Walter Football gives us an "A"

Kiper only gave out 2 A's (Green Bay with an A, and NY Jets with an A-)

Any more you folks want to share?

I BTW give an A too

Oh ya, and NFL Radio is clamouring about our draft...

Thanks Ted!

The Saint Paul Pioneer Press gave Green Bay a C+ - go figure

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Pete Prisco's grades

Green Bay Packers analysis:

Grade: Ted Thompson added some nice players, but I think the Matthews move is questionable. B

Best pick: They had to get a power player inside and took B.J. Raji in the first round. He is a load.

Questionable move: Trading back into the first round to get USC linebacker Clay Matthews. I didn't like that move at all. He's good. Not that good.

Second-day gem: Landing tackle Jamon Meredith in the fifth round could prove to be a steal for a team in need of a tackle.

John Czarnecki from Fox Sports on MSN John Czarnecki - Czarnecki has been the editorial consultant for FOX NFL Sunday since its 1994 inception. This season marks Czarnecki's 30th year covering the NFL. He is one of 44 selectors to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Green Bay
The Packers are coming off a disappointing 6-10 season in which their rush defense ranked 26th in the NFL. Dom Capers is installing his 3-4 defense and GM Ted Thompson went for Boston College nose tackle B.J. Raji with his first pick — he's a quicker Gilbert Brown — and then made a big trade in order to draft USC outside linebacker Clay Matthews. With their holdovers and if both of these rookies produce as expected, the Packers' front seven should be solid this season.

LSU FB Quinn Johnson is a converted former linebacker who isn't a bad lead blocker. Late picks such as Cincinnati CB Brandon Underwood & Colorado LB Brad Jones don't figure to make the final roster. Grade: C

ESPN Sports Nation gave it a A-

Green Bay Packers 2009 Picks

1 9(9) B.J. Raji DT Boston College
Players who can become 3-4 nose tackles are extremely difficult to find, and Raji has the potential to be one of the best in the league. He's big and strong enough to clog up the middle, but the reasons he's so special are his rare athletic ability and quickness. You just don't find 337-pound men who move like him. There are some character concerns, but Raji's too much of a talent to pass up at this point in the first round.

1 26(26) Clay Matthews OLB USC
from Baltimore through New England
Matthews possesses great versatility. He has excellent range against the run along with the fluid change of direction to make him one of this draft's best coverage linebackers. He has also improved his ability to bend as a rusher off the edge, not to mention the oustanding value he brings on special teams.

4 9(109) T.J. Lang OT Eastern Michigan
Lang displays brute strength and has the ability to engulf defenders. He also shows effective use of his hands when in combat. He has natural knee bend and does a nice job riding rushers past the pocket. However, his hips are a bit stiff, which brings up concerns about redirecting against double moves.

5 9(145) Quinn Johnson FB LSU
Johnson is limited in terms of athleticism and versatility. However, he is an excellent lead blocker who's extremely strong at the point of attack.

5 26(162) Jamon Meredith OT South Carolina -- from Baltimore through New England
Meredith possesses outstanding agility and is light on his feet which helps him get into his pass sets extremely quick. He also shows the ability to redirect against double moves. However, he needs to work on maintaining lower pad level as a run blocker to get more push on defenders.

6 9(182) Jarius Wynn DE Georgia
Wynn possesses adequate size and strength to be stout on the edge when defending the run. He has tools to potentially develop into an effective pass-rusher
.
6 14(187) Brandon Underwood CB Cincinnati -- from New Orleans
Underwood possesses good size and the versatility to play both the safety and corner positions at the NFL level. However, he needs to improve his overall footwork and is hindered by some tightness in his hips.

7 9(218) Brad Jones OLB Colorado
Jones possesses prototypical size along with a wide range in run support. However, lack of fluidity in the hips brings up concerns in coverage.

I think it is moronic to 'grade' a draft immediately afterward, as it is difficult to tell how it worked out even a couple of years later - but here is what Fox Sports says about the Packers:



Link

So if this draft works out as expected we've gone from a garbage defense to a solid defense. How does that rate a C? I don't get it.

