NY Giants select Miami OL Ereck Flowers

Once Scherff went off the board to the Redskins at the #5 spot (WOW!!) this was the presumptive pick and the Giants did not surprise anybody south of Mel Kiper. There was a mini-run on the hogs and RB's counter to Mel's wisdom.

"Who the hell is Mel Kiper anyway?"
from nfl.com
http://www.nfl.com/videos/caught-in-the-draft/0ap2000000345422/Caught-in-the-Draft-Kiper-calls-out-the-Colts "Mel Kiper doesn't know any more than Bill Tobin's postman" CLASSIC!!

Also in the classic category, Aaron Rodgers long, long, long stint in the green room
from nfl.com:
http://www.nfl.com/videos/caught-in-the-draft/0ap3000000488878/Caught-in-the-Draft-Rodgers-keeps-on-waiting

How a bout Jaworski's less than flattering analysis of Aaron Rodgers. Don't think we missed that one, Jaws!! You can't always base your opinions on those of the "expert" commentators. Sometimes they are right, sometimes they are rather famously wrong.

Anyway, as far as the Giants go, Eli should be a little happier this morning as the Giants offensively just got a little more powerful. But what do the Giants know? Get me Bill Tobin's postman!!

I like the comps to fellow Miami alumnus Bryant McKinnie. If this guy is anywhere near as good as McKinnie, this becomes a great pick. We'll see if he stays at LT where he has more value protecting Eli's blind side or moves to the RT spot due to technique concerns that seem to be more on the pass protection side rather than as a run blocker where most reports indicate he is ferocious. Those huge knee braces are a concern and he has been off the field due to injury at times, but everybody has injury risk.

Look at this from giants.com, OFFENSIVE LINEMAN HAVE STATISTICS!!! How cool is that?

BLOCKING STATISTICS...Based on review of game film by our scouting department...SGP-season grade percentage...GM-games played...PLAY-amount of snaps played in...KB-key blocks (pancake/ knockdowns)...TDB-touchdown resulting blocks... DWF-downfield blocks... PRS-pressures allowed... SKA-sacks allowed...High Grade Game-best graded game for the season.
STATS	GM	SGP	PLAYS	KB	TDB	DWF	PRS	SKA	High Grade Game
2014	12	84.18	700	043	10	07	1.0	4.0	94% vs. Cincinnati

from giants.com

http://www.giants.com/news-and-blogs/article-1/Experts-react-to-selection-of-OL-Ereck-Flowers/38a54f69-1801-4744-8dcb-71267d5a24c8

Read rapid reactions on the Giants’ first-round selection of offensive lineman Ereck Flowers out of the University of Miami. 

Mike Mayock, NFL Media

"Flowers is a big, strong, power man. He's a powerful run blocker and has prototypical tackle traits. He reminds me of the 49ers' Anthony Davis when he came out of Rutgers."

Jay Glazer, FOX Sports

“Offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo wants to get the ball out of Eli Manning's hand quickly. Drafting Flowers assists the Giants in their running game as he can play right tackle and they can move Justin Pugh inside to guard.”

Chris Burke and Doug Farrar, SI.com

“With some technique work, Flowers could be a complete tackle, but NFL teams don't take linemen in the top 10 to let them develop.”

Pete Prisco, CBSSports.com

“B+ The Giants needed help up front. This is a kid scouts loved. He is tough and physical. I think he plays right tackle and moves Justin Pugh inside.”

ESPN Scouts Inc. Staff

“What he brings: He has outstanding size and length for the position to go with very good power along with good quickness for his size. He has some work to do on his hand placement and technique, but overall he's an effective blocker with excellent toughness and intangibles. He's most likely a right tackle in the NFL but could develop into a left.

“How he fits: Second-year offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo's system requires a quality run/pass balance. Flowers is one of the better inline blocking tackles in this class and immediately upgrades the New York's size and power on the front line. Flowers will potentially start his career inside at guard before making the transition outside as either a right or left tackle.”

