Regarding draft grades and media evaluations: SCOUTS SCOFF AT NFL WRITERS One thing to keep in mind as every writer who ever has used the words "foot" and "ball" in the same sentence breaks down the 2004 draft is that none of us are truly qualified to do so. And that's why you won't see us ever assigning grades or rankings to teams following the draft. As one league insider explained to us on Monday, the media generally doesn't know what it's talking about when it comes to the evaluating NFL talent. "I don't remember the last time a sports writer spent millions on scouting a football player," the source said._ "They spend $15.95 on_draft books by [Mel] Kiper or Pro Football Weekly and think they have all the answers._ What they fail to realize is Kiper and the kid from Pro Football Weekly have never scouted a game in their lives._ They get info from scouts and the only info they get is what scouts want to tell them._ They have no idea about medical information or character information, which is huge in the evaluation process. "It always amuses me when I read their reports because they know less than 25 percent of what the average scout knows. Yet the press use their books as expert opinions and even steal some of those reports when they give an opinion about a player._ In short, they have no clue and never will." Ouch._ But the guy is right._ Kiper is no scout._ Peter King is no scout._ Chris Mortensen is no scout._ Scouts spend months reviewing film and talking to coaches and criss-crossing the country scrutinizing blue-chippers and searching for hidden gems. The reward for a job well done?_ They get to do it all over again. So we've got a ton of respect for the guys who spend their time doing this, and we'll never pretend to have a fraction of the knowledge that they possess._ Instead, we (and all NFL writers) use what they choose to give us -- and unlike guys such as Kiper, we don't pretend to have all the answers. That's precisely the point Bill Tobin was making ten years ago when he said that Kiper has no more credentials to criticize draft picks than Tobin's postman._ And that's why Tobin's words struck a nerve with Kiper that day. ---------------------------------------- Considering the source, this is a pretty strong statement.
So, Ryan Leaf is not the equal of Payton manning? Rick Meier is not the equal of Dre Bledsoe? etc etc etc ???
Obviously some scouts or front offices make mistakes, but I agree with the point. You can even see it with some of the posts on this thread. None of us have seen near the amount of tape or done the research the scouts and GMs do, yet people are so quick to criticize and second guess. I think this is especially important in the NFL.
