Cavs Will Win If…
April 16, 2010Cleveland Commissioner Rejects LeBron 2010 Banner (UPDATE: Now Approved)
April 17, 2010
While We’re Waiting serves up an breakfast buffet of WFNY-esque goodies for your daily viewing pleasure (on weekends too!!) Have something else you think we should see? Send it to our fancy tips email address at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.
Ugh. I hate seeing mock drafts like this and honestly can’t wait for it all to be over. Holmgren needs to prove us wrong as this one has the Browns passing up on Eric Berry in favor of Jimmy Clausen. Reasoning is as follows: “There isn’t a quarterback after Clausen that’s worth taking probably until the middle of the second round, so they have to get the right-handed passer here.” [Adam Caplan/Scout.com]
Making more sense of all the chaos with just days remaining before the draft: “With all the draft hype, rumor mongering, and excitement about to come to an end, here is an attempt to wade through the smoke and put together some collective thoughts. Are the Browns really considering trading up to get Sam Bradford? ” [Brandon Rastok/NoLogoNeeded.com]
Our own Scott and Glenn Moore of the Dugout Sports Show contributed to this Cleveland Cavalier chat over at a Lakers blog. Good material there and I’m fairly impressed that they put it all together for each playoff team. [The No Look Pass]
John Krolik and Terry Pluto definitely have this in common: give them stats, and they make it look really, really good. Check out this example on the perimeter defensive statistics for the Cavs: “If you asked me about what kind of a defender LeBron is, I probably would have said that he’s a decent man-to-man defender for most of the game, but makes up for it by covering a ton of ground on the weak side in half-court situations. This season, that hasn’t been the case.” [Cavs: The Blog]
Speaking of more numbers… My friend Mark Cameron is back with some of his super stats for the end of the year. Always interesting to see where most of LeBron’s assists go, who scores first in games and the team’s record by jersey worn. [Numbers Don’t]
NBA Salary Cap will be $56.1 million next year. That will be enough for the Knicks to sign two max free agents if they give up David Lee but doesn’t mean the league is making money: “Despite the sunnier outlook on the cap, Stern said the league is still projecting a net loss between $380 million and $400 million this season.” [Howard Beck/Off the Dribble]
More on this later, but Mitch Talbot was the star last night for the Tribe. Second straight complete game victory for an Indians starter: “At the beginning of the season, it was thought that the Indians’ offense would be good, but not good enough to make up for a poor starting staff. Ten games into the season, the opposite has happened.” [Ryan/Let’s Go Tribe]
Forecasting the college football landscape shows a rosy scene for Buckeye fans: “I’ll admit, if I have an early, tentative foot on any team’s bandwagon for next fall, it’s Ohio State, which returns essentially the entire offense from last year’s Big Ten champion, a more mature Terrelle Pryor at quarterback and more than enough talent and experience to sustain the always first-rate defense.” [Matt Hinton/Dr. Saturday]
(Photo above via Stephen Dunn / Getty Images file)
8 Comments
“There isn’t a quarterback after Clausen that’s worth taking probably until the middle of the second round, so they have to get the right-handed passer here.”
Caplan’s logic is a total non-sequitur. He assumes that Holmgren wants a QB, therefore he has to draft one high. Previous data shows that Holmgren hardly ever takes QBs that high, but Caplan’s assuming that just because Holmgren would most likely want a QB of the future, he *has* to take one in the first round, even at the expense of (what I assume are) higher-rated players. I think the leap in logic here is silly.
If anything this draft has shown how stupid these “draft experts” are. By the way what exactly is a draft expert? One person said Browns will take Bryant, another says Clausen. Those guys must not realize how badly we need defensive guys.
I hate the NFL draft and all the mock drafts that lead up to it. NOTHING HAS CHANGED IN WEEKS. There is no way they’d pass on Berry. If they do, I’d quit.
Rey-Rey at TNLP does a great job. I’m also impressed by his podcast series.
And I’m so excited so excited soooo excited for the Buckeyes to get going again.
Adam Caplan appears to be celebrating 4/20 a bit early if he honestly thinks the Browns would go Clausen over Berry in this draft. And the idea that the Browns would give up essentially their entire draft to move up for Bradford is a level of foolish that is difficult to even comprehend. This team has more holes than your local muni course, and as of right now has the opportunity to fill at least some of them. If the Browns were “only a QB away” from being something special, then perhaps you consider the move. Fact is, they are not.
Good to hear about the Buckeyes. However, as they have managed to ultimately crush my soul for the better part of the last decade, I’m not going to let myself get caught up in the hype this early.
And of course, if it’s back-to-back wins for the Wahoos, then it has to be said: “Ok, guys. We’ve won two games in a row. If we win tonight, its called a winning streak. IT HAS HAPPENED BEFORE.”
DP – Completely agree. It is silly logic time for NFL draft guessers. (I refuse to call the experts – so take that Mel Kiper Jr!)
I agree with whats being said. I actually really like the draft and looking at mocks and what not just to see what other people think. I think Berry/Thomas has got to be our top pick. The only way I could see Clausen is if he starts taking a tumble into the 20s, and we make a move up… but i dont think that will happen because If Clausen is there then theres a real good chance McCoy will be there when we pick. My ideal draft is getting playmakes with our top 3 picks, maybe package a deal with Jackson and a pick to move into the 2nd or low first and really get 3 guys we can walk away having them penciled in for day one. then we can worry about the QB situation in rounds 3-5.
It’d be one thing if Caplan had said even something like, “Our sources tell us that Eric Berry is under investigation for killing the house pets of people in the greater Cleveland area, so that tells me that the Browns will pass on him.”
But, just to say, “well, a perennial 4-win team is going to pass on the BPA simply to reach for a QB and I have no reasons to back it up” is just a waste of everyone’s time and a lame effort to get people riled up to view/flame your site.
And apparently it has worked.
🙂
QB’s in the draft are the most important position in the first round, and the best way to instantly improve a team.
QB’s are also the most often position to completely miss on at the top of the draft. They are far from a sure thing and there is no middle ground with a #1 pick QB.
I’d rather get someone for the front 7 on the D side and pick up a bargain basement QB later on. Pay less, and hopefully get more.