The Vanderbilt Connection

by r8erh8er on Apr 8, 2008 6:12 PM MDT Comment 10 comments

I've just finished profiling a Vanderbilt player whom I argue should be a top target in April. Hint: its not Earl Bennett or Chris Williams.

The Vanderbilt Connection

Your feedback is most welcome. Enjoy!

This is a Fan-Created Comment on MileHighReport.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff of MHR

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Interesting.

With Jerod Mayo, Dan Connor and Curtis Lofton all likely to fall far below their value, I'd rather snag one of those if possible. That said, Should Goff somehow fall even further to where we might want him, then I don't know if I'd be opposed. I'm just not sure that we need to invest on an ILB now.

by ejruiz on Apr 8, 2008 6:19 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Mayo, Lofton, Conner

All three of these guys are off the board half-way through the second round. Of the three, I'm personally enamored with Lofton. He doesn't come with the character and work-ethic flags that Conner has, he is a true ILB and a great tackler unlike Mayo, and he's got loads of intangibles. The way Lofton has flown up the board, I wouldn't be surprised to see him gone in the first round. I've even seen reports that San Francisco may take him and convert him to a Sam. With Niko, we aren't desperate at MLB, but I think Niko will be very average. In the next 2 years, we are going to have to locate his successor. Goff is probably a project (like Mayo), but we have the luxury of patience (at this position) and the price is right. Thanks for the feedback.

by r8erh8er on Apr 8, 2008 6:34 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Let's take a step back from Vanderbilt

I read Mike Klis in the DP today, and by reading him, you'd think Vanderbilt was a football factory like USC or Florida. Let's all remember that Vandy is an academic powerhouse, and an athletic weakling. They don't even have an AD, they have an academic Vice Chancellor in charge of Athletics there. I think Chris Williams and Earl Bennett and Jonathan Goff will all be fine players, but the fact that they went to the same school as our QB is no reason to go out of our way to draft them. If they're the best player at a point in time, you take them, if not, you don't.

by Ted Bartlett on Apr 8, 2008 11:25 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

I think that

everyone realizes that here (in fact i think it has been said) Personally I am a USC fan and I would love to see the broncos snag every single talented player from SC. That being said I also realize that we would kill ourselves going only for one school. A lot of our avid readers, bloggers and editors are really only informing people why they want the players they advocate for. I agree Vandy is no Power House Football school, but neither is Stanford, Elway was a product of Stanford, no football power house, Marshall is a USF guy, another small school. I think most of the guys here are just informing us of all the players that would look good in the blue and orange. Styg does one of the finest sets of diaries, with his breakdown of the best players you never heard of. I'm right there with you kind of shaking my head sometimes going "When did Vanderbilt get football cred?" but to each his own.

Davis to the Hall! "A leader, once convinced that a particular course of action is the right one, must be undaunted when the going gets tough." Ronald Reagan

by Jon Tollerud on Apr 9, 2008 12:58 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks!

appreciate the compliment!

Regarding USC, I wanted to point out real quick Shanny's penchant for drafting players from big time programs, or that have bigtime games (where they were successful) on their roster. I would imagine part of it is NFL readiness, the other part taking advantage of the scouting and coaching resources that have already been spent...

I know this is a view shared by many here at MHR, including our fearless leader TSG. But what do you expect, since Ohio State is a bigtime program...

I wish my sig was as cool as mdierks!

by Jeremy Bolander on Apr 9, 2008 2:21 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I will

refrain from comment on Ohio St. Ha Ha

Davis to the Hall! "A leader, once convinced that a particular course of action is the right one, must be undaunted when the going gets tough." Ronald Reagan

by Jon Tollerud on Apr 9, 2008 10:12 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Everybody here is smarter than Mike Klis

My only point was that a foolish Vanderbilt hysteria seems to be fed by Broncos beat writers. I respect the opinions of all who think a certain Commodore would look good in blue and orange, on their merits as players.

by Ted Bartlett on Apr 9, 2008 6:43 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Vanderbilt

I agree that Vanderbilt is no football powerhouse but I tend to respect top talent from their program more than from a lot of other schools because of who they play. If they perform at a high level in the SEC they are battle tested. That conference--top to bottom--plays extremely competitive football. This differs dramatically from a league like the ACC and the PAC-10 which is overflowing with bottom feeders that fill out the highlight reels for guys like Adibi and Balmer.

by r8erh8er on Apr 9, 2008 11:38 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Agreement on the SEC

I agree that the SEC is almost annually the toughest conference in college football. I'm a Florida Gators fan, and the schedule is just brutal every year. You can lose in any given week in the SEC, even to the so-called bottom feeders. Your point is well-taken about the level of competition which Vanderbilt sees, and the relevance that holds to NFL projections.

by Ted Bartlett on Apr 9, 2008 1:07 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Excellent work!

I started out reading this diary with some scepticism. Much like Ted, I was thinking that the Vanderbilt connection is overdone to some extent.

But the combine scores changed my mind. I LOVE speed and agility in a LB (and so does Denver), and this guy is on top or near the top in some of the tests. I have more faith in Niko than you do, but with this player being able to play at MIKE or SAM he serves as a valuable 2nd option if either K2 or Boss turns out to be a bust.

If we end up going into the season with only one DT who is a true starter (but an excellent one), perhaps we could even go 3-4 (with Goff and K2 at ILBs). Beck can back-up and Winborn can back up the OLBs. However, I still believe in the school of thought that one EXCELLENT DT makes his partner (in a 4-3) look good, so we only need to strike gold with one of our DT picks.

Again, great piece!

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by Steve Nichols on Apr 9, 2008 2:08 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs