Hold That Thought, Sandy. I Have A Better Idea

A week ago, I laid out a plan for Sandy Alderson to get the Mets into contention as soon as 2014.

Well, hold that thought, Sandy. I have an even better idea.

1) Trade for Ryan Braun.

(Note: In all honesty, I’m not even sure if trading a suspended player is legal, but for this exercise, let’s assume it is.)

Hear me out.

-Braun’s trade value will never be lower.  It’s tough to argue this point.

-Braun has worn out his welcome in Milwaukee.  An editorial yesterday in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel called for his release.  Now, although the author clearly doesn’t understand how contracts work, I take this as a sign that the local sentiment is heavily anti-Braun right now which could be great news for the Mets.

-The Mets wouldn’t have to pay him in 2013. He is suspended without pay so they won't have to pay him a dollar until 2014 at which time Jason Bay and Johan Santana will be off the books.

-If he gets suspended again, he will face a lifetime ban.  This is clearly not optimal but not organizationally crippling either (as compared to an injury or having A-Rod under contract for the next half decade) since they would get out from his contract immediately.

-Braun will be uber-motivated to prove everyone wrong that PEDs are the reason for his success.  The guy was the fifth overall pick in the 2005 Draft. He has plenty of God-given talent which PEDs only enhanced.

-He will be underpaid until 2020. He signed a below market deal in April of 2011 which locked him up until at least 2020 with a mutual option for 2021 (Total: 7 years at $113m; 2014- $10m, 2015- $12m, 2016- $19m, 2017- $19m, 2018- $19m, 2019- $18m, 2020- $16m). David Wright and Ryan Braun hitting 3-4 in the Mets lineup for the next seven seasons? Yes, please!

-This is New York.  Perform and people forget all your past transgressions. Countless examples of this, namely Gooden and Strawberry and to a lesser degree Raul Ibanez who was never implicated for PEDs but very much suspected while playing with the Phillies.

-We are not talking about a murderer here.  Society forgives murderers (see Lewis, Ray); I think we can handle a steroid user. 

-Limited backlash.  It’s not like the Mets are selling tickets anyway.  Who is this going to piss off?  We aren’t talking about a Michael Vick-like situation where animal lovers unite to picket Citi Field.  There have been dozens, probably hundreds, of steroid users before and plenty more to follow.

-This would make the Mets interesting and must watch TV for the first time since 2006.  

-Proposed deal: OF Brandon Nimmo and RHP Cory Mazzoni for Braun. Clearly on talent alone, this wouldn’t work but due to the “extenuating” circumstances, isn’t it worth the phone call from Sandy Alderson to Doug Melvin to find out?  The Brewers have been clamoring to get a first round pick back since they lost their 2013 when they signed Kyle Lohse.  Nimmo was a first rounder in 2011.  He was a participant in the 2013 Futures Game.  He has a ton of upside.  (Make it convincing, Sandy.)

As much as I would love to see the Mets sign Robinson Cano their best bet to acquire talent is via trade as Flushing has not been the desired destination for top notch free agents since Carlos Beltran signed back in January of 2005. That’s an eight-year drought, going on nine for those keeping the book at home.

As for the rest of the plan, consider it altered, but only a bit.

2) Trade OF Marlon Byrd and RP Bobby Parnell to the Red Sox for INF Deven Marrero and RHP Matt Barnes.

Byrd isn’t fitting into the long term plans but can be paired with Daniel Nava to form an extremely productive platoon. Parnell can slot into either the eighth or ninth innings in Boston. Barnes is having a down year, but he’s striking out well more than a batter an inning and is only two years removed from being a first rounder. He’s also named Matt and from Connecticut. Just saying. Marrero can be a league average second baseman.

3) Trade SP Rafael Montero and 2B Daniel Murphy to the Dodgers for OF Joc Pederson.

The Mets have a surplus of arms (at least as it compares to their bats). Montero can be replaced. The Dodgers exchange a guy who is blocked, for the foreseeable future behind Yasiel Puig, Carl Crawford, and Matt Kemp (and possibly Andre Ethier if he sticks around) for a nice pitching prospect and a new starting second baseman. Pederson is on pace to go 25 HRs / 40 SBs in AA.  Yea, we’ll take it.

4) Figure out a way to obtain SS Chris Owings from the Diamondbacks.

