Honolulu Blue and Silver Bells
Silver bells, silver bells
It’s Draftmas time in Rock city
Ring-a-ling, hear them sing
Soon it will be Draftmas day
Five Bob Quinn Quotes for Draftmas
“This team didn’t make the playoffs last year, there’s a reason for that. So, the talent level needs to improve and that’s why I’m here.” Bob Quinn
“You can’t just say ‘I’m going to take the best player available’ because if you have a starting level say running back, why would you take a running back in the first round?” Bob Quinn
“I mean, everybody’s a part of it. Like, the draft isn’t just me, okay? It’s an organizational-wide process that it’s coaching, scouting, trainers are involved, you know, the medical information that we get from the combine is enormous to be able to make sure we know what situations these players have when they come into our building. There’s risks in terms of medical, there’s risks in terms of character, security issues, so I rely on everybody. It’s not a one-man job. It’s impossible.” Bob Quinn
“If they have a red flag — and that’s not what we use on our draft card, that’s just a generic term that we spoke about, I think it was at the combine, that’s just things that we have to consider the value of the player compared to the risk involved in taking him. So it’s not like these guys are off the board. You just got to manage the risk and the reward of taking a guy like that.” Bob Quinn
“I think the best way to build a football team is through the draft, and you can supplement through free agency when you have some real serious needs. That’s my philosophy and that’s the best way to build this team long-term.” Bob Quinn
Four Mock Drafts
Charles Davis of nfl.com believes that the Lions will net themselves Kevin Dodd at pick 16. That’s two Dodds so far.
Dane Brugler of CSB sports is a Taylor Decker man. Not to be confused with being a Dapper Dan man.
The Drafttek computer simulation spat out a Jack Conklin to the Lions with the 16th selection.
Emanuele Addondi of Draftbreakdown.com has Laquon Treadwell going to the Lions.
Three Draft Night Foods
The best snack foods are the ones that let you dip something in to something else or cut in to something and spread the goey insides all over something else. The moment where you bite through the cracker, nacho, chip, bread, pita, or whatever dip receptacle you have chosen, is an unmatchable experience. When you bite in to a steak, there are no layers, no matter how big or small the piece of meat you cut off it, it tastes exactly the same. With a dip though, the person eating has complete control over the intensity of their taste experience. This Draftmas, consider giving the gift of dip.
Cheese ball
2 – 8 oz packages of cream cheese, leave them on the counter to get soft for a couple hours
3-1/2 cups of sharp shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 oz package: ranch dressing mix
2 cups of chopped nuts (pecans work best but if you’re on a budget peanuts will get you by)
Combine everything but the nuts in a bowl, and then roll it in to a ball, or two smaller balls, roll that ball in the nuts, and put it in the fridge for a couple hours. Spread it on crackers or bread with a knife.
Buffalo Chicken dip
3 cups diced cooked chicken (about 3 breasts, or 6 thighs)
2 – 8 oz packages of cream cheese, left out for a few hours to soften
3/4 of a cup of your favorite wing sauce (this is written with the standard franks red hot in mind, if yours is crazy hot you might want to reduce
1 cup ranch dressing
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Stir together the cream cheese and wing sauce until it’s well blended. Then stir in the ranch, then the chicken, then the cheddar.
Spread it in to a baking dish (about 9×13), and bake that at 350 for 30 minutes.
Taco Dip
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 lb lean ground beef
1 cup water
1 package of taco seasoning
1-1/2 cups salsa (I reccomend the pico de gallo from a couple days ago but any canned salsa will work just fine)
2 cups cheddar cheese
Spread the cream cheese at the bottom of an 8×8 baking dish
Cook the beef in a skillet, when it’s browned, then pour in the seasoning mix, and water. simmer it until the liquid is almost all gone. spread the meat mixture over the cream cheese, then the cheese over that, and bake in the oven until the cheese is bubbling, usually about 20 minutes. Make sure you walk into the draft party location before anyone else in your group and announce that you’ve brought ‘the dip’ as they walk through the door.
Two Late Round Gems
Jatavis Brown
The all MAC kid out of Akron, is probably the most explosive later round linebacker in this draft. The problem is that he has the body of a safety, and while his athletic numbers say he can make the transition to box safety, that’s not what he’s been doing in college. He’s 5’11” and has a small frame, so asking him to put on ten pounds and be Deandre Levy’s backup might or might not also be a reasonable option. He ran a 4.47 at a regional combine, and a 4.44 at his pro day, this kid is no joke as an athlete and he hits like a train. Even if he never amounted to more than a backup LB and ST ace, you’ve got to love a guy with the nickname “The Hitman” coming out of college.
David Morgan
This tight end blocks like a truck. He’s never going to outrun anyone; what he is going to do is out-quick everyone. His 40 time was among the worst non-lineman times at the combine, which was a little surprising given how much UTSA played him split out wide, but his pro day was a workable 4.8 seconds. It was in the agility and receiving drills that he showed what he can do. In the 20 and 60 yard shuttle, as well as the 3 cone drill and bench press, he was among the top performers at the combine among tight ends. His hands are beautiful, no ball touches his body before he’s got control over it. He got a ringing endorsement from Greg Olsen doing a guest spot while the tight ends worked out, saying essentially that you have to forget that 40 time and look at what a guy like that brings to your team, rather than what he doesn’t. What he brings is first downs on difficult catches, and red zone ability. This is a guy I’ve wanted on the Lions since I started looking at prospects in November. Think Joseph Fuaria, if he could block. This would be a great present to find under the Draftmas tree.
One Draftmas Trade
The Broncos don’t seem likely to sit back and deal with Mark Sanchez being their quarterback. In the event that they like Lynch, and he gets past Cleveland, there really isn’t a team until Buffalo that is desperate for a quarterback. The Bills pick at nineteen, three spots after the Lions, making the Lions one of the calls the Broncos might make. If the Broncos wanted to make the move, they have the ammunition to do so, but it would involve their first, second and third round selections. This is an odd case where the selection next year is actually valued similarly to the selection this year, as a future pick it typically valued at the same number as the last pick of that round this year. So in my opinion, the most likely scenario would be the Broncos getting pick sixteen, and the Lions getting picks 31, 63 in 2016, and next year’s third round pick also going from the broncos to the Lions.
Well, tomorrow is another day my friends, bringing us one day closer to Draftmas. @a5hcrack on the twitter, and kicking around /r/detroitlions
