6 comments MMQB Review: Post-Draft Post-The Redskins Had to Screw Something Up Edition

Now that the NFL Draft has ended and we finally know how wrong the mock drafts all were (including mine)...well nothing really happens now, except we breathlessly wait for the NFL games to begin. I think next year I may predict trades in my mock draft, just for shits and giggles. Really my mock can't get more messed up by predicting trades that end up being wrong.

Last time we left Peter King he was telling us about all the misinformation that goes on around draft time, and then told us the latest information he was hearing. It turns out Peter's guess that Ryan Tannehill would be selected in the Top 10, unless he wasn't selected in the Top 10 turned out to be correct. This week Peter makes it clear he is going to talk about the stuff he wants to talk about, so don't have any ideas you will get information from Peter that wasn't of interest to him. This column is about what Peter wants to talk about.

So what were 39.6 million people doing over the weekend?

Fighting poverty? Donating their time to the less fortunate? Cheating on their spouses? Preparing for the apocalypse by building a backyard underground shelter with enough food for 10 weeks?

Watching the draft.

Damn. I was so close.

I won't cover all three days of it here.

Well, of course. Just be sure you cover what kind of beer you drank this weekend and a story of how traveling is just so damn annoying due to those people who just aren't as smart as you. MMQB's real draw is when it is a journal of the minor annoyances in Peter's life. That's what I want to read about. Nothing is more riveting to me than to read a person's complaints over the last week and an update on their fantasy team. When Peter has grandkids, I hope to read something about them as well.

Instead, I'll pick and choose the things that most interested me,

Shockingly, and I'm not being sarcastic, this entire column isn't about Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck, and Ryan Tannehill, along with a breakdown of the Patriots draft picks for next year and how the 2012 draft compared to the Patriots drafts over the last 10 years. I'm really surprised there is more to MMQB than this if Peter is only choosing to discuss the things that interest him.

For all whose teams I didn't cover here, my apologies. Barring unforseen events in the league today (such as bounty discipline), I'll have more draft thoughts in Tuesday's column.

BUT ONLY DRAFT THOUGHTS THAT INTEREST PETER!

I've been hearing GM Rick Spielman of the Vikings took advantage of a Browns team that didn't want to risk losing Trent Richardson, which is true. I've been hearing Browns GM Tom Heckert got snookered into throwing fourth-, sixth- and seventh-round picks. That's a load of crap

Well actually, as Peter will describe in the next few sentences, this is incredibly factual. Tom Heckert did get snookered into throwing a 4th, 6th, 7th round pick to move ahead to the #3 spot for Richardson. This is factual. Heckert can be defended for making this trade. Not to be overly nitpicky, but the factual accuracy of what occurred isn't in dispute, Heckert got snookered. Having a good reason to get snookered doesn't take away from the factual accuracy of him getting snookered.

Snookered means, to "trick, entrice, trap." Drumming up a fake trade market for the #3 overall pick in order to get the Browns to trade draft picks to move up into that spot qualifies as being snookered.

There's no way Heckert could know what real offer Spielman had on the table. Spielman, as it turned out, had talked to Tampa Bay about the pick, but the Bucs were never seriously interested in it. But Heckert had no way of knowing that at the time.

It's okay Peter, you aren't going to lose any friends by saying it and no one will be mad. Heckert got taken by Spielman. It doesn't mean Heckert was wrong to take the trade.

General managers making vital decisions for the long-term cannot sit there and say, "I wonder if Spielman really has something, or if he's bluffing.'' They have to make decisions on the fly.

I have zero issue with Heckert trading up for Richardson. He had a guy he wanted and was genuinely afraid the Bucs would get him, because they were in the market for a running back as well. He did what he had to do to get Richardson. I know the Browns are being criticized for moving up for a running back, but this doesn't bother me as much. Now drafting Weeden...that's a different story all together.

I don't castigate Heckert. I applaud him.

But he DID get tricked. So that's not a load of crap.

What it came down to for Minnesota, a team that desperately needed corners, is that the cornerback market was deeper than the tackle market -- and the tackle market had one great player in their eyes. And while I'd have gone corner-corner at the top or the draft and hoped a Bobby Massie type slipped to me in the third round,

Peter King, GM of the Vikings, could have also gotten fired for taking two corners and then hoping and praying to the stars a quality tackle is available later in the draft. This is especially true when the corner market is deeper than the tackle market. The Vikings had a need at left tackle and hoping a guy slipped into the 3rd round isn't the best way to protect your quarterback when it is such an obvious need. Drafting Kalil was the right move. You have to protect Christian Ponder. Hoping a tackle is available to protect your franchise quarterback and then desperately fitting a player to a need in the second round is how GM's get fired. I know the Vikings desperately needed corners, but I think they made the right move.

settled for Central Florida cornerback Josh Robinson at the top of the third. Hope he's got a short memory. Robinson will need it, with Jay Cutler, Aaron Rodgers and Mtthew Stafford on the schedule six times a year for the foreseeable future.