I watched Owings play in the Futures Game and was blown away. He’s got a hosepiece from short, showed great range, and he swings the stick. Love the guy. He’s blocked in the desert by Aaron Hill, Martin Prado, Matt Davidson (Futures Game MVP), and Didi Gregorius. Maybe John Buck is an attractive piece to Arizona as a right-handed platoon mate of the struggling Miguel Montero? Does Buck, Ruben Tejada, and B- prospect for Owings work?

5) Shut down Matt Harvey.

Save the bullets plus tank for a better pick in the 2014 Draft. Keep enhancing the farm system. Carlos Rodon or Jacob Gatewood - who put on a show and a half at the HR Derby - would do just fine.

6) Sign OF Shin-Soo Choo, RP Grant Balfour, and RP Joaquin Benoit in the offseason.

Choo is an on-base machine. Slots perfectly atop the lineup. The relievers can be signed to short term deals as both will be 36 next season. If things go poorly to start 2014, they can be dealt for more assets at the trade deadline. Pretty sure the one-year salaries of Braun+Balfour+Benoit would equal a year of Cano (this is a change from my first plan).

2014 Rotation

1-Harvey

2-Niese

3-Wheeler

4-Syndergaard

5-Hefner/Gee/Barnes

2014 Lineup

RF- Choo
CF- Pederson
3B- Wright
LF- Braun 
1B- Ike / Wilmer Flores
SS- Owings
C- d’Arnaud

2B- Marrero

HOPE. Finally.

Fixing The Mets in Six Steps

It’s been nearly three months since my last post, and for that, I apologize. I won’t start to make excuses. I could say my parenting duties have gotten in the way or this is a slow time of year in sports or that it’s an extremely busy time at work right now. I could, but I won’t.

The three months that passed saw my biggest fans/followers in Europe begging for more writing.  I had numerous hits from Latvia, Poland, and old favorite, Ukraine. Why? I have no idea, but they were arriving at the Banter in droves, especially on July 14th. A slow Bastille Day, I assume.

What I will do is continue writing about ways to fix my beloved Mets. Lord, and anyone else that follows, knows the current plan – if there is one – is simply not working fast enough.

The Mets are in the largest market in the world. Yes, their owners are in financial trouble, but if things were that bad, wouldn’t they sell the team at a time when sports teams are being sold for astronomical prices?

The Mets and their fans can look across the coast at the LA Clippers. Forever the bastard step brothers of the almighty Lakers, the Clips are now the talk of the town in California. I think the Mets can pull off something similar.  The Yankees are primed for a fall.  They are an aging team with a farm system bereft (God, I love that word) of high impact talent at the AA or AAA levels.

Land of Hope

Two years ago, I wrote an article on how the Mets could turn themselves into contenders by 2013.  Sandy Alderson actually listened to my first suggestion but not any more.  I stand by that article now more so than I did then.  Some of those moves were genius, and none was a poor decision looking back.

I wrote another article this offseason asking Sandy to make some moves which would have turned the franchise around. Did any happen? Of course not.  Would they have looked extremely smart seven month later? Absolutely.

Let me try my hand one more time on the hopes that Sandy has seen my work and realizes he should listen.

My philosophies are simple here:
   1- Go out and target minor league hitters that are positionally blocked. The lineup is brutal to watch.
   2- Trade your relievers. The single most fungible position in baseball is the relief pitcher.
   3- Tank 2013. Let’s go get ourselves a top 3 pick in this draft.

Simple.

Now, how should this plan be executed?

1)    Trade RP Bobby Parnell, RP Josh Edgin, and OF Marlon Byrd to the Red Sox for OF Jackie Bradley, Jr. and INF Deven Marrero.

The Red Sox get two relievers under team control for a while to sure up their bullpen. Parnell could be the closer they have been looking for, and Edgin provides the lefty arm the Sox are lacking without Andrew Miller. Byrd can be a useful right handed bat off the bench.

The Mets get a top-100 prospect in Bradley that got off to an ice cold start this season, but who can cover a ton of ground in centerfield at spacious Citi Field and potentially bat leadoff in the future.  Marrero is blocked by Dustin Pedroia, Xander Bogaerts, Will Middlebrooks, and Jose Iglesias. He is nothing more than a utility infielder in Boston. For the Mets though, he can be an adequate 8-hole hitting second baseman that gets on base at a more than passable clip while playing great defense or a useful utility guy if #5 on this list happens.