Dan Graziano, ESPN.com

I like the pick. In spite of the high picks of Justin Pugh and Weston Richburg the past two years, the Giants still need to build the offensive line. In Flowers, they get a huge (6-foot-6, 330-pound) offensive lineman who can start right away at guard or right tackle and help upgrade the run-blocking, which was one of their offseason priorities. But the Giants also believe that the 21-year-old Flowers has a high enough ceiling that he can eventually be a top left tackle. That makes it worth spending a top-10 pick on the guy.”

Nate Davis, USA TODAY Sports

“At 6-6, 329 pounds, Flowers is a huge, powerful man, if still a bit raw at age 20. But this mauler should immediately improve New York’s substandard ground attack, ranked 23rd in 2014.”

Todd McShay, ESPN

“Great pick for the Giants.  Young prospect.  Overpowering blocker.  Tone setter.  Great football character and best football should be ahead.”

---

SCOUTING ANALYSIS

After starting four games at right tackle as a true freshman, Flowers shifted to the left side, where he started every game he’s played in for the Hurricanes during his last two seasons (sat out the 2014 North Carolina clash), despite playing most of this year with nagging knee issues.

Scouts feel that the junior is developing into the finest blocker the school has produced since Bryant McKinnie in 2001. Tailback Duke Johnson’s 1,542 yards this season was a major result of Flowers clearing out the rush lanes, as he recorded eight of his ten touch-down-resulting blocks with Johnson trailing the blocker (tailback scored ten times this season).

Flowers has an explosive burst off the snap and the functional speed needed to get into the second level. He is an aggressive blocker with above average strength and still developing more power. He is flexible and plays flat-footed, showing no problems redirecting. He demonstrates above average agility in his kick slide, doing a nice job of sinking his hips, dropping his weight and bending his knees while generating enough strength to anchor. His suddenness off the ball allows him to create and hold open the rush lanes.

While owning the size and athleticism that scouts love to see, Flowers' inconsistency reading the snap count resulted in nine penalties during the season. While he started at left tackle the last two years, most teams feel that his impressive strength and weight may make him a better fit at right tackle or even guard - where he could excel as he matures early in his career.

When lining up in a two-point stance, Flowers is difficult for isolated defenders and edge rushers to beat on the corner, as he is quick with his hands and has that reach and punch to engulf smaller opponents and stall the bigger ones. He generates good kick-slide in his retreat to seal off the edge and generates a very strong anchor, along with adjusting nicely to twists and late blitzes.

Perhaps it was his knee issues that prevented Flowers from using a bit more knee bend in attempts to maintain better posture, as he tried to compensate for the injury and ended up bending from the waist and lunging too often (see battle vs. Randy Gregory in the Nebraska game). Normally his recovery speed is acceptable, but he seemed to struggle when getting his weight moving back toward the line once out of kick-slide.

Flowers also compensated by using his strong arm-bar, and it seemed to buy him some time, unless he was beaten by a speed move. As a drive blocker, he has great confidence in shocking his opponent with his strong initial punch. Unless a defender escaped his hands, they found it very difficult to push him back off the line.

He has the strength and footwork to seal the edge and turn his man out of the hole, but again referring to his knee injury as a reason, he was inconsistent keeping his feet moving after the initial pop in 2014, even though he showed in the past that he can dominate his man when he delivers his punch to stop the defender.

As for a possible move to guard, Flowers displays the quick feet and body control to excel when pulling and trapping, often pushing his guard out of the way when both are on the move. He’s flexible and agile enough to hit his target and strong enough sustain. When healthy, he usually took out the man in front of him, but did have some trouble adjusting to plays coming from the inside.    

Down field, Flowers can get to linebackers, knowing his angle and he can physically dominate most second level opponents once engaged. He will bend at the waist at times, allowing better defenders to shed him to make a play as the ball carrier goes by, though. Still, you can see the urgency in his play and his desire to clean up piles and hit the moving targets.

http://m.bleacherreport.com/articles/2429751-ereck-flowers-nfl-draft-2015-scouting-report-grade-for-giants-rookie?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=new-york-giants

PRO COMPARISON: Bryant McKinnie

Flowers is a huge man with good movement skills and big upside. As a player, he reminds of Bryant McKinnie—another huge player who developed into a top-tier left tackle.

