TSN Scouting Guide - Pack Ratings

[superfan]

Every year the Sporting News publishes their "Ultimate Pro Football Scouting Guide". Their team of experts rates every player at every position from a scout's perspective, and has been doing so for a number of years. They just released their 2006 edition. These are always debatable, and I thought it would be fun to post the Pack ratings here for digestion.

I'll include my comments to get the discussion rolling. Only the top rookies are rated.

Only three Packers made the top 200 overall -- Clifton at #133, Harris at #160, and Barnett at #175.

QB -- Favre #16, Rodgers #41, Arth #68, Martin NR

Favre should be closer to the top 10, but they did give him the one "on the decline" grade for the position. The real travesty is Eli Manning at #18 behind Josh McCown at #17. Arth is ranked higher than Losman, Feeley, McMahon and others, which is crazy. Rodgers is one spot lower than Brooks Bollinger.

RB -- Green #32, Gado #38, Davenport #65, Herron #82

Tough to argue much about Ahman, but he should be much better if healthy. I think Gado is actually overrated -- he's one spot behind Curtis Martin and one spot ahead of Marion Barber. Based on how he looked last night, Davenport might be overrated. Herron at #82 looks about right, but might be a bit high (they ranked 137 RBs).

FB -- Leach #30, Henderson #42

What?!? Sure Hendo is getting older, but there is no way he is only the 42nd best FB in the NFL, which is a weak position. And why is Leach ranked higher? Hendo also got "on the decline".

WR -- Driver #27, Gardner #58, Ferguson #68, Boerigter, #120, Lucas #172, Jennings NR

Driver should be a couple spots higher -- he is behind the likes of Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown. As for the rest, they are probably close to right, except Jennings didn't crack the top 7 of this year's WR class. For those that are interested, Javon was #22.

TE -- Franks #17, Lee #41, Martin #76, Humphrey #121

I've got no particular comments on these rankings.

OT -- Clifton #8, Tauscher #25, Whitticker #91, Klemm #112

Tausch is a bit underrated as usual. Considering Klemm is already out and Barry wasn't rated, this position really lacks depth. Can't afford an injury to Clifton or Tauscher.

OG -- Coston #63, Lucier #132, Colledge #5 rookie, Spitz NR

Ugh. Nothing pretty in these rankings.

C -- Wells #15, White #50

Wells is ranked surprisingly high.

Coming soon -- defensive rankings!

[PaCkFan_n_MD]

I agree with you, henderson is way to low. I only reason I can think of is if there going strickly off inside blocking because henderson doesn't pound it up the middle anymore.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I think these rankings are getting worse each year.
:D

[superfan]

DE -- KGB #24, Kampman #45, Montgomery #90, Peterson #115

Kampman is a more complete player than KGB, but it figures that the scouts wouldn't like him as much.

DT -- Pickett #45, Allen #51, Jenkins #67, Cole #87, Williams #115

Pickett should maybe be a little higher.

ILB -- Barnett #13, Hodge #2 rookie

The real head scratcher for me is seeing Paris Lenon as high as #29, ahead of several other solid inside linebackers. What season did these guys watch?

OLB -- Taylor #28, Poppinga #85, Manning #94, White #138, Hawk #1 rookie

Nice to see that Taylor is pretty well thought of among the scouts -- although I don't put a lot of faith in these ratings overall.

CB -- Harris #20, Woodson #39, Carroll #59, Hawkins #72, Horton #130, Dendy #174, Fontenot #191, Wishom #192

Fontenot and Wishom are two of the lowest rated CBs. I expect next year to see Harris and Woodson roughly reversed. Former Viking Brian Williams is #13, Smoot is #54. Wow.

S -- Collins #27, Manuel #62, Underwood #110, Bigby #169

Collins should be rated higher. Manuel gets a low grade -- Roman is #61, which makes no sense.

K -- Cundiff #36, Rayner #40

Rayner was the lowest rated of 40 kickers.

P -- Sander #39, Ryan NR

8 -- yes, 8 -- currently unsigned punters got a higher ranking than Sander. Now that's a great 3rd round pick.

LS -- Davis, #17

Not that I care a lot about long snappers, but I think Davis deserves better than that.

No Packer made the top 20 in special teams returners and gunners.

Take what you want from these rankings, but the bottom line is that the "experts" at the Sporting News don't think much of our roster...

[superfan]

I agree, Harvey, I may have to stop wasting $8 on this rag. :mad:

But what can I say, I'm a football addict, and I haven't seen anything similar on the newsstands. Anybody have any recommendations on great web content that is free and/or not too expensive? I'm looking for great player info in general, not just fantasy rankings.

For those curious about how these rankings are determined, the short version is that they use scouts who "have worked at every level of college and pro football, from on-field coaching to front-office management." The scouts "break down film of every NFL game, college games, and individual footage of college prospects, and they attend training camps and games in person." They then come up with a final grade and ranking for every player.

Of course, their comeback is that they know far more than us, the idiot fan.