As The Snake Turns « The Extrapolater

As The Snake Turns

July 12, 2007 by Extra P.

You may not be aware of the Hazean mock draft, but you are about to go to school. The Hazean blog here on WordPress has invited several of us NFL-obsessed sports bloggers to participate in an early, early mock draft just for fun. Starting around the beginning of the month, each blogger made a pick a day. Read the recap here.

We’re only doing two rounds, in the typical “snake” fashion. I got the spot that I love to hate - I am both the ass and the head of the snake, as I have the 12th pick at the end of the first round, and the 13th at the beginning of the second. In a live draft, this sucks, because you sit and wait in agony for a small eternity as others snatch everyone you had your eye on. Between second and third round, you might as well go home and water the plants and walk the dog.

In this case, it’s not so bad. I’ll get to make my two picks this week and then sit back and watch my fellow bloggers finish out the draft. I know for a fact that I can have the top two guys left on my draft list.

So, on with the show. The two best QBs were taken already - Peyton Manning by Next Gen Pro Football at #7, and Carson Palmer by my erstwhile Channel 4 News Team compatriot Signal To Noise. Other than that, it’s been all running backs, all the time, which is good fantasy drafting. After the dominant backs are gone, you get into two-back system guys and unproven players who might lose their jobs in training camp. It’s best to get at least one beast right up front.

With that in mind, I’ll alleviate the suspense and just blurt out my pick: “Fast” Willie Parker.

In general, I suspect my fellow GMs were not particularly sold on Willie’s size (5′10″, 209), but that’s the kind of thinking that left him as an undrafted free agent a couple of years ago. Willie’s carried the load since then, including the longest run in a Super Bowl ever.

If it’s the Steelers as a team that kept WP available for me, I can talk myself into that one, too. Roethlisberger might have had an off year last season, but he still has the tools to get it done. With Hines Ward and Heath Miller still taking heat off of the line of scrimmage, Willie should see some room to run. In my opinion, Najeh Davenport is insurance for the team, not real competition for Willie. If the Defense, led by the colorful Troy Polamalu, can keep games from getting out of hand, there should be plenty of opportunities for my guy to lug the ball late into the fourth quarter.

So that’s my guy. Entertain yourselves until tomorrow by wondering this: will Extra P. take another running back like Shaun Alexander to shore up the crucial position, or will he grab a QB?

Tune in tomorrow to find out.

Posted in Blogrollin', Fantasy Sports, NFL Football | 18 Comments

18 Responses to “As The Snake Turns”

on July 12, 2007 at 5:13 pm1 Signal to Noise

Getting the two consecutive picks is always fun. Willie Parker would have been my choice if I’d gone RB, but the only downside is that he doesn’t get the touchdown carries at times.
on July 12, 2007 at 6:40 pm2 palestinmiami

You really have to take Alexander don’t you? I mean the guy has the most upside of anyone on the board and he realistically should have been taken way ahead of Travis Henry. You cannot grab a QB. Who would you take Brees, Brady? These are not guys that you can grab with the 13th pick… the way that I look at it is that you can be set at running back and still ok at all other positions but if you pass on Alexander it will be very hard for you to get a team back together.
on July 12, 2007 at 7:34 pm3 NGPF

I’m shocked that Alexander has fallen this far. I would say nothing so that he can fall to us, but I don’t think it’s gonna happen.
on July 12, 2007 at 7:50 pm4 Extra P.

Well, obviously I’m looking at him, but I won’t make a final decision until tomorrow, or else the Friday post will be meaningless.
on July 12, 2007 at 11:18 pm5 Patrick

I think that is a great pick Extra P! Should be exciting to see how our final round plays out. Alexander is a risk … as we can see from twelve “knowledgable” (I use the term loosely haha) sports bloggers have shown.
on July 12, 2007 at 11:29 pm6 The first round is over « Curveballs for Jesus

[...] 12th, 2007 by Patrick The Extrapolater just made his pick for the first round of The Hazean’s mock draft, and he gets another one tomorrow to start the [...]
on July 13, 2007 at 12:21 am7 FanProphet

Not only was that an excellent write-up, it was an awesome pick. You make some really good points. After reading that you almost convinced me that I made a mistake.
on July 13, 2007 at 1:52 am8 Mike White

Picking a Tar Heel is always a good choice in my book.
on July 15, 2007 at 1:36 pm9 T.J.I.

Love this pick. Touchdown Willie is going to light up the scoreboard in the Steelers’ revamped offense.

Feel free to check out my link, it’s a football blog I just started. I’d love to exchange links with you and if you need someone for future mock drafts, let me know.
on July 17, 2007 at 5:23 pm10 Hazean Blogger Mock Draft Update « TINO Sports Page

[...] Willie Parker, RB, Steelers [The Extrapolater] [...]
on July 18, 2007 at 5:57 am11 NGPF

NGPF has made its pick. Come check it out.
on July 18, 2007 at 3:45 pm12 Updating the mock draft « The Hazean

[...] Willie Parker, RB, Steelers [The Extrapolater] [...]
on July 19, 2007 at 5:53 pm13 Round Two: The Patron Saint of the Black and Gold « Curveballs for Jesus

[...] Willie Parker, RB, Steelers [The Extrapolater] [...]
on July 21, 2007 at 1:55 pm14 Hazean mock draft moving along « The Hazean

[...] Willie Parker, RB, Steelers [The Extrapolater] [...]
on July 22, 2007 at 4:18 pm15 The Mock draft curves back around to me « The Mountain West Conference Football Blog & Podcast

[...] LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, Chargers [TINO Sports Page] Steven Jackson, RB, Rams [The Hazean] Joseph Addai, RB, Colts [MWC Football] Larry Johnson, RB, Chiefs [Blaine Clancy] Frank Gore, RB, 49ers [Fantasy Football Librarian] Brian Westbrook, RB, Eagles [Curveballs for Jesus] Peyton Manning, QB, Colts [Next Gen Pro Football] Laurence Maroney, RB, Patriots [Cheesesteaks & Stuff] Carson Palmer, QB, Bengals [Signal to Noise] Travis Henry, RB, Broncos [NFL Minute] Rudi Johnson, RB, Bengals [FanProphet] Willie Parker, RB, Steelers [The Extrapolater] [...]
on July 24, 2007 at 12:47 pm16 The Most important Fantasy Football Post EVER « TINO Sports Page

[...] Willie Parker, RB, Steelers [The Extrapolater] [...]
on July 24, 2007 at 3:57 pm17 The Hazean’s blogger mock draft is over « The Hazean

[...] Willie Parker, RB, Steelers [The Extrapolater] [...]
on July 24, 2007 at 7:15 pm18 FanProphet - Fantasy Sports » Blogger Mock Draft

[...] Willie Parker, RB, Steelers [The Extrapolater] [...]