Espn Draft Guide

[cardsfanmd]

Just want to give you guys a heads up on some good reading here.
In an effort to get me off the computer, my wife brought me The 2007 ESPN NFL DRAFT GUIDE home from the grocery store. 200 pages of good stuff here. The best and most in-depth analysis I have seen on the draft thus far. I highly recommend it to all. The best $8 present I have gotten since my Cardinal's license plate cover.

 

[PJ1]

Thanks. Will have to pick it up.

 

[Zeno]

Lindy's, Sporting News and Pro Football Weekly have their draft issues out right now too.

It wasn't too long ago that the only one you could find on a newstand was PFW.

 

[Mitch]

I purchased all three...

ESPN has a nice insert of the top 304 prospects ranked from 1 to 304. They have brief breakdowns of each player's strengths and weaknesses...and the format is not reader friendly, IMO...and there's no mock draft, just suggestions for each team.

Lindy's is significantly better, IMO...offering positives, negatives and "in our view" comments, presented in a far more attractive format...a two round mock draft...and at each position they rank the top players at six different categoreis...for example for CBs: (1) Read and React: Leon Hall (and they give the reasons); (2) Coverage: Darrelle Revis; (3) Closing/Recovery: Aaron Ross; (4) Run Support: Tanard Jackson; (5) Top Playmaker: Daymeion Hughes; (6) Intangibles: A.J. Davis...and then...at each position they offer "3 To Watch"...for CBs: (1) Sleeper: Eric Wright, UNLV; (2) Could Disappoint: Marcus McCauley, Fresno St.; (3) Small school Stud: Tavarous Bain, Hampton...with reasons why.

Pro Football Weekly has an excellent format...and I would rate it the most informative of the three...each of the top 8 players at each position has his picture (head shot) to go with detailed descriptions of "upside, downside and The Way We See It"...and...they offer a statistics grid of all three or four years of the player's college stats...

The thing is about PFW...the evaluators are so critical of the players that after you read the blurbs, you don't want to draft anyone! I am not kidding. For example...although Joe Thomas is their number one rated OT, his "downside blurb" is twice the size of his "upside" blurb...and they say things like: "shows no killer instinct...is narrow waisted and short-armed...can be lazy with his hands...not a great finisher and rarely buries anyone...not nasty and too often looks content doing just enough to get the job done."

After reading this...(if you believe it)...and I must say, after focussing on Thomas a few times this year, from what I saw I would have to concur with everything they said...there is NO way you'd want to go near this guy with the #5 pick...but...for some reason they still have him ranked number one, even though they are much more praising of Levi Brown, saying, "not as nimble-footed as D'Brickashaw Ferguson or Alex Barron, but he is more physical and plays with more power...Footwork is easily correctible, but will require some patience. He has all the ability teams seek in a front line tackle."

 

[lobo]

I purchased all three...


For some strange reason even though PFW is published in Chicago I cannot find it on the shelves anywhere. Borders, B&N, etc.

The reason for the downside blurbs is simple to figure out in my opinion. It is CYA! It is easy to say why Thomas is good, but pointing out his pimples is a bit tougher.

 

[Mitch]

I purchased all three...


For some strange reason even though PFW is published in Chicago I cannot find it on the shelves anywhere. Borders, B&N, etc.

The reason for the downside blurbs is simple to figure out in my opinion. It is CYA! It is easy to say why Thomas is good, but pointing out his pimples is a bit tougher.

When I watched Thomas...he was solid, but not particularly aggressive or dominant...

It also concerned me that he backed out of the Senior Bowl...I think he knew his warts would be fully exposed and it would hurt his stock.

Levi Brown lined up all week...started a little unevenly in practice, but progressed each day and then turned in a very strong performance in the game. I like that he stuck it out and persevered.

 

[ajcardfan]

I think last year was the first time they published it. I got it and I always get the Sporting News draft guide. They are kind of dated by the time the draft arrives, but I like having them to reference more obscure players as they get picked.

 

[Skkorpion]

Save yourselves some money. Read Jeff Gollin's summary on the BRS and send him $5 to help him pay the freight.

 

[WisconsinCard]

When I watched Thomas...he was solid, but not particularly aggressive or dominant...

It also concerned me that he backed out of the Senior Bowl...I think he knew his warts would be fully exposed and it would hurt his stock.

Levi Brown lined up all week...started a little unevenly in practice, but progressed each day and then turned in a very strong performance in the game. I like that he stuck it out and persevered.

Mitch, I ve watched every game JT has played at Wi and I said the same things and was blasted (mainly by Joshmo). I believe he has no killer instinct and will be another Robert Gallery. Pretty good run blocker no hands and feet for the passing game. I know a lot of publications say the opposite but I just go by what I've seen. He will drop on draft day and for good reason. If someone picks him high I think they will be disappointed.

 

[JeffGollin]

Save yourselves some money. Read Jeff Gollin's summary on the BRS and send him $5 to help him pay the freight.

Thanks for the plug. The BRS draft preview is "up." It's a living document that gets updated regularly and added-to as new info comes along.

I just picked up Sporting News and ESPN draft guides at Barnes & Noble and am starting to post recaps of ESPN's player info (Sporting News War Room stuff was already up).

For the first time, I prefer ESPN's guide to the Sporting News, because I have a major league problem with the Sporting News rating Levi Brown as a third round selection on their seven round board.

 

[CardNots]

Thanks for the plug. The BRS draft preview is "up." It's a living document that gets updated regularly and added-to as new info comes along.

JeffGollin,
Where do I read your BRS draft preview?

 

[JeffGollin]

JeffGollin,
Where do I read your BRS draft preview?

Website home page is http://www.azcardinal.com.

On the home page, there's a link to the Draft Summary Page (which in turn has all the links to player write ups and other stuff).

 

[abomb]

Website home page is http://www.azcardinal.com.

On the home page, there's a link to the Draft Summary Page (which in turn has all the links to player write ups and other stuff).

I still cant find it. The site is a headache to navigate.

 

[ajcardfan]

I still cant find it. The site is a headache to navigate.

Click on "Current Highlights". You'll find it there.

 

[JeffGollin]

I still cant find it. The site is a headache to navigate.

If you go to the home page, you'll find 2 links - one to the Highlights page and one to the Draft Master Index Page.

(I just tested getting to the Draft Master Index Page link on the home page from here to see if it worked - and it did).

ajcardfan is also right - you can also get to the Draft Master Index page from a link displayed on the Highlights Page.

 

[MadCardDisease]

If you go to the home page, you'll find 2 links - one to the Highlights page and one to the Draft Master Index Page.

(I just tested getting to the Draft Master Index Page link on the home page from here to see if it worked - and it did).

ajcardfan is also right - you can also get to the Draft Master Index page from a link displayed on the Highlights Page.

Or you can just click here:

http://www.azcardinal.com/07DSumm.htm

 

[trueherotillman]

i get the Sporting News draft guide every year, although it seems to be slowly getting worse every year.

 

[MadCardDisease]

Thanks for the plug. The BRS draft preview is "up." It's a living document that gets updated regularly and added-to as new info comes along.

I just picked up Sporting News and ESPN draft guides at Barnes & Noble and am starting to post recaps of ESPN's player info (Sporting News War Room stuff was already up).

For the first time, I prefer ESPN's guide to the Sporting News, because I have a major league problem with the Sporting News rating Levi Brown as a third round selection on their seven round board.

The Sporting News (Online) currently has Brown going #20 overall to the Giants. Maybe the print version is different from the Online version. The Online version mock draft only goes up to round 3 right now.

 

[JeffGollin]

The Sporting News (Online) currently has Brown going #20 overall to the Giants. Maybe the print version is different from the Online version. The Online version mock draft only goes up to round 3 right now.

My (partial) bad.

Sporting News draft board on Page 20 of their guide lists him as a second rounder (#41). That's still a far cry from, say, #9. They have him going to Miami with the 9th pick of the second round.

In trying to use a published Value Board as an objective indicator of where guys will fall, I felt that ESPN (who incidently rates Brown a first rounder just below Thomas) has a more realistic set of rankings. (Their Board can be found on Page 28 - 29 of their guide).

I'm beginning to establish my own 7 round board for the BRS, but it's tedious work that makes my brain hurt,

 

[Skkorpion]

i get the Sporting News draft guide every year, although it seems to be slowly getting worse every year.

Welcome to ASFN.