2)    Trade SP Rafael Montero and 2B Daniel Murphy to the Dodgers for OF Joc Pederson.

The Mets have a surplus of arms (at least as it compares to their bats). Montero can be replaced. The Dodgers exchange a guy who is, you guessed it, blocked, for the foreseeable future behind Yasiel Puig, Carl Crawford, and Matt Kemp (and possibly Andre Ethier if he sticks around) for a nice pitching prospect and a new starting second baseman. Pederson is on pace to go 25 HRs / 40 SBs in AA.  Yea, we’ll take it.

3)    Figure out a way to obtain SS Chris Owings from the Diamondbacks.
 

Owings replaces Justin Smoak as my new man crush

I watched Owings play in the Futures Game and was blown away. He’s got a hosepiece from short, showed great range, and he swings the stick. Love the guy. He’s blocked in the desert by Aaron Hill, Martin Prado, Matt Davidson (Futures Game MVP), and Didi Gregorius. Maybe John Buck is an attractive piece to Arizona as a right-handed platoon mate of the struggling Miguel Montero? Does Buck, Ruben Tejada, and a prospect for Owings?

4)    Shut down Matt Harvey.
Save the bullets plus tank for a better pick in the 2014 Draft. Keep enhancing the farm system. Carlos Rodon, Trea Turner, or Jacob Gatewood (who put on a show and a half at the HR Derby) would all do just fine.

5)    Sign 2B Robinson Cano in the offseason.

Game. Changer. Overpay if you need to, but make this happen. Johan Santana and Jason Bay come off the books in October (after they get bought out). The Mets have basically no one under contract next season besides Wright and Jon Niese. They can fit Cano and one other free agent easily into the budget, assuming the budget is in the $90-100m range which it sounds like it should be. Get better and hurt the cross-town Yanks. Win. Win.

6)    Sign OF Shin-Soo Choo in the offseason.

On base machine. Slots perfectly atop the lineup.

2014 Rotation
1-Harvey
2-Niese
3-Wheeler
4-Syndergaard
5-Hefner/Gee

2014 Lineup
RF- Choo
CF- Bradley, Jr.
3B- Wright
2B- Cano
1B- Ike / Wilmer Flores
LF- Pederson
SS- Owings
C- d’Arnaud

This is an affordable, sustainable squad.

I would buy season tickets to watch this crew 90 times - including 9 home playoff games during their run to the World Series - in 2014.

Videos of the Week

Haven't done this in a while but I've seen some entertaining videos this week.

1- Stanley Cup Playoffs are here:




2- Adam Schefter has other things on his mind?

3- Do not call time out when the worst #1 overall pick in MLB history is on the mound:



(Skip to 0:45 mark)

4-Florida State’s 2013 starting quarterback (Jameis Winston) is pretty pumped that Florida State’s 2012 starting quarterback (EJ Manuel) just got picked 16^th overall:

Day 2 Thoughts

*This could have been a franchise altering draft for the Jets. Assuming no trade aside from the one they actually made for Chris Ivory, they could have had:

9- Dee Milliner
13- Tyler Eifert
39- Geno Smith
72- Keenan Allen or Stedman Bailey

Plus Ivory for their 4th rounder. Wow. Finally some playmakers in town, but of course it wasn't to be as they took Sheldon Richardson at 13 and G Brian Winters at 72.

I am on board with Geno though. Izdik needs to dump Sanchez, let Garrard start, and go 2-14. Then next year, Geno takes over at QB and they take Jadaveon Clowney #1 overall and we are back to being competitive.

*This has to be a first: Matt Barkley was the best available player after Day 1 AND Day 2 according to Kiper. Amazing

*I thought ESPN's main stage crew of Kiper-McShay-Dilfer-Wingo was the best they have to offer. Watching them was infinitely better than listening to Chris Berman.

*That being said, Bill Polian needs to go. Guy adds nothing.

