Just John

I hope it's just the 7/4 weekend, because this is getting sloppy. Any way, my pick (which admittedly is a couple hours after my deadline)... Donnie Shell - SS 5x Pro Bowl 5x All Pro 4x Super Bowl champ 51 career INT's With Atwater helping against the run, I'll complement him with a great pass covering safety for double coverage or zone situations.

The OKC hate is just a natural reaction even if it isn't necessarily the right place to aim all the venom. It's like if someone stole $100 from you and gave it to someone else, you'd probably be mad at the person who got your money even if they didn't do anything but happily accept it.

Not if the unis look like this...

I'm a little confused about this situation... Will the "Sonics" actually be playing in OKC at the start of this season?

I can't imagine that being enforced at all. I think there's a similar rule on the books at Mizzou, and when someone behind us complained about it to security, it was basically ignored and everyone laughed it off.

It's too bad he actually got a late pick in a couple rounds ago, because I doubt any of his good players will get back to us if he misses this round.

Finally! I was this close to taking him back in the 4th round, but chose Allen because of his slightly higher receiving numbers and his SB MVP. Their career averages are pretty much identical, but Thomas did have a slightly better peak in the early 90's with his yards from scrimmage totals. Getting him in the 12th round is easily the biggest steal thus far from my perspective. On an unrelated note, my MLB was apparently voted as the "smartest defensive player" in football according to an ESPN coaches poll or something. A nice boost for my imaginary team.

On an unrelated note:

I don't know much the Knicks can do to clear up enough space to offer Davis a worthy contract, but with D'Antoni at the helm, they should do whatever they can to get a hold of Baron.

This is a really tough pick, since there are quite a few quality D-lineman that I want still available. However, I've settled on: Clyde Simmons - RDE 2x Pro Bowl 2x All Pro 121.5 career sacks (one season with 19) 914 career tackles There are some guys with better PB/AP numbers still out there, but Simmons' sack and tackle numbers were the selling point for me. With Simmons, Randle, and D. Thomas, I have major sack threats coming from all angles. And since my defense is all about the sure tackling, Simmons makes for very nice fit. He's also a tall guy at 6'5 who will help bat down some passes at the line, a very underrated and useful ability.

Pretty sure he's been taken.

"Ron Kind spent your tax dollars to study something called the bisexual, transgendered, and two-spirited Aleutian Eskimos, whoever they are" is my favorite line from any political ad ever.

I actually remember more shit from my AP classes than I do from any other HS class, and even a lot of college classes (which obviously have the advantage or being more recent). Pretty much every class I've ever been in "teaches to a test" in some fashion, so I guess it makes sense that the moderately challenging tests are the ones that stuck with me the most.

Time to bolster the old running game some more... Nate Newton - LG 6x Pro Bowl 5x All Pro 3x SB champ There are still some extensively qualified lineman from the old days out there, but those guys are small and I'm not looking for any fancy crap like zone blocking. I want some big hosses that won't get run over by these sack-machine D-lines and will actually push them back. Newton was a staple of the great 90's Cowboys O-lines that put Emmitt Smith in position to take the all time rushing yards record and allowed Troy Aikman to pile up HoF numbers. Newton, Dawson, and Csonka could create some gaps for Allen with Gonzalez blocking downfield... I like the way my rushing offense is coming along.

This movie should've been a comedy all the way through. It was fun, but the attempts at serious plot or character development tended to slow it down.

Edit: MFer got it.

So, are we still playing it where if you miss 3 picks everyone else can raid your team? *Hopes Nogoodnick misses his next two picks*

I guess that makes it not as bad. Although for a team that needs bench players, I still don't get giving up a late 1st rounder in a draft like this.

Of all the weird trades in this draft, the move I'm most confused about is New Orleans giving away Darrell Arthur for nothing (well, cash considerations). The big knock on them last year was poor depth, they really have no natural PF on the roster back up West, Arthur can play the pick and roll, and they just piss him away. Maybe it's a money issue, because from a talent standpoint, he was as a once-in-a-lifetime steal at 27. And poor Darrell is gonna wake up tomorrow and find out he was traded twice while he was asleep. The guy was on 4 teams in like 6 hours... That has to be some kind of record.

The thing about the NFL draft is that there are so many great players and the positions are so specialized, that it's hard to predict who will stick around and who won't. Since quite a few positions won't be drafted more than once by the same team (and if they are, there will likely be long gaps between them), in theory, everyone should wind up with top 20 players at most positions. I think there have only been a handful of questionable picks thus far, and a lot of my top prospects are still hanging around.

Man, two missed picks this round? Oh well, easier to get the players I want, I guess. Zach Thomas - MLB 7x Pro Bowl 7x All Pro 1041 career tackles (+ 598 Assists) 17 INT's (+ 35 passes defensed, since they started recording that stat in 01) 16 Forced Fumbles 19.5 Sacks Voted "Smartest Defensive Player" in an ESPN Coaches poll. I want another playmaker on defense, and this guy always seems to find his way to the ball. Outside of his tackle numbers, none of his stats really jump off the page, but there isn't much he can't do on defense. I also like having a LB that can play some pass coverage to complement the pass rush from my other Thomas.

Offense: QB: Tom Brady RB: Marcus Allen FB: Larry Csonka T: G: C: Dermontti Dawson TE: Tony Gonzalez WR: Defense: DE: DT: John Randle OLB: Derrick Thomas MLB: FS: Steve Atwater SS: CB: Aeneas Williams Special Teams/Coach P: K: Coach:

Hate to be such a tight-ass with the 8-hour rule, but I'm tired and want to go to bed. Anyway, I don't wanna wait too much longer to start my O-line, so I'll take: Dermontti Dawson - C 7x Pro Bowl 6x All Pro 90's all decade team Played 171 straight games as a lineman With the power running game, you need a big body to clear the middle of the line. Dawson has a lot of experience blocking for power runners, and he'll also be useful for blocking out all these big-time DT's.

That's too bad. He was one of my favorite stand-up comedians. I'm glad I got to see him perform live last November.

Jesus, what is this, the "Take every guy I'm looking at" round? Outside of Peppers and Bulluck, I think every pick since my last one has been a guy I was at least considering. I like the Will Shields pick, though. If we were doing group lines, one of my top choices would've been that 03 Chiefs line with Roaf and Shields that made Priest Holmes look like a world beater. And I think my favorite team so far is VX. Gotta give him credit for stealing Faulk one pick before me, and there's no denying the toughness or scariness of that secondary.