TPC Returns!

(Editor's note: Two-Point Conversion -- or TPC for short -- is a point/counterpoint sports-blog thing written by Luke Peacock and Brian Vidrik, and is probably the most significant thing to happen to the written word since the Bible, or at least since T.O.'s children's book, "Little T Learns to Share.")


Hey there folks. Remember us? We used to write informative and hilarious things about sports until we got busy with our own lives and just forgot to for a while.

Well, turns out our lives are boring. So we're back to inform and entertain you for as long as you'll let us (or until we get distracted again -- we're kind of like cats or children in that way). As always, you know the drill. Use the comments feature at the bottom of each entry to pose a question (generally sports-related, but that's not always a requirement), and the best questions get answered in a timely manner.

If that sounds like fun, read on. And welcome back; we've missed you almost as much as you've missed us.

TPC VERSION 2.0: IT'S GETTING A LITTLE DRAFTY IN HERE

Omar from Anaheim, CA:
So who had the best and worst drafts this past weekend?

LUKE:

Ah I love draft weekend. Spring is finally in the air, and thousands of hopeful, yet horribly biased and poorly informed NFL fans think their team swept the sweepstakes, stole the show, and found diamonds in every round's rough. Sadly, for most of them, their high hopes will have been dashed even before final cuts are made, when it becomes painfully clear that the learning curve from college to the pros is even steeper than it seems on Sundays. For now, though, skies are blue and fans are blind, and even though it takes a couple years to really get some perspective on a draft class, there were a few obvious winners and at least one clear loser this past weekend.

The good: Philadelphia Eagles

I usually don't like a draft without any big guys, and the Eagles draft is suspiciously small. At least until you remember that they traded one of their two first-rounders to Buffalo for Jason Peters, the best tackle in the game. Their draft looks a little bigger after you consider that little factoid. Now, obviously the strength of a draft class is ultimately contingent upon the strength of its first-day picks, and sometimes you have to get a little lucky. The Eagles got a lot lucky when Jeremy Maclin showed up on their doorstep at pick 19, gift-wrapped in swaddling clothes like a tiny angel in a basket. Except, you know, if the angel ran a 4.4 and caught everything within reach. Running back LeSean McCoy was a fantastic pick for the team at 53rd overall, and the team got depth with Cornelius Ingram in the 5th round. This year's Golden Hammer of Awesomeness clearly goes to the Eagles.

The bad: Oakland Raiders

What can you say about Oakland Raider owner Al Davis that hasn't already been said about the CEOs of every failed company from Bear Stearns to General Motors? For as long as he's alive, the Raiders will continue to draft in the top 10 spots every year, and continue to overpay for speed, precious speed. Welcome this year's addition to the freak parade, Darrius Heyward-Bey. Sure, he ran in the 4.3's. I also heard he jumped pretty far. Here's betting none of that matters when the Raiders are 2-14 next season and trying to decide who to pick with the first overall selection in the 2010 draft.

The ugly: Dallas Cowboys

I was tempted to go with Cleveland for their Quantity Over Quality approach here, but I just had to give this one to Dallas. Their first, third, and sixth round picks are all rolled up into Roy Williams, who is a starting WR, but no better (and certainly no cheaper) than whoever they could've gotten for just the first of those three picks. After sitting on their hands for the entire first day, the Cowboys draft a guy nobody's ever heard of with their first pick of the draft, and it just got weirder from there. Let's just say if your best pick is a guy whose ceiling is "Pretty good career backup QB," you took a left turn somewhere in the war room and never recovered.


So there you have it. People "in the know" say it takes 3 years to evaluate a draft class, so I reserve the right to remove my foot from my mouth if Heyward-Bey is playing in the Pro Bowl a few years from now, or if Al Davis adds another Lombardi Trophy to his mantle. On second thought, I'm pretty sure I won't have to worry about that.


