Here's the rub on that situation. The entire NFL knew of the impending problem with the Manning family refusing to play in San Diego. Therefore, the Chargers lost all leverage in dealing him. Yet, the Giants put so much stock in Eli that they totally disregarded that fact. It shoulda been a simple swap of QBs, without all the extra draft picks. Both QBs were thought of equally coming into the draft. The Giants were doing the Chargers a favor by trading away Rivers for Manning. I equate this blunder by the Giants GM to the Texans GM signing that DE the day before the draft, instead of using the pick as leverage for someone getting Reggie Bush.
That's the funny thing about trades -- it's essentially a stare down contest. And it's a matter of what other teams are willing to do. There may have been other teams willing to give the Chargers quite a bit in order to get Eli. I have no idea. As for the Texans, there has been much discussion about that. Especially from the Texans perspective, where Ferguson would have been a nice consolation prize. However, they ended up drafting 2 starting tackles in the 3rd round. But back to the Bush/Williams deal, most fans (including myself) thought that they could have gotten an extra pick or two to trade out of the first slot. According to everybody in the organization though, nobody was willing to part with a 2nd round (or 2007 1st round) pick to move up to get Bush. Here were the teams that could have allowed the Texans to trade and still get Williams: Saints (already had Deuce, not giving up a lot to get another RB) Jets (Mangini is more interested in building a team, not just selling tickets, and in Belichick mold of not discarding picks) Titans (CLEARLY locked in on VY) Packers (who were locked in on Hawk) Niners (Frank Gore at RB already) It helped that the football experts knew that Bush simply didn't fit Kubiak's one-cut scheme. That's not to say that he wasn't an incredible prospect, but I guarantee you they knew that Kubiak wouldn't be enamored with him. So, they stand pat and make sure they got the guy they wanted. So there you have it...not the same situation.
All I know is that San Diego is the king of drafts. They've made two outstanding draft day choices with a) the manning trade and b)the vick- Tomlinson trade. Not to mention all the extra picks they have had over the years....They are a lot of fun to watch.
Gates is far, far better than Shockey. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/ShocJe00.htm http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/GateAn00.htm
Don't forget the franchise-crippling choice of Cryin' Leaf. I'm amazed that they have bounced back relatively quickly from that. I think the Redskins are still suffering from picking Heath Shuler and paying him all that money.
yeah, that was a bit of a stretch. I think Shockey has near comparable talent, but doesn't have it so much as keeping his emotions in check and staying focused in the game. He's too inconsistent.