He gave us the same grade as Dallas (no first day picks, chose a kicker in the 5th when they have Folk) and one tick above Oakland (C-)

This guy on FOX . . . who? Both Kiper and McShay gave us A's. I know Mayock really liked the Packers 1st round. All I know is that most of Packer Nation is happy, let's just hope these guys turn out to be good pros!

On NFL.com


http://www.nfl.com/draft/story?id=09000d5d...mp;confirm=true



"The Packers hit the 3-4 idea pretty hard in the draft with a nose tackle, Boston College's B.J. Raji, and an outside linebacker, Clay Matthews, in the first round, and two more players for the front seven in the later rounds -- Georgia defensive end Jarius Wynn (sixth round) and Colorado linebacker Brad Jones (seventh round). I would guess that the Packers are the most ready for the move"

I looked over the depth charts of Denver and K.C. one thing I noticed is that neither team has a solid NT. Although Glenn Dorsey and T. Jackson will be solid DEs for Kansas. Denver didn't even draft a D-lineman. Mike Nolan has to be sweating.

Mel Kiper on today's First Draft podcast picked the Packers as the most improved after this year's draft and the team most likely to push back into the league elite. Not sure how much weight it holds, but it sure feels good to hear it!

http://espnradio.espn.go.com/espnradio/index

Ron Jawarski also picked the Packers as having the best draft.

It's rare that a team is able to fill such specific holes with elite players. Raji and Matthews are almost tailor-made for what we wanted. And to also get two good young tackles, there's not much to like. Perfects drafts are where need meets value.

I can't ever remember GB being praised this much after a draft. They just had Kiper and Mcshay on ESPN and in addition to Kiper saying GB had the best draft he added that he thinks there could be five eventual starters from this draft. Mcshay even liked the Pack's picks...

I'm not a big fan of giving grades out the day after the draft, Ive done it, but the any grades at this point dont hold much water.

The players need a couple of years to develop, the rookie year normally is a waste, there are exceptions, and you could get some contributions but it takes a few years to get fully adjusted.

Another reason I dont like giving out grades is because Im a firm believer in the organizational success of a player. Organizations often dictate a players success. Its been 50 years since Chicago or Detroit has had a top quality QB. I dont think that happens by accident. Good players cvoming out get drafted by teams with idiot managements, and you never hear from them again. Example. IMO Carson Palmer is as good as any QB playing today. he's buried in NFL hell in Cincy. You put him in Pittsburgh, or Indy or New England and its a whole new ballgame for him, yet we are supposed to grade these drafts based on what?. Its pointless, You could give the Oakland Raiders the first pick every year, and it doesnt matter who they pick, the organization is a joke. Robert Gallery, Jamarcus Russell, McFadden, and now Heyward Bey. You can give them an "F" before the draft even starts. it doesnt matter who they pick.


Having said that...
I'm not a big fan of the Matthews trade, I hope he works out but the value we gave up wasnt worth it. Love the attitude, the work ethic, and he moves great in space, but he doesnt have the build for the trenches and will get abused there. Very mobile and active, but too light for his build IMO. Hope Im wrong on this one.

This headline is on Yahoo Sports' front page:

Making the Grade: The Packers did better than their NFC counterparts in the draft. Will that be enough to revive their fortunes?

I think what we are seeing and hearing right now as far as the 'grades' go is the potential of the players drafted.

We'll see the ' results grades' in a few years.

This is the first year in a long time that I actually heard of some of the players the Packers drafted , 5 of the draftee's I had read up on before the draft !!!And with all the kudo's the Packers are receiving after the draft I hope its not the "Kiss of Death". Actually I am pretty pumped about this draft and the year to come . I cant wait for the mini camps and training camp.

A little off the subject, but I'm curious if anyone heard anything from Barnett? What's the latest on the "Twitter" front?? Wonder what his grade would be. I'd think he'd be pretty satisfied.