BRIAN:

I think that I will have to give a tie to two teams in the race for the best draft. Before we delve into this, I think I should lay my ground rules for how I judged how each team did. My main focus was not need-based, it was based on the idea of "what is the end result this team is trying to achieve?" In this case, that eliminates teams like the Bills who had a nice draft, or the Jets who paid retail price for a QB who has only 400 more college passes than I do. This also eliminates the Browns who selected "Pass" twice in the first round so that it could just fill roster spots rather than actually get better. Other groups that do not make the cut are the Cowboys who selected so many linebackers that it is unlikely that their first pick in the draft (2nd round) will even make the team, and the Bucs who didn't seem to know what round it was or that the draft was even going on. No, this came down to two teams from the lowly AFC West: The Raiders and the Broncos.

We will start with Denver. Before you call me a homer, hear me out. The Broncos are format-changing for the first time since Clinton was in office, so there are different needs than when Shanny was in town. Most notable of these is on the defensive front. So what do they do? They draft running back, Knowshon Moreno. How does this work? Josh McDaniels (or Coach Looney as some would call him) stuck to his draft board and took the best back in the draft. This protects new QB Kyle Orton and keeps the lousy defense off the field. Knoshown Moreno, allows for the mix of power running and pass catching ability that meets the goal of protecting a QB who is excellent when he has time to make a throw. It also allows clock control. Last year Cutler threw on almost every down, thus making for more turnovers and more three-and-outs. Moreover, they were 2nd in the league in yardage, but only middle of the pack in scoring. Saying the Denver offense was potent is like saying the TNT version of Eyes Wide Shut is worth watching. This move allows the crew from the Mile High City to plug the ball into the endzone. The team's second pick was much more traditional, grabbing DE Robert Ayers. Some considered him the best defensive player in the draft, and he fills a hole on the defensive line. No further discussion needed.

Their next pick may be one of the best picks from the 2nd round, in CB Alphonso Smith. Many raised their eyebrows at this pick, not because of the player, but for the cost. Denver gave up a first-round pick next year for this guy. This may seem high, but traditionally a first round next year goes for an early 2nd round this year. It still seems high, but we have to look at the pick. Smith was the best ball hawker in college last year and this is what the team needs. Denver was last in the league in takeaways last year (I think -- if they weren't they should have been). This guy will play nickelback if not corner opposite to Champ this year. He fits the need of controlling the ball and getting the D off the field. The same goes for S McBath (also a ballhawk), who they took next.

The last pick I will discuss is Quinn the TE out of North Carolina. Again, many scoffed as he was only rated the 3rd best TE in the draft, but he was rated the best blocking TE. This fits the mold of the Patriots system that McDaniels wants to impose. The last time the Pats threw a pass to a tight end, Bledsoe may have been the starter, and besides Denver still has Tony Scheffler to play the role of Dallas Clark (TE/WR). The pick fits with what they wanted to do.

Aside from those characters, they took a center, guard, DB, WR and a QB. These are there to fill roster spots and help an offensive line led by "Should have been Rookie of the Year" Ryan Clady. That line still had leftovers from the Elway years, but only allowed 9 sacks last year, so they would need some depth for the future. I would talk about these guys more, but I honestly just don't know who they are.

Overall, Denver stayed true to their draft board and said its long term goal is to control the ball on offense (check), and take the ball away on defense (check). While Mel Kiper might be scratching his head, we have to remember that Kiper is the guy who said there was absolutely no way that Cutler would be better than Matt Leinart or Vince Young. Check and mate, Count Chocula.

The second team is the Oakland Raiders. Why, you ask? Because they did just what they set out to do. The Raiders' goal for the last ten years is to get as many shady characters and first-round draft picks they can. They then take the proven players they do have and trade them for 6th round draft picks. The Raiders saw Michael Crabtree on the board and thought "Is he worth a 6th round pick?" The answer is undoubtedly no. They would get way too much value for him if they wanted to trade him, so they did the Raider thing and drafted a far lesser player in Darrius Heyward-Bey. DHB will fit right in to the Oakland offense; they had been missing a Ashlie Lelie-type wideout who can beat you deep only to drop a wide open ball. Now they have him. There is no outsmarting Al Davis. We scoff, but he is laughing all the way to another first-round pick, just so they can blow it again. Just like he planned.