Any rookie corner is going to need a short memory in this division. It isn't exclusive to Robinson. Pretty much any rookie corner is going to get tested and burned in this division.

When he said in the days before the draft he was considering Claiborne, Blackmon and Kalil, he invented a market for a draft choice that should probably have had no market. That's what general managers have been trying to do since the beginning of drafts in all sports. With Spielman and the Browns, it clearly worked.

So Spielman created a market that didn't exist for the draft pick in an effort to have a team trade up for that pick. So he tricked everyone into thinking there was a trade market. Remember this next statement?

I've been hearing Browns GM Tom Heckert got snookered into throwing fourth-, sixth- and seventh-round picks. That's a load of crap

If Spielman created a fake market for the pick, then Tom Heckert got taken by Spielman and therefore thinking Heckert got snookered isn't a load of crap. The definition of "snookered" is to trick someone. Spielman did a great job building the market for the pick up and Heckert fell for it.

I met the LSU corner for the first time backstage at Radio City, and all of us who did were impressed with his sincerity, poise and emotion.

But he didn't do well on the Wonderlic! Did you notice whether Morris Claiborne was excessively stupid or not!??

Dallas missed the playoffs last year because it couldn't play pass defense in the fourth quarter of the biggest games. And now the Cowboys have rebuilt the secondary (Claiborne, Brandon Carr) in one offseason.

I understand the pass defense issue the Cowboys had, but a great pass rush also helps out the secondary. So if they improve the pass rush AND improve the secondary they will be in great shape. Of course with a genius like Rob Ryan as defensive coordinator, I can't see how the Cowboys have any less than the 2nd best defense in the NFL.

I first met Jeff Ireland 10 years ago this month, working on a Dallas Cowboys draft story. Owner Jerry Jones opened the process for me, and I was able to watch the Cowboys prepare for the 2002 draft on the inside, in the meetings of scouts, coaches and the front office. In so doing, I saw the respect afforded national scout Jeff Ireland. When he spoke, the room listened.

Unfortunately, that's been part of the problem for the Dolphins. Jeff Ireland has spoken and people have listened. This is how guys like Phillip Merling, Pat White, Chad Henne, and Patrick Turner were drafted in the first 3 rounds since 2008. I know, I know I'm just being mean.

Fans flew a plane at the final home game of the 2011 season begging owner Stephen Ross to fire Ireland. There was a protest of about 30 fans outside the team's headquarters in March asking Ross to fire Ireland.

30 fans? Better get the riot gear out Miami Police Department, don't want this to get out of hand. Who says fan interest in professional sports in Florida is only a tepid interest?

So when I went to Davie, Fla., to report on the Tannehill pick, I wanted to hear the story of how Ireland got to the point where the Dolphins had only passing interest in Matt Flynn and never were a real competitor to trade up for the second pick in the draft and the chance to pick Robert Griffin III. It's because, as he explained, they liked Tannehill so much.

Oh yes, now I get it! See, the Dolphins didn't really miss out on signing Matt Flynn, didn't want to trade up for the 2nd overall pick and didn't really want Peyton Manning. It was all a smokescreen. They really wanted Ryan Tannehill. So this whole "I'm an ineffective GM and players don't have an interest in playing for the Dolphins" was all a ruse to make the Dolphins organization look dysfunctional and make it look like they didn't know what they were doing. They did all of this in order to draft a quarterback they probably would have gotten at the #8 spot in the 2012 draft even without the ruse. Boy, we all fell for it though, didn't we?

I bet even the Dolphins interest in Jeff Fisher and Jim Harbaugh was a ruse as well. The Dolphins wanted to make it look like these guys didn't care to coach in Miami as a way of throwing everyone off the scent that Miami intended to keep Tony Sparano one more year and then hire Joe Philbin.

"It's a little strange,'' he said of intense heat, and I didn't mean the weather. "It is what it is. I love the fact that the fans are passionate, and they want what I want -- to win. I believe what I do. I have a strong conviction in what I'm doing. I'm a meat-and-potatoes football guy, and I can handle the heat.''

Quick question, Mr. Ireland: Is your mother a prostitute?

