Was Sam Baker a reach?
Reaching for a draft pick. We hear about it all the time. Teams using a high draft pick to select a player that wasn’t valued that high…or was he? The reason I bring this up a full week after the draft is because I have been hearing a great deal about how the Falcons selection of Sam Baker was a reach.
Baker is an imposing offensive tackle from USC who was projected by the experts to be a second round pick. He was projected to be between the fourth and sixth tackle selected in the draft.
Players’ on-field rankings and expert opinions are not the only factors that figure in when a team selects a draft pick. Character, work ethic, common sense, a passion for the game, the ability to be easily taught, and placing team success over personal success are several of the intangibles not measured by a stopwatch or tape measure.
So lets assume that after studying the tapes, grading the performances, and interviewing each and every prospect, a team decides that out of the 200+ players that will be selected in the draft, 12 are the exact perfect fit for their team. They target another 20 as top prospects that would be a very good fit for the team. Another 10 designated as good prospects. These players meet or exceed not only the physical rankings that we see on ESPN but also the needs of the team from a positional standpoint and the intangible standpoint. These 42 players are now on the top of their wish list or draft board.
Come draft day the team has their list up and ready. Their goal? To obtain as many players from the top of their list as possible. When pick #3 rolls around, the Falcons look at their draft board and see that Matt Ryan, their #1 guy is available…he is selected. As the draft progresses, a few more players from their list fall to other teams. Guys like Clady or Otah fall quickly and it is determined that Sam Baker, their next highest pick on top of their draft board, could be snatched up during this latest run on offensive tackles.
The Falcons move up and trade picks in order to obtain Baker. Some NFL experts furrow a brow, some fans groan, yet the Falcons are ecstatic. They have just acquired the next highest player on their best player list. Now remember, that list isn’t Mel Kiper’s list. It isn’t Mike Mayock’s list, it is the Atlanta Falcons list.
This list, compiled by the entire Falcon staff and meticulously refined by Coach Smith and Thomas Dimitroff, is the only list that matters. Unless we are in the room when the tape is watched, or when the mini-camps are conducted we can never know what the staff knows about the Falcons and their needs. Unless we sit in on the meetings and listen to directives laid down by Arthur Blank, we can never truly know the foundation from which this team will be built on. So it is the Falcon draft board from which the team makes its selections.
Who cares what Mel Kiper thinks. Who cares if some fans are questioning the moves. What does it matter if the Falcons draft grade is less than stellar in USA Today? What matters is that the Falcons targeted certain players and went out and got them. They didn’t wait for a player to fall into their lap or cross their fingers in the hopes they got lucky, they went out and FOUGHT for their picks and got the men they wanted.
These players have the tools, skill, and intangibles that the Falcons want in a player and they landed the players that meet all the criteria laid down by the GM and his staff. Whether Kiper had Baker going in round one or round two does not matter. Kiper doesn’t sit in on the team meetings and run drills at mini-camp. Kipers list is based on a generic overall picture based on statistical grading. The Falcons list is based on so much more and I have to believe, held to a higher standard than that of any mock draft “expert”.
Sure there are exceptions and blunders that can be made. The Jets drafting Johnny Mitchell in 1992 comes to mind when thinking of all time greatest reaches. I’m sure the Jets front office was happy to get the player they wanted but with only one tight end taken before and none taken after (in the 1st round), I think that there is also accountability when it comes to building a proper front office and scouting staff. If either fail in their jobs its almost impossible for a coach to do his.
Baker was taken 22nd by the Falcons, the fifth tackle taken.
So let the media cry reach. Let the “experts” believe we overpaid for a draft pick. Let the message boards flow with words like “waste” and “poor value”. The Falcons got just what they wanted and they didn’t go outside the realm of reality to get it. I predict Baker will be a staple on the Falcons offensive line for years to come and the 2008 draft will be the first of many victories for Thomas Dimitroff and his staff of talent seekers.
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13 Responses to “Was Sam Baker a reach?”
May 4th, 2008 at 5:09 am
Great post, and I’m glad someone finally puts all these mock draft “experts” in their place. Only time will tell whether Dimitroff and company made the right decisions, but their decisions came from some very heavy analysis of both the players available and the team’s needs and philosophy. ESPN and the rest of the sports media killed Houston for drafting Mario Williams over Reggie Bush, but that pick is looking better and better every year. I don’t know much about Baker, but I hope you’re right and that he’ll be a mainstay on our line.
May 4th, 2008 at 8:07 am
Thanks Stephen. I think we have to all realize that the front office guys might know just a teensy bit more than the talking heads on sports channels.
Baker will do fine. I dont expect the Falcons to make a splash this season but the ground work has been laid for some future excitement.
