In a video clip that I saw mentioned on The Big Lead right before I left work, and then heard on the radio while driving home from work, and then saw on SportsCenter when I got home from work, Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr. duke it out verbally over whether or not Matthew Stafford should be the #1 pick in the 2009 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions.
Basically, Kiper thinks that if you have Stafford rated high enough (top 10) then you take him at #1 because he’s a QB. McShay thinks that more mistakes are made that way and that the Lions should take the best player available.
Personally, I side with McShay on this one. True, I’m not sold on Matthew Stafford, but even just in the broader debate about general draft strategy, I side with take-the-best-player argument. If the QB is in your top 3 but maybe not #1, and there is a huge difference between the top 3 and everyone else, and you’re starved with a QB, then I can see going QB. Otherwise, make the safer choice and be sure you improve your team.
———-
Plan Ahead MSF Readers: Find Great Deals on 2009 NFL Tickets at StubHub
———-
The guys over at Tirico Suave (a great blog by the way, and I encourage you to click that link and browse their site) have a pretty good breakdown of it:
Todd McShay does his segments in HD.
Mel Kiper does his is in SD.
McShay uses gel in his hair.
Kiper uses mouse.
McShay’s draft board is on an Excel spreadsheet.
Kiper’s is scrawled on the wall of his cave.
Both men despise each other.
Watch for yourself. The fireworks starts a few minutes in so feel free to fast forward through the civil drivel at the beginning. It gets fun when Todd McShay starts rolling his eyes and Kiper inexplicably acts like people always talk over him. Here is the video:
Todd McShay-Mel Kiper Jr Video: Should Lions Draft Matthew Stafford #1?
What do you think?
Loading ...
About Jerod Morris
yes you gotta take stafford. look what atlanta did with ryan. detroit needs a face to their new org. he’s it
@davedallasfan, you are wrong,to win you stop the run;just like pittsburg&new england.so you have totake curry.
No, you do not take Stafford, and it has nothing to do with whether he’s #1 or #8 on your board. It has everything to do with the fact that Detroit has been using the terrible strategy of trying to build through skill positions for several years now, instead of doing things the smart way and starting in the trenches. They could have Tom Brady tomorrow and he’d get killed out there, but if you build up your team to run the ball and stop the run, and give those linemen a year to gel and learn, THEN take a Colt McCoy or a Sam Bradford next year, they won’t have to do so much and will have a chance to grow in the system. Bite the bullet, skip the flashy names that sell jerseys, and build a TEAM the smart way.
@Jerad Kutler, I agree.
Solid football teams that can win over extended periods of time are built in the trenches. It sounds like their new coach Jim Schwartz believes in this philosophy, and it makes sense because that is how Tennessee has always done it. I think the Lions will go O-Line and make the safe & smart choice to start off the draft.
Yes, to hang your hat on a QB expecting he is the next Matt Ryan just one year after Ryan was drafted has bad odds written all over it.
the lions have made so many errors in the draftP:they need to make the right pick here,curry said he would take less money,no brainer.curry has to be the pick here!!!