One of Ireland's points to me about Tannehill, and why he feels so good about the pick, is he put a grade on the quarterback in December and it never changed, all the way up to draft day. His scouts understood the implication.

The implication being the Dolphins were taking a quarterback and weren't going to change the grade or their mind on Tannehill in order to use that grade as proof of why they were drafting Tannehill?

Ireland and coach Joe Philbin spoke of the plan for Tannehill, a plan no one knows exactly right now. In his office Friday afternoon, Philbin pointed to the practice fields outside and said: "Out there is where we're going to find out about Ryan Tannehill, Matt Moore and David Garrard. I don't remember a master plan that said, 'Here's when Ryan's going to play.' If there is one, I was never told about it. We'll let them come to work, and the best man will win.''

Sure, because when you draft a quarterback in the Top 10 of the NFL Draft you are doing this so he can come in and compete with the current quarterbacks on the roster. Because who knows, maybe the best option at the quarterback position was on the roster last year?

Les Snead shouldn't be this smart as a first-year GM.

But is he smart? He's been a GM for a few months now and the Rams haven't played any games yet. Perhaps it is a bit early to look at his plan and say, "Damn, he's pretty smart" without having any outcomes on the field to back this up?

The Rams went 2-14 and changed coaches, and changed general managers. When coach Jim Fisher and Snead began scouting the roster, they saw more holes than they'd have liked -- on the defensive line, at corner, at receiver, on the offensive line and at running back.

A lot of holes on a 2-14 team? You don't say!

(I did like the Rams draft strategy by the way. I'm not calling Les Snead a genius quite yet.)

The Rams have put in some safeguards and checks for Jenkins. Snead, or someone with the organization, will call him or talk to him every day about his life, which is a mess. He's had four children with three different women, and he'll have to use much of his first contract to straighten out child support and related family care things.

I'm not sure these are safeguards really. Jenkins can lie about how his life is going, he has four children before he even earned a penny in the NFL and I doubt the Rams will be capable of him monitoring who Jenkins sleeps with, and now that he is making money those "family care things" can result in hangers-on. I hope Jenkins succeeds, but a phone call a day and helping him straighten out child support isn't a safeguard really. Jenkins' success still depends on his own self.

Awards That May Interest Only Me Dept.

Worst pick, offense:

Kirk Cousins, QB, Michigan State, 102nd overall to Washington. Allow me to jump on a crowded bandwagon. The only reason to do this, and I mean only, is because you're injury-protecting Robert Griffin III. All the other reasons aren't legitimate.

This wasn't a "bad" pick in terms of drafting Cousins. This was a "bad" pick because of the perception involved with bringing in two rookie quarterbacks, both who are fairly highly regarded passers.

Cousins' trade value won't increase as a No. 3 quarterback behind Griffin and Rex Grossman; ask Bill Belichick about Ryan Mallett.

Maybe, and this is just a possibility, the Redskins thought Cousins could be the backup and they could get something of value for Grossman? I don't know, I'm just spit-balling here...

And what I really hate about the pick is that the Redskins won't have a first-round pick in 2013 or in 2014. GM Bruce Allen should have tried to peddle this pick for a third-rounder in 2013 somewhere, and if he couldn't find one, he should have buttressed a need position and taken second-round-tackle and value pick Bobby Massie here.

In Bruce Allen's defense, he is the General Manager of the Redskins. Questionable decision-making and incompetent moves that hurt the future of the franchise are part of the job requirements. We haven't seen many examples of this, but I'm willing to bet Daniel Snyder will fire the General Manager for appearing to be competent.

Best pick, defense:

Vinny Curry, DE, Marshall, 59th overall to Philadelphia. The Eagles took a page from the Giants and improved their pass-rush with good depth in the front seven in this draft. Curry should be a 25-snap rotational rusher.

Because teams are looking for rotational pass rushers in the second round? Is that really the best pick? A guy chosen in the second round who isn't projected to be a full-time starter? I really like Curry, but as a second round pick is he really a steal if he isn't a starter?

Worst pick, defense:T

The Colts passing on CB Trumaine Johnson to take TE Dwayne Allen with the first pick of the third round. Indy was crying out for secondary help. No team in the league last year was as generous in the secondary as the Colts, who allowed opposing passers to complete 71.2 percent of their throws. And they didn't draft one cornerback.

Clearly, Peter doesn't understand what the Colts want to do. They want to beef up the offense and sign less-talented players for the defense in the hopes the defense puts it together enough to win games. Paying medium attention to defensive needs and ensuring the offense stays strong is the type of organizational decision that helped Peyton Manning, one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, have a losing record in the playoffs. The Colts know what they are doing.

