When I heard we were negotiating with Jake Long I must admit I was kind of bummed out. I didn't know if he could ne an Elite Left Tackle at the next level. Names such as Chris Long, Glenn Dorsey, Matt Ryan, and even Vernon Gholston swarmed internet boards and ESPN. I was provenw rong big time because I fully believe Jake long was the best player to take. Glenn Dorsey has been a major disappointment and is already being called a bust in Kansas City. Vernon Gholston has been a joke, Chris Long will not be a dominant defensive end, and if we drafted Matt Ryan we would never have signed Chad Pennington. Jake Long has been what this team has missed since Richmond Webb left. what was even more impressive for me was him playing through pain last week and handling Chris long all day. Equally impressive is the success he has had against some very good players such as Richard Seymour. The fact that we were getting beat pretty badly against the Patriots and he came back in to finish shows the character of this guy. He is dedicated, he works hard, and he has the physical ability to be a star Left Tackle. Thank You Jeff Ireland for Jake Long.
About Dorsey I knew he wouldn't dominate right away but I wouldn't call any rookie a bust. Gholston isn't a 3-4 LB and will be a bust for the Jets or in any case is a project because he has to really learn the position.
Houston made a mistake. They took Mario Williams. They should have taken Reggie Bush or Vince Young. Matt Ryan and Sam Baker are working out real well for Atlanta. Why do you say if we picked Ryan we don't sign Pennington? I'm just curious. They still might have.
Geez - there'sa lot of rubbish being spouted in this thread; first of all, Matt Ryan isn't just in the running for Rookie of the Year, Matt Ryan might win League MVP. That underlines just how good he's been. In fact, it's utterly impossible to equate just how good he HAS been. I don't hear anybody calling Glenn Dorsey a bust. After 12 games? Please. Football doesn't work like that. I'm not sure how anyone would say that Chris Long won't be a dominant defensive end, again after 12 games. Those are two really off centre arguments. And Houston not taking Mario Williams? And advocating that they should have taken Vince Young?????? That must have been written as a joke jDang. Is this the same Mario Williams with 14 sacks last year and 11 this year with 4 games to go?? Jake has played well but if we're looking at the best player from this draft, then ANY name ofther than Matt Ryan is the wrong name.
i agree. my point pertained more to the mario williams thing. in the 1st year, people were already thinking he was the wrong pick, which doesnt seem to be the case
Would you really want Young over Mario Williams (knowing what you know now) I mean, Young lost his job to Kerry Collins, who most people on this board if not everyone thought he would just be a backup for the rest of his career. Now, Collins has been performing very well, but Young is so unstable at the quarterback position, that I wouldn't want him as the leader of my offense. So I would much rather have Mario Williams than Vince Young. However, I do agree that Houston should have taken Reggie Bush, but also Steve Slaton has looked very impressive his rookie year, so I don't think that is too big of a loss.
Matt Ryan is definitely a candidate for MVP in my opinion. He has his team playing extremely well and has done a terrific job in his first year. There are no clear candidates for MVP and I wouldn't be one bit shocked if he won it. The guy who may be ahead of the competion, IMO, is Eli Manning. He's had a very good season and Matt Ryan's numbers are similar to Manning's. Also, what does this have to do with ESPN?
They've got a little bit of brown on their nose at ESPN when it comes to Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco. I think they deserve the praise they're getting but the noses are still a bit brown over there.
Well ... I am. But seems me and good ole Drew Boylhart are about the only ones who went on the record saying that the Dorsey bandwaggon was going straight to bust-land. I'm usually with you on most guys I watch tape on but the Dorsey love I've never understood. Then again, I also didn't really get the Ryan love of other people and here I am, standing corrected.
MVP is a tight race right now with many many candidates. IMO though, Peyton Manning has to be high on the list. Came off double offseason surgery, his team off to a rough start, hes now got them playing about as well as anyone and a lock on the WC spot. Matt Ryan and Eli have been discussed, ofc Brett Favre will (unjustly) garner attention as well. RoY is clearly Ryan, but I am not in any way dissapointed with Jake, hes played very well, and is exactly what this team needed. Yeah, having Ryan sounds great, but who knows if he comes in here and plays just as well, he walked into the right situation in Atlanta and is flourishing, props to him.
well considering he has helped lead the falcons from 4-12 to 8-4 while playing the toughest position in football, I would have to disagree. Am I saying he is going to win it, no not at all. The season Brees is having in New Orleans will probably win him mvp honors but to say that Ryan isnt a candidate at this point isn't true in my opinion. You don't need to drink the kool-aid to see that.
What about chad pennington. Using your theory how about 1-15 to 7-5. I would say #10 and #55 on our team are more of a mvp candidate than matty ryan
You can mention them as candidates, however I guarantee you there's a better chance of a Quarterback (Ryan, Pennington, Manning(s), Brees) winning it than an OLB like Porter.