*Six Picks I Loved:

-Tank Carradine to San Fran (40th overall) - Justin Smith can't play forever; succession plan now in place
-Robert Woods to Buffalo (41) - Second best reciver for me in the draft behind Nuke
-Kevin Minter to Arizona (45) - Solid, productive player
-Arthur Brown to Baltimore (56) - RayRay heir apparent
-Eddie Lacy to Green Bay (61) - Here's your offensive Rookie of the Year
-Keenan Allen to San Diego (76) - Should have gone to the Jets

*Four Picks I Didn't

-Kiko Alonso (46th overall) - This guy is a loose cannon; watched a lot of Oregon games and saw him flip out a few too many times after the whistle
-Le'Veon Bell to Pittsburgh (48) & Montee Ball to Denver (58) - Please tell me the last time a Big Ten running back selected in the first three rounds worked out well in the NFL-

 Shonn Greene? Beanie Wells? Rashard Mendenhall? Maurice Clarrett? Laurence Maroney? Chris Perry? TJ Duckett? Curtis Enis? Tim Biakabatuka? Ki-Jana Carter? Ty Wheatley?

Only guy I can think of is Larry Johnson and even that was a quick peak.
-Christine Michael to Seattle (62) - They already have Marshawn Lynch and Robert Turbin in place

*Guy I'm Rooting For: Tyrann Mathieu

*Startting to feel bad for Ryan Nassib who was projected by many to be a top 10 pick. National Football Post has him ranked as their #1 overall prospect. Not overall as of this minute. Overall from the beginning of the draft. Whoops.

(Guest Appearance) NFL Draft 2013 Round 1 Reaction

Welcome special guest, Ricky to give his first round thoughts


1)    Kansas City: Eric Fisher, T, Central Michigan – Not a bad pick if you want to break him in at RT this season while Brandon Albert plays through his franchise tag and move him over next season to protect your QB’s blindside.

2)    Jacksonville: Luke Joeckel, T, Texas A&M – Projected to go #1 in a ton of mock drafts, probably safest pick on the board so good move by the new regime to not screw up this pick. Geno Smith and Matt Barkley still available at #33 makes this look good.

3)    Miami (via Oakland): Dion Jordan, DE/OLB, Oregon – Unless the Dolphins know they have Brandon Albert with their 54th pick from the Chiefs, I don’t understand this pick. He’s a hybrid 3-4 OLB that doesn’t seem to fit this scheme and he played about half of Oregon’s defensive snaps. Freak athlete, but this pick comes with some questions.

4)    Philadelphia: Lane Johnson, T, Oklahoma – As a Giants fan I like this pick and like that he immediately called out the Giants super-athlete Jason Pierre Paul because he played QB against him in Junior College in 2008. Good luck, rookie.

5)    Detroit: Ezekiel Ansah, DE, BYU – Not a fan of Ansah going to Detroit, don’t like the situation for him there. I don’t think he’ll maximize his potential but the Lions staff did coach him at the Senior Bowl where he dominated everyone on the field. They have to know what they’re getting so can’t knock the pick.

6)    Cleveland: Barkevious Mingo, DE, LSU – Freak athlete without the production. He’ll fit into the Browns scheme so the only thing left to see here is if he can match his production with his measurables.

7)    Arizona: Jonathan Cooper, G, UNC – I tweeted this last night but no one follows me so I’ll say again: I never care about offensive lineman in the draft, don’t watch tape and don’t get impressed by them – when I first saw Cooper play a couple months ago, impressed. He’s been a favorite of mine for a while and I think he’ll end up in the Pro-Bowl this season.

8)    St. Louis (via Buffalo): Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia – Couple people don’t like this pick because Austin is small, who cares? Guy is lightning, putting him on turf will only make him more electrifying. He’s a home-run hitter and a threat from anywhere on the field, love the pick – not over analyzing the size issue. If you can play, you can play. He can play.

9)    New York Jets: Dee Milliner, CB, Alabama – Jets get the top corner in the draft when he easily could’ve gone 5-6 picks before this. I think it hits a need and it’s great value, he’s the best on the board at this point and he should be a very good player for them.

10)    Tennessee: Chance Warmack, G, Alabama – This pick was widely mocked and made a ton of sense. Tennessee has now added two stud guards who can run block with the best of them, Chris Johnson has officially run out of excuses, he either backs up his claim of 2,100 yards or he’s flat out not that good because if you can’t do it behind this line it’s not going to be their fault anymore.

11)    San Diego: D.J. Fluker, T, Alabama – Chargers needed help along the line and got it here. I still don’t know what they’re going to do about LT because Fluker is a cut and dry RT, so there’s still a hole on Philip Rivers blind side.

