the hype about Brick

[bman]

A good player," my man says, "but not in the class of a Tony Boselli. I'd say more on the level of a Levi Jones."

It can be a mystifying position at times. The surest left tackle bet since Boselli was Robert Gallery of Iowa and look at him now, struggling at RT for the Raiders.

"The only thing I can think of," says our super-scout, "is that those Iowa tackles are so well coached, so well drilled, that their excellence of technique masks their athletic ability."

The second-best tackle projection is Winston Justice of USC. Potentially a top 10 selection?

"A risk," says my man. "Great ability, but his performance depended on which game you watched him in. He didn't play in 2004 and he absolutely should have stayed in school another year. He really would have helped himself. He has athletic ability, he'll look great in workouts, he's just inconsistent."

OK, I'll do it this way. I'll shoot out the names, followed by Deep Throat's capsule comments and hopefully we'll find a top 10 choice or two.

Ohio State LB A.J. Hawk and Maryland TE Vernon Davis:

"Both should be top 10. When's the last time you saw a tight end run in the 4.3s? I don't remember ever seeing one."

Jimmy Williams of Virginia Tech, supposedly the best cornerback:

"An enigma. Played much better in '04 than '05. More of a cover two corner. Maybe they could move him inside."

How about Max Jean-Gilles, the 355-pound Georgia guard, plus another serious jumbo, Haloti Ngata, the 338-pound Oregon DT?

"Jean-Gilles is a road grader type. When you see him live, he's more athletic than he looks on tape. But he's got a weight problem, and the percentage of guys who overcome that isn't good. Ngata is a man, a huge physical guy. If he wants to he can really stack things up at the point, but he didn't play hard all the time. There wasn't a lot of production. I'm afraid he's more hype than substance

[Stonehands]

Your guy must work for an NFL team because he has given himself an out on everyone you asked him about except for Davis.

[PeterNorth09]

You broke the cardinal rule of this site; you're not allowed to post anything even remotely negative about D'Brickashaw Ferguson. Don't mention Robert Gallery and how Al Davis passed over guys like Larry Fitzgerald and Ben Roethlisberger to get a mediocre lineman. Don't mention that there is at least 12 other good OT prospects available in this draft.

We either need to trade down or draft either Young or Cutler.

[The Troll]

You broke the cardinal rule of this site; you're not allowed to post anything even remotely negative about D'Brickashaw Ferguson. Don't mention Robert Gallery and how Al Davis passed over guys like Larry Fitzgerald and Ben Roethlisberger to get a mediocre lineman. Don't mention that there is at least 12 other good OT prospects available in this draft.

Also, don't mention about how the Seahawks drafted Walter Jones and passed up studs Ike Hilliard, Tommy Knight, and Chris Naole. Also, don't mention how the Ravens drafted Jon Ogden 4th overall instead of going with a proven difference maker like Lawrence Phillips, Cedric Jones, or Tim Biakabutuka. Don't forget you also aren't allowed to mention the pure stupidity of the Redskins for drafting Chris Samuels when Peter FN Warrick was still on the board!

Good point, Peter, we should draft Vince Young instead.

[PeterNorth09]

The first time I noticed Mario Williams in college was when NC State played UVA and, to Al Groh's disdain, Mario sacked the UVA quarterback.

The LT who Mario beat to get the sack? D'Brickashaw Ferguson. Point is, I don't think Ferguson will be a bust, I just don't think he is so amazing that we need to use the #4 pick on him and ignore the 10-12 other good Tackle prospects in this draft that we can get later and cheaper. Especially when we have so many other needs on offense and defense.

Troll we can go your way and every time we have a need just draft the most highly touted player at that position and ignore the rest of our needs. Who needs to trade down when you can get Mel Kiper's favorite OT in the draft?

Who needs Vince Young or Jay Cutler when you can get Brodie Croyle or Whitehurst? Is there a part of Brodie Croyle's body that he hasn't injured yet in high school and college? I'm sure he'll be a durable player in the nfl.

But wait, we have Patrick Ramsey. If I had to say right now whether or not I could see Ramsey ever taking us to a Super Bowl I would have to say no. Especially if we get Ramsey no playmakers to work with, which is the current plan.

[The Troll]

The first time I noticed Mario Williams in college was when NC State played UVA and, to Al Groh's disdain, Mario sacked the UVA quarterback.

The LT who Mario beat to get the sack? D'Brickashaw Ferguson. Point is, I don't think Ferguson will be a bust, I just don't think he is so amazing that we need to use the #4 pick on him and ignore the 10-12 other good Tackle prospects in this draft that we can get later and cheaper. Especially when we have so many other needs on offense and defense.

Troll we can go your way and every time we have a need just draft the most highly touted player at that position and ignore the rest of our needs. Who needs to trade down when you can get Mel Kiper's favorite OT in the draft?

Who needs Vince Young or Jay Cutler when you can get Brodie Croyle or Whitehurst? Is there a part of Brodie Croyle's body that he hasn't injured yet in high school and college? I'm sure he'll be a durable player in the nfl.

But wait, we have Patrick Ramsey. If I had to say right now whether or not I could see Ramsey ever taking us to a Super Bowl I would have to say no. Especially if we get Ramsey no playmakers to work with, which is the current plan.

First of all, Croyle and Whitehurst will be better pro QBs than Vince Young.

Please show me a link that says Mario got by D'Brick 3 times, as you claimed the other day. I searched everywhere trying to find this and came up empty. My liking of D'Brick has NOTHING to do with Mel Kiper. That's a really dumb argument for you to make since both the heads of Mel Kiper and yourself are wedged up Vince Young's ass.