FINAL GRADE: 6.00/9.00 (Future Starter)

NFL mock draft: Expert predictions for the 2015 NFL Draft - Business Insider

'

I like the Wisdom of the Crowd methodology that Business Insider used and this is the guy, along with OT Andrus Peat from Stanford, whose name has been linked to the Giants the most.

from Business Insider:
NFL mock draft: Expert predictions for the 2015 NFL Draft - Business Insider:

9. New York Giants — Brandon Scherff, OG

Experts: 5 out of 15

School: Iowa 

Other possibilities*: Andrus Peat (OT, Stanford), Danny Shelton (DT, Washington) 

Key expert quote: Rang: "The Giants could be intrigued by some of the edge rushers still on the board, but if Scherff - the draft's best offensive lineman - is available, he would make too much sense to pass up."

'via Blog this'

Considering that the Giants have the #9 pick and presumably do not want it again anytime soon, you would think they would go for one of the skill players for max impact. I liked Florida's LB Dante Fowler, Jr. for them as a sleeper pick. He's 6-2, 261 and Florida fast, but the consensus here has him going before the G-men pick.

Among the linemen, you can't go wrong with Miami OT Ereck Flowers at 6-5, 324, right in there with Scherff and Peat. Scherff is the only one that seems suited to move to OG, and he would be a big one, so that may be why he is rising up the board.

If they go for safety help, Alabama's Landon Collins might be the only DB worth picking in the #9 slot. But he looks like he's slipping more to the bottom half of the first-round rather than the front half.

They need to cash in big at both the #9 slot and #41 in the second round. Maybe they roll the dice and hope that one of the highly regarded OL men fall to the second round. Overall, I think #9 is too high to draft an offensive lineman, but Eli is a valuable property. You have to keep him upright.

I thought earlier the Giants might be looking at the DE's in case JPP leaves the building, but Shane Ray 6-3, 245 from Missouri and Randy Gregory 6-6, 245 from Nebraska have the dreaded "off-field issues" attached to them.

And here I thought that you had to be badder than Charles Manson to not get drafted.

"If Charles Manson ran a 4.3, you'd better believe we'd sign him." - Jimmie Johnson

Being a dumb-ass at best and a borderline junior-sociopath at worst has not appeared to diminish the draft prospects of one Jameis Winston. Not one little bit.

It's interesting that after all the PR hullabaloo over domestic violence, involvement in murders and (alleged) rapes, that Roger Goodell may be forced to publicly welcome to the league with the 1st overall pick, a young man still dealing with the legal implications of a rape charge. Maybe he'll have a better secondary excuse than the one offered for the "stolen" (allegedly) crab-legs.

It's a real simple concept fellas.

• That which you reward or incentivize, you get more of.
• That which you penalize, you get less of. 

So much for changing the culture. Or maybe he did make fundamental change with this move:

from bloomberg.com
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-04-28/nfl-will-end-its-tax-exempt-status-goodell-tells-team-owners

Goodell and the NFL have now basically told Congress and all the political special interest groups that have dogged the NFL for the past couple of years, "La-la-la, I can't hear you anymore." Or something along those lines.

  

Now they can go back to doing what they do best. Being the National Football League. Oops.

It will be worth watching if only to see how well Mel Kiper's hair has aged or whether Todd McShay can induce a brain embolism in old Mel via poor prospect analysis. That would be compelling live TV.

The Buccaneers are officially on the clock.   

Mel Kiper Mock Draft: Eric Ebron, Xavier Su'a-Filo to New York Giants

What would the NFL draft be without a picture of Mel Kiper's hair? One of the most follically gifted commentators in the business, maybe of all-time. That hair looks like it could deflect a gun shot, to be honest. The commentary is usually pretty good too.

from Bleacher Report:
Mel Kiper Mock Draft: Eric Ebron, Xavier Su'a-Filo to New York Giants:

In this mock, Kiper explains that he is doing what he believes NFL teams will do based on the information he currently has and not drafting the players he would personally choose for each team. Here is how Kiper explains each pick for the Giants.