Here's his comments:

Why am I so excited like am getting drafted lol2:03 PM Apr 25th from TwitterFon

Looks like bj!!!2:10 PM Apr 25th from txt

Love the pick!! Thanks teddy T let's get it now!!!!2:16 PM Apr 25th from TwitterFon

Just hope be comes in ready to play!! Cause we are super bowl or bust!!!2:20 PM Apr 25th from TwitterFon

Yea we are def making a push at this defense :-) I missed that draft so we traded two picks?4:31 PM Apr 25th from TwitterFon

Must be good player I haven't done my film study on him. But we will see soon enough :-)4:35 PM Apr 25th from TwitterFon

Going over Aj's maybe I'll have him tweet you guys a lil4:36 PM Apr 25th from TwitterFon

Man with all this rain I just been laying around it's like movie day !!! LOL10:43 AM Apr 26th from TwitterFon

Just got up! Off to work.. So much rain is greenbay last couple of days looks like oregon LOLabout 9 hours ago from txt

Awesome, thanks grabthar! hopefully he's not feeling too crowded with getting a new top linebacker. I think we still have plenty of room for him in the middle.

Just though I would add the following:


Consensus NFL Draft Grades

Consensus GPA 3.33


CBSSportsline.com's Pete Prisco- B

FoxSports.com's John Czarnecki -C

ESPN.com's Mel Kiper Jr.-A

NBCSports.com's Gregg Rosenthal Evan Silva - B-

Fanhouse's Tom Herrera - A-

ESPN.com's SportsNation - A-

SportingNews.com's Clifton Brown- A-

USAToday.com's Larry Weisman- B+

Yahoo.com's Charles Robinson - A

It appears this ranks right up there with Bellicheck ( 3.44) and Pioli - (2.41) and the Giants at (3.30)

The only Higher GPA was NE -3.44 , Eagles at 3.56 and Jets Tied with 3.33.

http://sports.espn.go.com/chat/sportsnation/story?id=4104114

Not surprisingly, Oakland brought up the rear with a 0.59 GPA. It is never good when you square your GPA and get a smaller number!

If anyone is giving this anything lower then a B to a B+ and are giving C's out then they are nothing but haters and should not be writing professinally as it is just being a homer and hater to give out a C when it is clearly better then that.

Also I see Yahoo gave the Packers the only A for the NFC.

This was a super draft on paper and anyone who doesn't think so. Well the only logical conclusion a mature adult can reach is yep they are haters. Comon GBP4EVER they just disagree for crying out loud.

Ok if you give this draft a C then most of all the teams better get D's or F's.

I understand where you are coming from completely. It would bother me deeply, if I had so much respect for those sports columnists. I don't though and neither do you, or do you?

Raji and Matthews were tailor-made and were selected b/c of such. When Raji fell to 9, GB worked hard to trade up and spent a lot of time to make the trade. Gave up a lot, but they see it the same way. 2 players ready to start from Day 1 and have an impact and make this D tough.

I agree - you have to wait. I'm no teacher, but talk about grade inflation! Following the Fox link, how can every team except Tampa get a C or better grade? Everyone's above average? Oh well, considering they gave Miami a better grade than GB, I'm not too concerned about the accuracy.

I see your point LMG, but I find it funny when a player's potential is determined simply by what team drafts him. Percy Harvin is drafted by the Minnesota he is a "character risk", and "problem child who you have to keep a eye on". Now if he had been drafted by New England he becomes "a quality pick" and "a game changing receiver and return man". I understand the fun in giving out grades but to me its kinda worthless until they actually play.

See if you can guess who got the 'A'.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=cr-0...o&type=lgns

Oops! Didn't see this thread. Sorry, Larry!

I am really excited about this draft. I heard Ted finally got a nice ovation in the atrium after the draft. I think he deserved it. As for the 'results grades', I give TT kudos for at least trying to get the best players he could and showing some grit in getting the guys he wanted. I'm hoping the 'results grades' end up being better!

wise words. Especially about organizations.

Those are the 2 big questions about Mathews. Did we give up too much and is he the right build for that position?