May 4, 2017
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Assistant Basketball Coach and Head Swimming Coach at Central High
I am sure you have heard enough about the draft having seen everyone with column or website “grade” the draft. I know I am late to the party, but this is my party so get ready, it’s my turn.
The verdict is now in on the Cooks trade. The Saints are clear short term losers in that trade. The Saints gave up a starting wide receiver for a offensive lineman that will only see the field this year if there is an injury. In my mind, the Cooks trade was going to be a good trade because the Saints were going to fall back a little on offense in order to make a big jump on defense by getting Butler or a significant defensive playmaker. Instead, they drafted a backup offensive lineman for 2017. In it evaluating the trade, there is no significance to Ramczyk being the top lineman on the draft board. The pick might have been the right pick, but the trade doesn’t improve the Saints for 2017.
Evaluating the draft, on the other hand, is like evaluating a recruiting class in that you have to wait a few years to make a proper evaluation. In 2014, we had a hunch it was a bad draft, but three years later we know the Saints 2014 draft class was possibly the worst in NFL history.
The Saints 2017 class feels like a seesaw. The draft could be a huge success, huge failure (it could balance in between, but I doubt it). While that statement might seem like one that could be made about any draft class, I promise you there was no point where I thought the 2014 class could be anything other than OK at best.
Let’s start at the bottom and work our way up. How could the New Orleans 2017 draft class be a disaster? Lattimore, Ramczyk, Anzalone, and Kamara have had injury issues. Lattimore has had significant hamstring injuries and tight hamstrings don’t go away. Anzalone had significant injuries in 3 of his 4 seasons at Florida. Ramczyk is hoping to be healthy in time for training camp… hoping.
The Saints waited until their last two picks to select the second highest position of need going into the draft. That puts a lot of pressure on either Hendrickson or Muhammed to make the team and contribute as a pass rusher this year. These moves are especially risky considering Muhammed’s trouble past off the field.
In a deep draft, the Saints sat back and watched many highly thought of pass rushers get scooped up by other teams. Don’t try and sell me on players being picked right before the Saints had the opportunity either. When the Saints saw an opportunity to get Kamara they jumped on it with a trade. They could have done the same with a defensive player like the Falcons did, or simply picked a pass rusher at No. 32. They chose to be aggressive in selecting a satellite running back in the third round, but not for pass rusher.
I wrote last week that I was worried Payton would not stay committed to improving the defense and that was the case. Adding Peterson right before the draft and Kamara during the draft with a trade were moves to keep the offense in the top 5. We will see if Okafor, Klein, and the few players selected on defense can improve the defense to the middle of the pack.
Maybe things balance out when we look back on the class in three years. Lattimore and Williams will almost assuredly contribute be starters in three years (sooner most likely). I blasted Ramczyk in reference to the trade and the short term earlier, but for the long term he will be a great addition if he can smoothly replace Strief. Kamara will get more opportunities to impact the team than Adrian Peterson, which is part of the reason I am still not a fan of signing Peterson. Still, Kamara will have to produce significantly and quickly to justify trading two picks, including a 2nd round pick to select him.
You may be surprised at this point to know that I can just as easily see this draft class turn out to be a tremendous success. Lattimore was the consensus top cornerback and the Saints got him with the 11th pick (thank you Bears and Bengals for overreaching). In this day and age, a quality medical staff should be able to handle tight hamstrings. Lattimore should be a starter from day one.
Armstead is injury prone and Strief is up in age. Ramczyk won’t begin as a starter, but he certainly could play this year. Additionally, getting the top offensive tackle with the last pick in the first round is great value.
The Saints have not had a centerfielder that can cover ground since Darren Sharper and that was just one year. Vonn Bell looked lost last year in deep coverage. Williams will play immediately, and if he can force any turnovers at all, then I will consider him an improvement and a good pick even though i would have preferred Tyus Bowser, Ryan Anderson, or DeMarcus Walker who were all available.
Like comfortable sweatpants, Kamara will be used frequently, and therefore will have just as many opportunities to make an impact as anyone else drafted. We know his skillset is a match for this offense.
Anzalone is athletic and the Saints are not athletic at linebacker. The Saints have been unable to cover tight ends or running backs out the backfield for years. If Anzalone can contribute immediately on special teams and cover on third and long or in two minute defense, then this pick will have been successful.
Hendrickson and Muhammed have a chance if only because the Saints pass rush has been completely inept. I heard Dennis Allen before the draft say that a pass rusher in the NFL has to have a bull rush in addition to a speed rush and various other pass rushing moves. The first 3 clips of Muhammed on YouTube were of him bull rushing.