Eric Ebron

Kiper writes: Here's a case where you can accuse me of projecting a team to take the same player I would if it was my decision. Ebron is a potential difference-maker for the next stage of Eli Manning's career, a big target in the passing game who can create constant matchup problems with his size and quickness underneath, and down the field with his speed and catch radius (again, size). The Giants have had four different tight ends catch the most passes at that position over the past four years. They could use a really good one.

'via Blog this'

In order, this is where I would like the Giants to go in the first round:

Tight End Eric Ebron, North Carolina:

Wide Receiver Mike Evans, Texas A&M:

Defensive Tackle Aaron Donald, Pittsburgh:

Offensive Tackle Jake Matthews, Texas A&M:

Offensive Tackle Taylor Lewan, Michigan:

Grading the Giants Draft

At the risk of opening myself up to a "Who the hell is Mel Kiper?" type moment, I am going to grade the Giants draft the day after it is completed. For those of you that don't know or remember what I am talking about, the original quotes are shown below and a YouTube of Bill Tobin's next day, follow-up critique of the previously little-known Kiper's credentials to opine which in hindsight launched the the career of one Mel Kiper, draft-expert.

Note: Keith Olbermann looks like he was wearing a disguise, but that was his genuine appearance back in the day. Once a dork, always a dork.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/pete_mcentegart/04/22/ten.spot/index.html

3. "Who the hell is Mel Kiper?", 1994
Draft guru Mel Kiper has become as associated with one day as Punxsutawney Phil and Santa Claus, but his opinions often rankle NFL execs. Never was that demonstrated more clearly than when Kiper kvetched that the Colts should have taken quarterback Trent Dilfer rather than linebacker Trev Alberts with the fifth pick. "Who the hell is Mel Kiper?" thundered Colts VP Bill Tobin. "He's never been a player, he's never been a coach, he's never been a scout, he's never been an administrator, and all of a sudden, he's an expert. He has no more credentials to do what he's doing than my neighbor, and my neighbor's a postman." As a postscript, in 2001 the Palm Beach Post asked mail handler Calvin Falana to pick the top 10 picks, and he got eight of 10 correct (though not in order) compared to six for Kiper.

Bill Tobin vs Mel Kiper - 1994 Part 2




Anyway, back to the Giants and my simple -- but effective -- grading method.

I generally use the Baseball America Top 200 Prospects List as near gospel, because they are the acknowledged leaders in following youth, high school and collegiate players. I also looked at Mlb.com's Top 50 prospects list.

In scanning the Giants picks from the first 30 rounds, they managed to secure three of Mlb.com's top 50 by selecting Susac, Oropesa and Osich.

Knowing that there are 32 teams in the league and ignoring the over/under weighting effects of compensation picks each team has 1/32 or 3.125% chance of getting each top 50 prospects. Three and 1/8 percent would be average selecting by the organization. The Giants came in at 6%. I would give them an A here.

Looking over Baseball America's list, the Giants selected 6 of the Top 100 (6%) and 8 of the Top 200 (4%). Doubling the expected rate gives them another A in the Top 100 category (most likely to succeed) and no less than a B in the Top 200 category which provides organizational depth and at worst future trade pieces.

The Giants added four useful position players, all collegians, who should be ready to help quickly by adding:

#30 Susac, C
#57 Oropesa, 1B/3B
#67 Panik 2B/SS
#165 Garrett Beuchele 3B (added late yesterday)

They helped the pitching depth by adding:

#41 Osich, LHP
#47 Crick, RHP (a hard-throwing Texan RHP)
#99 Marlowe, RHP
#117 Bandilla, LHP

Not a bad day and a half's worth of work by the Giants scouting staff. Only two or three of these guys have to hit for it to be a pretty successful draft.

So put that in your pipe and smoke it Marge Schott, wherever you are. (some would say HELL) Apparently, scouts do more than watch games. At least if they do it right.


Also, Bill Parcells didn't seem to think too highly of Mel Kiper, either. HATERS all around.

I caught a glimpse of the Bill Parcells’ draft special on ESPN recently. Now THERE’S a man who knows about the draft and has a valid opinion throughout the NFL community. When he got asked something along the lines of, “Do you think any teams keep Mel Kiper’s draft rankings in their locker before draft time?” Parcells simply responded with a pretty basic “F*&^ no. That’s ret$%^ded.”

