2003 DRAFT (ANOTHER VIEW)

ragone is one tough son-of-a-bitch. he's big. he can move around. he's got good accuracy. he puts the ball in the end zone. he's a three-time c-usa player of the year winner. he's a lefty, too.

i like ragone in round 2. could do a lot worse.

to those of you that DONT like him, why not?

 

Glad to find another Ragone supporter here but, Larry Ragone will be long gone by round 2. My guess is that if we don't take him the Jaguars, Steelers, or maybe the Ravens would take him.

 

Re: For the record.

I would be thrilled with this. I think Ragone's been given a bad rap because of a piss-poor OL and receivers that are slow and can't catch. He's still a damn good QB, though. B. Johnson is a VERY underrated WR. He was somewhat lost in the shuffle with all the L. Johnson hoopla. But he has everything you want in a WR, and would be an excellent 2nd round pick.

Just out of curiosity Wp, is this just a gut feeling, or is it a feeling based on info from your sources?

 

I have B Johnson in my top 7 and unless we go WR instead of QB in the 1st we can't count on getting a top tier guy. 7 WR's could easily go before we would get a shot at one in the 2nd. Houston and Arizona will probably pick in front of us and most mocks have them taking a WR in either the 1st or 2nd. Det, Jac, SD, SF, and Atl, all want WR and could start an early run on the top prospects.

I am feeling more and more that unless we can get Palmer or Leftwich in the 1st we should take A Johnson or Woods and get a guy like Boller in the 2nd. From all I have found Cin Chi and Ari (depending on Plummer) or Sea (depending) are really the only teams other than the Panthers who really NEED a QB enough to spend an early pick on one. There are at least 5 or 6 QB’s that look very good to most of us (Leftwich, Palmer, Manning, Ragone, Boller, Banks) and one or even two are likely to be there with our 2nd. We stand a better chance of getting one of those QB’s than getting one of the high impact WR’s in the 2nd IMO. As memory serves, more WR’s always go by that early 2nd area than QB’s.

 

Brad Banks doesn't fit with the rest of those guys. Banks is over rate IMO. He has led Iowa to a very good record this season and could very well wint he Heisman but he's nothing more than second day material.

I know that alot of you guys don't like Chris Simms but he could be a possibilty in the second round. But, if we don't go with a QB in the first most likely Kyle Boller will be there, and hopefull we'll snag him.

 

I don't like Ragone in the first. In the second, might feel a bit better.

Why I don't like him in the first.

He floats to many balls up. He's prone to some inconsistancy. Recievers seem to be waiting for the ball too many times.

All those things can be corrected, and it's tough to be consistent when your O-line can't protect you from the likes of Kentucky's defensive line.

But I don't think he's as talented as the top 3, and he's a bit more raw.

 

I'm on. He's gutty and he's big and strong but he has way too much touch on his shit for a first round pick. He's got an arm he hasn't very well used, and his accuracy really suffers when he puts that much touch on it. He can gun it, undoubtedly, and he selects not to. That's concerning to a point. he's been carrying a team but didn't take them that far. He's not a top ten player, not at all. He won't likely fall to the second, based on this moment, but he's certainly not worth a top pick from us. If we want an overly large, intense QB with footwork problems we can get Leftwich or wait for J-Lo.

But, just like Sims and Dorsey, this guy'll be made in workouts, not on the field. I admire what he's brought as a college player and his arm is raw but very good. It'll be how he does with good players around him and all the excuses away as to his performance, and to see if his great fundamentals are weighted down by an intelligence situation.

 

Ragone has some redeeming qualities IMO. He has all the tools and is a better athlete than some think. He is intellegent and doesn't force the ball unless he absolutely MUST make a play. He can make all the throws this offense would ask from him and he is a bigtime leader as well.

Downside? He lacks consistency with his mechanics and holds the ball to long at times. Will fumble running or throw picks trying to make plays that aren't there at times. Also, he is reckless in his running and must learn to protect himself.

All in all, Ragone is probably worth a sub top 10 selection IMO. He is definately underated as a prospect due to the season he has endured. This guy is big, mobile with a good arm and great leadership ability. It would not surprise me if he turned out to be a franchise starting QB in the NFL. With that in mind, he won't get to the second round. If he does I will be completely shocked. This team could do a lot worse than Dave Ragone!

 

If he's the guy then he's the guy. I don't want him taken because there's a match of a pick needing a QB and he's a QB. If he's the guy (and honestly, he's got a lot of what the staff likes about Peete) then he's the guy, but I don't want to see us reach for a quarterback just for ability to do so. Those tend to be the most chancy picks.

I have to get a better feel for his intelligence, because for his inconsistency and his game decisions I do tend to challenge his feel for the game right now. If he falls more in the coming months I expect this will be why. I have nothing to base that on, though, so I wouldn't put much stock in it. There's just something missing that puts him a number of ticks behind the rest of the guys when physically he's as good or better than them all.

 

Getting back to the topic...

Now were looking more and more like a 10-12 pick. So who starts entering the picture? assuming Palmer, Leftwich, Williams, Rogers are gone. and we don't wan't Ragone at this spot. (let's agree we don't for the sake of this post) Who starts entering the picture? Do we reach for the best WR available? Kwami Harris? a defensive player? Whats the thoughts here?