They don't need to improve the defense. They'll just let the offense carry the team. This is a formula that has worked before and we all saw last year as long as the formula includes one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history it works every single time. Only a reasonable person could look at the Colts team last year and think "maybe if they had a better defense this team could win a few more games."

"We're up 12 with [four] minutes left against the Giants, and then we can't make a play in the secondary for the rest of the game,'' said Cowboys president Stephen Jones. "Believe me, we're all sick having to use our second-round. Sick. I can't tell you how much that hurts. But look at our secondary now. We signed [Kansas City cornerback] Brandon Carr in free agency, and now adding Morris ... We are thrilled about the improvement we've made in the secondary, particularly with the way the game is being played now.''

Still have to have a good pass rush. I don't know why I feel like I have to keep adding this.

Rabbit ears of the weekend:Indianapolis owner Jim Irsay.

The Colts, who allowed the 28th-most points in the league last year, have the added construction problem of changing from a long-time 4-3 defense to the heavier-front 3-4, with many needs. They had four picks in the first two days of the draft and used none on defense, which I noted in an incredulous tweet late Friday night. To which Irsay, using his @JimIrsay Twitter account, responded Saturday: "Hey Peter King, we had NO defense, unlike now, in 1998, n B Polian took 4 Offensive picks n looking back at ur comments then, u said Great Draft!''

I think that means Irsay disagreed with my opinion. But I am honored he remembered my post-draft words of 14 years ago.

Massaging Peter King's ego always works it seems. Jim Irsay didn't remember Peter's words from 14 years ago, no matter how much Peter wants this to be true. Let's look at the Tweet Irsay sent to Peter.

in 1998, n B Polian took 4 Offensive picks n looking back at ur comments then, u said Great Draft!''

Irsay was "looking back" at Peter's comments in 1998. He didn't remember Peter's comments, he looked back at them by doing an Internet search. If you type in "Peter King 1998 draft" that link is the first one that appears. Peter shouldn't be honored that Jim Irsay knows how to do an Internet search.

Also, notice Peter's critiques in those NFL 1998 draft grades. Don't they seem like more bold statements? He has definitely mellowed/become more friendly with NFL GM's over time. Also also, later in this MMQB Peter comes out against giving draft grades, yet he used to give out draft grades. Also also also, Peter didn't do terribly at giving draft grades, and yet again, it makes me wonder how Mel Kiper has gotten away with being an expert in an industry where there is almost no way of being an expert for 30 years now. He must be living right.

"Do you blame me?''

-- Ryan Tannehill, asked at his introductory Dolphins news conference Saturday in Davie, Fla., why he would get married at 23, and then pointing to his wife, Lauren, who is an aspiring model.

Yeah...but...you could still date her without marrying her. Also, you were just drafted by Miami. I hear there are a lot of women in Miami. I feel like I need to point this out since Tannehill was basing his reasoning for getting married completely on his wife's looks. I haven't been to Miami, but I'm pretty sure there are attractive women who are aspiring models there. That's what I'm here for, to hyper-evaluate everything.

The correct answer here would have been: "Because I love her and she's so great blah, blah, blah..." The fact she is attractive would have been understood as part of the reason he loves her. I'm going to list "Relationships" as another area I believe myself to be an expert in.

"I'm angry about it, frankly. It's not true. I have a clear conscience. I've never, ever listened to an opposing coach's headset. That's all I can say.''

-- New Orleans general manager Mickey Loomis, who stands accused of wiretapping the opposing coaches' booth in the Superdome so he could listen in on conversations of the opposition from 2002 through 2004.

And we all know Mickey Loomis would have no reason to lie or deceive anyone about whether he was wiretapping the opposing coaches' booth or not. No one ever initially denies anything they are actually guilty of do they?

Lindley's arm strength, decision-making and command of the pocket will serve him well at the next level. His accuracy will determine if he has a chance. Last year it was a paltry 53 percent.

Yeah, but teams can fix accuracy. Isn't that what we were told about Jake Locker after last year's draft?

By the way, Locker completed 51.5% of his passes on 66 attempts last year. I feel like I need to add this. This very well could improve. It is a small sample size. I've never been a huge Locker fan, partially due to his inaccuracy. I always thought he was a bit overrated, though I know plenty of people disagree with me.

"As a black person and Boston-area native, I'm sickened and heartbroken by the deplorably racist reactions of some Bruins fans to Joel Ward.''

-- @cgasper, Boston Globe online sports columnist Chris Gasper, after some hockey fans tweeted blatantly racist remarks following Washington Capital Joe Ward's winning Game 7 goal against the Bruins Wednesday night. Ward is black.

