Defense Oriented Offseason

[TheJackal]

FREE AGENCY
*Sign LB Boss Bailey to a short contract that allows us to evaluate his talent before locking him up long term. He would provide a much needed upgrade at SLB over Webster. He is big and physical as well as very athletic with good sideline to sideline speed. Just what we need in my mind.

*Sign WR Antonio Bryant to a one year contract. The cost may be high but we need a #2 WR. A one year contract would give us our starting WR for this year and allow us to grab a franchise #2 next year in the '09 draft. We'd need to give him good reason to take this type of contract however which may be a problem, but we must do all we can to get him.

*Make sure we keep Foxworth, Abdullah, and Paymah. All three are very promising and have a ton of potential. If we let them mature and progress as players it could turn out very well for us.


THE DRAFT

First of all, we need to trade down. Somewhere in the early 20's would be nice. It would also net us another 2nd and possibly another 3rd (just a 2nd in this one). Considering we had to give up a 3rd just to move up 4 spots in '07 this is very possible.

It would also be a good idea to trade a few of our lower picks (one of our 4th's and 5th's in this case) to pick up a 3rd if we don't get one via the initial trade down.

Might even get two thirds if we play our cards right.



1st Round: LB Dan Connor (Penn St.)
Reasoning - The kid is a true football player. He works hard and plays with heart. He has played all three LB spots in college so he is very versatile and is Penn State's leading tackler. Now by acquiring him we have a true MLB allowing D.J. to go to WILL where he is best suited. With this addition Our LB corps is as follows: Williams at WLB, Connor at MLB, and Bailey at SLB. Sounds like a damn good unit to me.

2nd Round (a): S DaJuan Morgan (N.C. State)
Reasoning - He is a great prospect. He has good speed and is a solid tackler. With Lynch staying for one more season Morgan would be mentored by one of the best and his development would go great. We could throw him in the starting line-up from time to time to get him some experience and see how he does. Hamza at SS and Morgan at FS should be a nice combo.

2nd Round (b): DT Dre Moore (Maryland)
Reasoning - Looks to be a perfect fit for our defense. Good amount of strength along with long arms and a big frame. Has the makings of being a true run-stopper as he can utilize his size and strength to his advantage. This will allow him to cut off running lanes and take up two blockers at once thus freeing up our LB corps to make plays. He also seems to get decent penetration against the pass. Together Moore and Thomas create a great force in the middle.

3rd Round: FB Owen Schmitt (West Virginia)
Reasoning - A physical, traditional fullback Schmitt is a perfect fit for our offense. He can easily plow the way for our run game and do a great job pass-blocking too. He's not exactly the best pass-catcher, but he at least does an alright job and can only get better. Cecil did decent, but we need a true FB and Schmitt is the perfect canidate. Hester or Hillis would be excellent choices here also. Just depends on who's available.

4th Round: DT Nick Hayden (Wisconsin)
Reasoning - A big, strong, and physical tackle that could be developed into a nice starter. If not he's a good pick for depth anyway.

5th Round: LB Jordon Dizon (Colorado)
Reasoning - Has great technique and many analysts believe he is the best open-field tackler available in the draft. A bit undersized, but can always get stronger and add more muscle to bulk up. Has all the traits you look for in a special team's ace. So he would be a nice project for our LB's coach and should do a nice job on ST's if nothing else.

7th Round: DT Chris Norwell (Illinois)
Reasoning - Basically the same as Hayden just not as promising, but has all the physical traits you look for. Just needs to work on his technique and needs to work hard to get better. Still a nice pick for depth if nothing else.



Feel free to criticize and share your thoughts. Thanks for your time and take care :)

[Schism]

There's no real incentive for Bryant to take a 1-year deal though, unless we pay him an insane amount, which would be... well... insane.

Aside from that, I really love the idea of drafting Connor and feel more and more that this is the direction we should go.

Instead of Morgan I would then spend our additional 2nd round selection on a WR, someone to develop into an eventual #2 and compete with Colbert for the #2 spot this year.

We can get by with Lynch, Abdullah and a passable FA this year I believe, it's not ideal but we should be able to add an impact starter in next year's draft at that position.

I also hope and expect we will add some O-linemen in the latter rounds as we don't really need any more rookie DT's after Moore in the 2nd.

[LarryDean]

I like the reasoning and the players in this mock and I think it would go a long to helping Denver out.


In this scenario
If trading down im drafting Kenny Phillips if still on the board first and then Connor.

That would give me two 2ndRd and I would go LB/DT.
LB- Ezra Butler, Nevada
DT- Dre Moore, Maryland

That way Denver would be drafting a person at all 3 positions.