12)    Oakland (via Miami): DJ Hayden, CB, Houston – Oakland wanted Hayden and was able to move back 9 spots and still get their guy. Somehow Oakland’s moves made a lot of sense in round 1 – Al Davis is probably rolling over in his grave but it looks like the Raiders have a handle on things right now.

13)    New York Jets (via Tampa Bay): Sheldon Richardson, DT, Missouri – Don’t hate the player, hate the pick. Richardson is a very solid player, but was he drafted #13 to make in impact or provide depth behind Coples and Wilkerson? This was a head scratcher but you’ve got to think the new regime has a plan.

14)    Carolina: Star Lotulelei, DT, Utah – Great get for the Panthers, they’ve now added a huge body to shield blockers from last year’s #1 pick Luke Kuechly. Their defense just got a lot better.

15)    New Orleans: Kenny Vaccaro, S, Texas – Had to take him, needed help on defense in the worst way and they got it.

16)    Buffalo (via St. Louis): EJ Manuel, QB, Florida State – Huge reach, huge slap in the face to Ryan Nassib by his former college coach Doug Marone… This was a huge curveball and not a lot to love about this pick from Buffalo. Could’ve traded back again with the 49ers and taken Manuel 31st easily.

17)    Pittsburgh: Jarvis Jones, OLB, Georgia – We pretty much nailed this one, obvious or not, and I love the pick and fit. Here’s what I said in our mock: “Smarter organizations usually take advantage of the ones at the top of the draft who tend to overthink things a little too much…. Pittsburgh will welcome Jones with open arms like they did with a certain undrafted free agent castoff named James Harrison, who he’s now replacing. But Jones will produce, bottom line.” My call for Defensive Rookie of the Year and I’m calling 8+ sacks.

18)    San Francisco (via Dallas): Eric Reid, S, LSU – One of my favorite players in the draft and one I thought was severely underrated by all the draft experts. He’s highly athletic and an extremely high character guy, I don’t know if the 49ers had to move up this far to get him but somehow they only gave up a 3rd rounder for it. Great trade for them and fills a big need. Sorry Craig Dahl.

19)    New York Giants: Justin Pugh, T/G/C, Syracuse – You’ve got to assume some guys the Giants thought would fall to them just missed, and they went with the safest and/or highest player on their board. At first glance I hated this pick, I wasn’t prepared for an offensive lineman with so many already off the board – but you dig deeper into this kid’s profile and you’ve got to love what you see and hear. He’s a very smart kid, described to be “tough as nails” and he’s a technician. He’s touted as one of the best blockers in the draft and he can play any position on the line, he’s going to be an important piece of the puzzle in 2013 along that offensive line. *The NY Giants hadn’t used a first round pick on an offensive lineman since Luke Petitgout in 1999 with the 19th pick, now Justin Pugh.. with the 19th pick. Lot of 19’s in there.

20)    Chicago: Kyle Long, T/G, Oregon – Didn’t have a lot of big school experience coming into the draft, but the pedigree is there. Maybe a reach, I would’ve rather seen them take Tyler Eifert here but their line has been a constant issue for a long time.

21)    Cincinnati: Tyler Eifert, TE, Notre Dame – This is a steal for the Bengals, home run type of pick. He’ll contribute immediately and will make Andy Dalton’s life much easier, wouldn’t be surprised to see Dalton have a big year, he’s got mismatches all over the field now.

22)    Atlanta (via St. Louis via WASH): Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington – Another guy I’m not sure needed to be traded up for, but he’s a burner who can cover. Pedigree is there, grew up around the NFL, he’s ready to play in the league.

23)    Minnesota: Sharrif Floyd, DT, Florida – Could be a steal for the Vikings, this guy was projected in the top 5 consistently without any movement the last 3 months. He will be mentored by some great lineman in Minnesota which will set him up for big time success at this level.

24)    Indianapolis: Bjoern Werner, DE, Florida State – High. Motor. Really would’ve liked to see Indianapolis use this pick to strengthen the interior of that defensive line, but can’t argue the pick considering the loss of Dwight Freeney. Argument could be made they should’ve had his replacement available but with the transition to a 3-4 defense Werner will be right at home.

