked former Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett, it's not that complicated. He makes New England better, in the short term and long term.

No? Well, first consider what the Patriots got: At the league's most important position -- the most valuable position -- they picked the top-ranked pure passer on not only their own board, according to Adam Schefter, but on other teams' boards, too. They got a bargain in terms of third-round value and salary. Nobody knows what the presumed rookie scale will be, but let's say Mallett signs a deal for $1.25 million a year. When was the last time a team drafted its top-ranked QB that cheap?

Mallett could come into Foxborough well-capable of beating out Brian Hoyer as Tom Brady's backup. And that position has currency. Can Mallett win games? Nobody knows. But if he does, every team in the NFL will be watching and wondering what type of trade it will take to pry Mallett away, just as it worked with Matt Cassel.

That is why Bill Belichick trades down. That is why he trades veterans for second-day picks. You're almost guaranteed to find bargains in the second and third rounds. Of course, he is not alone in the philosophy. Most data-driven teams -- the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers, to name a couple -- have complicated formulas that assign value to each pick. It takes into account a player's position, his expected compensation, the team's need, the team's future needs and a host of other factors.

But Belichick pulls the trigger when others don't because, in the end, he can always fall back on winning. The Pats were 14-2 last year. Yes, they have holes, but when it comes to cheap, talented quarterbacks, value supersedes need, especially in the third round. It puts Belichick in a permanent position of treating the draft as if his team is in rebuilding mode -- after all, picks are currency -- without the baggage of, you know, rebuilding.

Yes, Mallett has character concerns. He comes off, as a friend of mine said, "like a guy I knew in high school who sharpened pens in the pencil sharpener and lit cigarettes in class on a dare." Again, though, Belichick can fall back on his strengths. Nothing serves as a better corrective for NFL problem children than winning and being challenged mentally. Winning changes their attitudes; football knowledge gains their respect. Yes, a malcontent might always be a malcontent (See: Randy Moss), but rookies, especially ones who lost millions on draft day, know they have the most to gain.

[h3][/h3]
Belichick is one of the NFL's most underrated quarterback tutors. ... Tom Brady has told people close to him that, no offense to other Patriots coaches, nobody matches Belichick's acumen.

Not for nothing: He might not be on the QB coach level of Mike Martz, but Belichick is one of the NFL's most underrated quarterback tutors. He assumed the role in 2001, when **** Rehbein died, and has since met with the quarterbacks, alone, three times every week in what one Pats employee once told me were "unbelievably high-level game-planning sessions." As I wrote in a 2009 story about Belichick's coaching tree, Brady has "told people close to him that, no offense to other Patriots coaches, nobody matches Belichick's acumen."

In an otherwise forgettable story I wrote in 2008 about the difficulty in predicting a QB's pro potential from college performance, then-Niners GM Scot McCloughan, who was taught by former Green Bay Packers architect Ron Wolf, said someone "who's had two out of every 10 quarterbacks he's drafted turn into Pro Bowlers -- he's a genius."

Well, guess what. Belichick has drafted seven quarterbacks in his career as a head coach, and two -- Brady and Cassel -- have made it to the Pro Bowl. Obviously, there's a lot of luck involved. But Mallett will get better from Belichick's instruction and Brady's example. Assuming he can keep his personal issues in check, Mallett will erase the biggest cause of his slide in this year's draft. Let's say Brady stays healthy for the next few years. What kind of value will Mallett have, if his arm is the same as the one that most scouts love, if his head is clear and if he's been witness to one of the most successful QB-coach combos ever?

Today's third-rounder will become tomorrow's first.

Which you just know they'll trade out of.

Seth Wickersham is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine.


Click to expand...
 
cannon is a moose...358lbs. love it

im liking how we've addressed OL. i hope we have something up our sleeves for defense tho. dowling is nice, but that front 7 needs help
 
cannon is a moose...358lbs. love it

im liking how we've addressed OL. i hope we have something up our sleeves for defense tho. dowling is nice, but that front 7 needs help
 
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