Difference between the two is that Matt Ryan is a rookie. Pennington is a 9 year veteran. To be able to come and play the hardest position like Ryan has at a high level from day one has been nothing short of amazing. Im not belittling JP or CP in any way. They have done a great job for us this year. I just think with what Ryan is doing in Atlanta earns higher marks.
Yes, I think Melbourne is the only one who got it. Rubbish? You agree with my post 100% and it's rubbish? My point was, opinions like this at the same time frame after the 2006 draft proved to be premature. Reggie Bush, was up, down, now kinda back up. Mario has been up. VY, well he's riding the pine behind Kerry Collins.
Matt Ryan is ABSOLUTELY a league MVP candidate and if you don't believe that he is, then you're not watching much of the Falcons. I'd like to think I'm a little bit past hyperbole.
C'mon, mate, you know what I mean. There's always players in every draft you think are busts waiting to happen and sometimes you're right and sometimes you're not. Can Dorsey become a good NFL player? Absolutely. Do I believe he will? No. Nobody's calling the guy a bust, because he didn't play well in 12 NFL games. He's playing exactly the way I expected him to play. I expected him to be a non-factor in the NFL and so far he is.
Wasn't calling you an idiot my man and whilst some players are indeed pre-disposed to be douchebags, personally I didn't and don't see it in Dorsey. I know that the last 4/5 weeks he's been playing pretty well.
The one major issue I had with Dorsey - and that's the one that always sends a big red flag as far as I'm concerned - is that he didn't play up to his talent. He's a supremely gifted athlete but I saw sloppy tackling and a guy who was on the ground a lot, something I don't like at all when scouting a player who's got quick feet and no reason to lunge all the time. I also saw limited pass rushing moves. From an athletic point of view there was preciously little not like about the guy; he was big, he was very quick, he had long arms, he had the strength to have that initial burst on the line of scrimmage. There was no reason he should have sloppy tackling techniques or a limited array of pass rushing moves but he had, and in my experience that's usually - not always, of course - a pretty good sign for a player who's lacking the work ethic and thinks himself better than he actually is. Those are the guys I'm very wary of because I've seen them bust way more often than I've seen them succeed. Then again, I'm not a trained scout and I do this as a hobby when and if I got the time.
I never called anyone a bust. I simply was stating that Jake Long was the best pick for us. I don't see Chris Long and Glenn Dorsey being Pro=Bowl type players and I think Jake Long is. Dorsey has been a non-factor this season and I could same the same for Chris Long. Darren McFadden has proven to be injury prone as expected. Vernon Gholston is probably going to really struggle at this level and I must say THANK GOD we did not draft him
Didn't say you did. But what you did say about Dorsey and Chris Long was wrong. Anyone who follows the Rams or the NFL marginally closely knows that Chris Long started slowly and has played very well since mid season on a horrific team.
When compared to what Chad has done, yes. Good as Chad has been, Ryan has taken a terrible Falcons team and notched up 8 wins with some fantastic performances and brilliant numbers.
You could make a similar case for Pennington. Both turned a horrible team into a playoff contender, performed exceptionelly well and put up some very impressive numbers - easily MVP candidates in so far as their teams wouldn't be even close to where they are now without them. I'd actually give Ryan the edge because he's a rookie indeed. This might well be the best performance by a rookie QB in the last ... 10 years? 15 years?
That's true, but don't forget about the impact of Michael Turner. Ryan will have to win his team MVP award before he can challenge for the league MVP trophy.
To be fair... Ryan also has a better running game and better WRs... Chad is doing more with less than Ryan IMO... And I dont think the fact that Ryan is a rookie should be factored in to whether he wins MVP or not. You are either the best player in the league, or you arent. There are no handicaps given in the MVP race due to inexperience. Oh, and I do NOT think Pennington is the MVP either...
Yep; not doing Penny a disservice, but what turned Miami's season around had nothing to do with Pennington, it was to do with the Wildcat. I absolutely think Chad has had a top 5-10 MVP-like season. But for Ryan to come in from day 1 and win the job and play like a seasoned veteran ALL season, has been remarkable. Yes he's had Michael Turner, but he's also had to carry teams on his shoulders at times and done just that. All with a patchwork OL and a rookie LT.
Not true. They have helped each other. But as I just said to Jochen, Ryan's numbers are not inflated by Turner. Frankly I think it's a little unfair not to say that Turner's numbers have been inflated by Ryan.
That's your opinion of course. I also think it's flying in the face of what a lot of people are thinking league wide at the moment.
I'm not saying that at all- just that Turner has contributed mightily. They're both having great years, and Ryan has been an absolute standout as a rookie.
The use of the word BUST always cracks me up, in this context especially. Geez, do we all come off high and mighty about whether rookie NFL players will mature into great NFL career players. As far as J. Long, I liked it at the time, and like it as much now. And its not the player per se, I like the its Parcells, Ireland, and Sparano that have a plan and a roadmap and each move is completing a piece of the ultimate puzzle goal.