My favorite reaction to this was from Bill Simmons who wanted to make it clear these reactions on Twitter didn't reflect negatively on Boston. Of course, why would it? It were only (presumably) Boston-area fans that tweeted the reactions. How could that reflect on the Bruins in a negative fashion. Actually, I'll let Bill explain:

Last note: After the game abruptly ended, a few idiot Bruins fans tweeted racial slurs because Ward (an African-Canadian) scored the game-winning goal. Those morons don't reflect on the city of Boston, but rather the Internet itself — an occasionally unseemly place with little accountability that willingly courts hateful morons from every corner of the world.

See the fans don't reflect on Boston, but they reflect on a larger group of people, namely the entire Internet. This is much like how the KKK doesn't reflect on racist, angry white people, but rather hate around the world itself--a place where every country has some group who hates another group.

Of course, it only seemed to be Bruins fans doing this, so how could it reflect on the Boston-area?

Those assholes didn't represent Boston, but rather the underbelly of the Internet itself.

So while Bill is right about the underbelly of the Internet itself, this part of the underbelly tended to represent Boston Bruins fans. This is much like how the attacks on the Creighton player who injured Kendall Marshall or the attacks on Kyle Williams reflected poorly on the UNC and San Francisco 49er fan base. Yes the underbelly of the Internet is full of assholes, but this specific group of assholes seemed to represent one fan base. So the assholes did reflect the underbelly of the Internet, with the specific sub-set of that underbelly seeming to be Boston Bruins fans. So it does reflect poorly on the Bruins and these idiot fans.

1. I think if you're looking for draft grades, you'll have to look somewhere else. Grading drafts after they happen is like grading students for the term on the first day of class, and I've been out of that business for a few years now.

I will be grading the NFL Draft, simply because I enjoy useless exercises like that. Of course, Peter "I don't do mock drafts because it is like grading students for the term on the first day of class" King does feel like he is capable of listing the "best" and "worst" offensive and defensive player picks from the 2012 draft in this very MMQB. Isn't that also a bit like grading students for the term on the first day of class also?

3. I think those at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan who uproariously booed the 10-year-old child making the late-round Patriots' draft choice need to do some value-system adjustments with their lives.

These people at Radio City Music Hall who booed don't represent themselves when they booed. They represent the entire United States--a country where we need to do some value-system adjustments with our lives for how we act on a daily basis. Don't blame these people for booing. Blame everyone for these people booing.

a.Veep is the best new thing I've seen on TV since the rookie year of The Office.

I haven't seen "Veep," but if it is the best show Peter has seen on television since the first season of "The Office" then Peter needs to watch a lot, a lot, a lot more television. The first season of the "The Office" (which was only like 6 episodes long by the way) is in no way close to being the best thing on television. Seriously, Peter watch "Breaking Bad" or "Homeland" or just watch "Parks and Rec."

b.The Office, by the way, has become unwatchable. Silly, ridiculous plots.

This statement could have been written in early 2010 and still been accurate.

d. Harper looks like he'll be incredibly fun to watch over the years, as long as he does something about that haircut.

(shakes head sadly) Yes, that haircut is going to prevent Bryce Harper from being fun to watch. Of course to watch Bryce Harper play, Peter King would probably have to watch a game that doesn't involve the Red Sox, which I'm not entirely sure he is capable of doing. Peter says he loves baseball, but doesn't seem to have the time or energy to focus on teams other than the Red Sox.

f. I'd like to host a fireside chat with Eli Manning and Kevin Durant. Subject: How to play your best when the game is on the line. Durant's incredible.

Kevin Durant is like 4 of 17 (or something like that) in situations where he takes the game winning or game tying shot this year. I'm not sure where I heard this statistic, but I've heard it a few times. I think Peter watched one NBA game and has come to the conclusion Durant is clutch, though I'm thinking he just wants to sit huddled by a fire with Eli Manning and Durant.

Six employees, painfully slow line, one making the espresso drinks and pouring the drip coffee that everyone is in line to get. Might there possibly be a better deployment of your employees, Seattle?

I wonder if Peter knows how whiny he sounds when he says things like this? Yes, Starbucks could go better in the area of employee deployment, but Peter travels a lot and tends to work and live in crowded areas. Lines are going to be long sometimes in these areas. One would think he would be used to it by now.

I loved the diversity -- major league baseball, and all sports really, need to attract fans of all color and nationality, and two Latino families sat on either side of me.

I wonder if Peter complained these families spoke Spanish the entire game and ruined the experience of watching a game?