25)    Minnesota (via Seattle): Xavier Rhodes, CB, Florida State – Two really big picks for Minnesota on the defensive side of the ball, Rhodes is a tall physical corner who will be able to match up well with Calvin Johnson and Brandon Marshall in this division.

26)    Green Bay: Datone Jones, DE/OLB, UCLA – Really like this pick, they need someone who can take the heat off Matthews on the other side and “Da Tone Setta” has the ability to do so.

27)    Houston: DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Clemson – Houston wanted Hopkins and didn’t have to move to get him – Andre Johnson probably went crazy after this pick, he finally has a WR to run with.

28)    Denver: Sylvester Williams, DT, UNC – Straight value pick here, I thought Williams should’ve went to Indy at 24 but the Broncos get a steal here at 28. Thought Lacy might be an option here, but this strengthens an already strong defense for the Broncos.

29)    Minnesota (via New England): Cordarrelle Patterson, WR, Tennessee – Vikings hit 3 quality picks with 3 first rounders. May have sacrificed the rest of your draft but when you come out of night one with 3 new starters you can bet they feel pretty good about that. Patterson is very raw with his route running but if the ball gets in his hands, watch out.

30)    St. Louis (via Atlanta): Alec Ogletree, LB, Georgia – My favorite pure athlete in the draft right here. Rams maneuvered all night long and I loved it, they’ve been smart with their picks two years in a row now and are slowly and steadily building a roster filled with young athletes. Character concerns are everywhere with Ogletree, but Fisher made me a believer with Janoris Jenkins and I don’t think Ogletree’s baggage is as severe.

31)    Dallas (via San Francisco): Travis Frederick, C, Wisconsin.

32)    Baltimore: Matt Elam, S, Florida – Really thought Baltimore would be looking ILB here and I thought Te’o was going to be taken but the Ravens get a safety to help ease the loss of Ed Reed. Elam can hit, but he’s nowhere near the prospect Reed was.

First Round Draft Thoughts

The life of being a Jets fan….

Here is the rollercoaster we have been on over the last few months.

September 23, 2012: We watch Darrelle Revis go down with a season-ending (both for him and the Jets) knee injury; Jets were 2-1 at the time

Next 13 Weeks: Jets fans try to shield their eyes each week as team goes 4-9 the rest of the season and finishes as the ninth worst team in football

Next Four Months: Woody Johnson and Co. butcher any leverage the team might have with either the player or with any teams interested in trading for DR.

April 22, 2013: Jets trade Revis for the 13^th pick in this year’s draft and a conditional 2014 pick, a meager return for one of the best defensive players in football

April 25, 2013: Jets take Alabama CB Dee Milliner (like this pick a lot, predicted it on Monday here). Even though everyone knows he is a replacement for Revis, I think it’s good for the kid that he wasn’t picked in the exact pick acquired for Revis.

Less than an hour later, they take Missouri DT Sheldon Richardson.

First reaction: shock.

Second reaction: Hated the pick. We had him going to the Panthers at 14 in our final mock so I don’t think it was terrible pick in a vaccuum, but the Jets already have two stud defensive tackles in Mo Wilkerson and Quinton Coples. They have much bigger needs than DT.

Then, I watched a little tape and started hating the pick a little less. 

After a little more research though, I saw that he bashed the whole SEC - specifically Georgia - before Missouri had ever played a game in the conference. Do we really need this kind of player in New York? Don’t we have enough media attention / problems?  He’s also had weight issues and has less than a dozen college starts to his name. I don’t have high hopes for this guy.

What would I have done: trade down.

Two teams traded up in the draft. The Jets should have been the one trading down with them.

A trade down with the Falcons would have sent the 13^th pick to Atlanta for picks 30, 92, and 198 (the Rams got this return for the 22^nd pick so there’s no way the Jets would not have gotten this deal).

Follow that up with a trade with the Vikings which would have sent that 30^th pick to Minnesota for picks 52, 83, 102, and 229 (the Patriots got this return).

That would have left them with these picks to fill a lot more needs: 39, 52, 72, 83, 92, 102, 106, 141, 178, 198, 215, and 229

Eight picks in the top 106? YES PLEASE!

Nah, instead, we’ll fortify the only position on the team we can actually call a strength.