May 4th, 2008 at 8:19 am
Gerald:
You’re absolutely correct. Who cares what Mel Kiper thinks. I wonder if the guy actually ever played football? I bet not. It is funny to watch Kiper and McShay go back and forth, back and forth telling each other how wrong they are about a player. This is all part of the new television paradigm of talking heads going up against each other, getting in other’s face, getting into heated arguments on the air, and then the moderator saying to the audience, “you decide” who is correct. It happens every day on CNBC, Fox News, and the rest. Now ESPN has gotten into this. It’s actually funny to think that 2 guys who never strapped it on are pontificating like this. I get a lot of my player information from Eastcoastsports.com. This guy Al Fronczak is very accurate and very thoughtful in his analysis and actually provides a rationale for statements about a player. I have had it up to here with Kiper and McShay. As far as Sam Baker is concerned he was a very solid player for USC for several years which is saying quite a lot. Don’t you think Dimitroff and Smith had contact with the USC coaching staff and USC opponents who went up against this guy? You bet they did. I’m sure he has the physical tools - now if he can apply what he will learn from professional coaches and elevate his game, there is no reason why he won’t be a top tackle for years.
May 4th, 2008 at 11:11 am
What is the one thing that comes to mind as one examines the very successful football operation constructed and operated by the Patriots?
To me it was how do they get these guys? Players that no one heard of, and they are always competing for or winning championships. Their early rounds picks were seemingly never the marquis picks, and even their late round picks certainly weren’t the media darlings. and furthermore, when they encountered injuries as all teams do they seemed to move the players they had around sometimes to completely different positions SUCCESSFULLY….of course every team tries to do it. but they achieve it. They have linebackers playing down, they have lineman standing up, they backs and wideouts playing defense , they have D-backs playing offense, they have LB playing TE…versatility….Go back and read or listen to the comments of the new Falcons gm….I think you’ll find that word very prominent in every statement about the players selected by the Falcons.
I think hiring Dimitroff was brillant….I think the Falcons will be well served by the philosphy and the body of work he brings. I think the Falcons will improve this year…I think the Falcons will get very good in the next three years…He knows precisely what works, how to find them….Blank will give him what he needs to get the job done….I’m excited about the Falcons…I think they are on the right track…
Where would the Falcons be say if they hadn’t taken Ryan? I can already hear the talking head idiots like McShay, “the Kiper wanna be” and even Kiper himself…with all their naysaying….”What were the Falcons thinking …they don’t have a quarterback and they had Ryan sitting right there and chose XXXX?
When any of those commentators run a draft for real for their own team then maybe I’d take what they say seriously…they haven’t they do’t …and I don’t.
May 4th, 2008 at 11:37 am
FINALLY! Someone who gets it writes about it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
May 5th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Baker is a reach only if he turns out to not be one of the top seven offensive tackles in this years’ class. Basically, he would have to be a bust, since every draft class is good for only about 5-6 starting tackles.
If they have to move him inside though, he’s also a reach.
I guess the trade up was questionable, but the Falcons didn’t lose any picks in doing so, just positioning, so it all seems alright for now.
May 5th, 2008 at 11:49 am
Good article. I wrote something on not giving a crap what Kiper says too. I suppose it was a “reach” but Baker fit a need and with all the tackles that were taken, Atlanta took a guy they liked before another team “reached.”
Money Ball talks about drafting strategies, and Billy Bean’s philosophy is “we are much better when we dont pay attention to what others think.” Great concept, pick the guys you like and screw what others think. Falcons had a real good draft and have the potential to good very quickly
May 5th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Yeah, I agree 100% with this. I’m a Titans fan and have seen their draft ripped to shreads over the fact that they waited until the 4th to draft a WR and took several small school players.
Kiper is one man analyzing players he has heard of. I assume the Falcons have several dozen individuals involved in the process of evaluation from scouts, to position coaches to assistant and head coaches. They probably have info on hundreds of small school prospects he’s never heard of.
If Kiper misses on picks, his job isn’t on the line. Moreover, you don’t ever see him go back several years later and take accountability for all of his misses.
Best of luck to all you Falcons fans this year and in the future.
May 5th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Can’t we stay away from bad news? Sheesh…
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/falcons/stories/2008/05/05/boley_0506.html
May 5th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Thanks for the positive words guys.
Adam, youre right about Kiper and accountability. Enjoy Alge Crumpler, he is a good one.
PT, I know its killing me.
May 5th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
That is a great post Gerald. I see it made headlines on another site.
May 6th, 2008 at 8:36 am
I totally agreed with your post. Who cares what the experts think. I think Kiper graded the Giants draft last year as a C-. Guess whose rookies helped the team win the SB?
And I for one was really sad to see Baker go. He was one of the players that I really wanted to see fall to the Giants at 31.
July 24th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
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