Lions no.1 pick Jason Smith

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

Originally Posted by atlsteelers

CMR does run a prostyle offense - although he does not aspire to actually coach at the pro-ranks like jags did. mathew was frustrating at times watching him play but i really think he will be a franchise qb at the next level. as far as the talent that was around stafford last year? he played on a team that lost 18 players for the season due to injuries so he was playing with a sophmore at left takle (Clint Boling),a true freshman left guard (Cordy Glenn), a true freshman center (Ben Jones), redshirt sophomore right guard (Chris Davis) and redshirt sophomore right tackle (Josh Davis). Stafford had a ton of talent at the skill positions but uga's offensive line would have willie colon looking like a hall of famer. so i think stafford's ability to play behind such a young and inexpeirenced offensive line was a great credit to him.

i think stafford is a better talent than all of the qbs in last years draft - but hey i watched him play on saturdays and i am i am very biased.

anyhow - if it was my team i would draft a qb.

I hear ya. The O line was young and inexperienced..........but Georgia O line coach Stacy Searels is regarded as one of the best in the game. Stafford realld doesnt impress me that much to think he should be the #1 pick. Sam Bradford would be the #1 pick and Stafford would go around #8-12 if Bradford didnt stay in school.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

Originally Posted by Dylan

i see where you are coming from, but name one player that harrington or smith had to look up to..they came in right away and started.....stafford could sit out a year and learn from none other than daunte culpepper...then get their tackle for the next decade in oher

Can we agree that Bill Parcells has some kind of idea how to build a football team?? I believe he won some super bowls in NY, then resurrected a terrible franchise in NE and too them to a Super Bowl, again rebuilt the Jets and last year took the worst team in the NFL to .................the AFC East title.

What does Parcells do?? Builds around the line first (Jumbo Elliot in NY, Bruce Armstrong in NE, Jake Long in Miami). Schwartz will do the same and draft Smith or Monroe with the #1 pick and then go with Freeman in the 2nd round to play behind Culpepper.

[atlsteelers]

Originally Posted by El-Gonzo Jackson

Can we agree that Bill Parcells has some kind of idea how to build a football team?? I believe he won some super bowls in NY, then resurrected a terrible franchise in NE and too them to a Super Bowl, again rebuilt the Jets and last year took the worst team in the NFL to .................the AFC East title.

What does Parcells do?? Builds around the line first (Jumbo Elliot in NY, Bruce Armstrong in NE, Jake Long in Miami). Schwartz will do the same and draft Smith or Monroe with the #1 pick and then go with Freeman in the 2nd round to play behind Culpepper.

chuck noll always said it too. build through the lines first - thats one of the reasons the steelers drafted rivera instead of marino

but your correct in that its good to build the lines first however if a franchise qb comes along i would take him

[St33lersguy]

They should take Andre Smith

Seriously it is a tough decision and who knows what they end up doing. As much of a risk it is to get the franchise QB I think that when a team like the Lions are basically starting over from square 1 that they need a new leader to try to resurrect the franchise. They shouldn't rush him in they should take their time getting him in maybe get some pointers from Daunte Culpepper & in the 3rd or 4th year get him in as the starter. Besides they need a young QB, Daunte is old & past his prime & what else do they have?

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

Originally Posted by Psyychoward86

If they really are picking him with the #1 pick of the draft, they probably cant go wrong. Im not sure how their early o-line pick Gosder Cherilius from last year did, but im sure he'll have a better year. It's never good to have a rookie QB thrown into the fire with a shitty line rofl, so i like this pick by the lions. Everyone else, please leave Alex Mack for us

From what i have seen and read, Cherilus went offside more than Willie Colon did and was in the dog house for not giving a solid effort in practice and lost his job to George Foster midway in the season.

Cherilus finished the season as the starter, but clearly struggled with speed rushers and looks like a RT only. IMO, they used way too high of a draft pick on a guy that will only be a RT like Cherilus.

I think Eugene Monroe is the safer OT pick, but Jason Smith has more of an upside. The kid likes to finish blocks and like he said in an interview, he gets excited at the thought of "physically assaulting defenders".

[steelreserve]

Originally Posted by Psyychoward86

If they really are picking him with the #1 pick of the draft, they probably cant go wrong. Im not sure how their early o-line pick Gosder Cherilius from last year did, but im sure he'll have a better year. It's never good to have a rookie QB thrown into the fire with a shitty line rofl, so i like this pick by the lions. Everyone else, please leave Alex Mack for us

Of course they can go wrong. A couple of obvious reasons why in this case:

1) They will improve the line but still have no quarterback to block for
2) They are now probably paying $10 million a year to a rookie offensive lineman (anyone remember Tony Mandarich?)
3) They are the Lions. Nothing goes right when you are the Lions.

Honestly, in this draft, if you have one of the top picks, you're probably better off trading down instead of using it. The Lions could probably trade down to #10-15 and get a top quarterback prospect AND a lineman. The Raiders would take that deal; they're stupid enough.

[ShutDown24]

If Detroit really is taking Jason Smith I don't have much problem with it. Monroe at #1 would be a mistake and unless you are in love with a quarterback you should never take him in the first.

But... If I were the Lions, I would...

A. Trade down

B. Select best player available throughout draft (excluding RB)

C. Hope Culpepper and Drew Stanton can get you a few wins. It isn't impossible.

D. Hand off to Kevin Smith and Maurice Morris a lot throught the season - rely on defense.

[revefsreleets]

Originally Posted by ShutDown24

If Detroit really is taking Jason Smith I don't have much problem with it. Monroe at #1 would be a mistake and unless you are in love with a quarterback you should never take him in the first.

But... If I were the Lions, I would...

A. Trade down

B. Select best player available throughout draft (excluding RB)

C. Hope Culpepper and Drew Stanton can get you a few wins. It isn't impossible.

D. Hand off to Kevin Smith and Maurice Morris a lot throught the season - rely on defense.

They are perennial losers, and ALWAYS pick at the top of the draft. How has having all those high draft picks worked out for them so far (cough 0-16 cough).

I agree 100%. Trade the #1 for however many solid picks they can get (I'd even say on a team THAT bad, load up on 2-4's if you can find someone to trade with that has them), and start from scratch. One guy ain't gonna fix that monstrosity of a team...

[atlsteelers]

with 30 million guranteed to the 1st pick of the draft nobody wants that pick any longer. so trading down is almost impossible.

[steelreserve]

Originally Posted by atlsteelers

with 30 million guranteed to the 1st pick of the draft nobody wants that pick any longer. so trading down is almost impossible.

Well, don't forget, the Patriots, Redskins and Cowboys all have their permanent salary cap exemptions, and the Raiders are stupid enough to do it anyway.

But yeah, unless there's someone people are drooling over like Reggie Bush, I probably wouldn't want my team to have the #1 pick either. In a draft like this, the only thing the #1 pick guarantees is an inflated salary, and you aren't going to get a much better player than you would at #10.