Phil what the hell are you doing!? There were plenty of decent cornerbacks in this draft! You just coughed up Allemon or Tank Tyler or somebody!
I checked some blogs--some of the lynch-mob are saying you shouldn't draft drug-addicted rapists! Are you sure somebody would have taken him that high? Gimme a break you know damn well all the hysteria about an urgent need at cornerback is a hallucination.
Wait (gasp...ohhmmmm......ohmmmm-sigh...)
Ok I'll crunch this more later. Right now I've got to beat the Barbarians back:
Ok I agree that is was dumb to surrender a third and fourth...wait...wait a minute....
I agree that is was questionable. But quit with this "rape" stuff. He was never actually even charged, I don't think. I had a cousin who was accused of rape, too. Know what it was? She was mad at him and using the law to punish him. Admitted it. Had to clear it up with the FBI when he was going to Annapolis. Fortunately, the authorities weren't BUTTHEADS, like you.
Yeah, he had the ecstacy when he was nineteen. He was a dumbass. I was a far worse dumbass at his age. In fact I think I was still a dumbass til I was 40 or so. Ok-ok, I still am, but he was 19. He's an A student and a model citezen of Las Vegas. All his coaches and team-mates think so. Everybody who ever met him thinks so.
My God, when you people get ahold of something, you just never let go! Get a hobby!
Now, here's me stepping away from my emotional reaction and visceral disagreement, and putting myself in Phil's shoes (an ability my mother taught me, God bless her). I mean, I want to just keep bitching about the good cornerbacks available later on and the potential starting guard and/or DE he just threw away, but that's being a butthead, so:
Ok well Wright didn't start that many games, and is not a finished product. Bad, you say?
CORRECTION: With twelve more starts or so, this is a solid middle or even high first rounder; possible the best cornerback in this draft. Despite his relative inexperience, he would still have been a first-rounder were it NOT for the incidents you're now obsessing about. Yes, Phil coughed up two draft picks to move up, but he got a FIRST ROUND TALENT IN THE SECOND ROUND DO YOU UNDERSTAND?
You stand corrected.
You can't coach speed, and this is a world-class sprinter. He's got the hips, the fluidity, the reflexes, the temperament, and the brains. In a man defense, he's an insta-starter, you know that? Man coverage is raw reactions--you just stick to your guy, period. Since much slot coverage is man, a guy like this jumps right in. They tell him, "Cover this guy", and he can.
He is also a capable returner. We don't have any 4.37, 195 lb. returners right now. Actually, we never had any of those! Somebody else has one. I think his name is Devon Hester.
Raw players are better for the long-term than "polished" players, because their polishing is done IN THE NFL, and within the specific system they're to play in. Against pros. As early as next season, this guy could go to the Pro Bowl. Even if he's just the third cornerback and a gunner on special teams, he makes both the coverage units and the secondary a LOT BETTER, right NOW.
Ok now: what we really gave up...one pick, really. Say we couldn't have got him in the third round. We gave up two picks for one player. Jeez...I read in a blogsite "all those picks" and it stuck in my head. Damn you buttheads for infecting me with that reactive garbage! (ohhhmmm...)
Allright, allright. So what we gave up was the fourth rounder. Ok, maybe a decent guard, or a 3-4 DE. Ok yeah, that hurts, but...
Well, unmistakeably, this upgrades special teams and the defense, maybe signifacantly. 3-wide offenses are so common these days that Wright, as the nickel back (even half the time) would be on the field at least 33% of the time. The nickel corner, alligned on the slot, is closest to the backfield.
3-wide or spread offenses are meant to create running lanes inside. When it's a run, it's often close to that guy. One who can stop a backpedal and close fast is valuable. And trust Grantham--he would blitze sometimes. Hell, he'd beat the quarterback to the ball! But just having him on the field, and near the middle of it, means he can close on the ball wherever it is or goes.
Cutch excelled over the slot, but he was shorter, lighter, and slower. Wright can BUMP the guy, because he has the recovery speed to catch up when he misses. He can play closer to the line (and the backfield).
And who said it had to be a year before he could start outside? Maybe sooner. And maybe now we run an even mix of man and zone, rather than predominant zone--so the whole scheme changes. Man coverage means you can blitze more, because it's not as dangerous. Remember Dixon and Minnifield? Sack city! Remember?
And check what Phil has been doing out: Before, he took care of safety first, then last season took three linebackers to form solid units. Now, this one player takes care of cornerback, and the Browns suddenly have one of the most formidable secondaries and linebacker corps' in the NFL. (If you're smirking at that, there's something wrong with you. Outside of your lynch-mob, the Pros I listen to recognize this.)
If Bentley hadn't gone down, can you IMAGINE the offensive line we'd have? Has he BEEN ignoring the offensive line, really, or is that another of your hallucinations? Or do you think Bentley's injury was Phil's fault? Too bad you can't blame him for Winslow's, too.
Ok so in the third, he might have got a good zone corner and in the fourth a guard who might start. The corner couldn't compare with Wright, of course. Might be another Minter. Pretty good; solid. The guard might be good, but remember the zone-blocking people we already have here. (By the way, so far I'm the only person on the planet who expects a Denver-like blocking scheme). These are not prototype linemen.
I think what we got here is better. The Browns defense, if not complete, is very close to it. It is now also much faster.
And (I just turned it back on) the guys on NFL Radio are still raving about what a genius Savage is. What do you know that they don't?
OK now take your ropes and torches and go party or something.
You stand corrected. Me too.
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