Christmas in April (Day 1) ...
... with no coal in our stocking for once this year. Looks like the Niners made out as well ...
The Al Davis Nutball Factor ... (assorted press comments)
• When the Oakland Raiders had their choice of wideouts to pick with the seventh selection in the draft Saturday they went with the fastest, taking Maryland's Darrius Heyward-Bey over Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin, two higher-rated or more accomplished players. ...
• When Michael Crabtree unexpectedly slipped to the 10th pick in Saturday's NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers eagerly caught their highest-profile receiver since Terrell Owens left town" "We had no idea he would be there at 10," coach Mike Singletary said. "It was one of the last scenarios we thought we would end up with. ...
• The Eagles were extremely fortunate that once Al Davis made another one of his boneheaded decisions in selecting Darrius Heyward-Bay, the teams after Oakland weren't really looking for wide receivers. Replace the Raiders' owner with any 12-year-old who's read a couple scouting reports and none of this would have happened. ...
Niners got Crabtree at 10 and we got Maclin by moving up 2 slots to 19 in exchange for a 6th round pick to Cleveland sacrificing our probable target (and my 1 pick if still available) -- TE Brian Pettigrew of Oklahoma, unquestionably the best all purpose TE in the draft -- to Detroit at 20. With Knowshon Moreno gone early as expected, we got the lo'boy Harrisburg bred Pitt running back I wanted at 52 to back up Westy36.
Niners passed on their 2nd round pick for Carolina's 1 pick next year. We did that last year and it paid off in spades when we traded the pick to Buffalo a few weeks back for a stellar seasoned OT and signed him immediately, and this after picking up another seasoned but relatively young OT from Cincinnati, eliminating any pressing need for an OL at the 1 pick for once even though we let 2 great but aged vets go in free agency. Hope it works out similar for Niners.
Armchair Quarterbacking
Given what the Iggles did pre-draft and in opening draft rounds I give 'em an A and it's the 1st time I've ever given 'em any better than a B-. First time I've seen 'em take 2 skill players in 1st 2 rounds. First time also they've ever taken one of my choices. Supplementing the legitimate fullback we picked up from Seattle all this should please Donovan and his eventual replacement -- and even Iggle's picky fandom to some degree. Day 2 dawnewth and we in the 5th round really need a TE that can block, a center, and fill-in at some defensive positions. On paper we already look half way decent for the upcoming season. Time will tell.
In past years I've watched the draft primarily on ESPN. This year primarily on NFL Net which features Chuckie Gruden, Steve Mariucci, Charley Casserly, Marshall Faulk, Deion Sanders, (and BC's (NFL Film's) Mike Maycock who may be the single most talented and astute judge of available talent on the planet. On the Niners' side they have our guy Brian Baldinger covering. Altogether a great show.
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