********************

Other thoughts

*Overall, I’m pretty pleased with our mock. We drilled 27 of the 32 first rounders which was the same as Scouts Inc and Todd McShay and one more than Mel Kiper, Jr.

*We either exactly predicted a spot or were one slot off on 13 of the 32 picks.

*Biggest regret was including Ryan Nassib. We should have seen through the smokescreens.

*Tweeted this last night but haven’t heard any response: How do I make a wager that Bengals will take Damontre Moore? Huge DLine prospect entering season from big school that slips following Michael Johnson, Carlos Dunlap, Geno Atkins, Devon Still, & Brandon Thompson. Only question is which round.

*Best Available: RWoods, KMinter, ELacy, MWatson, JCyprien, TCarradine, and ABrown. Would be happy with any of these seven.

*Best pick: Nuke Hopkins was one of my top five players in this draft.  Great pick by the Texans at 27.

*Worst pick: Aside from Travis Frederick who was AWFUL at #30, the Bills didn’t solve their QB needs with EJ Manuel. I wagered enough units on Florida State last season to know this guy is not worthy of a mid-first round pick.

*Mock of the Next Seven Picks:

33) Jacksonville: Kevin Minter, LB, LSU

34) San Francisco from KC: Jamar Taylor, CB, Boise State

35) Philadelphia: Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia

36) Detroit: Jon Cyprien, S, FIU

37) Cincinnati from Oakland: Arthur Brown, LB, Kansas State

38) Arizona: Mike Glennon, QB, NC State

39) New York Jets: Robert Woods, WR, USC

Final Mock Draft with Ricky

Round 1

1) Kansas City (TSB): Luke Joeckel, OT, Texas A&M
2) Jacksonville (Ricky): Eric Fisher, OT, Central Michigan
3) Oakland (TSB): Sharrif Floyd, DT, Florida 
4) Philadelphia (Ricky): Dion Jordan, DE/OLB, Oregon
5) Detroit (TSB): Lane Johnson, OT, Oklahoma
6) Cleveland (Ricky): Ezekiel Ansah, DE, BYU
7) Arizona (TSB): Jon Cooper, G, North Carolina
8) Buffalo (Ricky): Ryan Nassib, QB, Syracuse
9) New York Jets (TSB): Dee Milliner, CB, Alabama

Need to break out some analysis here. The Jets have more gaping holes on their team than Tamerlan Tsarnaev did once the Boston PD found him. Look at the positions they need to address (in order of importance): QB, CB, WR, RB, DE, S, and OG. Oh, and they have no money to spend this year. The towel has been thrown on 2013 so let’s focus on 2014.

QB: Mark Sanchez might be the perfect answer this season because we want to lose as many games as possible. No better QB in the league to get that done than Sanchez. I’m staying away from Geno Smith for that reason.

CB: I hate the Revis trade for so many reasons. Among others: 1- He was the Jets best player; 2- It kills their cap this year, 3- Kyle Wilson is now a starter, and 4- This is not a strong draft. Milliner can’t sniff Revis’ jock but he’s the best on the board right now, and he’s a huge upgrade over Wilson. He also isn’t fully healthy at this moment so I ‘m ok with his taking the whole season to prep for 2014.

WR/RB/TE: I know I sound like a broken record, but this team needs playmakers. Unfortunately this is too early to grab one. Not a good year for skill guys in this draft. I considered Tavon Austin, Nuke Hopkins, and even Tyler Eifert, but the value just isn’t there.

DE: I think there will be some options at 13 to address this position.

S: I like Kenny Vaccaro, but not enough to take him in the top 13. We’ll find one in the later rounds.

G: The only other guy I considered here was Chance Warmack. It’s tough to get excited about interior linemen though so if he’s available at 13, great. If not, we’ll likely go DE.

10) Tennessee (Ricky): Chance Warmack, G, Alabama
11) San Diego (TSB): Star Lotulelei, DT, Utah
12) Miami (Ricky): DJ Hayden, CB, Houston
13) New York Jets from TB (TSB): Jarvis Jones, OLB/DE, Georgia

I would be happy with Jones here, but best case scenario would be trading down deeper into the round (for Eifert, Hopkins, Austin, or Vaccaro) and adding some picks.

