remember in last years draft...

[bruce4life]

When we selected injury prone Donnie Avery overr Desean Jackson.... sigh

[Bald_81]

I knew this thread was coming. And to be honest, I don't have an answer. I thought it was wrong at the time and I haven't seen much to make me change that stance. DeSean Jackson (22) is three years younger than Avery (25), which is a very big issue with me because IMO when Donnie's rookie contract is up he'll be 28, making him a risk to re-sign long term. Oh, and 5 of Jackson's 8 TDs have gone for 60 yards or more. Wow, wasn't that the player we needed to stretch the field here in the Lou?

[GROUND DOG 39]

It F----n Stinks, IM sick to the stomach at the moment with Devaney
A blind man could have told you desean Jackson was the better option.
Gutted, Friggin gutted.
And lets not forget Aaron Curry while were at it.

[Bald_81]

I personally believe that Linehan/Zygmunt were responsible for the first and second round picks in '08 with Devaney being given more power and freedom on day two of the draft. I have no facts or proof to back up my claims; it's just a gut feeling I have. Devaney wasn't the GM at the time, therefore I believe Linehan/Zygmunt had final say with some input from Billy.

[Judaxi]

And lets not forget Aaron Curry while were at it.

Last time I checked Laurinaitis had 12 more tackles than Curry and 2 more ints.

[Dr. Defense]

And lets not forget Aaron Curry while were at it.

I am happy we passed on him. We got Jason Smith and James Laurinaitis. To compare some stats here

Laurinaitis- 49 total tackles 40 solo 9 assisted 4 pass defended 2 ints 1 fumble recovery

Curry- 37 total tackles 33 solo 4 assisted 2 forced fumbles

Seems to me like we are getting a whole lot more production for a lot less money. James is also a TRUE mlb, something we have been lacking on this team for a while

[Nick_Weasel]

I don't mind jumping on this bandwagon because I was against the Avery pick from the beginning and said so on draft day here on the board.

The problem I have is that when a team "reaches" for a pick, 9 times out of 10 it's a mistake. A player's projected draft position is the result of many different scouting organizations, talks with scouts from different teams, etc. It's the concensus of an entire profession. To reach for a pick, you have to be sure that you are right where the other scouts are wrong. You have to believe that your scouting is better than everybody else's. And for n-1 teams, this has to be false.

Does it happen sometimes that picks that appeared to be reaches were in fact great picks? Sure. But not typically. And as a believer in the wisdom of crowds, I am not surprised that those picks tend to be poor ones.

[cfh128]

Did anybody watch the pregame show on ESPN yesterday where they had one of those "get to know an NFL player" deals with DeSean Jackson? He came off as the most arrogant little punk I have ever seen. It was basically 3 minutes of Mr. Jackson saying "I am the greatest wide receiver in the history of the NFL. The things I do on the field are unbelievable. I surprise myself at some of the things I am capable of. I am impossible to cover" blah blah blah, etc. etc. This guy doesn't have a humble bone in his body. I wouldn't be surprised if somewhere down the road his attitude starts rubbing his teammates the wrong way.

I admit that he is a very good player and in retrospect maybe we should have drafted him. But before the draft Avery was seen as more or less the same type of player, only with higher character and more size. So I don't think this was another draft day disaster. I think Avery is still going to turn out to be a good player.

[RebelYell]

When we selected injury prone Donnie Avery overr Desean Jackson.... sigh

Avery was injury prone when the Rams drafted him? Wanna give us a breakdown of his college injuries?

[RamOfDenmark]

I knew this thread was coming. And to be honest, I don't have an answer. I thought it was wrong at the time and I haven't seen much to make me change that stance. DeSean Jackson (22) is three years younger than Avery (25), which is a very big issue with me because IMO when Donnie's rookie contract is up he'll be 28, making him a risk to re-sign long term. Oh, and 5 of Jackson's 8 TDs have gone for 60 yards or more. Wow, wasn't that the player we needed to stretch the field here in the Lou?

Hard to argue with that.

At least we didn't completely blow this one as bad as many other decisions we've made. We've still got a reasonably productive receiver in Avery. But you're right DeSean Jackson was clearly the right choice.

[Dominating D]

I don't mind jumping on this bandwagon because I was against the Avery pick from the beginning and said so on draft day here on the board.

The problem I have is that when a team "reaches" for a pick, 9 times out of 10 it's a mistake. A player's projected draft position is the result of many different scouting organizations, talks with scouts from different teams, etc. It's the concensus of an entire profession. To reach for a pick, you have to be sure that you are right where the other scouts are wrong. You have to believe that your scouting is better than everybody else's. And for n-1 teams, this has to be false.

Does it happen sometimes that picks that appeared to be reaches were in fact great picks? Sure. But not typically. And as a believer in the wisdom of crowds, I am not surprised that those picks tend to be poor ones.

Then please explaine the following picks who were selected at or close to projection ny the so called consensus?

Chris Long(I do not feel he is a bust but many would argue)
J Kennedy(I think that is his name I am trying to forget it)
T. Hill
A. Carriker

and the list can go on and on. So your problem is having them reach but when they do not then can you explain what happen to the consensus with the list above?

Avery has been struggling with nagging injuries. He was a second round pick and as far as I am concern if he continues to grow and gets 100% healthy he will be an impact player for the Rams.

Do not forget that D. Jackson had alot of character questions going into the draft.

[locazn]

Donnie Avery is not so bad...some rookie receivers excel right a way because they got drafted to a good team. While the rams offence is so horrible.. we just need to give Avery time to develope. Avery has a lot of potential.. let's not throw him under the bus yet.

[Nick_Weasel]

Then please explaine the following picks who were selected at or close to projection ny the so called consensus?

Chris Long(I do not feel he is a bust but many would argue)
J Kennedy(I think that is his name I am trying to forget it)
T. Hill
A. Carriker

and the list can go on and on. So your problem is having them reach but when they do not then can you explain what happen to the consensus with the list above?

Nowhere did I say that the concensus gets scouting reports correct 100% of the time. There is uncertainty regarding players' abilities as well as unforeseen events that can affect a player's career.

What I am saying is that when a single team's scouts view a player different from how the consensus views him, it's more likely the team's scouts are wrong than vice versa. None of this has anything to do with players who were simply busts.

[Rambunctious]

I know I can't prove a what if but I'm pretty sure if we had drafted Jackson and the Eagles had gotten Avery both players would have notably different stats.

Avery still may have gotten hurt but no way does Jackson put up the big numbers here.

For instance... what would be the difference in Holt having his rookie year last year versus 1999?

[NY RAMFAN]

Oh, and 5 of Jackson's 8 TDs have gone for 60 yards or more. Wow, wasn't that the player we needed to stretch the field here in the Lou?

Maybe because his qb has the time and the arm to throw over 25 yds . . .