By drafting D'Brick, how exactly do we "ignore the rest of our needs"? How is getting the best o-lineman to come out in years ignoring our needs?

Now, go ahead and retort. Say something about Robert Gallery and ask me how many Rose Bowls Vince Young needs to win to get me to believe in him. Also, tell me I only dislike him because he is black, and not because he doesn't have the skills to be a good pro quarterback.

[vinnys025]

My Mind's made up, draft Super Mario...case closed.

[stormshadow19]

First of all, Croyle and Whitehurst will be better pro QBs than Vince Young.

Please show me a link that says Mario got by D'Brick 3 times, as you claimed the other day. I searched everywhere trying to find this and came up empty. My liking of D'Brick has NOTHING to do with Mel Kiper. That's a really dumb argument for you to make since both the heads of Mel Kiper and yourself are wedged up Vince Young's ass.

By drafting D'Brick, how exactly do we "ignore the rest of our needs"? How is getting the best o-lineman to come out in years ignoring our needs?

Now, go ahead and retort. Say something about Robert Gallery and ask me how many Rose Bowls Vince Young needs to win to get me to believe in him. Also, tell me I only dislike him because he is black, and not because he doesn't have the skills to be a good pro quarterback.

I've gotta back Troll in this. Brick's a better choice than Williams. How? Well.. If they do switch to a 3/4 full time, Robertson would be better suited as a 3/4 DE, as opposed to the 3/4 DT. I don't think Robertson can absorb as many blockers as a 3/4 DT needs to. He could do that as a 3/4 DE. Which would mean DE really isn't a need. DT would be, big time. But, if you have a chance to draft a LT who can be good for 10 years, you do it. Yeah, bring up Robert Gallery, who's playing RT, not LT. RT's are usually run blockers, road graders. Gallery was never much of a road grader. He's a QB's bodyguard. He's playing out of position. If he were to move to LT, he'd probably dominate.

[DeathMetalJetsFan]

I've gotta back Troll in this. Brick's a better choice than Williams. How? Well.. If they do switch to a 3/4 full time, Robertson would be better suited as a 3/4 DE, as opposed to the 3/4 DT. I don't think Robertson can absorb as many blockers as a 3/4 DT needs to. He could do that as a 3/4 DE. Which would mean DE really isn't a need. DT would be, big time. But, if you have a chance to draft a LT who can be good for 10 years, you do it. Yeah, bring up Robert Gallery, who's playing RT, not LT. RT's are usually run blockers, road graders. Gallery was never much of a road grader. He's a QB's bodyguard. He's playing out of position. If he were to move to LT, he'd probably dominate.

The thing is, we wont be playing a full time 3-4 D. We'll be playing a scheme that shows alot of different looks and tries to capitalize on mismatches. The only player we have right now capable of causing mismatches up front, is D rob. That's where Williams comes in.

W/ a heavy rotation, which I can pretty much promise we will see, we need bodies capable of fulfilling the scheme and creating mismatches, which in turn causes disruption to the opposition. D rob and Williams would be a good start.

As for Brick. His resume speaks for itself. He's a great prospect who has a chance to be special. However, there are a number of fans who get very defensive any time anyone mentions us taking anybody but him. Or mentioning the weaknesses he possesses. I'm not quite sure what has fueled this love affair, but although brick is a great player..he is not the god of football prospects.

There are other options at # 4 who would be great picks aside from Brick. And w/ 5 picks on da 1, as long as we get quality value at all our spots, no one should be dissapointed w/ any moves we make.

[stormshadow19]

There are other options at # 4 who would be great picks aside from Brick. And w/ 5 picks on da 1, as long as we get quality value at all our spots, no one should be dissapointed w/ any moves we make.

Unless they draft a QB.

I'm aware they're not going to employ the 3/4 full time. They're probably going to run a ton of different sets. 4/3, 3/4, 2/5, 2/3, and so on. Maybe even that 1/10 I've heard so much about.

[shutout]

The first time I noticed Mario Williams in college was when NC State played UVA and, to Al Groh's disdain, Mario sacked the UVA quarterback.

The LT who Mario beat to get the sack? D'Brickashaw Ferguson. Point is, I don't think Ferguson will be a bust, I just don't think he is so amazing that we need to use the #4 pick on him and ignore the 10-12 other good Tackle prospects in this draft that we can get later and cheaper. Especially when we have so many other needs on offense and defense.

Oh my god,D'Brick allowed a sack? Well that settles it,he'll now fall to the 6th round. Hell,maybe we can get him as an UDFA.

Troll we can go your way and every time we have a need just draft the most highly touted player at that position and ignore the rest of our needs. Who needs to trade down when you can get Mel Kiper's favorite OT in the draft?

So by drafting the BAP who also happens to fill a need,we're ignoring our needs. I guess we better pass on Leinart/Cutler if they're there,since we'll be ignoring our other needs. D'brick is not just Mel Kiper's favorite OT,he is the consensus #1 on the board. Why does Kiper liking him as a prospect make him any less of one? He's got Vince Young and Jay Cutler rated high too,so I guess you only think we should grab one of them because Kiper likes them huh?

Who needs Vince Young or Jay Cutler when you can get Brodie Croyle or Whitehurst? Is there a part of Brodie Croyle's body that he hasn't injured yet in high school and college? I'm sure he'll be a durable player in the nfl.

But wait, we have Patrick Ramsey. If I had to say right now whether or not I could see Ramsey ever taking us to a Super Bowl I would have to say no. Especially if we get Ramsey no playmakers to work with, which is the current plan.

Kind of hard for any QB to win a superbowl when he spends 60% of the game on his ass.