Jake Ryan, 2015 Fourth Round Pick

[Fritz]

I'll bet he was good at getting his teammates lined up correctly too.



from http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/po...gan-linebacker

I'm not sure how coming to meetings with a boner is, as 3irty1 used the phrase, "boner-worthy" for fans.

But I do hope the guy ends up being a really good player.

We shall see. We get all freaked out because a guy isn't on Mel Kiper's radar, or because Todd McShay tells us that ILB is GB's biggest need. But I think TT has a good, really good, track record compared to other GM's, and as Bob McGinn pointed out, the talking heads on the networks are not scouts.

So we read their blurbs on the top players, we study maybe sixty or a hundred players (a very generous estimate) by watching YouTube videos and maybe looking up info, and then we go ballistic when TT doesn't draft the known names we fancy are the best players.

Sure, it's fun to guess and put the opinions out there, but this vitriolic judgment of some posters is clearly about more than the draft picks no one, not even TT or Hoody Genius or John Schneider, can be certain of.

[pbmax]

I'm not sure how coming to meetings with a boner is, as 3irty1 used the phrase, "boner-worthy" for fans.

I am just stunned there is still a market for this kind of tale.

Wilde* often remarks that he likes telling engaging stories about the players and teams more than X and Os. But he has also learned that he doesn't really know any of the players at all (after seemingly good guys turned out to be less than pristine - Sharper for example).

He hasn't connected the dots between the two and realize that much of what passes for coverage is inanity and less consequential than cotton candy.


*Its a Demovsky story but Wilde has talked about this before

[mraynrand]

I am just stunned there is still a market for this kind of tale.

Hang on a second. It's just an endorsement from Greg Mattison, a Michigan defensive assistant with NFL chops. Sure, it's a fluff piece, but it's not Lori Nickel Lifetime Channel stuff about how nice he is with his best girl and their volunteer opportunities. It's just an endorsement article, but there's a fact in there (move to the inside to keep him on the field) and a quote from Eliot Wolf. Thin gruel, but not worthless.

[pbmax]

Hang on a second. It's just an endorsement from Greg Mattison, a Michigan defensive assistant with NFL chops. Sure, it's a fluff piece, but it's not Lori Nickel Lifetime Channel stuff about how nice he is with his best girl and their volunteer opportunities. It's just an endorsement article, but there's a fact in there (move to the inside to keep him on the field) and a quote from Eliot Wolf. Thin gruel, but not worthless.

I agree its not about his 4th grade 4-H experience, but the fact that an NFL level coach came to the phone and produced a tale of grit and attitude rather than emphasize his NFL level skills and abilities is another instance of damning with faint praise.

"Boy he is tenacious"

"Can he start in the NFL?"

"Did I mention he gets excited for meetings?"

[mraynrand]

I agree its not about his 4th grade 4-H experience, but the fact that an NFL level coach came to the phone and produced a tale of grit and attitude rather than emphasize his NFL level skills and abilities is another instance of damning with faint praise.

"Boy he is tenacious"

"Can he start in the NFL?"

"Did I mention he gets excited for meetings?"

Sure, but that tells you something, doesn't it? If the guy started saying all sorts of things about how his game would translate to the NFL, it would change how you think about Ryan. This supports the idea that Ryan will be 'meh' until proven otherwise.

[3irty1]

I'm not sure how coming to meetings with a boner is, as 3irty1 used the phrase, "boner-worthy" for fans.

But I do hope the guy ends up being a really good player.

We shall see. We get all freaked out because a guy isn't on Mel Kiper's radar, or because Todd McShay tells us that ILB is GB's biggest need. But I think TT has a good, really good, track record compared to other GM's, and as Bob McGinn pointed out, the talking heads on the networks are not scouts.

So we read their blurbs on the top players, we study maybe sixty or a hundred players (a very generous estimate) by watching YouTube videos and maybe looking up info, and then we go ballistic when TT doesn't draft the known names we fancy are the best players.

Sure, it's fun to guess and put the opinions out there, but this vitriolic judgment of some posters is clearly about more than the draft picks no one, not even TT or Hoody Genius or John Schneider, can be certain of.

If we care what Kiper thought we'd be excited as hell; he compared Ryan to Dick Butkus when he was drafted.

[mraynrand]

If we care what Kiper thought we'd be excited as hell; he compared Ryan to Dick Butkus when he was drafted.

How did Kiper know what Butkus did when he was drafted?

[3irty1]

How did Kiper know what Butkus did when he was drafted?

Let me rephrase: When the Ryan pick was announced on TV, Kiper compared Ryan to Dick Butkus.

[mraynrand]

Let me rephrase: When the Ryan pick was announced on TV, Kiper compared Ryan to Dick Butkus.

favorably?