My 3rd round pick would be
CB-Justin King, Penn State

My fourth would be Nick Hayden I like the guy and I would draft him with the fourth pick.


Then my mock would look like
1.FS Kenny Phillips
2.DT Dre Moore DT
2.LB Ezra Butler LB
3.CB Justin King
4.DT Nick Hayden
5.LB Jordon Dizon
7.FS Corey Lynch, FS,

Thanks for thr mock !! TheJackal :coffee:

[TheJackal]

I like the reasoning and the players in this mock and I think it would go a long to helping Denver out.


In this scenario
If trading down im drafting Kenny Phillips if still on the board first and then Connor.

That would give me two 2ndRd and I would go LB/DT.
LB- Ezra Butler, Nevada
DT- Dre Moore, Maryland

That way Denver would be drafting a person at all 3 positions.

My 3rd round pick would be
CB-Justin King, Penn State

My fourth would be Nick Hayden I like the guy and I would draft him with the fourth pick.


Then my mock would look like
1.FS Kenny Phillips
2.DT Dre Moore DT
2.LB Ezra Butler LB
3.CB Justin King
4.DT Nick Hayden
5.LB Jordon Dizon
7.FS Corey Lynch, FS,

Thanks for thr mock !! TheJackal :coffee:
Always a pleasure and thanks for the insight :salute:

[TheJackal]

There's no real incentive for Bryant to take a 1-year deal though, unless we pay him an insane amount, which would be... well... insane.

Aside from that, I really love the idea of drafting Connor and feel more and more that this is the direction we should go.

Instead of Morgan I would then spend our additional 2nd round selection on a WR, someone to develop into an eventual #2 and compete with Colbert for the #2 spot this year.

We can get by with Lynch, Abdullah and a passable FA this year I believe, it's not ideal but we should be able to add an impact starter in next year's draft at that position.

I also hope and expect we will add some O-linemen in the latter rounds as we don't really need any more rookie DT's after Moore in the 2nd.

Very true indeed. If we can't get him we'd have to adjust who we draft. But if say we give him a one year contract and tell him it's so he can prove himself as starter material he might do it. And if he does pan out we lock him up long term to solidify our WR corps.

As for recievers in the draft I would love to get Devin Thomas out of Michigan State if we can't get a #2 any other way. He may be the only promising WR left by the time our 2nd rolls around. Or we could always grab Kelly in the 1st, but I think we need to address more pressing needs there.

[RyversEtrain]

I would love to get Dizon but I've heard rumors that he could go to Indy as early as the late first round. I can't see him waiting to anwhere near the 5th round. I hope so though, if we get him.

[KWHIT97]

Antonio Bryant? Was he on an NFL roster last year, I totally forgot about that guy.

I wouldn't mind if we could sign him for cheap however and then draft another guy, we would have a very deep recieving core then!

[TheJackal]

I would love to get Dizon but I've heard rumors that he could go to Indy as early as the late first round. I can't see him waiting to anwhere near the 5th round. I hope so though, if we get him.

There is no way in hell Dizon goes in the 1st... Earliest he could go would be 3rd and even that's a long shot.

[TheJackal]

Antonio Bryant? Was he on an NFL roster last year, I totally forgot about that guy.

I wouldn't mind if we could sign him for cheap however and then draft another guy, we would have a very deep recieving core then!

As long as we get a true #2 our recieving corps should be fine. Then add in our talented group of TE's and we got a damn good passing game going.

[TheJackal]

I totally forgot about another LB available via free agency. Brandon Chillar is young and promising. Started for the Rams in '07 and did a solid job. As long as we get him or Boss to start at SLB I'll be happy.

[fraguela09]

FREE AGENCY
*Sign LB Boss Bailey to a short contract that allows us to evaluate his talent before locking him up long term. He would provide a much needed upgrade at SLB over Webster. He is big and physical as well as very athletic with good sideline to sideline speed. Just what we need in my mind.

*Sign WR Antonio Bryant to a one year contract. The cost may be high but we need a #2 WR. A one year contract would give us our starting WR for this year and allow us to grab a franchise #2 next year in the '09 draft. We'd need to give him good reason to take this type of contract however which may be a problem, but we must do all we can to get him.

*Make sure we keep Foxworth, Abdullah, and Paymah. All three are very promising and have a ton of potential. If we let them mature and progress as players it could turn out very well for us.


THE DRAFT

First of all, we need to trade down. Somewhere in the early 20's would be nice. It would also net us another 2nd and possibly another 3rd (just a 2nd in this one). Considering we had to give up a 3rd just to move up 4 spots in '07 this is very possible.

It would also be a good idea to trade a few of our lower picks (one of our 4th's and 5th's in this case) to pick up a 3rd if we don't get one via the initial trade down.