THE KIPER-MCSHAY DEBATES

KIPER & MCSHAY - SO HAPPY TOGETHER???


As a rule, I don't like to get in the middle of lovers quarrels--but for these two guys--I will make an exception. And in this case I will say both are wrong, but one is less wrong than the other.

In the NFL draft aftermath, it is part of the process to grade each teams performance in drafting potential future players. In the ESPN battle of the talking heads/draft gurus McShay took a stab or two at Kiper for giving teams ANY grade at all. He feels like you can't grade the draft until a few years out. DUH!!! But the whole reason these two grace our screens for this event is to give an "educated guess" on the "presently unknown - future prospects" of these collegians.

It's the whole purpose of ranking guys and having a draft list!!! And you can't venture an educated guess on which team did a better job of it than another.

C'mon McShay get a clue. You have your list of players ranked with razor sharp precision--somebody is ranked #1, #2, etc. And the teams are conveniently drafting in an eerily similar fashion--numerical order #1, #2, etc.

So can you not back into a reasonable grade, based on your list going into the draft and comparing it versus each team? Let's say we have Team A who drafts in the 1st, 33rd, 65th, 97th and 129th spot and gets the #1, #33, #65, #97 and #129 ranked prospect--then that team did about as well as expected--BASED ON YOUR MAGIC LIST.

And could you not conclude that if they get lower ranked players based on their draft slot CONSISTENTLY, then they received good value? And the opposite would be true as well.

It seems like this was the nexus of a lot of the debate about GOOD CHOICE/BAD CHOICE
that filled time between choices.

So you are either telling us that this ranking of players--your area of expertise--is just so much show-filler or you don't have the confidence or expertise to translate it into a team grade, which seems to be a relatively simple exercise.

Why were eyebrows raised when the Raiders took Heyward-Bey? Because he wasn't the highest ranked receiver, and his ranking on both of your lists was higher than the slot he was selected at--i.e. BAD PICK or a reach. Too many of those and a team could find itself rebuilding for a decade.

OK, enough for pounding the McShay position. Now on to Kiper. I cannot for the life of me understand how Mel can continually give the Jets and the Bucs almost anyone who trades up to get "their" guy solid grades.

MEL'S GRADES LISTED HERE:
http://www.faniq.com/article/Mel-Kiper-Jr-2009-NFL-Draft-Team-Grades-1561200

Part of it could be I'm not real sold on Sanchez. He was over-hyped by the USC hype machine. If you watch most of the highlights, his receivers were so wide open, I could have drop-kicked passes to them and completed a good number. We'll see how good he is when he has to throw into tight windows after getting smacked in the mouth a time or two--something else he has limited experience with.

How do the Bucs get a good grade for mismanaging their roster so much that they NEED to trade up to get a project QB, who may not help them for years? That is almost beyond belief.

At least you give out grades, Mel. BRAVO. But having the cajones to trade up does not always make a good draft. The Eagle made a good "trade-up" to get Maclin who was a great value at the spot due to the domino effect of the Raiders reaching for DHB earlier. There was not another impact WR that they could have sat in their spot and waited for--they spotted an opportunity and pounced on it. The Bucs likely could have had Freeman later and Sanchez at minimum has to bring the Jets a playoff victory very soon to justify the hype and the cost to obtain him.

But, I was wrong about Eli, so who knows.

THE NFL DRAFT 2009: SECOND DAY

MEL KIPER'S HAIR HAS NOT LOST A STEP - THAT SUCKER COULD DEFLECT BULLETS

Mel's hair was on full display the second day of the draft - which is the day drafts are made. The first round picks and those made on the first day certainly garner the most attention, but team success is heavily dependent on the contributions of the players drafted on the second day.

How did the G-men do?

Jerry Reese is beginning to cement his reputation as one of the best talent evaluators in the NFL. He may have helped his reputation even more yesterday.

