A grain of salt

OR, a pause and count to ten. This is a atypical draft post. Indeed, nothing to do with players, but a shot in the dark about what I think clubs use when evaluating players. After watching every draft that has aired by ESPN, somethings never change. In particular is Value/Draft Position. We have heard all the pundits speak all about how one player , how he is so valuable and is likely to be in the pro-bowl and almost certainly a HOF talent. Sometimes they are right and sometimes they are wrong.

But what of the teams who will have to sign these guys and train them in the NFL way? Do you believe they say things like," this one is a sure bet to get to Canton!". Or, "if we draft this guy he is a sure fire pro-bowler the next decade." Somehow I think not. What I believe but don't know is that all these teams are looking for players who can PLAY. Guys who will help the team win.

They have grading systems and scouts who are looking for specific traits as dictated by the teams management. They have the Combine with all the mental, physical, medical and social evaluations that try to ensure the guy they choose can come to their team and compete for playing time. It's both ART and SCIENCE. It wasn't to long ago that there wasn't much to some teams evaluation process and they relied on a service to which they subscribed. That has changed dramatically, but still it is a crapshoot when drafting players. Some make and some don't.

One of the reasons Pioli was hired was he was in on the ground floor, so to speak, of N.E.'s system of processing talent. If you take a gander at the HOF, you will see a great many players who were not highly drafted, if drafted at all. What's this say about value? As fans we get all hot and bothered with players who get chosen by our teams and place expectations on them. And to be honest the teams PR machine helps this along. But the teams just want guys who can play, and the expectations of early picks is that they will play well faster than others.

Take Dorsey as an example. He was touted as the best Defensive Lineman since Reggie White, much like Suh was. What has Dorsey done to since being drafted? He has PLAYED! Not to HOF standards, but well enough to start. Hells Bells he hasn't even been to the pro-bowl yet. Nonetheless, he has made a place for himself on this team and is quite valuable, not easily replaced. He was a top 5 pick people, and then you look at a guy who was undrafted that has made several pro-bowls, Jeff Saturday. So do you whine, piss and moan about how lousy Dorsey is or be thankful we have a player who plays well enough to be thought highly of by his team.

So when we tout guys like Luck and RG#, or DeCastro, take it with a grain of salt, please. They are all unknown quantities in the NFL. Let's not give out the Oscar's before the performance. When Marty was here, we had better talent than in a long time. Now with Scott here, we have better talent than a long time. Has every pick panned out, of course not. But we have better starter's than we used to. So relax a little, take a chill pill, or drink some kool aid. All of us fans want instant HOF picks, at least a pro bowler with the first round, but that isn't the usual dynamic. What the team is doing is trying to find guys who can PLAY. Remember it's a team sport. Go Chief's!!!!