14) Carolina (Ricky): Sheldon Richardson, DT, Missouri
15) New Orleans (TSB): Barkevious Mingo, OLB/DE, LSU
16) St. Louis (Ricky): Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia
17) Pittsburgh (TSB): Bjoern Werner, DE, Florida State 
18) Dallas (Ricky): DJ Fluker, OT, Alabama
19) New York Giants (Ricky): Cornellius “Tank” Carradine, DE, FSU

I’m convinced the Giants only draft certain types of players: a top-10 player who unexpectedly falls in their lap, or a defensive end. They have insanely obvious gaping holes at LB (among others), but refuse to improve that area of their defense. I do think that the guys they do draft end up helping. I believe a LB would help more than anything, but that’s simply not an option in round 1 with this front office. Tank Carradine was a big-time prospect before he blew out his knee this past season, but has a reputation as a guy with a high motor (no, seriously) and a guy with great leadership qualities. Those are in line with the Giants way. He’s only 5 or so months removed from ACL surgery and just ran a 4.75 40 at 6’5/270, impressive and not even fully recovered. He’s a guy that could be the annual “steal of the draft” and rotate in nicely with starters in place in NY. He won’t be rushed back and will be in one of the best situations a DE could find himself to adjust to the pro game.

20) Chicago (TSB): Tyler Eifert, TE, Notre Dame
21) Cincinnati (TSB): Alec Ogletree, LB, Georgia
22) St. Louis from WASH (Ricky): Kenny Vaccaro, S, Texas
23) Minnesota (TSB): Nuke Hopkins, WR, Clemson
24) Indianapolis (Ricky): Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington
25) Minnesota from SEA (TSB): Sylvester Williams, DT, North Carolina    
26) Green Bay (Ricky): Eddie Lacy, RB, Alabama
27) Houston (TSB): Menelik Watson, OT, Florida State
28) Denver (Ricky): Xavier Rhodes, CB, Florida State
29)  New England (TSB): Cordarrelle Patterson, WR, Tennessee
30) Atlanta (Ricky): Kyle Long, OL, Oregon
31) San Francisco (TSB): Datone Jones, DE, UCLA
32) Baltimore (Ricky): Manti Teo, LB, Notre Dame

Round 2

33) Jacksonville (TSB): Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia

34) San Francisco from KC (Ricky): Jon Cyprien, S, FIU

35) Philadelphia (TSB): EJ Manuel, QB, Florida State

36) Detroit (Ricky): Jamar Taylor, CB, Boise State

37) Cincinnati from Oakland (TSB): Eric Reid, S, LSU

38) Arizona (Ricky): Kevin Minter, LB, LSU

Cleveland (exercised in 2012 supplemental draft)

39) New York Jets (TSB): Robert Woods, WR, USC

40) Tennessee (Ricky): Zach Ertz, TE, Stanford

41) Buffalo (TSB): Justin Hunter, WR, Tennessee

42) Miami (Ricky): Terron Armstead, OT, APB

43) Tampa Bay (TSB): Margus Hunt, DE, SMU

44) Carolina (Ricky): Matt Elam, S, Florida

New Orleans (forfeited)

45) San Diego (TSB): Justin Pugh, OT, Syracuse

46) St. Louis (Ricky): Jon Jenkins, DT, Georgia

47) Dallas (TSB): Arthur Brown, LB, Kansas State

48) Pittsburgh (Ricky): Keenan Allen, WR, Cal

49) New York Giants (Ricky): Khaseem Green, LB, Rutgers

50) Chicago (TSB): Travis Frederick, C, Wisconsin

51) Washington (TSB): Gavin Escobar, TE, San Diego State

52) Minnesota (Ricky): Johnthan Banks, CB, Mississippi State

53) Cincinnati (TSB): Jon Franklin, RB, UCLA

54) Miami from Indianapolis (Ricky): Ryan Swope, WR, Texas A&M

55) Green Bay (TSB): Corey Lemonier, LB, Auburn

56) Seattle (Ricky): Kawann Short, DT, Purdue

57) Houston (TSB): Terrance Williams, WR, Baylor

58) Denver (Ricky): Blidi Wreh-Wilson, CB, Connecticut

59) New England (TSB): Sanders Commings, CB, Georgia

60) Atlanta (Ricky): Cornelius Washington, DE/LB, Georgia

61) San Francisco (TSB): Matt Barkley, QB, USC

62) Baltimore (Ricky): Robert Alford, CB, Southeast Louisiana