Archive for May, 2009
Why Doesn’t Ted Thompson Draft for Need?
(View Thompson Draft Blueprints here)
Green Bay Packers’ GM Ted Thompson has long been a stout champion of drafting best player available (BPA), regardless of need. To some people, this philosophy makes little sense. But considering how the draft is a crapshoot, you’re much less likely to get caught with your pants down that way.
Case in point being Thompson’s draft behavior in 2008. He drafted wide receiver Jordy Nelson in the 2nd round, even though Green Bay had one of the most potent receiving tandems in the league. Furthermore, Thompson selected two more quarterbacks when Aaron Rodgers (and technically, Brett Favre too) was on the roster.
Some of the more notable picks made since Thompson’s arrival are A.J. Hawk (OLB), Aaron Rodgers (QB), Greg Jennings (WR), and Nick Collins (FS). Interestingly, some of the team’s most successful players have been a result of Thompson’s excellent eye for talent in the later rounds of the draft.
But before I make this man out as being infallible, I must say, for every success, there’s been a bust. And I know that any Packers fan will be quick to remind me how much a failure former 1st round DT Justin Harrell has been. Under the Ted Thompson regime, Harrell has been perhaps the largest whiff by the front-office.
Characteristic of any value-driven GM, Thompson has become famous for being active on draft day, trading down to gain additional picks.
Despite his good track record, Thompson’s habits come across as arrogant and sometimes stupid. I have talked with several Packers fans who are less than happy with the way the Packers draft. But somehow, big Ted puts together a quality team that was a hop, skip, and a jump from the Super bowl 2 years ago.
And finally, the reason he makes this list is for his emphasis on building the team through the draft, which inevitably means that the vast majority of the squad came through this method.
Secrets of a Belichick Draft
(View Belichick Draft Blueprints here)
The salary cap era of professional football has produced no finer mastermind than New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick. While owners such as Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys have struggled mightily under the financial restrictions of salary caps, Belichick seems to adapt and grow the Patriots’ rule over the NFL, which is the closest thing to a dynasty since the Cowboys of the 1990′s.
Since his inception in 2000, Belichick has coached the Patriots to three Superbowl championships, and four appearances. His 2007 team became the first team to go without a regular season loss since the days of Dan Marino.
Despite the kind of success that merits consideration as one of the greatest, if not THE greatest coach of all-time, his name invokes strong emotional reactions among the masses because of his oft misunderstood personality, and for his scandalous Spygate incident.
However much you may love or loathe him, there is no denying his ability to mold raw talent into a highly competitive team.
“The Genius” of the West Coast
Please click here (Bill Walsh Draft Blueprints) to view the attachment of the complete study on Walsh’s draft history.
Few coaches can boast that they invented the offense that they run. San Francisco 49ers coach Bill Walsh could claim such high praise. During his tenure in the Golden State, he invented the West Coast offensive scheme, winning three Superbowls on his way to the Hall of Fame.
I want to note Walsh’s supreme understanding of the intricacies of the NFL Draft. This knowledge allowed him to produce some of the richest draft classes in history. His most noteworthy draft came in 1986, a pivotal year in the franchise. In that year, Walsh desperately needed to replenish his roster, and replenish the roster he did, indeed. By masterfully trading for additional picks, Walsh ended up with 13 draft selections, and made all of them count. The players acquired that year allowed San Francisco to maintain league dominance for many more years. For this reason, the 49ers’ 1986 draft will go down as one of the greatest of all time.
CBSsports.com and NFL.com provided the raw data for this study.
The Big Tuna
Please click here (Parcells Draft Blueprints) to view the attachment of the complete study on Parcells’ draft history.
Perhaps one of the most colorful personalities of the modern football era, Bill Parcells has become known as a savior of horrific franchises. When others have failed, he somehow has the Midas touch and sprinkles some of his magic on every organization in which he has been involved.
His first shot as a head coach in the NFL came in 1983, working with the hapless New York Giants. The previous ten years had produced only one winning season. However, Parcells showed his quality chiefly in the draft, where he showed a keen eye for talent. Within three years, his Giants had won the first of their two Superbowls during Parcells reign.
A decade later, Bill left the success in New York to
[take] over a weak New England team, which had gone 2-14 the year before he arrived. There he had quickly begun to work his specialty: the quick rehabilitation of teams embedded near the bottom of the standings. In 1993, New England went to 5-11, and in 1994, 10-6. (David Halberstam, The Education Of A Coach)
After New England, Parcells took his talents to the New York Jets, helping make them perennial playoff contenders before leaving for his final coaching destination in Dallas.
2006 became the legendary coach’s final season before hanging up his spurs. But he became restless and took the job as Executive for the Miami Dolphins. In only one year, he turned that outfit from the worst in the league (1-15), into AFC East division champs. He still holds that position to this day.