After not being able to swing a deal for a marquee WR to replace Plax--although Braylon Edwards or Anquan Boldin could still end up in Blue--Reese & Co. managed to provide depth to the WR core and diversified the offense with WR Hakeem Nicks and TE/H-Back Beckum as well as red-zone threat 6-6 WR Ramses Barden. RB Andre Brown in the fourth round is a steal and provides replacement for Dedrick Ward. Second rounders William Beatty T and Clint Sintim LB project as solid pro prospects. No real reaches or gambles in the bunch.

GIANTS PICKS:
1 - Hakeem Nicks, WR, North Carolina (6-1, 212)
2 - Clint Sintim, LB, Virginia (6-3, 256)
2 - William Beatty, T, (6-6, 307)
3 - Ramses Barden, WR, Cal Poly (6-6, 229)
3 - Travis Beckum, TE, Wisconsin (6-3, 239)
4 - Andre Brown, RB, N.C. State (6-0, 224)
5 - Rhett Bomar, QB, Sam Houston State (6-2, 225)
6 - DeAndre Wright, CB, New Mexico (5-11, 198)
7 - Stoney Woodson, CB, South Carolina (5-11, 195)

The only knock so far is that they could have gone for a S rather than QB project Bomar in the fifth. The 6-7 picks are so far down the depth chart of available CB's that I would be surprised if they stick.

MLB Draft Televised.. Roger's Back...and Linceum Debuts

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2862901

Now we just need the MLB equivalent of Mel Kiper....and a Baseball Combine, televised, and I'll be happy, for now. But, as always, I reserve the right to bitch and complain about something. But this is good.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CLEMENS IS BACK WITH THE YANKEES - OMG!!!!


Who saw this coming? Call me gullible but I believed Roger when he said he didn't know if he was coming back this season. And is he telling Houston, YOU GUYS, SUCK!!! by not coming back with them? Now he's jilted the Red Sox and the Astros and at one point the Yankees. This guy really knows how to burn bridges, and repair them.....if the money is right.....and the team is desparate enough. Yeah, this will work.

(Voice of God, Bob Sheppard) Now warming up in the Yankees bullpen, The Ultimate Mercenary, Number 22, Roger Clemens. Oh yeah, Rocket's back and all is right with the world. What I'd really like to know is: Who's' the biz-notch Roger or Andy Pettitte? Aw, heck I'm just glad these fells are back together again. I couldn't stand to see Pettitte in such emotional pain. Pitching through the tears. I can hear the theme song to "Courtship of Eddie's Father" playing softly in the background.

And how will the Andy and Roger clique get along with the already fractured Derek and A-Rod relationship. Could it pull them closer together? And OMG how did Andy not know that Roger was coming back, aren't they like BFFL, I mean OMG, he didn't know, he said so on the bench.

And even Derek didn't know and he was texting and IM'ng him all the time. OMG it was such a big secret and now it's not, like OMG.

The Yankees are now the team that most resembles and acts like a hormonal, 13-year old girls softball team in American League history. Not that theirs anything wrong with that and my apologies in advance to all hormonal, 13-year old girls softball teams across the country. You go girls. NO, NOT YOU, YANKEES.

I'm sorry, I know this is evil and junk, but I'm hoping the Yankees have one more hamstring pull in them real soon. It would be poetic justice. Except some other poor, innocent Yankee underling might get fired. It's the Yankee Way.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Not since John D'Acquisto's debut for the Giants has a Giants rookie pitcher generated such anticipation and excitement. And although the stat line was not great, the stuff appeared as electric as advertised. His delivery reminds me of Orel Hershiser a bit with the head tilt. Hopefully, he has the same command and mental makeup down the road as The Bulldog. He seems like he was mumbling to himself as he pitched, hopefully batters can't read his lips from that distance. Maybe it was just nerves.

Hard-throwing righthanders under six-feet tall do not have a great track record in the majors, most end their string of domination at the collegiate level (think Richie Lewis from Florida State some years back), but Lincecum seems to have the goods.

A 98 MPH heater, and a back breaking, knee buckling curve ball, that we did not see very much off last night, gives me thoughts of Tim Hudson or Roy Oswalt in the Giants future, along with Matt Cain, and oh yes, the other Barry. This could be a fun half-decade to be a Giants fan. Now find a closer.