Might even get two thirds if we play our cards right.



1st Round: LB Dan Connor (Penn St.)
Reasoning - The kid is a true football player. He works hard and plays with heart. He has played all three LB spots in college so he is very versatile and is Penn State's leading tackler. Now by acquiring him we have a true MLB allowing D.J. to go to WILL where he is best suited. With this addition Our LB corps is as follows: Williams at WLB, Connor at MLB, and Bailey at SLB. Sounds like a damn good unit to me.

2nd Round (a): S DaJuan Morgan (N.C. State)
Reasoning - He is a great prospect. He has good speed and is a solid tackler. With Lynch staying for one more season Morgan would be mentored by one of the best and his development would go great. We could throw him in the starting line-up from time to time to get him some experience and see how he does. Hamza at SS and Morgan at FS should be a nice combo.

2nd Round (b): DT Dre Moore (Maryland)
Reasoning - Looks to be a perfect fit for our defense. Good amount of strength along with long arms and a big frame. Has the makings of being a true run-stopper as he can utilize his size and strength to his advantage. This will allow him to cut off running lanes and take up two blockers at once thus freeing up our LB corps to make plays. He also seems to get decent penetration against the pass. Together Moore and Thomas create a great force in the middle.

3rd Round: FB Owen Schmitt (West Virginia)
Reasoning - A physical, traditional fullback Schmitt is a perfect fit for our offense. He can easily plow the way for our run game and do a great job pass-blocking too. He's not exactly the best pass-catcher, but he at least does an alright job and can only get better. Cecil did decent, but we need a true FB and Schmitt is the perfect canidate. Hester or Hillis would be excellent choices here also. Just depends on who's available.

4th Round: DT Nick Hayden (Wisconsin)
Reasoning - A big, strong, and physical tackle that could be developed into a nice starter. If not he's a good pick for depth anyway.

5th Round: LB Jordon Dizon (Colorado)
Reasoning - Has great technique and many analysts believe he is the best open-field tackler available in the draft. A bit undersized, but can always get stronger and add more muscle to bulk up. Has all the traits you look for in a special team's ace. So he would be a nice project for our LB's coach and should do a nice job on ST's if nothing else.

7th Round: DT Chris Norwell (Illinois)
Reasoning - Basically the same as Hayden just not as promising, but has all the physical traits you look for. Just needs to work on his technique and needs to work hard to get better. Still a nice pick for depth if nothing else.



Feel free to criticize and share your thoughts. Thanks for your time and take care :)




NOT TOO SHABBY... BUT, w/ Winborne, Niko and Beck... We only need to draft one LB... I can see maybe grabbing a LB like Gary Guyton in the 5th=7th... BUT, we have other needs.

I think we need to keep giving Cutler weapons year in and year out... This year... it boils down to OT-WR. Tackle in the first or a WR in the second. I would love a RB, but we have too many holes.

We have a nice foundation on offense... we must continue to build on that!


SO... I would trade down in the first... Pick up a pick or two... I would then draft OT-LB-DT-WR... These would be my first four picks (not necessarily in this order)...

I would grab a Safety in the 4th... And a FB.

I would grab a kicker in the 5th... plus OL help.

Something like that.

[silkamilkamonic]

Ugh.

Not a fan of the COnner pick at 12, unless of course we trade back.

Conner is a great football mind, but he has a relatively low ceiling. You don't take a player at #12 who has a low ceiling, despite your need for that position.

[Max Power]

Pretty decent draft, although I prefer Rivers to Connor, assuming they are both available. I also think the early 2nd round is too early to take Morgan. I'm not that big on Owen Schmitt, even though he has a loyal bandwagon on here. I'd rather have Peyton Hillis in the 5th than Schmitt in the 3rd or 4th. Dizon will be gone before the 5th.

[TheJackal]

NOT TOO SHABBY... BUT, w/ Winborne, Niko and Beck... We only need to draft one LB... I can see maybe grabbing a LB like Gary Guyton in the 5th=7th... BUT, we have other needs.

I think we need to keep giving Cutler weapons year in and year out... This year... it boils down to OT-WR. Tackle in the first or a WR in the second. I would love a RB, but we have too many holes.

We have a nice foundation on offense... we must continue to build on that!


SO... I would trade down in the first... Pick up a pick or two... I would then draft OT-LB-DT-WR... These would be my first four picks (not necessarily in this order)...

I would grab a Safety in the 4th... And a FB.

I would grab a kicker in the 5th... plus OL help.

Something like that.
I mainly want Dizon for special teams. But like I said he'd be a nice project at LB.

