What kind of draft rating did Al give Marques Colston? Not to pick on Mr. Dupuy, don't know him, and I'm sure like Detilier, Kiper, et al, he works very hard at his craft. But I'm willing to bet Loomis/Payton know a little more about the biz than they do.
Al has done a good job over the years, in fact, many NFL teams call on him for his book. He's at the NFL combines and most of the bowl games with the Sr talent. Like I said, only 7 players out of 256, I like the odds.
Larry Holder with nola.com makes a very good point on the Graham position controversy today. He charted the plays when defenses treated him like a defensive back...ie, covered him with a cornerback. In those situations, he ranks very low in the league compared to other WRs. So if he is to be considered a receiver, OK, but in no way does he deserve to be paid like a top receiver. Its only when he is compared to tight ends that his play can be considered elite.
I don't blame Graham for trying to get as much as he can, but I don't think he's an elite WR. He's one of the best, if not best TEs in the league, but there's no way he's comparable to Calvin Johnson as an elite WR.
I don't have a problem with that either. Its just that its clear that the way the Saints use him contributes heavily to his success. If they ran a conventional pro-set, he'd still be a top TE in the league, but the Saints move him around to get him into space. But the evidence shows that defenses shut him down when they treat him like a WR. They get burned when they treat him like a TE that's spread away from the line. So, IMO, he deserves franchise TE money, but not franchise WR money. The question is now, what recourse do the Saints have if the arbitrator rules in JG's favor? Are they bound to the franchise commitment, or can they remove it and negotiate in good faith?
He isn't a wide receiver. You see what his production is when he is doubled with a corner and safety like what happens to Megatron or Johnson, Fitz, or Thomas, he gets shut the fuck down. Graham is an elite tight end because 10-11 games a year his match ups are against safeties and linebackers.
Straight from Al...... I looked in my book, 2006. I rated him as the 25th receiver with a 7.2 rating, which is Should make team, could become an eventual starter. Not bad.
Totally agree, but I don't think how defenses play him is going to enter into the arbitrator's decision one damn bit.
Started to answer, but the point is now moot. The Saints won: http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ss...sion.html#incart_graystrip#incart_orangestrip