Disappointingly, I doubt either will make an impact this year. But, I would say there is a better than 50/50 chance that one of them develops into a solid player. Not what I was expecting or hoping for going into the draft. But, not a catastrophe either.
Though the grade is silly and meaningless, I will gave the Saints a B minus and beg for extra credit from an undrafted free agent.
HEY REF
If ever I found an article in the wide, wide world of sports just unbelievable it has to be one I read recently where once again those “in power” at NCAA headquarters state that the consensuses among fans of college football and basketball don’t want college athletes to be paid a salary! The article had a big, bold headline that read “Poll: fans don’t favor paying athletes”. While I find this statement untrue I just had to stop everything I was doing to read for myself what information was disclosed in this so called “Poll of sport’s fans”!
The whole article was very short but what I found “funny” was nowhere in it did it give out the numbers of fans questioned, their ages, demographics, etc., etc., etc. And it never released any details on the so called anti-pay for the student-athletes. Well, that term went the way of the dinosaurs, there ain’t no such thing around anymore (STUDENT-ATHLETES). They should be classified as to what they actually are and that is “UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEES”!
If you’ve read this column on any regularity you’ll know this writer’s stance on paying “employees”. From now on I’ll never write student-athlete since they are extinct. Getting back to the poll results it shows that 67 percent, up 12 points (I guess they mean percent) actually believe that universities break NCAA rules.
The increase it is thought stems from two highly publicized cases; Harvard and Miami. In the Harvard case which sounds just too funny to be true but they report the school issued academic sanctions against approximately 60 students for a cheating scandal on the final exam in a class on of all things: CONGRESS!
Now come on, this has to be made up. Maybe the students started studying the way our Congress works and decided stealing, lying and cheating is the way to get ahead and get the things you want. Not what you earn but what you want and isn’t that the way not only our lawmakers are perceived but how the vast majority get ahead?
Oh, sure, I can hear it now, how can I write something like that. Let me just put a couple names out there you might recognizes; Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Lance Armstrong. All three swore on the Bible they didn’t do drugs, didn’t lie, didn’t steal but all are liars. The fact that Lance is a liar has been proven in a court of law. In the other cases the court of common sense has ruled they also wouldn’t know the truth if it was tacked on their buttocks.
But what I find strange and what we should be asking ourselves is why wasn’t any light shined upon the cheating case that supposed to have involved the Miami Hurricanes? History has proven Miami is very well known for going way outside the lines of the law and the rules. I guess maybe they didn’t have room for “old” news? So, as I finished the short column not a single word on the so called vote on not paying players (employees).
I mean the whole reason for a headline is to get the reader to notice something they may want to read about. As in my case, I just wanted to see how many ignorant people there were that answered “no” to the question of paying players a livable salary for the many hours they put in away from the classroom. In this day and time it really shouldn’t surprise me, I mean the working people of this country can’t stand to see another worker get ahead. Big business was very successful in their “Divide and conquer” war against those that have to punch a clock to make a living.
The NCAA receives in excess of $8 BILLION, that’s right with a “B”, AMERICAN DOLLARS for their basketball tournament. That’s a three year old figure since we’re still waiting to get a final one for the last year and won’t have a final for 2014 for at least another 12 months.
In other words the NCAA gets an entire NFL budget on just one single sporting event. Don’t start about all the sports that never make a profit and are supported by basketball and football. I noticed in yesterday’s Advocate that LSU has a BEACH VOLLYBALL team. Are we really wasting money and giving kids an education if they can “play” BEACH VOLLEYBALL? The ONLY and I do mean ONLY reason these sports are still on the books is because so many students still play those sports and the families of these students are the reason Deans keep footing the bills. Mom and Dad still have some clout or maybe I should say “You don’t bite the hand that feeds you” so it’s sort of a tradeoff.
But to not pay the employees that generate BILLIONS of these dollars is not right, never will be right and should be abolished ASAP if not sooner. Pay those that make it all possible! Soon any university that thinks it can generate these sums of dollars on their own without these young EMPLOYEES will also go the way of the dinosaurs! The slice of the pie that should be going to students is being kept by greedy university presidents so they can pay coaches MILLIONS of dollars every year. It’s past time to correct this problem and I for one will stand with the players if they decide to walk off the field and not suit up until they are justly paid for the tremendous number of hours they put in just so we can have something to watch on Saturday afternoons in the fall.
Till next week… …
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