Eh I'm just not a fan of getting another OT. We already have Pears and Harris. I trust them to protect Cutler more so than any rookie.

Getting a talented FB should help Cutler a lot in the red zone and passing in general. Plus a power FB can do wonders for the run game. Should give the offense a nice boost. And if we get Bryant we should be set on offense. Just remember our offense wasn't the problem in '07 it was our terribly inconsistent excuse for a defense.

[TheJackal]

Ugh.

Not a fan of the COnner pick at 12, unless of course we trade back.

Conner is a great football mind, but he has a relatively low ceiling. You don't take a player at #12 who has a low ceiling, despite your need for that position.

Did you read the whole thing my good man? ;) haha In this mock we do trade back, gaining a 2nd (and maybe a 3rd) in the process.

Btw it's Connor. And the kid is simply a beast.

[TheJackal]

Pretty decent draft, although I prefer Rivers to Connor, assuming they are both available. I also think the early 2nd round is too early to take Morgan. I'm not that big on Owen Schmitt, even though he has a loyal bandwagon on here. I'd rather have Peyton Hillis in the 5th than Schmitt in the 3rd or 4th. Dizon will be gone before the 5th.

Eh a lot of ppl say that Rivers only looked good because of the talent around him. Plus with Rivers we wouldn't be able to trade back and pick up more draft selections because we'd have to take him right there at 12 or he'd be long gone. So in my mind Connor would be the better option.

As for Morgan many analysts rank him as the #2 or #3 safety in the draft so the 2nd sounds like a fair place to take him.

If you read the whole thing I said to take whichever of the three FB's (Hillis, Hester, Schmitt) was available. IMO they are all good players.

Idk about Dizon going much earlier than that. He might, but I doubt it. And if his stock does rise maybe we take him in the 4th.

[Max Power]

If you read the whole thing I said to take whichever of the three FB's (Hillis, Hester, Schmitt) was available. IMO they are all good players.

My point is that the 3rd round is too early to take a FB. Schmitt/Hester/Hillis/whoever, anyone of them are reaches in the 3rd anyway. FB is just not an important position in this offense, and they are a dime a dozen.

[BF]

I would love to get Dizon but I've heard rumors that he could go to Indy as early as the late first round. I can't see him waiting to anwhere near the 5th round. I hope so though, if we get him.

You're getting some bad rumors..........why? because Indy does not even have a first rd. pick! Dizon is not even projected until the 4th or 5th round.

[Ravage!!!]

You're getting some bad rumors..........why? because Indy does not even have a first rd. pick! Dizon is not even projected until the 4th or 5th round.

:eek: Thats some pretty bad sources!! :salute:

[TheJackal]

My point is that the 3rd round is too early to take a FB. Schmitt/Hester/Hillis/whoever, anyone of them are reaches in the 3rd anyway. FB is just not an important position in this offense, and they are a dime a dozen.

FB is extremely important in our offense. We use them a lot in both the running and passing game. They are especially important down in the red zone. How can you think it is not an important position of need?

[TheJackal]

:eek: Thats some pretty bad sources!! :salute:

For sure :laugh:

[lancane]

FB is extremely important in our offense. We use them a lot in both the running and passing game. They are especially important down in the red zone. How can you think it is not an important position of need?

BS...

Try reading or listening to the coaches before you tell a respected poster off, or about what you know to them. Shanahan in his presser even stated that we do not use traditional fullbacks any longer, we utilize our tight ends in a similar position as most fullbacks around the league!!!

Max was dead on, that is why Graham is such a big part of our offense and why we have so many tight ends, it is not like we would not love to have a powerful fullback, but we just do not use them as we did long ago and it is also the reason most of our fullbacks are converted halfbacks...Mike Anderson, Cecil Sapp and Mike Bell, we even tried to get Dayne in that same postion.

;)

[TheJackal]

BS...

Try reading or listening to the coaches before you tell a respected poster off, or about what you know to them. Shanahan in his presser even stated that we do not use traditional fullbacks any longer, we utilize our tight ends in a similar position as most fullbacks around the league!!!

Max was dead on, that is why Graham is such a big part of our offense and why we have so many tight ends, it is not like we would not love to have a powerful fullback, but we just do not use them as we did long ago and it is also the reason most of our fullbacks are converted halfbacks...Mike Anderson, Cecil Sapp and Mike Bell, we even tried to get Dayne in that same postion.

;)
Gimme a link kind sir ;) If they aren't why do we have the FB go into the flat in the redzone so damn much? I mean that is one of our most utilized plays down there. And why did Cecil do so much lead blocking this year?

It is an important position and a true FB will do wonders for this offense.

And what's this respected poster crap? Do you not respect me?

[TheJackal]

Anyone else have input to offer?